Monday, February 17, 2014

Ice Dancing. Oh! And Downton.



This is Meryl Davis and Charlie White.  They are the most lovely ice dancers!  They preformed this skate last night and will do the free dance tonight. (Last nights performance was their highest score ever and it was faster and more thrilling even tho it was the same skate.)   If they win (and they should) they will be the first American's to win a gold in ice dance.  It is my favorite ice skating.  It is so much harder to do than it looks and I really don't like the big jumps of the singles and pairs because it takes away from the musicality and dance.  I hope you get a chance to watch this tonight!!


******

Oh Downton.  I almost forgot.

It was a very good episode.

Let me just say this...  Bates is a psychopath and now I think he killed his wife.

What do you think Edith should do?

Isobel is being wooed.  I liked that man.  Good casting.
The Dowager was hilarious...
her 'life is hard and then you die' speech.....and then...let's eat!

oh my.

Mosely was good.  I usually just put up with him...but he was cute.

That new Miss Baxter (always sewing Miss Baxter) was a sweet encourager to Mosely.

Daisy made me cry...and that father in law of hers...he is a dear, dear man.


This was the final episode before the big Christmas episode next week.
The final episodes often end with a party of some sort, don't they?


Melissa Wiley writes the best recaps of each episode on her blog


Have a lovely week!
Feel free to leave a comment!  All are welcome :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna












42 comments:

  1. I was brought to tears by our Ice dancers last night!! I love it the most of all the ice skating competitions….)

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  2. Thank you for the ice dancing clip. I missed Davis and White's performance.

    I want to watch Downton again this morning (we missed the first ten minutes, blithely watching the Olympics), but this episode's motif seemed to be surrogates: Isobel and Tom; Mr. Mason and Daisy; Mrs. Patmore and Daisy; Rosamund and Edith.

    With Isobel and Tom, he doesn't need a mother figure as much as her ache to encourage and nourish a young soul.

    And if you (general you, anybody you) don't love Mr. Mason, we can't be friends.

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    1. Anonymous11:08 AM

      Carol,

      I wholeheartedly agree with you on Mr. Mason!! I love him.

      Mary Z

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    2. Yes, exactly! Or in German: ja genau!!

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  3. Ice dancing is my favorite, too. Beautiful couple. Downton. It was a good episode with the suitor being my favorite. I loved the lavender in the fashions. The bazaar was refreshing to watch with all the snow on the ground around here lately. ;) (And we even had an earthquake Friday night. 4.1, but still.)

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  4. I really enjoyed the DA episode, and- bonus!- it was over 60 minutes long. For some reason I was loving the set details and fashions much more than usual. I really wanted to sit down and have tea with them too. Did anyone besides me notice the gorgeousness of the flower arrangement in the scene with the Dowager and Isobel? I am a wedding professional and see truckloads of beautiful flowers, but oh my, that arrangement! The blues, the garden roses and Englishness of the whole thing! So beautiful. I wanted it. I know. Such a random thing for me to comment on.
    The writing is so stellar. So wonderful how story lines were neatly and satisfyingly tied up. It's upsetting to think that the show is ending again! and there will be nothing of comparable quality to watch for another ....year! argh!

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    1. Anonymous1:06 PM

      Clayvessel, I noticed the flower arrangement too and said to my husband, "Aren't those flowers gorgeous?". It was one of the most beautiful bouquets I have ever seen. And I noticed the fashion more last night, too. Spectacular dresses. The purple one, I think on Mary, and then Lady Grantham's lovely icy blue dress and hat at the bazaar. Sigh. What it must have been like to have lived in that time period with that kind of money. So fun to watch DA and be entertained. I will be so sad when it is over for the year.

      Debbie Z.

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    2. Yup. LOVED the flowers!!! So funny when the Dowager said she read the note!!

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    3. Anonymous1:44 PM

      Yes, hilarious when she said she read the note and told Isobel what it said before she had a chance to look at it. I laughed hard over that one. The Dowager is priceless.

      Debbie Z.

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    4. Hilarious that she read it and freely admitted it. :)

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  5. Anonymous11:12 AM

    Charlie White is quite possibly the smiley-est person ever! They are such a talented couple and I love the picture circulating of them together as children. :)

    Bates has me very worried as well. I'm hoping we find out that he went to York for something altogether unrelated to Mr. Green...

    And "a desire of suitors". So funny.

    Mary Z

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    1. Yes he is super smiley! They are like a Disney princess and prince :-)

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  6. Anonymous11:44 AM

    Those two make it look so effortless and easy.............the hours and years of dedication certainly has paid off for them. They are pure grace in motion. Thanks for posting it.
    Karen F.

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    1. Exactly!! I really enjoyed watching them!

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  7. Anonymous11:51 AM

    Thank you for posting the ice dancing team performance by Meryl and Charlie…they are so talented and attractive on the ice (as well as off the ice…we saw them on The Today Show this morning eating and chatting). Ice Dancing is a favorite of mine ever sine Torvill and Dean danced to Bolero years ago. Lots of practice and talent goes into that performance on ice and at the end they should have been tired and Charlie picked her up…Wow! Just outstanding! Hope they win the gold. love and prayers, jep

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  8. When I saw the 'dramatic' stories leading up to the ice dancing event, I was reminded of Davis-White and their performance at the Vancouver Olympics. I immediately started hearing "Jai Ho" in my head...went to YouTube to find the dance and realized that their dance was to a different Indian folk song....I remembered a dubbed version of their dance to "Jai Ho". I think you linked to it 4 years ago....does this sound familiar?...I did find that dubbed version and do love it.
    Has it really been 4 years??? So weird. ~ Lianne in WY

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  9. Tapping on my Kindle which is laborious for me so this will be uncharacteristically brief ... I LOVE this episode and even psychologically challenged Bates (who I still like a bunch) cannot take away the happy vibe I get when watching. Every time I see Mrs Patmore tell Daisy how proud she is of her I get weepy. True confession: I have probably watched it 5 times while ironing or doing other chores. Mr. Mason is such a dear.

    Love Isobel and the suitor, and Violet sniffing at her smaller flower arrangement! Ha!

    I could go on and on but it's driving me crazy on this little tally keyboard. So you all are lucky.

    Your Swiss Miss is in Munich looking for an apartment with hubby - we are on the move :-) prayers are appreciated ... Danke.

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    1. "Tappy" grr auto correct :-P

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    2. Anonymous1:16 PM

      Dear God, Please help Susan and her husband find a nice apartment and encourage and guide them in their apartment hunt journey. Amen
      love and prayers, jep

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    3. Anonymous9:43 PM

      I will be praying for you and your hubby too Susan. Will we be referring to you as Deutsche Fraulein rather than Swiss Miss??

      Debbie Z.

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    4. Ha!! Maybe Munich Mrs. ?? Haha - but I will be Swiss Miss at heart; after 7 years it will be a bit sad to say goodbye - but we're also excited for a new adventure. :-)

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  10. You are right. Davis and White are amazing skaters. Such chemistry. But I would be remiss if I didn't say that our Canadians - Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are pretty darn amazing as well. In fact I have just watched their free dance and it brought tears to my eyes. Just perfection on ice. Davis and White will be skating next and whatever happens the top two teams will certainly be on the podium together. Did you know that the two teams train together and that they are very good friends? Isn't that nice?
    And Downton - Bates is a conundrum isn't he? I really enjoyed last night's episode too. I think Daisy is one of my favourites - she has really grown throughout the series.
    Now back to the Olympics!! We get to watch it live here in Canada. Makes for some late nights. :)

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    1. I already saw today's long performance and I can say I LOVED your skaters!!!

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  11. Anonymous12:12 PM

    Thanks for posting the video.
    Can I tell you about the new puppies? Ok. We are head over heels. Kris went to pick up one and came home with two. Brother and sister, Angus and Ava. I chose Angus because our family used to raise Black Angus cattle for years. Ava was already named and it fits perfectly. Angus is spunky and is not afraid of Rose at all. Ava is a princess. Rose is being a great big sister. Pretty gentle, but we have to remind her occasionally to calm down. The pups think Rose is their mom sometimes....it's funny. And they are smart! Already going potty on the potty pad. We keep all the dogs out in a room in the shop thats heated. They are spoiled. They're supposed to be outdoor dogs, but.....
    Anywhoskies, that's all. : )
    Sarah P. from Iowa

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    1. I am so happy for you and a little teeny bit jealous!!! How fun it must be to watch Rose with the puppies...endlessly entertaining! Cute names! Enjoy those pups...keep the pictures coming. I wish I could take their pictures! I am going to come to your farm on day, you know.

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    2. Puppy love!!! Donna is right, they have adorable names :-)

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    3. Anonymous4:16 PM

      Donna, you are always welcome to stop by! : ) I'd love that!

      Susan, thank you!

      Sarah P.

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    4. Donna,
      Wait for me! I want to come to the farm, too (-:

      Di

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  12. I know I haven't been around lately. I've popped in from time to time but never really had anything of importance (or otherwise) to say. I've wanted to, but sometimes it's nice just not talking.

    I watched all the Downton's episodes over Christmas when my son came to visit. He'd acquired the British tapings somehow, and we watched a marathon up to the episode this week. I am really looking forward to next Sunday night's episode. Donna, I am going to agree with you on Bates. I really like him, though.

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  13. Prayers for Susan and Munich. Great episode. Love sweet Daisy, what a wonderful, real girl. Tears for her, that was an excellent story. Not sure Alfred won't pop up again. Sorry but I think Mary is a brat, the way she abruptly ended her meal with lord Gilliam was rude. He is my favorite for her though. And wondering if Edith overdid it working at fair and may run into complications. The Mosley story is sweet. What a smile he has! Thanks for your blog Donna!

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  14. Watching Ice Dancing now and really loving it this year so much. I got sucked in last night. I love how good they are and how competitive it is! So fun!

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  15. A couple of things -- don't you remember like 15 years ago when ice dancing was like the laughed-at child of the Olympics? I remember turning it off because it wasn't REAL skating. And now it gets all the press. :)

    I loved this episode. Didn't watch it til this morning. So, so special. And I'm already sad that we're done next week. I am relieved - and I hope that we can stay relieved! - that nothing as dramatic as last season has happened. I'm heartened by aunt Rosamund and granny and their generous love for Edith. That's pretty special. Anna and bates are making me nervous - bates is making me nervous. Molesley was the most tolerable he's ever been this week.. And mrs patmore made me cry when she came out and talked to daisy with the line about 'if you were my real daughter' or whatever. So very special....

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    1. I love how their relationship has deepened over the years. That scene makes me well up with tears every time.

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    2. Well....in true Donna style...I have been huge fan of Ice Dancing since 1984 when Torville and Dean were the big stars. Remember their Bolero? I learned a little ice dancing from a 70 year old named Harley in Wausau in 1980 and loved it.

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    3. Loved Torville and Dean. They were the Huge that Olympics!! :-)

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    4. I remember that SO well. I was 13. It was a HUGE deal. But I remember that skating pairs had all the compulsories, all the required moves, etc - and ice dancing was just this fluid hard-to-judge-subjective thing. I didn't watch last night because Scott went to bed, and our only tv with channels is in there. so I missed jimmy fallon too [SO SAD]. But there's still some Olympics left this week so I'll catch up!!

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  16. I got actual chills, and I don't remember this ever being caused by TV before, when Anna told Mary the big secret...Mary's reaction was very genuinely horrified.
    I hope the sewing lady pokes Thomas with one of her needles. I want to like her but she'll probably fold and do something rotten.
    Sidenote: I read the book, Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson this weekend. It is long, over 500 pages, historical fiction and quite good! Reicarnation is the foundation of the plot. I couldn't wait to get to the end and managed to feed my family andcdo some laundry between chapters.

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    1. Thank you for the book review Andrea. Yes. Mary did emote quite a bit...for her.

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