Happy Friday! Hope you've had a good week. I have had one of those weeks where I've been busy, but haven't accomplished as much as I wanted. I intend to take the weekend off, have fun and relax, so I will have lots of energy when Monday rolls around.
My Friday Fave this week is Fooducate. If you have an interest in nutrition, this is an invaluable site. You can look up any food and see the nutrition label (calories, protein, sugar, etc.) and also look at the ingredients. The site sorts out "mystery ingredients."
Growing up, my father was interested in natural foods and we shopped at health food stores regularly. I grew up with whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter, wheat germ, bran, yogurt, etc. I am a long-time vegetarian, but I will admit that until this past year I didn't look at labels past an ingredient check to make sure the products were vegetarian.
Then I found Fooducate.
It has been very eye-opening seeing the ingredients that are in many foods: propellant (cooking spray), brominated vegetable oil (sports drinks), phosphoric acid (sodas), industrial caramel color (many foods, including salad dressing).
When I shop at my favorite grocery store, I always read labels now. If in doubt, I look up the products on Fooducate. There are always good choices in almost any category, products that do not have those long, unpronounceable chemical ingredients.
This site is available for computer, Android, and iPhone. It is not available as a Blackberry app, unfortunately. (Of course, I have it bookmarked on my phone and can pull it up that way.)
Fooducate has made a positive difference in my life, so I wanted to share it with you.
Hope you have a great weekend!
"Yeh Yeh" by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames was a hit in 1965. Georgie Fame (real name Clive Powell) is a British jazz pianist and R&B singer. The song has a bit of jazz, a bit of R&B, and a sort of garage band sound that I really like! I only found this song in the past few years, via SiriusXM radio, and it is one I always turn up. There is also a great cover by They Might Be Giants.
Downton Abbey's season finale (known as the Christmas episode in the U.K.) packed a lot of story into two hours.
The show centered around a trip to London, for both the Grantham family and staff, for Rose's debut. We see a flurry of preparation and travel. The costumes and sets in this episode are lovely!
Cora's mother, Martha Levinson, and her brother Harold arrive from America. Martha is once again brash and outspoken, while Harold, an unlikely playboy, is actually rather wistful and likable.
Daisy meets Harold's valet, Ethan Slade. Ethan takes a liking to her. He asks Daisy if she is excited to be in London and she replies: "I'm never excited."
Mary is still seeing Blake and Gillingham. (At one point this episode Violet refers to Blake, Gillingham, and Napier as "Mary's men.") There is a nice scene of Mary and Blake at an exhibition together.
Tom Branson, alone for a time at Downton, runs into Sarah Bunting in the village. They have dinner at a local pub and she wants to see Downton Abbey. He takes her on a tour downstairs. She wants to go upstairs to look down from the gallery. As luck would have it, Thomas is lurking in the shadows upstairs and spies them. This leads to tension between Tom and Thomas, with Thomas later implying to Lord Grantham that Tom was upstairs at Downton with a young woman. Thomas has been a one-note villain this season, and I have not enjoyed his character as much. His great anger toward Tom seems out of the blue.
Edith is back from Switzerland, and despondent about giving up her baby girl. There is a scene where she argues with Aunt Rosamond about the baby, and she says that Rosamond is not a mother. I wondered at that moment if perhaps Rosamond, who has been so sympathetic to Edith, actually may have been in the same position in the past at some point?
There is an elaborate dinner at the house. Levinson makes a comment about being in England: "cold baths, warm drinks, and most of all the food." Edith and Mary have a brief conversation where Edith says, "I think we should make more scenes about things that really matter to us."
Isobel is becoming closer with Lord Merton, and decides to travel to London along with Violet. Their scene on the way is one of my favorites from this episode, with one great line after another:
Violet: "Can't you even offer help without sounding like a trumpeter on the peak of the moral high ground?"
Isobel: "And must you always sound like the sister of Marie Antoinette?"
Violet: "The queen of Naples was a stalwart figure. I take it as a compliment."
Isobel: "You take everything as a compliment."
Violet: "I advise you to do the same. It saves many an awkward moment."
Rose is presented by Cora at her debut. The Prince of Wales, whom she has met previously, engages her in conversation, so she speaks briefly with King George as well.
When Anna donates one of Bates' old jackets to a charity, Mrs. Hughes discovers a rail ticket to London in the pocket. She thinks immediately of Green's sudden death, and discusses this discovery with Mary. Mary debates what to do.
Rose gets involved in a complicated plot involving a
missing letter belonging to the Prince's mistress. It seems the letter
has been purloined by Mr. Sampson (the card shark from earlier this
season). During a card game, Mr. Sampson mentions Michael Gregson. We also learn this episode that Gregson was beaten up by a group of German Brownshirts before he disappeared. I wonder if Mr. Sampson had some indirect link to what happened to Gregson.
The case of the purloined letter allows the Grantham family to come together in a plot to
steal the letter back, with Mary, Rose, and Blake rummaging through
Sampson's room. Mr. Bates displays his gift for forgery
and pick-pocketing, and saves the day (and the Prince's reputation - at least for now, until Wallis Simpson comes along). Out of loyalty to Bates, Mary burns the ticket to London. Hopefully the Green storyline is now over. I would like to see Bates and Anna happy together next season.
There is a small picnic where Lord Aysgarth (a fortune hunter) pursues Martha Levinson, but is rebuffed. Martha says, "Why don't you come and visit Newport and I will rustle up rich widows who want titles much more than I do." Aysgarth's daughter, Madeline, flirts with Harold Levinson as well. Harold says, "I would find it hard to respect any woman who wished to marry me." At one point during this social whirl, Violet says: "The combination of open air picnics and after dinner poker make me feel as though I've fallen through a looking glass into the Dejeuner sur l'Herbe."
There is a wonderful scene featuring a ball in honor of Rose's debut. I want to go to a ball! It looks like fun. The Prince of Wales arrives, and dances with Rose. Gillingham and Blake are at the ball, and Gillingham tells Mary that Blake is from a similar background to theirs, and due to inherit. This seems to change Mary's opinion of Blake. I think she saw the perceived difference in their backgrounds as an obstacle; this is no longer an issue.
Upstairs, Martha and Violet exchange words. Martha is snippish and says that she is the new world and Violet is the old.
Edith wants to be part of the baby's life in some way, so she approaches Mr. Drew (the handsome pig farmer at Downton) about adopting (or fostering) the baby. He agrees, so she plans to move forward with bringing her baby to England.
The servants go to the seaside on vacation. Molesley and Baxter are getting closer, as she tries to remove herself from Barrow's machinations.
Anna and Bates look happy again. (Note the tiny beach huts in the background!)
Ethan wants Daisy to travel to America as Harold Levinson's cook. She rebuffs his offer and Daisy offers to go instead. This quickly becomes a plan, and so we finally have an end to the Daisy/Ivy rivalry.
In a lovely final scene, Carson is hesitant about wading out into the surf until Mrs. Hughes takes his hand, and they walk on together.
Thinking about next season, here are things I wish for:
- More of the Mary/Blake/Gillingham storyline, with a satisfying choice and resolution. (Mary, pick Blake!)
- Edith's reunion with her baby (hopefully somehow openly parenting the child).
- Resolution of the Michael Gregson storyline.
- No more Sarah Bunting! I find her personality brash and grating. I would love to see Tom with a nice, intelligent woman who is also warm and sensitive.
- Happiness for Daisy.
- Happy Anna and Bates, maybe with a baby Bates.
- Romance for Isobel with Lord Merton or Dr. Clarkson.
How about you? What did you think about last night's episode? What is on your wish list for next season?
Happy Friday! My very favorite thing this week is the warmer weather we are having in Atlanta. One week after our Snowmageddon we had temps around 70 degrees. Nice! It feels like Spring is on the way here.
I have spent time this week opening accounts at several bookselling sites: AbeBooks, Alibris, and Biblio. During the next few months (possibly up to 5 - 6 months), I will be going through my inventory, freshening up my eBay listings, pulling some items, and listing everything at Etsy, Bonanza, Amazon, AbeBooks, Alibris, and Biblio. I am really so excited about this new venture!
It has been fun to watch Olympic figure skating in Sochi the past couple of weeks. I haven't had time to watch as avidly as in the past, but it is still wonderful to see Olympic figure skaters competing at their best. (U.S. skater, Gracie Gold, is pictured above.)
I've also been enjoying American Idol, and the announcement of this season's top 13. So far my favorites are Majesty Rose (soulful singer with a coffeehouse type vibe) and Caleb Johnson (an old fashioned rocker). Of course, this may change in upcoming weeks - you never know!
Of course, I also have a new food product that I love. Kashi Blackberry Graham Soft-Baked Cereal Bars are all natural and vegan. I love Kashi products, and this is a yummy treat.
How about you - how was your week? Have you been watching the Olympics? Do you have any thoughts on the American Idol top 13 singers? I hope you'll leave a note in the comments section below.
Have a great weekend!
My Music Monday song this week is "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order. This is a fun New Wave dance song that was released in 1986. It was popular on the radio and in dance clubs during my college years, and brings back lots of fun memories. This song was also featured in the movie Married to the Mob (love that movie!). I've always loved the chorus:
"Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You say the words that I can't say."
