- QOTD for Saturday, April 20, 2024 -- CindyG, Fri, April 19 2024, 20:40:39
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“NOW, REMEMBER…
You can read the short novels and novellas by themselves, or in any order you like. I would recommend reading the Big, Enormous Books of the main series in order, though. Hope you enjoy them all!”
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- QOTD for Friday, April 19, 2024 -- CindyG, Thu, April 18 2024, 19:56:38
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“ So, for the reader’s convenience, the detailed listing here shows the sequence of the various elements in terms of the story line. However, it should be noted that the shorter novels and novellas are all designed in such a way that they may be read alone, without reference either to one another or to the Big, Enormous Books—should you be in the mood for a light literary snack instead of the nine-course meal with wine pairings and dessert trolley.”
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- QOTD for Thursday, April 18, 2024 -- CindyG, Wed, April 17 2024, 19:39:07
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“The Big Books of the main series deal with the lives and times of Claire and Jamie Fraser. The shorter novels focus on the adventures of Lord John Grey but intersect with the larger books (The Scottish Prisoner, for example, features both Lord John and Jamie Fraser in a shared story). The novellas all feature people from the main series, including Jamie and/or Claire on occasion. The description below explains which characters appear in which stories.
Most of the shorter Lord John novels and novellas (so far) fit within a large lacuna left in the middle of Voyager, in the years between 1756 and 1761. Some of the Bulges also fall in this period; others don’t.”
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- QOTD for Wednesday, April 17, 2024 -- CindyG, Wed, April 17 2024, 8:35:05
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“THE OUTLANDER SERIES includes three kinds of stories:
The Big, Enormous Books of the main series, which have no discernible genre (or all of them);
The Shorter, Less Indescribable Novels, which are more or less historical mysteries (though dealing also with battles, eels, and assorted sexual practices);
And
The Bulges,—these being short(er) pieces that fit somewhere inside the story lines of the novels, much in the nature of squirming prey swallowed by a large snake. These deal frequently—but not exclusively—with secondary characters, are prequels or sequels, and/or fill some lacuna left in the original story lines.”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, April 16, 2024 -- CindyG, Mon, April 15 2024, 21:24:00
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“SO. THIS IS (as the front cover suggests) a collection of seven novellas (fiction shorter than a novel but longer than a short story), though all of them are indeed part of the Outlander universe and do intersect with the main novels.
Five of the novellas included in this book were originally written for various anthologies over the last few years; two are brand-new and have never been published before: ‘A Fugitive Green’ and ‘Besieged.’
Owing to differences among publishers in different countries, some of the previously published novellas may subsequently have been published in print form as a four-story collection (in the UK and Germany) or as separate ebooks (in the United States). Seven Stones provides a complete print collection for those readers who like tactile books and includes the two new stories.
Since the novellas fit into the main series at different points (and involve a number of different characters), below is an overall chronology of the Outlander series, to explain Who, What, and When.”
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- QOTD for Monday, April 15, 2024 -- CindyG, Sun, April 14 2024, 21:34:13
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Without going too much into the mental process that led to this (words like ‘sausage-making’ and ‘rock-polishing’ come to mind), I wanted a title that at least suggested that there were a number of elements in this book (hence the Seven), and Seven Stones just came naturally, and that was nice (‘stone’ is always a weighty word) and suitably alliterative but not a complete poetic thought (or rhythm). So, a bit more thinkering (no, that’s not a typo), and I came up with to Stand or Fall, which sounded suitably portentous.
It took a bit of ex post facto thought to figure out what the heck that meant, but things usually do mean something if you think long enough. In this instance, the ‘stand or fall’ has to do with people’s response to grief and adversity: to wit, if you aren’t killed outright by whatever happened, you have a choice in how the rest of your life is lived—you keep standing, though battered and worn by time and elements, still a buttress and a signpost—or you fall and return quietly to the earth from which you sprang, your elements giving succor to those who come after you.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, April 14, 2024 -- CindyG, Sun, April 14 2024, 10:59:37
The following quote is from Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon, “Introduction.” Copyright©️2017 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
I just love the introduction to this book. Who else begins with an apology and explanation of the title?
“If you picked this book up under the misapprehension that it’s the ninth novel in the main Outlander series, it’s not. I apologize.
So, if it’s not the ninth novel, what is it? Well, it’s a collection of seven…er…things, of varying length and content, but all having to do with the Outlander universe. As for the title…basically, it’s the result of my editor not liking my original title choice, Salmagundi.* Not that I couldn’t see her point…Anyway, there was a polite request via my agent for something more in line with the ‘resonant, poetic’ nature of the main titles.”
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- QOTD for Saturday, April 13, 2024 --
kgp, Fri, April 12 2024, 19:40:09
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 44 Private Parts
With my blood no longer boiling, I could admit that Jamie might perhaps be right about Phillip Wylie’s intent in making objectionable advances to me. He might not be, too. But regardless of the young man’s underlying motives, I did have incontrovertible proof that he had found me physically appealing, grandmother or not. I rather thought I wouldn’t mention that to Jamie, though; Phillip Wylie was a very annoying young man, but upon cooler reflection, I had decided that I would prefer not to have him disemboweled on the front lawn, after all.
Still, maturity did alter one’s perspective somewhat. For all the personal implications of those male members in an excited state, it was the flaccid one that most interested me at the moment. My fingers itched to get hold of Duncan Innes’s private parts - figuratively, at least.
Last edited by author: Fri, April 12 2024, 19:40:53
Edited 1 time.
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- QOTD for Friday, April 12, 2024 -- kgp, Fri, April 12 2024, 19:38:48
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 43 Flirtations
“Aye, I’m up to my ears in Majors and Regulators and drunken maid servants, and you’re out in the stable canoodling wi’ the fop!”
I felt the blood rising behind my eyes, and curled my fists, in order to control the impulse to slap him.
“I was not ‘canoodling’ in the slightest degree, and you know it! The beastly little twerp made a pass at me, that’s all.”
“A pass? Made love to ye, ye mean? Aye, I can see that!!”
“He did not!”
“Oh, aye? Ye asked him to let ye try his bawbee on for luck, then?” He waggled the finger with the black patch under my nose, and I slapped it away, recalling a moment too late that “make love to” merely meant to engage in amorous flirtation, rather than fornication.
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- QOTD for Thursday, April 11, 2024 -- kgp, Thu, April 11 2024, 8:50:26
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 40 Duncan’s Secret
“Oh, it makes a difference, all right,” I said. I leaned back against a tree, arms crosses under my bosom, and gave him a look from under my lashes. “When I am a hundred and one, and you’re ninety-six, I’ll invite you to my bed - and we’ll see which one of us rises to the occasion, hmmm?”
He looked at me thoughtfully, a glint in the dark blue of his eyes.
“I’ve a mind to take ye where ye stand, Sassenach,” he said. “Payment on account, hmmm?
“I’ve a mind to take you up on it,” I said. “However . . . “ I glanced through the screen of branches toward the house, which was clearly visible. The trees were beginning to leaf out, but the tiny sprays of tender green were by no means sufficient camouflage. I turned back, just as Jamie’s hands descended on the swell of my hips.
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- QOTD for Wednesday, April 10, 2024 -- kgp, Thu, April 11 2024, 8:49:50
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 40 Duncan’s Secret
“Well,” he said slowly, “it’s true that Duncan hasna been wed before. Did ye not wonder why?”
“No,” I said. “I’d just assumed that the Rising had - oh, dear.” I stopped, catching a notion of what this might be about. “It’s not - goodness. You mean . . . he likes men?” My voice rose involuntarily.
“No!” he said, scandalized. “Christ, ye dinna think I’d let him marry my aunt, and him a sodomite? Christ.” He glanced around, to be sure no one else had heard this calumny. And shepherded me into the shelter of the tree, just in case.
“Well, you wouldn’t necessarily know, would you?” I asked, amused.
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- QOTD for Tuesday, April 9, 2024 -- kgp, Tue, April 09 2024, 10:34:46
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 39 In Cupid’s Grove
Ever since she had shown him the sperms, he had been uncomfortably aware of the crowded conditions that must now and then obtain in his balls, and impression made forcibly stronger in situations such as this. He kent well enough that there was no danger of rupture or explosion - and yet he couldn’t help but think of all the shoving going on.
Being trapped in a seething mass of others, with no hope of escape, was one of his own personal visions of Hell, and he paused for a moment outside the screen of willow trees to administer a brief squeeze of reassurance, which he hoped might calm the riot for a bit.
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- QOTD for Monday, April 8, 2024 -- kgp, Mon, April 08 2024, 5:35:28
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 37 Mail Call
“Here’s one we could do. The Testicles of a Male Animal - like you’d get them from a female animal - taken with six large Mushrooms and boyled in Sour Ale until tender, the both Testicles and Mushrooms to be sliced thin, well-pepper’d and seasoned with Salt, then sprinkled with Vinegar and brown’d before the Fire until crusty. Da hasn’t gotten around to castrating Gideon yet, has he?”
“No. I’m sure he’d be happy to give you the objects in question, if you want to try.”
She went very pink in the face, and cleared her throat with a noise that reminded me even more of her father. “I - um - don’t think we need that just yet.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, April 7, 2024 -- kgp, Sun, April 07 2024, 11:40:00
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 37 Mail Call
”A Spur To Venus. This being a list of infallible Remedys for Fatigue of the Male Member.”
I peered over her arm, my own eyebrows rising.
“Goodness. A Dozen of Oysters, soaked overnight in a Mixture of Wine and Milk, to be baked in a Tart with Crushed Almonds and Lobstermeat, and served with Spiced Peppers. I don’t know what it would do for the male member, but it would probably give the gentleman attached to it violent indigestion. Of course, we haven't got any oysters here anyway.”
“No loss,” she assured me, frowning at the page in concentration. “Oysters remind me of big plugs of snot.”
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- QOTD for Saturday, March 16, 2024 -- CindyG, Fri, March 15 2024, 19:44:34
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 155, “Quaker Wedding, Redux.” Copyright ©️ 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Then the rider came right to the edge of the porch and reined up and my heart leapt as I saw who it was. William snatched off his hat and bowed from the saddle. He was breathing hard, his dark hair was pasted to his head with sweat, and there were hectic patches of red across his broad cheekbones. He gulped air, his eyes fixed on Jamie.
‘Sir,’ he said, and swallowed. ‘I need your help.’”
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- QOTD for Friday, March 15, 2024 -- CindyG, Thu, March 14 2024, 20:15:42
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 101, “Redivivus.” Copyright ©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Jamie stood at the end of the hall, some ten feet away; John stood beside him, white as a sheet, and his eyes bulging as much as Willie’s were. This resemblance to Willie, striking as it was, was completely overwhelmed by Jamie’s own resemblance to the Ninth Earl of Ellesmere. William’s face had hardened and matured, losing all trace of childish softness, and from both ends of the short hall, deep blue Fraser cat-eyes stared out of the bold, solid bones of the MacKenzies. And Willie was old enough to shave on a daily basis; he knew what he looked like.
Willie’s mouth worked, soundless with shock. He looked wildly at me, back at Jamie, back at me—and saw the truth in my face.
‘Who are you?’ he said hoarsely, wheeling on Jamie.
I saw Jamie draw himself slowly upright, ignoring the noise below.
‘James Fraser,’ he said. His eyes were fixed on William with a burning intensity, as though to absorb every vestige of a sight he would not see again. ‘Ye kent me once as Alex MacKenzie. At Helwater.’
William blinked, blinked again, and his gaze shifted momentarily to John.
‘And who—who the bloody hell am I?’ he demanded, the end of the question rising in a squeak.
John opened his mouth, but it was Jamie who answered.
‘You are a stinking Papist,’ he said, very precisely, ‘and your baptismal name is James.’ The ghost of regret crossed his face and then was gone. ‘It was the only name I had a right to give ye,’ he said quietly, eyes on his son. ‘I’m sorry.’”
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- QOTD for Thursday, March 14, 2024 -- CindyG, Wed, March 13 2024, 19:24:28
The following quote is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 116, “The Ninth Earl of Ellesmere.” Copyright ©️ 2005 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘My son,’ Lord John was saying. ‘William, Lord Ellesmere.’ He eyed her narrowly, as though daring her to say anything. ‘Might I present Mr. Roger MacKenzie, William? And his wife.’
‘Sir. Mrs. MacKenzie.’ The young man took her hand before she realized what he meant to do, and bowed low over it, planting a small formal kiss upon her knuckles.
She nearly gasped at the unexpected touch of his breath on her skin, but instead gripped his hand, much harder than she’d meant to. He looked momentarily disconcerted, but extricated himself with reasonable grace. He was much younger than she’d thought at first glance; it was the uniform and the air of self-possession that made him seem older. He was looking at her with a slight frown on his clear-cut features, as though trying to place her.
‘I think …’ he began, hesitant. ‘Have we met, Mrs. MacKenzie?’
‘No,” she said, astonished to hear her voice emerge sounding normal. ‘No, I’m afraid not. I would have remembered.’ She darted a daggerlike glance at Lord John, who had gone slightly green around the gills.”
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- QOTD for Wednesday, March 13, 2024 -- CindyG, Tue, March 12 2024, 19:25:10
The following quote is from Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 25, “Enter a Serpent.” Copyright ©️ 1997 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“There had luckily been enough sewage in the bottom of the pit to break his fall. From appearances, the ninth Earl of Ellesmere had landed facedown. Lord John stood for a moment on the path, wiping his hands on his breeches and surveying the encrusted object before him. He rubbed the back of a hand over his mouth, trying either to hide a smile or to stifle his sense of smell.
Then his shoulders started to shake.
‘What news from the Underworld, Persephone?’ he said, unable to keep the quaver of laughter out of his voice.
A pair of slanted eyes looked blue murder out of the mask of filth obscuring his Lordship’s features. It was a thoroughly Fraser expression, and I felt a qualm go through me at the sight. By my side, Ian gave a sudden start. He glanced quickly from the Earl to Jamie and back, then he caught my eye and his own face went perfectly and unnaturally blank.”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, March 12, 2024 -- CindyG, Mon, March 11 2024, 19:27:13
The following quote is from Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 25, “Enter a Serpent.” Copyright ©️ 1997 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“No, I thought, watching covertly as he straightened up, face flushed from bending. It wasn’t as strong as I’d thought at first. He had the promise of Jamie’s bones, but it wasn’t all there yet—he had the outlines, but not yet the substance. He would be very tall—that was obvious—but now he was about my height, gawky and slender, his limbs very long, and thin enough to seem almost delicate.
He was much darker than Jamie, too; while his hair glinted red in the shafts of sunlight that came through the branches, it was a deep chestnut, nothing like Jamie’s bright red-gold, and his skin had turned a soft golden brown in the sun, not at all like Jamie’s half-burnt bronze.
He had the Frasers’ slanted cat-eyes, though, and there was something about the set of his head, the cock of the slender shoulders, that made me think of—
Bree. It hit me with a small shock, like a spark of electricity.”
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- QOTD for Monday, March 11, 2024 -- CindyG, Sun, March 10 2024, 19:46:22
The following quote is from Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 16, “Willie.” Copyright ©️ 1994 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Willie started for the door, but stopped halfway, suddenly distressed again, with a hand pressed flat to his chest.
‘You said to keep this to remember you. But I haven’t got anything for you to remember me by!’
Jamie smiled slightly. His heart was squeezed so tight, he thought he could not draw breath to speak, but he forced the words out.
‘Donna fret yourself,’ he said. ‘I’ll remember ye.’”
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- QOTD for Sunday, March 10, 2024 -- CindyG, Sat, March 09 2024, 18:57:39
The following quote is from Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 15, “By Misadventure.” Copyright ©️ 1994 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Past all conscious thought or any fear of consequence, Jamie Fraser acted on the instinct that had seen him through a dozen battles. He snatched one pistol from the transfixed Jeffries, turned on his heel, and fired in the same motion.
The roar of the shot struck everyone silent. Even the child ceased to scream. Ellesmere’s face went quite blank, thick eyebrows raised in question. Then he staggered, and Jamie leapt forward, noting with a sort of detached clarity the small round hole in the baby’s trailing drapery, where the pistol ball had passed through it.
He stood then rooted on the hearthrug, heedless of the fire scorching the backs of his legs, of the still-heaving body of Ellesmere at his feet, of the regular, hysterical shrieks of Lady Dunsany, piercing as a peacock’s. He stood, eyes tight closed, shaking like a leaf, unable either to move or to think, arms wrapped tight about the shapeless, squirming, squawking bundle that contained his son.”
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- QOTD for Saturday, March 9, 2024. Highland Ball Weekend here. One blasted thing to scratch off my list. Cuccu. -- kgp, Sat, March 09 2024, 7:20:39
The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 102 Postpartum
“Your mother,” he began, and cleared his throat again.
When Roger had finished, Buck sat in silence for some time, blinking at the last slice of bacon, drying in the pan.
“Jesus,” he said, but not in tones of shock. More a deep interest, Roger thought, with some unease. Buck glanced up at Roger, speculation in his moss-green eyes. “And what d’ye ken about my father, then?”
“More than I can tell ye in a few minutes, and we should be on our way.” Roger got up, brushing crumbs off his knees. “I don’t want to try explaining our presence to any of those hairy buggers. My Old English isn’t what it used to be.”
“ ‘Sumer is icumen in,” Buck said, with a glance at the leafless, wind-blasted saplings precariously rooted in the cliff’s crevices. “ ‘Lhude sing cuccu.’ Aye, let’s go.”
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- QOTD for Friday, March 8, 2024 -- kgp, Fri, March 08 2024, 10:02:58
The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 97 A Man To Do A Man’s Job
“No, sir,” he said respectfully, and pushed back his own chair. “I’ll stay with my mam.”
“You don’t need to do that, honey,” she said. “Uncle Joe and I have grown-up things we need to talk about. You - “
“I’m staying.”
She gave him a hard look, but recognized instantly, with a combination of horror and fascination, a Fraser male with his mind made up.
His lower lip was trembling, just a little. He shut his mouth hard to stop it and looked soberly from her to Joe, then back.
“Dad’s not here,” he said, and swallowed. “And neither is Grandda. I’m . . . I’m staying.”
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- QOTD for Thursday, March 7, 2024 -- kgp, Thu, March 07 2024, 8:11:36
The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 80 Pater Noster
“Your father,” Hal said after a few moments. “Or my brother, if you prefer. Do you recall when you saw him last?”
Resentment sparked abruptly into anger.
“Yes, I bloody do. On the morning of the sixteenth. In his house. With mo other father.”
Hal made a low humming noise, indicating interest.
“That when you found out, was it?”
“It was.”
“Did John tell you?”
“No, he bloody didn’t!” Blood surged to William’s face, making his head throb with a fierce suddenness that made him dizzy. “If I hadn’t come face-to-face with the - the fellow, I don’t suppose he’d ever have told me!”
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- I never really understood all of William’s awful emotions until I just read this passage alone. We, along with almost everyone important in his life, already knew and he realized that almost the same time. It was horrible for him and I get it a lot more when I look at it from his perspective. I’m still trying to like him more than I do. lol (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sun, March 10 2024, 12:22:14
- So much of who William thought he was turned out to be false. Plus, all of the people - Lord John, Hal, Claire, even Ian, knew, while he himself was kept ignorant of his parentage. It's little wonder he was so angry and confused. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, March 19 2024, 11:39:57
- QOTD for Wednesday, March 6, 2024 -- kgp, Wed, March 06 2024, 5:47:37
The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 80 Pater Noster
“You want me to . . . sing? he managed.
“Well, perhaps not right this minute,” the duke said. He sat back on his stool and began to whistle a tune. “Recognize that, do you?” he asked, breaking off.
“‘Lillibulero’,” William said, beginning to feel rather cross. “Why, for God’s sake?”
“Knew a chap once who was hit on the head with an ax and lost the ability to make out music. Couldn’t tell one note from another.” Hall leaned forward, holding up two fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Two. Stick them up your nose,” William advised him.
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- QOTD for Tuesday, March 5, 2024 - I like this section becaue we rarely seem to see Denny lose his s***. He usually sounds (in my head) so calm and reasonable. There's also the ingrained politeness in the midst of it. "Not at all." I've read other stories about regimental surgeons that echo this, the rivalry between units and preference given. -- kgp, Tue, March 05 2024, 7:40:20
The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 75 The Cider Orchard
“They are idiots,” he said, so pale - with rage, I now realized - that he could barely speak. Regimental surgeons, they call themselves! A good quarter of them have never seen a man wounded in battle before. And those who have are barely capable of anything in the way of treatment save the crudest amputation. A company of barbers would do better!”
“Can they stop bleeding?” I asked, taking his hand and wrapping it round my patient’s arm. He automatically pressed his thumb to the brachial artery near the armpit, and the spurting that had started when I took my own hand away stopped. “Thank you,” I said.
“Not at all. Yes, most of them can do that,” he admitted, calming down just a little. “But they are so jealous of privilege - and so much affiliated with their own regiments - that some are letting a wounded man die because he is not one of theirs and his own regimental surgeon is otherwise occupied!”
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- QOTD for Monday, March 4, 2024 -- kgp, Mon, March 04 2024, 6:28:30
The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 75 The Cider Orchard
I don’t know when physicians began calling it “the Golden Hour,” but surely every battlefield medic from the time of the Iliad onward knows about it. From the time of an accident or injury that isn’t immediately fatal, the victim’s chances of living are best if he receives treatment within an hour of sustaining the injury. After that, shock, continual loss of blood, debility due to pain . . . the chance of saving a patient goes sharply downhill.
Add in blazing temperatures, lack of water, and the stress of running full out through fields and woods, wearing wool homespun and carrying heavy weapons, inhaling powder smoke, and trying either to kill someone or avoid being killed, just prior to being injured, and I rather thought we were looking at a Golden fifteen minutes or so.
Given also the fact that the wounded were having to be carried or to walk - probably more than a mile - to a place where they could find assistance . . . I supposed we were doing well to save as many as we were. If only temporarily, I added grimly to myself, hearing the screaming from inside the church.
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- QOTD for Sunday, March 3, 2024 -- kgp, Sun, March 03 2024, 8:31:27
The last five or six months have been rather trying and emotionally exhausting. I'd committed to organizing the Highland Ball which is this weekend which is exhausting in itself. But my DH who had not been well, had extensive cardiac surgery in November and is recovering well but slowly. My dear little Civic hybrid was valiantly trying to reach 400 K miles but was being attacked by the local chipmunks who were taking insulation, etc as well as leaving tiny calling cards all over the interior. A large pine branch fell some 40 ft and through our roof causing it to rain in the bedroom as the snow melted. The remediation crew has been in and out since January drying the ceiling, walls and floor, spraying whatever to discourage mold. There is a giant dumpster in my driveway. The roofing crew showed up unexpectedly on Friday, found more damage than previously expected and ended up rebuilding our entire dormer. The interior repair still needs to get done so we still can't use our bedroom. One grown son is having an issue we had hoped had been resolved 13 years ago - I won't go into it. It's been one damn thing after another.
Yet we are still more fortunate than others and have decent health and property insurance. The financial blow of having to replace a car just now was not fun but we'll get through it. I need to remember that and look for the glimmers in the gloom. The Ball will be over in a few days and then it's the mopping up of the details. I'm not worried my car will die late at night coming home from teaching an hour away. The grown child is getting help and still plans to get married next year. My DSis and I are taking some time away that had been canceled last year when DH ended up in the ER. The sun is out and it's 60F today. Deep breath.
Anyway, here's Claire -
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The following quotation is from Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 74 The Sort Of Thing That Will Make A Man Sweat and Tremble
I gave my burnt artilleryman water, then helped him to his feet. As he stood up, I saw behind his legs the epitaph carved into Gilbert Tennent’s headstone:
O READER HAD YOU HEARD HIS LAST TESTIMONY YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN CONVINCED OF THE EXTREME MADNESS OF DELAYING REPENTANCE.
“I suppose there are worse places to be doing this,” I remarked to the artilleryman, but, unable to hear me, he simply raised my hand and kissed it before swaying off to sit down on the grass, the wet towel pressed to his face.
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- Oh. My. God. I’m so sorry - talk about an overflowing plate! You must be a half full glass person because you sure ended that awful tale with positivity. Like Claire’s artillery man - that wet towel was enough for massive gratitude after hell. Sending good karma, best wishes and prayers that all this moves along in Claire fashion. Correct, brief, no nonsense, with love. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sun, March 03 2024, 8:40:57
- WOW! You've had your hands full, thank you for the QOTD with all that going on. Lally love to you. (NT) -- Janet, Sun, March 03 2024, 10:20:29
- Thank you for the prayers and good wishes. I needed to get that out, I feel like I'm the one holding it together for everyone else right now. (NT) -- kgp, Mon, March 04 2024, 7:10:16
- kgp, my grandfather used to say, "If it's not one thing, it's TWO!" But this is a whole lot more. Sending Lally Hugs, wish there was more I could do to help you through. (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, March 04 2024, 10:54:52
- QOTD for Saturday (I think)2/24/24 -- Betsy, I'm pretty sure I'm Betsy. Somedays I'm sure, but not today., Sat, February 24 2024, 11:44:35
Happy Saturday/Sunday to us All,
My desk-top computer sits up against a wall full of (dusty) pictures of four generations of Family paintings and photos. Paintings of my two grandmothers as young women hang above my head, sometimes beautiful, sometime eerie, sometimes intimadating. Both of those ladies were about twenty when the original pictures were taken. My parents had oil paintings made sometime in the sixties and the Ladies now reside on my wall, beautiful and haunting.
There are many more photos planted all over the wall.....From a cute black and white of my father, age about two trying to climb into a wagon with his cousins, to David's father as a young man, David as a baby, and a ton more, but you get the picture.
Way over on the left side is a miniature painting of an unknown woman in my ancestory. The framing around it is quite beautiful, but the woman herself doesn't appear to have been a beauty. Her head is large, her arms are short, her hair is pulled severly back behind her ears into what may be a curl down her back BUT her eyes are quite nice. When I was young, my brothers and I had many times stood staring at this mystery relative, wondering who she was and why do we have her on our wall. When I reached my later teens, I inherited Miss Aunt-Somebody and she moved to my room, hanging on the wall right by the door.
One day, a couple who were friends of my parents came to visit and were being given a tour of our home. When they entered my room, the woman put her glasses on and stared at the Mystery Woman's miniature. "This is amazing!!!! How did you get a picture of Betsy into an authentic miniature? This is fascinating!" Before anyone had a chance to reply, my younger brother volunteered (lovingly) "That's not Betsy..... That's Aunt Ugly."
No one said a thing, just meandered judiciously out of my bedroom to go see a very beautiful painting in a different room. I don't remember exactly how the "chat" with my brother went, but I was four years older and out-weighed him by a considerable amount. I think there was blood involved.
And Aunt Ugly is still hanging on my wall. Maybe I'm working off some Karma.
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The following quote is taken from "Go Tell The Bees I Am Gone," by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 126, 'When I go to sleep at night, I die.' Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
"Let's leave Albert out of it," he said hastily "At least for now."
"Alright," she said agreeably, "Einstein never got it to work, anyway. All I'm saying is, Maybe when you walk into one of those places--- if you have the genetics for it---you, um, die. Physically. You disolve into stardust, if you want to call it that---- and your particles can pass through stone, because they're smaller than the atoms that make up the stones."
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- It's a short quote today. This whole conversation between Brianna and Roger gave me the willies. It still does. Taking into account subatomic particles and the principles of physics...."Energy doesn't die, it only transforms," and all that. When I read this the first time, I had shivers running up my back and I got a headache. There is a lot more of this conversation but the past couple of days represents the gist of it. It still makes my head spin backwards. (NT) -- Betsy BFS, Sat, February 24 2024, 11:59:19
- I agree, Betsy. This was too much for me. I once read The Dancing Wu Li Masters, which is about quantum physics (!?!?!?!?) One thing that I got out of it: when you go deep, deep, deep into subatomic particles, there's nothing there, so we're basically made up of nothing! I When Bree and Roger had this discussion, I remembered that factoid...... (NT) -- Janet, Sun, February 25 2024, 9:06:21
- QOTD for Friday, 2/23/24 -- Betsy BFS, Fri, February 23 2024, 11:44:32
This is a late post. I did notice nothing was posted, so I am now posting. Late.
I am back in school!! I'm learning how to do all the "stuff" that was on David's plate. I'm NOT on the dean's list. There is a very good reason I don't know anything, but I won't go into it now.
Read this with humor. To me, it's funny...
The latest disaster to take residence on Betsy's List of the Unknown, is the boiler circulation pump not working. Do not groan. It's a lesson I really didn't want to know, but I need to. After three (3) visits and two new parts, the service man, who is the owner of the business, was smuggly explaining everything that was going on to me. Now, I don't usually pull the My Husband Dropped Dead card, but halfway through his diatribe , I stopped him and said "Just stop. I have no idea what you're saying. Boiler's for Dummies is beyond my skill set. My husband dropped dead (and I pantomimed a person , eyes crossed --for effect--hitting the floor in a heap,) and this was his realm.... Sorry I haven't stopped to learn about my boiler. Do not assume I understand one word you're saying." At that point, it finally sunk in that I truly didn't have a clue, he got nice, and explained it all out slowly and in language I understood. I think I may be at the pre-school level now.
Service call number four will be happening as soon as the part arrives. We've been playing Little House on the Prairie for a week. "Little House, etc." is our family's code for SNAFU. I think I saw David, head in his hands, moving it back and forth. I Can't tell if it's shaking in laughter or OMG, Betsy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following quote is from 'Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone," by Diana Gabaldon. Chapter 126, "When I go to Sleep at night., I die." Copyright 2021, by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
That's what a ley line IS," she said patiently. "The electromagnetism in the earch runs in parallel bands, the bands alternate in the direction of their magnetic current. Though it's not totally neat and tidy, of course. The diverge and overlap and like that. Haven't I told you this stuff before?"
"Possibly." He abandoned his half-formed romantic intentions, with a sense of regret. "But the ley lines I know about are...I don't know what you'd call them, in terms of classification. Folklore, ancient builder stuff? At least in the British Isles, if you go looking for ancient hill forts and churches that are probably built on much older sites of worship and....well, things like standing stones, you often find that you can draw a straight ... very straight , in most cases, as though it had been surveyed---line through two or three or four such sites. Archeologists call those ley lines---though some fold call them spirit walks, because the dead are thought to....Oh,my God."
A brief, uncontrollable shudder ran through him.
"Goose walking on your grave?" she asked, sympathy slightly marred by a look of satisfaction.
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- Nothing wrong with saying, I don’t get it! Glad your plumber took the time and hope the part comes soon. A boiler is a MAJOR appliance but I’ve done some repairs on the washer, dryer and dishwasher that I used to pay for by looking up symptoms on YouTube. I had heard of ley lines but didn’t really get what they were until I read this explanation. Is it Bri to Roger here? (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sat, February 24 2024, 4:51:56
- 35 years ago I went on a "crinkle tour" with my mother (average age 68+ and we had an 18 yo on the trip to lower the age!) to England, Ireland, and Scotland. Our tour guide was awesome, and when we were at Stonehenge, she explained about ley lines. When she started there was only about half our group (maybe 15) around her, when she ended there were close to 50 people listening. It was really interesting! And Betsy, my mechanical and technical knowledge is less than stellar, because my husband can do almost anything! (NT) -- Janet, Sat, February 24 2024, 10:35:58
- QOTD for Thursday, 2/22/24 -- Betsy BFS, Wed, February 21 2024, 21:24:01
Happy Thursday, Lallyland!
I seem to have the attention of a gnat these days. It's not quite new of an issue but I think it's worse. As I sit here and look around I can see five laundry baskets, all overflowing (honest) so piled high, they have erupted to the floor. Some are dirty cloths, some are clean, but they have all decided to mingle together and have tea. I have no idea which basket is what; this afternoon, I folded the same T-shirt four times and still don't know which basket is waiting for this shirt to come home. And the washing machine keeps spitting out more clean stuff that should be folded and put in the appropriate basket, if I could figure out what's clean stuff and what's dirty... I honestly believe the endless piles have conspired to play musical chairs together, and I Know I've heard snickering in the bottom at least two of the piles.
There really is an excuse for some of this insanity. Apparently, when I left for a few hours, I had blocked off the kitchen so my precious puppies couldn't get into it but they battled through my blockade and ate: two pounds of butter, all the cat food in the kitty dishes, all of the can of dog kibble, two bananas, one mangled grapefruit which I guess they didn't like, two extra-large yams that were cooling on the counter for their supper, every last bit in the garbage, and two big coffee cans full of compost. After their non-sanctioned snack, both of them threw up in the middle of my bed. Several times. Seeping through two big quilts and two, Two, yes indeed TWO down comforters. Oh the the sheets as well. And one pillow. Queen sized sheets but king size everything else.
The dogs are alive, but I'm not fond of them today.
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The following quote is from "Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone," by Diana Gabaldon, etc. All rights reserved.
"Mmphm," Jamie knew he was defeated, but he wasn't surrendering just yet. "And how d'ye mean to guarantee their good behavior, a bhanamhaighister?"
An inaudible but clear vibration that might have been amusement ran through the older women, though it vanished in an instant when Harriet turned her head to look over at them. When she turned back, her eyes were fixed on me, not Jamie, which gave me a start.
"I suppose your wife could answer that for ye, Laird," she said circumspectly, and let the corner of her mouth tuck in for a moment. Her gaze dropped to Jamie again. "None of the men can cook. But if ye dinna trust what a wife might do to a husband who's taken the house from over her head, and the food out of her bairn's mouths... perhaps ye can imagine what the brothers and sons of those wives might do to him. If ye'd like me to have my lads come and swear that same oath to ye..."
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- Oh,no!! We do love our pets but sometimes that is definitely put to the test. Mine knocked over the kitty fountain during a disagreement and splattered everything in the kitchen. Nothing like what your darlings did but woke the house none the less. I was surprised and rather indignant that Jamie let these families stay. Also appalled at the presumption of these ladies. (NT) -- kgp, Thu, February 22 2024, 6:33:02
- Nothing can get me out of bed faster than the sound of a cat hocking up dinner.....but at least I don't find it after the fact! Jamie is showing mercy here; I figured that even though they were against him, they were still "his" to care for. Also, I'm sure he remembered the aftermath of Culloden and all the death and destruction, and wanted to avoid that if he had assurances of good behaviour. (NT) -- Janet, Thu, February 22 2024, 10:44:57
- OMG, Betsy - that is the WORST dog story I ever heard!!! Are they really puppies in age, so you have to expect a bit? But they did every puppy bad thing in one episode!!! It is so good to see you and I know I’m not alone when I say I love your ramblings. So relatable; you remind me of Erma Bombeck. I think Jamie could never turn away women or children no matter what. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Thu, February 22 2024, 14:21:42
- QOTD for Wednesday, 2/21/23 -- Betsy BFS, Tue, February 20 2024, 20:56:47
Hello, my wonderful Lally Family,
When I do QOTD and share the absurdities and foibles of my life, I never know what I'm going to write. I just sit and my fingers take off with a mind of their own. I don't trust myself to do that yet. It's been several months since I've done QOTD, so we'll see what happens. Mostly, I want to tell you All how unbelievably wonderful you are. I'm going to post a message on Fraser's Gathering in thanks for all the support you've given me the last six months.
I'm doing QOTD for today. Maybe tomorrow. I never know when I'll come completely undone. I'll do as much as I can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following quote is from 'Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone,' by Diana Gabaldon.Copyright 2021, by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
Harriette MacIlhenny came in with her head up, jaws clenched, and chin trembling. She stopped abruptly before Jamie's table and collapsed onto her knees with a thud, followed by the other wives and half the children, spilling out into the hallway, all looking bewildered but obedient.
"We have come to beg thy mercy, Laird," she said, bowing so low that she spoke to the floor. "Not for ourselves, but for our bairns."
"Did your husbands put ye up to this?" Jamie demanded.. "Get yourselves up, for God's sake."
"No, Laird," Harriet said. She rose, slowly, but her hands were pressed so hard together that the knuckles and nails showed white. "Our husbands forbade us to come to ye; and said they would beat us if we stirred a foot out of doors. The gomerels would sacrifice us and the bairns for the sake of their pride --but... we came anyway."
This passage reminds me of several conversations I had with David. It went sort of like this: "David, what do you think about (insert almost anything you want."
"Why do you bother to ask me what I think? You're going to do just what you want anyway." "Well, yes. I am. But there was a chance you'd say something close to my plans and it would seem like we collaborated." Insert that Scottish noise Jamie, and William, make.
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- Betsy, it is so wonderful to "see" you. I think of you every time I'm on the LOL Boards. <3 (NT) -- DianaH, Wed, February 21 2024, 10:45:05
- Betsy, glad you are here today. I think of you often, and send prayers your way regularly. We enjoy it whatever/whenever you post In these few, simple, lines, Diana illuminates the fragile grasp on survival the people on the Ridge have, even in the best of times. (NT) -- Janet, Wed, February 21 2024, 11:09:40
- QOTD for Saturday, February 17, 2024 -- CindyG, Fri, February 16 2024, 16:54:07
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 26, “The Laird’s Return.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘Dinna worry for Murtagh. There’s a canty wee bird can mind for himself.’
‘Canty? Murtagh?’ I knew the word meant “cheerful,” which seemed incongruous to a degree. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile. Have you?’
‘Oh, aye. At least twice.’
‘How long have you known him?’
‘Twenty-three years. He’s my godfather.’
‘Oh. Well, that explains a bit. I didn’t think he’d bother on my account.’
Jamie patted my leg. ‘Of course he would. He likes you.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’”
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- QOTD for Friday, February 16, 2024 -- CindyG, Thu, February 15 2024, 19:43:08
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 24, “By the Pricking of My Thumbs.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I hastily turned toward the nearest face, as an antidote to such disturbing thoughts. It happened to be Murtagh’s. Well, at least he looked like neither of the men who haunted my thoughts. Short, slightly built but sinewy as a gibbon, with long arms that reinforced the simian resemblance, he had a low brow and narrow jaw that for some reason made me think of cave dwellers and pictures of Early Man shown in some of Frank’s texts. Not a Neanderthal, though. A Pict. That was it. There was something very durable about the small clansman that reminded me of the weathered, patterned stones, ancient even now, that stood their implacable guard over crossroads and burial grounds.”
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- QOTD for Thursday, February 15, 2024 -- CindyG, Wed, February 14 2024, 19:33:28
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 15, “Revelations of the Bridal Chamber.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘What are you doing?’ he asked, shocked.
‘Just what it looks like. Hold still.’ After a few moments, I began to use my teeth, pressing progressively harder until he drew in his breath with a sharp hiss. I stopped.
‘Did I hurt you?’ I asked.
‘Yes. A little.’ He sounded half-strangled.
‘Do you want me to stop?’
‘No!’
I went on, being deliberately rough, until he suddenly convulsed, with a groan that sounded as though I had torn his heart out by the roots. He lay back, quivering and breathing heavily. He muttered something in Gaelic, eyes closed.
‘What did you say?’
‘I said,’ he answered, opening his eyes, ‘I thought my heart was going to burst.’
I grinned, pleased with myself. ‘Oh, Murtagh and company didn’t tell you about that, either?’
‘Aye, they did. That was one of the things I didn’t believe.’”
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- QOTD for Wednesday, February 14, 2024 -- CindyG, Tue, February 13 2024, 19:43:43
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 15, “Revelations of the Bridal Chamber.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘I want to ask ye something,’ he said, running a hand down the length of my back.
‘What’s that?’
‘Did ye like it?’ he said, a little shyly.
‘Yes, I did,’I said, quite honestly.
‘Oh. I thought ye did, though Murtagh told me that women generally do not care for it, so I should finish as soon as I could.’
‘What would Murtagh know about it?’ I said indignantly. ‘The slower the better, as far as most women are concerned.’ Jamie chuckled again.
‘Well, you’d know better than Murtagh.’”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, February 13, 2024 -- CindyG, Mon, February 12 2024, 19:20:26
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 14, “A Marriage Takes Place.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“After the first silence, the rest of those in the taproom became vocal in their admiration, and even Murtagh allowed himself a small smile, nodding in satisfaction at the results of his efforts. And who appointed you fashion editor? I thought disagreeably. Still, I had to admit that he was responsible for my not marrying in grey serge.”
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- QOTD for Monday, February 12, 2024 -- CindyG, Sun, February 11 2024, 18:20:49
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Woods.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I thought I had not been out for long; I showed no symptoms of concussion or other ill effects from the blow, save a sore patch on the base of my skull. My captor, a man of few words, responded to my questions, demands and acerbic remarks alike with the all-purpose Scottish noise which can best be rendered phonetically as ‘ Mmmmphm’. Had I been in any doubt as to his nationality, that sound alone would have been sufficient to remove it.”
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- I never get tired of going back to the beginning of this story! Thanks, CindyG! (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, February 12 2024, 10:12:35
- I've yet to hear a current Scotsman make this sound. I'll have to pay better attention the next time. (NT) -- kgp, Mon, February 12 2024, 10:54:47
- I think Murtagh says that more than anything else- and he doesn’t say much at all but he’s very expressive. Everybody would be lucky to have a Murtagh (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Tue, February 13 2024, 8:54:08
- QOTD for Sunday, February 11, 2024 -- CindyG, Sat, February 10 2024, 22:41:49
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Woods.” Copyright ©️1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“There was a sudden whoosh from above, followed immediately by a blur before my eyes and a dull thud. Captain Randall was on the ground at my feet, under a heaving mass that looked like a bundle of old plaid rags. A brown, rocklike fist rose out of the mass and descended with considerable force, meeting decisively with some bony protuberance, by the sound of the resultant crack. The Captain’s struggling legs, shiny in tall brown boots, relaxed quite suddenly.
I found myself staring into a pair of sharp black eyes. The sinewy hand that had temporarily distracted the Captain’s unwelcome attentions was attached like a limpet to my forearm.
‘And who the hell are you?’ I said in astonishment. My rescuer, if I cared to call him that, was some inches shorter than I and sparely built, but the bare arms protruding from the ragged shirt were knotted with muscle and his whole frame gave the impression of being made of some resilient material such as bedsprings. No beauty, either, with a pockmarked skin, low brow, and narrow jaw.”
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- QOTD for Friday, February 9, 2024 -- kgp, Fri, February 09 2024, 6:36:42
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Chapter 139 Dreams of Glory
“Ken, When ye fight, mostly it’s just hard work. Ye get tired. Your sword’s so heavy ye think ye canna lift it one more time - but ye do, of course.” He stretched, flexing his left arm and turning it, watching the play of light over the sun-bleached hairs and deep-cut muscle. “It’s hot - or it’s freezing - and either way, ye just want to go and be somewhere else. Ye’re scairt or ye’re too busy to be scairt until it’s over, and then ye shake because of what ye’ve just been doing . . . “ He shook his head hard at this, dislodging the thoughts.
“Not this time. Once in a while, something comes over ye - the red thing, is what I’ve always called it.” He glanced at me, almost shyly. “I had it - well, I was far beyond that - when I charged the field at Culloden, This time, though, - “ He ran a hand slowly through his hair. “ In the dream . . . it was different. I wasna afraid at all, nor tired - do ye ever sweat in your dreams, Sassenach?”
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- QOTD for Thursday, February 8, 2024 -- kgp, Thu, February 08 2024, 8:29:38
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Chapter 139 Dreams of Glory
“Did you see Murtagh?”
“Aye, I did.” The tone of surprise in his voice deepened, and his hand stilled on my back. “He was with me, by me. But I could see his face; it shone like the sun.”
This description of his late godfather was more than peculiar; Murtagh had been one of the more dour specimens of Scottish manhood ever produced in the Highlands.
“He was . . . happy?” I ventured doubtfully. I couldn’t imagine anyone who’d set foot on Culloden moor that day had cracked so much as a smile - likely not even the Duke of Cumberland.
“Oh, more than happy, Sassenach - filled wi’ joy.” He let go of me thank and glanced down into my face. “We all were.”
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- QOTD for Wednesday, February 7, 2024 -- kgp, Wed, February 07 2024, 6:58:37
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Chapter 139 Dreams of Glory
“It’s all right, Sassenach,” he said into my hair. “I’m not . . . It’s all right.”
His voice sounded odd, almost puzzled. But he meant it; he was all right. He rubbed my back gently between the shoulder blades and I gingerly relaxed a little. He was very warm, despite the chill, and the clinical part of my mind checked him quickly - no shivering, no flinching . . . his breathing was quite normal and so was his heart rate, easily perceptible against my breast.
“Do you . . . can you tell me about it?” I said, drawing back after a bit. Sometimes he could, and it seemed to help. More often, he couldn’t, and would just shake until the dream let go its grip on his mind and let him turn away.
“I don’t know,” he said, the note of surprise still in his voice. “I mean - it was Culloden, but . . . it was different.”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, February 6, 2024 -- kgp, Tue, February 06 2024, 7:42:48
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Chapter 139 Dreams of Glory
He didn’t move, but his body seemed to flow, the faint glow of the smoored fire shifting on his skin as he relaxed, hair by hair, his breathing slowing.
I relaxed a little, too, in response, though I still watched him warily. It wasn’t a Wentworth dream - he wasn’t sweating; I could almost literally smell fear and blood on him when he woke from those. They came rarely - but were terrible when they did come.
Battlefield? Perhaps; I hoped so. Some of those were worse than others, but he usually came back from a dream of battle fairly quickly and would let me cradle him in my arms and gentle him back to sleep. I longed to do it now. An ember cracked on the hearth behind me, and the tiny spurt of sparks lit his face for an instant, surprising me. He looked . . . peaceful, his eyes dark-wide and fixed on something he could still see.
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- QOTD for Monday, February 5, 2024 -- kgp, Mon, February 05 2024, 6:10:57
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Chapter 139 Dreams of Glory
Fraser’s Ridge September 4, 1780
I was having the delightful sort of dream where you realize that you’re asleep and are enjoying it extremely. I was warm, bonelessly relaxed, and my mind was an exquisite blank. I was just beginning to sink down through this cloudy layer of bliss to the deeper realms of unconsciousness when a violent movement of the mattress under me jerked me into instant alertness.
By reflex, I rolled onto my side and reached for Jamie. I hadn’t achieved the state of conscious thought yet, but my synapses had already drawn their own conclusions. He was still in bed, so we weren’t under attack and the house wasn’t afire. I heard nothing but his rapid breathing; the children were all right and no one had broken in. Ergo . . . it was his own dream that had awakened him.
This thought penetrated into the conscious part of my mind just as my hand touched his shoulder. He drew back, but not with the violent recoil he usually showed if I touched him too suddenly after a bad dream. He was awake then; he knew it was me. Thank God for that, I thought, and drew a deep breath of my own.
“Jamie?” I said softly. My eyes were dark-adapted already; I could see him, half curled beside me, tense, facing me.
“Dinna touch me, Sassenach,” he said, just as softly. “Not yet. Let it pass.” He’d gone to bed in a nightshirt; the room was still chilly. But he was naked now. When had he taken it off? And why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An extra long one as I missed yesterday.
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- QOTD for Saturday 3 February 2024 -- JudithONH, Fri, February 02 2024, 21:54:31
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 86, “Valley Forge,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“’Suitable’ turned out to be one Colenso Baragwanath, a stunted youth from Cornwall who had come with Howe’s troops as a stable-boy. He did know horses, William would give him that.
There were four horses and a pack mule, this last laden with sides of pork, four or five fat turkeys, a bag of rough-skinned potatoes, another of turnips, and a large keg of cider.
‘If conditions there are half as bad as I think they are,’ his father had told him, while overseeing the loading of the mule, ‘the commander would lend you the services of half a battalion in exchange for this, let alone a surgeon.’
‘Thank you, Papa,’ he said again, and swung into his saddle, his new captain’s gorget about his neck and a white flag of truce folded neatly into his saddlebag.”
Once again, William is on a mission to the rebel troops. Here's hoping he can secure the aid of Denny in this need.
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- QOTD for Friday 2 February 2024 -- JudithONH, Fri, February 02 2024, 21:51:06
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 72, “The Feast of All Saints,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Buccleigh stared at him, stubbled face gone quite blank. He blinked once or twice, glanced at Brianna, who nodded, then returned his stare to Roger, carefully scrutinizing his face.
‘Look at his eyes,’ Brianna said helpfully. ‘Shall I bring you a mirror?’
Buccleigh’s mouth opened as though to answer, but he found no words and shook his head as though dislodginig flies. He picked up his cup, stared into it for a moment as though astonished to find it empty, and set it down. Then looked at Brianna.
‘Ye wouldna have anything in the house stronger than coffee, would ye, _a bhana-mhaighstir?_.”
Yes, I think the house has something stronger than coffee... interesting how Buccleigh comes to understand who and what he is...and is open minded enough to accept it!
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- QOTD for Thursday 1 February 2024 -- JudithONH, Wed, January 31 2024, 22:08:24
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 59, “Battle of Bennington,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“’What?’ said William, disbelieving. Whatever the man shouting had meant, his exhortation had a marked effect, for an enormous number of rebels came boiling out of the trees, headed at a mad run for the guns. The soldiers minding the guns promptly fled, and so did a good many of the others.
The rebels were making short work of the rest, and William had just settled down grimly to do what he could before they got him, when two Indians came springing over the rolling ground, seized him under the arms, and, yanking him to his feet, propelled him rapidly away.
Which was how Lieutenant Ellesmere found himself once more cast in the role of Cassandra, reporting the debacle at Bennington to General Burgoyne. Men killed and wounded, guns lost – and not a single cow to be shown for it.”
William's sortie was to get as many comestibles, including cattle, from the Rebels. Somehow it went awry, and there he was in front of General Burgoyne...I obviously need a reread, but wonder if the Indians had anything to do with Ian. I'll find out...
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- QOTD for Wednesday 31 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Wed, January 31 2024, 9:42:22
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 41, “Shelter From the Storm,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“He woke suddenly, panting and sweating, aware that the pain in his guts was real. It bit with a sharp cramp, and he pulled up his legs and rolled onto his side an instant before the ax struck the floorboards where his head had just been.
He let out a tremendous fart and rolled in blind panic toward the dark figure struggling to free the ax from the wood. He struck Johnson’s legs, grabbed them, and yanked. The man fell on him with a curse and grabbed him by the throat. William punched and thrashed at his opponent, but the hands on his throat clung like grim death, and his vision darkened and flashed with colored lights.
There was screaming going on somewhere nearby. More by instinct than plan, William suddenly lunged forward striking Johnson in the face with his forehead. It hurt, but the death grip on his throat relaxed, and he wrenched loose and rolled over, scrambling to his feet.”
I think this incident and trip deepened the respect between William and Ian. I so enjoy watching their friendship grow.
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- QOTD for Tuesday 30 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Tue, January 30 2024, 10:12:47
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 31, “A Guided Tour Through the Chambers of the Heart,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“’Surely, sir,’ Jamie said, striving for reasonableness, ‘ye canna mean to kill a wounded enemy – one in uniform, taken under his own flag, and a man who has surrendered himself to ye. That couldna be condoned by any honorable man.’
Hickman drew himself up, going puce.
‘Are you impugning my honor, sir?’
I saw the muscles in Jamie’s neck and shoulders tense, but before he could speak, Ian stepped up beside him, shoulder to shoulder.
‘Aye, he is. So am I.’
Rollo, his fur still sticking up in wet spikes, growled and rolled back his black lips, showing most of his teeth in token support of this opinion.”
I love the way Ian has Jamie's back, and Rollo has both of theirs. Reminds me of Jamie and Dougal fighting side by side.
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- QOTD for Monday 29 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Sun, January 28 2024, 17:24:48
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 21, “The Minister’s Cat,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“It had been a couple of months before they left the Ridge. Unable to sleep one night, he’d gone out into the woods, and roaming restlessly to and fro, had encountered Claire, kneeling in a hollow full of white flowers, their shapes like a mist around her.
He’d just sat down then and watched her at her gathering, as she broke stems and stripped leaves into her basket. …
‘Most plants, though, are troubled by daylight insects, and so they begin to secrete their useful compounds at dawn; the concentration rises as the day waxes – but then, when the sun gets too hot, some of the oils will begin to vaporize from the leaves, and the plant will stop producing them. So most of the very aromatic plants, you pick in the late morning. And so the shamans and the herbalists tell their apprentices to take one plan in the dark of the moon and another at midday – thus making it a superstition, hmm?’ Her voice was rather dry, but still amused.”
Claire never passes up a teachable moment! :-)
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- As well, we learned of the passing Hugh, DH of Kate Smith (LOLKate). Lallyhugs and Blessings to all the family. Kate and Hugh lived in Australia, are originally from Scotland. -- JudithONH, Sun, January 28 2024, 9:51:06
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- Yesterday we learned of the passing of one of our own Lady of Lallybroch, LindaT. Her sharp wit and compassion for others will be remembered fondly. Sending love and comfort to her family and friends. -- kgp, Sun, January 28 2024, 6:18:54
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- QOTD for Sunday 28 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Sat, January 27 2024, 18:25:54
Here we go again…sorry, no theme this week either, just something from each page (126, 226, 326, etc.). There is always something rich when I do these silly choices, and I do remember most of this book. I must have re-read it a time or two. 😊 Enjoy!
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 13, “Unrest,” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“—but he wondered suddenly whether he might find a wife in Scotland.
He couldn’t. Could he? Would Bug be able to follow him so far? Maybe he’s already dead, he thought again, and shifted a bit. Rollo grumbled in his throat, but, recognizing the signs, shuffled off him and curled up a little distance away.
His family would be there. Surrounded by the Murrays, surely he – and a wife – would be safe. It was simple to lurk and steal through the dense woods here in the mountains – not nearly so simple in the Highlands, where every eye was sharp and no stranger passed unnoticed.”
I loved Ian's thought process here...it goes on to say that surely Jenny could find someone who would marry Ian, even looking like a Mohawk... And how no way could Bug be inconspicuous in the Highlands.
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- QOTD for Saturday 27 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Sat, January 27 2024, 10:04:34
I had to end the week with a little bit of J&C intimacy:
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 131, “Thunderstorms On the Ridge,’ Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I wasn’t sure whether the adrenaline of battle just didn’t diffuse immediately, the recent nearness of death inducing a strong need to reproduce – or whether the desire for sex merely expressed a need to reassure oneself that one was still alive and in reasonable working order. Regardless, I had to admit that it had a settling effect.
I shook and patted myself back into some sort of order, looked at my reflection in the glass, then shook my head, and wound my hair up into a makeshift bun, precariously fastened by a couple of quills stolen from Jamie’s desk as I passed the study, I could hear voices in the kitchen, and one of them was Ian’s, which lifted my heart.
He and Totis were sitting at the table, eating bread and honey, conversing with Fanny and Agnes in a mélange of languages: I recognized English, Gaelic, and what I assumed to be Mohawk, plus a few words of French and a certain amount of sign language regarding food.
I love all the blended family interactions in Bees. Happy Weekend and I'll see you again next week!
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- QOTD for Friday 26 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Fri, January 26 2024, 13:29:38
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 112, “We Met On The Level…,” Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
He grunted and shifted his weight uneasily, but then settled again and took a cautious breath.
‘Aye. Well, by the time I could tell for sure where I was, I was close to Tom MacLeod’s place – did Gillebride say Tom’s nose is broken? – and I thought I’d best take refuge there. So I was sloggin’ through the mud and bushes, trying to keep track of where I was by what I could see when the lightning went, and all of a sudden there was a thunderclap that split the sky and a monstrous flash that left me blind, and the rain turned to poundin’ hail, just like that –‘ He snapped his fingers. ‘So I pulled my plaid over my head to shield it, and next thing I ken, the captain’s run into me in the dark. Only I didna ken who it was, and neither did he, and then the lightning went again and I went for my pistol and he went for his cutlass and …’ He waved a hand at the half-sewn gash in his chest.”
Once again, Claire is stitching her man up...He must look like a patchwork quilt by now! Happy Friday!
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- QOTD for Thursday 25 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Thu, January 25 2024, 9:53:33
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 88, “In Which Things Do Not Add Up,” Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Gabriel licked his lips and huffed out a great white sigh.
‘What are we to do, then, Silvia?’ he said, plainly struggling for calm. ‘Thee knows the girls want to be with me as much as I wish to be with them. Whatever thee thinks of me at present – how can thee be so heartless as to take them from me?’
‘As for thee, I expect thy other children will comfort thee,’ Silvia said, in as nasty a tone as Ian had ever heard from her. She rubbed a hand over her face, hard, also striving for calm. ‘No. Thee is right in that, at least. I do know how much they love thee and I will never say anything to them that would blacken thee in their eyes. I think thee should tell them, though, about thy children here. They will understand that, but they will not understand why thee would keep the truth from them – and they are bound to find out sooner or later, though not from me.’”
I confess this is one thread to Bees that I have no memory of at all. In typing it out, I wonder what the purpose of this story line is. Does anyone have any thoughts or memories of that?
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- QOTD for Wednesday 24 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Tue, January 23 2024, 18:38:19
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 65, “Green Grow the Rushes, O!” Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“’It’s the lassie who came to fetch ye to her mother’s childbed,’ he said. ‘Agnes Cloudtree, was it?’
“Are you sure?’ I squinted, too, but it didn’t help much; the figure remained a blur of brown and white against the darker dirt of the road. A stab of fear went through my heart, though, at the name “Cloudtree.” I’d thought often of the twins I’d delivered, of their mother’s stoic heroism…and the very peculiar circumstance of that birth; a circumstance made the more peculiar by the simplicity of it. I could feel the sense of that small body in my hands now. Nothing dramatic; no tingling or glowing. Just the sure and certain knowledge of life.”
This is another one where I draw a memory blank. I do love that Claire has such vivid memories of most, if not all, of her medical interventions.
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- QOTD for Tuesday 23 January 2024 -- JudithONH, Mon, January 22 2024, 22:07:18
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 47, “Tace Is the Latin for a Candle,” Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“What with one thing and another, though, he didn’t encounter a conscious Hal until late the next afternoon, following a harrowing tea party at the home of a Mrs. Tina Anderson, who, while herself a tall, statuesque blond beauty possessed of great charm, was also possessed of a horde of chattering friends who had descended on him en masse, affectionately clinging to his sleeve or fingering his gold braid while expressing their gratitude for the army’s presence and their admiration of the courageous soldiers who were saving them -apparently- from mass rapine.
‘It was something like being pecked to death by a flock of small parrots,’ he told Hal. ‘Screeching, and feathers everywhere.’”
I love the way the first paragraph is one long sentence which I read very quickly, and it seemed to me to mimic the “flock of small parrots” in their intense desire to gain John’s attention.
Diana never misses an angle to illustrate her point! Cheers!
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- QOTD for week of January 21, 2024 -- JudithONH, Sun, January 21 2024, 22:03:32
Since I got the go-ahead to do QOTD this week, I will post Sunday and Monday quotes here - so it will be a little long.
QOTD for Sunday 28 January 2024
I only read this book once, almost 3 years ago now, and in choosing the quotes, I didn’t remember much of it. I just chose consecutively numbered pages (123, 234, 345, etc. and selected something from those pages. What I found piqued my interest, so I guess it’s time for a reread. Enjoy!
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 14, “Mon Cher Petit Ami,” Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Gradually, as people became full, conversation began again, but in a subdued fashion. Finally, John Quincy pushed away his empty tin plate with a deep sigh of repletion and gazed benignly round the table.
‘Missus Fraser, Missus MacKenzie, Missus Murray, Missus Higgins…y’all done us right well tonight. I ain’t et that much at one sittin’ since last Christmas.’
‘It was our pleasure,’ I assured him. ‘I haven’t seen anyone eat that much since last Christmas.’
I thought I heard a muffled snigger behind me, but I ignored it.
‘So long as we’ve a crust in the house, ye’ll always eat with us man,’ Jamie told him. ‘And drink, I hope?’ he added, producing a full bottle of something undoubtedly alcoholic from under his bench.
‘I wouldn’t say no, Mr. Fraser.’ John Quincy belched slightly and beamed benevolently at Jamie. ‘I cain’t insult your hospitality, now, can I?’”
I always love interactions with John Quincy - a real character!
QOTD for Monday 29 January 2024
The following quote is from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 29, “Remember, Man…” Copyright 2021 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“’This one’s near finished,’ he said, leading Brianna into an open-sided shed smelling of the fresh wood shavings that covered the floor. ‘Higgins, you say…not sure I know which lady that might be. How big would you say…’
Brianna mutely held a hand at the level of her chest, and Mr. MacLeod nodded. He was old, leathery, and mostly bald, with a half-sprouted gray beard and shoulders stooped by constant bending over his work, be he exuded a sense of calm competence.
‘This’ll do, then. Now, as to when…’ He squinted at the half-finished coffin, balanced on wooden sawhorses. Pine planks in different stages of preparation leaned against the walls. She could hear the rustle of what were probably mice in the shadows, and found it oddly soothing, almost domestic.
‘I could help you,” she blurted, and he looked up at her, startled.
‘I’m a good builder,’ she said.”
Reading this, it seemed to me that Brianna helping to finish the coffin was a good way to deal with her grief at the loss of her friend.
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- Sorry I didn't change the dates on those two. Should be January 21 and January 22. Will fix the rest of the week. (NT) -- JudithONH, Mon, January 22 2024, 10:01:28
- I, too, have only read "Bees" once, so those quotes are always a treat. I'm always happy to see John Quincy pop up! (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, January 22 2024, 11:10:38
- I've forgotten how many times I've listened to Bees, I think there are some really brilliant passages. Poor Amy. Such a tragedy. And I thought Diana's descriptions of Brianna's reactions rang true. Always fun when Meyers shows up. I hope he stays out of harm's way. (NT) -- kgp, Mon, January 22 2024, 17:58:29
- QOTD for week of January 21, 2024 -- JudithONH, Sun, January 21 2024, 11:07:06
Hi! Does anyone know if someone signed up for QOTD for this week? I signed up for week of Jan. 28 and have my quotes ready. I'm happy to share them this week if no one else has signed up. Thanks! JudithONH
I also emailed the Forum Admin about this.
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- QOTD for Saturday, January 20, 2024 -- CindyG, Fri, January 19 2024, 19:29:37
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 11, “Transverse Lie.” Copyright 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘This is silly,’ she said, ‘I can see my breath—and yours. It’s cold enough to blow smoke rings. We’ll freeze.’
‘No, we won’t. Ken the way the Indians make fire?’
‘What, rubbing a dry stick on a …’
‘Aye, friction.”’He’d got her petticoats up; her thigh was smooth and cold under his hand. ‘I see it’s no going to be dry, though—Christ, Sassenach, what have ye been about?’ He had her firmly in the palm of his hand, warm and soft and juicy, and she squealed at the chill of his touch, loud enough that one of the mules let out a startled wheeze. She wriggled, just enough to make him take his hand out from between her legs and insert something else, quick.
‘Ye’re going to rouse the whole barn,’ he observed, breathless. God, the enveloping shock of the heat of her made him giddy.
She ran her cold hands up under his shirt and pinched both his nipples, hard, and he yelped, then laughed.
‘Do that again,’ he said, and bending, stuck his tongue in her cold ear for the pleasure of hearing her shriek. She wriggled and arched her back, but didn’t—he noticed—actually turn her head away. He took her earlobe gently between his teeth and began to worry it, rogering her slowly and laughing to himself at the noises she made.
It had been a long time of making silent love.”
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- Your quotes are SO sexy in a real life way. The little sqeaks and noises, ignoring the cold, knowing what parts of the body - besides the obvious - thrill to touches and little kisses. Diana writes the best “porn” I’ve ever read. Thanks, Cindy! (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sat, January 20 2024, 4:09:33
- QOTD -- Kirsten, Sun, January 21 2024, 7:57:28
- These quotes certainly warmed up a very cold SE Massachusetts this week!!! (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, January 22 2024, 11:06:38
- QOTD for Friday, January 19, 2024 -- CindyG, Thu, January 18 2024, 22:23:15
The following quote is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 16, “Le Mot Juste.” Copyright 2005 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘Ye’re smiling to yourself,’ Jamie said in my ear. ‘Nice, was it?’
I turned my head and opened my eyes, finding them on a level with his mouth—which was smiling, too.
‘Nice,’ I said thoughtfully, tracing the line of his wide lower lip with the tip of one finger. ‘Are you being deliberately modest, or are you hoping to inspire me to raptures of praise by means of classic understatement?’
The mouth widened further, and his teeth closed gently on my questing finger for a moment before releasing it.
‘Oh, modesty, to be sure,’ he said. ‘If I’d hopes of inspiring ye to raptures, it wouldna be with my words, now, would it?’
One hand ran lightly down my back in illustration.
‘Well, the words help,’ I said.
‘They do?’
‘Yes. Just now, I was actually trying to rank “I love you, I like you, I worship you, I have to have my cock inside you,” in terms of their relative sincerity.’
‘Did I say that?’ he said, sounding slightly startled.
‘Yes. Weren’t you listening?’
‘No,’ he admitted. ‘I meant every word of it, though.’ His hand cupped one buttock, weighing it appreciatively. ‘Still do, come to that.’”
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- QOTD for Thursday, January 18, 2024 -- CindyG, Wed, January 17 2024, 21:45:32
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 13, “Beans and Barbecue.” Copyright 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I’ think we’ll not have time for the lot, Jamie dear,’ said the priest. ‘But if ye were to tell me about one or two of these occasions, just so as I could be formin’ a notion as to the … er … severity of the offense …?’
‘Och, aye. Well, the worst was likely the time wi’ the butter churn.’
‘Butter churn? Ah … the sort with the handle pokin’ up?’ Father Kenneth’s tone encompassed a sad compassion for the lewd possibilities suggested by this.
‘Oh, no, Father; it was a barrel churn. The sort that lies on its side, aye, with a wee handle to turn it? Well, it’s only that she was workin’ the churn with great vigor, and the laces of her bodice undone, so that her breasts wobbled to and fro, and the cloth clinging to her with the sweat of her work. Now, the churn was just the right height—and curved, aye?—so as make me think of bendin’ her across it and lifting her skirts, and—‘
My mouth opened involuntarily in shock. That was my bodice he was describing, my breasts, and my butter churn! To say nothing of my skirts. I remembered that particular occasion quite vividly, and if it had started with an impure thought, it certainly hadn’t stopped there.“
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- QOTD for Wednesday, January 17, 2024 -- CindyG, Tue, January 16 2024, 18:40:42
The following quote is from Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 16, “The First Law of Thermodynamics.” Copyright 1997 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘So long as my body lives, and yours—we are one flesh,’ he whispered. His fingers touched me, hair and chin and neck and breast, and I breathed his breath and felt him solid under my hand. Then I lay with my head on his shoulder, the strength of him supporting me, the words deep and soft in his chest.
‘And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours. Claire—I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you.’
The wind stirred the leaves of the chestnut trees nearby, and the scents of late summer rose up rich around us; pine and grass and strawberries, sunwarmed stone and cool water, and the sharp, musky smell of his body next to mine.
‘Nothing is lost, Sassenach; only changed.’
‘That’s the first law of thermodynamics,’ I said, wiping my nose.
‘No,” he said. ‘That’s faith.’”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, January 16, 2024 -- CindyG, Mon, January 15 2024, 22:54:11
The following quote is from Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 52, “A Wedding Takes Place.” Copyright 1994 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘I have been thinking of this for months, now,’ he said, with keen anticipation. ‘Every night, folded up in that godforsaken nutshell of a berth, listening to Fergus grunt and fart across the cabin. I thought it all out, just what I would do, did I have ye naked and willing, no one in hearing, and room enough to serve ye suitably.’ He lathered the cake of soap vigorously between his palms, and applied it to his face.
‘Well, I’m willing enough,’ I said, intrigued. ‘And there’s room, certainly. As for naked …’
‘I’ll see to that,’ he assured me. ‘That’s part o’ the plan, aye?’
. . . ‘Then I shall lay ye down upon the quilt, twist your hair up in my hand and taste your face and throat and ears and bosom wi’ my lips,’ he said. ‘I thought I would do that until ye start to make squeaking noises.’
‘I don’t make squeaking noises!’
‘Aye, ye do,’ he said.”
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- QOTD for Monday, January 15, 2024 -- CindyG, Sun, January 14 2024, 20:12:37
The following quote is from Dragonfly in Amberby Diana Gabaldon, chapter 29, “To Grasp the Nettle.” Copyright 1992 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘Never,’ he whispered to me, face only inches from mine.
‘Never,’ I said, and turned my head, closing my eyes to escape the intensity of his gaze.
A gentle, inexorable pressure turned me back to face him, as the small, rhythmic movements went on.
‘No, my Sassenach,’ he said softly. ‘Open your eyes. Look at me. For that is your punishment, as it is mine. See what you have done to me, as I know what I have done to you. Look at me.’
And I looked, held prisoner, bound to him. Looked, as he dropped the last of his masks, and showed me the depths of himself, and the wounds of his soul. I would have wept for his hurt, and for mine, had I been able. But his eyes held mine, tearless and open, boundless as the salt sea. His body held mine captive, driving me before his strength, like the west wind in the sails of a bark.
And I voyaged into him, as he into me, so that when the last small storms of love began to shake me, he cried out, and we rode the waves together as one flesh, and saw ourselves in each other’s eyes.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, January 14, 2024 -- CindyG, Sat, January 13 2024, 18:44:38
Saw a post on Facebook a few days ago asking if there was a list of all the sex scenes in the books. Karen Henry pointed them to Diana’s book “I Give You My Body,” which I bought a year or so ago but haven’t read thoroughly. There’s a handy appendix that lists them, although it doesn’t include Bees since it hadn’t been written yet. So, that inspired this week’s quotes.
The following quote is from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Raiders in the Rocks.” Copyright 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘Jamie! Not here!’ I said, squirming away and pushing my skirt down again.
‘Are ye tired, Sassenach?’ he asked with concern. ‘Dinna worry, I won’t take long.’ Now both hands were at it, rucking the heavy fabric up in front.
‘No!’ I replied, all too mindful of the twenty men lying a few feet away. ‘I’m not tired, it’s just—‘ I gasped as his groping hand found its way between my legs.
‘Lord,’he said softly. ‘It’s slippery as waterweed. . . .’
‘Jamie,’ I panted. He pushed his kilt out of the way and pressed my hand against him.
‘Bloody Christ,’ I said, impressed despite myself. My sense of propriety slipped another notch.
‘Fighting gives ye a terrible cockstand, after. Ye want me, do ye no?’ he said, pulling back a little to look at me. It seemed pointless to deny it, what with all the evidence to hand. He was hard as a brass rod against my bared thigh.”
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- QOTD for Saturday, January 13, 2024 -- kgp, Sat, January 13 2024, 10:18:02
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 29 Remember, Man . . .
He couldn’t tell her it would be all right. But neither could he leave her to stand alone here like a lightning rod.
“If I have to pick ye up, I’ll likely fall off the roof and we’ll both be killed.” he said, and took her cold hand. “Come down. Aye?”
She nodded, straightened, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her shift.
“It’s not wrong to be alive,” he said quietly. “I’m glad you are.”
She nodded again, raised his hand to her cold lips, and kissed it. They made their way down the ladder in the dark one after the other, each alone but together, toward the distant glow of the hearth below.
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- QOTD for Friday, January 12, 2024 -- kgp, Fri, January 12 2024, 8:06:18
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 35 Ambsace
She did, heaved the water into the tub, then set down the bucket, looked up at me and said seriously, “I know what ‘swived’ means.”
I felt as though she’d just kicked me sharply in the shin.
“Do you, indeed?” I managed, picking up my working knife. “I, um . . . suppose you would.” She’d spent half her short life in a brothel in Philadelphia; she probably knew a lot of other words not in the vocabulary of the average twelve-year-old.
“It’s too bad,” she said, turning to fetch another bucket; the boys had filled all of them this morning; there were six left. “I like his lordship a lot. He wath - was so good to me and - and Jane. I like Mr. Fraser, too,” she added. Though with a certain reserve.
“I’m sure he appreciates your good opinion.” I said gravely, wondering, What the hell? ”And yes, his lordship is a very fine man. He’s always been a good friend to us.” I put a bit of emphasis on the “us,” and saw that register.
“Oh.” A small frown disturbed the perfect skin of her forehead. “I thup- suppose that makes it worse. That you went to bed with him,” she explained, lest I have missed her point. “Men don’t like to share a woman. Unless it’s an ambsace.”
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- QOTD for January 11, 2024 -- kgp, Thu, January 11 2024, 7:31:22
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 35 Ambsace
He moved close to me and looked down into my face, blue eyes dark with intent.
“Did I tell ye once that I am a jealous man?”
“You did, but . . . “
“And did I tell ye that I grudged every hour ye’d spent in another man’s bed?”
I took a deep breath to squash down the hasty words I could feel boiling up.
“You did,” I said, through only slightly clenched teeth.
He glared at me for a long moment.
“I meant it,” he said. “I still mean it. Ye’ll do what ye damn please - God knows, ye always do - but don’t pretend ye dinna ken what I feel about it!”
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- QOTD for Wednesday, January 10, 2024 -- kgp, Tue, January 09 2024, 16:01:52
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 34 The Son Of A Preacher-Man
“You started it, Da,” Brianna said now, amused. “But I noticed you didn’t pick a virtuous name at the meeting.”
He’s already got the names of three Scottish kings,” Roger protested. “He’ll be gettin’ above himself if ye give him any more to play with.”
“You didn’t pick one, either, did you, Mama?” I could see the wheels turning in Bree’s mind, and moved to forestall her.
“Er . . . how about Gentleness?” I said, causing many of those at the table to burst into laughter.
“Is Ruthlessness a virtue?” Jamie said, grinning at me.
“Probably not,” I said, rather coldly. “Though I suppose it depends on the circumstances.”
“True,” he said, and taking my hand, kissed it. “Resolve, then - or maybe Resolution?”
“Well, Resolution Fraser does have a certain ring to it,” I said. “I have one for you, too.”
“Oh, aye?”
“Endurance.”
He didn’t stop smiling, but a certain look of ruefulness came into his eyes.
“Aye,” he said. “That’ll do.”
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- Posting early in case we lose power. What virtuous name would you pick for yourself? (NT) -- kgp, Tue, January 09 2024, 16:14:18
- OMG, that’s a tough one. Lol. Pick one I hope for? Have to look them up and see if I qualify. Hope you’re ok after the storms; our rain is done but the wind’s still blowing strong. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Wed, January 10 2024, 4:46:54
- I think for myself it would be Optimism. I'm very much a Glass is Half Full kind of person. In fact, I'm grateful to have a glass, which is refillable. If it's chipped, drink from the other side! My favorite expression (which both DD & DS have tattoos of) is "Don't Borrow Trouble." (NT) -- DianaH, Wed, January 10 2024, 10:01:38
- I think my name should be Patience, because I frequently am in need of it.....I'm in Detroit and we were supposed to get snowmegedon. We didn't get a full inch, and it is melting almost as fast as it comes down. We do have wind, though. (NT) -- Janet, Wed, January 10 2024, 10:50:23
- QOTD for Tuesday, January 9, 2024 -- kgp, Tue, January 09 2024, 6:54:26
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 34 The Son Of A Preacher-Man
A good deal of warmth having been enkindled by the song - and Bluebell’s contribution - everyone had sat quietly for a few minutes. I’d felt Jamie, beside me, draw himself up a little, as though having made a decision, and he told the congregation about Sylvia Hardman, a Quaker woman he’d met by chance at her house near Philadelphia, and who had cared for him for several days, his back having chosen to incapacitate him.
“Besides her great kindness,” he said, “I was taken by her wee daughters. They were as kind as their mother - but it was their names I liked most. Patience, Prudence, and Chastity, they were called. So I’d meant to ask ye, Rachel - do Friends often call their children after virtues?”
“They do,” she said, and smiling at Jemmy, who had started to twitch a little, added, “Jeremiah - if thee wasn’t called Jeremiah, what name would thee choose? If thee were to be named for a virtue, I mean.”
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- QOTD for Monday, January 8, 2024 -- kgp, Sun, January 07 2024, 18:41:27
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 42 Sasanaich Clann Na Galladh!
“You’re planning to steal guns from the Continental army?” I blurted. “Or make Fergus do it, which is even worse?”
“No,” he said patiently. “That would be treason. Aye? I’m going to buy them from whoever is stealing them. Someone always is. Fergus will likely ken who the local smugglers are, already, but if not, I’ve considerable faith that he can find out.”
“It’ll cost a pretty price,” Roger said, lifting a brow,
Jamie grimaced, nodding. “Aye. I’ve kept that gold safe all these years for the time it should be needed for the cause of revolution - and . . . now it is.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, January 7, 2024 -- kgp, Sat, January 06 2024, 18:55:22
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 42 Sasanaich Clann Na Galladh!
“All right. The guns - you actually have two problems there, don’t you?”
“I’d be happy if there were only two,” he said, taking another sip. “Which problems d’ye mean, lass?”
“Buying the guns - oh, I see what you mean by more than two problems. But putting that aside for a minute: you need to buy the guns, and then you need to get them back here. Do you have an idea where you’re going to get them, by the way?”
“Fergus,” Jamie said promptly.
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- QUTD for Saturdy, 01/06/2024 -- Janet, Sat, January 06 2024, 2:59:03
The Following quote is from Go Tell the Bees I am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 11, Lightning Copyright 2021, All rights reserved.
“A lot of things have almost killed him,” she said, her laughter gone. “One of these days….” Her voice was husky.
“It’ll be one of these days for everyone, mo ghraidh. If it weren’t, people wouldn’t think they need a minister. As for your da…as long as your mother’s here, l think he’ll be alright, no matter what.”
She gave a deep sigh, and the tension in her body eased.
“I think everybody feels like that about them both. If they’re here, everything will be all right.”
I know I certainly feel that way about them! Thanks for reading this week, it was fun.
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- QOTD for Friday, 01/15/2024 -- Janet, Fri, January 05 2024, 10:44:32
QOTD for Friday 01/05/24
The Following quote is from Go Tell the Bees I am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 10, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. Copyright 2021, All rights reserved.
This quote is describing Roger, Bree, and the kids returning to Frazer’s Ridge
“We almost didn’t make it,” Roger said quietly. He looked at the children asleep on the settle. Mandy had fallen over and was sprawled on her face, limp as Esmeralda. “It was Mandy who got us through---and you,” he added raising his eyes to Jamie, with a slight smile.
“Me?”
“You wrote a book,” Bree said softly looking at him. “A Grandfather’s Tales. And you thought to put a copy in the box with your letters.”
. . . . . .
Jamie made a small sound in his throat---the only inarticulate Scottish noise I’d ever heard from him. I looked away and saw that Jem was awake; he hadn’t moved but his eyes were open. He sat up slowly and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“It’s okay Grandda,” he said, his voice froggy and deep. “Don’t cry. Ye got us here safe.”
This is maybe a bit too long, but I just love this whole passage…..
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- POTD for 01/04/2024 -- Janet, Thu, January 04 2024, 10:57:12
QOTD for 01/03/24
The Following quote is from Go Tell the Bees I am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 8 Visitations. Copywrite 2021, All rights reserved
“Aye, I thought of that.” Jamie waved a hand, dismissing it. “The difficulty’s more of what they think of……germs.” He pronounced the word very carefully and glanced quickly at Roger under his brows, as if to see if he said it right, or as if he wasn’t sure it was a real word to start with.
“Oh. Hadn’t thought of that. You mean the sick folk who come—they might leave…” He waved his own hand toward the hole.
“Aye. You should have seen the carry-on when Claire insisted on scalding Amy’s privy wi’ boiling water and lye soap and pouring turpentine into it after the Crombie lad left.” His shoulders rose toward his ears at the memory. “If she was to do that every time we had sick folk in our privy, we’d all be shitting in the woods, too.”
My grandparents had a two holer that was used until 1968, when they got running water. Many memories of that privy!
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- QOTD For January 3, 2024 -- Janet, Wed, January 03 2024, 4:14:28
The Following quote is from Go Tell the Bees I am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 5, Meditations on a Hyoid. Copywrite 2021, All rights reserved
“No, dat.” Mandy poked a wet, chubby finger at the heel of my hand. “Issa letter!” She twisted her head halfway around to look closer, black curls tickling across my arm. “Letter ‘J’!” she announced triumphantly. “’J’ is for Jemmy. I hate Jemmy,” she added frowning.
“Er…..” I said completely nonplused. It was the letter “J”. The scar had faded to a thin white line but was still clear if the light struck it right. The scar Jamie had given me, when I left him at Culloden. Left him to die, hurling myself through the stones to save his unborn, unknown child. Our child. And if I hadn’t?
I looked at Mandy, sherry eyed and black curled and perfect as a tiny spring apple. Heard Jem outside, now giggling with his father. It had cost us 20 years apart---years of heartbreak, pain and danger. It had been worth it.
Not the normal Hump Day quote, but definately exemplifies love.
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- QOTD for January 2, 2004 -- Janet, Tue, January 02 2024, 4:38:59
The Following quote is from Go Tell the Bees I am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 4, The Women will Ha’ a Fit. Copywrite 2021, All rights reserved.
“I’m really glad to meet you,” she said to Rachel. “I couldn’t imagine what sort of girl would marry Ian---I’m sorry, that sounds wrong…”
“No, thee is quite right,” Rachel assured her. “I couldn’t have imagined marrying a man like him, either, but there he is in my bed each morning, nonetheless. They do say the Lord moves in mysterious ways. Come into the house,” she added, shifting Oggy into a new position. “I know where the wine is.”
I love Rachel’s dry sense of humor and her practical nature.
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- QOTD for Monday, January 1, 2024 -- Janet, Mon, January 01 2024, 4:18:54
The Following quote is from Go Tell the Bees I am Gone, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 3, Rustic, Rural, and Very Romantic. Copywrite 2021, All rights reserved.
The sun was barely up, but Jamie was long gone. I’d awakened briefly when he kissed my forehead, whispered that he was going hunting with Brianna, and vanished into the chilly dark. I woke again two hours later in the warm nest of old quilts—these donated by the Crombies and the Lindsays—that served us as a bed and sat up , cross-legged in my shift, combing leaves and grass heads out of my hair with my fingers, and enjoying the rare feeling of waking slowly, rather than the oft-experienced sensation of having been shot from a cannon.
I just love the pictures Diana paints with her words…can’t you just see the old quilts, shift, and leaves in the hair???
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- Janet, yes, I can! I often think in my daily life how much harder, more uncomfortable ordinary tasks were. While I loved camping, now that I am of a "certain age," I appreciate a cozy bed, and warm, comfortable clothes while doing barn chores. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, January 02 2024, 11:49:33
- QOTD for Sunday, 12/31/23 -- Janet, Sun, December 31 2023, 10:22:04
Quote of the Day for Sunday, 12/31/23
Taken from Go Tell the Bees I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 1, The MacKenzies are Here. Copywrite 2021, all rights reserved.
There was a stone under my right buttock, but I didn't want to move. The tiny heartbeat under my fingers was soft and stubborn, the fleeting jolts life. The space between them was infinity, my connection to the dark sky and the rising flame.
It seems appropriate on the last day of the old year to talk about new beginnings, and this passage shows the start of new adventures.
Quotes this week are random. I have enjoyed QOTD for many years, and am kind of sad we're not seeing more quotes/quoters. Hopefully more will participate with the New Year. May you all be Happy, Healthy, and Safe!
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- Merry Christmas to all. Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year -- Margaret, Fri, December 22 2023, 8:30:58
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- QOTD for Saturday, December 16, 2023 -- CindyG, Fri, December 15 2023, 19:40:23
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘For a long time,’ he said at last, ‘when I was small, I pretended to myself that I was the bastard of some great man. All orphans do this, I think,’ he added dispassionately. ‘It makes life easier to bear, to pretend that it will not always be as it is, that someone will come and restore you to your rightful place in the world.’
He shrugged.
‘Then I grew older, and knew this was not true. No one would come to rescue me. But then—‘ He turned his head and gave Jamie a smile of surpassing sweetness.
‘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.
‘I wish for nothing more.’”
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- QOTD for Friday, December 15, 2023 -- CindyG, Thu, December 14 2023, 20:50:23
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Jamie’s own brain was more than occupied. Baron Amandine. He knew the name, but had no face to go with it, nor did he recall the context in which he knew it. Only that he had encountered it at some point, in Paris. But when? When he had attended the université there … or later, when he and Claire—yes. That was it; he’d heard the name at court. But no matter how he cudgeled his brain, it would give up no further information.”
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- QOTD for Thursday, December 14, 2023 -- CindyG, Thu, December 14 2023, 10:08:19
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘But … we dinna ken what his purpose is, but it may be something of great advantage to ye, aye? How likely is it that someone in France would go to the trouble and expense of sending someone like him to do ye harm, when they could be content just to leave ye be in America?’ He hesitated. ‘Perhaps … the Baron Amandine is some relation to ye?’
The notion seemed the stuff of romances, and likely the sheerest moonshine. But at the same time, Jamie was at a loss to think of some sensible reason for a French nobleman to be hunting a brothel-born bastard across two continents.”
Sorry, I wasn’t feeling well and forgot to post last night.
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- QOTD for Wednesday, December 13, 2023 -- CindyG, Tue, December 12 2023, 19:53:18
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘D’ye want me to speak to this Beauchamp?’ Jamie asked abruptly. ‘I could perhaps find out what he means toward you.’
Fergus’s mouth drew in a bit, then relaxed as he shook his head.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I said I had heard this man had made inquiries concerning me in Edenton?’
‘Ye’re sure it is you?’ Not that the ground in North Carolina crawled with Claudels, but still …
“I think so, yes.’ Fergus spoke very softly, with an eye on Germain, who had started emitting soft croaks, evidently conversing with the frogs in his shirt. ‘The person who told me of this said that man had not only a name, but a small information, of sorts. That the Claudel Fraser he sought had been taken from Paris by a tall red-haired Scotsman. Named James Fraser. So I think you cannot speak to him, no.’”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 -- CindyG, Mon, December 11 2023, 19:28:03
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘What did the Frenchman say to ye, then?’
Germain looked up, wide-eyed and interested.
‘Oh, he’s not a Frenchman, Grandpère.’
A brief pulse of astonishment went through him.
‘He’s not? Ye’re sure?’
‘Oh, aye. He cursed most blasphemous when Simon landed on his shoe—but not the way Papa does.’ Germain aimed a bland look at his father, who looked disposed to cuff him again, but desisted at Jamie’s gesture. ‘He is an Englishman. I’m sure.’
‘He cursed in English?’ Jamie asked. It was true; Frenchmen often invoked vegetables when cursing, not infrequently mingled with sacred references. English cursing generally had nothing to do with saints, sacraments, or cucumbers, but dealt with God, whores, or excrement.
‘He did. But I cannot say what he said, or Papa will be offended. He has very pure ears, Papa,’ Germain added, with a smirk at his father.”
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- QOTD for Monday, December 11, 2023 -- CindyG, Sun, December 10 2023, 18:35:03
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘Is that his ship?’ Fergus asked, a frown creasing his brow as he nodded toward the very trim black-and-yellow sloop that rocked gently at anchor, some distance out.
‘It’s the ship he travels in. Couldna say whether he owns it. Ye dinna ken his face, though?’
Fergus leaned into the window, nearly flattening his own face against the wavery panes in an attempt to get a better look at Monsieur Beauchamp.
Jamie, beer in hand, studied Fergus’s face in turn. Despite having lived in Scotland since the age of ten, and in America for the last ten years or more, Fergus himself still looked French, he thought. It was something more than a matter of feature; something in the bone itself, perhaps.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, December 10, 2023 -- CindyG, Sat, December 09 2023, 20:01:28
The following quote is from An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 18, “Pulling Teeth.” Copyright©️ 2009 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“He looked like a Frenchman, Jamie thought. Which was to say, thoroughly out of place in New Bern. Beauchamp had just come out of Thorogood Northrup’s warehouse and stood in casual conversation with Northrup himself, the breeze off the water fluttering the silk ribbon that tied back his dark hair. Elegant, Claire had described him as, and he was that: not—not quite—foppish, but dressed with taste and expense. A good deal of expense, he thought.
‘He looks like a Frenchman,’ Fergus observed, echoing his thoughts.”
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- QOTD for Saturday, December 9, 2023 -- kgp, Fri, December 08 2023, 16:46:49
The following quotation is from Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2003 all rights reserved Chapter 6 A Visit To The Convent
“We met Bob Harte when I was nay more than five,” she said, putting a fist to her mouth to stifle a belch. “He waited until I was eleven - when I began to bleed - and then . . . “ She paused, blinking, as though searching for inspiration.
“And then your mother, bent upon protecting your virtue, slew him him in order to preserve you,” Grey suggested. “She was taken up and hanged, of course, whereupon you found yourself obliged by necessity to embrace the fate which she had sacrificed herself to prevent?” He lifted his glass to her in ironic toast, leaning back in his seat.
Rather to his surprise, she burst out laughing.
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- QOTD for Friday, December 8, 2023 -- kgp, Fri, December 08 2023, 6:11:17
The following quotation is from Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2003 all rights reserved Chapter 5 Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
“Have you eaten, Johnny?” she asked, flipping the fan open again.
“No,” he said, suddenly recalling that he was starving. “I hadn’t the chance.”
“Well, then,” The Countess waved one of the footmen over, selected a small pie from his tray, and handed it to her son. “Yes, I saw you talking to Lady Mumford. Kind of you; the dear old thing dotes upon you.”
Dear old thing. Lady Mumford was possibly the Countess’s senior by a year. Grey mumbled a response, impeded by pie. It was steak with mushrooms, delectable in flaky pastry.
“Whatever were you talking to Joseph Trevelyan so intently about, though?” the Countess asked, raising her fan in farewell to the Misses Humber. She turned to look at her son,and lifted one brow, then laughed. “Why, you’ve gone quite red in the face, John - one might think Mr. Trevelyan had made you some indecent proposal!”
“Ha ha,” Grey said, thickly, and put the rest of the pie into his mouth.
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- QOTD for Thursday, December 7, 2023 -- kgp, Wed, December 06 2023, 17:15:30
The following quotation is from Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2003 all rights reserved Chapter 4 A Valet Calls
“Now, we can’t be knowing for certain as a sinner’s soul has gone to hell,” the priest objected, suddenly seeing the prospects of a fee for burying O’Connell receding. “God’s ways are beyond the ken of us poor men, and for all any of us knows, poor Tim O’Connell repented of his wickedness at the last, made a perfect Act of Contrition, and was taken straight up to paradise in the arms of the angels!”
“Excellent.” Grey leapt on this incautious speculation like a leopard on its prey. “If he is in paradise, he is still less in need of earthly intervention. So - “ he bowed punctiliously to the Scanlons and their priest - “according to you, the deceased may be either damned or saved, but is surely in one of those two conditions. Whereas you” - he turned to Miss Stokes - “are of the opinion that Tim O’Connell is perhaps in some intermediate state where intercessory actions might be efficacious?”
Miss Sokes regarded him for a moment, her mouth hanging slightly open.
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- QOTD for Wednesday, December 6, 2023 -- kgp, Tue, December 05 2023, 18:28:58
The following quotation is from Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2003 all rights reserved Chapter 2 Widow’s Walk
The room above was cramped and dingy, but sunlight shone through a pair of windows onto a battered table and stool - and an even more battered woman, open-mouthed with surprise as she froze in the act of setting down a dish of bread and cheese.
“Mrs. O’Connell?” She turned her head toward him, and Grey froze. Her open mouth was swollen, lips split, a dark-red gap showing in the gum where a lower tooth had been knocked out. Both eyes were puffed into slits, and she peered through a mask of yellowing bruises. By some miracle, her nose had not been broken; the slender bridge and fine nostrils protruded from the wreck, pale skinned and freakish by contrast.
She lifted a hand to her face, turning away from the light as though ashamed of her appearance.
“I . . . yes. I’m Francine O’Connell,’ she murmured, through the fan of her fingers.
“Mrs, O’Connell!” Stubbs took a stride toward her, then stopped, uncertain whether to touch her, “Who - who has done this to you?”
“Her husband. And may his soul rot in hell.”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, December 5, 2023 -- kgp, Mon, December 04 2023, 17:47:46
The following quotation is from Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2003 all rights reserved Chapter 1 When First We Practice To Deceive
“I . . . happened to retire for a moment, earlier” - he nodded toward the Chinese screen - “and came upon Trevelyan, unexpectedly. I . . . ah . . . caught sight - “ Christ, he was blushing like a girl; Quarry was grinning at his discomfiture.
“. . . think it is pox,” he finished, his voice barely a murmur.
The grin vanished abruptly from Quarry’s face, and he glanced at the Chinese screen, from behind which Lord Dewhurst and a friend were presently emerging, deep in conversation. Catching Quarry’s gaze upon him, Dewhurst glanced down automatically, to be sure his flies were buttoned, Finding them secure, he glowered at Quarry and turned away toward his table.
“Pox.” Quarry pitched his own voice low, but still a good deal louder that Grey would have liked. “You mean the syphilis?”
“I do.”
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- QOTD for Monday, Dec 5, 2023 -- kgp, Sun, December 03 2023, 19:32:28
The following quotation is from Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon Copyright 2003 all rights reserved. Chapter 1 When First We Practice to Deceive.
It was the sort of thing one hopes momentarily that one has not really seen - because life would be so much more convenient if one hadn't.
The thing was scarcely shocking in itself; Lord John Grey had seen worse, could see worse now, merely by stepping out of the Beefsteak into the street. The flower girl who'd doll him a bunch of violets on his way into the club had had a half-healed gash on the back of her hand, crusted and oozing. The doorman, a veteran of the Americas, had a livid tomahawk scar that ran from hairline to jaw, bisected the socket of a blinded eye. By contrast, the sore on the Honorable Joseph Trevelyan's privy member was quite small. Almost discreet.
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- Happy Thanksgiving to US hosers! Wishing you all many blessings. -- kgp, Wed, November 22 2023, 19:46:19
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- QOTD for Saturday, November 18, 2023 -- CindyG, Fri, November 17 2023, 18:07:00
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 97, “Conditions of the Blood.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“The doctor had looked up, glancing from me to Frank and back, his face twisted with embarrassment—and his eyes filled with a kind of cold speculation as he looked at me. I might as well have worn a scarlet ‘A’ embroidered on my bosom, I thought—or in this case, a scarlet ‘B.’
Frank, bless him, had seen the look, and said easily, ‘My wife was a widow; I adopted Bree as a baby.’ The doctor’s face had thawed at once into apologetic reassurance, and Frank had gripped my hand, hard, behind the folds of my skirt. My hand tightened in remembered acknowledgment, squeezing back.”
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- QOTD for Friday, November 17, 2023 -- CindyG, Thu, November 16 2023, 18:56:05
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 60, “Council of War.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Frank, urged to look at some wonder of nature whilst preoccupied with a problem, would have paused just long enough not to seem discourteous, said, ‘Oh, yes, lovely, isn’t it?’ and returned at once to the maze of his thoughts. Jamie lifted his face to the glowing glory of the heavens and stood still.
What is the matter with you? I thought to myself. Can’t you let Frank Randall rest in peace?”
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- QOTD for Thursday, November 16, 2023 -- CindyG, Wed, November 15 2023, 18:15:06
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 13, “Beans and Barbecue.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I was pleased that we had managed the christening—in fact, I was surprised to find just how gratified I did feel about it—but I had to admit to a pang of distress over Brianna’s canceled wedding. She hadn’t said much about it, but I knew that both she and Roger had been looking forward very much to the blessing of their union. The firelight winked briefly, accusingly, off the gold ring on my left hand, and I mentally threw up my hands in Frank’s direction.
And just what do you expect me to do about it? I demanded silently.”
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- Woohoo! The login works again!! Thank you, Judie! -- kgp, Wed, November 15 2023, 13:52:31
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- QOTD for Wednesday, November 15, 2023 -- CindyG, Tue, November 14 2023, 19:16:22
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 1, “Happy the Bride the Sun Shines On.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I touched the gold ring on my left hand, restored to me the night before, and still unfamiliar after its long absence. Perhaps it was his ring that had summoned Frank to my dreams. Perhaps tonight at the wedding ceremony, I would touch it again, deliberately, and hope that he could see his daughter’s happiness somehow through my eyes. For now, though, he was gone, and I was glad.”
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- QOTD for Tuesday, November 14, 2023 -- CindyG, Mon, November 13 2023, 17:37:03
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 1, “Happy the Bride the Sun Shines On.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I wondered what Frank might have thought of Brianna’s husband. He likely would have approved; Roger was a historian—or once had been—like Frank himself. He was intelligent and humorous, a talented musician and a gentle man, thoroughly devoted to Brianna and little Jemmy.
Which is very admirable indeed, I thought in the direction of the mist, under the circumstances.
You admit that, do you?
The words formed in my inner ear as though he had spoken them, ironic, mocking both himself and me. . . .
You know I do, I said silently. I always did, and you know it, so just bugger off, will you?!“
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- QOTD for Monday, November 13, 2023 -- CindyG, Sun, November 12 2023, 17:54:38
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 1, “Happy the Bride the Sun Shines On.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Go away, Frank, I thought sternly. . . .
Shouldn’t I come to see her married?
I couldn’t tell whether the words had formed themselves in my thoughts, or whether they—and that kiss—were merely the product of my own subconscious. I had fallen asleep with my mind still busy with wedding preparations; little wonder that I should wake from dreams of weddings. And wedding nights.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, November 12, 2023 -- CindyG, Sat, November 11 2023, 18:36:29
The following quote is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 1, “Happy the Bride the Sun Shines On.” Copyright©️ 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“I woke to the patter of rain on canvas, with the feel of my first husband’s kiss on my lips. I blinked, disoriented, and by reflex put my fingers to my mouth. To keep the feeling, or to hide it? I wondered, even as I did so.”
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- QOTD for Saturday, November 11, 2023 -- kgp - late, sorry. We have company., Sat, November 11 2023, 11:03:27
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 110 . . . Confused Noise And Garments Rolled In Blood . . .
“They will have gone to - to my house.” Elspeth spoke softly. “The wounded Loyalists who didn’t come here. I’ll - I’ll need to go and tend them.” She was holding her son’s hand, though, fingers laced tightly with his, and her face was full of anguish when she looked at him.
I nodded, my throat tight in sympathy. I didn’t need to see the thoughts racing across her face to know what they were: love and fear warring with duty. And I knew the deeper fear that was beginning to bloom within her. Her eyes were fixed on his bare feet, willing them to move.
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- QOTD for Friday, November 10, 2023 -- kgp, Thu, November 09 2023, 17:17:24
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 110 . . . Confused Noise And Garments Rolled In Blood . . .
I was at the door with no memory of getting there, fumbling with the mortise bolt - I hadn’t barred the door when Elspeth came. I yanked the heavy door as though it weighed nothing, and in the dark and flickering candlelight I saw Jamie, among a many-headed mass of black confusion, a head taller than his companions and his eyes searching for me.
“Help me, Sassenach,” he said, and stumbled into the hall, lurching to one side and striking the wall. He didn’t fall, but I saw the blood on his wet shirt, soaked and spreading.
“Where?” I said urgently, seizing his arm and looking for the source of the blood. It was running down his arm beneath the sleeve of his jacket; his hand was wet with it. “Where are you hurt?”
“Not me,” he said, chest heaving with the effort to breathe. He jerked his head backward. “Him.”
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- QOTD for November 9, 2023 -- kgp, Thu, November 09 2023, 6:35:30
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 109 De Profundis
If the captain believed his son’s word - and very plainly he did - then he must conclude that he was essentially immortal for the intervening years. Five years now.
“Holy Lord,” I said, finding a more acceptable interjection. There was an inch of buttermilk left in my cup, and I tossed it back as though it were bad whisky.
“That - I mean . . . it doesn't mean that he will kill your husband,” Elspeth said, leaning forward anxiously. “Only that your husband will not kill him.”
“That must be a great comfort to you.”
She flushed, embarrassed. Of course it was. She cleared her throat and tried to offer comfort, saying that Charles didn’t mean to kill Jamie, ony to take him prisoner, and . . .
“And take him off to Patrick Ferguson to be hanged,” I finished, nastily. “For the sake of his own bloody advancement!”
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- QOTD for November 8, 2023 -- kgp, Wed, November 08 2023, 7:06:19
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 109 De Profundis
Then Cunningham emerged into the fall of light from the open door, saw Jamie, and bowed to him.
“Worshipful Master,” he said.
“Captain,” Jamie replied, and his heart thumped hard in his ears as he bowed, because Cunningham was no card player and the truth was written in the narrowing of his eyes and the hardness of his mouth.
A formal occasion, then, is it? He had a sudden mental picture of them squaring up to fight a duel, in kilt, cocked hat, and their Masonic aprons. What would be the weapons? He wondered. Cutlasses?
”Dèan ullachadh, mo charaidean,” he said casually to the men who stood with him. Stand ready.
The meeting went well enough - outwardly.
The ritual, the words of brotherhood, fellowship, idealism. But he thought the words rang hollow, with a sense of ice among the men, covering their hearts. Separating one from another, leaving all in the cold.
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- QOTD for Tuesday, November 7, 2023 -- kgp, Mon, November 06 2023, 17:58:20
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 109 De Profundis
I waved Elspeth to one of the two chairs. Without asking, I took down the bottle of JF Special and filled two cups to their rims. Elspeth accepted hers but didn’t drink immediately, though it was clear she needed it. I didn’t hesitate to take my own dose.
“I’d thought I might - pray with you,” she said.
“Fine,” I said, flatly. “There’s nothing else we can do now, is there?”
I drank, hoping against hope that I was right and that she hadn’t come to tell me that her son had killed or captured my husband. But she hadn’t; I could see as much through the firelight that painted her face with the illusion of health. She’d come to me in fear, not pity. Her lean, weathered hands were both wrapped round her cup, and I thought that if she squeezed it much harder, the pewter would bend.
“It hasn’t happened yet?” I asked, and was surprised that I sounded almost casual
“I don’t know.”
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- QOTD for Monday, November 6, 2023 -- kgp, Sun, November 05 2023, 16:20:51
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 63 The Third Floor
“It’s been a long time since I heard language like that,” Fanny said, her lips twitching.
“If you have to do with sailors, young woman, you acquire both their virtues and their vices.” Elspeth’s face was still white and shone like polished bone under a layer of sweat, but her voice was steady and her breath was coming back. “And where, might I ask, did you hear language like that?”
Fanny glanced at me, but I nodded and she said simply, “I lived in a brothel for some time, ma’am.”
“Indeed.” Mrs. Cunningham drew her wrist out of my grasp and sat up, rather shaky, but bracing herself with her good hand on the table. “I suppose whores must also have both virtues and vices, then.”
“I don’t know about the virtues,” Fanny said dubiously. “Unless you count being able to milk a man in two minutes by the clock.”
I had taken a nip of the whisky myself, and choked on it.
“I think that would be classed as a skill rather than a virtue,” Mrs. Cunningham told Fanny. “Though a valuable one, I daresay.”
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- QOTD for Sunday, Noember 5, 2023 -- kgp, Sat, November 04 2023, 16:27:25
The following quotation is from Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 63 The Third Floor
As I leaned out with the shutter hook in my hand, though, I saw a tall black figure hastening toward the house, skirts and cloak flying in the wind.
“You and your little dog, too” I murmured, and risked a glance at the forest, in case of flying monkeys. A blast of cold air rushed past me into the surgery, rattling glassware and flipping the pages of the Merck Manual that I had left open on the counter. Luckily I’d taken the precaution of removing the copyright page . . .
“What did you say?” Fanny had followed me and stood now in the surgery door, Bluebell yawning behind her.
“Mrs. Cunningham’s coming,” I said, leaving the shutters open and closing the window.
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- Blessings Be -- Margaret, Sat, October 21 2023, 13:26:06
Dear Lord,
Every single evening
As I’m lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer
Keeps running through my head.
Good bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm and safe from harm
For they’re so close to me.
And God, there is one more thin
I wish that you could do
Hope you don’t mind me asking
Please bless my computer too.
Now I know that it’s unusual
To Bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.
You see that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends
Inside those small compartments
Rest so may of my friends.
I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live
By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew.
Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That’s filled with so much love
Wherever else this prayer may reach
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox
And each person who hits send
When you update your Heavenly list on your own CD-Rom,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to GOD.com
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