HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRACEY!

 Just wanted to throw a Happy Birthday out there to my sister and Outlander mentor, Tracey! Hope you had a great day (and that work wasna too grueling!)

We may have to celebrate your birthday when we celebrate Jamie's birthday! Won't THAT be fun?! :)

Like Father, Like Son

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read chapter 18 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE. 

Jamie + Fergus = VINTAGE OUTLANDER, does it not??? Oh MAN I loved this chapter!

"Then I grew older still, and discovered that, after all, it was true. I am the son of a great man." 

The hook touched Jamie's hand, hard and capable.

Wow. SO moving. And Germain was cracking me up. He's a little fire cracker... and I LOVE that Fergus is teaching him to pick pockets... and then put back whatever he has taken... because it is a "family legacy". Oh holy hell that made me laugh.

I'm so glad to see Fergus BACK IN BUSINESS. He's much more interesting when he has confidence, is he not?

And HELLO??? I. Am. DYING! WHAT does Percy want with Fergus?? I canna WAIT to find out!

Chat Tonight - 9PM Eastern

Don't forget tonight's Outlander Chat! We'll be discussing up through Chapter 17 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE! Hope to see you there!!

Carol's "Favorite Things"

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read chapter 12 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE.

I have a few favorites in the Outlander series. A favorite character - Jamie Fraser, duh. A favorite food - bannocks. A favorite love scene - "I canna be gentle about it" (although "watch while I take ye" is such a close 2nd and may even be a tie.)

And now I have a favorite Chapter.

Chapter 12 in An Echo in the Bone is so fantastic, I dinna know what to do with myself. From start to finish - it is so poignant. So riveting. So gut-wrenching. And most of all - so beautiful. I don't know who I love more in this scene; Claire or Jamie. Or even Adso...as he has such an important place in the scene. I almost want to pick him up and hug him... almost.

Lord, he'd said. Let me be enough... 
"Jamie," I said at last. "oh, Jamie. You're...everything. Always."

A while back, over at Outlandish Observations, Karen picked a song that expressed the depth of Claire and Jamie's relationship... and she wanted to know if anyone else had a song that was near and dear to their heart in this way. It was such a great question - and I have always been all about music - and yet I had such a hard time thinking of a song. But if I were to pick a chapter that truly expresses the heart and soul of Jamie and Claire Fraser, this would be it.

You go in the cage... Cage goes in the water... You go in the water... Shark's in the water... Our shark.

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read Chapter 13 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE. 

Sometimes the Outlander books are like JAWS. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

So I'm reading along... through Ian's highly adorable and very neurotic over-thinking of Arch Bug...a possible wife...Jamie and Claire's sex life...and any female he's ever had lusty thoughts about... and BOOM! I turn the page and I'm back to at least 6 months ago with Lord John. Not that I dinna LOVE Lord John. But... well.. you know. Sometimes you're just so ingrained in Jamie and Claire and Ian and anyone living on the Ridge.. that you sortof wake up and go "huh?" when you all the sudden find yourself in the 20th century - or with any male who a) has manly love for Jamie Fraser or b) is an offspring of Jamei Fraser. 

So let's back up a bit, shall we? I found it hilarious when - after Claire had labeled a cask filled with grain alcohol as "sauerkraut"- Jamie uttered the words "and what if we should be set upon by illiterate banditti?" Oh my god I HOWLED at that immensely amusing bit of commentary from Mr. Fraser.

OK so I have a few predictions. There has most likely been some MASSIVE foreshadowing, in my humble opinion. Claire and Jamie were in the Spaniard's cave, discussing how Jemmy fell into the cave on top of Jamie and he could have broken his neck and killed him, which would have left Jemmy alone and unable to get out of the cave.  And Claire thought to herself: and we'd never have known what happened to either one of you... and on any given day, something just as random might happen. To anyone.... and she asked Jamie of the Spaniard: "What do you think happened to this gentleman?" and thought to herself: His people never knew. Ho. Ly. CRAP.  Is Claire - or Jamie - or Ian - or anyone - going to be left in a situation where nobody knows what happened to them??? Holy god - if I'm right - is this how the  book is going to end???

I. WILL. SHIT. MY. PANTALONES!!!

OK I have to move on because just saying all of that out loud gives me chills. SO - Tracey, Jenn M, Shannon and I have mentioned the possibility of going to NYC one of these days... because we want to check out a Scottish bar or two. What I didna realize until VERRA recently is that we have an authentic pub to visit which was mentioned in An Echo in the Bone. The Fraunces Tavern is still in operation - under new management - and I am psyched to go there!  The Beekman House doesna seem to be there anymore... but the post office in Rhinebeck has some stones from the ruins. Kindof cool.

OK I MUST go to bed as it's almost midnight and my children will be up verra early, looking for their Easter baskets. More tomorrow as I've got an entire new blog entry in my head, waiting to be posted!

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate! :)

Here's my new post... NEVERMIND!

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read chapter 11 in AN ECHO IN THE BONE.

OK I have to some posting - and then some more READING! Things are progressing nicely on the Ridge. Although I'm wondering if Jamie, Claire and Ian are ever actually leaving the Ridge - or if they're just going to keep talking about their Scotland trip for the next 10 years. (Sounds like ME, actually. Dinna get me started.)

OK scratch that. Tracey just accidentally let it slip that something juicy is going down between Jamie and Claire in about 4 more paragraphs... so I'm going to have to get back to y'all. SORRY.

I'll leave you with this. Lizzie just birthed a daughter. The Beardsleys are fawning over her. Her stepmother is already worried about the next bairn because a) Claire might not be back to deliver it and b) Lizzie and the Beardsleys seem to be humping like rabbits.

Livin La Vida Outlander

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read Voyager.

OK so I'm down here in Florida - and all kinds of things are jumping out at me and saying "Hey! Your life is ruled by the Outlander series!"

Let's review a few things that have happened in the last 24 hours: 

My in laws live in a complex where lots of Brits and Canadians vacation. I met a Scottish woman today - who happens to live in Canada now. And all I wanted to ask her was "Do you know anyone related to Simon Fraser, originally of Lovat"? And did I mention her name? Carol. I felt so verra proud to share a name with a Scot.  Dork, party of 1??

Today I passed - I kid you not - a store called "HONEY POT Bridal and Tux". I really dinna know what to say about that, except that I squeeeeeed like a 12 year old when I saw it and thought of Jamie uttering "She shaved her HONEY POT?!" in Dragonfly. SO verra funny.

OH and last night we ate a bean salad made by "Paisley Farm" from "Willoughby Ohio". "Paisley" as in Paisley, Scotland. "Willoughby" as in Mr. Wee Stabbers" himself! YOU CANNA MAKE THAT SHIT UP, SASSENACHS!!!