Blergh

That's GREAT news! It's always refreshing when one is able to help young ones expand their horizons to think outside their boxes and have curiosity about different traditions and cultures!

I know it's a bit late but I actually somewhat liked this latest episode with James and Siegfried's 'lessons' just making Mr. Carmody a more nervous driver but with the interesting twist of Mrs. Pumphrey having him drive herself, Francois and Trickie in her prized Rolls and having THAT make him a 'careful' instead of a good driver. Oh, and I have to admit that I was somewhat entertained by his driver travelogue as they left Pumphrey Manor and circled around the Dales (and I think it might have also entertained Mrs. Pumphrey and Trickie but I'm not sure about Francois). Nice way to help him gain confidence and improve his 'pet side' manner! Interesting to see that she's had her gigantic windows taped in case of air raids. Sadly, tape usually was unable to keep glass panes from shattering from the blasts. Moreover, often if the homeowner had somehow lucked out via not getting bombed, that tape was often next to impossible to completely tear off after the War was done. I also thought it was a good diagnosis on Mr. Carmody's part that the newer 'more expensive' shampoo was the cause of Trickie's skin irritation. However, in those weeks and months of the NAZIs invading the Low Countries and making a beeline to France (like a killer swarm), rations were getting extremely tight in Great Britain with not just the volume but the selections of virtually every commodity imaginable becoming rather scarce [ even just plain human soap wasn't as easy to find as before]. Speaking of invasion, I'm a bit surprised that Francois showed no anxiety (nor did Mrs. Pumphrey acknowledge any) on the fate of any loved ones in France itself! Yes, nice picnic basket Mrs. Hall fixed for the soon to be parting parents-to-be. However, by this point, foods were also getting somewhat limited and I'm a bit surprised that she wouldn't have had a 'victory garden' as most homemakers with even the tiniest spots of green had to supplement their family's food supply. IOW, I'd have expected more homegrown treats rather than fancy picnic items. Yes, Mrs. Hall herself is taking a big leap to help her swain Gerald take care of his sister in her home with her divorce getting closer to being final but I wonder why neither Gerald nor his unseen sister considered the latter moving into his Darrowby house. All I can think of is that the sister might be too physically frail to handle her stuff being moved or even to travel but this wasn't spelled out. Glad that Helen and James DID finally have a sincere talk about their hopes and fears with him going off to war with her in the family way. Yes, I know he likely wouldn't have enlisted AFTER he found out she was with child. However, as I've said before, in those days with only the spottiest birth control available, unless there was physical distance and/or one or both were known to have been infertile, babies were a matter of course for most newlyweds. Nice touch for him to have made a homemade airplane ('for the baby') which no doubt will give Helen herself solace as she anticipates James's visits, the baby's arrival and James's eventual return. Oddly, though, that neither seemed to consider whether the expectant Helen might have been better off living in her family farm with her father and sister instead of her absent husband's employer's abode in the town. I'll be interesting how things progress with the baby's arrival [which, if the timeline is close to RL, means that France will have fallen and the Blitz will be on].

While traditional history has maintained that the Azores Islands were first settled by the Portuguese in the early 1430's, genetic testing was done on the local mouse population and discovered that not only had they not been native to the nine Atlantic Ocean islands but that they were descended from Scandinavian instead of Iberian mice! Further scientific studies of the soil core samples revealed that there had been a period of grain growing and either sheep or cattle ranching on the islands between roughly 700 and 850AD. As best as science currently can make out, the Scandinavian mice stowed away on ships to these temporary outposts which seemed to have been abandoned - and any remaining cows or sheep dying out as well as any imported grain grasses getting overwhelmed by the native species. However, these mice somehow survived on the native plants,etc. and would attract a species of raptor birds to the islands known as Eurasian goshawk known as Acor [the facade 'c' being used] (or Azor) in Portuguese which is what they'd name the archipelago for. There are some structures, carvings and stone anchors,etc. of unconfirmed antiquity that some believe point to possible Roman, Greek or Phoenician settlement or visitation but these claims are in dispute and, at this time, only the Scandinavian mice are confirmation of pre-Portuguese settlement or visitation.

Re Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005), one has to wonder why Debra didn't make it a condition of marriage that they'd move AWAY from Raymond Barone's annoying father Frank and his smothering,manipulative mother Marie. . Yeah, I know there wouldn't have been much if any kind of a sitcom without these two antagonists making trouble for the younger Barones but still. .. .

I can't say I've liked Jay Leno for too many reasons to even summarize (and I don't want to rehash them at this time) However, IMO the one saving grace he's had over the decades is that he appears to have always treated his wife of 43 years Mavis Nicholson Leno like fine china. Therefore, when the major news outlets reported that she has now been hobbled by dementia and he has filed for Conservatorship, I have to admit that I was touched that he would do that and heartbroken on his behalf. Of course, since they have no offspring (and he's 73) I can't help but hope he's got help with the caregiving since caregivers have been known to get wiped out (and even occasionally have predeceased their afflicted loved ones). No, this isn't a happy bit of news but I thought it was poignant enough to share (and it needs to be said that caregivers of afflicted family members need to have all the emotional and practical support possible).

I didn't loathe Christmas one-shot evacuee Eva but I think it would have helped had they dropped a line (e.g. 'Eva found a fabulous stamp to put on that beautiful postcard from her family's new home in Australia- her OWN Oz!'). Nice to have Annie Chapman back while introducing her daughter Grace but it would have helped had they mentioned what had happened to Grace's son Tom's male co-parent. Had he ever been part of his son's life or had Annie and her own husband helped his mother Grace raise him from the beginning? Interesting that Mrs. Pumphrey related a pleasant anecdote about her late husband Charles (IIRC in the OS I think his name might have been Arthur). However, I have some vague recollection of someone addressing Mrs. Pumphrey by her OWN first name but if that's the case, I can't think of what it might have been! Regardless, it's interesting that the late Arthur Pumphrey had gotten Trickie's double-great-grandmother to start the line at Pumphrey Manor AND that she had been one of many dogs instead of an only dog like her descendant usually was! I think the newbie will work out- though not without quite a few misunderstandings between himself and Siegfried in the process [which everyone dealing with Siegfried has had happen].

Forgive my willful ignorance [since I've long since quit bothering with the show] but what kind of evidence did these teens steal when they broke in? One thing [I think] is for sure: had any thieves attempted to steal rape kits from an a police evidence storage room, Olivia would have torn them apart herself with her bare hands- regardless of where they fell agewise between Pampers and Depends!

Mr. Gleason KNEW what was funny and what wasn't! For instance, despite Ralph and Alice one time considering adoption, he made sure that both couples were childless because 'adults struggling was funny but kids struggling was NOT' [and he knew that firsthand]. Also, when he did the sketches in the mid 1960's and had Sheila MacRae playing Alice, during rehearsal he noticed her tearing up and asked her what was up. She replied 'This Alice cries.' Without missing a beat, he declared 'Not on MY show. If you cry, everyone'll hate me!' And from that point Mrs. MacRae stayed as stoic as Miss Meadows had been during his bluster!

Ironic that the city thug Todd calls Albert 'the village idiot' first thing in Walnut Grove (in 'The Angry Heart') but I can't help but think that the bully who [but for Carrie's blabbing) actually bought that Albert WAS 'The Werewolf of Walnut Grove' was a much better candidate!

Or maybe Black Bart will find them. ..or at least find Mr. Edwards alone.

True, but IMO it's less annoying than when they had Bobby Flay shill for it!

'Fiddle-Dee-Don't'- After the Colonel opens a branch at Nellie's Hotel in Walnut Grove (despite it being set roughly the same time as his birth in Kentucky), he invites Charles to perform with his violin at the Grand Opening and all goes well until Charles stomps off and refuses to play the Colonel's fave song- Hank William, Sr.'s 'Mind Your Own Business'! While Charles makes his churlish exit, the whole town eagerly serenades him with it, though!

Mr. Jewison sure lived a long and productive life (and he made some of the most entertaining and thought-provoking productions)! We need more movies like Moonstruck (1984), etc. ! RIP, Mr. Jewison!

I'm grateful that temps have FINALLY gotten my locale's week-old snowfall that had long since become slick ice to start MELTING and I was able to open my basement garage door to take the collected garbage and recycle material OUT! For over a week, it had been too cold for the latch to work but now it's warm again! YAY! Yes, there's still icy slush on the asphalt of my driveway and in my side street neighborhood and I'm still needing to be cautious driving but it's on the way to being GONE (and hopefully the rain in the next day or so will wash the rest away). I know that winter's not done with us yet but HOORAY that this particular chapter of it is coming to a close!

'Rolled Out the Barrel'- When Charles pays for a new barrel in cash, Harriet celebrates by trying to roll it out to his wagon- only to have it crash into his target ribs!

I don't disagree (and I also agree with Miss Roberts that she had the acting skill to NOT perform the character as 'a little Maude'). However, in retrospect, it must be said that Miss McClanahan played Viv as somewhat of a twittery airhead and mainly as comic relief to the overwhelming Maude. While a look at Miss Roberts's work proved that she COULD play broader characters in comedies than her offstage persona, I have to say that I can't imagine her being able to genuinely pull off playing Viv as a twittery airhead - yet I also can't help but think that she would have brought more layers to the role. I also think that Miss Roberts was able to use that abrupt firing to her advantage re grabbing onto to one shots to hone her comedic skill as a sitcom performer which ultimately paid off for her - to own her credit! Interestingly, a few years later the producers themselves DID [somewhat] change their minds about Miss Roberts bringing her in as a one-shot on a late episode of All in the Family as a bar regular who encouraged Edith to stand up for herself against Archie (that it turned out the regular had already known and been unable to forget because he was ' so DUMB') P.S. All the above said, as infuriating a chain of events that led to them bringing on Miss McClanahan, I'm glad they brought Miss McClanahan to play the role- and it's hard to imagine that without having played Viv that she'd have had the opportunity to have played HER iconic role of Blanche Devoreaux alongside the Miss Arthur about a dozen years later.

OK, my locale is still frozen but I had to risk getting out of my hilly side street due to needing to pick up vital prescriptions for myself and my 90-something mother among other errands I could no longer postpone ! Anyway, after I made it back from the errands (and traversing the nice cleared main roads with ease), I had to return to my abode via other hilly wet icy side streets and I couldn't believe the number of cars that had gotten stuck in ditches on the sides of said side streets- and even more unbelievable than that were the folks who pulled in front of me as I was very cautiously inching my way downhill trying my best to keep my own car from spinning out of control and/or racing down the hilly last street before I could turn onto my own street. Yes, even though the temps have yet to reach the technical melting point, the bright sun has melted enough of a layer of water on top of the ice, folks thought it was smart to back INTO traffic while cars were trying to carefully inch past them! Thankfully, none of them hit me and I was able to use gravity to inch my way to safely turn onto my side street then carefully back IN to my own downhill driveway to the carport! I know there's no humans I can complain about the dangerous driving conditions but I wish others would realize that even un-icy wet streets aren't safe to speed on much less back into - especially if there are any other drivers around!

Anyone else tired of seeing that Alka Seltzer ad with that dude who decides to take the product instead of just staying in bed to rest to fight off the cold but decides to go plop-plop fizz-fizz JUST so he walk out in his florescent ski outfit so to have his cronies play it like an air guitar instead of I dunno . ..hike or go skiing?! He could have just put on the outfit and had the cronies play it in the warm lodge room!

In her Emmy TV Legends Interview Doris Roberts (1925-2016) said that she was offered the part of Maude's bestie Viv and got along great with Bea Arthur (an old acting pal from New York) and started rehearsing the show and was ready to accept the offer to be a supporting player on a sitcom when. ..the producers fired her! Why? Because they happened to witness Miss Robert and Miss Arthur having done a little impromptu comedy routine backstage comparing each other's outfits - and they concluded Miss Roberts wouldn't have worked because they concluded that she'd have been a 'little Maude' therefore a redundant character! Yeah, not because she blew the audition or clashed with anyone but because she happened to do something offstage with Miss Arthur that got them to dump her and then give the role to Rue McClanahan. Thankfully, Miss Roberts got offered a slew of one-shot roles that eventually led to regular parts on TV before she finally hit it out of the ballpark as Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond!

How about other titles such as: Walnut Grove Makes Peyton Place Look Like Walton's Mountain Laura Ingalls Wilder's Even Wilder Bunch Laura Loathes Manly [Who Wonders If He'd Been Better Off Giving Nellie His Robe Instead of 'Beth']

OK, I couldn't quite remember why he needed that ambulance. However, I thought that, right after he'd been strapped to the wheeled stretcher and was due to taken to the hospital for observation, that THAT is when Maggie's grandma's flaky friend put that piece of birthday cake on a paper plate to cheer him up- directly on top of his strapped-in chest! I couldn't help but think that she'd have been great pals with Gracie Allen and Lisa Douglas!

Michael Rockefeller, the 23-year-old son of the extremely wealthy and powerful Rockefeller family was last seen attempting to swim about 14 miles to shore of what now the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea in 1961 after his dugout canoe capsized with several others. He had expressed great interest in the local Asmat tribe previous to this. Despite extensive searches armed with large sums of monies and resources from his family, no trace of him was ever found and he is believed to have most likely drowned. There were secondhand accounts of him possibly been cannibalized due to the tribe wanting to 'even' out occupying Dutch soldiers having killed a few of their members and him being considered a member of the 'European' tribe. However, one odd footnote must be considered. In recent years, a documentary film from 1969 has been unearthed of hundreds of Asmat tribesmen standing and waving their spears in virtual unison while rowing past the camera operator . Among the Asmat standing was a single bearded, blond man of European extraction who was unclothed like the others but definitely not having been born into the tribe. While it may be tempting to speculate that this one blond, bearded man may have been Michael Rockeller (and there does seem to be at least a passing resemblance), there's no proof that this unidentified man was he. However, even if this possibly adopted European Asmat man had not been young Mr. Rockefeller, this leads to the questions of who WAS this individual, where did he come from, how did he join the tribe and what became of him?

Why would it not have surprised me if Ed's jacket had been a birthday present from Ruth-Ann shortly after he became a teen and he was so touched and grateful that he not only never considered getting a replacement but he never had the heart to admit he'd outgrown it within a few years! BTW, thanks for reminding me of one of most surreal/bogus scenes in the whole series re Joel visiting Maggie's grandmother during the older woman's birthday celebration: after Joel defeated Maggie's local ex in basketball, the ex somehow injured himself and an ambulance was called. Anyway, as they loaded the ex onto the wheeled stretcher to get him to the hospital, one of Maggie's grandmother's friends put a piece of birthday cake on a paper plate- right on TOP of the ex's chest as the paramedics shut the ambulance hatch door. Anyway, the flaky friend told the ex that she hoped the cake would cheer him up in the hospital! LOL

Where? That kitchen looked barely big enough to singe a Pop Tart!

Oh, the weather outside may be frightful But the news 78 years ago proved delightful Happy Birthday to Miss Dolly Rebecca Parton!