kirklandia

I think the latest double-episode shows are new content, not repackaged reruns. The gimmick is that they are themed and "hosted" (added scenes and voiceovers) by a current HGTV "star". They air on the same night as that host's own show. Last week, they started showing Jasmine Roth and fixer-upper houses. On Wednesdays, the same night as Help! I Wrecked My House. Before that, it was Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas and tiny houses, on the same night as Bargain Block. And before that, David Bromstad and houses in glamorous/vacation destinations on the same night as My Lottery Dream Home. (Why do I notice and remember this stuff?)

I have seen so many cream puff swans on these cooking shows - even though Thua kept insisting they were turkeys, all I saw were swans. Justine introduced her squirrel as "little Miss Boston Commons squirrel". Followed by a close-up. It was so clearly gendered, of course we saw breasts.

😍I just finished watching it, after waiting in the holds queue at my library almost a year for the DVD! Because I am too cheap and stubborn to pay for a streaming service. Worth waiting for! And, apparently many of my fellow library patrons feel the same way.

I just can't, with all these shenanigans. Coffee hijinks. Stray dog chasing hilarity. Doggiegate, as the sisters awkwardly and unnecessarily clamber over homeowners' giant barrier. And that's just in the first few minutes. Plenty more to come. I started watching because the locations are nearby and familiar. But - as we are being given less content (which is more and more unconvincing) and more filler (making the twins look less and less professional) - my FF finger is about worn out.

Is the "Human Ken Doll" anatomically correct? (I really don't want to 👀)

I loved the book The Geography of Bliss. This show - it's OK. But it just made me miss Anthony Bourdain💔

She sounds so much like Suzanne Whang, I still have a little 😞 moment whenever I hear her.

Possibly my favorite thing about the Julia Child Challenge was that the judges and contestants sat together at a family table and shared the dishes that were made. Can't see that happening with Chopped, unfortunately.

Another interesting item on tonight's HGTV schedule!

I loved the Akron couple. They were very sweet together. It was refreshing to go house hunting with folks whose wants are modest, and who are thrilled to be able to have a dishwasher or an en-suite bathroom. (When I was growing up, those were luxuries. I was 50 before I had them.) That was the best "welcome to our new house" party I've seen on an HGTV show. The band was great! They can party in my neighborhood anytime.

The sisters did address the housing market situation in the most recent episode: "The prices are so exasperated now." Buyers and sellers (and some viewers) are exasperated. But prices? Perhaps she meant exacerbated?

Shaeeda certainly made the connection - brought it up on Pillow Talk.

I know that Southerners worship "their" mayonnaise, but to state as a fact that Duke's invented it is outrageous. Shame on y'all! (still rooting for Sara.)

Nice to see women's sports get some parity! And I will be watching the World Cup. I would have been DVR-ing MasterChef anyway. With gratitude for the FF button. I wonder how many people watch these shows in Real Time.

They looked like blue corn tortillas to me.

The Sing- Off! I loved that show. It just dwindled and disappeared. I had no idea that Kara Saun did the costumes.

How are they ever supposed to pick a winner? Three episodes in, they still haven't eliminated anyone. So, they are not narrowing the field. They don't appear to be assigning scores of any kind. So, there are no measurable criteria (or, in teacher-talk, no rubric). Will it just come down to whoever makes the least bad dish in the final round?

If I have this straight - Tyray hooked up with "Carmella from Barbados" on a dating site. Nope, he is being catfish by a dude. Dude is using the picture of a woman who works as an escort. A reverse image search reveals that she is offering her services in Stockton. Just 30 miles from Tyray's home in Modesto. This seems like an extremely unlikely coincidence. (Yes, I am wearing my skeptical spectacles.)

Just watched last Monday night's Great Roommate Debate episode. HGTV really doubled down on the PNW quirk. I dug the lumbersexual Oregon househunter dude - giant beard, buffalo check shirt, bicycle. What are the odds of finding a perfect Portlandia partner in Costa Rica? I would've been happy never to see or think about that Seattle househunter again.

As always, playing catch-up here on the Left Coast. Time to take off my skeptical spectacles and go to bed.

I gutted my way through the blandness that was season one. Season two looks like an even bigger snoozefest. Without an elimination at the end of an episode, there would be nothing left to hold my interest. 🥱

SH😍TA!

Next new episodes - July 12? This show is already holding my interest by the thinnest of threads. Three weeks between episodes, bad move. Maybe we can blame the writers' strike? Oops, guess not - "reality" shows are "unscripted ".

Intended to attribute a quote to Stuckathome: "she posted about having alopecia. I think without the hair extensions, she is almost bald" I do believe that Gino could provide her with a supply of hats for a much more affordable solution.