Warning: Reading/Discussing Outlander Series May Cause Involuntary Use of Scottish Accent (but it’s ok w/Mrs Fitz!)

March 26, 2012 at 7:43 pm (Outlander Related)
Tags: , , , , ,

What did Diana Gabaldon do to us?

I KNOW I’m not the only one, and you know you do it too!  How many times have you caught yourself thinking or even facebooking (yes that’s a verb) with a Scottish accent/using Scottish terminology from the Outlander series?  Mayhap verra often?  Why do we do it?  Yes, it’s fun; personally I blame Herself- I like imagining Jamie’s voice in my head as I type the words (and his chest, and his strong arms, sigh)…  I wondered what a real live Scottish person would think about it, so I asked my Scottish friend and fellow Outlander fan “Nik MacKechnie” what she thinks:

“As a Scot, how does that make you feel when you see it?  Does it bother you or do you think it’s funny?”

“No, I don’t mind, I do think it’s funny and I don’t think you can help it to be honest!  But I would to hear how y’all pronounce some of the  words, like ‘ceilidh? Or ‘sgian dubh’ !!”

Ok Nik, these Gaelic pronunciations are for you (sorry in advance for murdering them!):

  • ceilidh = Saylick? (no effing clue Nik, sorry LOL)
  • sgian dubh = sagin doo?

And here’s some Scottish terminology from Outlander that I think is fun:

  • don’t worry = dinna fash
  • married = marrit (maddit)
  • worried = worrit (woodit)
  • did not = didna
  • cannot = canna
  • do you = d’ye
  • you = ye
  • does not = doesna
  • have not = havena
  • no = nae
  • well = weel
  • maybe/perhaps = mayhap
  • ken = know
  • wee = little
  • och! = och! ☺

And case in point- just today,  Glenna Fitzgibbons (Mrs Fitz, ye ken?) posted this video on how to speak with a Scottish accent on her facebook page (which by the way is awesome/you should definitely go check out Mrs Fitz/’Like’  her page here).

So, evidently there’s nothing wrong with us, we’re just obsessed Outlander Fans.  Go ahead, use a Scottish accent, it’s ok- Nik & Mrs Fitz approve!  ☺

15 Comments

Enter to win a 6-day trip to Scotland!

March 21, 2012 at 5:37 pm (Contests/Sweepstakes, Outlander Fan Related)

 “Create your own Scottish Cultural Adventure. To enter simply choose which itinerary you prefer- cities, lowlands, highlands or islands- and tell us how to contact you should you win. Then cross your fingers, and prepare to be inspired!”

When I found out that cometoscotland.com is running a sweepstakes to win a 6-day trip for you & 3 guests I IMMEDIATELY thought of Outlander fans & had to share it with you guys ASAP!!!  You get to choose between 4 different adventures.  I chose Highland Treasures:

 Highland Treasures

  • Stay at Meldrum House and explore the architecture of the Castle Trail
  • Enjoy lunch with the master craftsman distiller in the Music Room of the Macallan Estate and savour a whisky in this spiritual home
  • Be guest of honor and enjoy dancing, piping and sports at the Braemar Highland Games, traditionally attended by the Royal Family
  • Take a safari tour of the Cairnforms National Park and indulge your inner photographer

ALL of the itineraries sound like fun!  Here’s the link to enter:  http://www.cometoscotland.com/win/

You have until December 14th 2012 to enter, winner will be chosen January 13th 2013.  Well, what are you waiting for?   (And remember to invite your favorite Outlander Fan *blinking innocently* if you win  : )

1 Comment

Book 9?

March 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm (Outlander Related)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been feeling pretty anxious lately, desperate even, thinking about Book 8 / Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (MOBY).

I know the Outlander saga began 21 years ago in 1991, but for me it only began in October 2010;  I was spoiled by reading each consecutive book as fast as my little fingers could download them onto my Kindle. I devour MOBY Daily Lines from Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page like they’re Scooby snacks and I want more more more!

I have a lot of questions that need answers, like will Jamie & Claire overcome their immediate-vicinity-challenged relationship?  Will they grow old peacefully somewhere or die tragically-but-oh-so-romantically?  Will Jem & Roger be reunited with Brianna & Mandy?  Will Jenny & Claire rekindle their close friendship?  Will Jamie & Willie bond now that he knows Jamie’s his father?   What about Ian & Rachel?  I hope they get married, poor Ian deserves to be happy.  And don’t even get me started on ***MOBY SPOILER (skip ahead 2 lines if you don’t want to see)*** Roger turning up @ Lallybroch when Jamie was a little boy!

SO  many storylines to tie up and, silly me, I assumed that I’d get all of  the answers when MOBY is released sometime in 2013.  (I can just hear Herself  saying, “Ha!  That’s what you think…”)

Check this out:

  • February 1st 2012, DG said in her blog post ‘State of the Wicket’:

“I don’t know yet if WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is the last book in this series!!”  (http://www.dianagabaldon.com/2012/02/the-state-of-the-wicket-february-2012/)

  • March 14th 2012, someone asked on Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page:

“I thought that I read on this page that MOBY would be the the last book of this series. Can anyone confirm or deny?”   Herself replied:  “I deny it categorically. <g> That is–I don’t yet _know_ for sure whether Book 8 (MOBY) is the last or not…but I’m beginning to think there might just be a Book 9.”  (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDianaGabaldon/posts/347439301965579)

I don’t even want to consider that Jamie & Claire might NOT manage to live together under the same roof (or at least sky?) yet.  And what would this mean for our other favorite characters’ predicaments?  I know what it would mean for me:  TORTURE.  But also:  ELATION.  As much as I want everything to be wrapped up neatly and Jamie & Claire to have their happy ending, I admit I would like a 9th book  a wee bit more.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d probably still whine about how long Book 9 was taking, and how hard it is to wait, but it would be worth it.  Oh aye, Jamie Fraser is always, worth the wait, sigh.  I need a Jamie fix…

34 Comments

Super Easy Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage (& a wee irish dessert coffee too!)

March 15, 2012 at 10:23 am (Recipes?)
Tags: , , ,

Happy (early) St. Patrick’s Day Outlander fans!  While this post isn’t exactly Outlander related, St. Patty’s Day IS  this Saturday and I wanted to share my super easy crockpot recipe I have.  My friends have been asking me for it, and besides, I know I’m always on the lookout for easy recipe ideas, especially for the crockpot:

Corned Beef & Cabbage:

  • 1 beef brisket (3~4 lbs) (any cut will do)
  • 1 head cabbage (~3 lbs), cut into 8 wedges
  • 1 lb carrots
  • 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
  • ~15 oz chicken broth

Directions:

  1. Place corned beef  in bottom of crockpot,  followed  by carrots, onions & cabbage, in that order.
  2. Pour chicken broth over cabbage & cover.  Cooking time 8-10 hours on Low or 4-5 hours on High.  Too easy!

We’re going to pick up a growler of Tullycross Tavern’s Irish Red (SO good- it’s so smooth, rich & caramel-ly!) and finish the dinner off with a Nutty Irishman Coffee.  Oh- I’ll give you THAT recipe too—it’s my favorite coffee-dessert-cocktail:

Nutty Irishman

  • 6 oz strong coffee
  • 1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream (“Carolans,” a less expensive irish cream works well too)
  • 1 oz Frangelica (a hazelnut liquor)
  • Whipped cream

It’s as easy as it looks & tastes even better!  Just add the Bailey’s & Frangelica to the coffee, top with whipped cream & Slainte!  It’s heavenly.  (I suppose it wouldna hurt to add a wee drop of Scottish whisky to the coffee as well—a wee drop never hurt anyone lol)…

2 Comments

Word Jumble #1, from Book 1 (Outlander)

March 13, 2012 at 12:31 pm (Outlander Related, puzzles/games)
Tags: ,

How to solve:  Unscramble each word in bold.  In a separate spot, write down the numbered letters from each unscrambled word. Next, rearrange all of the numbered letters to form the word that solves the puzzle!  I hope you have as much fun solving it as I did creating it!

 
 

TUAGHRM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (3,4) 

NOWRTELOV _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (1,5)  

TLEATC _ _ _ _ _ _ (4)  

NRTWEI _ _ _ _ _ _ (1)  

NARCANHMCO _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _(6,8,10) 

 

Clue:  A certain Captain of the
          Dragoons could have died here…
             
Answer: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8 Comments

I’m an eejit!

March 10, 2012 at 10:13 pm (Outlander Fan Related)
Tags: , , , ,

You know what an ‘eejit’ is, don’t you?  It’s Scottish slang for ‘idiot.’  Look it up in a dictionary and you’ll see my face next to the definition…

I was less than thrilled when facebook changed our profiles over to the timeline format;  I personally resisted until the last possible minute.  (I still don’t think I know my way around it yet, not fully.)   So you can imagine how I felt when they informed me that my *page* would soon be converted as well!  Super.

With a deep cleansing breath of resignation to the inevitable, I decided to make the best of it & have some fun at the same time…

And that’s when I posted on other Outlander bloggers’ facebook pages asking for help in choosing between two cover photos for the new timeline format on my facebook page www.facebook.com/OutlanderFan.  So many of you responded, I was so pleased and I’m happy to report that as of March 10th, 2012 ‘Scottish Thistle’ has the lead over ‘Dragonfly’ by almost 2 to 1!

There’s just a wee problem (Heh-heh, you’re going to love this part, this is great):  In my eagerness to share the pics that I presented to be voted on, I failed to take notice of their size.  When I went to preview the cover photos, I was informed by the facebook gods that the pics were “too small.”  Och, I thought (because it’s fun pretending to think with Jamie’s accent- you know you do it too) that’s no problem- I’ll just go back to the site where I made them & edit their size.  Too easy.  Well, guess what?  The pics enlarged alright, but were blurry.  Verra blurry, indeed…  I feel like such an EEJIT!

And so, I formally apologize to everyone who kindly took time out of their day to aid me in my quest for the perfect cover photo.  Because I have to scrap the ‘Highland Thistle’ & ‘Dragonfly’ pics and start from scratch with a new one.  I willna ask for help this time, dinna be worrit.  Heed my mistake Outlander fans & spare yerself the embarrassment!  Aye, I’ve learned my lesson…

6 Comments