30 Helens

Exit interview with Carolyn. Worth reading if only for her overreaction to the idea of touching Boston Rob’s face. (The horror!) https://ew.com/the-traitors-carolyn-wiger-reacts-roundtable-dying-inside-11683644 It’s a little surprising that she doesn’t understand just where she went wrong. If not for completely exposing herself at that challenge (and also completing the quiz in the turret, where she made the big mistake of misreading the others’ opinion of her), she would have had Discount Efron’s vote. He was with her until that.

She is really, really good at the social game. Maybe the best ever. People know she’s dangerous, but they don’t think she’s a threat to them, just the others. So they want to stay on her side. Here, she also had the advantage of no one knowing her history. (Which is still shocking to me.) At least until Will blew that up. Sort of. What ever happened with that? Because unless I’m forgetting something, it seems like it was mentioned and then dropped, like nobody cared. I can’t say I’m sad that Will has gone back to his underground crypt, because I really can’t stand his villain act, but I will miss his gameplay. I get very impatient watching players who get caught up in their emotions, constantly crowing about personal integrity while sulking over being “betrayed”. I’d so much rather see people like Will and Rob and Parvati and David, who understand it’s just a game and take nothing personally— even if I am watching them for the umpteenth time. At least they know how to play. And pick a damn suitcase without giving it a backstory.

Which may make Gabby a strong candidate for the next murder. Britney heard her suspicions and if she wants to protect Danielle, she’ll tell her. Carolyn, Carolyn. So wrapped up in her own insecurities that she couldn’t see that people actually were listening to her, nobody suspected her, and she could have ridden this train to the end. But instead she engineered such an obvious trainwreck that not even Porter Efron could stay on board. I was really hoping she’d prevail over Danielle because Danielle irritates me more every week. I also think Carolyn would have made a smarter recruiting choice. But maybe Danielle is playing a long con. Maybe she is recruiting Britney just to betray her and get long-smoldering vengeance for those Reindeer Games that wounded her so deeply. But my money is on Britney, and if she manages to “backstab” Danielle a second time, I’ll laugh for days. So do his fellow players.

What a clever idea! I bet there are lots of nursing mothers who would love to have such a thing. For the record, that lovey blanket above is a floppy-eared dog. I made it for a baby nephew. The face and ears are my own design; the overall pattern I got online, from Shannon Fabrics. The original had instructions for a bunny and a kitty, which is probably why my dog looks like a rabbit. 😆 It’s actually pretty easy. I’d be happy to walk you through it sometime, if you want. Just send me a PM.

I'm very happy to hear that there are so many community stores that support handmade crafts. Thanks to everyone who corrected my skepticism about Hannah's yarn store! I wish her, and everyone like her, nothing but success. There's nothing quite so satisfying as something you make yourself. (a recent project... no yarn involved, but there is embroidery floss if that counts!)

Taking crafting comments to Small Talk...

I don’t do yarn stuff, but I do occasional sewing projects. JoAnn is the last game in town for fabrics, and they’re teetering on the edge of going out of business. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I can’t match fabric colors, get a sense of weight and weave, and am forced to buy a minimum of 2 yards when I only need 1/4. Online shopping can be great, but it’s not great for everything. Today ended my 2-day FJ streak. I was running through all the famous court cases I could think of, pre-clue (Dredd Scott! Marbury vs Madison! Brown vs Board of Education!) but never landed on Plessy vs Ferguson. I felt a little vindicated to know I at least got the sequel.

I didn’t realize we were heading straight into another tournament, so I kind of groaned when the show started. But then I saw Matt and all was forgiven. Declaring himself a candidate for Tournament Villain while flashing a sheepish grin made me laugh. I like Hannah, but I’m mystified as to how anyone can run a successful yarn store. As one product in a craft store, sure, but are there really enough knitters to sustain such a thing? FJ instaguess! It seemed like a logical choice, but the clue’s description of it as an infection + a rash sealed it for me. I assume the rash is where the “scarlet” part comes in. Acronyms are fine, but “JIT” is such an ugly sounding word. It sounds like someone holding back a violent sneeze. I think it belongs in the Fetch vault, personally.

My apologies to any librarians whose eyes glazed over at the sight of that cake! I had never seen it before today, either, and found it absolutely delicious. At least, I’m sure it will be… I call dibs on the Nessie ladle.

Parvati has a girlfriend, so I wouldn’t read too much into that.

1/5. I’ll take my seat at the giant Atlas table. I will bring a library cake for all to enjoy. I’m sure there is an atlas or two on the shelves, and maybe even a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves!

I meant they picked the wrong one. Nothing against Mr. Basile, but Goins is a lot more fun to watch.

Wrong Drew.

At least it’s over. Now I can forget all about Neilesh until he sways his way into the Master’s. My 12-year-old self learned so much from that book. More than I learned from my parents, who were not talkers. It really was a wonderful resource with no modern-day equivalent, that I’m aware of. She catalogues things, but then puts them in the wrong place!

Because nobody can get enough of them, BB contestants will be taking over The Amazing Race next season. (Not the one coming up, but the one after that.) Each team will consist of one hamster and a loved one. (Which I guess means I won’t get my dream team, Cirie and Felicia. Passing up the chance to see Felicia complain to Cirie about the damn kids in India while hopelessly screwing up a task of collecting mustard seeds, and shouting “I’m coming, Mr. P!” as Cirie drags her to the mat Is a missed opportunity for sure. But I digress…) Among the contestants we will NOT see: X, Danielle (thank god, based on her Traitors performance. I’d hate to lose any more respect), Janelle (they didn’t offer enough cash), and Josh. No word yet on exactly who IS playing, but CBS promises that some contestant choices will be controversial. I’d say that means Frankie, but his inclusion would be totally predictable. (For some reason, I’m unable to copy and paste a link, but the story is on realityblurred.com)