He guessed that was why it hadn’t swallowed him like the thing in the rocks on Ocracoke had. At least . . . he thought it hadn’t and, for an instant, worried that maybe he’d gone somewhere else. But he didn’t think so. The tunnel felt just the same, and so did he, now that his skin had stopped jumping. When they’d done it on Ocracoke, he’d known right away it was different.
Wasn’t it the absolute worst cliffhanger that Jemmy might be stuck in the rock in the tunnel? I imagine what it must be like for him in the 20th century. So many different amazing things, but also so much clamor and modern craziness. He’s obviously smart and self reliant to be thinking his way out of this terrifying situation and I attribute a lot of that to his 18 C roots.
Oh, and notice the date! Was he that close to going if he hadn’t felt the vibes and backed off?
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QOTD for Tuesday, June 23. From Chapter 13 in Written In My Own Heart’s Blood -- Kathy in PA, Tue, June 23 2020, 14:26:41
~ Chapter 13 ~
“Morning Air Awash With Angels”
...........Next Day...
I chose the post just because when skimming through MOBY I came across this Chapter title and loved the sound of it. It’s from a poem by Richard Wilbur entitled, “Love Calls Us To The Things of This World.”
It’s kind of long but nice if you want to read it. He writes about waking up to the beauty of the morning and nature. How it feeds the soul and reminds us of the joy of physical existence. Even if there are dark thoughts in the night the morning brings light and angels.
So, in this chapter there are three men waking up in very bad circumstances but still they each end up seeing “angels” in their future.
Jamie awoke to the smell of frying meat and sat up straight in bed, forgetting his back.
“Lord have mercy,” said Mrs. Hardman, looking over her shoulder. “I haven’t heard a noise like that since the last time my husband, Gabriel, killed a pig.”
He’d raised his knees in the involuntary jerk that brought him upright, and now he wrapped his arms around them down laid his sweating face against the worn quilt that covered them, trying to stretch his recalcitrant. back.
John Grey woke feverish and heavy-limbed, with a pounding headache, and a stabbing pain in his left eye when he tried to open it. Both his eyes were crusted and gummy. He’d been dreaming in vivid, fractured swaths, a confusion of images, voices, emotions....Jamie Fraser had been shouting at him, face dark with passion, but then something changed, some sort of pursuit began and he fell back into queasy nightmare.
His Grace woke up in the morning red-eyed as a ferret and in roughly the same temper as a rabid badger. (Looking for John, who’s been kidnapped by Jamie. Finding out his daughter wants to marry a QUAKER! REBEL!
BATTLEFIELD DR! But Claire takes over and medicinally settles him down as we await the next explosion .)
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QUOTD for Monday, June 22 from Written In My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon -- Kathy in PA, Mon, June 22 2020, 8:00:30
~ Chapter 4 ~
Don’t Ask Questions You Don’t Want To Hear The Answers To
In the woods, an hour’s ride outside Philadelphia .......
John Grey had been quite resigned to dying. Had expected it from the moment that he’d blurted out, “I have had carnal knowledge of your wife.”
The only questions in his mind had been whether Fraser would shoot him, stab him or eviscerate him with his bare hands.
To have the injured husband regard him calmly and say merely, “Oh, Why?” was not merely unexpected but ...... infamous.
Absolutely infamous. (One of John’s charming turns of speech.)
“Why?” John Grey repeated, incredulous. “Did you say ‘Why?’”
“I did. And I should appreciate an answer.”
Thoughts on this? Claire and Lord John mmmpphhimgg? Jamie only asking Why, so far 😉. The crazy escape from the house of furies of British soldiers, Claire, Jamie and Jenny reappearing from the dead, Mrs. Figg boiling over at the insult to LJ, William totally enraged that he’s Jamie’s son?
I have to go to work but wanted to post and will be back later.
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- Well, I think that Jamie rather over reacted. He really didn't give John much of a chance to explain the serious situation Claire was in and that she could have been arrested had he not protected her by marrying her. And, while Jamie probably would not understand it, they WERE making love to him while having sex. Their grief was overwhelming and they were not in their respective right minds. (NT) -- Lady Linda, Mon, June 22 2020, 8:44:36
- I think his initial reaction was in part because of all of the previously listed uproar, sort of a "And now this..." The asking WHY, followed by "I should appreciate an answer." shows Jamie starting to wrap his head around the announcement; soon his emotions start to outweigh the need to hear the full story before reacting. It just struck me now how it somewhat parallels the incident with Roger getting turned over to the Mohawks. He doesn't have all the facts before taking action (though Jamie may have still punched out John anyway.) (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, June 22 2020, 9:59:47
- Do you think Jamie knows Claire so well that he realizes she uses sex for other purposes and wonders what happened with John? I think Claire is a very sensual person and works out emotions with sex. Remember when she’d challenge Frank to make love when she thought he’d been with a girlfriend? Or when she was jealous of Laoghaire and would initiate combative sex with Jamie, which they both often seemed to enjoy and practice to heal rifts. And the most heartbreaking one, after she was raped and made Jamie make fierce love to her to clear her mind and body of the “pathetic men wiggling their appendage” (paraphrased from the book). So initially instead of being enraged, he wondered what she had to deal with? (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Mon, June 22 2020, 16:59:17
QOTD for Sunday, June 21 from “Written In My Own Heart’s Blood” by Diana Gabaldon -- Kathy in PA, Sun, June 21 2020, 9:12:53
I was going to continue Cindy’s theme of using Seven Stones because it’s another great Diana book that takes us a lot deeper into some secondary characters lives. It actually made me see Hal as hot! But I can’t find my book!
I thought maybe I loaned it to DD, but she can’t remember either but is going to look for it. She’s only 41, too young to be as forgetful as I am. 😳So that will be a theme for another week.
Instead I’ll use Moby since we’re getting ready for Bees and this will be a little refresher.
~Prologue~
In the light of eternity, time casts no shadows.
Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions
But what is it that old women see?
We see necessity, and we do the things that must be done.
Young women don’t see — they ARE, and the spring of life runs through them.
Ours is the guarding of the spring, ours is the shielding of the light we have lit, the flame that we are.
What have I seen? You are the vision of my youth, the constant dream of all my ages.
Here I stand on the brink of war again, a citizen of no place, no time, no country but my own....... and that a land lapped by no sea but blood, bordered only by the outlines of a face long-loved.
The prologues always make me weepy. They just bring up such strong memories of what’s gone past, what our Fraser/MacKenzie Clans have been through - the good and the bad. And even though I do read excerpts, I open each new book with SUCH anticipation. When ABOSAA came out we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach with family. That morning DD Sarah and I left the men in charge of kids and breakfast, drove to the local B & N to get our copies, got a cup of tea and a cookie and settled in to read the prologue and Chapter One. A wonderful memory.
I’m pretty sure this is Claire, aren’t you?
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- I also think it's Claire, that last line "bordered by a face long-loved " is convincing. (NT) --
kgp, Sun, June 21 2020, 11:53:37
- Yes, Claire, for sure. This prologue always resonates with me. I'm 56, and yes, we "women of a certain age" know that whatever it is, whatever needs to be done, we will do those things, especially for the sake of our loved ones. DD is 25, very much "the spring of life." She is mature, responsible, dedicated, and so vibrantly full of life. (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, June 22 2020, 9:48:32
Kathy and Betsy Barefootspinner -- Judie, Sat, June 20 2020, 6:44:20
.
.
Kathy. I saw your message that you will do next week and Betsy I received your email about the week after that.
Thanks you. You’re on!
🙂
Judie
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QOTD for Saturday, June 20, 2020 -- CindyG, Fri, June 19 2020, 21:11:48
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“She hoped the voices would stop once she was in the convent. That was her nightly prayer. But if they didn’t, at least she might be able to tell someone there about them without fear of being packed off to a madhouse or stoned in the street. She’d have a confessor, she knew that much. Maybe he could help her discover what God had meant, landing her with a gift like this, and no explanation what she was to do with it.“
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QOTD for Friday, June 19, 2020 -- CindyG, Thu, June 18 2020, 21:37:22
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘Tell him not to do it.’ And just what d’ye mean by that? she demanded of the voice. She didn’t get an answer, which didn’t surprise her. The voices weren’t much for details.
She couldn’t tell whether the voices were male or female; they didn’t seem either one, and she wondered whether they might maybe be angels—angels didn’t have a sex, and doubtless that saved them a lot of trouble. Joan of Arc’s voices had had the decency to introduce themselves, but not hers, oh, no. On the other hand, if they were angels and told her their names, she wouldn’t recognize them anyway, so perhaps that’s why they didn’t bother.”
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QOTD for Thursday, June 18, 2020 -- CindyG, Wed, June 17 2020, 21:31:38
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“Blinking, she looked away—and caught sight of the young man with the shadow on him, leaning against the railing a little way down. The breath caught in her throat at sight of him.
The shadow was darker in the morning light. The sun was beginning to warm the deck, frail white clouds swam in the blue of clear French skies, and yet the mist now swirled and thickened, obscuring the young man’s face, wrapping round his shoulders like a shawl.
Dear Lord, tell me what to do! Her body jerked, wanting to go to the young man, speak to him. But to say what? ‘You’re in danger, be careful’? He’d think she was mad. And if the danger was a thing he couldn’t help, like with wee Ronnie and the ox, what difference might her speaking make?“
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- Poor Joanie, she is tormented by this. Especially back then when women were generally to be seen and not heard. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Thu, June 18 2020, 14:52:58
- As always, I love the way DG has with words, that describe how Joan saw the cloud. It really makes things come alive for me, which hardly ever happens with other writers. Thanks for quotes. (NT) -- Marcie, Thu, June 18 2020, 21:56:56
Quoters Needed! -- Judie, Tue, June 16 2020, 23:53:45
.
.
Anyone for the next two weeks?
Judie
Last edited by author: Tue, June 16 2020, 23:54:08
Edited 1 time.
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QOTD for Wednesday, June 17, 2020 -- CindyG, Tue, June 16 2020, 20:47:04
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“She often wondered whether it was because of her name. She’d been proud of her name when she was small; it was a heroic name, a saint’s name, but also a warrior’s name. Her mother’d told her that, often and often. She didn’t think her mother had considered that the name might also be haunted.
Surely it didn’t happen to everyone named Joan, though, did it? She wished she knew another Joan to ask. Because if it did happen to them all, the others would be keeping it quiet, just as she did.
You didn’t go round telling people that you heard voices that weren’t there. Still less that you saw things that weren’t there, either. You just didn’t.“
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QOTD for Tuesday, June 16, 2020 -- CindyG, Mon, June 15 2020, 20:44:14
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“A man sat there, maybe close to her own age, which was twenty-five. He was good-looking, if a bit thin in the face, decently dressed—and he was going to die.
There was a gray shroud over him, the same as if he were wrapped in mist, so his face showed through it. She’d seen that same thing—the grayness lying on someone’s face like fog—seen it twice before and knew it at once for death’s shadow. Once it had been on an elderly man, and that might have been only what anybody could see, because Angus MacWheen was ill, but then again, and only a few weeks after, she’d seen it on the second of Vhairi Fraser’s little boys, and him a rosy-faced wee bairn with dear chubby legs.
She hadn’t wanted to believe it. Either that she saw it or what it meant. But four days later, the wean was crushed in the lane by an ox that was maddened by a hornet’s sting. She’d vomited when they told her, and couldn’t eat for days after, for sheer grief and terror. Because could she have stopped it if she’d said? And what—dear Lord, what—if it happened again?”
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- DH has a bit of the sight and he doesn’t like it either. Not as clear as Joanie seeing the death cloud, but a feeling for things that can’t quite be explained. It’s made Joanie so, not exactly timid, but so doubtful of herself. Marsali is a firecracker compared to her sister. She saw Fergus and took him, Joanie is going to a nunnery to try to squelch what’s happening. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Tue, June 16 2020, 4:51:39
- What a terrible 'gift'. (NT) -- kgp, Tue, June 16 2020, 12:46:57
- It must be terrible for her to see "the grey cloud" over someone like the child and not know from exactly _what _ he should be saved. My heart breaks for her. (NT) -- Marcie, Thu, June 18 2020, 21:16:39
QOTD for Monday, June 15, 2020 -- CindyG, Sun, June 14 2020, 20:49:53
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“‘I didna mean he scared me. It was that I thought he was haunted. By the voices in the wind.’
That dried up the spit in her mouth, and she worked her tongue a little, hoping it didn’t show. She needn’t have worried; he wasn’t looking at her.
‘My own da said it was because Jamie spent so much time alone, that the voices got into his head and he couldna stop hearing them. When he’d feel safe enough to come to the house, it would take hours sometimes before he could start to hear us again—Mam wouldna let us talk to him until he’d had something to eat and was warmed through.’ He smiled, a little ruefully. ‘She said he wasna human ’til then—and, looking back, I dinna think she meant that as a figure of speech.’
‘Well,’ she said, but stopped, not knowing how to go on. She wished fervently that she’d known this earlier. Her da and his sister were coming on to France later, but she might not see him. She could maybe have talked to Da, asked him just what the voices in his head were like—what they said. Whether they were anything like the ones she heard.”
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- Joanie was a very perceptive young lass. I wonder, though, why her mother was so cautious. (NT) -- kgp, Mon, June 15 2020, 3:34:28
- Joanie and Marsali are so different. I feel like Michael and Joanie might have a future after reading this story. They both catch each other’s attention in a slow, wary way. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Mon, June 15 2020, 4:43:02
- I have always had mixed feelings about Jenny, but I do feel like she wanted the best for Jamie and all her family. I think she was perceptive to see that he needed time to acclimate before the children approached him when he came out of the cave back to Lallybroch. Points for Jenny. Loving these quotes. (NT) -- Marcie, Thu, June 18 2020, 21:21:33
QOTD for Sunday, June 14, 2020 -- CindyG, Sat, June 13 2020, 20:54:28
The following quote is taken from “The Space Between” by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2013 by Diana Gabaldon, all rights reserved.
“THEY DID SAY that red hair was a sign of the devil. Joan eyed her escort’s fiery locks consideringly. The wind on deck was fierce enough to make her eyes water, and it jerked bits of Michael Murray’s hair out of its binding so they did dance round his head like flames, a bit. You might expect his face to be ugly as sin if he was one of the devil’s, though, and it wasn’t.
Lucky for him, he looked like his mother in the face, she thought critically. His younger brother, Ian, wasn’t so fortunate, and that without the heathen tattoos. Michael’s was a fairly pleasant face, for all it was blotched with windburn and the lingering marks of sorrow, and no wonder, him having just lost his father, and his wife dead in France no more than a month before that.
But she wasn’t braving this gale in order to watch Michael Murray, even if he might burst into tears or turn into Auld Horny on the spot. She touched her crucifix for reassurance, just in case. It had been blessed by the priest, and her mother’d carried it all the way to St. Ninian’s Spring and dipped it in the water there, to ask the saint’s protection. And it was her mother she wanted to see, as long as ever she could.“
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- Interesting she thinks that about red hair, with Jamie as her stepfather. (NT) -- Kel, Sat, June 13 2020, 21:06:42
- Even if Jamie couldn’t be a good husband to Laoghaire, he seemed to be a good step dad. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Mon, June 15 2020, 4:46:14
- I can't remember when Joanie would have seen Ian and his face tattoos? I need to refresh my memory with some rereading I guess. Thank you for these quotes. (NT) -- Marcie, Thu, June 18 2020, 21:28:56
QOTD for Saturday, June 13, 2020 -- kgp, Fri, June 12 2020, 18:13:13
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 114 Amanda
“What’s P-H-A-L-L-U-S?” Jemmy was asking his father.
“Another word for prick,” Roger said briefly. “Don’t bloody use it. Listen - can ye hear anything when ye listen to that stone?” He indicated Jamie’s ring lying on the table. Jem’s face lighted at the sight of it.
“Sure,” he said.
“What, from here?” Brianna said, incredulous. Jem looked around the circle of parents and grandparents, surprised at their interest. “Sure,” he repeated. “It sings.”
“Do ye think wee Mandy can hear it sing, too?” Jamie asked carefully. His heart was beating heavily, afraid to know, either way.
Jemmy picked up the ring and leaned over Mandy’s basket, holding it directly over her face. She kicked energetically and made noises - but whether because of the ring, or merely at the sight of her brother . . .
“She can hear it,” Jem said, smiling into his sister’s face.
“How do you know?” Claire asked, curious. Jem looked up at her, surprised.
“She says so.”
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QOTD for Friday, June 12, 2020 -- kgp, Thu, June 11 2020, 18:31:19
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 77 The Eighteenth of April
“May the blessing of Bride and of Columba be on you, young woman,” Jamie said formally in Gaelic, bowing to her, “and may the love of Christ sustain you always in your motherhood. May milk spring from your breasts like water from the rock and may you rest secure in the arms of your” - he coughed briefly, glancing at the Beardsleys - “ husband.”
“If you can’t say ‘prick,’ why can you say ‘breasts’?” Jemmy inquired, interested.
“Ye can’t, unless it’s a prayer,” his father informed him. “Grandda was giving Lizzie a blessing.”
“Oh. Are there any prayers with pricks in them?”
“I’m sure there are,” Roger replied, carefully avoiding Brianna’s eye, “but ye don’t say them out loud. Why don’t ye go and help Grannie with the breakfast?”
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- How come we never learned THOSE prayers in Catholic school???? (NT) -- DianaH, Fri, June 12 2020, 11:51:24
- Out of the mouth of babes, kid do say the darndest things. I remember trying not to laugh and also give the right answer when we got those unexpected questions early on. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sat, June 13 2020, 3:18:30
- Nice job distracting Jem on Roger's part. Hahaha. "Go help Granny in the kitchen." But I'm sure if Jem is like most kids he won't soon forget the words they tell him not to say out loud will he. (NT) -- Marcie, Thu, June 18 2020, 21:38:07
QOTD for Thursday, June 11, 2020 -- kgp, Wed, June 10 2020, 17:35:33
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 75 Lice
“What’s this, then?”
He frowned at it, crossing his eyes slightly in the attempt to focus.
“A real big louse?” he suggested brightly. “Reckon I got it from Rabbie McLeod.”
“Rabbie McLeod?” I said, uneasily aware that Rabbie had been curled up on the kitchen settle a few days ago, his unruly black curls flowing into Jemmy’s bright locks and the boys slept, waiting for their fathers. I recalled thinking at the time how charming the little boys looked, curled up head to head, their faces soft with dreaming.
“Has Rabbie got lice?” Bree demanded, flicking the bit of batter away from her as though it were indeed a loathsome insect.
“Oh, aye, he’s crawlin’,” Jemmy assured her cheerfully.
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- When my kids were school-age, any time I got the letter from the school saying that there was a case of lice my own scalp would begin to itch. (NT) -- TheresaB., Thu, June 11 2020, 4:08:42
- Ugh, now MY head is itchy! There was a great discovery made here as a result of the crawling, though, so all's well that ends better! :) (NT) -- DianaH, Thu, June 11 2020, 8:02:55
QOTD for Wednesday, June 10, 2020 -- kgp, Tue, June 09 2020, 17:45:15
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 75 Lice
Jem put his elbows on the table, chin on his fists, following the path of the spoon through the batter with the intent expression of a lion watching an appetizing wildebeest on its way to the watering hole.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said, with a glance at his grubby fingers. “They’ll be done in a few minutes; you can have one then.”
“But I like ‘em raw, Grandma,” he protested. He widened his dark-blue eyes in wordless pleading.
“You oughtn’t to eat raw things,” I said sternly. “They can make you sick.”
“You do, Grandma.” He poked a finger at my mouth, where a smudge of brownish batter remained. I cleared my throat and wiped the incriminating evidence on a towel.
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- Interesting that he calls her "grandma", usually it's "grannie". (NT) -- kgp, Wed, June 10 2020, 3:19:16
- Do you think it’s like when she would call him Jeremiah for emphasis on something? Like he’s very serious about this subject of needing a little taste of batter. Especially when she did! (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Wed, June 10 2020, 3:59:45
- I understand completely, Jemmie. A little raw batter - mmmm! (NT) -- DianaH, Wed, June 10 2020, 9:10:11
QOTD for Tuesday, June 9, 2020 -- kgp, Mon, June 08 2020, 18:28:34
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 49 The Venom of the North Wind
Jemmy sighed in exhausted bliss, legs wrapped round Jamie’s middle, arms about his neck, and leaned his sun-reddened cheek against the scarred back. Then he thought of something, for he raised his head and kissed his grandfather with a loud smacking noise, between the shoulder blades.
Her father jerked, nearly dropping Jem, and made a high-pitched noise that made her laugh.
“Is that better?” Jem inquired seriously, pulling himself up and trying to look over Jamie’s shoulder into his face.
“Oh. Aye, lad,” his grandfather assured him, face twitching. “Much better.”
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- This is one of my favorite moments, not only for the sweetness of Jemmy giving a kiss to make it better, but Jamie has had to go by so many names over the years and here we see three of the ones he loves best; Jamie, father, and grandfather. (NT) -- kgp, Mon, June 08 2020, 18:56:18
- Such a lovely family moment. These bits make up in a small way for all that Jamie missed when Bree and Willy were little (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, June 09 2020, 10:14:43
- Tender moment. I had to go back and read the chapter. Thank you for the friendly break in my day :-) (NT) -- JudithONH, Tue, June 09 2020, 14:24:59
QOTD for Monday, June 8, 2020 -- kgp, Sun, June 07 2020, 19:38:26
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 39 I Am The Resurrection
“Grannie!”
“Shh!”
“. . . thy sight. That they . . . live evermore with Thee and that Thy mercy - “
“Grannie!”
Jemmy was wiggling as though a colony of ants had taken up residence in his breeches, an expression of agonized urgency on his face.
“I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead . . . rr-hm . . . yet shall he live - “ With the end in sight, Roger was making a gallant finish, forcing his voice past its limits, hoarser than ever and cracking on every other word, but firm and loud.
“Just a minute,” I hissed. “I’ll take you out in a - “
“No, Grannie! Look!”
I followed his outthrust finger, and for a moment, thought he was pointing at his father. But he wasn’t.
Old Mrs. Wilson had opened her eyes.
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- Loving these Jemmie bits, kgp. This scene was a real "Whoa, really?????" moment. (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, June 08 2020, 11:47:36
- And of course, leave it to a wee child to focus on the "corpse," while the adults were piously trying to pay attention to the prayers! LOL! (NT) -- JudithONH, Mon, June 08 2020, 16:45:05
QOTD for Sunday, June 7, 2020 -- kgp, Sat, June 06 2020, 18:40:01
The following quotation is from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 18 VROOM!
“What’s that you’ve been making?”
“Just a wee bawbee for Jem.” He let her take it, feeling the warmth of modest pride. “The wheels all turn.”
“Mine, Daddy?” Jemmy had been wallowing on the floor with Adso the cat, who was tolerant of small children. Hearing his name, though, he abandoned the cat, who promptly escaped out the window, and popped up to see the new toy.
“Oh, look!” Brianna ran the little car over the palm of her hand and lifted it, letting all four tiny wheels spin free. Jem grabbed eagerly for it, pulling at the wheels.
“Careful, careful! You’ll pull them off! Here, let me show you,” Crouching, Roger took the car and rolled it along the hearthstones. “See? Vroom. Vroom-vroom!”
“Broom!” Jemmy echoed. “Lemme do it, Daddy, let me!”
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QOTD for Saturday, June 6, 2020 -- kgp, Fri, June 05 2020, 18:17:06
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 98 Clever Lad
“Well, if you don’t like ‘go potty,’ what do you say in Scotland, then?” she demanded crabbily.
Roger moved the tickling finger to Jem's navel.
“Ah . . . I seem to recall a friend asking his wee son if he needed to do a poo,” he offered. Brianna made a rude noise, but Jemmy’s eyelids flickered.
“Poo,” he said dreamily, liking the sound.
“Right, that’s the idea,” Roger said encouragingly. His finder twiddled gently in the slight depression, and Jemmy gave a ghost of a giggle, beginning to wake up.
“Pooooooo,” he said. “Poopoo.”
“Whatever works,” Brianna said, still cross, but resigned. “Go potty, go poo - just get it over with, all right? Mummy wants to go to sleep.”
“Perhaps you should take your finger off his . . . mmphmm?” Roger nodded toward the object in question. “You’ll give the poor lad a complex or something.”
“Fine.” Bree took her hand away with alacrity, and the stubby object sprang back up, pointing directly at Roger over the rim of the pot.
“Hey! Now, just a min - “ he began and got his hand up as a shield, just in time.
“Poo,” Jemmy said, beaming in drowsy pleasure.
“Shit!”
“Chit!” Jemmy echoed obligingly.
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HEY! -- Judie, Fri, June 05 2020, 13:59:26
.
.
Hi. :)
We need quoters!
KGP and CindyG have agreed to take the first and second weeks of EVERY month - thank you, ladies. That's awesome!
But we still need quoters for the other weeks.
So, do we have any volunteers? :)
Thanks in advance. And thank you for hanging in here and supporting the quoters!
Judie
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QOTD for Friday, June 5, 2020 -- kgp, Thu, June 04 2020, 18:18:28
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 87 En Garde
“Ow-ee.” Clutching his bread, Jemmy looked at Roger’s hands, then up at his face. “Daddy owee?”
“Dad’s all right,” Roger assured him. “Just tired.
Jemmy stared at the injured thumb, then slowly raised his hand to his mouth and inserted his own thumb, sucking loudly.
It actually looked like a good idea. His thumb stung and ached, where the nail had gone, and all his fingers were cold and stiff. With a quick glance at Brianna’s back, he lifted his hand and stuck his thumb in his mouth.
It felt alien, thick and hard, and tasting of silvery blood and cold grime. Then suddenly it fit, and tongue and palate closed round the injured digit in a warm and soothing pressure.
Jemmy butted him in the thigh, his usual signal for “up,” and he grasped the back of the boy’s clout with his free hand, boosting him up onto his knee. Jemmy made himself at home, rooting and squirming, then relaxed in sudden peace, bread squashed in one hand, sucking quietly on his thumb.
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QOTD for Thursday, June 4, 2020 -- kgp, Wed, June 03 2020, 18:20:49
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 87 En Garde
“Mouzee? See mouzee?”
Brianna grabbed the collar of Jemmy’s smock and turned the glower on Roger.
“Certainly not. No, baby, no mousie. Daddy’s being silly. Here, Jemmy, come eat.” Letting go the collar, she seized the little boy by the waist and lifted him - kicking and struggling - into his high chair. “Eat, I said! You stay put.”
Jemmy arched his back, grunting and squealing in protest, then suddenly relaxed, sliding down out of the chair and disappearing into the folds of his mother’s skirt.
Brianna grappled for him, going red in the face with laughter and exasperation.
“All right!” she said, hauling him upright. “Don’t eat, then. See if I care.”
She reached for the litter of toys, spilled out of their basket, and plucked a battered corn-husk doll from the rubble. “Here, see dolly? Nice dolly.”
Jemmy clasped the doll to his bosom, sat down abruptly on his bottom, and began to address the doll in earnest tones, shaking it now and then for emphasis.
“Eat!” he said sternly, poking it in the stomach. He laid the doll on the floor, picked up the basket, and carefully turned it over on top of the dolly. “Stay put!”
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- These scenes are SO reminiscent of when my DS was little, especially arching his back to avoid sitting in his highchair, car seat, etc. I'm enjoying these wee Jemmy quotes, kgp, thank you! (NT) -- DianaH, Thu, June 04 2020, 7:19:19
- They are! Making me smile and reminisce too, Diana. Thanks for the lovely week of family life on the ridge, kgp 🥰 (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Fri, June 05 2020, 3:21:22
QOTD for Wednesday, June 3. 2020 -- kgp, Tue, June 02 2020, 18:36:40
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 87 En Garde
“Go to Daddy,” Brianna encouraged. “Go on, go to Daddy.”
Jemmy screwed up his face in doubtful concentration, looking like a first-time parachutist at the open door of a circling plane. He swayed dangerously to and fro.
Roger squatted, hands held out, tiredness forgotten for the moment.
“Come on, mate, come on, you can do it!”
Jemmy clung a moment, leaning, leaning, then let go his mother’s hand and staggered drunkenly toward Roger, faster and faster and faster through three steps, falling headlong into Roger’s saving grasp.
He hugged Jem tight against him, the little boy wriggling and crowing in triumph.
“Good lad! Be into everything now, won’t you?”
“Like he’s not already!” Brianna said, rolling her eyes in resignation.
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QOTD for Tuesday, June 2, 2020 -- kgp, Mon, June 01 2020, 18:24:36
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 78 No Small Thing
“Jeremiah,” she said sternly, attempting to look him in the eye. “Tell Mummy. Did you eat Grannie’s rock?”
Jeremiah avoided her gaze and wriggled away, putting both hands protectively behind him.
“No hit,” he said. “Nod nice!”
“I’m not going to spank you,” she assured him, grabbing an escaping foot. “I just want to know. Did you swallow a rock about this big?” She held up thumb and forefinger. Jemmy giggled.
“Hot,” he said. The was his new favorite word, applied without distinction to any object he liked.
Brianna closed her eyes, sighing in exasperation, then opened them to look at her mother.
“I’m afraid so. Will it hurt him?”
“Shouldn’t think so.” Claire regarded her grandson thoughtfully, tapping a finger against her lips. Then she crossed the room, opening one of the high cupboards and withdrawing a large brown-glass bottle.
“Castor-bean oil,” sje explained, rummaging in a drawer for a spoon. “Not quite as tasty as honey,” she added, fixing Jemmy with a gimlet eye, “but very effective.”
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- Claire’s “gimlet eye” has been mentioned before and I generally knew what it meant. I decided to check my knowledge of the meaning and found three meanings: the drink, a small t-shaped tool with a screw tip for boring holes (oh yes, Claire!) and finally when I added “eye” to gimlet it said a penetrating, piercing or watchful eye which is truly the meaning here. I love crosswords and Diana’s use of uncommon, descriptive words has often helped me finish one. “Ostler” for example 🤔 (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Tue, June 02 2020, 3:01:41
- I am liking this closer look at our wee Jemmy...thanks, kgp! (NT) -- JudithONH, Tue, June 02 2020, 9:43:38
QOTD that almost got away. Monday, June 1, 2020 -- kgp, Mon, June 01 2020, 18:23:37
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 78 No Small Thing
Offended at the close scrutiny, he tried to whack her with the clamp, but she seized his wrist in a grip of iron, removing the clamp from his grasp with her other hand.
“Don’t hit Mummy,” she said automatically, “it’s not nice. Jem - did you swallow Grannie’s rock?”
“No,” he said, just as automatically grabbing at the clamp. “Mine!”
She sniffed at his face, causing him to lean back at an alarming angle, but couldn’t be sure. She didn’t think it was rosemary though.
“Come smell him,” she said to her mother, standing up. “I can’t tell.”
Claire stooped to oblige, and Jemmy shrieked in giggling alarm, preparing for an enjoyable game of “Eat me up.” He was disappointed, though; his grandmother inhaled deeply, said definitely, “wild ginger,” then leaned in for a closer look, seizing a damp cloth to rub away the honey smears, in spite of increasing howls of protest.
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- I think smell is the most referenced sense in the stories. Sometimes nice, sometimes disgustingly offensive, they truly add feeling to the moments. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Tue, June 02 2020, 2:53:50
- I remember reading that when DG wrote Outlander, she had never been to Scotland. Later, when she had traveled there, she said what she hadn't known was what it smelled like. (NT) -- DianaH, Wed, June 03 2020, 8:08:23
QOTD will be posted this afternoon. Sorry - life got in the way. -- kgp, Mon, June 01 2020, 2:56:55
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QOTD for Sunday, May 31, 2020 -- kgp, Sat, May 30 2020, 17:08:49
The following quotation is from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 80 Creamed Crud
Jamie leaned back from the table, sighing in repletion. As he started to get up, though, Mrs, Bug popped up from her place, wagging an admonitory finger at him.
“Now, sir, now, sir, ye’ll be going nowhere, and me left wi’ gingerbread and fresh crud to go to waste!”
Brianna clapped a hand to her mouth, with the muffled noise characteristic of one who has just shot milk up one’s nose. Jamie and Mr. Bug, to whom “crud” was the familiar Scottish usage for “curds,” both looked at her curiously, but made no comment.
“Well, I’ll surely burst, Mrs. Bug, but I expect I’ll die a happy man,” Jamie informed her. “Bring it on then - but I’ve a wee thing to fetch whilst ye serve it out.” With amazing agility for a man who had just consumed a pound or two of spiced sausage with fried apples and potatoes, he slid out of his chair and disappeared down the hall toward his study.
I took a deep breath, pleased that I had smelled the gingerbread cooking earlier in the afternoon, and had had the foresight to remove my stays before sitting down to supper.
“Wan’ crud!” Jemmy crowed, picking up infallibly on the word most calculated to cause maternal consternation. He pounded his hands on the table in ecstasy, chanting, “Crud-crud-crud-crud!” at the top of his lungs.
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- As our thirteen month old grandson starts to talk, of course the words he mimics so carefully, are “those” words! Nothing like a muffled laugh to keep the crowing coming 😂 (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sun, May 31 2020, 3:19:07
- I'd like some sausage with fried apples & potatoes for lunch please, and a big helping of gingerbread to follow. Crud or no, I would have been happy to have Mrs. Bug around to cook and keep house for me. (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, June 01 2020, 8:42:58
Quoters needed, starting tomorrow, May 31, 2020!!! (Just saving The Boss having to write it :o) ) -- JudithONH, Sat, May 30 2020, 11:29:20
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QOTD for Saturday 30 May 2020 The following quote is taken from The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 99 "Brother" copyright 2001 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Fri, May 29 2020, 19:28:00
I leaned against the doorjamb, and crossed my arms, watching as he stamped to and fro, pitching hay in the moonlight, working off his temper. Mine was still pulsing in my temples, but began to subside as I watched him.
The difficulty was that I did understand, and all too well. I had not met many of Frank's women - he was discreet. But now and then, I would catch a glance exchanged at a faculty party or the local supermarket - and a feeling of black rage would well up in me, only to be followed by bafflement as to what, precisely, I was to do with it.
Jealousy had nothing to do with logic.
Laoghaire MacKenzie was six thousand miles away; likely neither of us would ever see her again. Frank was even farther away, and it was certain neither of us would ever see him again, this side of the grave.
No, jealousy had nothing at all to do with logic.
~*~*~*~*~
Thank you all for indulging me in my Outlander "pet peeve" this week. I end on a note where both Claire and Jamie are feeling jealous over their previous spouses.
And I don't understand why Diana would write at the end of the question of Frank having had affairs "and that we don't know," when he admits it in the letter to The Reverend. Given the evidence to hand, and yes, as Diana says, it is from Claire's POV, it would take a rather gullible person to expect that Frank hadn't had affairs. IMHO.
I'm going to include below a bit that Diana wrote in 2005 when asked to comment on a rather heated discussion of Frank's character/infidelity/relationship with Claire. FOR THE MOST part, I would point to the fact that each time Frank was confronted by Claire about the affairs, he.never.once.denied.it. ... Now, of course, we all know that the first thing a guilty person is going to do is deny it, but when you look at Claire's reaction to Frank's accusation of her having an affair with Joe Abernathy, well, righteous indignation comes to mind.
So here is the end of a rather long response from Diana in 2005:
And we do see evidence that he still does love Claire. He's angry at her, confused by what's happened, and obviously having a hard time with everything-but he does love her. Enough to help her with her medical career, even though he doesn't like her having it and objective enough to admire the sense of destiny that drives her to it, even though he's somewhat jealous that he doesn't possess that drive himself.
Frank a pathetic slimeball? Good grief. He's the major tragic figure of the books, unsung though he is. He is-on the evidence to hand-a stand-up guy, who's taken a horrible set of circumstances (which he didn't cause and had nothing to do with) and done the best he could to build a family, do right by his daughter, and treasure what strands of
occasional tenderness form between himself and his guilt-ridden, emotionally-distant wife."
That help?
--Diana
On Nov. 14, 2005: Diana wrote:
"P.S. Forgot to note in the above that Frank, Claire, and Brianna are all Catholics. Catholics _really_ didn't get divorced in the'50's--they still don't do it all that often, since it means excommunication. [My note: In 2015, the divorce rate among Catholics was 28%, but I don't think that takes into account the number of annulments that Catholics receive that could boost that number. Annulments are known as Catholic divorce and are granted for any number of reasons, one of them being not preparing for marriage and getting married in the Catholic church. So if you weren't a practicing Catholic at the time you were married, and were married by a Justice of the Peace, or other Christian minister, you could cite "lack of form" and get your marriage annulled by the Catholic church, along with your civil divorce. Just saying...)
I don't at all understand why the anti-Frank contingent thinks Claire should have left the marriage, though. Why? Frank wasn't beating her, or mentally torturing her, or otherwise behaving badly (with, of course, the _possible_ exception that he was being unfaithful. And that, we don't know). The only overwhelming reason she might have had
would be to go back to Jamie--which is something that Frank obviously knows, which is why he doesn't tell her when he finds evidence that Jamie didn't die at Culloden. (And while I'm sure that the anti-Frank people view this as more evidence that he's a Bad Person, consider what he himself says in his letter to the Reverend. True, he _didn't_ want to lose her (i.e., he loved her), but he also didn't want to
cause her and/or Brianna additional grief and suffering by giving her an impossible choice. She was by that time reconciled to her live in the present, doing well as a doctor, and if their marriage wasn't great, it mostly wasn't bad.
If she knew Jamie was alive, though...either she'd choose to try to return to him, leaving her young daughter (more horrible guilt), or she'd stay for Bree's sake, but be constantly torn by yearning for Jamie. So Frank didn't tell her. He clearly had mixed motives for that, but they weren't necessarily evil ones, at all."
Quoted per Diana in its entirety. (As I mentioned before, this is just the end of Diana's discourse on Frank.)
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QOTD for Friday 29 May 2020 The following quote is taken from Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 19 "To Lay a Ghost" copyright 1994 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Thu, May 28 2020, 18:20:41
"I don't need your permission to take my daughter to England," he said. "And Bree's still a minor; she'll go where I say. I'd appreciate it if you'd find her medical records; the new school will need them."
"Your daughter?" I said again. I vaguely noticed the chill in the room, but was so angry that I felt hot all over. "Bree's my daughter, and you'll take her bloody nowhere!"
"You can't stop me," he pointed out, with aggravating calmness, picking up his dressing gown from the foot of the bed.
"The hell I can't," I said. "You want to divorce me? Fine. Use any grounds you like - with the exception of adultery, which you can't prove, because it doesn't exist. But if you try to take Bree away with you, I'll have a thing or two to say about adultery. Do you want to know how many of your discarded mistresses have come to see me, to ask me to give you up?"
His mouth hung open in shock.
"I told them all that I'd give you up in a minute," I said, "if you asked." I folded my arms, tucking my hands into my armpits. I was beginning to feel the chilliness again. "I did wonder why you never asked - but I supposed it was because of Brianna."
His face had gone quite bloodless now, and showed white as a skull in the dimness on the other side of the bed.
"Well," he said, with a poor attempt at his usual self-possession, "I shouldn't have thought you minded. It's not as though you ever made a move to stop me."
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- And Bam! she cuts him off at the knees. His “poor attempt at his usual self possession” did kind of make me feel sorry for him. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Thu, May 28 2020, 18:58:12
- This section makes it pretty clear that Frank had a series of affairs through the years. Perhaps he decided this mistress was a "keeper" or that the time had come now that Bree was older. I find it pretty bold that he thought Claire (and Bree for that matter, though she was a minor) would go along with his plan without a battle. If it had come to a messy divorce, would Bree's parentage come to light sooner? Would it have been a factor? Adultery on Claire's part DID exist because of Jamie, and wouldn't THAT have made for an interesting scene with the attorneys?? (NT) -- DianaH, Fri, May 29 2020, 8:06:12
- "His mouth hung open in shock". It always astounds me at how dense some cheaters can be. They think they are covering their tracks so completely, but it usually just isn't so. I know very few spouses who are totally clueless to the filanderings of their mates. I wonder what Frank knew that made him think that Claire would give up Bree so easily? (NT) -- Marcie, Fri, May 29 2020, 11:08:14
- Makes me wonder if Frank had found Claire went back, so he viewed it as she left both he and Bree for Jamie. -- Kel, Fri, May 29 2020, 11:45:28
- Well, for sure, by this time, Frank knew that Jamie existed historically - and in his letter to The Reverend, he mentions that he knew for some time, but didn't tell Claire (even insinuating that Bree was younger then, and wondering if Claire would leave her daughter). And yes, good point, about Bree's parentage coming up in a messy divorce. Luckily, in Claire's case, Frank was just too proper to want to experience a messy divorce, and she probably sensed that. As well, how does Frank allege that Bree's father is 200+ years old/dead, without sounding crazy himself. There would have been the newspaper articles, but still, crazy stuff. And of course, he burned the "evidence" Claire's traveling clothes. But, Kel, Claire _DID_ ask Roger to look for the men from Fraser's company - and that is when he found Jamie - Chapter 2 of Voyager: The Hunt Begins. (NT) -- JudithONH, Fri, May 29 2020, 16:48:50
QOTD for Thursday 28 May 2020 The following quote is taken from Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 19 "To Lay a Ghost" copyright 1994 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Wed, May 27 2020, 17:41:13
I heaved out of bed and stood up, glaring down at him.
"You," I said, "have not got one bloody, filthy, stinking thing to say about Bree or anything else!" I was trembling with rage, and had to press my fists into the sides of my legs to keep from striking him. "You have the unmitigated gall to tell me that you are leaving me to live with the latest of a succession of mistresses, and then imply that I have been having an affair with Joe Abernathy? That is what you mean, isn't it?"
He had the grace to lower his eyes slightly.
"Everyone thinks you have." he muttered. "You spend all of your time with the man. It's the same thing, so far as Bree is concerned. Dragging her into ... situations, where she's exposed to danger, and ... and to those sorts of people ..."
"Black people, I suppose you mean?"
"I damn well do," he said, looking up at me with eyes flashing. "It's bad enough to have the Abernathys to parties all the time, though at least he's educated."
~*~*~*~*~*~
This racist attitude of Frank's really bothered me too. Argh!
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- Super racist and chauvinistic, although he wouldn’t be called either in his time. I think what really galls me about it is that he has a b s o l u t e l y no concept of either. Claire just should have said it’s Jamie I love, not Joe. In that way at least. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Thu, May 28 2020, 3:24:50
- Oh, Kathy in PA, that would have been a _perfect_ rejoinder for Claire - and would have really p*ssed off Frank!!! But, I think, especially in Boston (where I lived in the early 1970s and worked at Harvard), the civil rights movement for blacks was in full swing (even from the late 1950s and all through the 1960s), so I think that if Frank voiced this opinion in public, he would have been judged as racist. Especially at an Ivy League University such as Harvard. And even the recognition of male chauvinism was on the uptick at that point as well. In any event, entirely unacceptable, IMHO. Again, I LOVE your rejoinder!!!was (NT) -- JudithONH, Thu, May 28 2020, 11:22:56
- In today's time, I think close working relationships are known as "work wives" or "work husbands". It takes a secure marriage and trust for the partner to be able to understand how those relationships are. And we know Frank was never secure in his marriage, and he did have reason to be that way as well. And to me, if he had a problem with the Abernathy's coming over, why does he wait and voice his complaints during this argument. Yes, I think he's racist and just a really unpleasant fellow. (NT) -- Marcie, Fri, May 29 2020, 11:18:20
QOTD for Wednesday 27 May 2020 The following quote is taken from Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 19 "To Lay a Ghost" copyright 1994 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Tue, May 26 2020, 19:33:14
So, DianaH, you beat me to the punch on this quote, but you had to know it was coming ;-) ~*~*~*~*~*~
"Why now, all of a sudden? The latest one putting pressure on you, is she?"
The look of alarm that flashed into his eyes was so pronounced as to be comical. I laughed, with a noticeable lack of humor.
"You actually thought I didn't know? God, Frank! You are the most ... oblivious man!"
He sat up in bed, jaw tight.
"I thought I had been most discreet."
"You may have been at that," I said sardonically. "I counted six over the last ten years - if there were really a dozen or so, then you were quite the model of discretion."
His face seldom showed great emotion, but a whitening beside his mouth told me that he was very angry indeed.
...
"Let that be. Still, I've decided to go back to England permanently. I've a good position offered at Cambridge, and I mean to take it up. You won't leave the hospital, of course. But I don't mean to leave my daughter behind."
"Your daughter?" I felt momentarily incapable of speech. So he had a job all set, and a new mistress to go along. He'd been planning this for some time, then. A whole new life - but not with Brianna.
"My daughter," he said calmly. "You can come to visit whenever you like, of course..."
"You ... bloody ... bastard!" I said.
"Do be reasonable, Claire." He looked down his nose, giving me Treatment A, long-suffering patience, reserved for students appealing failing grades. "You're scarcely ever home. If I'm gone, there will be no one to look after Bree properly."
"You talk as though she's eight, not almost eighteen! For heaven's sake, she's nearly grown."
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- Oh yes, I did despise Frank here 🤬. Take your prepppy, British, Professor, self righteous butt and get thee off to London!!! (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Wed, May 27 2020, 3:32:53
- I always envision this the way "I" would react - "YOUR daughter????" Back the truck up, Frankie Boy; YOU and your mistress aren't taking MY daughter ANYWHERE!!" (NT) -- DianaH, Wed, May 27 2020, 10:06:19
- Sorry for jumping the gun on you, JudithONH! (NT) -- DianaH, Wed, May 27 2020, 10:07:41
- I can't tell you how much I loathe Frank for bringing up the fact that Claire had to spend so much time on her career. If he didn't want to do it, the time to speak up was years ago. Not wait until this moment to decide he resented Claire for working. Grrrrr... (NT) -- Marcie, Fri, May 29 2020, 11:33:52
- (NT) -- Judie, Fri, July 03 2020, 12:31:20
QOTD for Tuesday 26 May 2020 The following quote is taken from Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 71 "Circle's Close" copyright 1997 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Mon, May 25 2020, 18:50:43
Hadn't thought of this before - do you suppose I'll meet him in the sweet by-and-by, if there is one? Funny to think of it. Should we meet as friends, I wonder, with the sins of the flesh behind us? Or end forever locked in some Celtic hell, with our hands wrapped round each other's throat?
I treated Claire badly - or well, depending on how one looks at it. I won't go into the sordid details; leave it that I'm sorry.
So there it is, Reg. Hate, jealousy, lying, stealing, unfaithfulness, the lot. Not much to balance it save love. I do love her - love them. My women. Maybe it's not the right kind of love, or not enough. But it's all I've got.
Still, I won't die unshriven - and I'll trust you for a conditional absolution. I raised Bree as a Catholic; do you suppose there's some forlorn hope that she'll pray for me?
~*~*~*~*~*~
And I give you his own words...sordid details...what would those have been, if not affairs? It seems if he is seeing absolution from his friend, The Reverend, that it has to be a bit more than "lusting in his heart."
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- In my comments, should be "seeking," not "seeing." (NT) -- JudithONH, Tue, May 26 2020, 9:11:21
- I've always felt certain that Frank had affairs. When he announced that he was leaving and taking Bree with him, Claire asked "What, is the most recent one putting pressure on you?" And Frank responds along the lines of, "You know? I thought I've been discrete." "Well if there have been more than 3-4 over the years, than, yes, you have." "You could have cared about it." "I DID care!" What ELSE could they have been talking about? (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, May 26 2020, 10:33:11
- I've always felt a bit sorry for Frank. His wife returns out of nowhere, pregnant, with an "outlandish" ;) tale of where she's been. He loves and raises another man's child, provides her with skills (shooting, riding) she would need if she ever traveled back-whether or not he knew it to be possible. He left her letters warning her of "funny buggers", the government, etc. re: her heritage and ability to travel. This, of course, in direct contrast to his statement to Claire in Outlander that he wouldn't want to adopt because he didn't think he could "feel properly" toward a child that wasn't his own blood. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, May 26 2020, 12:06:41
- Regarding Frank as a husband, that's a bit more complicated. He DID support Claire's need to go to medical school, become a doctor, even though it was quite unorthodox for a woman in the 1950's. IMHO, F & C did the best they could with the situation, tried to create a relationship with the fractured pieces they had. C couldn't forget Jamie, so F didn't have his wife's full love. It's not surprising that he looked elsewhere for that bond or at least attention. DG creates complex, flawed people and relationships, which is why we love her writing. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, May 26 2020, 12:13:53
- DianaH, you summed it up beautifully. JudithON, I do think he had affairs and I guess I’m lenient on him because Claire really didn’t love him after she experienced it with Jamie. After he threatened to take Bri away though, my Mama Bear came out, and I was glad he died and couldn’t take her. I’m awful...... (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Tue, May 26 2020, 13:15:04
- DianaH, thank you for your 3-fold comments. I agree with all of them. When Frank's research did reveal an historical person who _could_ have been the one Claire met and loved, he _did_ all in his power to prepare Brianna, should she find herself back in time - whether on accident, or on purpose. Your remark about the "funny buggers" reminded me too that Frank was actually the one who brings the news of Jerry MacKenzie's death to Roger's mum...and being that Frank was a "funny bugger" himself, he had to have some idea that Jerry's disappearance was at the very least unusual, and inconsistent with a plane going down where it did - i.e., no plane or debris or body - and perhaps he thought of that later when muddling over Claire's story in his mind...but that is only my supposition. If we only should live long enough, it would be interesting to read the story from Frank's POV...I'm sure DG has some thoughts on that matter, LOL! (NT) -- JudithONH, Tue, May 26 2020, 13:57:44
- And another thing, it may have been easier for Frank to accept Brianna (aside from how could you NOT love such a beautiful child) because he told Claire that he knew he could not sire children, that he had had himself tested...so given the chance to be a father to Claire's child, he took to it with devotion. And, KathyPA, you are NOT awful - I don't think anyone is wise to threaten a woman's child...and we know Claire knows how to dispatch a threat to her or her family, LOL! (NT) -- JudithONH, Tue, May 26 2020, 14:01:23
QOTD for Monday 25 May 2020. The following quote is taken from Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 26 "Plague and Pestilence" copyright 1997 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Sun, May 24 2020, 20:22:08
Yet neither of us spoke of such things in the daylight. I could not; I had no right. Frank did not; he had revenge.
Sometimes it would be months - even a year or more - between episodes, and we would live in peace together. But then it would happen again; the silent phone calls, the too-excused absences, the late nights. Never anything so overt as another woman's perfume, or lipstick on his collar - he had discretion. But I always felt the ghost of the other woman, whoever she was; some faceless, indistinguishable She.
I knew it didn't matter who it was - there were several of them. The only important thing was that She was not me. And I would lie awake and clench my fists, the marks of my nails a small crucifixion.
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QOTD for Sunday 24 May 2020 The following quote is taken from Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 26 "Plague and Pestilence" copyright 1997 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved. -- JudithONH, Sun, May 24 2020, 9:01:13
First off, I have to commend CindyG for having done a masterful job of quoting - and particularly enjoyed seeing Colum again, and Claire's reactions to him. As others have noted, it is always a pleasure to go back to the first books to meet our friends anew.
Second, the "theme" I have chosen is one that is a "bee in my bonnet" and while I know the topic has been debated almost ad nauseam - well, I'm dredging it up again, since I've seen it mentioned in other Outlander forums. (I also hope the topic of these quotes does not offend anyone, least of all Herself, and if I need to change horses mid-stream, I'm willing to do that as well.) So, for what it's worth, and without further ado:
~*~*~*~*~*~
My fingernails had dug small crescents in my palms, a small line of throbbing half-moons. For years, I had rubbed away those crescents after every dinner party, every late night when Frank had "worked late at the office." For years, I had lain intermittently alone in a double bed, wide-awake in the darkness, nails digging into my hands, waiting for him to come back.
And he had. To his credit, he always did return before dawn. Sometimes to a back curled against him in cold reproach, sometimes to the furious challenge of a body thrust against him in demand, urging him wordlessly to deny it, to prove his innocence with his body - trial by combat. More often than not, he accepted the challenge. But it didn't help.
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- Hoping to not offend anyone, I’ve always felt Claire had a bit of “dog in the manger” with Frank after she came back. She had known great, life altering love and was quite open with Frank about that. Even gave him the chance to leave. After my initial dislike of Frank, just because he wasn’t Jamie, as the story went on I came to admire and feel pity for him. He did love Claire, he supported her career, raised Brianna with total love and even helped her prepare for what he knew was coming. So if he chose to try to find someone who would truly love him back, I can’t blame him anymore. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sun, May 24 2020, 11:25:28
- Kathy in PA, no offense taken here...it just is that maybe because DG has defended him on several occasions, quite definitely, that there is NO way we can know if Frank had affairs or not, that it bugs me. He DID facilitate Claire getting her M.D. and he DID love Brianna to the moon and back, but I never could feel any kindly feelings toward him. JMHO. Thanks! JudithONH (NT) -- JudithONH, Sun, May 24 2020, 12:37:08
- Because you think he was unfaithful to Claire? (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sun, May 24 2020, 13:09:10
- That, and I just never warmed to him. It may have been the Black Jack connection, but even on my virgin read, I didn't like the way he treated Claire. There was the rather bold question of whether she had had an affair with any of the soldiers she nursed. And then the time they were having tea with the Reverend, and Claire went to pour, but the potholder was too thin (or whatever the precipitating event was) and she burned herself, and dropped the pot with a royal JHRC expletive and Frank was simply mortified, never mind his wife might have a serious burn. (And I KNOW it was in front of The Reverend, but still...) And that I don't think Frank was all that fond of Scotch...oh the humanity! (LOL) But I never did warm to him. At all. (NT) -- JudithONH, Sun, May 24 2020, 20:16:20
QOTD - I _think_ I signed up for this week - starting May 31 - and just remembered. Will post soon. Thanks for your patience! (If it's someone else's week, that's okay too!) -- JudithONH, Sun, May 24 2020, 8:04:21
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QOTD for Saturday, May 23, 2020 -- CindyG, Fri, May 22 2020, 22:10:12
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 5, “The Mackenzie.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“‘I did not say I didn’t believe ye, Mistress,’ he answered evenly. ‘But I’ve not held the leadership of a large clan for twenty-odd years without learning not to swallow whole every tale I’m told.’
‘Well, if you don’t believe I am who I say, who in bloody hell do you think I am?’ I demanded.
He blinked, taken aback by my language. Then the sharp-cut features firmed again.
‘That,’ he said, ‘remains to be seen. In the meantime, mistress, you’re a welcome guest at Leoch.’ He raised a hand in gracious dismissal, and the ever-present attendant near the door came forward, obviously to escort me back to my quarters.
Colum didn’t say the next words, but he might as well have. They hung in the air behind me as clearly as though spoken, as I walked away:
‘Until I find out who you really are.’”
Ok, I challenge someone new to post a quote, just for tomorrow. It’s really not hard.
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QOTD for Friday, May 22, 2020 -- CindyG, Thu, May 21 2020, 22:57:27
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 5, “The Mackenzie.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“I found what I supposed I had been looking for in the central drawer. A half-finished letter, written in a flowing hand rendered no more legible by the eccentric spelling and total lack of punctuation. The paper was fresh and clean, and the ink crisply black. Legible or not, the date at the top of the page sprang out at me as though written in letters of fire: 20 April, 1743.
When he returned a few moments later, Colum found his guest seated by the casement windows, hands clasped decorously in her lap. Seated, because my legs would no longer hold me up. Hands clasped, to hide the trembling that had made it difficult for me to stuff the letter back into its resting place.”
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Judie, We are still struggling with our computer (seems like 2 years now, maybe more.) It's on and off, unreliable and infuriating. We are still awaiting the insurance company to find out if we get a new computer or not. The gigantic transformer explosion, really EXPLODED, and the ensuing power surge wiped out much of our electrical appliances, the TV, and messed with the computer. It was a dinosaur anyway, and fussy. Now it's worse. I'll pick up a week or two when I have faith that I can be consistent. Sorry for my inactivity. "It's always something," Gilda Radner. "What fresh hell is this?" Dorthy Parker. -- B. Barefoot, Thu, May 21 2020, 9:31:27
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QOTD for Thursday, May 21, 2020 -- CindyG, Wed, May 20 2020, 21:48:39
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 5, “The Mackenzie.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“‘Busy wee things, are they no?’ A deep, pleasant voice spoke from behind me, and I turned with a smile that froze on my face.
Colum MacKenzie shared the broad planes and high forehead of his brother Dougal, though the vital force that gave Dougal an air of intimidation was here mellowed into something more welcoming, though no less vibrant. Darker, with dove-grey rather than hazel eyes, Colum gave that same impression of intensity, of standing just slightly closer to you than was quite comfortable. At the moment, though, my discomfort arose from the fact that the beautifully modeled head and long torso ended in shockingly bowed and stumpy legs. The man who should have topped six feet came barely to my shoulder.
He kept his eyes on the birds, tactfully allowing me a much-needed moment to gain control of my features. Of course, he must be used to the reactions of people meeting him for the first time. It occurred to me, glancing around the room, to wonder how often he did meet new people. This was clearly a sanctuary; the self-constructed world of a man to whom the outer world was unwelcome—or unavailable.“
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- I think it was unwelcome AND unavailable. He did a masterful job of using Dougal to carry on the MacKenzie legacy and keep the power. I wonder how hard it would be to compartmentalize your life to support the cause? To step aside in every physical way, right down to fathering your child. And to have the brains to do that and stay sane. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Thu, May 21 2020, 5:00:48
- The first thing that ran through my mind when I read this post just now was how far we have come in learning and adapting to people with challenges. WAY far to go, but we're gaining on it. Then I look at the quote and am struck by how DG describes Colum's eyes. Dove-grey rather than hazel. Holy Smokies! How does she DO that? Colum is described so intricately, and I find him much more interesting, more evolved than Dougal; more to be respected. More to be wary of. And dangerous. Dougal is strikinging and almost immediately sexual. Colum exudes power. To me, Colum is immediately cunning and I think it shows right from the start. (NT) -- Betsy Barefoot, Thu, May 21 2020, 9:19:29
QOTD for Wednesday, May 20, 2020 -- CindyG, Tue, May 19 2020, 21:20:57
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 4, “I Come to the Castle.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“The lad had nice feelings. Instead of calling for help or retreating in confusion, he sat down, gathered me firmly onto his lap with his good arm and sat rocking me gently, muttering soft Gaelic in my ear and smoothing my hair with one hand. I wept bitterly, surrendering momentarily to my fear and heartbroken confusion, but slowly I began to quiet a bit, as Jamie stroked my neck and back, offering me the comfort of his broad, warm chest. My sobs lessened and I began to calm myself, leaning tiredly into the curve of his shoulder. No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I’d let him ride me anywhere.
This absurd thought coincided unfortunately with my dawning realization that the young man was not completely exhausted after all. In fact, it was becoming embarrassingly obvious to both of us. I coughed and cleared my throat, wiping my eyes with my sleeve as I slid off his lap.“
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QOTD for Tuesday, May 19, 2020 -- CindyG, Mon, May 18 2020, 20:27:47
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 4, “I Come to the Castle.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“‘Willy, my dear!’ she cried. ‘How good to see ye! And Neddie!’ She gave the small balding man a hearty buss of welcome that nearly knocked him over. ‘Ye’ll be needin’ breakfast, I reckon. Plenty in the kitchen; do ye go and feed yerselves.’ Turning to me and Jamie, she started back as though bitten by a snake. She looked openmouthed at me, then turned to Jamie for an explanation of this apparition.
‘Claire,’ he said, with a brief tilt of his head toward me. ‘And Mistress FitzGibbons,’ he added, with a tilt the other way. ‘Murtagh found her yesterday, and Dougal said we must bring her along wi’ us,’ he added, making it clear it was no good blaming him.
Mistress FitzGibbons closed her mouth and looked me up and down with an air of shrewd evaluation. Apparently she decided that I looked harmless enough, despite my odd and scandalous appearance, for she smiled—kindly, despite several missing teeth—and took me by the arm.“
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QOTD for Monday, May 18, 2020 -- CindyG, Sun, May 17 2020, 21:15:31
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Wood.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“‘No! I’m not going with you!’
He stopped, surprised at my resistance. ‘Yes, you are.’ He didn’t seem upset by my refusal; in fact, he seemed slightly amused that I had any objection to being kidnapped again.
‘And what if I won’t? Are you going to cut my throat?’ I demanded, forcing the issue. He considered the alternatives and answered calmly.
‘Why, no. You don’t look heavy. If ye won’t walk, I shall pick you up and sling ye over my shoulder. Do ye want me to do that?’ He took a step toward me, and I hastily retreated. I hadn’t the slightest doubt he would do it, injury or no.
‘No! You can’t do that; you’ll damage your shoulder again.’
His features were indistinct, but the moonlight caught the gleam of teeth as he grinned.
‘Well then, since ye don’t want me to hurt myself, I suppose that means as you’re comin’ with me?’
I struggled for an answer, but failed to find one in time. He took my arm again, firmly, and we set off toward the road.“
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QOTD for Sunday, May 17, 2020 -- CindyG, Sat, May 16 2020, 21:18:20
Since no one signed up, I’ll just keep going until someone tells me to stop!
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Wood.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“‘Careful!’ I said. ‘Don’t twist like that, or your dressing will come off! What are you trying to do?’
‘Get my plaid loose to cover you,’ he replied. ‘You’re shivering. But I canna do it one-handed. Can ye reach the clasp of my brooch for me?’
With a good deal of tugging and awkward shifting, we got the plaid loosened. With a surprisingly dexterous swirl, he twirled the cloth out and let it settle, shawllike, around his shoulders. He then put the ends over my shoulders and tucked them neatly under the saddle edge, so that we were both warmly wrapped.
‘There!’ he said. ‘We dinna want ye to freeze before we get there.’”
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QOTD for Saturday, May 16, 2020 -- CindyG, Fri, May 15 2020, 21:25:27
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Wood.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“‘What is it ye have there, Murtagh?’ The weasel-faced man grabbed me by the arm and urged me blinking into the firelight.
‘A Sassenach wench, Dougal, by her speech.’ There were several men in the room, all apparently staring at me, some in curiosity, some with unmistakable leers. My dress had been torn in various spots during the afternoon’s activities, and I hastily took stock of the damage. Looking down, I could see the curve of one breast clearly through a rip, and I was sure the assembled men could too. I decided that making an attempt to pull the torn edges together would only draw further attention to the prospect; instead I chose a face at random and stared boldly at him, in hopes of distracting either the man or myself.“
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QOTD for Friday, May 15, 2020 -- CindyG, Thu, May 14 2020, 21:49:27
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Wood.” 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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Quoter for next week? :) -- Judie, Thu, May 14 2020, 15:36:50
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Come on - be brave! You know you would love to do it. :)
It doesn't have to be complicated. You don't need a theme. You can have a theme if you want to. It's up to you.
Anyone? :)
Judie
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- Come on, I just opened Outlander at the last minute and started using what struck my fancy. It’s really easy! (NT) -- CindyG, Thu, May 14 2020, 21:42:46
- Come on, it’s easy, I just opened Outlander at the last minute and started using what struck my fancy. Easy peasy. (NT) -- CindyG, Thu, May 14 2020, 21:45:34
- Sorry, I got an error message and thought it hadn’t posted. I guess it did! (NT) -- CindyG, Thu, May 14 2020, 21:50:41
QOTD for Thursday, May 14, 2020 -- CindyG, Thu, May 14 2020, 9:16:08
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 3, “The Man in the Wood.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“The men were some distance away when I saw them. Two or three, dressed in kilts, running like the dickens across a small clearing. There was a far-off banging noise that I rather dazedly identified as gunshots.
I was quite sure I was still hallucinating when the sound of shots was followed by the appearance of five or six men dressed in red coats and knee breeches, waving muskets. I blinked and stared. I moved my hand before my face and held up two fingers. I saw two fingers, all present and correct. No blurring of vision. I sniffed the air cautiously. The pungent odor of trees in spring and a faint whiff of clover from a clump near my feet. No olfactory delusions.
I felt my head. No soreness anywhere. Concussion unlikely then. Pulse a little fast, but steady.“
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QOTD for Wednesday, May 13, 2020 -- CindyG, Thu, May 14 2020, 9:12:50
I wasn’t able to access this page Tuesday evening or all day yesterday, so I posted on Facebook instead. In case you missed it:
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 2, “Standing Stones.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“I cannot really say I lost consciousness, but I was certainly not aware of myself for some time. I “woke,” if that’s the word, when I stumbled on a rock near the bottom of the hill. I half slid the remaining few feet and fetched up on the thick tufted grass at the foot.
I felt sick and dizzy. I crawled toward a stand of oak saplings and leaned against one to steady myself. There was a confused noise of shouting nearby, which reminded me of the sounds I had heard, and felt, in the stone circle. The ring of inhuman violence was lacking, though; this was the normal sound of human conflict, and I turned toward it.”
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QOTD for Tuesday, May 12, 2020 -- CindyG, Mon, May 11 2020, 21:02:28
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 2, “Standing Stones.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“I could say that my field of vision contracted to a single dark spot, then disappeared altogether, leaving not darkness, but a bright void. I could say that I felt as though I were spinning, or as though I were being pulled inside out. All these things are true, yet none of them conveys the sense I had of complete disruption, of being slammed very hard against something that wasn’t there.
The truth is that nothing moved, nothing changed, nothing whatever appeared to happen and yet I experienced a feeling of elemental terror so great that I lost all sense of who, or what, or where I was. I was in the heart of chaos, and no power of mind or body was of use against it.“
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Quoter Needed This Month! -- Judie, Mon, May 11 2020, 17:49:16
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Quoters needed for next week and the rest of May and 2 weeks in June and 2 weeks in July. :)
Judie
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QOTD for Monday, May 11, 2020 -- CindyG, Mon, May 11 2020, 9:25:16
Sorry I missed yesterday. Here’s a long one to make up.
The following quote is taken from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 2, “Standing Stones.” Copyright © 1991 by Diana Gabaldon, All Rights Reserved.
“The tallest stone of the circle was cleft, with a vertical split dividing the two massive pieces. Oddly, the pieces had been drawn apart by some means. Though you could see that the facing surfaces matched, they were separated by a gap of two or three feet.
There was a deep humming noise coming from somewhere near at hand. I thought there might be a beehive lodged in some crevice of the rock, and placed a hand on the stone in order to lean into the cleft.
The stone screamed.
I backed away as fast as I could, moving so quickly that I tripped on the short turf and sat down hard. I stared at the stone, sweating.
I had never heard such a sound from anything living. There is no way to describe it, except to say that it was the sort of scream you might expect from a stone. It was horrible.
The other stones began to shout. There was a noise of battle, and the cries of dying men and shattered horses.
I shook my head violently to clear it, but the noise went on. I stumbled to my feet and staggered toward the edge of the circle. The sounds were all around me, making my teeth ache and my head spin. My vision began to blur.”
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Quoters!!!!!!!!!! :) -- Judie, Sun, May 10 2020, 13:27:18
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OK - I have all of May and June set up for quoters. Which week do you want? :)
Please let me know and I'll fill in the schedule.
Thanks everyone for keeping this going. :)
Judie
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- I'm still up for the first full week of every month. So June 7th week, please (NT) -- kgp, Sun, May 10 2020, 14:55:03
- Put me down for a week each month. Doesn’t matter when, I’m not going anywhere. (NT) -- CindyG, Sun, May 10 2020, 21:21:51
- kgp and CindyG - I have the weeks set out into July. Anyone else for a week? :D (NT) -- Judie, Mon, May 11 2020, 13:48:14
QOTD for Saturday, May 9, 2020 -- kgp, Sat, May 09 2020, 5:32:12
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“I killed an English soldier, Madame.”
“Oh?” I was unsure if he wanted congratulations, or needed comfort. He was ten.
His brow wrinkled, and his face screwed up as though trying very hard to remember something.
“I think I killed him. He fell down and I stuck him with my knife.” He looked at me in bewilderment, as though I could supply the answer.
“Come along, Fergus,” I said. “We’ll find you some food and a place to sleep. Don’t think about it anymore.”
”Oui, Madame.” He stumbled along obediently beside me, but within moments, I could see he was about to fall flat on his face. I picked him up, with some difficulty, and lugged him toward the cottages near the church where I had centered out hospital operation. I had intended to feed him first, but he was sound asleep by the time I reached the spot where O’Sullivan was attempting - with little success - to organize his commissary wagons.
Instead, I left him curled in the box bed in one of the cottages, where a woman was looking after assorted children while their mothers tended wounded men. It seemed the best place for him.
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Edited 1 time.
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QOTD for Friday, May 8, 2020 -- kgp, Fri, May 08 2020, 3:36:45
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“Then I felt something grab my thigh in the dark, and near jumped out of my skin.” He inserted a finger in his mouth and rubbed gingerly. “Nearly bit my tongue off.” I felt the shift of his muscles as he smiled, though his face was hidden.
“Fergus?”
The ghost of a laugh floated through the dark.
“Aye, Fergus. Crawled through the grass on his belly, the little bastard, and I thought he was a snake, at that. He whispered to me about Anderson, and I crawled off after him and took Anderson to see Lord George.”
His voice was slow and dreamy, talking under the spell of my touch.
“And then the order came that we’d move, following Anderson’s trail. And the whole of the army got to its feet, and set off in the dark.”
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Sorry. MIA! -- Judie, Thu, May 07 2020, 19:37:26
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Sorry gang, I had a cold last week and barely was online for anything I think. I stayed in bed from Sunday till Thursday. Totally forgot about updating quote of the day or whatever and thank you folks for keeping it going. My desk area is also cordoned off because of our puppy and her wanting to get into all the cords under my desk so it’s a real chore to get at my desk and actually do stuff on my computer. Doing it on the phone just doesn’t cut it. I’ll try and get something organized for the dates tomorrow but if anyone wants a specific week just let me know.
Judie
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- Happy Mothers Day Judie! Gald you are feeling better so you can enjoy playing with your puppy. Any puppy photo to share? (NT) -- TeriB waving from hot Nevada, Fri, May 08 2020, 10:07:05
- I hope you’re feeling better! That sounds like a serious knockdown🤧. I am so impressed that you have a puppy, I don’t have the patience any more - only senior rescues that know to pee outside and enjoy a leisurely walk. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Sat, May 09 2020, 5:36:44
- Glad you are feeling better, Boss. Happy Mother's Day ❤ (NT) -- kgp, Sat, May 09 2020, 7:25:34
- You can assign me a week whenever you need. Glad you're better! Happy Mother's Day! (NT) -- JudithONH, Sun, May 10 2020, 13:07:40
QOTD for Thursday, May 7, 2020 -- kgp, Wed, May 06 2020, 17:10:29
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“Do you think you can find your master? It’s black as the inside of a coal hole up on that ridge. I wouldn’t like either of you to be shot by mistake, traipsing around up there.”
“I can find him, Madame,” Fergus said confidently. He probably could, I thought. He seemed to have a sort of radar where Jamie was concerned.
“All right, then,” I conceded. “But for God’s sake, be careful.”
Oui, Madame!” In a flash, he was at the door, vibrating with eagerness to be gone.
It was half an hour after they left that I noticed the knife I had left on the table was gone as well. And only then did I remember, with a sickening lurch of my stomach, that while I had told Fergus to be careful, I had forgotten altogether to tell him to come back.
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QOTD for Wednesday, May 6, 2020 -- kgp, Wed, May 06 2020, 5:50:43
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
I soon found that I had been correct in my surmise as to the force of Jenny Cameron’s personality. A woman who could raise three hundred men and lead them across the mountains to fight for an Italian-accented fop with a taste for brandywine was bound to have a low threshold of boredom and a rare talent for bullying people into doing what she wanted.
“Verra sensible,” she said, having heard my plan. “Cousin Archie’s made some arrangements, I expect, but of course he’s wanting to be with the army just now.” Her firm chin stuck out a little farther. “That’s where the fun is, after all,” she said wryly.
“I’m surprised you didn’t insist on going along,” I said.
She laughed, her small, homely face with its undershot jaw making her look like a good-humored bulldog.
“I would if I could, but I can’t,” she admitted frankly. “Now that Hugh’s come, he keeps trying to make me go home. Told him I was” - she glanced around to be sure we weren’t overheard, and lowered her voice conspiratorially - “dammed if I’d go home and sit. Not while I can be of use here.”
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Jenny Cameron sounds like most of the nurses I know. Happy Nurse's Day - thank you and take care of yourselves
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QOTD for Tuesday, May 5, 2020 -- kgp, Tue, May 05 2020, 5:06:26
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 30 Lallybroch
There was little trace of the fire left; a few chunks of charred wood poked through the grass near the stone hearth that lay open now, flat and exposed as a tombstone. Careful not to step within the outlines of the vanished walls, Jamie began to walk around the clearing. He circled the hearthstone three times, walking always widdershins, left, and left, and left again, to confound any evil that might follow.
I stood to one side and watched. This was a private confrontation, but I couldn’t leave him to face it alone, and though he didn’t glance at me, still I knew he was glad of my presence.
At last he stopped by the fallen pile of stones. Reaching out, he laid a hand gingerly on it and closed his eyes for a moment, as though in prayer. Then, stooping, he picked up a stone the size of his fist, and placed it carefully on the pile, as though it might weigh down the uneasy soul of a ghost. He crossed himself, turned and came toward me with a firm, unhurried step.
“Don’t look back,” he said quietly, taking me by the arm as we turned toward the road.
I didn’t.
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- I always enjoy the passages like this one that illustrate Jamie's belief/respect for superstitions and other worldliness, despite him being an educated man. I think it's one of the reasons that he was able to accept Claire's explanation of who she is and where she came from. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, May 05 2020, 9:19:06
- I agree, Diana. The way the other Diana wrote it, made me believe it easily too. I also like how she weaves faith through the books too. Doesn’t hit us over the head with it, but it’s there as Jamie crosses himself at the end. On another note, Karen do you have the audible books? Listening to any of them very quietly in one ear has helped me sleep more than anything. It’s like having a bedtime story and because you know the whole story so well, as you drift off or wake up a little, it doesn’t matter, it’s just comforting. I also use melatonin and Benadryl 😌 (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Wed, May 06 2020, 4:43:01
QOTD for Monday, May 4, 2020 -- kgp, Sun, May 03 2020, 17:35:01
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“Would it have been better to spare me - or him - and lose half your men in two day’s time? You had to know. You couldn’t - you can’t afford to let notions of gentlemanly conduct sway you”
“No,” he said softly, “I can’t. And so I must ride wi’ a man - with the son of my King - whom duty and honor call me to follow - and seek meanwhile to pervert his cause that I am sworn to uphold. I am forsworn for the lives of those I love - I betray the name of honor that those I honor may survive.”
“Honor has killed one bloody hell of a lot of men,” I said to the dark groove of his bruised back. “Honor without out sense is . . . foolishness. A gallant foolishness, but foolishness nonetheless.”
“Aye, it is. And it will change - you’ve told me. But if I shall be among the first to sacrifice honor for expedience . . . shall I feel nay shame in the doing of it?” He rolled suddenly to face me, eyes troubled in the starlight.
“I willna turn back - I cannot, now - but Sassenach, sometimes I do sorrow for that bit of myself I have left behind.”
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- The fact that it deeply troubles Jamie to break his oaths for the greater good is proof of his strength of character. Some might do so with a clear conscience that "It is for the best," but not him. (NT) -- DianaH, Mon, May 04 2020, 13:44:00
- Well, I couldn't exactly remember this quote so of course I had to go back and read the chapter and of course that led to reading a couple hundred pages today! LOL! (NT) -- Lady Linda, Mon, May 04 2020, 16:03:11
- I really didn’t know the whole BPC story before Outlander. My opinion of him went way down as I read. Does honor get harder as we get older? After life throws unexpected curves? Jamies’s oath to his king was part of who he was for so long, but when he learned more about him and Claire told him the future, that oath became hollow. This is a horrible place to be. Especially for Jamie who has sacrificed so much for honor. (NT) -- Kathy in PA, Tue, May 05 2020, 4:06:10
QOTD for Sunday, May 3, 2020 -- kgp, Sat, May 02 2020, 17:47:50
My boys were not tricksters, or at least not with me. My sister's kids are the ones who figured out that if you pulled out the silverware drawer just so you could trap Daddy in the bathroom because the door opened out. DS2 liked to embellish stories - not exactly lie, but make whatever happened more entertaining. I thought he might be a writer. He does improv theater so the creativity was not wasted.
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The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“Jamie, why, for God’s sake?” I burst out.
He rested his chin on his folded forearms, the sidelong turn of his head emphasizing the slant of his eyes. The one I could see narrowed still further with his smile.
“Well, Murtagh enjoyed it. He’s owed me a hiding since I was nine and put pieces of honeycomb in his boots while he had them off to cool his feet. He couldna catch me at the time, but I learned a good many interesting new words whilst he was chasing me barefoot.”
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QOTD for Saturday, May 2, 2020 -- kgp, Fri, May 01 2020, 17:59:30
The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“You wouldn’t really have shot him, would you?”
“What d’ye take me for, Sassenach?” he said, in mock outrage.
“A Scottish poltroon. Or at best, a conscienceless outlaw. Who knows what a fellow like that would do? Let alone an unprincipled voluptuary.”
He laughed with me, and his shoulder shook under my hand. “Turn your head. If you want womanly sympathy, you’ll have to keep still while I apply it.”
“Mmm.” There was a moment of silence. “No,” he said, at last, “I wouldna have shot him. But I had to save his pride somehow, after making him feel ridiculous over you. He’s a brave lad; he deserved to feel he was worth killing.”
I shook my head. “I will never understand men,” I muttered, smoothing marigold ointment over the scratch.
He reached back for my hands and brought them together under his chin.
“You dinna need to understand me, Sassenach,” he said quietly. “So long as ye love me.”
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QOTD for Thursday, April 30, 2020 -- kgp, Thu, April 30 2020, 16:40:46
Posting early because I'm knackered and hope to be asleep soon. Last night was a restless one. Not more than an hour's light sleep at a time and lots of wakefulness with wandering thoughts and owl hoots from the woods nearby.
Such nights are infrequent, thankfully. But the following day is a slog. I'm hoping a large dram of something highly alcoholic will help me sleep better tonight but that doesn't always help. Absurdly, it sometimes makes me more alert. Maybe if I read a giant book involving time travel and colonial life it will smack me in the head as I drift off and knock me out for the night.
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The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
“I could have broken him, Sassenach. It would have been messy, though, and likely permanent. I’d rather not use such means if I dinna have to. Mind ye, Sassenach” - his voice reached me from the shadows, holding a note of warning - “ sometime I may have to. I had to know where his fellows were, their arms and the rest of it. I couldne scare him into it; it was trick him or break him.”
“He said you couldn’t do anything that would make him talk.”
Jamie’s voice was weary. “Christ, Sassenach, of course I could. Ye can break anyone if you’re prepared to hurt them enough. I know that, if anyone does.”
“Yes,” I said quietly, “I suppose you do.”
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QOTD for Thursday, April 30, 2020 -- kgp, Wed, April 29 2020, 17:19:50
I’m normally distracted and pulled in different directions. Fortunately, there are usually wonderful friends nearby to prod me along toward what needs to get done. This week it was dear Betsy. I am perpetually on QOTD for the first full week of the month but offered to take half of this week as well. I forgot what day it was even though I had a fiddle lesson today and those happen on Wednesdays.
As it has been for so many others, this era of planetary shutdown has muddled the thought processes and weeks tend to mush together. I count myself fortunate that both DH and DS are needed at work and we are not fraying each other’s last nerve. However, much of the routine of meetings and dance classes has been disrupted - those weekly occurrences that keep me aware of time.
Even though we are not housebound together all day, Claire’s thoughts at the end of today’s quote echo my own sometimes.
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The following quotation is from Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Copyright 1992 All Rights Reserved. Chapter 36 Prestonpans
The rough grass beneath me was cold on bare skin, and I hunched to wrap the cloak around me. Cocooned and insulated, I lay quiet, listening to the pounding of my heart, waiting for the turmoil inside me to calm.
Sometime later, I heard men passing by in small groups of four or five, returning to their sleeping spots. Muffled by folds of cloth, I couldn’t distinguish their words, but they sounded subdued, perhaps a little awed. Some time passed before I realized he was there. He didn’t speak or make a noise, but I suddenly knew he was nearby. When I rolled over and sat up, I could see his bulk shadowed on a stone, head resting on forearms, folded across his knees.
Torn between the impulse to stroke his head, and the urge to cave it in with a rock, I did neither.
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- kgp, DH and DS are both working from home, while I go to the office every day. I'm the only one there besides one of our engineers who works in his cubicle upstairs, so distancing isn't a problem. Not spending all day and night AND weekends together is likely saving our collective sanities. (NT) -- DianaH, Thu, April 30 2020, 7:45:32
- In all honesty, I thought the police would be called to our house for a murder/suicide about 3 weeks after I retired (6 years ago)! Luckily, my DH and I settled quickly into a routine and really started enjoying this new phase of our life, in a way quite unlike all the previous stages. Just sharing that togetherness does not necessarily = insanity! (NT) -- Janet, Thu, April 30 2020, 11:11:09
QOTD for Wednesday, 4/22/20 -- SarahspundleBetsy,(With bare feet), Wed, April 29 2020, 7:10:51
Oh no...maybe I thought wrong. I see there's no QOTD! I thought kgp was taking over today...I'll message her and see what's up.
So here's a short quote for today: (and no blather.)
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But in the speaking, he seemed somehow to rise a little way above his body, and see himself at rest, eyes open, fixed upward, his hair dark flaming in a halo round his head, streaked with the silver of his age. And here he saw that he mearly WAS, in a place between, apart. And quite alone. At peace. "I have no evil in my heart, hearing his voice come slow, from a long way off. "This evil does not touch me. More may come, but not this. Not here. Not now."
"I understand," whispered the old woman, and went on coming his hair as the white smoke rose silent toward the hole in the sky.
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QOTD for Tuesday, 4/28/20 -- Spin bare walk bare Betsy, Mon, April 27 2020, 23:46:45
I'm going to assume that it's okay for me to post QOTD.
Good morning/afternoon/evening to Lallyland,
My son, Hal, has been charming since birth. People just thought he was wonderful and as he grew to school age, it just got worse. He could charm the beard off Sant Clause. He didn't purposely do it; it was just ingrained in his psyche. However, he didn't charm me. It made me quake in my britches to watch his charm unfold, knowing it wasn't much of a gift, but rather it was a trait that would bite him in the butt as he made his way through life. But before he met reality , we were always entertained. He has a wicked sense of humor, he's goofy looking, has huge googly blue eyes, was an extremely gifted athlete, and played the tuba. The tuba. Is anyone surprised? Socialy, he was always the most sought after in any given group. I'm not bragging; I thought it was dangerous. Every teacher said the same thing. He was the most social kid in class. To me, that translated as he was whispering to his classmates and making witty remarks during class, and generally being a pain in the ass. Funny, but a pain in the ass.
He was an idiot. I know, I know, mothers don't call their kid an idiot, but he in fact was one. One summer he worked at the camp where I worked as the resident RN. I think he was the youngest member of the staff that year. One day, Norm, the camp director, had him mow a huge field on the camp-owned riding lawnmower. I'm pretty sure it was his first experience using a riding lawnmower. He spent two hours carefully covering the entire field before Norm came along to see how he was doing. "Hal. Come over here." Hal jumped off the lawnmower and trotted over to Norm. "You covered every foot of that field, didn't you." "yup," said Hal proudly. "Hal, didn't you notice that you didn't put the mower blades down?" "Ohhhh. Nope, I didn't notice that," said Hal. Norm turned him around facing the newly not-mowed field and said "What's wrong with this picture?" "Ummmmm, I don't know." Norm just shook his head and walked away. Hal wasn't given the job of cutting the grass again that summer. This from a kid who tested off the charts on those stupid IQ tests they give at school . At every parent-teacher meeting, we heard the same thing. Hal has unlimited potential. He's the most gifted kid in every class. He had the potential to go very far. If he took anything seriously. Which he didn't. He did just enough to qualify to play sports. Oh, he's a gem.
Did we just let him flap in the breeze? No. We tried everything short of beating him bloody, and believe me, I felt like doing just that a million times.
He blew up every rule of our home (which are simple but non-negotional. He lied constantly, about everything, even stuff that didn't really matter. He cheated on tests (this we did not know until his senior year). When he was the captain of the football team , which he took VERY seriously, the police arrived at the house because of a noise complaint and under-aged drinking. Hal and six friends were sitting around the living room. There was no under-aged drinking and there was no loud partying. The boys were watching a football game on TV and drinking soda. We, of course, were gone for the evening but one of our daughters, a senior in college, WAS there and validated the story. THE POLICE WERE AT OUR DOOR! One of the rules written in stone. Blown to smithereens. When I asked several years later if they honestly were drinking soda, he said, "Yes, it was soda, but if the cops had come one minute later it would have been beer; when they stormed in, they were drinking soda." Hey, at least he told the truth.
There are so many "Hal" stories, it's scary. Some are frightening, some are silly, some are funny. But they all show that Hal was a royal pain in the ass. I wasn't sure he was going to survive long enough to graduate from school. He actually didn't graduate from high school. He had been "given the opportunity to seek education elsewhere" because he was seen sitting in a car that had a bag of pot between the seats. Oh, it ws fun raising Hal. One good thing: He never smoked any substance in the house. He did a ton of other drugs downstairs but he never smoked in the house. He also did graduate. He went back the and finished up his last half-a-year. He went in to the school, made no eye contact, and attended the classes he needed to graduate. Oh, and he played his tuba in the band.
He did grow up, for the most part. But the night he met a special girl, his life changed. He and a few friends were standing outside of a bar (they were legal at this time,) taking a break from the noise and watching girls pass by. Three girls passed them and one of his friends commented on a part of one of the girl's anatomy. Hal said, "Don't say anything about her. I'm going to marry her." And he did. They now have a four year old son and both have good jobs and pay their rent faithfully. None of his friends comment on her still-fabulous anatomy any more.
He has stopped lying (I think) and no longer does any drugs. I only hope his sweet, but LOUD son gives his father just as many hair-raising times as he gave his parents. He deserves all those horrifying parent-teacher meetings and the opportunity to deal with a child who drives him out of his mind. HA!
One thing more: Hal sings like a pro. In his school the eighth grade class puts on a talent show. The afternoon of the show, there was a poll among the students, sanctioned by the faculty (I have a huge problem with that) to find out which teachers were the best. Every teacher got votes, except one, a young second year teacher. Not one vote. Hal walked by her room after school and saw her crying. At the tail end of the talent show, Hal walked onto the stage and announced he was singing one more song, dedicated to Miss Rice. Then he burst out with Marvin Gays "Lets get it on." I tried to hide.
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The following quote is taken from 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes,' by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 44, "Scotchee." Copy right c 2005, by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
"Come and lie down, Bear-Killer, she said. Her voice was kind and rough. "I've come to comb the snakes from your hair."
She drew him unresisting to the couch, and made him lie down with his head in her lap. Sure enough, she unplaited his hair and spread it out across her knees, her touch soothing to his throbbing head and the painful knot on his brow.
He had no idea how old she might be, but her fingers were muscular and tireless, making small, rhythmic circles in his scalp, on his temples, behind his ears, near to the bone at the base of his skull. She had thrown sweet grass and some other herb on the fire; the chimney hole was drawing well and he could see white smoke rising upward in a wavering pillar, very calm, but a sense of constant movement in it.
She was humming to herself, or rather whispering some song, the words too indistinct to make out. He watched the silent shapes stream upward in the smoke, and felt his body growing heavy, limbs filled with wet sand, his body a sandbag placed in the path of a flood.
"Talk, Bear Killer," she said very softly, breaking off her chant. She had a wooden comb in her hand; he felt the teeth of it caress his scalp, rounded with wear.
"I cannot call your words to me," he said, searching for each word in Tsalagi, and thus speaking very slowly. She made a small snorting noise in reply.
"The words don't matter, nor the tongue in which you speak," she said. Only talk. I will understand."
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- OMG, Betsy, Hal sounds SO SO much like my Eric!! Not a tuba player or captain of the football team, but most of your other descriptions fit. We've often joked that if only Eric would use his powers for good and not evil! I love him to death, and sometimes the death part was more what I had in mind for him. I've often said that I named my gray hairs after the ones responsible for them and my DS has the monopoly on them. He DID grow up to be a good person, hard working, and lovable. I still might want to kill him at times, but he makes us laugh. He's very softhearted and often grabs me in a hug for no reason other than I'm his Mom. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, April 28 2020, 9:44:43
- FINALLY, Bird sends Jamie what he really needs most, someone to tend him. "I've come to comb the snakes from your hair" and from his mind too. I think we could all use this type of treatment now and then. there isn't much more soothing than having someone brush your hair. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, April 28 2020, 9:48:52
- BBS, I forgot to mention that Eric went to help my friend whose husband was stationed in Afghanistan. My boy mowed the whole (quite large) yard - with the mower blades up! LOL!!! I also copied parts of your post about Hal and sent it to Eric with a note that it reminded me of HIM. His reply, "This is AWESOME!" Birds of a feather.... (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, April 28 2020, 11:39:49
Tuesday QOTD -- BBS, Mon, April 27 2020, 9:42:49
KGP!! If you don't mind, I'd like to do tomorrow's QOTD. Will that mess up your plans? If it doesn't fit for you, it's not an issue at all. Just let me know.
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QOTD for Monday, 4/28/20 -- Spinningwoman. Likes barefeet. Betsy, Mon, April 27 2020, 9:38:49
Good Morning,
I apologize that I couldn't post last night. I only had my phone to write on and I can't see the keyboard. I really need new glasses, and a bigger keyboard. Not sure which would help, probably both.
I'm not sure I've ever told you about my glasses. Both David and I had already had exams but we decided to try an online frames company. I have friends who use it frequently, so I felt safe. The cost difference between getting my glasses from my optometrist and online was several hundred dollars. It was a no-brainer. Several hundred dollars is an awful lot of money for us. We be po' folk. And hicks to boot. Proud of it. IMHO, it can make you stronger if you have to figure out priorities and how to stretch a dollar. Interestingly, two of my four kids have verbalized to me that, in retrospect, they get it, and being financially challenged has prepared them for the bumps in the road in life. They may have said that because they wanted me to feel good about feeding them corn meal mush for supper. Hey....I acted out the story of the three bears while they ate and they thought it was the bestest supper in the world. Hahahahaha. It cost me about ten cents to feed three (our fourth had not shown up yet.) I had been a theater arts major in college and I did a mean Bear voice! They ate and they thrived and they survived. All of them have good jobs and families and stand on their own. So corn meal mush a day or two a week didn't stunt their growth. They were ALL star athletes in high school so I know that is true. They're all wicked smart so I know it didn't dampen their cognitive abilities. I can smile and know David and I didn't give them much but we gave them what we had... love and knowing they are loved, confidence in their abilities, support for all their events and for when they dug themselves into a hole. We have always told them we will NOT bail them out. But we WILL stand by them while they solve their own problems; we will hold their hand when needed but if they screw up, it's their problem to work on. Biggest rules in our house were: No lying, absolutely NO stealing, even a pencil, no smoking of any substance in our home, and no police at the door. We almost always had extra kids living here, especially when the offsprings were in middle and high school and all those kids were held to the same rules.
The girls, for the most part, lived by those rules. Our son? Not so much. He made as wasteland of all the rules. But that's a tale for another day.
For today we are all alive (that includes my friends and loved ones and my Lally family.) As far as I know, none of us are in jail, in the morgue, or on the run from the Law. Except my daughter-in-law's brother, but I don't count him. I've only met him twice and didn't have the opportunity to discuss the meaning of life with him either time. Now, HE is running from the law. Not my issue. Do I care? Yes, I do. I care most for my DIL, his son, and his parests. But he has multiple substance abuse problems. Until he wants to help himself, there is nothing anyone, except the police, can do. .
Oh my goodness! When did I get so serious? When I write, sometimes I am poking fun at things (usually myself) but it doesn't read like that. Let it be known that Betsy Barefoot Spinner has a life she loves, a family she would die for, and friends she adores. Food on the table, too. Both my son, who is a chef, sort of, and I like to cook, and we're both pretty good at it, so we're all gaining weight. If the quarenteen lasts a lot longer they'll have to roll us all out the front door! It'll be a jolly time if they do. There are a ton of sharp corners between the dining room and the door. Maine isn't one of the States that is beginning to opening up their economies. Our Governor won't budge on the issue. Most of us agree. New England States have come together to deal with it all. I may not see my neighbors in person for several more months. Most of us are behind this decision (Maine's numbers are still going up, and per capita it's alarming. Most aren't eager to venture out in public yet. Last week, the cova virus settled in my own town. The largest center of contamination is a short half-mile down our hill. For our small town, there are an unbelievable number affected. We'll wait. And eat.
Re-reading this, I notice I never did talk about my glasses. Hahahahahahaha.
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The following quote is from 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes,' by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 44, "Scotchee." Copyright c by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
It was very late when he went to the guesthouse; the moon had set, and the sky had that look of deep serenity, the stars singing to themselves in endless night. His body ached in every muscle, and he was so tired that he stumbled on the threshold. His instincts were still working, though, and he felt, rather than saw, someone move in the shadows of the sleeping-couch.
God, Bird was still at it. Well, tonight it wouldn't matter; he could lie naked with a covey of young women, and sleep sound. Too exhausted to be annoyed by her presence, he struggled for some polite acknowledgement of the women. Then she stood up.
The firelight showed him an elderly woman, her hair in grizzled plaits, her dress of white buckskin decorated with paint and porcupine quills. He recognized Calls-in-the-Forest, dressed in her best. Bird's sense of humor had finally got out of hand; he had sent Jamie his mother.
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- I live just north of Detroit, in Oakland County. We have been declared an epicenter for corona virus, but our zipcode is realitively unscathed. Common sense and persoal responsibility are our bywords. The local farmer's market has curbside pickup (but I do miss picking out my own vegies), the local "convenience store" has milk, bread, and eggs (I wait in the lot until I'm the only car and wear a bandana mask), and I haven't been to the grocery store in about a month. I hope everyone in Lallyland is healthy and well. (NT) -- Janet, Mon, April 27 2020, 10:56:57
- The irony of this passage is great. "He could lie naked with a covey of young women and sleep sound." And instead of the young women, it's Bird's MOTHER! Priceless. (NT) -- DianaH, Tue, April 28 2020, 9:06:54
QOTD -- Bobbling Betsy of the spinning bare stuff., Sun, April 26 2020, 23:17:31
Life happened. I need to post Monday’s QOTD in the AM.
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QOTD for Sunday 4/26/20 -- Betsy-of-the-spindles, spinning, Sat, April 25 2020, 23:01:04
It's a new week. Yyaaaaayyy.. I like Sundays. It's another chance to start over and make life much better. It's like New Years' Resolution but on a more personal level and we get more chances to start over! WOOHOO!! I put together a list of all my ills that I will work on and promise myself to succeed this time. It lasts ten minutes. Oh, well.
This afternoon we, the residents of this home, had a bonfire around David's sister's pond. We roasted hot-dogs on sticks, made hamburgers over the open fire, ate pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches, made a mess of our faces cooking marshmells and eating s'mores. We did it last week as well. It gets all of us out of the house, saves our sanity, and just is fun. It's funny seeing nine adults talking over a roaring fire when everyone is more than six feet away for others.
Two of my sister-in-laws are our closest neighbors. They live up the hill a mite so we all see each other frequently. My relationship with David's older sister has been odd. She is very standoffish and reserved and has no clue what to do with ME. We have lived as neighbors for the last thirty-eight years and I bet we hadn't done anything together for, well, thirty six of those years. We didn't avoid each other, we were just different. A couple of years ago, Joyce was here at our home and was talking to David about something that she was very upset about. She was obviously in a lot of distress. I don't know exactly why, it was just impulse, not a desition, I went to her and held her hands and said "I love you, Joyce." I think my angels had taken over, which they do frequently when I am ignoring all the hints of how to handle something. They have baled me out so many times it's scary. I used to ask my angels/guides if there was a lesson for me somewhere. I don't anymore because they send opportunities for me to grow that are horrid. They are laughing, I know, and saying You want a lesson=-- how about this. Then they fling something terrible at me that forces me to deal with some horrid thing that rips me apart emotionally and/or spiritually. So I stopped asking for help to grow and leave it to Good Morning, How ya doing? I'm just fine and I've learned enough for awhile but you can still dig me out when I totally screw up. OK? They laugh. They flippin' laugh. My angels LAUGH at me!!!
But I digress. It wasn't ME who made the decision to wrap my hands around hers and say I love you. It wasn't a thought process at all. But what she did almost made me faint. She burst into tears and started huggling me, not letting go, and sobbed. She sobbed while I held her for what felt like an hour. Then she said "I love you, too. I love you so much." You could have knocked me over with a feather. Suddenly, a light turned on in my slow-to-learn brain. She was shy. Not standoffish, not detached. She was shy. It took me thirty six years to figure it out. It took so long, my angels had to intervene. Since that day, we have shared many adventures. We actually spend a lot of time together, being sisters-in-law.
The reason I am speaking about that is---- Tonight, around the campfire, my sister-in-law, who I have become quite close to, told me I was anal. Actually, David said it and when I started to say I AM NOT, she said said "Betsy, You ARE anal." I still disagree but I was outnumbered. Of all the things people have said I am, this is the first time anyone has called me anal. Bah Hurrump. Just because when I'm sewing, I spend most of the time ripping things apart and re-doing them. Yes, she once witnessed me separate and reassemble a wallet eight times before it was right. We knit together weekly in the winter and she has seen me unravel my knitting many times because it wasn't right. Well, she has also seen me toss a pie into the garbage because I made it for someone else and it wasn't up to par. (Someone, I'm not sure who, rescued it but-I suspect-it- was- my- brother) and it did get eaten. It wasn't IN the garbage, it was ON the garbage. My brother can't abide any food being thrown away and will save a three-week-old piece of cake that's growing mold. Just scrape the mold off. It's fine!! Blech. Big Blech.
I don't admit to being anaL. I'm precise is all. I'm not walking with her tomorrow. (We try to walk a couple of miles a day if our schedules permit.) Tomorrow she's on her own. I'll hold my head up high in distain and say No, I have a wallet that I need to tear apart for the fifteenth time. Take THAT, my sister=in-law who thinks I'm anal.
I am NOT!!!!!
I do hope you know I would never refuse to walk with her. I'm just being silly. We'll be heading out our doors at 9:06, precisely.
The Following quote is taken from 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes,' by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 14, "People of the SnowBird." Copyright c2005, by Dina Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
He was just driving down through the first layers of sleep when he felt a hand on his privates. Jerked out of drowsiness like a salmon out of a sea-lock, he clapped a hand to the intruder's, gripping tight. And elicited a faint giggle from his visitor.
Feminine fingers wiggled gently in his grasp, and the hand's fellow promptly took up operations in it's stead. His first coherent thought was that the lassie would be an excellent baker, so good as she was at kneeling.
Other thoughts followed rapidly on the heals of that absurdity, and he tried to grab the second hand. It playfully eluded him in the dark, poking and tweaking.
He groped for a polite protest in Cherokee, but came up with nothing but a handful of phrases in English and Gaelic, none of them faintly suited to the occasion.
The first hand was purposefully wriggling out of his grasp, eel-like. Reluctant to crush her fingers, he let go for an instant, and made a successful grab for her wrist.
"Ian," he hissed in desperation. "Ian, are ye there" He couldn't see his nephew in the pool of darkness that filled the cabin, nor tell if he slept. There were no windows, and only the faintest light came from the dying coals.
"Ian!"
There was a stirring on the floor, bodies shifting, and he heard Rollo sneeze.
"What is it, Uncle?" He'd spoken in Gaelic, and Ian answered in the same language. The lad sounded calm, and not as though he'd just come awake.
"Ian, there's a woman in my bed," he said in Gaelic, trying to match his nephew's calm tone.
"There are two of them, Uncle Jamie."
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QOTD for Saturday, 4/25/20 -- Barefoot not bearfoot Spinning B., Fri, April 24 2020, 18:57:27
It's a quick one tonight. I'm trying to get to bed before 1AM.
*Disclaimer* I think I make myself look like a pathetic excuse of a parent. I wasn't. At least not all the time. Conventional methods never worked on my kids. I did, however, get quite creative with discipline. I think discipline and punishment are very different. Discipline is "to make a disciple of." Not so punishment. I tried to opt for making them want to be great people, able to think and be understanding of others. It worked well one-on-one, if I could manage it. Even two-on-one sometimes. They're all adults now, with children of their own, and I think SOMETHING managed to sink in. They are all hardworking, kind and compassionate humans. For that, I am grateful.
David and I have decided to work outside in the SAME garden. We have several and this one is the most visible and really does have lovely plants and bushes. It is obviously the product of two old hippies but we like it. I usually work in a different garden than David, for reasons you probably know. This year he has talked me into working together. Now, we have very different visions of what we want and it's obvious. I have learned to just go with the flow when he digs up a bush from one of the other gardens and plops it somewhere random, without asking me for an opinion. I've taken a deep breath, almost daily when I go to work in the garden and TaDa...the flowering quince is where I've planted baptisia. But when I saw him riding my brother-in-law's bucketloader across the street into the field with the garden, I started to sweat. By the time I got out there he has dug up two of my beach plum bushes, my pride and joy, and put them elsewhere. This I did not deep breath and stay calm for. Lucky for him, the beach plum bushes have survived. If they hadn't, it would be pitchfork time.
We are working together. (I keep saying that, trying to make it a happy thing.) We are working together. We are working together. Please pray for me.
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I'm aware that the quotes this week have been dark and heart-wrenching. I really didn't plan it that way. Oops. So today, we'll take a different direction. "Dutch Cabin" is done for now.
The following quote is taken from 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes,' by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 44, "Scotchee." Copyright c 2005 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
Bird blinked, confused -- and no wonder. Grimly, Jamie tried again to explain.
"There are large things, and there are small things. A large thing is a thing like a great battle, or the raising up of a notable chief --though he is one man, he is raised up by the voices of many. If my women dream of these large things, then they will happen. But in any large thing, there are many people. Some say do this; others, do that." He zig-zagged his hand to and fro, and Bird nodded.
" So. If many people say "Do this"--he stabbed his fingers sharply to the left-- then this happens." But what of the people who said "Do that"? And he jerked a thumb back the other way. "These people may choose a different way."
Bird made the hm-hm-hm! sound he used when startled.
"So it may be that some will not go?" Cameron asked sharply. "They might escape?"
"I hope so," Jamie said simply.
They sat in silence for a bit, each man staring into the fire, each seeing his own visions--of the future, or the past.
"This wife you have," Bird said at last, deeply contemplative, "did you pay a great deal for her?"
"She cost me almost everything I had," he said, with a wry tone that made the others laugh. "But worth it."
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QOTD for Friday, 4/24/20 -- Spinning along Betsy, Thu, April 23 2020, 20:42:22
One more Marriage thing: A month or so ago I found David's favorite ice cream on sale. It's a locally made ice cream and is quite expensive. Really good, but expensive. I don't usually buy it. Actually, as a rule, I don't buy much ice cream. But this was special. It was on sale, so I bought a quart of Camp Coffee as a treat. When I got home, I showed my surprise to David, who apparently was extra-grumpy at the moment, and the response was "Oh my God. You are trying to kill me now." David has alot of co-morbidities, diabetes being one. He was actually serious. I just glared at him and assured him, that Oh, noooo. When I kill him it won't be with something he loves. He'd see a pitchfork being aimed at his head.
He said no more, but I did note that half the ice cream was gone the next day. His mood was vastly improved as well. Ahhh. Success! Gotta love a man who knows how to back-peddle fairly quickly.
We are self-quarantined and have been for about a month now. My grandson has just turned four and the only difference is he can screech longer and louder. Really SCREECH. All the time. It makes my eye teeth rattle, or would if I had eye teeth. I've been trying for three days now to do a video of me reading to send to my grandkids. None of the videos are usable because all you see is my mouth moving and screeching on and off like a siren warning of a nuclear attack. Remember those sirens at school? We had to practice diving under our desks and cover our heads with our hands. That was for hydrogen bombs, though, not nuclear. Either one, we're goners anyway, under our desks covering our heads with our hands. Well, Davy shounds just like the siren that signaled our desks-diving activity. For a month this has been our life, trying to tune out that screeching siren. It's getting old. But we'll be hearing it for as long as we are quarantined and there's no end in sight. Am I allowed to say I don't like my grandson at the moment? Or are grandparents expected to think all behaviors, negative as well as positive, are cute and endearing as long as it's your grandchild, not your child? It isn't going that way here. It's hard to keep quiet with the parents right there. When he's with me while his parents aren't around this doesn't happen. I have carefully honed The Glare and all I have to do is give The Glare and silently shake my head no. He doesn't know just how I'll react so he's a bit scared. The day he figures out that it's all a show and I'm not fierce at all will be the end of an era. I tried to be terrifying when my kids were growing up but they all tell me I looked funny, not fierce, and none of them were intimidated at all. --sigh-- Aren't parents supposed to command instant cooperation? Strike fear in the hearts of their kids? Apparently I flunked at intimidation. Too many kids in too quick a succession. They actually admit that they formed an alliance to keep our home in havoc. One day, I asked David whatever were we thinking when we had all these fiends? David's response? "Thinking had nothing to do with it." I suppose he's right again.
Enough of my blather.
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The following quote is taken from 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes,' by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter two, "Dutch Cabin." Copyright c 2005 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.
It had been easy, so far, not to think too much of it. So far in the future, snd surely not an unchangeable future--after all, forewarned was forearmed... wasn't it?
I glanced at the shallow cairn, and a deeper chill passed through me. I stepped closer to Jamie, and put my other hand on his arm. He covered my hand with his, and squeezed tight in reassurance. No, he said to me silently. No, I will not let it happen.
As we left the desolate clearing, though, I could not free my mind of one vivid image. Not the burned cabin, the pitiful bodies, the pathetic dead garden. The image that haunted me was one I had seen some years before--a gravestone in the ruins of Beauly Priory, high in the Scottish Highlands.
It was the tomb of a noble lady, her name surmounted by the carving of a grinning skull-- very like the one beneath the the Dutchwoman's apron. Beneath the skull was her motto:
Hodie mihi cras tibi--sic transit gloria mundi.
My turn today--yours tomorrow. Thus passes the the glory of the world.
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- I'll never forget when wee Nathan was about 3 or 4 I told him to use his "indoor" voice. He told his mama when she picked him up "Gramma said to use my indoor voice!" She understood. I have perfected the GLARE! (NT) -- CarolE, Thu, April 23 2020, 21:35:38
- Betsy, I don't have grandchildren yet, but I don't believe that you have to adore his behaviors that are making your ears bleed and your jaw clench. Nah, I'm not buying in to that. It's funny you write of flunking intimidation with your kids. When mine were young and I was pushed to the edge of sanity, I'd say, "Don't let me get to 3. 1...2..." and the wee fiends would fly up the stairs to their rooms. Several years ago DS & DS said they never knew what would have happened if I got to 3, but suspected it wouldn't be good. Honestly, I don't ever remember having a plan for what I WOULD do, just that they needed to make themselves scarce for a while, for all of our sakes! Must have worked; they're both alive an relatively unscarred!! (NT) -- DianaH, Fri, April 24 2020, 9:21:32
- Also, I LOVE the "When I kill him, it won't be with something he loves." Pitchfork, frying pan, maybe a pillow if I'm feeling a tad less violent.... LOL!! (NT) -- DianaH, Fri, April 24 2020, 9:25:09
- Regarding diabetes, everyone in the family but me has it. Don't know why I'm left out, but I'm glad. My Grandmother loved chocolate covered cherries, and justified eating them because her Dr. said she needed to eat fruit.....Also, re the siren....when we cleaned out my mom's house, we found the aluminum dog tags we had to wear to school. so we could be identified, just in case....not sure the aluminum would have survived an attack, though. (NT) -- Janet, Fri, April 24 2020, 10:48:13
