Mr. February is here. Yummm.

My calendar arrived today!!

Thumper the three-legged tuxedo cat seems to enjoy looking at Thorin on the front of the calendar. She has the Good Taste Gene.

It’s printed on a good-quality heavyweight stock with the edges of the pages given an attractive distressed look, as one might find on an old manuscript.

The inside cover of the calendar is a map of the Lonely Mountain and its surroundings and the first page features September-December 2012–so you really can use it to count down to the premiere. Bilbo is Mr. January, and this handsome bloke is Mr. February . . . what with Valentine’s Day, Mr. Dreamboat is certainly a perfect choice.

Pin-up Boy for February. I think he’s got the key to my heart.

The rest of the calendar art is devoted to Fili and Kili (March); a gorgeous portrait of Galadriel (April);  Ori, Dori and Nori (May); Bombur and Bofur (June); Elrond (July); Balin and Dwalin (August); Gandalf (September); a charming portrait of Radagast (October); Bifur, Oin and Gloin (November) and Legolas (December).  Some of the art we’ve seen before and some is new (to me, anyway).

 

Here’s a shot of the back cover with miniatures of all the interior art. There’s also an offer for a free calendar widget and downloadable wallpaper (that’s it on the upper right).

So–is it December yet?? Hmmm, let me check my calendar . . . tomorrow, my action figure should arrive. 😀

The Accountant & the Artist: The Sunshine of Those Smiles . . .

So many of Richard’s roles have been rather serious ones–requiring a lot of angst, brooding and “faces like thunder.” He’s great at it, of course, but sometimes you need a little lightness. So the roles that allow him to laugh and smile are always welcome, because he does both so heartily, beautifully, endearingly. We get those sunny smiles with sweet Harry Kennedy the accountant in The Vicar of Dibley and as Claude Monet, the artist filled with joie de vivre in The Impressionists. Oh, the sunshine of those smiles . . .

Two for Tuesday: The Artist and the Spy

Lucas, in my Land of the So Not Dead, is now happily out of the spy game and re-discovering the love he had for art. I loaned him art supplies as a form of therapy after the great mission to rectify what was done to him by TPTB. And  for Christmas that year, I gave him supplies of his own. He’s done beautifully ever since then, growing in his skills and exploring his creativity, healing little by little, one day at a time. Monsieur Monet stepped in when I requested it to provide further artistic tutelage. It’s been a happy arrangement.

Those two have since become fast friends as well as teacher and student. Two men of different nationalities, from different times and places, yet able to find common ground.