Don't tell my husband

I made a discovery by pure coincidence.

Almost all Harfoot/Stoor first names are in the Appendix to LotR!

Baggins, Largo

Brandybuck, Malva née Headstrong

Cotton, Marigold née Gamgee

Brandybuck, Merimac

Bolger, Poppy née Chubb-Baggins

Brandybuck, Sadoc

I didn't find:

Dilly (Nori's sister) - which might be a shortened version of her name, just like Nori is short for Elanor

Gundabale - it might be the female version of Gundabald that is in the Appendix.

Vilma

Another week has passed by, which means another chapter of my masterpiece is up. :-) I also uploaded the first two "chapters" of the Appendix. Not linking it here, as it's linked from the chapter itself.

Chapter 4: CELEBRÍAN

A short excerpt:

“Have you given thought to who might be our composer?" he changes the topic so as not to dwell on his abysmal past.

If you're curious what "Mellostar" is up to in Lindon, voilà:

Chapter 3: ELROND

A short excerpt:

He is told a great many things during the tour that Thondir and Galandil— who turn out to be architecture enthusiasts—make him suffer through once he has settled in.

It is not a small city, but neither is it huge. However, it starts feeling enormous as his guides keep rambling on sinuous, sculptural, organic shapes, arches, delicate curves, feminine lines and sensual ornamentation (with emphasis on sensual), accompanying their lecture with enthusiastic gestures and dramatic silences offered as an opportunity to soak in the sheer genius of a chair's asymmetric design or an utterly remarkable shape of a lamp post.

and EVEN WHEN things were more muted/neutral, the neutrality was OFFSET by ACCENT COLORS and HIGH CONTRAST between the wood tones and everything ELSE

ALSO AMERICAN COLONIAL INTERIORS POPPED OFF, Y'ALL (IN TERMS OF COLOR/COZINESS)

PEOPLE USED WHITEWASH AND COLORFUL TRIM OR EVEN JUST COLORFUL FURNITURE IF THEY COULD AFFORD TO DO SO

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON FRENCH AND BRITISH AND AMERICAN WALLPAPERS

"ELIZABETH" YOU CRY, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO EXTRA THIS MORNING?! IT'S MONDAY"

Because, my friend, my war on GREIGE will NEVER end.

Historic interiors were filled with LIFE and LIGHT and COLOR. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

Part of the reason we don't see a lot of textile art is because, frankly, textiles tend to degrade over time - especially ones that had utility! And yes, pigments and weaving and dying all boosted the expense of things, when we were finally reliably block-printing fabrics and broad reams of paper, it was no longer just the wealthy who could afford pretty patterns!

In the Americas, a far wider variety of pigments also became available because of the abundance of... well, a shitton of flora and minerals, some of which weren't as common in Europe.

WHY THE HIGHLIGHTER COLORS? you ask.

CANDLES.

Those colors reflect candlelight and natural sunlight REALLY WELL.

Humans LOVE bright colors, it's NOT just a thing for kids. We live in a brilliant, vibrant, multifaceted world. We ALWAYS have.

(If ever you have the opportunity to visit the Stencil House at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont (pictured above at 3, 4, and 5), I highly recommend.)

And that's before you get into American painted murals:

“Hey man, your main character isn’t sympathetic enough, could you fix that?”