S11.E11: Jana's Secret Garden

[Temperance]

Quote

Jana does so much for the family that they want to surprise her with something she's wanted for a long time; John, Abbie and baby Gracie keep Jana distracted in Tennessee while the rest of the family hustles to pull off this big surprise.

Air date: September 15, 2020

Tonight Everybody Loves Jana. 

[ouinason]

Ahem..... the episode title.....

 

Does TLC do this on purpose?  Like, wouldn't "surprise garden" be more apt and not so....

 

Ok, it sounds like a flower reference to Janna's .... personal space.  Like, from a ridiculous bodice ripper romance novel.

[Temperance]

That's the actual title. I double checked to be sure after @ouinason's comment. 

[skatelady]

TLC has GOT to be trolling. Oh my gosh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Secret_Garden

[Zella]

I'm convinced there is someone on the TLC staff who's a disaffected English major who lives for shoehorning in these moments. Like on the episode where these poor idiots kept calling their childhood home "the big house," seemingly unaware that's slang for prison. Someone non-Duggar had to have heard that and realized the connotation. 

[iwantcookies]

I love the title so much haha. Reference to virginity is hilarious. I just can’t stop laughing.

[auntieminem]

10 hours ago, skatelady said:

TLC has GOT to be trolling. Oh my gosh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Secret_Garden

First thing I thought of when I saw the title.  I am old, I got the book I was young and into "gardening".   

[ginger90]

Someone asked about Joy, since she’s not in the picture. Jessa’s reply:

[MonicaM]

That photo hurts my eyes.  It's not a flattering picture of any of them.  Even Jinger looks as if she grabbed the first two items of clothing she saw at the thrift shop.  The background color clashes with their clothing choices and even with the color of the lighter shades of hair.  Whoever decided to go with this picture either has absolutely no eye for what looks good, or enjoys making the Duggar clan look terrible.

Joy was smart to miss this photo session!!

Edited September 16, 2020 by MonicaM
counting on spelling 😊

[Chicklet]

Anna really wore that sweater and thought she looked good? Does she own a mirror in that supposed warehouse she lives in? I'd vote no.

How does the crew stay awake when they film this nonsense?

[farmgal4]

19 minutes ago, Chicklet said:

Anna really wore that sweater and thought she looked good? Does she own a mirror in that supposed warehouse she lives in? I'd vote no.

How does the crew stay awake when they film this nonsense?

I don’t see Anna in the TLC picture. 🧐

[emmawoodhouse]

3 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

I don’t see Anna in the TLC picture. 🧐

Anna's in the episode. 

[Chicklet]

I wonder why they didn't put her in the picture? Hm

[emmawoodhouse]

I don't think she's been in any of the promo shots since Joshgate.

[Chicklet]

But front and center in a lot of the show. First Boob and his wife and then Anna. Josh can't be far behind, but jeez I hope they have more sense than that.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Chicklet

[VioletNevermind]

Wow.  Jana might as well be wearing a thick, juicy steak around her neck for all of her parents’ not-so-transparent efforts to unload her to the next penis that comes wandering through Springdale.  These people have no shame. 

[WhyAmIHere]

Jim Bob is such an asshole.  When asked whether Jana was the first female in the family to start her own business, he immediately goes into what the boys have done.  Michelle actually stepped in and said that Jana was indeed the first daughter to do so.  I wanted to reach through the screen and smack him. 

I had to laugh when Kendra said the sisters and sisters-in-law have so much to talk about.  Whenever they have get-togethers like this, the conversation is so stilted and awkward.  They don't seem to have much to say to each at all beyond comparing their babies. 

Jessa is clearly proud of the fact that her daughter is the oldest of this pack of girls (future sister moms).  She's almost as insufferable as Jim Bob.  Almost. 

[seasons]

Don't they have laws against using a cell phone while driving in Arkansas? Someone should tell John- David to ditch the phone while driving, especially with a baby in the car, dirt road or not.😕

[auntieminem]

Too much Anna.  She must be in heaven, she so loved being on the show.  Also too much JB and Michelle, ugh, what is next?  Please never ever, Josh.  Jana can't leave now they built her a greenhouse.  The time she spent with JD and Abbey was sweet.  All the conversation about her being single to try to make her seem normal, if she lived in her own place maybe I would believe it.  Heck, I have always been single and it was awkward when I was her age with everyone asking about your love life or lack there of and I was not raised to think I had to marry and have kids. Of course I also lived on my own all my adult life too. I just can't relate to her as an adult single woman since at her age I had lived away from family for many years and totally self sufficient and had a career. I hope she someday becomes her own person. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Did anyone else catch that the name of her business is the street she lives on? That might attract stalkers.

[absnow54]

This episode was pretty depressing. Jana considers lowering her standards to find a man, only to return home where her family has built her a greenhouse, because they know she’s never leaving.

I did appreciate Kendra’s raising awareness on breastfeeding. I had supply issues with my first because of an awful latch, even with the help of a lactation consultant (which I doubt any of them would use.) The second time around I was much more prepared (and he didn’t have a death latch.)

[Temperance]

2 hours ago, Chicklet said:

But front and center in a lot of the show. First Boob and his wife and then Anna. Josh can't be far behind, but jeez I hope they have more sense than that.

Actually that's not true. Anna was front and center in the first two seasons of Counting On. She has been disappearing from the show little by little. Notice they barely mentioned the birth of Maryella at all despite the fact she was born the same month as Addison (Kendra's and Joe's daughter) and Bella (Si and Lauren's daughter).  

Based on Anna's lessening pressence, I would be very surprised if Josh came back. 

[emmawoodhouse]

She is featured quite prominently in this episode. Much more than the usual small glimpses we usually get of her. And MarYella was also featured.

[Adeejay]

I got a kick out of the moms trying to take  pictures of the babies and one of them repeatedly falling over. Can’t believe one of those know it all geniuses didn’t think to use a pillow to prop her up. 

I don’t remember seeing Spurge and any of the sons in-law.

 I wish they would leave Jana alone.  She is probably happier than her married sisters.

[Tikichick]

13 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Someone asked about Joy, since she’s not in the picture. Jessa’s reply:

Looking at waistlines and trying to calculate when this photo was taken is confusing.  Makes me wonder if Lauren is ready for another announcement?

[skipnjump]

28 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Looking at waistlines and trying to calculate when this photo was taken is confusing.  Makes me wonder if Lauren is ready for another announcement?

That was my thought regarding Lauren too

[Churchhoney]

52 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Looking at waistlines and trying to calculate when this photo was taken is confusing.  Makes me wonder if Lauren is ready for another announcement?

I'm pretty sure this is an old picture, though. Think it may have debuted as a promo for the previous season? I remember discussing the crazy color collection in it a long time ago. So the bump is Lauren's current kid whose name I can never remember.   

Not that it isn't perfectly possible that she's under way again, of course. 

ETA: Bella. Sorry, Bella. Asa. Bella. Yeah. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Churchhoney

[SunnyBeBe]

10 hours ago, absnow54 said:

This episode was pretty depressing. Jana considers lowering her standards to find a man, only to return home where her family has built her a greenhouse, because they know she’s never leaving.

I did appreciate Kendra’s raising awareness on breastfeeding. I had supply issues with my first because of an awful latch, even with the help of a lactation consultant (which I doubt any of them would use.) The second time around I was much more prepared (and he didn’t have a death latch.)

It's unfortunate that some mothers attach fault to issues with breast feeding.  And, baby weight too.  OMG, it's so infuriating when I see articles everywhere about someone who got off their baby weight in 2 months!  WHY is this an issue?  Like, keeping baby weight is a horrible thing and deserves shaming?  It's one of my pet peeves.  lol  

[Tikichick]

19 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

I'm pretty sure this is an old picture, though. Think it may have debuted as a promo for the previous season? I remember discussing the crazy color collection in it a long time ago. So the bump is Lauren's current kid whose name I can never remember.   

Not that it isn't perfectly possible that she's under way again, of course. 

ETA: Bella. Sorry, Bella. Asa. Bella. Yeah. 

So Jessa has given birth to Ivy, Kendra and Lauren are expecting and Abby either isn't pregnant yet or very definitely not showing at this point?  That means Joy would have been expecting in the time period and not been in the photo?   Seems very offbrand for the family, and the show.  Not saying I disagree with you, simply said because that is exactly why I struggled to put a timeframe on the photo.

[Churchhoney]

32 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

So Jessa has given birth to Ivy, Kendra and Lauren are expecting and Abby either isn't pregnant yet or very definitely not showing at this point?  That means Joy would have been expecting in the time period and not been in the photo?   Seems very offbrand for the family, and the show.  Not saying I disagree with you, simply said because that is exactly why I struggled to put a timeframe on the photo.

I don't remember exactly when it's from, but I know that it's old because I remember the picture and the color discussion clearly. ....

Not sure what you're saying about offbrand, though.....is it that a pregnant Joy wasn't in the photo? 

ETA: Okay, time is going slowly for me! (not surprising, I guess) I managed to search reddit for discusison of it, and you're right. It is an early promo for THIS season...And, like you,  people are puzzled by Joy not being in the photo.

Not sure what we know about when the pictures used for promos are taken, though. I doubt that they're necessarily taken quite close to the time they;'re first shown, though, right? I mean, the pictures are likely to be part of their promo misdirection...to get people interested....I would think. 

Anyway, remains somewhat mysterious. And kinda ugly, too. 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Nofo mom]

When I was watching, I noticed that Michelle was speaking about how Jana would marry when she met the right "guy", but before she said guy, she pursed her lips to make the P sound, and she was going to say person.  She corrected herself, because they dont want Jana marrying a person- it has to be a guy.  

[Scarlett45]

On 9/16/2020 at 8:41 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

It's unfortunate that some mothers attach fault to issues with breast feeding.  And, baby weight too.  OMG, it's so infuriating when I see articles everywhere about someone who got off their baby weight in 2 months!  WHY is this an issue?  Like, keeping baby weight is a horrible thing and deserves shaming?  It's one of my pet peeves.  lol  

Because women exist to incite male lust (firstly) and breed (secondly) so you best get back to job 1 as soon as job 2 is over. 
 

But on a serious note, I support any woman that finds joy in exercising or looking how she wants to look after she’s had a baby. Mothers cannot win, so if a woman wants to get the weight off for herself I applaud her- losing weight is hard.

I don’t think any of the Duggar boys (outside of Josh) would be mean or shame their wives into losing weight after having a baby. Now I could see Jeremy making certain Jinger knows he expects her to look xyz way after birth. I don’t think he’d be mean about it but her keeping weight off would be important to him. 

[Tikichick]

27 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

I don't remember exactly when it's from, but I know that it's old because I remember the picture and the color discussion clearly. ....

Not sure what you're saying about offbrand, though.....is it that a pregnant Joy wasn't in the photo? 

ETA: Okay, time is going slowly for me! (not surprising, I guess) I managed to search reddit for discusison of it, and you're right. It is an early promo for THIS season...And, like you,  people are puzzled by Joy not being in the photo.

Not sure what we know about when the pictures used for promos are taken, though. I doubt that they're necessarily taken quite close to the time they;'re first shown, though, right? I mean, the pictures are likely to be part of their promo misdirection...to get people interested....I would think. 

Anyway, remains somewhat mysterious. And kinda ugly, too. 

 

Yes, offbrand for them not to display so-called baby bumps loudly and proudly since that is the sum and substance of their claim to fame.

As far as ugly, definitely.  I can't imagine they knew they were having a photo shoot and dressed like that.  Kendra and Jinger at least generally try to be much more pulled together.

16 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Because women exist to incite male lust (firstly) and breed (secondly) so you best get back to job 1 as soon as job 2 is over. 
 

But on a serious note, I support any woman that find joy in exercising or looking how she wants to look after she’s had a baby. Mother’s cannot win, so if a woman wants to get the weight off for herself I applaud her- losing weight is hard.

I don’t think any of the Duggar boys (outside of Josh) would be mean or shame their wives into losing weight after having a baby. Now I could see Jeremy making certain Jinger knows he expects her to look xyz way after birth. I don’t think he’d be mean about it but her keeping weight off would be important to him. 

As far as the bolded, IMO it would be controlling and also cruel to a certain extent.  That could be very damaging to someone's state of mind.

[Scarlett45]

3 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

As far as the bolded, IMO it would be controlling and also cruel to a certain extent.  That could be very damaging to someone's state of mind.

Yes that’s true. 

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, Tikichick said:

So Jessa has given birth to Ivy, Kendra and Lauren are expecting and Abby either isn't pregnant yet or very definitely not showing at this point?  That means Joy would have been expecting in the time period and not been in the photo?   Seems very offbrand for the family, and the show.  Not saying I disagree with you, simply said because that is exactly why I struggled to put a timeframe on the photo.

It could have been around the time of her miscarriage. 

[Churchhoney]

12 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Yes, offbrand for them not to display so-called baby bumps loudly and proudly since that is the sum and substance of their claim to fame.

 

Gotcha. .... Makes sense. Of course, maybe she was just sick or the car broke down on the way to the photo shoot or something.

On the other hand, I wonder if TLC maybe thinks that putting something slightly mysterious or seemingly off in various promos is their best bet to raise interest in their show about these super-boring people?!.....

[Zella]

I don't think Jeremy considers himself mean to Jinger. I doubt he ever raises his voice at her or does anything verbally abusive, but I think the way he treats her in those lives where she's constantly corrected is cruel and assholish and is reflective of how he is when the cameras are off. It wouldn't surprise me if she's developed a pretty bad complex about herself because of Mr. Glamour. 

[Whyyouneedaname]

On the promo for the next episode, was it Justin that everybody was all like "Justin is joining in for video chat" with more excitement than I thought needed but I digress. Then said person says "hey guys I have an announcement" Is he the one everyone thinks is courting Kendra's sister? 

 

edit to add: never mind I see this is being discussed on the other page 😉

Edited September 16, 2020 by Whyyouneedaname

[Tikichick]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

I don't think Jeremy considers himself mean to Jinger. I doubt he ever raises his voice at her or does anything verbally abusive, but I think the way he treats her in those lives where she's constantly corrected is cruel and assholish and is reflective of how he is when the cameras are off. It wouldn't surprise me if she's developed a pretty bad complex about herself because of Mr. Glamour. 

Because of my job things like this are a trigger for me and set me off.   Monsters in domestic violence cases think they're misunderstood and not responsible for the trauma they cause.  Pedophiles cannot understand the idea that their actions are wrong either.   In their minds there is always a justifiable and far from nefarious reason they were compelled by others to act as they did.  The idea that someone like Jeremy is completely disconnected and unaware of how his critiques and criticisms land on Jinger, his wife, the mother of his children and the woman he's made a vow before God to love and cherish sets my teeth on edge. 

[sATL]

18 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Someone asked about Joy, since she’s not in the picture. Jessa’s reply:

and Jinger flew in for a photo , or did they crop her in somehow?  Ladies - please loose the jean jackets - getting a flashback of kelli bates

Lauren picked up weight in the middle. Kendra's top is a style that is too old for her - it doesn't match her bubbly personality.. Nice skirt Jessa  - still buying used and saving the difference ?

Speaking of Kenda - her hair was 100% gorgeous during her TH. the highlight's really made her look good,

Edited September 16, 2020 by sATL

[zenme]

3 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I don’t think any of the Duggar boys (outside of Josh) would be mean or shame their wives into losing weight after having a baby. Now I could see Jeremy making certain Jinger knows he expects her to look xyz way after birth. I don’t think he’d be mean about it but her keeping weight off would be important to him. 

I could totally see him doing that, and I can see how Jinger would wish to maintain her figure with Jeremy sharing with her his temptations of other women.

[sATL]

Anyone make a batch of  the "lactation cookies" ?  😁

the cutaway to the recipe card they showed didn't have all of what Kendra said.

Here's a version I found via google :https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232191/lactation-cookies/

[sigmaforce86]

The babies and little kids continue to be the best parts of this show.  Ivy has the biggest eyes and getting them set up on the couch watching the younger ones tip over was pretty cute and funny.  

 

Jim Bob building the greenhouse:  You missed me guys

Kids externally:  Oh, sorry Dad, ha ha

Kids internally:  Damn maybe if we drop a hammer from above.  Keep trying.

 

[sATL]

what did Jana do in Knoxville besides go to a wood-working class and get her hair done ? Did I hear 4 days ?

everyone is different -but its no way I could get a major service to my hair w/o meeting the stylist/shop and getting a minor service done first.

who is the lady in the hat?

Edited September 16, 2020 by sATL

[Barb23]

18 hours ago, MonicaM said:

That photo hurts my eyes.  It's not a flattering picture of any of them.  Even Jinger looks as if she grabbed the first two items of clothing she saw at the thrift shop.  The background color clashes with their clothing choices and even with the color of the lighter shades of hair.  Whoever decided to go with this picture either has absolutely no eye for what looks good, or enjoys making the Duggar clan look terrible.

Joy was smart to miss this photo session!!

My mother has a very similar pleated skirt that Jessa is wearing.  One of her favorites, she loved pleats. And she wore it much better with a nice blouse and/or blazer not a jean jacket.

17 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Anna's in the episode. 

Oops, wrong quote.^^

Meant to quote  about the sweater Anna was wearing. If it's the one she wore at the girl's party at Jessa's, it was just horrid. It looked like her boobs were out of sync. IIRC,  the color was bland as usual.

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Barb23

[Bridget]

4 hours ago, Nofo mom said:

When I was watching, I noticed that Michelle was speaking about how Jana would marry when she met the right "guy", but before she said guy, she pursed her lips to make the P sound, and she was going to say person.  She corrected herself, because they dont want Jana marrying a person- it has to be a guy.  

I caught that too, but my takeaway was that Michelle almost said "partner", which is a term that many same sex couples use when they are in a serious relationship with another unmarried person. 

Can you imagine the HORROR among their community if the word "parter" had been used?!

[emmawoodhouse]

37 minutes ago, sATL said:

what did Jana do in Knoxville besides go to a wood-working class and get her hair done ? Did I hear 4 days ?

everyone is different -but its no way I could get a major service to my hair w/o meeting the stylist/shop and getting a minor service done first.

who is the lady in the hat?

Laura is in the hat. 

I know that Jana spent time visiting various Bateses while in Knoxville, which obviously couldn't be shown. 

[sATL]

23 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Laura is in the hat. 

I know that Jana spent time visiting various Bateses while in Knoxville, which obviously couldn't be shown. 

? - I missed a great backstory somewhere, as I thought Laura was back in  ATL? - a few years ago , doing what life has called her to do.  Let me take a peek at the other threads.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, sATL said:

? - I missed a great backstory somewhere, as I thought Laura was back in  ATL? - a few years ago , doing what life has called her to do.  Let me take a peek at the other threads.

That Atlanta thing seemed to last only a few months, even though when she initially wrote about it she seemed to think it was a permanent change.

By six months later, there were already pictures of her back in the TTH, and I've never seen a word again in her social media about the job that she was supposedly going to be having. I suppose she still does do some contract work, but the only work I've heard of her doing in the past couple years is for ATI/ IBLP. And she seems to have been living with the Duggs pretty much all the time again. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Lunera]

8 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Looking at waistlines and trying to calculate when this photo was taken is confusing.  Makes me wonder if Lauren is ready for another announcement?

I'm guessing the shoot happened in February. Jinger visited around that time and TLC released videos in March with them wearing the same outfits. The reason Joy wasn't in the shoot was because she was visibly pregnant but hadn't announced yet.