S11.E11: Jana's Secret Garden

[Absolom]

Ratings are in:  1.210 M viewers and a .24 rating.  18th cable show of the day.

They're going to be with us awhile longer.  

[babyhouseman]

It was amusing Jessa was talking about how close these girls were going to be and then Ivy bonks a smaller one on the head. 

[emmawoodhouse]

I guess the stupid lemmings thought there would be a courtship announcement. I can't think of any other reason for the jump in ratings.

[graefin]

Someone should really gift Laura with a pair of leggings since she seems adamant on the pants-with-dresses combo. The jeans she's so fond of look ridic here.

Edited September 16, 2020 by graefin

[Fostersmom]

3 hours ago, Lunera said:

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.

I might be imagining this, but didn't Joy and Austin say they were not going to be on the show as much before this season started? 

[Zella]

1 hour ago, Fostersmom said:

I might be imagining this, but didn't Joy and Austin say they were not going to be on the show as much before this season started? 

I don't think they ever said that. Derick claimed it, but he is also a known liar/exaggerator. Jessa also claimed that they were still on the show, but she is also a known liar/exaggerator. As far as I know, neither Austin nor Joy (nor TLC) has said anything one way or the other. I see no indication they are leaving the show. 

[emmawoodhouse]

I'm pretty sure that Joy said on IG that they would still be on the show, but only for major events. What that means for their own storyline of Evy's pregnancy is anyone's best guess.

Edited September 17, 2020 by emmawoodhouse

[Zella]

5 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I'm pretty sutJoy said on IG that they would still be on the show, but only for major events. What that means for their own storyline of Evy's pregnancy is anyone's best guess.

Oh that's interesting! When did they say that? 

[emmawoodhouse]

A couple months ago? It's been a while, but it was after the current season began.

[Nysha]

The clothes Jessa, Abby, and Lauren are wearing in the promo picture are more appropriate as church clothes for 45-year-old women from around 1998 to 2002. Kendra, Jinger, and Jana would be married women in their late 20s straddling the line between young adults and new parents.

It's not that I expect them to dress matchy-matchy, but some sense of cohesiveness would be nice. They all clash with each other, except for Jana and she's so beige.

[lafcolleen]

14 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.  

perhaps she started to say the word penis not person before she caught herself.

[JAYJAY1979]

Jana always volunteering to go on trips with her siblings as am 'extra pair of hands'...I see you girl...you're wanting a vacation from the compound.

She seemed happier talking  about her new business, what she will sell, learning to wood work, and loving to travel...and even she said 'there is more to talk about than marriage lol'.

Since she's doing these new ventures, etc while all the other women are talking babies...it's no wonder why her Instagram has her doing projects with her brothers since she has more in common with them than with her sisters.

Michelle seems more supportive of Jana than JB..imho.

Also, the Jana centric episode had a good viewership...hmmm.

Edited September 17, 2020 by JAYJAY1979

[GeeGolly]

JB's bobble head when Michelle is talking is beyond annoying.

Spurgie was shown sitting at the coffee table with a plate of cut up steak, so his talking head is a bit confusing.

Something that annoys me with every reality show, including home improvement ones, is their fake pressure for time. I'm also guessing greenhouses are made with tempered glass, which isn't as delicate as regular glass. Not that it can't break, but the glass certainly isn't as fragile as the were making it out to be.

Did I miss the reason they went to TN? You wouldn't catch me doing a "3 - 5 hour" plane ride to do a craft and get my hair done. Especially not in a prop plane.

I liked Jana calling her family out on the marrieds and unmarrieds not being more inclusive. And did anyone else noticed her bit of embarrassment saying the family rarely gets together one on one and is always in groups?

[sATL]

9 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

JB's bobble head when Michelle is talking is beyond annoying.

Spurgie was shown sitting at the coffee table with a plate of cut up steak, so his talking head is a bit confusing.

Something that annoys me with every reality show, including home improvement ones, is their fake pressure for time. I'm also guessing greenhouses are made with tempered glass, which isn't as delicate as regular glass. Not that it can't break, but the glass certainly isn't as fragile as the were making it out to be.

Did I miss the reason they went to TN? You wouldn't catch me doing a "3 - 5 hour" plane ride to do a craft and get my hair done. Especially not in a prop plane.

I liked Jana calling her family out on the marrieds and unmarrieds not being more inclusive. And did anyone else noticed her bit of embarrassment saying the family rarely gets together one on one and is always in groups?

ITA.

And wasn't there a contractor or two there ? I thought I saw at least 2 adults that I have never seen. If so, they probably knew what to do when and most the Duggar men, really just got in the way.

I had mixed feelings about the gift itself.  I  know that sounds strange but will try to explain. Yes - Jana lives there, and loves to garden (probably out of boredom/loneliness)   , why get a gift that is fixed upon the homestead? She can't take it with her, unless another slab of concrete is poured elsewhere and the greenhouse kit is taken down and put back up again.

And she played it too kool-for-school walking though the house, in the middle of the day, and no one was inside. I would think it would freaked her out.

[floridamom]

I believe one of those contractors was the same person who 'assisted' them in building the TTH some years ago. Did anyone else recognize the name when it came on the screen? I did. Yes, the Duggar 'men' put that together all by themselves. How stupid do they think we are?

[emmawoodhouse]

One of the men was identified by Boob as "Dwayne." I wonder if it was Dwain Swanson? I didn't bother to get a good look at any of the non–Duggar helpers.

[absnow54]

2 hours ago, floridamom said:

Yes, the Duggar 'men' put that together all by themselves. How stupid do they think we are?

In their defense, it looked to be a kit, and they were even using the directions to put it together. 

[GeeGolly]

19 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

In their defense, it looked to be a kit, and they were even using the directions to put it together. 

They were using a kit. I was a bit surprised when they were drilling a hole. I'm wondering if the drilling was just for show.

[Tdoc72]

On 9/17/2020 at 5:39 AM, GeeGolly said:

JB's bobble head when Michelle is talking is beyond annoying..

Did I miss the reason they went to TN? You wouldn't catch me doing a "3 - 5 hour" plane ride to do a craft and get my hair done. Especially not in a prop plane.

Michelle’s nodding while the producer asks a question is annoying too. 

They went away for 4 days. So all the flying wasn’t in one day. 

[graefin]

On 9/17/2020 at 6:50 PM, emmawoodhouse said:

One of the men was identified by Boob as "Dwayne." I wonder if it was Dwain Swanson? I didn't bother to get a good look at any of the non–Duggar helpers.

Andregg, who is a professional contractor.

[WhyAmIHere]

The only positive thing about this episode was that Ivy appears to be "anti-bow."  She was trying to take her own bow off and the bows off the others babies' heads.  When she's acting as mom for her future siblings, maybe she won't slap bows on their heads.   Personally, I don't think bows make babies look cuter.  They're distracting and look like they would annoy the baby. 

[BigBingerBro]

Didn't they throw together a half-assed plastic greenhouse years ago in the "and Counting" days?  I seem to recall them growing tomatoes in it.  In a subsequent season it appeared dilapitated and neglected.  

They should at least give Jana the Grandma/Laundry suite on the first floor.  Does anyone know if that space is occupied by anyone these days?

[crazy8s]

I thought I remembered that as well - maybe around the time they planted those scraggly fruit trees. I can not find that episode but i did find this one. Jason was just a smug as Josh and Josiah as a child. Also what the hell, they used to have people that came and weeded that pathetic garden?

eta found it

1572"Duggar Weight Loss Challenge"April 9, 20131.09[61]

Jim Bob and Josh start a 90-day weight-loss competition. Jason and his brothers build a greenhouse.

 

Edited September 19, 2020 by crazy8s

[Genevrier]

If Jana really wants to start a business, she ought to take some business classes online or maybe eventually at the local college. I’m sure JB thinks he can teach her everything she needs to know, or more likely just try to take over, but she really should learn about things herself. Her name will be on it. I wonder if she’d be allowed to take a class on her own or if Jim Boob would go with her every week, lol. Maybe online would be better.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, crazy8s said:

 

 

I'm sorry. There are 36,000 people in their house, and "friends" had to come over and tend "gardens" that are about five feet by five feet? And these kids were so damn entitled they talked as if somehow it was an imposition on them to have to tend their own damn gardens?

It's unlikely they'd sound this ridiculously entitled if their parents hadn't modeled massive entitlement for them, seems to me.

Also, Jason or whoever you are, the little box of dirt inside four two by fours is not a garden, since, as you noted, it doesn't have anything in it! It's a patch of untended, stupid-looking, useless unproductive dirt. ....And now that I type that, I think maybe your ridiculous clan should use that box of dirt as the family crest.

Edited September 19, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

And now that I type that, I think maybe your ridiculous clan should use that box of dirt as the family crest.

Bahahahahaha yes! Combined with the family motto: "We do things different."

[BigBingerBro]

25 minutes ago, Genevrier said:

If Jana really wants to start a business, she ought to take some business classes online or maybe eventually at the local college.

The fact of the matter is that aside from Real Estate flipping and investment, any other business the Duggars want to break into will require them to venture outside of their Cult-Bubble, something they fail at terribly.  I find it very hard to beleive that the carlot ever turned a profit.  They might make a few buck teaching other fudies to fly planes for Jesus.  So whatever Jana is planning is most likely going to be an expensive hobby.

[GeeGolly]

Is Jana going to go full out like the Sister Wives online jewelry store, or is she going to do an Etsy shop?  Jana seems to be a Joanna Gaines wannabe. She does have some home reno talent, but her aesthetic is all borrowed.   

[Chicklet]

Fans might view Jana's wares, should she ever have an online presence, but Joanna does EVERYTHING already so why recreate what's already being done and done well. I don't agree with the Gaines religious beliefs (going by what church they go to) but you can't argue with their home decorating and entrepreunurial energy. I think Joanna will always have a much bigger success than Jana.

And considering the Duggar "companies" it doesn't bode well for Jana's future. They lose interest fast and give up on everything. Mediocre is us is not a great motto.

Edited September 20, 2020 by Chicklet
Typoing as Jill R might have hurt my brain, forgive any typos.

[the-grey-lady]

Damn, this episode was depressing.

I really felt for Jana when she laughed uncomfortably about questions about her love life, because "there are other things to talk about."

Like what, Jana?

Your college classes? Your road trips with friends? Your hobbies and interests? The books you're reading? Your dreams for the future? The trajectory of your career? The little apartment you're sharing with a roommate as you move out on your own?

[sATL]

15 minutes ago, the-grey-lady said:

Damn, this episode was depressing.

I really felt for Jana when she laughed uncomfortably about questions about her love life, because "there are other things to talk about."

Like what, Jana?

Your college classes? Your road trips with friends? Your hobbies and interests? The books you're reading? Your dreams for the future? The trajectory of your career? The little apartment you're sharing with a roommate as you move out on your own?

Does their church/faith have a career path  for women similar to a Nun ? 

[Chicklet]

11 minutes ago, sATL said:

Does their church/faith have a career path  for women similar to a Nun ? 

Yes, it's called the "Stay-at-home daughter".  Only without a habit and they wear flip flops.

[lascuba]

25 minutes ago, sATL said:

Does their church/faith have a career path  for women similar to a Nun ? 

Even many nuns these days are highly educated and actually work in some capacity. They're not just sitting in the convent doing pet projects to keep busy.

[emmawoodhouse]

35 minutes ago, lascuba said:

Even many nuns these days are highly educated and actually work in some capacity. They're not just sitting in the convent doing pet projects to keep busy.

My aunt who was a nun was a cosmetologist. A REAL one, JillRod. 

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, the-grey-lady said:

Damn, this episode was depressing.

I really felt for Jana when she laughed uncomfortably about questions about her love life, because "there are other things to talk about."

 

And now her 17 year-old brother is courting while she's still sharing a room at 30. Talk about a kick in the teeth. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, lascuba said:

Even many nuns these days are highly educated and actually work in some capacity. They're not just sitting in the convent doing pet projects to keep busy.

All nuns have a job of some sort.  Most orders have a specific focus; be it medicine, education or community service and all of the sisters would have college degrees in nursing, education or social work.  Most have Masters' degrees.  There are some 'Stay at Home' nuns who do housekeeping or cooking for the convent, but that is their job and they get the same pay as everyone else.  Then again, many convents hire cooks and cleaning people just like other full time working people do.

I knew a nun who was an OB/GYN.  She joined an order whose mission was education and she taught high school chemistry and physics for years before going to medical school which her order encouraged and paid for.  She worked as a doc and lived in the convent with all the other nuns.  The only concessions to her job were that she had her own phone line and car (a Honda Civic as I recall).  The other nuns living at the convent had to share a phone line and the other cars were owned by the community and they took turns.  Her paycheck went to her order and she received the same pay as the other nuns who lived there.  She was quite a character.  Loved Prince, of all things and one of the highlights of her life was seeing him in concert in Detroit.

Anyway, Jana should be so lucky as to be allowed to become a nun.

[lascuba]

16 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Anyway, Jana should be so lucky as to be allowed to become a nun.

The order that ran my highschool requires at least 1 year of college before allowing someone to become a novitiate. Jana wouldn't even be considered, because even women who dedicate their lives to being religious know there's more to life that being able to quote the Bible.

[doodlebug]

10 minutes ago, lascuba said:

The order that ran my highschool requires at least 1 year of college before allowing someone to become a novitiate. Jana wouldn't even be considered, because even women who dedicate their lives to being religious know there's more to life that being able to quote the Bible.

I think it is pretty common for most orders to not allow novices to take their final vows until they have a college degree.  Priests already have an undergraduate degree when they enter the seminary where they earn their master's as part of their training.  The Catholic Church has pretty consistently believed in education for its clergy in the past couple hundred years.

I have a friend whose sister is a cloistered nun, their whole life revolves around prayer and they don't even speak to one another except at designated times.  Even her order required a college degree.  She actually got a degree and worked for around 10 years before going into the convent..  Due to the vows of silence, she is allowed to speak to her family once a week at a designated time.  When his kids were born, they had to wait until the designated time before they could tell her.  Weirdly enough, she gets vacation every year, and comes home to stay with her family.  While she's there, she dresses in jeans and casual clothes and they make a point of going to sporting events, concerts, movies and restaurants.  Then, back to the convent she goes.

Edited September 27, 2020 by doodlebug

[lookeyloo]

4 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I think it is pretty common for most orders to not allow novices to take their final vows until they have a college degree.  Priests already have an undergraduate degree when they enter the seminary where they earn their master's as part of their training.  The Catholic Church has pretty consistently believed in education for its clergy in the past couple hundred years.

I have a friend whose sister is a cloistered nun, their whole life revolves around prayer and they don't even speak to one another except at designated times.  Even her order required a college degree.  She actually got a degree and worked for around 10 years before going into the convent..  Due to the vows of silence, she is allowed to speak to her family once a week at a designated time.  When his kids were born, they had to wait until the designated time before they could tell her.  Weirdly enough, she gets vacation every year, and comes home to stay with her family.  While she's there, she dresses in jeans and casual clothes and they make a point of going to sporting events, concerts, movies and restaurants.  Then, back to the convent she goes.

I wonder if she is an introvert and the lifestyle suits her?

[doodlebug]

13 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

I wonder if she is an introvert and the lifestyle suits her?

I don't know her personally, but she's been in the convent for almost 30 years at this point, so I presume she likes it.  Nuns don't stay nuns anymore if they don't want to do it.

I cannot picture picture Jana in a courtship, let alone marrying at this point.  I hope I'm mistaken since that is the only way she might distance herself from her parents.

[lookeyloo]

24 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I don't know her personally, but she's been in the convent for almost 30 years at this point, so I presume she likes it.  Nuns don't stay nuns anymore if they don't want to do it.

I cannot picture picture Jana in a courtship, let alone marrying at this point.  I hope I'm mistaken since that is the only way she might distance herself from her parents.

Not everyone wants to be married or in a courtship.  I think if Jana did, she would have found a way by now.  I'm not even speculating about Laura and all that, just maybe Jana likes her life.  And for all we know she has a level of autonomy we don't know about.

[doodlebug]

7 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

Not everyone wants to be married or in a courtship.  I think if Jana did, she would have found a way by now.  I'm not even speculating about Laura and all that, just maybe Jana likes her life.  And for all we know she has a level of autonomy we don't know about.

As someone who was never particularly interested in marriage (courtship was not an option, I am sane); I get that.  But, in Jana's case, that is really her only option in her world if she doesn't want to live with her parents and care for them as well as her siblings, nieces and nephews, for the rest of her life.  Maybe she does prefer indentured servitude and a lifetime of caring for other people's kids to having her own home and family, but it is hard to understand why since she doesn't seem to have much of a life outside the TTH.  

[LynneH]

Seeing as Jana is now 30 and doesn't appear to be interested in marriage and as JB/Michelle are only 25/24 years older than her so it's not like they are going to "pass" anytime soon.  Therefore she could be well into her 50's taking care of her parents as a single woman if she continues to stay with them. 

IF Jana remains unmarried what happens to Jana when they pass? 

Also: will she EVER be allowed to live an actual single life on her own?  I just cannot imagine a woman in her 40s or 50s living with her parents unless they are in need of caretakers due to illness or age>

[Temperance]

I'd actually be surprised if she never marries. Her parents, particularly JB, are going to do their best to get her married.  I hope she only gets married if she wants to. 

[GeeGolly]

12 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Not everyone wants to be married or in a courtship.  I think if Jana did, she would have found a way by now.  I'm not even speculating about Laura and all that, just maybe Jana likes her life.  And for all we know she has a level of autonomy we don't know about.

I agree. And if we compare Jana's life to 'real life', she's closer to doing real life than her siblings. Maybe she doesn't want marriage or maybe she wants to wait. Its not like she's sitting home all day, every day, baking bread, perming her hair and washing clothes. Jana appears to have a pretty active life, even more so by Fundy standards. 

Remaining single is not a bad thing. And getting married and having kids in your 30s is typical these days. At least in my neck of the woods.

[MargeGunderson]

11 hours ago, LynneH said:

Seeing as Jana is now 30 and doesn't appear to be interested in marriage and as JB/Michelle are only 25/24 years older than her so it's not like they are going to "pass" anytime soon.  Therefore she could be well into her 50's taking care of her parents as a single woman if she continues to stay with them. 

IF Jana remains unmarried what happens to Jana when they pass? 

Also: will she EVER be allowed to live an actual single life on her own?  I just cannot imagine a woman in her 40s or 50s living with her parents unless they are in need of caretakers due to illness or age>

Jana will be the spinster aunt, living with and nannying for one of her siblings, a la English literature.  

[EAG46]

Never mind Nancy Friday's classic book on women's sexuality.  I doubt any Duggar has read the children's classic book "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Considering it's about how hard work and being kind to others can change people's lives, that doesn't seem likely.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Garden

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I agree. And if we compare Jana's life to 'real life', she's closer to doing real life than her siblings. Maybe she doesn't want marriage or maybe she wants to wait. Its not like she's sitting home all day, every day, baking bread, perming her hair and washing clothes. Jana appears to have a pretty active life, even more so by Fundy standards. 

Remaining single is not a bad thing. And getting married and having kids in your 30s is typical these days. At least in my neck of the woods.

And she has less chance of having kids in the double digits. 

[rue721]

I'm an unmarried woman in my 30s, and in mainstream 2020 America, it's not a strange or sad thing! But my life also looks nothing at all like Jana's.

If all I had to look forward to was basically being Dobby for the rest of my life, but with a few extra hobbies and maybe a pet...I don't know, to me that seems pretty bleak.

I don't know if getting married and/or having kids would be less bleak for her? But at least it would be different. At least there would be the HOPE of things ever changing for the better, if at least they're changing.

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, rue721 said:

being Dobby for the rest of my life

I wish I could like this more than once.