Eilean Donan Castle, Outlander, and Serendipity…

August 2, 2012 at 11:46 am (Outlander Related)
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Serendipity: noun. Definition: good luck in discovering unexpected things. (vocabulary-vocabulary.com/dictionary)

When it came time to choose a cover photo for Outlander Fan’s facebook page, I settled on Eilean Donan Castle, located in Dornie, Scotland.  It has always spoken to me, represented quintessential Scotland, and it ended up working beautifully with the Outlander Fan logo.  Little did I know just how much so…

A few days ago, my friend Connie Barlow sent me a link to an informational video and turns out sometime between the 12th & 15th century ownership of Eilean Donan Castle passed to Clan MACKENZIE, who appointed Clan MacRae as constables! And in 1715 Jacobite MacKenzies succesfully besieged the castle garrisoned by Spanish troops (acting on behalf of the British government)! Wow, how cool is that! I squealed in astonishment & shared it on the fb page. THEN a couple of fellow Outlander fans (Victoria Thor & Grace Madden) commented that they thought Clan FRASER was associated as well & there was an inscription on the castle stating so! I told them I thought my head would explode if it were true, lol.

Well, I did a little research, and sure enough, this is what I found at  http://eileandonan.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/clan-loyalties-run-deep/  :

Above the front door to the castle, the stone carving written in Gaelic translates to: “Whilst there is a MacRae inside, there will never be a Fraser outside.”

OMG! My heart is just filled with a sense of serendipity, that unbeknownst to myself I chose an image to represent Outlander Fan that has ties to both Clan MacKenzie AND Clan Fraser! I already had a passion for Eilean Donan, and now this Outlander connection via Diana Gabaldon just amplifies it… Pardon me whilst I commence head explosion, lol!

10 Comments

Celtic Cowgirl is Having a Giveaway!

April 19, 2012 at 9:44 am (Contests/Sweepstakes, Outlander Fan Related)
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 Who doesn’t love a little Celtic bling?  Can’t you just picture any one of the Outlander characters wearing these?  If you havena been to their website,  Celtic Cowgirl makes “…Handcrafted Fashion Jewelry Inspired By The Celtic Influence Of  My Scot/Irish Heritage And A Wee Bit By My Favorite Book Series Outlander.”   AND they are having their first ever giveaway- all you have to do is “Like” their Facebook page, ken?  Verra simple!   When the goal of 500 “Likes” is reached they’ll be giving away one of these bonny Celtic Knot Tribal Cuff Bracelets (pewter, featuring a satin-finish celtic interweave pattern slightly raised against a textured antiqued background, pictured above).   The winner will be picked with the help of a random number generator.  

The sooner you go like their page at http://www.celticcowgirl.com the sooner they can pick a winner.  I think you’ll find lots of Outlander-inspired pieces to fall in love with.  Dinna fash, their jewelry is affordable as well as beautiful (and remember to tell yer friends, aye?)

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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)
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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

Book 9?

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

Word Jumble #1, from Book 1 (Outlander)

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

But Who Does DIANA Think Jamie Looks Like?

February 28, 2012 at 4:11 pm (Outlander Related)
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Well, I was working on part II of “How I See the Characters” when the admins-that-be decided to start all the ‘virtual casting’ brew-ha-ha still going on Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page(btw- have you been over there lately? They should rename her page “Outlander Casting Wars” lol). Needless to say I decided to put it on hold for the time being.  Instead I thought it would be nice for us to get inside Herself’s head & see which man she thinks Jamie Fraser most looks like. Here’s what she said on her blog “Voyages of the Artemis,” Sept 10 2008:

“…Among these was a photo of Gabriel Aubrey, and I’d mentioned in re this photo that Mr. A. did in fact have a strong resemblance to Mr. Fraser, in terms of facial physiognomy. So yesterday, an enterprising person named Grace who inhabits one of the “Outlander” discussion boards evidently came across my idle remarks and decided to see if she could make something of them. So she dragged Mr. Aubrey into her PhotoShop for a little revision, and….OK. Yeah. That’s very much what he looks like. In case you were wondering. [g]”

 

I found another photoshopped pic of Gabriel Aubry w/red hair. I think this one’s sexier:

The truth is, no matter what we may think or how we envision him, Jamie Fraser was created by Diana. And I don’t know about you, but I think she has good taste (I certainly wouldn’t kick Gabriel Aubry out of my bed for eating crackers, would you?) ☺

20 Comments

Crossword Puzzle (from Book 1, Outlander)

February 16, 2012 at 11:19 am (Outlander Related, puzzles/games)
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Here’s my first attempt at a crossword puzzle, you only need to print the 1st page but may want to enlarge it slightly. I hope you enjoy it & I promise to get the hang of publishing it in larger type, lol.

1 Comment

How I see the characters, Part I (Jamie, Dougal, Jack & Frank Randall)

January 14, 2012 at 9:38 pm (Outlander Related)
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How many times have you heard this: “Gerard Butler would be the perfect Jamie!” Or: “Gerard Butler could never play Jamie because he’s too old.” Or my favorite: “No one could ever portray the characters as well as I imagine them.”

Well, that all may be true, but I think it’s fun to find out how other fans envision the characters while they’re reading about them.  Here’s a glimpse inside my head, how I picture our beloved characters inside the Outlander Universe…  KEEP IN MIND I’m only talking about physical appearance, NOT current age-appropriateness, acting ability or personality…

When I think of Jamie I think TALL, a head taller than other men, powerful physique, blue eyes slanted like a cat & high cheekbones. Add some red hair, a little length & “Chris Hemsworth” fits that bill for me! (photo/exposay.com)

Slap a kilt on him & call me Sassenach! (photo/handsomemasculinemen.com)

When I think of Dougal Mackenzie, I think commanding presence.  Doesn’t “Gerard Butler” look like Dougal Mackenzie, War Chieftain in this pic? (photo/flaminghorses.blogspot.com)

Now, in my opinion this is the face of the evil, sadistic Captain Jack Randall.  “Jason Isaacs” plays such a good a-hole… (photo/aarkangel.wordpress.com)

27 Comments

My Outlander-Appreciating Husband

January 1, 2012 at 3:23 pm (Outlander Related)
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My husband Craig SO gets my Outlander obsession.  Here’s my proof-  lookie what he got me for Christmas!

The wine glass charms are my favorite.  On the front are the American book releases and on the back are the UK versions!  That’s GENIUS, and duly appreciated by this Outlander fan.  Plus, they combine 2 of my favorite hobbies,  Outlander & vino  = )

The coffee mug is awesome, it just doesn’t get much better than starting off your day with a little Outlander java- am I right?

The T-shirt says it all:  “Jamie and Claire make Edward and Bella look like casual acquaintances.”  In your face twihards! (just kidding, I love Twilight too lol)

I hope Outlander fans everywhere had happy holidays too.  Happy New Year everyone!

17 Comments

Enter to win a SIGNED, GIFT-WRAPPED Outlander 20th Anniversary Edition!

December 14, 2011 at 4:55 pm (Contests/Sweepstakes, Outlander Fan Related, Outlander Related)
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Don’t forget to enter the OUTLANDER 20th Anniversary holiday giveaway!  And best of all it’s signed by Herslef, Diana Gabaldon.

Here’s the link:  https://apps.facebook.com/dianagabaldon/Giveaways/Enter/2145

They”ll be announcing winners on Friday/Dec 15th, so you have until the end of the day tomorrow to enter. Good luck to the lot of ye!

2 Comments

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