Some Items of Business and a Downton Abbey Spoiler Alert

Two items of business and then some major Downton Abbey spoilers. When you see *Spoiler*Spoiler*Spoiler,* you'll consider yourself warned, right? Oh good.

First of all, this week is the Note Card Party. I know. So soon! There's a new button, if you'd like to have it; otherwise, carry on as usual. Both buttons can be found at the page you find when clicking for details. Either button is fine with me — whatever fits your decor. Thank you for displaying it (presuming that you do). I appreciate it so much. Seems as if our little Note Card Party is in decline so we'll see how it goes and play it by ear. There are new things coming along in Blogdom all the time that may be of more interest.

Like the new thing going on at Donna's. She is hosting a photo challenge *here.* She will not be holding your hand (mine neither apparently), though she will be providing links where we can learn a few tips. The first photo challenge is...well, you just run over there and find out! This could prove interesting. I may learn something in spite of myself.

*Spoiler Alert*Spoiler Alert*Spoiler Alert* 

So there we were watching Downton Abbey last night with part of the storyline taking place near Iverness, Scotland (Scottish Highlands, up in the glen, very pretty place).

Oops...wrong show!

There was a lot of walking about in the countryside and the gardens...

Violet Crawley and her niece Susan married to Shrimpie, parents of Rose

Am I far enough down here yet? I certainly hope so because I'm about to blow...

They killed him? Are you kidding me?! First they kill Sybil in an extremely cruel way and now Matthew? Oh there was a lot of foreshadowing, many hints of things to come.

Okay, perhaps not that bad...

Allow me to back track a bit. Just when I might have supposed that Matthew and Mary's love story is the major one of Downton Abbey, I realized all over again

that theirs is not the major love story after all. It is this love story that holds the fibers together:

And so help me, if they mess with that love story much more I am really going to be upset. Consider yourselves warned, Downton Abbey people. (Julian Fellowes, this means you!)

Last night, there was a whole lot of "coupling" going on. Even Mrs. Patmore was in on it. Thank goodness she listens to her dear friend Mrs. Hughes.

Let's see, we had...

Doctor Clarkson and Isobel Crawley. I love the acting...doesn't she have the perfect pleasant and perplexed look going on? (Not only that, I loved the color of those walls.)

Tom and Edna and, thank you, Carson and Mrs. Hughes, for calling it correctly. That little Edna had to go. Phew! I just love Mrs. Hughes' wisdom: "Tom, she tried to make you ashamed of who you've become."

Mr. Bates and Anna shared an idyllic picnic in Scotland. Lovely to see them together and I only hope that the scene with little Rose is not any kind of foreshadowing whatsoever. Do you hear me, Downton Abbey people?

(I did like the way Rose's dress matched the tree.)

Then we had Edith and Michael (the married man) and, sadly, Edith has slipped her moorings telling him that they will have many more evenings together. Ackkk....

And wouldn't I just love to see Carson and Mrs. Hughes finally realize that they care deeply for one another...What do you think?

But just this one last time, let us focus on dear Matthew and Mary...

Mary looks so lovely in blue...

The newest Crawley family and the newest Lord Grantham to be... Will his name be Matthew? 

Matthew's over the moon with happiness...so giddy!

"You'll be a wonderful mother, Mary."

The final kiss...

So very giddy...

I'd just like to say that it would be fine with me if you'd change your minds, Downton Abbey people. I am not opposed to "it was all a dream" sorts of scenes. Just sayin'...

Your thoughts on Season Three?

Downton Abbey Discussion

Downton Abbey, Season 4, Episode 8, 69 wonderful minutes ☺
If you haven't had the chance to watch or don't wish to be spoiled, please close the door quietly on your way out.  ~~~

The future of Downton Abbey rests with "the kids" Edith, Mary, and Tom, those pigs, and probably with the farmer Mr. Drew there as well. Great foreshadowing here. And that's all I'll say about that this week.

I had really hoped that Daisy and Alfred would get together, but he's leaving both Ivy and Daisy as friends. In the end, neither would have him. Ivy says that she doesn't want to be tied down since she doesn't know what the future has in store causing Mrs. Patmore to exclaim, "You're an optimistic generation." 

Daisy says, "I loved you, Alfred — it's time for you to go your way and me go mine. Friends forever." 

Wasn't the advice that Mr. Mason(Daisy's father-in-law) gave her wonderful? Someone ought to write it down! Okay, talked me into it:

There won't be too many people you love like this in your life and he is one. You need to say goodbye without anything jagged between you. 

And that moment between Mrs. Patmore and Daisy...precious. 

But these are the little stories compared to the others. The biggest one will be whether Bates killed Green by pushing him in front of a bus, but more on that later.

The one with the longest repercussions for Downton Abbey and the Crawley family will be the story of Edith and her baby.

What did you think of the story that Edith and Aunt Rosamund came up with? Clever what? Hahahahahha... They'll be heading off to Switzerland to learn French. Talk about adding a bit of levity. To Edith's credit, she would like to keep the child with her in Great Britain to be raised locally; she's not sure that a Swiss upbringing would be right. Her grandmother objects saying that Switzerland has everything to offer except conversation. 

So much to discuss here, but I'll leave some for you to pick up! I do have to hand it to Violet for being perceptive and facing the facts head on. It's more than we can say for poor Cora who goes blithely on unaware with a "Golly, life's full of surprises!"

Did you love the collective noun for a group of suitors? A Desire of Suitors? And there is much ongoing interest in Mary's group of three thus far: Charles Blake, Evelyn Napier, and Lord Gillingham. Is Fellowes pointing to Blake who seems to be quite handy with little George? 

Which is more than we can say for Great-Grandmama Violet who beats a hasty retreat when crying George arrives. The first photo shows Violet calmly discussing the Tea Pot Dome Scandal with Isobel, but don't require her to be with infants.

Back to a lesser, side story that is building...Moseley and Baxter's developing friendship. Lovely dialogue between them — "I know what it's like to feel fragile. We don't care much about Barrow below stairs, but give us credit for making up our minds about you." And then Moseley, our Eeyore-like Moseley, stood up to Thomas telling him not to be a bully.

Mary was very busy in this show with suitors and realizations. Discovering that Gillingham's man Mr. Green was Anna's attacker caused her to ultimately go to Gillingham (who has the strangest habit of showing up at Downton whether invited or not) and request that he let Green go. In that final photo, she has just learned from Gillingham that Green is dead.

And she was not too busy to go visit Jack Ross after Tom told her that he had seen Rose and she had not been shopping. They had a wonderful conversation. In the end, Jack will step aside like the gentleman that he is and like the mature adult that he is. Rose is still a party girl who wishes to hurt her mother and has openly said so.

Poor Anna. She went to London with Mary, which gave Bates the opportunity to request a day off saying he wished to go to York. Did he go to York or did he go to Picadilly and do in Mr. Green? It remains to be seen. Anna is very concerned. We're all very concerned.

What do you think?

Just the sweetest "well hello" lately. I am very fond of Robert and Cora and, as some of you know, feel that this marriage is the glue that truly holds Downton together. Just sayin'...

And the show ends with Mary walking off with her suitors and these three interested observers. 
So many wonderful quotes from Violet:
1. No life appears to be rewarding if you think too much about it.
***   2. In response to Isobel's "only me"... That greeting betrays such a lack of self-worth.
***
3. In a conversation with Edith... All of life is a series of problems that we must try to solve. First one and then the next and then we die. 
(Or something like that. I have a similar philosophy, though I hope it's not quite as jaded. We have a series of problems, joys, too, and we get to die.) 
***
Other good ones...
If you thought a man was involved in a crime, but you thought he was in the right, would you say anything? (Mary questioning Blake)
***
If you're going to complicate your life, make it for the right reasons. (Mary to Rose)
***
Marriage is a challenge even when everyone wants it. (Mary to Jack)
***
I don't believe in types, I believe in people. (Tom to Sarah Bunting)
***
Can you believe that next week is the final episode this season? It all went by so fast. Turning the floor over to you!

Downton Abbey

Of course, you've all heard of Downton Abbey the *BBC production of which the first four episodes are available for a limited time only *here.* I have enjoyed the escape that watching an episode a day for four days has given me. Perhaps you will, too. Thank you, Aunt Amelia! (I learned about this program at Aunt Amelia's Attic on *this post.*) Season II will not be available until autumn of this year and then followed by a Christmas special. It's challenging to have to wait that long to find out what happens next. Filming hasn't yet begun so there are no spoilers anywhere to be found either. Looks as if I'll be practicing patience.

It's Not All About the House; It's All About the People

Enchanted Serenity Period Films is a lovely blog for learning more about any period piece. I see that Charley has a lot of information about The King's Speech as well as Downton Abbey. We went to see TKS over the weekend and enjoyed it very much in spite of the language.

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Popping in the picture made the rest of my text go poof. I was chatting about the header and how I haven't had time to take photos. The flowers on my windowsill are remnants from the larger bouquets. I'm quite sure that I wished you a wonderful evening... If not, I do now!

~ ~ ~
February 10, 2011
Edited to Add: I stand corrected. Downton Abbey is not produced by the BBC; it's produced by Carnival Films, which is a part of the NBC corporation, for the ITV network. (Thanks, Linds!)

Where Did They Go, Et Cetera, Etc.

I was shocked one morning a couple of weeks ago by what was going on at the bottom of my blog page. I went to bed one evening with over 500 Friends and woke the next morning with 480. Oh no! I wondered what I had done wrong to offend so many so quickly! Apparently, nothing. This is something that Google is doing. You can find a message on your Blogger Design Page about it in the Overview tab. (If you ever wondered in the first place. Did you?) I am happy to see the number ticking back up ever so slowly. Thank you to my new Friends. Perhaps some of the same Friends I lost. Not sure.
***
Oh aren't we off to a delicious start with Season 6 of Downton Abbey?! So pleasant, after all this time, to watch Downton Abbey once again. No big spoilers here today (nor in comments please), though I did love the way Lord Grantham dispatched a certain troublesome witchy woman. That man is wiser than I gave him credit for. Oh and I did love Violet's question to Mrs. Crawford: Does it ever get cold on the moral high ground?
***  
A little off topic, but did you happen to see the Downton Abbey float at The Tournament of Roses Parade? Now that was beautiful. Wanda of Got a Minute or Two is showing some close-up shots of the floats, including the Downton Abbey one on this post. Wanda is revealing a couple of secrets about the float, too. ☺

***

Off to dismantle a bit more Christmas. I am playing a game. If I am caught taking down Christmas, I lose. How good that John is not the most observant man. Slowly is the name of the game. No more than five trips up and down stairs a day carrying a tray of treasures. In the mornings I pack those away and start over. Perhaps the tree will be all down and packed away by the weekend or perhaps I shall decide that we need a winter tree with lights only to cheer us for another while. After all, I decorate seasonally all year through and winter is the current season. 

Downton Abbey Thoughts Pt. 1

♪music♪ ~~~ No spoilers here. Oops. Lied. I'm giving one spoiler. So tread lightly through this post. And, please, no spoilers in comments. Let's keep this reader friendly today. Tomorrow, we'll be a little freer. ~~~

Who knew that I was going to glean useful cleaning tips from Downton Abbey? Not I that's for sure!  My beautiful FlyLady feather duster, circa 2005 or something, is perfect for cleaning light fixtures and especially when the end is cinched with a cute little ribbon so that the ostrich feathers don't flail about so. Achoo! So pay attention to those opening scenes of DA, you never know what household tip might work for you.

~~~

After the second Sunday of Downton Abbey, I'd quite decided that I would not be tuning in for any more episodes. That's just how frustrated and angry I was. Then I decided to search for the full episodes and watch them all in a great day-long marathon, which is exactly what I did. I don't know if this is legal, moral or ethical, but multiple sources were easily found. I watched on my iPad without even hooking up to the tv. So I have watched every episode of Season 4, including the Christmas Special. Spoiler: This is a lame spoiler, though I feel that I must include a warning for the purists out there. Avert eyes now! Remember how this season began six months after Matthew's death? There is going to be an even more fantastic leap of time within this season. Interesting, eh?! ~~~ Susan Branch has written so wittily about Downton Abbey without giving any spoilers at all, though she warns of one. If you'd enjoy reading that post, you'll find it *here.* I agree with her entirely! ~~~ Now I have some questions for you, presuming you're still here:  1. Are you watching this season? 2. Have you found a way to watch the entire season or are you viewing on a weekly basis? 3. Would you enjoy a vague discussion of episodes shown thus far tomorrow? If not, I understand.
Comments on this post are now closed.

Downton Abbey Magnet Mosaic~Mosaic Monday

Oh I know it's Academy Award Night. < insert stifled yawn >

I offer you instead an extension of Downton Abbey. And, since my storyline could be considered a spoiler, please do NOT read if you have not had the chance to view Downton Abbey yet.

My daughter-in-law shares my enthusiasm for the show and, knowing how much I enjoy it, she gave me these magnets for my birthday. All I'm going to say is that I've enjoyed them, but they are not going to live on my refrigerator. On the other hand, Matthew and Mary are going to live on the metal tray above the refrigerator. Pretty good digs for magnet people. ☺

Yes, just like Mary, I cut that evil Pamuk out of the picture. Did you see that Thomas and O'Brien are one character?

Please join Mary @ Little Red House for more mosaics.

Are you a Downton Abbey fan as well?

Downton Abbey Discussion

Technically, this is not a Spoiler Alert because once a program has been shown, it is open for discussion. However, I know that many are not interested in finding a discussion on a blog and many are not all caught up; therefore, if you do not wish to read about Episode 5, please scoot. Enjoy your day! ~~~ This episode ran only 49 minutes and had many storylines going as per usual. I'm not going to mention each and every one with a lot of detail, but I am going to share the ones that I very much enjoyed. I am also using screen captures. 
(Come back tomorrow for a discussion of why I feel that I am within my rights to do so.)
FYI, you can find reviews of Downton Abbey episodes at Wikipedia. They are concise and helpful without giving away too much information. I, on the other hand, am giving away too much information for many today.

This episode begins with Bates leaving his cottage alone and with his wife Anna at Downton Abbey in great distress of mind. You know that you are hooked when you begin praying for characters in a story. Sigh.

A new storyline is the introduction of Baxter, Cora's lady maid. She was recommended by Barrow and he expects her to be his spy in return. She captures the good will of Cora in many ways, the first was by serving orange juice for breakfast an American custom. The second was with a quick repair of Mrs. Patmore's apron when Patmore is expecting a visit from Cora. The exact quote by Barrow: Another one roped to the chariot. Oh that guy! 

In light of the conversation Lorrie brought up last week in comments about the lack of attention to the children, I really wanted to show the warmth of this nursery scene with Tom playing on the floor with little Sybil and Mary holding George. Without the screen capture, it all goes by so fast. I was very pleased to see Mary's countenance as she entered the room and throughout. It was a tender scene.
Speaking of tender...I loved all the scenes with Anna and Bates. He was trying so hard and, at last, figured out a way to learn what happened. Yes, his anger is white hot, but his love for Anna is profound.

Wonderful acting...Look at Anna's face as she waits for Bates to arrive in the morning. She meets him at the bottom of the stairs and is cold. He tells her that he waits for her to be the first to greet her. Sigh. I don't have the exact quotes, but when he said something like you are made higher and more holy by all that you have been through... <   thud   >
The moment when she was able to look into his eyes was worth the wait. And all those of us who watched heaved a collective sigh of relief.
There was the usual wonderful banter between Isobel and Violet, but my favorite was between Violet and Robert at the table. Remember? He said something about learning from the past to do well in the future and she said, "Where'd you read that?" He told her that he had made it up and thought it quite good. She said that it was too good and if there was one thing they didn't need in the family it was a poet. Isobel wondered why and Violet referred to Byron who didn't end well. Loved it!
I've left out so much. Feel free to fill in the blanks. Perhaps this was the thing I really should not leave out...

really good foreshadowing...
Of all the episodes of Downton Abbey from the very first of the first season to now, this one goes down in my top five. I loved it. How about you?

Downton Abbey Season Five Thoughts

Earlier in the week, I had promised my sparkling and witty observations on Downton Abbey Season 5 and am now quite shocked to discover I don't have any. What a bummer! Yes, I'm often running behind these days. (Unlike Violet, I am not able to claim that the last time I was late was the day I was born.)   No synopsis here. Just some random willy-nilly thoughts and some photos snitched from ITV dot com and such places.  There are a few screen captures from rewatching at Masterpiece through the PBS site. Okay, now that that's out of the way...off we go. Overall, I liked Season 5, though I had my doubts when Lady Mary was busily trying to "test" Lord Gillingham. Is there a delicate way to say this?  Such "testing" is unnecessary because the plumbing is so rarely the problem. Relationships are the problem and relationship does not require testing the equipment. (Oh dear, this is excruciating...don't mean to make anyone cringe.) And even with Violet's advice, "In my day a Lady was incapable of feeling physical attraction, until she had been instructed to do so by her Mama."   Yes, well, apparently, not. Because this season also included that back story about Violet's affair/near affair with Kuragin.  I can not imagine what drew her to him. He's definitely a moody Russian, but then life has been hard on him and perhaps he's become more and more depressed over time never having begun that way. Wonderful to hear the "details" of the story when Isobel and Violet were having their heart to heart. Being "snatched back from the abyss" by the Princess Kuragin proved to be one of Violet's greatest life lessons—family is more important than any affair with a moody Russian. One thing I would have liked is if the producers had included an actor of Violet's age. The actor who plays Kuragin is 12 years younger than Maggie Smith. It made for confusion when one is into timelines as much as I am.  It would have made that storyline more believable for me. You can find some excellent Downton Abbey timelines online, if you get confused by ages and events. For example, I was shocked to discover how old Lady Mary is.  Season Five Theme : Family is more important than any grubby old affair.
I'm going to leave poor Cora alone, but just so you know: I did not find her behavior blameless with that stupid art dealer, yet I am glad that, ultimately, she and Lord Grantham are closer now. I once described that couple as the glue that holds the show together and I still feel that way. The little filler stories didn't excite me much — the conflicts below stairs and the ongoing saga of Violet's battling staff. I know that I am not alone with wishing that Mr. and Mrs. Bates be allowed to move on to a happy future with no more of that bothersome story line. Joanne Froggatt is just amazing in her role. I enjoy watching those intense emotions flit across her face.

~Blast! They're arresting me!~

~Resolved or nearly...close enough!~

Mary's finest moment this season probably came with being willing to visit her maid in prison. I loved that about her. I did not love that she is so cruel and cutting to Edith. I agree with her Granny's assessment: My dear, a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears. And how unobservant Mary is to not recognize that Marigold is Edith's child. She's the last one at Downton Abbey who hasn't a clue. 

I find this ironic given her powers of observation. After all, she praises Henry Talbot for asking good questions, even as she tells him that she won't answer. I hope that these two are in each other's future. Really, I just hope that anyone, except Tom, is in Mary's. Sinderby's affair story line annoyed me. Refer to Season Five's theme. Though I am always happy when a snooty butler is reminded of his station by an even snootier butler. Ha!

~snooty butler/s~snooty Lord Sinderby bookends~ Because Rose was never a favorite character of mine, I am glad that she is married off and "redeemed" and heading for New York with Atticus and all in record speed, even by Downton Abbey standards. The scenes at Brancaster Castle were wonderful...the story not as much.

Perhaps it was just a chance for Alnwick Castle as Brancaster Castle to shine. Do you feel, as I do, that these grand homes are characters, too? Mrs. Drewe...ewww...not happy with this portrayal. I wanted real tears! After all, she considered herself Marigold's mother. And why did the producers see fit to deny us the scene between Mrs. Drewe and Cora when Mrs. Drewe snitched on Edith to her mother? I wanted to see that!

Speaking of whacked story lines, why in the world does Mrs. Hughes need a demented sister? I'm just glad that Carson loves her and doesn't care that there's an odd sister floating about or that Mrs. Hughes is a pauper. Hope that we get to see the wedding! Just one thing, she touched him on the arm when she accepted the old booby's proposal. Really? That's all? At least last year, we saw some hand-holding.

It seems that every episode brought some conversation about the changing times and how life could not go on as it always had done. Foreshadowing at its finest. Though I can not find a source (other than Susan Branch), I think next season will be the last. The characters are growing older and the actors can't age that quickly without serious time in the make-up chair. Think of the costs! ☺ Isobel is so smart. I am glad that she gave Lord Merton the boot as his sons were insufferable. She and Violet will be wonderful companions in their continued old age. Loved the closing Christmas scenes...

 ~actors waiting for their scenes...such fun to see!~

This is my fond hope for next season:

~torn between two sisters~  

~not this one~

~this one!~
What are you saying, Vee?! That's right: I want Tom to marry Edith and have more children and live a long and happy life. Mary can have anyone. No Boston for Tom! Tom, trust me, Boston can be the puds. That's the extent of it...almost.

~RIP Isis~