Related posts:

1. Picture Shows & Petticoats – Episode 1
2. Rabbit Hole (Carlton Banks)
3. Video Response to LOST 6×3 – What Kate Does

Related posts:

1. This is my beloved… (Review + Giveaway!)
2. Pinterest: Because you need to know my favorite lip gloss shades
3. How I Got LOST

As promised, Jennifer and I got together and talked about Downton Abbey. Hopefully it’s a little bit entertaining for you all! The next episode should have the kinks worked out. And I’ll bring my own notes.

Related posts:

1. Don’t worry, it ain’t catchin’.
2. The Secret Is Out
3. Video Response to LOST 6×3 – What Kate Does

• Flying Wild Alaska is my new obsession. Alaska has forever been an interest of mine and I’ve always gobbled up books about the state, but now I have a half dozen TV shows about the place at my fingertips. Gotta love it! Anyone else watch this show?
• Speaking of TV obsessions — fangirl moment. A former EastEnders actress (Kylie Babbington, “Jodie Gold”) responded to me on Twitter. It’s the little things, y’all.
  
• Wait, none of you watch EastEnders? Here’s a clip of Jodie and Poppy, one of history’s greatest comedy duos (ha).
  
• South Beach Diet Phase One Recipe Round-Up from Kalyn’s Kitchen (if you try to stay low-carb and are not following this blog you are missing out!)
• Slow & Steady, a post about homesteading from Quinn
• A recipe for rosemary sea salt from Dreadlock Girl
• A spoon in the persimmon seed this year, but I’m still waiting on my snow! via Territory Mom
• Leanna makes elderberry syrup — I cannot wait to try this myself!
• And because it’s Monday, like me you may need something to kind of start the day off right. I heard this in the mall on Saturday (I love how, for the most part, mall soundtracks haven’t changed since I was about 6 years old) and it’s been in my head ever since. Enjoy your Monday!
  

Related posts:

1. Tuesday Morning Coffee
2. EastEnders for Children In Need
3. Monday Morning Coffee

Edit to add: WOW! That is a disturbing screencap for this video. It’s not as scary as it makes it look.

My top 5 things about this video in a very particular order:
5. Christian Clarke/John Partridge (I had to turn my laptop around and show my husband and say “You know him as Rum Tum Tugger” because my husband knows more about Cats than I do)
4. Masood in his blond wig
3. The Moon Brothers
2. Fatboy with rollers in his hair
1. And more specifically — Antony Moon as Freddie Mercury…he looks just like him! Well, better, frankly.

P.S., I’ve started watching Emmerdale.

Okay, done gushing about soaps.

Related posts:

1. Words of Wisdom from Fatboy
2. The Truth Revealed
3. Where Green Acres meets Son-In-Law and they both run smack dab into My Big Fat Greek Wedding

It can get depressing at times, but that’s when you remember that it’s just a TV show and don’t get too wrapped up in it. There are enough funny moments to keep me going and this character is one of my favorites. You may have to listen close to hear what he says if you’re not used to this accent.

How can you not love Fatboy? He’s adorable and sweet. I will say that the Moon brothers are giving him a run for his money, both in the Jackson/Dean household and my own

Related posts:

1. Shut up, Steve.
2. Thursday Morning Coffee
3. Saturday List

Noel Crane had it figured out long ago. (If you know who Noel Crane is without googling his name or looking further down the page, raise your hand. And then imagine that I’m high-fiving you. BAM.)

By the way, speaking of Noel Crane, we’re getting a new member of the family sometime this week:

My Pretty. I will write my masterpieces on you and you will be a part of something great–

Uh, sorry. Having a moment.

Back to the topic at hand. I’ve noticed something about my habits this time of year. Let me start by saying that for some reason autumn has always felt like the “re-start” of the year. I guess because everything starts to go dormant. It’s the time of year that I like to cozy everything up inside, get our rooms in order, and prepare for the holidays. There’s something very special about this season and I think October to December is my favorite time of the year.

So, go ahead and analyze this if you’re qualified (or if you’re an armchair psychologist like myself). Every year around this time, along with my candle lighting and decorating the front porch, I start watching certain TV shows all over again. I begin with Felicity, because something about it (no matter what season of the show or what part of the year they are in on the show) screams “fall” to me. Maybe it’s the sweaters. But October on into part of November is the part of the year when I watch Felicity. Rarely any other time do I do this. Much unlike sophomore year of college when watching Felicity and crying into my bathrobe was the order of the day. (If you still don’t get the Noel Crane reference you are free to google his name now )

From there I move on to Northern Exposure. This has got to be because all I hope for, from late November on into March, is snow. And a snow day. Because I work in a school and I KNOW we have to make them up later but I am such a kid about snow days. We didn’t have many when I was younger so having them now is a treat. Especially since my job follows that kind of calendar and I don’t have to fight my way through drifts to get to work (one year of working in the world that requires that kind of dedication was enough!). Northern Exposure is clever and quirky and provides affirmation that, yes, it would have been a great move to take on that whole “Alaska, Maine, or bust…” plan that I had toward the end of high school. (I was going to be a teacher and move to one of those states by myself. I’d already started looking at real estate. Eh…plans changed.) It also helps me with my Yiddish, which I try to work on when I can.

That show lasts me all the way through March because there are quite a few seasons. When spring break rolls around in the middle of March I am ready to catch up on Dexter. It really has nothing to do with the content of the show. I think it’s because the first time we watched the show was over spring break (2010) when we got so terribly ill and I was bound to my recliner for 5 days and the only two things I could taste were salt and orange juice (so potato chips and orange juice were all I consumed).

After I’ve caught up on Dexter I move onto BBC period dramas. Usually there are new ones sometime around then on PBS, and then I break into all my period DVDs. I have an assortment of Jane Austen with a few Brontës in the mix and Netflix has opened up an entirely new world for me in this arena.

For me, I think it’s all about memory and ushering in seasons. But it’s a bit odd nonetheless as in my family we don’t do ritual anything.

How about you? Any TV watching habits that you have that are tied to the seasons? Is there anything atypical you do when the seasons change?

Related posts:

1. Call it.
2. Meow.
3. 10 Questions I Would Like to See Answered Tonight on LOST

Related posts:

1. Call it.
2. Sheldon Cooper might be my guardian TV star. Oh dear.
3. 10 Questions I Would Like to See Answered Tonight on LOST

Okay, not really. Allow me to explain.

Awhile back, my husband made his first trip to the KWTV News 9 studio in north OKC. That was the beginning. Our friend Matt Mahler is one of the meteorologists there and Kevin has been back a few times to watch what goes on in the studio. He kept bugging me to go, but I seriously did not know if I’d be overcome with the need to roll in front of the camera à la Governor David Paterson on SNL.

That and I have some kinda weird feelings about it. You all know how I’ve explained before that News9 was the only really clear channel we could get after sundown, before we had cable. Some of the scariest moments of my young life were spent sitting in front of a TV, watching it all unfold on News 9 (tornado in 1989 while my mom was in the hospital after having a surgery – we ended up in the cellar and in a bad spot on this one. And Blanket got mildew on herself in the cellar; okay EVERY other tornado/big storm event of my life, ever; the evening after the OKC bombing occurred, I sat watching them report as they were still trying to locate bodies in the rubble)…maybe I shouldn’t have seen some of those things, but I did.

All that to say that this country girl grew up with a lot of respect and healthy admiration for the people delivering the news. That may explain a bit of my hesitation to visit the station. Oh, and the whole seeing behind the “Wizard’s” curtain thing. Sometimes you just don’t want to know how the magic happens.

The Governor Paterson thing? Not so easy to explain. How does one articulate a primal urge like that?

Heh.

While Jolene was visiting, I bit the bullet and we went up to watch Matt do the noon show with Christina. It was really funny to see the things that go on when they go to tape. Like, Matt and Christina just chatting. I had no idea. Part of me was petrified. I didn’t want to make a sound. It was really neat to see everything going on in the studio during the live show. Only two cameramen that I saw, but I have no idea how many other people work behind the scenes.

Fun trip and I learned a lot that I didn’t know about what goes on behind the scenes. Thanks for letting us watch, Matt!

Related posts:

1. I stopped watching.
2. Snowed In…Again
3. Farewell, you old poop.

So, I know that hearing about someone’s dreams is The Most Boring Thing, Ever. I hate hearing about people’s dreams unless it is for the purpose of analysis (and I’m all over that). But when it’s just, “And then we were standing there and so-and-so walked up and they were carrying a poodle…” I’ve already checked out before you got to poodle and let’s be honest, that’s when it was starting to get good.

All that said, the other day I had one of the weirdest, most vivid dreams of my life. And I decided to animate it for your reading pleasure.

It started out with me at PW’s ranch, just kinda wandering around as they posed for their Christmas card picture. There was some debate over the placement of a tractor in the photo. My subconscious assumes that they are John Deere people, but I really don’t know. Sorry if I’m wrong and that’s offensive. Because I’ve known some Massey-Ferguson people who get a little uppity when people make that assumption. Us? We’re a house divided. Paw Paw had one of each when I was little.

They took their picture, I made some coffee in the Lodge and then was all, “Peace out, P-Dub. I have a wedding to get to.”

Dear Ree,

I’m sorry for making you and your family look like E.T.

With Love,
Elizabeth

Then I’m standing with a crowd near the back entrance of the church where William and Kate are getting married and I’ve somehow worked my way up to the front. How? Well, I’ve always been good at making my way to the front at concerts, but in this dream I was close to Kate in some way. She was probably following the whole, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” because she remembers when I sorta threatened her in 2005.

Well, then there is this British fellow making eyes at me and he’s awfully handsome.

Then I realize it’s Jack Branning from EastEnders. And that I watch too much EastEnders. I tell him I’m married and he’s like, “That’s never stopped me.” So then I scoot away because the last thing you need is some handsome British fellow telling you he doesn’t care about your wedding ring.

Kate wanders in wearing some goofy dress and one of her signature hats.

And I’m about to break out into a rendition of Billy Ray Cyrus’s “It Could’ve Been Me“.

And while we’re at it:

(Palace officials: I understand if you need to go ahead and print a photo to keep on hand at every entrance. If you need a better headshot, just let me know)

The crowd starts to move in to take their seats and I get kinda lost in the shuffle and end up in some library somewhere in London. I’m running and trying to find my way out because there’s no way I’m missing this wedding.

I end up in a residential area and wander into a house to ask for directions. Only it’s 3 old ladies who live in this house. In any other place in the world, that would probably be safe, but we’re in Jolly Ol’ and old spinster women can only mean one thing here — murderous fiends.

It’s a pair of sisters talking to their mother about an insurance policy and I know they’re up to no good.

One pulls out a knife and the other starts to bash her mother over the head with a chair and I’m out of there like a shot.

Eh, too much Midsomer Murders.

I end up on this dodgy street in an industrial part of town that totally creeps me out, but I finally make it back to the wedding to find that Kate is taking a long time to get ready and William has started a stand-up routine about Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr. that was borderline racist, so I’ll just skip that.

And that was just an afternoon nap.

Related posts:

1. 15 Seconds of Feeling Evil…Like a Hobbit
2. The One Where a Star From NBC’s The Office Literally Runs Into Me
3. Lost – “There’s No Place Like Home,” pt. 1