DownTheShore

Those prom-picture parents really creep me out, first of all with the assumption that their (future) children will even want to go to a prom. That's something that I never wanted to do; don't know if it disappointed my parents or not, but going to one was never a childhood dream of mine, so I never bothered with them. Imagine how crushed those homeowners will be if they wind up with a child with a mindset like mine? They will have bought their homes for nothing - lol.

I can't take the vocal fry of the female home-buyers anymore! I just can't! It's become like chalk squeaking on a chalkboard to me! Why on earth do these women think that speaking that way sounds good? Why don't the guys they're with ask them to speak in a normal voice? Why don't their mothers slap them upside their heads???? AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

I think the lure of NOLA to those of us who have never been there is that its settlement history isn't the typical English/Dutch/German Protestant one of the majority of the East Coast cities that sprung up pre-Revolutionary War. There is a perception of exoticism to New Orleans that isn't present in the other major cities of the US, because of its French/Spanish/Caribbean heritage.

Gary Cole guest-starring as LaSalle's father - LOL! I would pay money to see that scene!

I've always been rather indifferent about Bakula as an actor - in fact, he was one of the reasons why I (a dedicated Star Trek fan) couldn't stand to watch "Enterprise". I saw him the other night on Craig Ferguson's show and he was very personable and entertaining, so I can't figure out why I just can't get invested in any characters he plays. It was good to see Lucas Black again; I remember him from "American Gothic" (now THAT was a TV series!). He seemed to be the only person there with a genuine Southern accent, not to mention charm. The woman from up North reminded me of those perky/snarky assistant DA's on "Law & Order" when they first start on the show. CCH Pounder seemed to be extraordinarily cheerful for an ME; I kept expecting her to burst into song. The tech geek, whoever he was, was poorly written and poorly acted and should be killed off on the series ASAP. The accents were so badly done that I wasn't quite sure if Steven Weber was just an acquaintance or a relative of Bakula's character. This is a show I wanted to like but I thought the script was pretty bad. It was clear from the beginning that the supervisor on the docks knew more than he was telling - and I didn't even know that that actor usually plays a bad guy. Being an element of the Navy, with all that sensitive equipment and access to data, and they leave a door wide open and unguarded so that anywone can just wander in? No thought to what the heat and humidity would do to the computer equipment? They didn't give any reason to become emotionally invested in the dead guy - heck, a flashback would have at least made him somewhat real, other than just being a leg. I, too, thought that the woman who did the driveby shooting was the bartender, yet that was a plot thread that was dropped. I'll probably watch it again just to see the NOLA settings, but this first episode didn't really interest me in the characters.

It was a really bad episode. It started off like he was some young, clueless surfer dude, and then it's revealed that for 12 years he was a sponsored surfer traveling around the world, so he's got to be at least in his late 20's. That girlfriend was really annoying, saying what she wanted as if it was what he needed. I was thinking that if he is going to be surfing most of the time, what does it matter if he has a pool? Isn't he going to be in the water enough each day? I also didn't get the point of why it was stressed so much that she wasn't living going to be living with him. Maybe she's supposed to be staying with her brother and doesn't want the family back in Australia or wherever to know that she's not being a good little girl? LOL Count me as another person who wonders about that really open-concept living in a humid hot environment that is probably loaded with bugs. Not to mention small lizards and other crawly things.

That was the one where he is a full-time radiologist and she is a part-time doctor, right? He kept mentioning how much longer he was going to have to keep working (and he didn't look like he was any spring chicken) and she kept right on enthusing over properties that would keep him working right to the grave. Made me wonder why she wasn't going to increase her work hours to help pay for her dream vacation home. And there was no talk of renting it out while they were back in Canada. I had to laugh at how much she loved those homes while she was sweating like a pig - excuse me, "glistening" - as she was walking up and down and around them. What I didn't understand was, if they have two daughters who are at least in their twenties, and they wanted a vacation home with three bedrooms to apparently accommodate them, why they didn't look in different locations to get what they needed? If the daughters get married and have children (or vice versa) the entire family can never stay the same time there. Surely there were other places with ocean views that cost less? When I saw the results of her and her decorator's "vision", I thought to myself, "you should have gone with one of the furniture packages offered by the builder!". I laughed about her rapture over the triptych of the dead tree branches (which was, when you think about it, a poor-man's version of that sculpted tree branch that was decorating the living room in the first home they looked at).

I know that's the correct terminology, I just find it amusing that they refer to themselves as ex-pats rather than calling themselves even emmigrants. It seems to distance themselves from actually committing to the country they're now living in - as if it's somehow more genteel to be called an ex-pat rather than an immigrant or a migrant.

I really hate the trash talk at the beginning of the show. To me, an arrogant chef is one that is never going to learn and evolve, and the nastier they are to each other, the less I root for any of them to win.

My niece and nephew love this show (ages 9 & 6). The other day my niece was telling me what her strategy would be to make it through the rounds if she was on the show - LOL.

You'd think that they'd realize by now that any location that has been popularized by HHI isn't going to allow you to get that cheap beach-side home anymore. They have to go to the places where they are going to be the first ex-pats moving in to get those kind of deals. And isn't it amusing that when Americans move abroad they are called "ex-pats", but when foreigners move here they are "immigrants"? Semantics, semantics. I always wonder what the people in those Central American countries think about being inundated with Americans and Canadians, who are probably putting a greater demand on utility and health services and are driving up the costs of food and housing? None of those people who want to live on the beach ever seem to ask - "does this area flood?". I mean, some of those places do get hit with hurricanes. It's nice to have the ocean 20 feet from your door but one good storm and it's inside your house. I also wonder what, exactly, those beaches are like in front of those homes? Are they beaches where people walk their dogs or ride their horses (leaving unwanted surprises in the sand)? Is the water safe to swim in, or does the local municipality directly eject waste into the sea? Are the beaches rocky? Can you even go into the surf in front of your home? There's rarely anyone actually using those beaches as beaches whenever they are shown.

I like them too. I think it's possible to include color without having it date a kitchen. The bold color note has to be done in moderation and for effect, with other colors complementing it and providing interest, not sameness.

One question that I would always ask with the townhomes is, "is there a firewall between the units?", because if there is, then you don't have to worry about neighbor noise through the walls. Ditto for those buying condo units.

"smothers" - love that term! It's perfect!

Granite is a good product, which is probably why it will last. People just need to get away from the generic choices for it, e.g. white cabinets with black granite - boring! I think too many people redo their kitchens thinking about what the next buyers would like. I say screw the next buyers and install what you like, even if it is bright colors. You can always tone everything down later if you are going to sell.

That's probably why I never minded sharing my bedroom with my sister; the bedrooms were just for sleeping or reading. Games were kept in another room and there wasn't a TV in the bedroom (this was before video games and computers, mind). There was no reason to lock ourselves away in our rooms because there wasn't much to do there. We had to interact with each other. Good for your boys, stewedsquash!

Ah, I'm still looking forward to the show. I like the byplay between the hosts (though Blake making Adam's cell phone number public was going too far). I don't have any strong opinion about Gwen Stefani one way or the other, so I'll be interested in seeing what she's like. I'm surprised that they didn't find another Hispanic female for that role, to cover the "Latin" music genre.

Or the single person moving into a one-bedroom condo that either has no door to the bedroom or one of those sliding barn-door types, who's worrying about sound from the living room. WTH? Who is going to be in the living room with the lights and TV on when they're trying to go to sleep??? Who's going to wander in while they're sleeping?

Or the vets were coming down on a working vacation (tax write-off) and she was renting out housing space? I got the impression that mom was contributing a chunk of cash to the endeavor.

I saw those Big Sky episodes. Beautiful scenery. I'd rather relocate to Montana than Alaska; the homes they looked at all seemed to be in the Bozeman area, so at least there's a place to go shop and do things. Montana State U. has its campus there. If I moved to Alaska, I'd be one of those people living near a major city. None of that off in the wildnerness, getting to the place by seaplane for me. Uh-uh. If I had a raised deck around my house, I'd put the stairs on a pneumatic lift system to raise them up so no bears could come on it - LOL. Raise the drawbridge! :-D

I didn't understand why, with both of them working, they couldn't get a lease extension for a couple of months until their construction was completed. Most rental places will work with you, since it doesn't matter to them when the next 12 month lease starts. I mean, live cheap for a month and at least have a working kitchen and bathroom. I didn't blame her for being PO'd with him.

Just watching HH now: "After a year of house hunting, this couple still can't agree on what kind of home to have." And magically, HH will solve their problem by only showing them 3 homes!

Not necessarily Catholic (and most of us do use birth control no matter what the Church teaches); could be fundamentalist Christian or even Jewish - various sects encourage procreation to the nth degree. I actually thought, "good for them" re the bedroom sharing. Those kids will learn compromising and sharing at an early age, and will appreciate in the future having their own space and things to a much greater degree, instead of accepting it as their due. I'm also guessing that their Italian peers live the same way, so they're going to have similar experiences with siblings. Me too! At first I thought, "she's pregnant???" Then I realized that it was just the shirt she was wearing. That was odd-looking. But they were a nice couple and did seem to realize that they were never going to have the space they had back home. Got a link for that? I can't remember which couple they were.

Speaking from experience, you fall down the stairs once, you take care with them the rest of your life. ;-> I am always amazed at those parents. They never look at something that they think will be a problem and immediately think of ways it can be solved. Instead they reject it because they have no imagination. Pool fences? Baby gates? Child locks? Baby monitors? Fenced yards? It's like they've never heard of any of them before.

Love that mosaic red tile surrounding the black sink! Was reading up on it and looks like it is a Cocciopesto sole casting, so no grout lines.