laredhead

I watched the first episode of Season 8 last night. I think the transition from Jimmy to the new DI was well done. The plot is intriguing, and I loved seeing "Mrs. Hughes" in a different role. She's such a good actress. I'm looking forward to next week's episode.

I've never eaten a chestnut or even seen one here in Lousiana, but I have been wondering if they were a similar acquired taste like boiled peanuts which I adore! I'm a southern girl, and grew up eating boiled peanuts. A few years ago someone had the idea to boil them in a very spicy boil combo somewhat like that of the crawfish boil seasonings. Now you can enjoy them plain with just salt seasoning, or hot. I prefer the traditional ones.

He said they owned a company dealing with logistics - whatever that entails. It worried me that neither one of them could swim, yet he wanted to pool because it represented success. That could be a danger, especially with children. They all need to learn to swim well before acquiring a pool. I would love to see the on-line pictures of that house because it went on forever. Cannot imagine the utility bill.

I really wish that I had not erased the Utrecht episode after I watched it, because I wanted to count the number of times the husband said "Dutch charm". I wanted to throw my shoe at the TV toward the end. What is that old saying? Marry in haste, repent at leisure. She seemed more reserved, and not as enthusiastic about the husband's HH must haves. Wonder what kind of pod cast he does? The apartment the town where the wife works was definitely quirky with all of the stairs, but the 2nd bedroom was more like a walk in closet. That's OK if you aren't having long term guests. As for the apartment they chose, having no doors would be OK with me if I was the only person living there, but no door on the bathroom is a definite no. That was a head scratcher of a design.

Savannah couple where the husband kept saying he needed projects, which was a switch from needing a man cave or a space for himself. However, when he kept saying he could do so many things, and then said running a gas line is no big deal, I began to wonder just how good at projects he was. Running a gas line is a big deal, if you want to make sure safety is first priority. I would only trust a licensed plumber to do that if I was installing a gas line. Also, if he does end up running the line, and then sells the house, I sure wouldn't want to be the buyer who has no idea who did what to that house. Yes, I know things like that happen every day because I live in a house that was the poster child for DYI remodelers before I bought it. So many things were done to this house by non-professionals it isn't funny. I paid for a good inspection on the house before buying, but unsafe things can be hidden in walls, and other places. On another note, those cedar shakes didn't look too good to me, and that house probably has a lot of deferred maintenance. The lot was very large, and that probably counted toward much of the value.

Cutting a doorway for access to the main house for that room won't be too costly, and adding a closet will make that house a true 4 bedroom house in addition to the guest quarters. If you paid $40,000 over list, you can probably afford to have a doorway added. Children really don't need to be next door to their parents' bedroom once they are no longer toddlers, IMO.

Ontario, CA HH - when the realtor states multiple times that the HH is picky, that's not a good sign. I don't think any place would satisfy that woman. She really was annoying, and I couldn't figure out if she had vocal fry or was trying to the valley speak thing. None of the places she looked at were great, IMO. The she bought was most likely best suited for her needs, but I had to laugh when she said she hoped the pool noises would not distract her from work. I lived next to a pool in an apartment complex when I was young, and it was noisy until late at night, especially on weekends. I would never do that again. Her parents deserve an award for putting up with her.

If the woman who won the match today wins in the final, I hope the producers have an oxygen tank and EMT's available to revive her. Have to admit I was rooting for Ed, but all 3 were good natured competitors.

There really is a North Pole, Alaska, and it's southeast of Fairbanks, and north of Elison AFB. The post office gets thousands of letters to Santa each year. CBS Sunday Morning did a story on it a few years ago.

I think the A-frame house was an older house and the most expensive to heat. The one they bought was newer and probably better insulated.

I think if they wanted a pie comparison, they should have let the bakers prepare individual whole pies, and the judges could have tasted them side by side, the same way they tasted the half pies. I didn't see the reason for what they did. Maybe in a kitchen environment with no time limits, and no assigned flavors and ingredients, Jennifer is good at baking, but she seemed to lack time management and decorating skills when having to perform for this competition. Justine needs to learn how to bake pastry in the TV studio ovens. Also whenever one of the bakers says they are going to take a chance and do something different so they can show the judges what they do, I usually talk back to the TV, and advise that is probably not a good idea. Obviously Justine didn't hear me last night when I told her trying to make a rough puff pastry might not work out well.

I have watched Buying Alaska, and you are correct that the wife lucked out, and the husband didn't get his wish to live in a more rural area. I like my creature comforts, and outdoor plumbing, composting toilets, and "dry cabins" are not my idea of comfort. I was interested in the info on the screen about how much it costs to heat 2 of those places annually. The house they bought had lower utility costs. One of them, maybe the one they bought, had a generator and 2 very large propane tanks outside the house. I enjoyed the episode, and it was different than so many that we often see. I did like the wife's comments when she didn't like something about a house they were touring. She didn't sugar coat her comments - lol.

In the final scenes after they bought the house, they were all sitting around a table, and the father was giving the oldest son praise for his role in helping with the younger children over the "past few years". The son was 25, and I wondered if some of the children had lived with that son to keep from moving around so much. The many military moves with 8 children isn't a typical family dynamic, but they seem to be happy. I hope they enjoy their new life in a permanent location.

That "freedom beard", as he named it, was not attractive, IMO. Looked like a small animal could live in it and never be discovered. The pictures of the man before the beard, showed him to be an attractive person, so it wasn't like he was hiding some facial deformity. If nothing else, he could have it professionally trimmed to a shorter length, and look well groomed. Also, 8 children over 30 years - wow! Otherwise, they were nice to each other, no snarky comments or the usual stuff that puts couples on the opposite sides of the fence with each other in so many episodes. Now I'm trying to remember which house they bought. I was too distracted by the beard to remember.

I agree. At the end, the HH said she had found a renter who had said the laundry set up schedule had to be a mutually agreed upon item. I can't remember if the basement/lower level area had a kitchen, so if it did not then the renter would also be sharing the owner's kitchen space as well. That might work for many people, but I think this HH would have been better off finding a duplex with a yard and totally private spaces for both occupants. Another one for the HH Where Are They Now episodes that we will never see again.

The woman on the end, can't remember her name now, was a buzz saw in the first round, and I was sure she was going to win. I think the other 2 got better at their buzzer skills in DJ. What an ending though! Seems to me that many of the contestants are more willing to go with true daily doubles in these tournaments than in their initial appearances. Maybe they won enough $$ that playing the game for $$ isn't as important enough. I wouldn't make a good contestant, because I'm not a risky gambler.

YES, I do remember. It was always fun to find one made in your own hometown too. A few years ago, I was preparing a new planting bed in my yard and dug up an old Coke bottle. It was made in Oklahoma City. I cleaned up the bottle and now it hangs on my bottle tree. Great memories.

Does anyone know how many home bakers have won this competition? I remember Jason from several years ago was a self proclaimed home baker, but cannot remember others. From interviews that I watched featuring one of the contestants from last year, the participants know in advance at least one or two things they need to know how to bake, but others are sprung on them at the last minute with about 10 minutes for them to decide how to proceed before the timing begins. I wish Alex had been able to hang on for another couple of more weeks, but it was obvious she had very little experience with various baking methods. I think Jennifer is a good baker, but she isn't a decorator or a great time manager, and unless someone else screws up big time, she will probably be eliminated next week. I watch a show on ROKU called An Extra Slice where the participants in the Great British Bakeoff are interviewed. One of them said that baking at home at your leisure is totally different than in that tent with cameras and lots of people milling around, and a timed event hanging over your head. It can rattle even very experienced bakers.

Thank you, Chessiegal. I must have missed those two during their original airing, because I KNOW I would have remembered alpacas - lol.

New Orleans to New Zealand - I thought the 3rd house was fabulous, but knew they would take the 2nd one because of the proximity to the school. It was never stated how long the commute would be from the 3rd house to the school, but the realtor mentioned it would be more than 20 minutes during heavy traffic time. I got the impression that the husband was probably going to be a stay at home dad until the youngest child was in kindergarten. At least we were treated to the final reveal "surprise" that the father had just landed a job like is so often the case. I like many of the houses that are featured in the Australian and New Zealand shows. They have a lot of windows and remind me of the MCM styles.

Florida buyers - none of the houses looked great to me, and especially at those outrageous prices. The house they bought needed a total reno, IMO. 6 people in a just under 1500 sf house is going to be crowded, and I think the husband is going to get tired of family togetherness fast. I am assuming that the 20-year old daughter was the wife's child by a previous relationship, maybe she will be leaving home soon. There had to be a reason they chose Boca Raton, but I agree with Cameron that their $$ would have been better spent elsewhere in Florida. My DVR recorded 2 episodes where both buyers wanted a project house. One was a couple who ended up buying a big house that came with alpacas. The wife was a designer, and if she said the word "vibe" once, she said it at least 10 more times during the episode. I think the realtor was way over her by the time the episode ended. The second episode was in Denver, and the woman ended up buying what I would consider a dump. In between, there was some HGTV talking head/designer who was giving tips on how to give your house your own touch. My house would be a million dollars in Denver.

I have nothing to contribute regarding the questions or answers, but on a very shallow note, I want to say how much I loved the jacket that Matt was wearing. It looked like maroon velvet. I think I remember him wearing it the first time he appeared, but I may be misremembering.

I loved the comments that the son was making about the fact that he was not paying for an apartment where friends & relatives could stay, and that there were hotels for that. So many times we hear the HH's say they want to have space for relatives and friends to stay with them. He had some good advice for her, and really did have her future well being first and foremost. It was a pleasant episode.

Aaron is probably not a good poker player. It looked like he wasn't happy with his performance today from his several head shakes, and somber expressions at times.

I think the right baker went home, IMO. From the beginning, Ali seemed a bit starstruck and disorganized. She's a home baker, and probably not used to being expected to produce 3 or 4 different elements to combine into one bake under a time limit. At home you can do things one at a time, like toasting the nuts & setting them aside until needed, but you must give your full attention to that because nuts burn quickly. Good time management skills, and familiarity with a professional kitchen atmosphere probably help too. I've been baking and cooking for over 50 years, and there is no way I could successfully put together some things like they are asked to do within a couple of hours. I don't have a favorite yet, but I'm glad that Greg redeemed himself after that disastrous cinnamon roll bake.