Outlander Chat TONIGHT

Outlander Chat tonight.  9PM Eastern.

UPDATED Fairfax Info!

This just in from Ted Kavich of the Fairfax County Library:

Hello and thanks for registering for the Diana Gabaldon event scheduled for this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Gymnasium, Ernst Community Cultural Center on Northern VA Community College’s Annandale campus (8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale 22003).  Details, including parking info and a link to driving directions/campus map, are here:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/events/meettheauthor/

Please note: the lots that are reserved for free event parking – B-8 through B-15 and B-17 – are available after 6:00 p.m.  If you want to arrive before 6:00, you’ll need to pay to use the parking garage (adjacent to the surface lots right next to the Ernst Center).  In case you require handicapped parking, it is available right across from the Ernst Center (spaces are marked) or in lot C-1.

This event is SOLD OUT and there is a waiting list.  If your plans have changed, please cancel your registration so someone else can attend.  The link to cancel is in the reminder message you received, or you can email (or call 703-324-8428) and we’ll take care of it for you.

When you arrive, please enter through the atrium of the Ernst Center.  Doors to the gym will open at 6:45 p.m. so please try to arrive by that time (or earlier) so everyone can get seated and ready for the program to begin.  Seating is first come, first served with chairs on the floor of the gym and additional space on bleachers.  Note: as long as you secured a spot online, you don’t have to bring a printed copy of your registration email to the event.  Also note: if you require handicapped seating, please let one of the ushers know and they will assist you.

The Library Foundation is expected to start selling books in the atrium before the event and we are hoping to have some pre-signed copies available.  There will be an assortment of Diana’s books for sale, and you may also bring your own copies.  The queue for book signing will form in the atrium immediately after Diana’s talk and Q&A.  In the interest of time, there will be a limit of 2 books per person, and we ask that you help us keep the line moving by minimizing your time at the signing table.  If you want to get additional items signed, you are welcome to get back on the end of the line and wait for a second turn.

Thanks and we’ll see you on Friday!

Ted

April 1778 Fraser Salt Works SHOCKER!

The Shark River salt works was destroyed immediately following the attack
on the Union salt works on the Manasquan river in Brielle, New Jersey.  

I've been doing some historical digging this weekend as it's the anniversary of the burning down of the "Union salt works" and dozens of houses and buildings in my town - Brielle, NJ - by British loyalists during the Revolutionary war.  Salt was extremely important in those days for preserving meats and other foods...as well as making gun powder, which was obviously needed in the war.  

What does this have to do with OUTLANDER?  Well...I came across something while googling the salt works yesterday, and nearly fell off my chair:

Manasquan River Inlet, New Jersey...

Captain Boyd Porterfield, 71st Regiment Fraser’s Highlanders, April 7, 1778, Raid to destroy the salt works on both sides of the Manasquan River. The saltworks on the north side (now Brielle) was known as the Union Salt Works. ... Where: Manasquan River Inlet. Both sides north now Brielle, Monmouth County and south is Point Pleasant, Ocean County, New Jersey. ... Source: Henry Clinton Papers at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan. Item is document number 33:15 (Box 33 folder 15). ... British Headquarters Military Report. ... Maps: Close UTM 18 580246E 4440304N (NAD27) [40.11119 -74.0580 (WGS84)]

You don't even know the chills I had (or the fit I threw at my husband!) when I read this.  I've been waxing on about the Union salt works being burned down in my own back yard for years...but now I find out that  FRASER'S HIGHLANDERS were responsible?  I'm completely torn and on the fence about it.  On the one hand, I'M AN AMERICAN and they ATTACKED MY TOWN.  On the other...they were Scots...and went through horrific atrocities while fighting the English.  I keep telling myself these men were left with nothing and had to feed their families back in Scotland, and therefore had no choice but to fight for the crown...but wow.  Just...wow.  And it doesn't help that some people say the Scots "flocked to the cause."

(My Scottish-American husband and I just got into a heated debate over this...ME defending the SCOTS!  It's really unsettling, that is for sure.) 

Make sure you read the Fraser's Highlander's wiki link; it's chock full of Fraser mentions, Stirling Castle being one of them.

AND - check out this adorable house on Union Lane in Brielle, NJ.  It is believed that this house was the only house on Union Lane that was not burned down in the attack on the salt works in Brielle.  You won't believe how they've restored it.  It's absolutely stunning...and every effort was obviously made to infuse the 18th century feel with the modern conveniences of the home.  Truly outstanding. 

UPDATE: 1/22/2025 And if all of that wasn't enough, I JUST found out that Captain Alexander Robertson accompanied the Fraser's Highlanders to the raid on the Salt Works at Manasquan. Remember when I said my late husband Tom and I had a heated debate, where he was against the Highlanders' raid while I was on the fence, even though HE was a proud Scot? Well...way back when, his family's clan in Scotland was very small and therefore fought under a larger clan for protection as Highlanders often did. Guess what that larger clan's name was?  

Robertson. 

The connections just keep on coming! Wish I was armed with that knowledge when we had our debate! :) 

If you choose to dig a little deeper, you can read about it here, and here. 

FAIRFAX: One Week From Today!

Get ready for some serious MOP shenanigans, y'all!

Entertainment Weekly Interview with Diana Gabaldon

HOLY COW!  Check out the amazing Entertainment Weekly interview with HERSELF, Diana Gabaldon.  And LOOK!  It's the official MOBY COVER!!!  LOVE!!!  The gorgeous seal looks 3D!  I cannot WAIT to own this book!!!

Fairfax Library Event: Questions for Diana Gabaldon

From Ted Kavich of the Fairfax County Library:

Hello and thanks for registering for the Diana Gabaldon event on April 12.  The date is drawing near and final preparations are underway – we are all very excited to be hosting Diana and welcoming such a great crowd of fans.

Stay tuned for news about when the doors will open, book signing, etc.  But first – we are seeking questions for our moderator, Wendi Kaufman, to ask Diana during the Q&A portion of the event.  We’d love for the fans to submit questions, then we’ll pick our favorites to use at the event.  Here’s how to pose your question:

1.       Visit the Fairfax County Public Library’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/fairfaxcountylibrary.  The message asking for questions should be easy to find – it was just posted today.

2.       Leave your question as a “Comment” below the posting.  If you see that someone else has already asked your question, try to think of a different one that’s even better.  J

3.       Deadline for submissions is Monday, April 8.

Thanks so much!  See you on 4/12.

Ted

Benchmark Teacher of the Week: Christie Haffner

Check out this week's Benchmark Teacher of the Week!  Our very own Miss Christie!  I was so hoping she'd look into the camera and whisper "Fergus Lamaze"...but it was not to be.  ;)

CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTIE!

ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Outlander Chat Tonight!

Outlander Chat tonight.  9PM Eastern.  **Tracey and I may be a little late...but we'll be there!

It's The Little Things

So my 8 year old son (Wee Ian) is in the Cub Scouts, and served at the pack's annual spaghetti dinner tonight.  And as I was sitting next to him after the dinner, I looked at his shirt and realized it was cause for a blog post.

"Why", you ask?  Three reasons:

1)  MOBY.
2)  This awesome post on DG's blog.
3)  The patch on Wee Ian's left shirtsleeve:


There are times...like now...when I'm so full of wanting for MOBY that I scarcely know what to do with myself, sassenachs.  I miss the heck outta being immersed in Gabaldonville...I really do.

JE SUIS PREST!!!!!!!

Top 10 Unionist Myths About Scotland's Independence

This is a fantastic video that dispels the "Top 10 Unionist Myths" about what could happen if Scotland gets its independence in 2014.

I try reallyyyyyyy hard NOT to wax on about this topic, because I'm an American, born and bred, and have no business waxing on about a country I do not live in, whose customs I don't deal with on a daily basis.  I also would never want to come off as anti-English while trying to convey my pro-Scottish beliefs.

That said...HELL YEAH I want Scotland to have their independence!  JE SUIS PREST!!!!!!!