I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. I recently read The Hobbit. The world that Tolkien created has long been loved by readers and scholars alike. Tolkien worked with the world of Middle-earth for almost 60 years, from 1916 until he died in 1973. During that time he created languages, histories, and cultures for a variety of races that dwell in his world. His books had several editions and Tolkien’s son, Christopher, published books on Middle-earth after the death of his father. The amount of time, energy, passion, and care that went into the forming and refining of Middle-earth is mind boggling. Tolkien had a family and worked as a professor at Oxford, yet still found time to immerse himself in his books.
The passion Tolkien had for Middle-earth is evident. It also gives one reason to pause for reflection: Is there anything in my life that I am that passionate about? Honestly, no. Nothing in my life consumes me in such a way. However, I am alright with this. I have my hobbies and my pursuits, with some things I like to do and even love to do more than others.
I am not a passionate person. I am too level-headed and, at the same time, too lazy to be passionate about one thing or many things. On the one hand, I don’t see a reason, personally, to invest myself in this way. I can be enthusiastic about things and feel fulfillment from them. For example, I love aviation and flying, but there are some people who can name an airplane just by listening to the engine. They are passionate about aviation in a way that I will never be. This is where the second part of my argument comes in: I am too lazy to invest that much of my time into learning the nuances of anything.
It should be noted that I am not a lazy person. When it comes to working and my hobbies, I learn what I need to learn to be good and then I learn how to improve myself. I have taken a photography class and I work at making my art better. I experiment with my art. However, I don’t study the works of other photographers, I don’t own many lenses, and I have not pursued it as a profession. I love photography, but I do not live-eat-breathe photography.
I do believe, though, that when I have a family I will be passionate about them. My children and husband will be my world and I will immerse myself in them. I look forward to this I know that, when my time comes to be passionate, I will do well.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
So much to do!
I really need to do better at posting here. It's not like I have nothing to say, because I do. I think of things to post all the time... and then don't. Here's an update on life!
Last post I talked about the big plans Roy and I made for the house. I am happy to say that we have accomplished/started them.
The sunroom hasn't been completely emptied, but we are working on it. (Not that it was a huge mess or anything, but we just haven't finished it). We haven't gotten a console table yet, but I think that's ok, given that we have a TON of seedlings going! We still have the herbs, and I am glad to say that the chives are thriving. The cilantro is doing well, but the parsely isn't doing as well. I also planted flowers to be planted in a month or two: Sweet pea and morning glory to grow on the chain link fence in front of the house, portulaca, verbena, impatiens, and two types of marigolds. The morning glory are doing very well- they are 3-4 inches already and have roots. I'm going to have to plant them in a pot very soon! Roy has also started sweet banana peppers, bell peppers, and two types of tomatoes. I also have some bulbs, which I really need to plant soon. I got two types of amarylis and daylilies.
The compost heap is still a pile of, well, stuff. It takes a while to get going. Roy set up two circular areas for us to grow the herbs and veggies. The flowers will go out front.
Recycling paper has been going well since I got a small trash can for paper only. Roy doesn't remember as often as I do.
We did end up moving the bookcases into a small L between the living room and dining area. Ir's a subtle change that we really like. I got some spray paint and we are painting some of our mix-matched tables black. One is currently drying, and it looks great. I'll be glad when things are more cohesive.
OK that's all for the house! It's been a lot of fun turning it into our home. :)
Last post I talked about the big plans Roy and I made for the house. I am happy to say that we have accomplished/started them.
The sunroom hasn't been completely emptied, but we are working on it. (Not that it was a huge mess or anything, but we just haven't finished it). We haven't gotten a console table yet, but I think that's ok, given that we have a TON of seedlings going! We still have the herbs, and I am glad to say that the chives are thriving. The cilantro is doing well, but the parsely isn't doing as well. I also planted flowers to be planted in a month or two: Sweet pea and morning glory to grow on the chain link fence in front of the house, portulaca, verbena, impatiens, and two types of marigolds. The morning glory are doing very well- they are 3-4 inches already and have roots. I'm going to have to plant them in a pot very soon! Roy has also started sweet banana peppers, bell peppers, and two types of tomatoes. I also have some bulbs, which I really need to plant soon. I got two types of amarylis and daylilies.
The compost heap is still a pile of, well, stuff. It takes a while to get going. Roy set up two circular areas for us to grow the herbs and veggies. The flowers will go out front.
Recycling paper has been going well since I got a small trash can for paper only. Roy doesn't remember as often as I do.
We did end up moving the bookcases into a small L between the living room and dining area. Ir's a subtle change that we really like. I got some spray paint and we are painting some of our mix-matched tables black. One is currently drying, and it looks great. I'll be glad when things are more cohesive.
OK that's all for the house! It's been a lot of fun turning it into our home. :)
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