I like the idea of making stuff out of junk - but I agree that putting it back is a horrible idea. They made a bar out of something (old console tv I think) and took it back - complete with keg fridge and tap. It looked neat (a little too gaudy to put in my own home, but it was cool) But all I could think of is what if these people are Baptists (or some other non-drinking religion) or worse, recovering alcoholics?? They know NOTHING about the people and they're spending all this time and money creating something that the people may actually HATE. It'd be better if they sold the new stuff at a flea market and just gave the old owners a snapshot of the new thing.

Maybe someone is listening to the complaints about smashing up and tossing stuff that can be reused. Last weekend on Meg's Great Rooms, she had them carefully remove the oak cabinets from a kitchen because they were going to be donated/sold. Finally! (Did you see the island they made? That was interesting.) I also love Mike Holmes. This is one we watch together - and cry at all the new drywall that ends up in the dumpster because of the fire and structural issues underneath. There's no way to save it, but it is a dreadful waste. Mike's been very educational on all sorts of issues, and we pay attention. Of course, we, who live in the land of 10-12" of rain annually and 2 nights of 30 degree weather a year, now know a lot about weeping tiles and ice dams, neither of which we'd ever heard of before. I comfort myself with the episode where Mike came to LA and had to cope with earthquake requirements. He was a bit out to sea there and we were all, "Well, of course!" Turnabout, you know. mulemom: - And the line that bugs me the most, heard almost every HH, international or US, no matter the size of the closet.... "Well maybe I can fit my clothes and shoes in here, but where are you going to keep yours honey? hahaha" So agree with you!! I know there are people who actually think this sort of thing is cute. Maybe the same people who reel off: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" I think that is actually a regionalism, but it grates every time I hear it, even in its more grammatically correct form. What's funny is that we are the perfect audience for these kinds of shows, and yet our enthusiasm is severely limited by their presentation. What holds us off? 1. When drama over shadows info (made up anxieties, tantrums, enthusiasms or as rosie summed it up: I imagine the screening process tends to select for good screamers.) 2. Demeaning sexist comments and attitudes 3. Jobs done so they give the appearance of being well done, but we know they skipped the necessary prep steps (mulemom: ...doesn't paint need to dry on TV?) 4. "Guests" who are brats and/or entitled gas bags, or as joaniepoanie said, And don't even get me started on the 22 year olds who thumb their noses at any house that doesnt have a jet tub/double vanities in the bathroom or granite and stainless in the kitchen! Or westsider40: ...who works 9 to five anyway? Move-in ready ? Throw up, you spoiled, lazy, no goodnick.... 5. Vapid reactions: from CEFreeman: That's auh-maaaay-zing and from kompy: Oh - My - God! (with hand over mouth gesture). 6. When you know the job shown was poorly done: from lara: ...the brief little "quick tip" things they show are SO cheap and awful! 7. The ugly (and embarrassing) American: from lori inthenw: I've seen Americans all wacked-out about how they wouldn't have as much room as they are used to and their furniture wouldn't fit and freaking out about washer/dryers being located in either kitchens or bathrooms. Because what 100 year old in-city apartment would dare not come with a laundry room?!

In 1955, we moved from Long Beach to Fremont; then two years later back to Long Beach; then a year and a half later back to Fremont. Zoris and go-aheads were terms we had to learn when we moved; I know there was a third term in California for the rubber sandals, but I'm not sure now what it was (perhaps thongs). In any case, even if we'd used thongs years earlier in California, it was one of the mysterious terms we encountered when we moved to Connecticut in 1965 (like gross and other words I no longer recall. I always assumed zori was a Japanese word, and after all these years, the Internet says I was right about that. Growing up, a soda was always pop with ice cream in it (LOL). In my childhood, sodas were something on the menu that we never ordered and thus never understood. We did drink root beer with ice cream, but that was always a root beer float. When I went to college, my friends had discussions about regional words and pronunciations (how many different vowels in Mary, merry, and marry?). We also debated the general terms for carbonated beverages. I ended up adopting soda to refer to fizzy drinks, much to the bemusement of my parents and brother -- and later my co-workers in the Chicago area.

I have to admit, I've been watching some of these shows for the last week or so. I don't normally get HGTV or the other cable channels that have these shows but now that I'm staying elsewhere during my remodel, they're easily accessible. I feel like I have a morbid fascination with them. One of the things that always stands out is time. Not just how quickly (they say) they get things done but what they do when something takes longer than expected. In the first part of a show, they'll obsess over "this tile" or "those cabs" and then when something eff's up, that's right out the window so they can finish "in time". Wrong color? Throw some (on site, fast) paint or veneer on it. Which matters more: a couple of weeks of delay (as if ...) or the long term? 'Course, the shows would be less interesting without this drama. I mean, people watch (watched? I never did ...) Jerry Springer. There's some degree of Jerry Springer in many of these shows. I doubt that's by chance. I suppose the root concept of this thread is those people that aren't aware of the parallels between many flipping/remodeling and, say, pro wrestling. The description of that is not so very different: "The content including match outcomes is choreographed".