The Lonely Js Club: James, Jackson & Johannah

[GeeGolly]

I didn't watch but a minute or two of each video, but maybe a Christmas without the chaos of a million folks is actually a nice change for the Duggars.

[MunichNark]

Good grief, I sped-watched Jameses video and it's creepy beyond fuck.

WHAT is that dark windowless shed he lives in? Why does he have machine guns (!?!?) on the wall? He creeps me out. A Redditor claimed he has a cruel streak - I thought this was nonsense but now.........not so sure.

Josie did a dance?? I'm shooketh.

Duggar Christmas is so damn chaotic and joyless. They don't put a single bit of love or thought into it.

 

[Meow Mix]

This gathering did seem subdued to me.  I've been to larger Christmas day gatherings with kids and the kids are always excited and bouncing off the walls.  Also, everyone chips in on the food prep whether helping out in the host kitchen or bringing their own specialties or both.  I loved those times and it was only as quiet as these people were when everyone was eating.

[Bethany]

1 hour ago, Meow Mix said:

I loved those times and it was only as quiet as these people were when everyone was eating.

That was what struck me as well.  I have never been to any Christmas gathering, especially one that included children, that wasn't, at best, organized chaos.  It isn't like they were focused only on a "put the Christ in Christmas" event.  There was a tree, there were presents, there was holiday decor but it sure didn't seem like there was any happiness there.  

[louannems]

Jenni said she made homemade lasagna.  James could have shown us a nice cheesy slice but he only pans over tin-foil wrapped tin disposable pans, looking just like Stouffer’s frozen lasagna.

 I have no problem with Jenny using disposable pans but why not show the actual product, since cooking from scratch is so rare in the Duggar household.

[AstridM]

6 hours ago, MunichNark said:

Good grief, I sped-watched Jameses video and it's creepy beyond fuck.

WHAT is that dark windowless shed he lives in? Why does he have machine guns (!?!?) on the wall? He creeps me out. A Redditor claimed he has a cruel streak - I thought this was nonsense but now.........not so sure.

Josie did a dance?? I'm shooketh.

Duggar Christmas is so damn chaotic and joyless. They don't put a single bit of love or thought into it.

 

From the little I’ve seen/heard of him, he seems incredibly off and creepy.

[Albanyguy]

2 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

there was holiday decor but it sure didn't seem like there was any happiness there. 

Even with the holiday decor, their living room still looks like the lobby of an Econo Lodge.

[SMama]

8 minutes ago, AstridM said:

From the little I’ve seen/heard of him, he seems incredibly off and creepy.

That’s what happens when you are cut off from the only mother you have ever known.

[Westiepeach]

22 minutes ago, louannems said:

Jenni said she made homemade lasagna.  James could have shown us a nice cheesy slice but he only pans over tin-foil wrapped tin disposable pans, looking just like Stouffer’s frozen lasagna.

 I have no problem with Jenny using disposable pans but why not show the actual product, since cooking from scratch is so rare in the Duggar household.

What I noticed was the lasagna pans were propped up on their side instead of laying flat. Wouldn't everything just slide on out?

[SMama]

15 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

What I noticed was the lasagna pans were propped up on their side instead of laying flat. Wouldn't everything just slide on out?

It would if it wasn’t Stouffer’s frozen pizza. I think the homemade comment was sarcasm. James basically complained about the food. First commenting on how the cherry tomatoes had been left out for too long. Then he said the mozzarella sticks were years old. I think he was dissing the food. 

[xwordfanatik]

Poor baby.  I'd tell Sir James to get off his duff and out of his hidey-hole and cook his own damn food.

That display of weaponry on his wall is disturbing and creepy.

[dargosmydaddy]

51 minutes ago, SMama said:

I think the homemade comment was sarcasm.

It was definitely sarcasm. One of them said it came from Sam's Club.

[crazy8s]

 I do think Sam's Club/Stouffer's lasagna would be what Jenny considers Homemade. (the only kind she has ever seen made in her home) They buy it and shove it in the oven = homemade. Wasn't that what was used for the eye-talian dinner for the Vuolo family?

I have long suspected the homemade bread they claim they ate was those frozen loaves you can get in packs of five. Let rise and bake = homemade bread.

A neighbor of mine told me a story many years ago of saying she would bring homemade cheesecake to some event. Her feelings were a bit hurt when the Jello cheesecake from a box was laughed at as not real cheesecake. She had no idea people actually baked cheesecake with cream cheese and all. Her family had always called the Jello mix thing Homemade Cheesecake.

[SMama]

It's actually good to see some of the 19 no longer keeping sweet. Especially the girls. Their parents' hypocrissy is out there for all to see. Their once prince is now a convicted felon of a heinous crime.  Whatever shine the Duggars had is long gone. I honestly don't understand how JB and M thought they could keep their house of cards from collapsing. They spent their adult lives heaping judgment and hatred towards those who had not harmed them in any way. Now they feel sorry for themselves because the truth is out. I'm sure more will come as other kidults become disillusioned with the way they were lied to.

[Westiepeach]

44 minutes ago, dargosmydaddy said:

It was definitely sarcasm. One of them said it came from Sam's Club.

My bad. I gave them much more undeserved credit. 

[Bethany]

2 hours ago, xwordfanatik said:

Poor baby.  I'd tell Sir James to get off his duff and out of his hidey-hole and cook his own damn food.

 

Yeah, believe me if one of my siblings had the nerve to be snarky about the FREE FOOD they are being served and putting that snarkiness out there for the world to see there would be hell to pay!  Of course this is Duggar land where the boys can do no wrong and the girls are there to wait on them hand and foot so I guess they get away with their public snarkiness.  Grrrrr

[dargosmydaddy]

To be fair, James "dissing" the food came at the end of the video (presumably evening at that point), when the food *had* probably been out all day... He wasn't saying it to his sisters; it was just him and Elijah in the cafeteria kitchen at that point, with the dregs of the leftovers. He wasn't snarky with Jenni and her not-really-homemade lasagna.

Edited December 29, 2022 by dargosmydaddy

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, AstridM said:

From the little I’ve seen/heard of him, he seems incredibly off and creepy.

Yea, there is something about him that gives out really creepy vibes. 

[madpsych78]

3 hours ago, SMama said:

It's actually good to see some of the 19 no longer keeping sweet. Especially the girls. Their parents' hypocrissy is out there for all to see. Their once prince is now a convicted felon of a heinous crime.  Whatever shine the Duggars had is long gone. I honestly don't understand how JB and M thought they could keep their house of cards from collapsing. They spent their adult lives heaping judgment and hatred towards those who had not harmed them in any way. Now they feel sorry for themselves because the truth is out. I'm sure more will come as other kidults become disillusioned with the way they were lied to.

That was my take on James. I found it refreshing that he was not keeping sweet. I'm not sure how much guys in the cult were held to that versus the girls, but at the very least with the Duggars, I could see them being told to keep sweet for the show. All of them, including the guys. It's all about maintaining the Duggar brand, of course. 

I'm seeing many of them say and do things that probably would have been "censored" in a way while they were still on the show. 

 

[YupItsMe]

So, is no one going to mention John’s red suit? And that gorgeous German Shepherd (that also seems to be John’s)? My 2 favorite parts of the video. I ff through all they boy chatter.

That looked like a garden shed from the shape of the ceiling. It is a thing to make small apartments in them but usually they are insulated and finished inside. His looked like the walls were just the original metal painted gray, though the bathroom seemed to be more finished. It must be extremely cold in there with bare metal walls.

[the-grey-lady]

20 hours ago, SMama said:

I honestly don't understand how JB and M thought they could keep their house of cards from collapsing.

They also decided to feature their family on a TV show knowing full well that Josh's crimes against his sisters were on record and could be found by someone determined enough.

What did they think would happen?

[louannems]

20 hours ago, crazy8s said:

 I do think Sam's Club/Stouffer's lasagna would be what Jenny considers Homemade. (the only kind she has ever seen made in her home) They buy it and shove it in the oven = homemade. Wasn't that what was used for the eye-talian dinner for the Vuolo family?

I have long suspected the homemade bread they claim they ate was those frozen loaves you can get in packs of five. Let rise and bake = homemade bread.

A neighbor of mine told me a story many years ago of saying she would bring homemade cheesecake to some event. Her feelings were a bit hurt when the Jello cheesecake from a box was laughed at as not real cheesecake. She had no idea people actually baked cheesecake with cream cheese and all. Her family had always called the Jello mix thing Homemade Cheesecake.

A co-worker excitedly promised to bring “My homemade pudding pie” to a Christmas potluck lunch. She said it was a family favorite. The pie arrived and even she admitted it was boxed pudding dumped in a pre made pie crust and slathered in Cool-Whip!

We only had 5 kids in my childhood family but every single thing was cooked from scratch.  No baking mixes and the only thing in the enormous freezer were loaves of mom’s homemade bread, meat and vegetables.

With so many helping hands at the Duggars, including bigger grandkids, everyone can get involved with grating, chopping, measuring and building lasagna trays. Those kids are home all day, too.  It would give them something to do!  And be good arithmetic skills for quadrupling recipes.

Lasagna is really a simple dish to make, and assuming they would use jarred sauce and pre-grated cheese, quick even. I never even pre boil the noodles.

They grow up with no practical homemaker skills.

[Salacious Kitty]

They have oven-ready noodles now, so that's one less thing they'd have to do. 

[louannems]

3 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

They have oven-ready noodles now, so that's one less thing they'd have to do. 

I just use regular and they always turn out perfectly.

Edited December 29, 2022 by louannems

[GeeGolly]

My grandmother once slightly nagged my mom because she baking a cake using a box mix. My mom looked her in the face and said, why should I do the extra work when Betty Crocker has it all ready for me?. 

Frozen lasagna, eh, whatever, at least its not tan canned cream of crap.

[Salacious Kitty]

8 minutes ago, louannems said:

I just use regular and they always turn out perfect.

Eh, I don't have a dishwasher, and it's one less pot to wash. I'm a convert. 😀

[Jynnan tonnix]

22 hours ago, crazy8s said:

 I do think Sam's Club/Stouffer's lasagna would be what Jenny considers Homemade. (the only kind she has ever seen made in her home) They buy it and shove it in the oven = homemade. Wasn't that what was used for the eye-talian dinner for the Vuolo family?

I have long suspected the homemade bread they claim they ate was those frozen loaves you can get in packs of five. Let rise and bake = homemade bread.

A neighbor of mine told me a story many years ago of saying she would bring homemade cheesecake to some event. Her feelings were a bit hurt when the Jello cheesecake from a box was laughed at as not real cheesecake. She had no idea people actually baked cheesecake with cream cheese and all. Her family had always called the Jello mix thing Homemade Cheesecake.

And the thing is, that once you know a few basics, homemade cheesecake is a very easy thing to make. Though I cook mostly without recipes, I almost always have a cookbook open for baking, but I can do a cheesecake practically blindfolded. A water bath is the most "fancy" thing in the whole process, and is not even really necessary to get a tasty cheesecake. It just makes the results a bit more reliably pretty. My go-to version of cheesecake includes white chocolate and Bailey's Irish Cream.

[sagittarius sue]

52 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

My grandmother once slightly nagged my mom because she baking a cake using a box mix. My mom looked her in the face and said, why should I do the extra work when Betty Crocker has it all ready for me?. 

Frozen lasagna, eh, whatever, at least its not tan canned cream of crap.

I recently checked out a recipe for a banana pudding cake and it sounded yummy.  It should be yummy, homemade cake, homemade vanilla pudding, and homemade whipped cream.  I might be tempted to make it but I'd zhuzh up a white cake mix, use a packet of regular pudding, with homemade whipped cream.  Of course it also includes bananas inside the cake, and on top of the whipped cream with crumbled vanilla wafers.

Edited December 29, 2022 by sagittarius sue

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Eh, I don't have a dishwasher, and it's one less pot to wash. I'm a convert. 😀

I’ve used regular and never boiled them.

[ChristmasCandy]

2 hours ago, the-grey-lady said:

They also decided to feature their family on a TV show knowing full well that Josh's crimes against his sisters were on record and could be found by someone determined enough.

What did they think would happen?

Do you really believe that that family was smart enough to realize that by putting their wonderful family who never did anything wrong that their secrets would never come to light?

[the-grey-lady]

2 minutes ago, ChristmasCandy said:

Do you really believe that that family was smart enough to realize that by putting their wonderful family who never did anything wrong that their secrets would never come to light?

Well, when you put it that way... 😉

[Bethany]

I absolutely have no problem with store bought and easily prepared stuff.  Use a lot of it myself.  But I don't call it homemade if it isn't!  That said I also completely agree with a family this large and with so many of them with nothing to do all day it's amazing to me that they don't make meal prep part of their home schooling routine.  They'd be doing the kids a favour.  But I guess they can't teach them what they don't know.  Pretty sad.  

[sagittarius sue]

3 hours ago, the-grey-lady said:

They also decided to feature their family on a TV show knowing full well that Josh's crimes against his sisters were on record and could be found by someone determined enough.

What did they think would happen?

I think they felt that as a juvenile all records on Josh's crimes would be sealed, and they probably would have if the family had handled it appropriately at the time, adjudication made with the judge sealing the records.  However, only a police report was made later, available through an FOIA request, no judge sealing the record so the news came out.

[libgirl2]

I buy frozen lasagna noodles that already have cheese in them. Top them with the sauce of  my choice and pop it in the oven. I do not think of it as homemade though. I'm a lazy cook. I find it tedious.

You would think with all those kids that someone would have a talent and a love for cooking? I'm not saying be taught from Michelle but learn how to cook or have an innate ability to cook. My mom never had to cook until after she married my dad. She was awful at first, but she had a talent for it and was a wonderful cook. 

[the-grey-lady]

2 minutes ago, sagittarius sue said:

I think they felt that as a juvenile all records on Josh's crimes would be sealed, and they probably would have if the family had handled it appropriately at the time, adjudication made with the judge sealing the records.  However, only a police report was made later, available through an FOIA request, no judge sealing the record so the news came out.

Very good point, thanks!

[Notabug]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

My grandmother once slightly nagged my mom because she baking a cake using a box mix. My mom looked her in the face and said, why should I do the extra work when Betty Crocker has it all ready for me?. 

Frozen lasagna, eh, whatever, at least its not tan canned cream of crap.

My paternal grandmother's family, who came from Austria, owned a confectionary here.  Everything, including candy and ice cream, from scratch.  Most of my memories of my grandmother are of her in her kitchen, in an apron, rolling out the dough to make potica (poh TEET za) or nut roll.  So good.

All of my paternal aunts were amazing bakers, too.  They made everything from scratch and never looked at a recipe although a couple of them were kind enough to write some stuff down for us so we could keep the tradition going.  Once specialized in cakes and pies and the other loved baking with yeast and made delicious coffee cakes and such as well as bread and dinner rolls.

One of my aunts was an expert at taking a boxed cake mix and adding various fresh ingredients and coming up with a really special dessert.  It wasn't hard and it was delicious.

I feel sorry for the Duggar kids that no one bothered to show them just how good food made from scratch can be and how fun it can be to make it.

[CalicoKitty]

I am so envious reading these posts about home cooking.  My dad's mother was a HORRIBLE cook, my mother's family only cooked to feed the family.  My mother never went out of her way to cook.  We always had frozen or canned vegetables--except for ice berg lettuce--and very quick, easy-to-cook meals.  My brother and I were talking about this recently.  We do not have any really good food memories with the exception of ham loaf.  We do remember eating a lot of TV dinners, however.  It was not a lack of food availability or cost, our family on both sides just did not cook well.  (We were happy we didn't have to eat our grandmother's cooking very often).  I do not really cook for myself.  I do make stew occasionally, but I eat easy to fix food--but real food and not a lot of packaged things.  Food just isn't important to me, and I have no special food memories.  I do really enjoy eating at nice restaurants, but a baked potato and a salad is a good enough meal for me at home.  I bake chicken breasts and pork chops.  I can cook, just not well, and I see no reason to make a mess in the kitchen.

 

[sagittarius sue]

8 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

ice berg lettuce

Has been unfairly denigrated in recent years.  I get tired of limper greens and occasionally crave the crisp, cold salad with iceberg lettuce.  Cooks on FOOD Channel shows have even spoken in favor of it.

[Salacious Kitty]

1 hour ago, CalicoKitty said:

I am so envious reading these posts about home cooking.  My dad's mother was a HORRIBLE cook, my mother's family only cooked to feed the family.  My mother never went out of her way to cook.  We always had frozen or canned vegetables--except for ice berg lettuce--and very quick, easy-to-cook meals.  My brother and I were talking about this recently.  We do not have any really good food memories with the exception of ham loaf.  We do remember eating a lot of TV dinners, however.  It was not a lack of food availability or cost, our family on both sides just did not cook well.  (We were happy we didn't have to eat our grandmother's cooking very often).  I do not really cook for myself.  I do make stew occasionally, but I eat easy to fix food--but real food and not a lot of packaged things.  Food just isn't important to me, and I have no special food memories.  I do really enjoy eating at nice restaurants, but a baked potato and a salad is a good enough meal for me at home.  I bake chicken breasts and pork chops.  I can cook, just not well, and I see no reason to make a mess in the kitchen.

 

I could have written this post. 

[SMama]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

 

You would think with all those kids that someone would have a talent and a love for cooking? I'm not saying be taught from Michelle but learn how to cook or have an innate ability to cook.
 

My mom never had to cook until after she married my dad. She was awful at first, but she had a talent for it and was a wonderful cook. 

That’s an excellent observation. Statistically the Duggar 19 are a wonder but not for the reason JB and Michelle think. How in the world did they manage to produce 19 duds?

Erin Bates could not cook at all when she got married. So she decided to learn. I have not seen videos of her cooking but she seems to be a very good baker. The girl even has two Kitchen Aid mixers. She taught either Warden or Jackson to bake.

Z&W took and cooking class with E&C for an episode. Zach got the cooking bug and has been cooking since. He made beef Wellington recently.

The inability of the Duggar bots to be curious about anything other than Jesus talk is astounding.

 

[Salacious Kitty]

I don't think they're even curious about Jesus talk. Their training teaches them to believe what they're told and to question nothing. Jinger only questioned because of Jeremy. Otherwise, she'd be a Gothardbot like the rest of them.

[Jynnan tonnix]

53 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I don't think they're even curious about Jesus talk. Their training teaches them to believe what they're told and to question nothing. Jinger only questioned because of Jeremy. Otherwise, she'd be a Gothardbot like the rest of them.

I have to wonder what their version of "faith" really feels like to them. It always seems strange to me (though I may have the cast of characters wrong) that it was, I think, Joy, of all people (since she doesn't strike me as the brightest bulb in the box) felt as though she was having a crisis of faith, and I think she said it was Josiah, of all people (since he was one who seemed to have a touch of spirit to him), who put her back on the straight an narrow. How does that even work? Was her questioning of faith something more akin to simply not having the ambition to put a lot into it, or did she actually have questions? I wish I knew how their minds worked.

[SMama]

2 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

I have to wonder what their version of "faith" really feels like to them. It always seems strange to me (though I may have the cast of characters wrong) that it was, I think, Joy, of all people (since she doesn't strike me as the brightest bulb in the box) felt as though she was having a crisis of faith, and I think she said it was Josiah, of all people (since he was one who seemed to have a touch of spirit to him), who put her back on the straight an narrow. How does that even work? Was her questioning of faith something more akin to simply not having the ambition to put a lot into it, or did she actually have questions? I wish I knew how their minds worked.

You have Joy right but she credited Joe helping her.

[ChristmasCandy]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I could have written this post. 

You are not the only one who could of written the post

 My mom's was a very bad cook we didn't have to be called to dinner we just listened for the smoke alarm to go off.

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I could have written this post. 

As could I. It's nice to hear how many of our fellow snarkers came from families who were great "from scratch" cooks. My mother I guess cooked from scratch but she didn't like any of the food she made under duress for us so it lacked a lot including presentation. She opened a can of vegetables, drained them and put the can on the table. We had access to food of good quality. She just didn't mess with it. Not interested. 

[Zella]

People in my family tend to be either magnificent from scratch cooks (both of my grandmothers, my dad, and one of my half-brothers) or they can't boil water without fucking it up (my mom). LOLOL I still am haunted by the holiday meal my mom made when I was 8. I have no idea what it was supposed to be other than it was an Emeril recipe. Bam. But someone else brought a lasagna, and we all just ate that quietly without comment. 

I didn't really start cooking until I was in my mid-20s and really enjoy it now (and would like to think I'm pretty good at it), but I'm not going to slight someone for using convenience items. I certainly use them at times. I don't when I make lasagna, but I also tend to only make the lasagna for special occasions because of the amount of time required. And because of washing all the dishes. 😂

I would judge the Duggars differently if they weren't so smug or if they seemed to actually do something constructive with their days. 

[satrunrose]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

I would judge the Duggars differently if they weren't so smug or if they seemed to actually do something constructive with their days. 

Agreed! I always feel a little off criticizing the Duggars' (and Rods' and Bateses') lack of housekeeping skills because I hate reinforcing the idea that this is the girls' jurisdiction 'cause Jesus or something. I'm also just a meat and potatoes cook and I'm not above using mixes etc, so who am I to judge? On the other hand, I can't help thinking that if cooking, cleaning and raising (sooooo many) babies are the only thing they're allowed to do with their life and they have a Mahmo dearest whose only job is to teach them how to be a "good wife and mother" (ugh), why aren't most of them any good at it?

Edited December 30, 2022 by satrunrose

[Zella]

10 minutes ago, satrunrose said:

Agreed! I always feel a little off criticizing the Duggars' (and Rods' and Bateses') lack of housekeeping skills because I hate reinforcing the idea that this is the girls' jurisdiction 'cause Jesus or something. I'm also just a meat and potatoes cook and I'm not above using mixes etc, so who am I to judge? On the other hand, I can't help thinking that if cooking, cleaning and raising (sooooo many) babies are the only thing they're allowed to do with their life and they have a Mahmo dearest whose only job is to teach them how to be a "good wife and mother" (ugh), why aren't most of them any good at it?

I agree! I sometimes have mixed feelings when we tear into the women about their housekeeping because their spouses can and should pitch in and share responsibility for the filth and chaos we've seen. I firmly believe everyone should know basic cooking and cleaning and laundry stuff. That's just basic adulting skills.

But at the same time, they're the ones harping on and on about these divisions of labor and preening over how superior they are for their beliefs, so it's also a matter of holding them accountable to their own weird rules. Y'all have one job, and you can't even do that right. 

[CalicoKitty]

4 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I could have written this post. 

It's nice to know I am not alone.

[Dehumidifier]

13 hours ago, sagittarius sue said:

Has been unfairly denigrated in recent years.  I get tired of limper greens and occasionally crave the crisp, cold salad with iceberg lettuce.  Cooks on FOOD Channel shows have even spoken in favor of it.

In September, episode 15-4 of Cook's Country on PBS featured Tater Tot Hotdish. It was explained as having been developed during the Great Depression as a way of stretching the food budget. Hosts Julia and Bridget loved it.

https://www.wskg.org/episodes/2022-09-17/cooks-country-tater-tot-hotdish-ep-1504