Over the course of the first week, Bilbo outlined his plans and jotted down extensive notes on transforming what would become Frodo’s new bedroom, lest he forget all his grand ideas. He was resolute that he not have any hired hands or any form of help in fixing up Frodo’s room. Bilbo soon realized his foolishness when he came to the inevitable conclusion that he would need some help when it came to achieving certain goals on his to-do list that he simply could not do all by himself.

He started by conferring with Hamfast Gamgee’s youngest son, Samwise. Frodo and Sam had befriended each other during one of the older lad’s visits to Bag End. It had been Sam’s job to determine what Frodo’s favorite color was. Bilbo was positive it was blue, but he needed confirmation nonetheless. He then chose his overall color scheme based on the information little Sam had eagerly provided.

Bilbo next made his list of furnishings for the room. He decided to keep his old bed for Frodo’s use, since the lad had loved it so much as a wee hobbit. Whenever Frodo came to visit him with his parents as a faunt, he would clamor to be allowed to sleep in the ‘Big Bed’ as he had called it when Primula insisted on laying him down for his afternoon nap.

Bilbo smiled in fond remembrance, envisioning a pint-sized Frodo-lad curled up in his security blanket, sucking on a thumb, clutching his stuffed toy bear as he slept in the middle of the bed. Looking at the old bed now, he realized that it needed to be refinished. The drawers would need new pull knobs as well, and a new feather-down mattress and pillows were an absolute must.

Having decided on a replica of his own desk and chair in his study to be made for Frodo’s use, Bilbo made a note to make an appointment with the best furniture maker in Hobbiton on the morrow. He wanted the desk set to be smaller to accommodate Frodo’s size, but he also wanted the lad to be able to use the pieces later as he grew. He was sure that Master Little would have the perfect solution.

Wanting to somehow incorporate Frodo’s parents into the redesigning of the room, Bilbo decided the rest of the major furnishings would come from Drogo and Primula’s property. After they had died Frodo, being their only child, had been left to inherit all their belongings. Most of their personal effects were being stored in one of the spacious mathom rooms at Brandy Hall until Frodo came of age and could decide what he wanted to do with them. Other pieces, mostly of Drogo’s possession, were stored here at Bag End or at Dora Baggins' smial.

During his last recent visit to Brandy Hall, Bilbo had managed to sneak away from Frodo for one afternoon to take inventory of the large mathom room which stored Drogo and Primula’s things. Although Frodo knew he was going to be adopted and would be moving soon, Bilbo wanted the new bedroom to be a complete surprise for the lad.

It had been very sad for him to go through a lifetime of his dearest cousins’ possessions and ultimately decide which items Frodo might like to have for his use now. Bilbo could remember the stories behind many of the items and many a time he was forced to wipe away a stray tear as he tagged a piece and wrote it on his list. When he was done, Bilbo left the list with Old Rory--the Master and Primula’s eldest sibling--for when the time came that he asked they be delivered to Hobbiton. He had then found Frodo and distracted them both by telling him and his shadow, little Meriadoc Brandybuck, a tale of his adventure with Gandalf and the Dwarves.

* * * * *

The next morning after making an appointment for the furniture maker to come to Bag End the following day, Bilbo walked into Tim Tiggs’ Tool Supply & Paint shop. Tiggs had been supplying the paint for Bag End for years and had the best reputation in the West Farthing for such. Bilbo could remember going with his father to see Mister Tiggs about a fresh coat of green paint on Bag End’s front door every Spring. Mister Tiggs had long since passed on and the shop was now owned and run by his son and grandson, Tam and Nat.

Bilbo ordered one gallon of whitewash, along with one gallon of Robin’s Egg Blue paint to be delivered to Bag End by next Monday. He had paint brushes somewhere in the smial, but such a special project deserved nothing but the best, so he also ordered several of the highest quality paint brushes, along with some buckets, tin-lined trays, and drop cloths. He looked over the various sample shades of stains, choose the one that closest resembled the original varnish of his old bed, then conferred with Tam Tiggs about the best way to go about the painting and such. He made sure to get enough varnish to refinish the hardwood floor in addition.

* * * * *

After showing and describing to Master Little exactly what he wanted for Frodo’s desk, Bilbo headed off to Michel Delving the following day. He first went to the Mayor’s office to take care of the final wording on the adoption papers and also met with his lawyer to have a new will drawn up stating Frodo as his heir to Bag End and all that he owned. The new will could not go into effect until Frodo was actually adopted by him and the required signatures of seven witnesses in red ink were dry on the parchment. Bilbo already knew from whom he was going to obtain the signatures; they were to be the very same hobbits who were also to sign Frodo’s adoption papers, making the lad his own and his sole heir by all legal intents and purposes.

Bilbo then settled to having a nice luncheon at the inn he was staying at and went shopping afterwards. He enjoyed haggling over the prices, offering the poorer merchants much more than they would normally ask and making sure to give the wealthier merchants less than they deserved. He ended up buying eight beautiful brass knobs of the finest craftsmanship for the drawers on the bed. He also selected the softest of feather-down mattresses and pillows, ordering them to be delivered to Bag End during the last week of the month.

The next day, Bilbo walked back to Hobbiton and made ready to start the real work on Frodo’s room.

* * * * *