Finished the hat

 I did the last few rounds this evening It's done now, and that's good, it will be my AAUW gift-exchange gift. (I also got the "yearbook" that lists everyone's address and when and where the meetings are done yesterday. I had to put a "RIP" for one of our long term members; she passed away on Saturday after a short medical decline - she was 94)

It does make me a little sad. (Also a former member of church died this weekend; his wife got angry about some thing some years back and they went back to the Methodists). 

Mary Ann's funeral is Friday; I can't make it because of classes (I reserve "funeral going requiring cancelling class" only for VERY close people. I think I did it for Dorothy when she died, but she had almost been a substitute grandmother for as long as I knew her). There is the "Family Time"/"Visitation" Thursday night, and I probably should go. 

But it does just make me sad. I know, I know, it's the lot in life once you're over 50 to have more goodbyes than hellos but every one stings now; these past six or eight years I feel like I have lost A LOT of people and places I cared about, and there's not much to replace them! And that's upsetting in itself. 

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A happier thing. Someone I follow on Bluesky linked this and it brought back happy memories. I think I saw this particular movie only once or twice (when it was originally shown, and maybe in a rerun at some point) so the magic's not dimmed like some of the Disney movies I've seen a couple dozen times - it did bring up memories of how I felt then and such.

 

I think the Rankin-Bass version of the Hobbit was seriously underrated when it first came out, and even more recently. But I do think some people are realizing how well done it was now, and how much vocal talent is in it (Orson Bean as Bilbo!)

The song is by Glenn Yarborough, sort of a folkie singer, and that sort of high, wavery male voice doing a story-song is so 1970s to me. The whole song reminds me of being a kid, and sitting on the dark brown shag carpeting in our family room in front of the big old console TV we had, and watching the whole movie through (We had only one tv in those days, I think, and I begged HARD to be able to pick that night, and The Hobbit was what I wanted. I think I was about 8). 

I would like to watch the whole thing again some time (I guess HBO+ it, but I don't subscribe to any streaming services). It would be interesting to see how it holds up to my memories.