Counting On - Season 4, part 4 - Where Time Isn't Linear and Everyone Is a Relative

[Irene]

1 hour ago, snickers34 said:

They've waited to announce new seasons in the past, often in tandem with a *gasp* new courtship. Does't mean anything yet.

But the reason why I belive it might be true is because the rating is falling and falling.

[SassyPants]

3 minutes ago, Irene said:

But the reason why I belive it might be true is because the rating is falling and falling.

And why are the ratings falling? If they had a healthy audience even after revelations of child molestations and an Ashley Madison account reveal, why now? 

Maybe it's because the show is dull, disinteresting, boring and all of the above. Like others have said, there is so much that could be shown to make the show interesting, but TLC, et al are not seemingly willing to do so.

[Bad Wolf]

Special announcement, courtship, marriage, pregnancy. Yawn.  Even the leghumpers must be bored.

[justmy2cents]

6 hours ago, Irene said:

It doesnt look like it will be a new season..

TLC released a statement that Derick won't be featured in the future so that tells me that they're planning for there to be another season. 

[Oh_Dear!]

34 minutes ago, justmy2cents said:

TLC released a statement that Derick won't be featured in the future so that tells me that they're planning for there to be another season. 

i wonder if they waited for the announcement of  a season because they had to figure out how to handle the whole Derrick fiasco.  Now that they've stated that he won't be featured, I have a feeling a new season will be coming... after all, they have the Joe/Kendra wedding, Joy pregnancy and, I'm sure, another pregnancy/courtship around the corner.  And, if Jana or JD ever get in a relationship, that alone would draw in a viewership. 

[Scrabblemaster]

On 1.11.2017 at 5:42 PM, Beermeet said:

I have the pickle ornament!  I just liked it, my tree has lots of quirky ornaments.   Only last year I found out the German tradition and now I love it even more! 

I am 30 years old, I celebrated Christmas 29 times with 29 Christmas trees in Germany, of whom I decorated many by myself and I have no idea what this German tradition is about! I never thought I would get to know a German tradition here on freejinger, that I did not know. That is awesome! I will do some research and ask friends and families if anybody I know knows this tradition. Now I am even more excited about Christmas-tree-decoration.

Edit: I was too fast...I should have read the next page on this thread before I replied. Thanks  @AprilQuilt, now I know! To be honest, I am a bit disappointed. Maybe I will let this tradition immigrate to our living room and call it ... I don't know how I will call it. I want a special name for it, because I am still laughing about myself!

[MoonFace]

17 hours ago, GotCaughtDancing said:

My friend who works for TLC told me that the reason we aren't seeing much on social media from the kidults is because they are trying to reign in being so far behind, ie showing a pregnancy way after the kid is born, wedding planning eons after the weddings. So apparently they are keeping things like pregnancies, courtships, etc., off of social media so the reveals will correspond when the show airs, keeping up interest and ratings.  I found that interesting. Don't know how this will work out for them or if the duggars will go for the almighty buck with people for updates, lol. But I guess it is something they are 'trying'.

Well, that will be difficult (keeping things under wraps) because they will still be out in public and people who see them will be posting on their own social media and places like FJ.   

 

But I can see JB having a family gathering and suggesting  mandating , "Y'all need to cover up your baby bumps upcoming blessings.  Mama will buy a couple cases of pregnancy tests so no one sees you picking them up and speculate about who is knocked up  expecting a new blessing.    No unmarried child in this family will be seen in public with a member of the opposite jender who is not a blood relative to avoid speculation about courtships.   "

[nst]

15 hours ago, justmy2cents said:

TLC released a statement that Derick won't be featured in the future so that tells me that they're planning for there to be another season. 

Totally - the humpers would care that there is no Derick and no season because of Derick - derick can't bring the show no matter how much he seems to try.   

9 minutes ago, MoonFace said:

Well, that will be difficult (keeping things under wraps) because they will still be out in public and people who see them will be posting on their own social media and places like FJ.   

 

"

but then we miss endlessly seeing Jessa, Ben et all congratulating said person in a video we are so desperate to see. 

[AprilQuilt]

1 hour ago, Scrabblemaster said:

Maybe I will let this tradition immigrate to our living room and call it ... I don't know how I will call it. I want a special name for it, because I am still laughing about myself!

When you have a name for it, let me know and I'll use it too! I've already emigrated the tradition to the UK.

[Scrabblemaster]

1 hour ago, AprilQuilt said:

When you have a name for it, let me know and I'll use it too! I've already emigrated the tradition to the UK.

How about "Free the pickle!"? 

[Bad Wolf]

27 minutes ago, Scrabblemaster said:

How about "Free the pickle!"? 

Can't tell you where my mind went on that one. 

[AprilQuilt]

well quite! Since it'll be my extremely godly nieces (5 and 9) playing, any variation on free/hunt the pickle may not report back well at ALL.

Ideally I'd like a German word of many, many syllables.

[divadivine]

On 11/12/2017 at 11:46 PM, calimojo said:

@SassyPants probably anyone of us could make a better show than what has been done the past 2 years. If we could get JB out of the picture.  I suspect he has his hands in this and prevents things from being filmed that would actually be of interest

@calimojo & @SassyPants our everyday normal, heathen lives would be more exciting than the drivel TLC & Figure8 are putting out there. Hell, my 5 minute drive to & from work is more entertaining- probably because I call the other drivers asshat dickwipes and secretly want to ram them with my car because their driving is so atrocious. A video of me getting ready in the morning would be better than Counting On. Watching paint dry would be better than Counting On. 

[Fun Undies]

 .@Scrabblemaster & @AprilQuilt two years ago I was skimming through a "Christmas Traditions around the world"-book, and it had one listing for each country.  Naturally I skipped to Germany, waiting to read about Kris kringle, and Baby Jesus bringing all the gifts on Christmas Eve, or the candy in the shoes on St. Nicholas day, or I don't know - the flipping Christmas tree of awesomesauce.  Instead, there's a picture of a pickle?!  

I show it to my Mom, and I'm like, "why didn't we do this when I was kid?"

And she, in the most German-seriousness, looks at the book, then me and smirks, "Um, because nobody does that in Germany?"
*so at least not in upper Bavaria, by our Catholic family*

Can't say if any other areas/religions do it, but it definitely was news to me and my Mom!

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

2 hours ago, AprilQuilt said:

Ideally I'd like a German word of many, many syllables.

Well, this article calls it Weihnachtsgurke.

https://www.thoughtco.com/german-christmas-pickle-tradition-myth-4070879

It also casts doubt on the tradition having very deep roots. Now I want to go eat dill pickles. 

ETA--The New York Times agrees with the first article.

[Lurker]

Some immigrants seem to romantice and fetishize the things they left behind.

My mother’s parents came from the Southern Italian region of Campania .  My mother and her sisters celebrated every holiday with the same menu their mother did.  My cousins ritualize their childhood food, and are shocked that I don’t cook the Feast of the 7 Fishes for Christmas Eve nor make Grain Pie for Easter.   Other friends with similar ethnic backgrounds seem to get into a competition - your family does 7 fishes? Our family does 12! 13!

I was at a Christmas party a few years ago and a couple was visiting NYC  from the same area and talk ran to Christmas foods.  Their families did not celebrate with foods that many Italian Americans feel that are representative of the holiday.

 

[AprilQuilt]

@Fun Undies , @WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? interesting! I had a hunch it was a tradition linked to German immigrants rather than Germany-resident Germans. It's true that in Europe there's a long tradition of blown-glass decorations shaped like fruits and nuts - my mum has loads - I've seen Ukrainian ones of artichokes, figs and pomegranates as well as more traditional walnuts, apples etc. It's all to do with abundance. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few cukes/pickle ornaments amongst them that just happened to grab someone's imagination. A pickle is a kind of inherently comical vegetable. Anyway, our Christmas traditions also include mandatory pannettone for breakfast  (from my mother's childhood) and home-cured lox, so I don't see what harm there is in adding a German-American pickle to the mix.

Weinachtsgurke is just the sort of word I'd hoped it would be!

[Fun Undies]

@AprilQuilt  Oh no harm at all, hun ~ I was just agreeing it was a surprise to me and my family, too

[AprilQuilt]

Oh, I didn't think you were telling me off! It just interests me. If tiramisu can be practically the national desert of Italy despite having been invented in like the 70s, I'm inclined to feel that new traditions are good traditions 

[cascarones]

The pickle ornaments are massive in German settled towns in Texas, where everyone who speaks localized German speaks it from ages ago (drives my mother bonkers since she grew up in Germany). There's a whole big pickle booth at Wurstfest (just ended) in New Braunfels, everything you want pickle related. Pickles, pickle ornaments, pickle light strings, pickle costumes, cute pickle clothes for your babies, pickle socks. 

We do a mother daughter holiday party every year in my group of friends, always at the same house and both of their adult children have little pickle trees (maybe not this year as they both got married). Just smaller trees decorated with the pickle and cross ornaments their parents have given them every year. Not sure if that's a tradition, but there's still a white elephant prize for finding the pickle on the big tree each year at the party.

@divadivine When I first got my little yellow beetle it was a shock to get used to all the honking and waving from kids who were playing slug bug. At first I kept thinking there was something wrong, like I was dragging something, now it cheers me. My car is in a different state, but last time I drove it a college kid waited until the light to make eye contact before punching her male companion in the arm. I also keep it really clean, because older people that had the originals are really fascinated by the new ones and like to tell you they had one and aren't shy about asking if they can see the inside.

 

[Scrabblemaster]

11 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Can't tell you where my mind went on that one. 

Oh my god! I had no idea about that meaning! I thought pickle means dill pickle means cucumber... When I read your post I was like 'huh? What does she mean?' Then I read @AprilQuilt 's post and was  irritated. A quick Internet search was done and now I am embarrassed. .  That was not my intention. Really! 

Make a fool of myself - yip done that, that's no longer on my to-do-list for today.  

[Shadoewolf]

I inherited a red beetle from my mom last year.  It's a great little car, and I get the craziest looks when I'm at the hockey rink loading gear in or out!

[Bad Wolf]

Back in the 70s, I drove my beetle from Connecticut to California. Just me and my dog, no cell phone or anything.

[BlessingsVonFundiePants]

Forging Men. Forging Leaders (...Forging Money?) The tag lines you get when your marketing team was homeschooled. 

[Eponine]

On 11/14/2017 at 6:59 PM, Lurker said:

Some immigrants seem to romantice and fetishize the things they left behind.

My mother’s parents came from the Southern Italian region of Campania .  My mother and her sisters celebrated every holiday with the same menu their mother did.  My cousins ritualize their childhood food, and are shocked that I don’t cook the Feast of the 7 Fishes for Christmas Eve nor make Grain Pie for Easter.   Other friends with similar ethnic backgrounds seem to get into a competition - your family does 7 fishes? Our family does 12! 13!

I was at a Christmas party a few years ago and a couple was visiting NYC  from the same area and talk ran to Christmas foods.  Their families did not celebrate with foods that many Italian Americans feel that are representative of the holiday.

 

I have the same experience (and I just looked and realized we're from the same area so that makes sense!). I roll my eyes so hard when the how-many-Christmas-fishes-do-you-have competition gets going around Christmastime at my office.