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Old Scores by Baggins Babe	10 Review(s)
Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 12/22/2006
Finally got to sit down and catch up! I guess it took me long enough, didn't it? But I've been soooo busy in these last weeks before Christmas! Oh, poor Mac! :( And only two more years for Saradoc? :( :( So sad! It's so strange how deaths come in threes sometimes. I haven't had many in the family, but if you count pets (I do) we once had three dear ones go one month after another: my dog, my grandfather, and a baby chick who had been my little anchor while Grandpa was so sick. But the Yuletide cheer and peace really balanced out the angst. I so love the greeting Frodo received on his return and the lovely little picture Sam and Rosie got to see the next morning. No, indeed Bag End isn't the same without our Frodo, and that is one reason I love this AU so much, even though, according to Tolkien, he could not have remained and survived. The little scene in the Sandyman home was wonderful! There's domestic peace! :) So wonderful to see the children laughing and teasing and chasing one another, and Ivy happy at last. Ted was truly cruel. hugs Ivy and the children A toy model of Minas Anor! How fun! :) That I would love to see! :) And the painting is wonderful. And what will the new year bring? :) God bless and Merry Christmas! Galadriel Author Reply: What a delightful surprise, to find this review. It did take you a long time but I'm very glad you finally got round to it. yes, I've noticed how often my pets have gone in threes - if I lose two I now superstitiously break a match to 'break the cycle' and prevent a third! I thought it was time the Sandyman family discovered domestic peace, and enjoyed a Bag End Yule too. Poor Mac did not live long for a hobbit but he is remembered with love. I think we'd all like a model of Minas Anor, and a painting of Gandalf and Shadowfax would be a wonderful thing to hang on the wall. We shall see what the new year will bring for Ivy and her family...... Merry Christmas and Happy Yule!

Tigger	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/23/2006
Hi BB!! First off...You have heard from me since my knee surgery in Toronto. :o) That review of mine in the last chapter happened about two weeks after the scope happened and I was back at home. Sadly, the flu nailed me the next day, so no Thanksgiving w/my Dad's side of the family for me this year. :o( Oh well...What are you going to do, right? Anyway, the knee's doing great and the surgeon is happy too, so I'm happy!! :oD Second...My provider's been working on their server on and off the last two months and due to that, there's been messages that have slipped through and/or I've never gotten. The Alert to this chapter was one of them sadly. Anyway...This was great!! I loved that scene in the Sandyman smial of how things not only are finally normal, but better than normal. There's no tension and the only tension felt in that scene would I think belong to young Teddy wondering what his brother and sister would do to him once he was caught. ;o) Loved, loved, loved the image of young hobbit lads and lasses playing w/a giant model of Minas Anor. Too adorable for words. You know, there was a group of Ringers that created a Gingerbread Edoras for Christmas a few years ago and sent in a picture of to TheOneRing.net. It's still in their scrapbook over there and I was amazed of how exact it looked. You really should see if you can find it, just to see it. Really was gorgeous!! And who can resist a Bag End Yule!?! Except the Goose that is. My parents both hunt and we've had Goose on and off over the years. I'm sure it tastes great, but just like rabbit/coney ;o) I can't get the fork past my nose. Loved the image of all the Baggins, Gamgees and Sandymans enjoying good cooking, presents of family and family of the heart and being w/each other. What a wonderful chapter to read at the start of the holiday season. Made me all fuzzy inside. :oD Can't wait to read the next one. There is a next one, right? :oD Author Reply: Glad to know the knee is doing well. As someone with a horror of hospitals I admire you for coping so well. Ah yes, a Bag End Yule. What's not to like? I've never eaten goose but it was always the traditional Christmas dish of choice until the Victorian age, and my mother had to cook goose one year when she was very young and in charge of the family. I've always been wary about it - we have some lovely geese in the local park and I don't think I could look them in the eye! I think naughty young Will was probably given a severe tickling when his brother and sister caught up with him! I remember the gingerbread Edoras! It was amazing. Yes, there is a next chapter - busy working on it now.

SurgicalSteel	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/9/2006
Well, that was warm and cozy and comforting! Author Reply: Sometimes we need warm and cosy! Glad you enjoyed some hobbit comfort.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2006
Deaths and births--the constants in life; and so they are equalled out. But joy comes out of the sorrow; and Frodo is at least there to aid in the healing and to experience it for himself. The gifts are perfect, and I'm honored that the lists are there and am glad they will be short. As for the butterflies--you know I always appreciate them, especially when connected to Frodo. In many ways he is, after all, Middle Earth's answer to Psyche.... And love the final gift. That particular gift is most appropriate. Author Reply: In a simple rural community births and deaths and the changing seasons would have been the constants. I often find it strange that deaths come in threes. I've always thought the lists were a wonderful idea - they were apparently a rural tradition in some parts of England, at least until the end of the 19th century, and my grandfather remembered doing this at Christmas in rural Essex. Pagans sometimes do the same at Samhain, as a way of removing the year's negativity. Couldn't resist the temptation to give Bag End a portait of Gandalf and Shadowfax.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2006
Sad to lose Mac - it must make Frodo begin to feel his advancing years, while as for Saradoc ... Still - nice gift from Aragorn. And the Sandymans seem to be having a happier time. No loss without some gain and all those sorts of cliches. And maybe Rose is an Elf princess - she has many of the right qualities (although not all!) Author Reply: I'm hoping Frodo isn't feeling his years after taking Treebeard's potion. Not exactly Ent-draught but with certain semi-magical properties. Rose is a very short and furry-footed Elf princess perhaps..........? :-))

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2006
Dear old Mac! I didn't know that Sara's little brother died so young (for a hobbit). I loved the way the hobbits comforted each other by sharing stories about Mac's "adventures" and giving the others time to mourn, never leaving them alone with their grief. That's how it should be, but in our time often isn't! I also loved how the Gamgee children welcomed their "Uncle Fro" home and how the Sandymans celebrated Yule at Bag End. "Losses and Gains" - a perfect title for this chapter! Author Reply: According to the family trees in LoTR Mac died in 1430. Unfortunately Saradoc only lives another two years. I'm not looking forward to writing that. I think the hobbits would comfort each other - they are sociable and loving. You're right about the times we live in - families are so fractured these days and I sometimes think we crave the hobbity life. I'm sure the children love their Uncle Fro and are delighted to have him back.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2006
sniff I feel so sorry for Merimac's family. And I just realised it are only two more years until Saradoc's death, what is something I don't want to happen. If the hobbits weren't so interested in their family connections and would know it, I'd be tempted to say Rose must have some Took blood in her. She seems to have some foresight herself, and somehow I am reminded of the Faerie who was said to have married a Took long ago. But can it be long enough ago for them to forget that? I am glad to know Ivy and her family are finally able to relax and to recover from the time with Ted. It is so good to see the children teasing and chasing each other as children should do. Oh, and it is a nice idea that Lord Halboron has sent their belongings back to them, so they have their things back. How very thoughtful of him. The harmonic Yule made up for the sad beginning, even more so as the Sandyman's were invited to Bag End. Frodo, Sam and Rose have apparently dediced to make sure they are included in everything, even in their ever growing family. What a wonderful change for Ivy and the children! Author Reply: Perhaps the family of old Holman the Greenhanded have some magic in them? Rose is distanly related to Sam after all. Ivy and her family are recovering, surrounded by loving friendship and generosity. Living with a violent control freak like Ted must have been stressful and exhausting. A friend of mine was married to someone like that and she used to shake for an hour before he was due in. Sometimes the way she looked at him would provoke his rage. He raised his hand to me once and I smacked him in the face with a dinner plate! He never tried that again! I'm sure Lord Halboron, as the King and Steward's representative in Bree, would have made sure the smial was cleared and all possessions returned to Ivy - he's definitely a cousin of the King!

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/8/2006
In spite of all the sadness this is a lovely, gentle chapter BB. Just what I needed to read at present. I work for a church and we often find funerals come along in sets of three. Author Reply: Glad you enjoyed the fluff, even though there was some sadness. I have often noticed that deaths go in threes, which is rather uncanny.

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/7/2006
"Phew! What a welcome! How lovely to come home to this," Frodo exclaimed as he was hugged and kissed by the whole family. Little Pip squealed and bounced in his chair until he had been picked up and paraded round the kitchen, Merry-lad celebrated in style by removing every scrap of clothing, and even Sooty squawked and yelled until someone paid him some attention. It was bliss to settle into the comfort of Bag End, surrounded and filled by the love of his family. The next morning, Sam went into Frodo's bedroom and found the four older children and both cats all snuggled with him Rest in peace, dear Mac. You were loved, and your dear ones in your beloved Shire are safe and well. What a lovely chapter, BB. I'm always so happy when you update. Author Reply: Always delighted to oblige! Poor Mac - I hated doing that, but the family tree says 1430. sigh Had to get the cats in there somewhere! I like to keep Frodo happy. :-))

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 11/7/2006
What a wonderful chapter! Yes, 1430 is the DoD given on the family tree for Merimac. And yes, 88 is pretty young for a hobbit. Your account of the gathering and grieving was very realistic and hobbity! And Yule was lovely! The gifts were marvelous, and I could just imagine that painting of Gandalf! A very nice chapter indeed! Author Reply: Glad you enjoyed, Dreamflower. I think the hobbits would all gather round each other in times of grief. I just love hobbits. I loved writing the Yule scenes and had great fun describing the painting, and the fun for Ivy and her family. Now we have to see what happens in the new year...........

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