Ms.Lulu

How does Robyn know there is growth under own roof when she hasn't experienced it. I imagine more angst than anything. Janelle moved away for 2 years. Meri wouldn't let anyone walk through her space.

Robyn is 42. She really isn't going to have more kids. And they don't seem to be able to afford IVF.

It is obvious that the 5 of them don't like to be together.

What is Christine"s job in Phoenix?

Median income for a realtor here in PDX is ~$100K/year. Houses in my neighborhood are going for $650K-$1.2MM with a median price point of $800K. If Chris is making 3% (I believe 6% is split between buyer and seller realtor) a sale that's $24K per house sold. That said, Portland is every expensive. Making $100K makes you squarely middle class. That's not a bad place to be.

I don't understand why Gottmik and Tina are so tight with Kandy. It seems like they want to be the Heathers or the Ro-laska-tox of this season. Except they really aren't strong enough. Kandy paints for the last row, is more of a clown than an actress and I hope she isn't long for the show because she is mean and arrogant. Tina has been one note and boring and seems like a filler queen and she is getting that edit. I wonder if she is disappointed in how she is coming off. Gottmik is mostly a face queen and seems a bit out of place in any challenge that isn't about fashion. I was glad that Tamisha held her ground. I really would like Kandy to go home next and definitely before 2 Ts. My favorites after this week are Olivia, Denali, Symone and Elliott with 2 Ts. Rounding out my top 6 are Uttica and then Rose.

I do too, I am predicting what I think will happen, not what I want to happen.

I think Kandy is looking for drama too. My predicted order for the remaining queens: 12. Joey Jay 11. Elliott with 2 Ts 10. Kandy Muse 9. Uttica Queen 8. Tamisha Iman 7. LaLa Ri 6. Gottmik 5. Rose 4. Olivia Lux 3. Tina Burner 2. Denali Winner: Symone

I am very bored with the Peter the alcoholic and Carla the woman that loves/hates him. I'd love to see that resolved. Also, loving Asha and Nina. Will they date? And I know no one else likes him, but I like Gary. He is imperfect with more good than evil.

Binge watching Top Chef Boston--Gregory, Melissa, Dougie and Mei. I forgot how great these chefs were. And I feel cheated that they were in PDX during the pandemic. I just ordered a box from Bullard for tomorrow, to get my Doug Adams fix.

New season starts next week. Even with a pandemic nothing has changed. https://people.com/tv/tlc-7-little-johnstons-season-8-supertease/?utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&utm_content=new&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=5fbc098d39486a00018992b5

Have Yourself a Maily Linda Christmas does have the family singing Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses. I like Better off sled and Christmas in the car.

It is official. This is the worst Housewives franchise ever. Everyone is unlikeable. They have weird affectations, and are posers. I guess I am down to Potomac and NY.

It was season 2 episode 7. Karen spoke at a PAVE event after Don Lemon. It was at that moment that I decided I liked the Grand Dame.

LulaToe LulaToni LulaMoe

I remember an episode where Amy worked in a B & B in the 11th season. Matt took Amy on a trip to celebrate her 50th birthday and their 25th anniversary. There were seven experience gifts that seemed really thoughtful and not at all passive aggressive. Matt said the trip and the gifts were to relive memories, rekindle the fire and help Amy knock some items off her bucket list. 1) Matt arranged for her to run a B & B in Solvang, CA as running a B & B had been one of her dreams since college --Amy seemed to enjoy it, also saying it was hard work. The experience gave her a lot to think about and she thinks she still wants to run a B &B 2) Amy always wanted to perform on stage, so Matt enrolled her in an improv class that offered an opportunity to perform in front of an audience --Amy said she was really glad to get improv off her bucket list. it was nerve-racking experience, but being able to say it was something she'd done in life is a really great feeling 3) Matt takes Amy hang gliding with Jeremy in tow to take photos --Amy giggled and said she loved it and wished she could go up again, for longer 4) Matt then tried to recreate a photo from their courtship n San Francisco --Amy said it brought back some nice memories, some romantic memories. She thought as they got older they needed to take more of those moments 5) Matt took her to Carmel by the Sea to the same hotel and room that they had spent their honeymoon. He arranged to have some of their photos put in the room. --Amy said it was cool, a special moment 6) They went out to eat and Matt arranged for Amy to knock another item off her list, working in a restaurant with a chef --Amy was beaming the whole time she was in the kitchen 7) Matt attempted to relive a cookout they had on a beach --There were mishaps and Amy says it is okay. Simple is good. And it was neat that Matt would think to do it again Amy said the trip brought back good memories. There were many times when their failing marriage was front and center. I don't remember it in this episode. In rewatching, this one was sad just because we know the marriage wasn't saved. They both seemed to be trying to save their marriage, and seemed hopeful. -

Yes he does. In season 1 episode 6 the housewives visit Ashley's and Michael's beach house. While there Ashley mentions two stepchildren who are in their twenties, like she was at the time. She appeared uncomfortable being the stepmother to adult children. And that makes sense. Not too many 28 year olds want to be stepmothers to adults.

If she's been with Johns Hopkins for 3-4 years, she may be at a critical point in her tenure journey. Once you are hired tenure track, the clock starts, and a lot happens before you come up for tenure in your sixth year. You typically start with a 2-4 year contract, and go through a review in your second or third year. If you pass the review, you're offered a second contract that will take you through a probationary period and a final tenure review. If you don't get tenure you usually have one academic year on your contract to find a new position. It could be Wendy isn't feeling good about her prospects getting tenure, or she doesn't enjoy publishing or teaching. If you look at her CV she doesn't appear to have published since 2017. It happens.

I think we might. As it turns out, Doug Adams has closed Bullard 9/28-10/20 to spend time 'to recharge and gear up for the holidays.'

Watching as a marathon, this isn't what I saw. Yes, he was an absolute jerk in scheduling the BVI trip, but you don't weaponize the kids. Amy pulling Jacob aside with Zach and Molly was an effort to get him not to go to hurt Matt. Saying that you're happy Zach and Molly aren't going isn't good parenting and it doesn't help your marriage. You can see the effect of their fighting on all four kids. Matt and Amy were fighting a lot at this point. We had just watched a three week road trip with Amy and the kids and two weeks on a riverboat cruise with all six of them. We also saw that Matt and Amy have different vacation expectations and that it led to terrible fighting on the riverboat trip, that affected the children. His bad behavior may explain her bad behavior, but it doesn't excuse it. My perspective, you encourage the kids to go with their father and then you go into couples therapy to deal with the poor way you treat each other. Or you get a divorce. You don't ask the children to choose one parent over the other. As I said, I started out leaning team Amy. Now I am team no one.

I had leaned Team Amy until I started a Pandemic marathon. On Season 8 Zach's First Stand and Amy's behavior is reprehensible. The way that she is manipulating the kids to hurt Matt, it is terrible. She made it about the kids choosing between Matt and her. I get that she was angry--hurt, but that is breaking a cardinal rule of parenting. Matt is selfish, and controlling, but Amy is just as bad. Maybe worse. I am ending the marathon. I think I'll switch to something light. Bob's Burgers.

I agree. It has been a very dry summer, the only vacations you can take are camping, and people are idiots. The Almeda fire appears to be arson, but not extremists on the Right or Left. They found a body, so likely related to that crime.

I feel like I live on Mars. BTW, Life on Mars was a great tv show. I loved it.

It has been a tough day. Here in Oregon the wildfires continue to consume the forests, the farms and my conversations with family and work colleagues. It is hard to describe the light. How it feels like twilight all day, and when you look to the sky it is orange. It is a softer orange here in Portland, but as you get closer to the fires it becomes a brilliant orange, almost red. Here is a photo from yesterday, around Salem. I didn't take it--I am working from home, but it gives you a sense of how everything is surreal. They say that the fires are once in a generation--like the pandemic and the recession. We have 35 fires and 500,000 acres burning now.

I live in Portland and I agree. 99% of the city is normal. The issues are largely confined to a few blocks near the Federal building downtown. The other protests are peaceful. We have a group of COLs that meet a few blocks from my house and protest 3 times a week. Today the talk is about forest fires. The sky is hazy, the smell of smoke is strong, we have wind gusts up to 50 mph and we lost power about 30 minutes ago.