Why Scotland?

I began my love of Scotland for 2 reasons. First, I have been heavily into my Genealogy research with my oldest son for many years, and I had discovered an Irish/Scottish relative; however we seem to be stuck right there and I never found out the name or where in Scotland they came from. So I did some reading about Scotland and it's history and became fascinated. THEN, I discovered Diana Gabaldon's book series Outlander, set in Scotland. I read all 8 books in 6 months, and then reread them all again I loved it that much. Such a wonderful love story that lasts a lifetime for lead characters Jamie & Claire. So, when it came time to plan my retirement, I decided to take a trip there as my gift to myself, as well as buying the Chatelaine Scotland Mandala supplies to begin stitching when I came back from my trip. This is what the Mandala will look like when finished, as it was designed. This is NOT MY STITCHING....just to show what the original design looks like before I made changes.

BUT, the changes I made to mine.....incorporating an Outlander saying, Je Suis Prest ( I am ready, which is Jamie Fraser's clan motto from the book series). I also put my own initials on either side, and will put the date of my Scotland trip at the bottom. So it truly is personalized for ME !! The design has 4 different Scottish castles around the sides. I saw two of them on my trip.....so that makes it special too. Here is a close up of the thistle's in the corners that are done 1 over 1 and the Highland Cows and sheep done over 1 too. I think they turned out nicely.

STARZ made a TV series out of the books, which is into it's 4th Season now and is SOOOOO good. I am a true fan of the show too, and it's lead stars Caitriona Balfe (Claire) and Sam Heughan (Jamie). Anyone else a fan?

These are a few pics I took on the trip, Edinburgh and Perth area, but if you are interested in seeing more of the trip pics, here is a link to my Flickr album. https://www.flickr.com/photos/88218662@N06/albums/72157693010344485