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The Droughtlander Diaries

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Droughtlander Diaries

October 24, 2020

from the diaries of guest poster Dawn Woo

It’s been 5 months since we left Jamie and Claire standing on the porch of the big house on Fraser’s Ridge waiting on “the storm” to approach, both figuratively and literally. To add to our “40 years in the desert”, we are experiencing a pandemic that none of us thought would last this long. School was put on hold and it affected both part-time jobs I have:  coaching high school tennis and working for a historical company that does hands-on 18th century field days for elementary schools. I was left with a good bit of time on my hands. You know what they say about busy hands: “Busy hands are happy hands.”  I thought I would share with my Outlander North Carolina family some of the entries from my Droughtlander Diary. I hope your days have been as full as mine and you have come closer to your inner-Claire (or Jamie, of course).

July 20, 2020
Dear Diary,
I have my patio addition!
Jamie and Claire…..”Jamie stood in front of the new hearth, stretched out a hand to me, and drew me to stand by the hearthstone beside him.” (Drums of Autumn, chapter 19)

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One of the advantages to having 3 sons…two of which are in engineering…is that they can “engineer” things to great detail. I wanted a rock and slate patio to tie my existing patio to my deck and all three boys built it. My oldest son, Ben, helped me to design the patio and also served as supervisor to the crew. I served as design consultant. It was fun watching all three trench and level, build a stone border and lay pieces of big slate.

August 3, 2020
Dear Diary,
We decided to take a little trip to the mountains.
Jamie to Claire….”’How shall I tell ye what it is to feel the need of a place?’ he said softly. ‘The need of snow beneath my shoon. The breath of the mountains breathing their own breath in my nostrils as God gave to Adam…..’”  (Drums of Autumn, chapter 19)
We decided we needed to see the mountains for a few days so we headed to Northeast Tennessee, the West Highland Rim, with two of the four dogs in tow. On the way, we stopped in Valdese and met fellow ONC admin, Dawn Mathews and husband Steve, for lunch at JD’s Smokehouse. The food was just as I remembered from our Friday night BBQ dinner at Fraser’s Ridge Homecoming and the company was even better. 
Our rental home rested on the edge of the Wolf River with a great view of the river and a huge canyon wall from the back deck. We watched all types of wildlife throughout those few days. Our favorite was the family of mink that moved back and forth along the canyon wall at the river’s edge every morning.

August 15, 2020
Dear Diary,
I took time to sit and read a book.
Claire……”The breeze rose with the cooling of the day, and the fluttering leaves of the trees made the multiple shadows dance in the grass. I could easily imagine fairies on the hill, dancing with those shadows, threading through the slender trunks to blend into the depths of the wood.”  (Outlander, chapter 16)

Team Edward!

There are a certain species of mystical creatures that have always captured my attention in stories and those would be vampires. I had originally read all Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight series and was excited to learn that she had finally finished the book that was leaked, Midnight Sun. It is basically Twilight from Edward’s point of view. (I’ve always been Team Edward).  It was an interesting book and I loved how Meyers got into Edward’s vampire head. There were a couple of spots, though, where I likened Edward’s constant brooding to William’s endless wandering in the Great Dismal – lol.

August 30, 2020
Dear Diary,
I have cooked and eaten and cooked and eaten.
Claire and Jamie…..” I poked him rudely in the ribs. ‘You’re much too fit. Most men in their forties have begun to go soft round the middle, And you haven’t a spare ounce on you.’ ‘That’s mostly because I havena got anyone to cook for me,’ he said ruefully. ‘If you ate in taverns all the time, ye wouldna be fat, either. Luckily, it looks as though ye eat regularly.’ He patted my bottom familiarly and then ducked, laughing, as I slapped at his hand.” (Voyager, chapter 25)
I had a full house this summer. All of my children were home, plus girlfriends, plus two dogs in addition to our two. Food is a central thought in the minds of 17-24 year olds, especially home cooked food and desserts. It was an absolute joy having all of those feet under our table from May to August, although I am wearing that “joy” around my middle in the form of a few extra pounds. So like Claire, we ate regularly and well.

September 1, 2020
Dear Diary,
There’s a reason it’s called “binge-watching.” You JUST. CANT. STOP!
Jamie meets George Washington…..”The man was as tall as Jamie himself, and Jamie found himself looking straight into sharp, gray-blue eyes that took his measure in the instant it took to shake hands. ‘George Washington,’ the man said. ‘Your servant, sir.’ ‘James Fraser,’ Jamie said, feeling mildly stunned. ‘Your….most obedient. Sir.’ (Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, chapter 10)
I decided to finally watch two series that originally aired on AMC, “Turn“ and “Hell on Wheels”.  I regretted not watching them years ago. “Turn” scratched that 18th century itch with George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the spy tactics used in the Revolutionary War. On the other hand, Cullen Bohannon in “Hell on Wheels” stepped up to the plate as pinch hitter for the king of men, Jamie Fraser, for a few weeks….although we all know that Jamie is a home run ALL day, EVERY day! The series was set post-Civil War against the backdrop of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. It, too, featured several historical figures.

September 15, 2020
Dear Diary,
I planted my garden in spring and fall.
Mrs. Fitz to Claire….”’Keep back a few heads,’ she advised me. ‘Divide ‘em and plant the bulbs single, one here and one there, all round the garden. Garlic keeps the wee bugs awa’ from the other plants. Onion and yarrow will do the same. And pinch the dead marigold heads, but keep them, they’re useful.'” (Outlander, chapter 6)
I planted my garden early and had to cover it with sheets several times to protect it from the cold. I put down tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, cabbage, purple hull peas, and the candy roasted squash seeds that Mary Helen Ellis gave us at Homecoming 2019. I also have a small established herb garden with rosemary, sage, cilantro, peppermint, and oregano. I was able to dry a lot of these for use this winter. 
My gardening did not stop with the end of summer. I planted a fall/winter garden for the first time. I have broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce. I’m seriously considering trying my hand at making sauerkraut when the fall cabbage crop comes in.

Some of my historical clothing pieces, including my woven tape, and upcycled pocket.

October 5, 2020
Dear Diary,
I hope my fellow ONC clan members have been able to channel their inner Claire or their inner Jamie. I’ve been as happy as the “white sow under the big house” sewing some 18th century garments, learning to tape weave, getting my hands dirty in the garden, and having “my clan” all around me on “my ridge” these past months.
I hope my fellow clan members’ Droughtlander has been happily busy and fruitful. I hope they’ve found pleasure in the everyday mundane that we sometimes take for granted.  As Jamie said to Claire, “The world and each day in it is a gift, mo chridhe-no matter what tomorrow may be.”  (The Fiery Cross, chapter 58)

The Droughtlander Diaries

The Droughtlander Diaries ~ April 17, 2018

April 17, 2018

Dear Diary,

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written.  I have delayed because I wanted to bring you better news. I know what Dr. YeKen thought and why he advised starting this diary but I’m not sure it’s working. I have been deluged with thoughts of Outlander.  It’s now completely out of control.  I go to sleep thinking of Outlander, wake up in the middle of the night thinking about Outlander and then again in the morning!  There is no relief from Outlander, Outlander, Outlander!!!   I do believe my Droughtlander Delusional Disorder (DDD) is getting much worse. Sometimes, I feel l need to run like Forest Gump and just keep on running.

I have, in fact, tried banging my head against the wall to dislodge the wicked ramblings in my brain which jump from one Outlander thing to another Outlander thing; however, that only resulted in a hole – not in my head but the wall. I had to quickly repair that before my husband saw it.

I have another confession to make, Dear Diary. When I took my shower this morning, I was thinking about Season 4 and what we might get to see if this excruitiating Droughtlander ever ends.  Just yesterday, I read the passage with Jamie & Claire on that glorious rock (Chapter 2, Drums of Autumn). Well, I became so distracted by these thoughts that I washed my face…with shampoo!  So driven to distraction was I that I would never have realized my error except that my eyes immediately began to sting like bloody you-know-what.

I couldn’t open them to even see what I had done. It took 10 minutes of rinsing my eyes until I was finally able to open them. Fearing that I had used the liquid Soft Scrub that I keep in my shower, I was much relieved to discover it was only the shampoo. However, I was reminded of my lapse back into DDD all day long by red, stinging and watering eyes.

I did not share this incident with my husband. I told him that I was suffering from pollen. Thank God, I had a believable excuse. If I had told him the truth, he would be calling Dr. YeKen immediately.

Although this experiment of writing down my struggles with DDD may not be working, it is a relief to be able to confess my failures. I was so embarrassed after the shampoo incident. Hopefully, the remembrance of my suffering will keep me out of harm’s way for a while. I can at least be hopeful.

P.S.  Oh, I wanted to report back to you on Dr. YeKen as I had promised last time. During my appointment last week with the good doctor, he answered a phone call and introduced himself as Dr. Fraser.  Unfortunately, I believe he is slipping rapidly into the abyss as well.Until next time…

I Remain An Obsessed Fan,

Beth

 

 

Outlander North Carolina The Droughtlander Diaries

The Droughtlander Diaries ~ April 4, 2018

April 4, 2018

Dear Diary,

This is the first entry in my Droughtlander Diary. According to Dr. I. Fash YeKen, who first diagnosed me last year, I am suffering from a severe recurrence of what he has named Droughtlander Delusional Disorder. He suggested that it would be a good idea to start this diary so that I could write down my thoughts. I believe he thinks this would help me to see on paper how far my delusion has progressed and would be a sort of self intervention. I have no reason to think this will work but decided to give it a try anyway.

Today, I was listening to Pandora where I have a station set up for Outlander’s Skye Boat Song (the Jacobite version, of course.) Being that Pandora is what Pandora is, the station does not play entirely ALL Outlander music so I was feeling quite good about that. In fact, I can listen to a couple of tunes that are not from Outlander before the teeth gnashing, head banging and stomping begins. Anyway, as I was listening, the opening music from Sassenach (you know it…Outlander Season 1, Episode 1) began to play. As hard as I tried to refrain, I must admit to you, Dear Diary, that I could not help myself. At just the right moment, perfectly in time with the swell in the music, I started to recite Claire’s words.

“People disappear all the time.

Young girls run away from home.

Children stray from their parents and are never seen again.

Housewives take the grocery money, and a taxi to the train station.

Most are found eventually.

Disappearances, after all, have explanations.

Usually.”

Not only did I recite it along with the music, I used a British accent (if that is at all possible for a North Carolina girl) and used the exact same emphasis and expression as Claire. After I had completed the recitation, I felt so ashamed. I had given in once again to this wicked obsession, addiction, delusion – whatever you want to call this vile thing! It does appear to be growing worse as the days go by. But I willna fash. Confessions, Dr. YeKen has told me, are good for the soul. So, Dear Diary, this is my confession to you for today.

P.S. I do wonder about Dr. YeKen though and how well his advice can actually help me. He seems to be suffering from some type of Droughtlander condition himself. When I left him yesterday, he gave me a note to give to my husband detailing his recommendation for me to start this diary. The note was written on his prescription pad and the heading was “James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, PhD.”

I will visit him again next week for another session after which I will report back to you concerning his condition. I am hopeful he will be much improved.