Notes on the Story:

Chapter 9. Change in the Weather
The description of Bilbo's planned Birthday Party comes straight from J.R.R. Tolkien.

Chapter 12. From the Journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
Edited to show that the heavy rains have come fully two months early, not one. (After all, how would they get the winter wheat planted if it is scheduled to be planted during the heavy rains? Thanks to k! for continuity check.)

Overall note (4 March, 2015):

This story was predicated on the dates in the appendices. Now, you may know from Author's notes in other stories, or from conversation, that I am number-challenged. For the first months, perhaps even years, of my fanfic writing, I mistook Estella Brandybuck's age to be ten years younger than JRRT indicated in his family trees -- through a simple math error!

Thus, when well into posting this story, I found that I had made a mistake in the year of the Fell Winter. (Thanks to Dreamflower and Larner for helping me puzzle through JRRT's timeline. It was a puzzle, or maybe "muddle" is a better term, for me, but they seem to have a good grasp on how the Tale of Years works. And they seem to have a nodding acquaintance with numbers, whereas numbers and myself... well, let's just say we (numbers and I, that is) often have disagreements as to how things work.)

As originally written, the story moved smoothly between Fortinbras' journal and Bilbo's story, both winter timelines matching nicely, chapter by chapter (and it was a thing of balance and beauty). This is in a draft version of the story written all the way to the end. However, somehow I discovered I had mistaken the timing of the Fell Winter by an entire year. Naturally, my perfectionism would not allow me to just leave it alone and call it "AU" in my own mind. I have had to do quite a bit of re-writing and infilling, backtracking, in order to re-set the story properly in JRRT's timeline. Therefore, Isen moves in with the Bagginses the winter before the Fell Winter, in case you were wondering. (I realise that you probably weren't, and all this is too tiresome, and could we get on with the story, please? Believe me, I feel the same way.)

Anyhow, that's an explanation of sorts for the long delay in getting on with the story. And Fortinbras' journal entries will resume when, once more, the two stories touch at the right places on the timeline.

Thank you for bearing with me. I'm really hoping to get this story posted in full before another Long Winter threatens. Sometime this summer, perhaps, when in the middle of a heat wave, thoughts of winter's chill are actually a comfort.

Think good thoughts.