i have a couple of quick announcements. imagine my disembodied voice booming over a loudspeaker. hee.

there are new images in the grab bag! in case you're looking for a wintry computer background, for example. it's still "choose your own price" – which i like to think of as a variation on "choose your own adventure". remember those books? i loved them. (i read them in a very methodical and logical manner, in order to be sure i covered every single possible adventure. now that i think about it, given that, it's no wonder i enjoyed programming.)

there are a few more days for the holiday special on the pause. i don't have any spots left this week, but if it speaks to you, you are welcome to buy a session and use it in the new year. resting and renewing and retreating – in the comfort of your own home – seems like the perfect thing for january.

ok. it's time for the disembodied voice to leave; if you like, you can imagine it singing "whistle while you work" as it goes. for some odd reason, that is the song that comes into my head most often.

i read tolkien's the hobbit yesterday after stumbling across a trailer for the movie version. i love the book, though i always forget just how much until i read it again. (as an aside, i want to live in a hobbit-hole.) this time, i noticed lots of bits that i wanted to write down in my journal. here are two of my favorites.

"Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway."

"It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait."