[Tirned Tinnu]

Gandalf, Arwen, Darkrose, Lathspell and Tigerlily, thank you for your replies!
Ah, Gandalf, I had heard of the group fo which you speak! I have met a fur-trader in my travels! I too, enjoy canoeing (whitewater and bay) as a hobby - alas that I cannot do it as a living, for I would surely be in my element. Have you Native blood? it's a typical myth (or so I hear) in my family that there is some native blood (you know, the Tory meets the indian princees tale.)
I enjoyed your reply immensely!
Do tell us more.
I am also a lover of pea/bean soup cooked in a cauldron over a fire! I remember my cookmates telling me, "This won't take long to cook," (from dried beans?! Hours in a conventional cookpot, I thought.) It took 20 minutes, and tasted like - like - joy itself!
Amazing. Not for nothing did they lug those iron pots about. Technology? BAH!

I have long despaired of having to leave my family behind on such outtings. I wish they would come, and see! Alas, the advent of the hair-drier has made women slaves to technology. I cannot pursuade many of them these days to give it up. If I had my choice, I would live out of a tent (or a cabin) and give up electricity rather than suffer the outrageous bills they send to me every month. You know, when the lights were turned off last month I was overjoyed to have forced my husband to use candles and to learn to live by the sun. It was one of the most restful weeks I've ever spent with him. (Not to mention that I look far better in candlelight, hoho!)

As for fire and cheer, I find gathering at the hearthfire much more wonderful than gathering at the television. Trading tales, singing, performing skits (even little rounds of Shakespeare or small bits of Norse sagas - what about Tolkien's poetry!), being hypnotized by the sound of a harp or a voice of gold is so much more rewarding. I could tell you stories.....!
There's so much more to life when things are harder. Suddenly one feels alive! So many today complain that they cannot feel themselves anymore...put them in a cold encampment and serve them a mug of hot broth, and then see what they say, their teeth chattering and their cheeks turning rosy-red as they realize the importance of food!
It's pain and stuggle that made the human race what it is today. Perhaps there would be less fat sluggish Americans if they had to fight more to survive! Drag them from their computer keyboards and into the wild, I say. it'd be a common cure for what ails our society, I tell you.

Oh, dear, I believe I've been ranting. Please excuse me. Two weeks till I will get a taste of a walk in the woods, and I'm chafing at the bit. Ah, it will come soon enough.

[ September 16, 2002: Message edited by: Tirned Tinnu ]