Monday, February 20, 2012

Little People, Big World: Amy's Book, Matt's Land

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Wow - another special so soon? Though I suspect that some of the activities going on are rather out-of-order. We see Tori but it's stated that Jeremy only moved to Santa Barbara two months ago. So, who knows if all of the events actually took place after the previous specials, and whether Matt's buying more property and Amy's selling a cookbook happened simultaneously. But, it doesn't really matter all that much... I'm glad that we're getting updates on the Roloff family, even though we're not getting the full series anymore. Molly and Jacob were both pretty absent in this episode, and the twins only took up a small portion. Really, this looked at Matt and Amy and their individual goals. Luckily, they support one another, regardless of how much they disagree.
Photo: TLC
Little People, Big World "Battle for the Farm" (Special): Matt feels like he needs to expand and start a new dream, as all of his other projects are completed. [I can't be the only one who doesn't believe this... you know he's got SOMETHING that's only half-done!] The property next door becomes available, and buying it would triple the size of the Roloff Farm, to over 100 acres. Plus, Matt says that it's half the price it's worth, so it's a good investment for the future. Amy is concerned about how much more work it will be, so Matt goes to town in talking about the property's barn, the house, and the farmland. [they don't need yet another barn. Yeah, maybe it would be handy to have "an extra house in case one of the kids needs a place to stay," but realistically, that's a bad reason. And yes, it's handy that the seller would potentially work as a farmer, but I'm thinking they'd need more help than that!] He even comes up with some ideas of what Amy could do on the property. But, while he's suggesting blueberries, she wonders how they're going to grow enough pumpkins to afford it all. She doesn't want to spend every waking hour being cash-poor and asset-rich. [and she's right... they are getting up there in years.] Matt talks to Zach about subletting the house on the potential new property, but he's only interested for a few days. After that, he realizes that it isn't worth moving and paying rent to live so close. [good point, though I think Jeremy kinda pushed him into that mindset.] Matt's biggest fear in life is boredom, so he keeps pushing it, saying that, if nothing else, it would be a good investment for the kids. [...provided that they'd want it?] Amy remains unsold right up until they're at the bank, where she hesitates but finally signs. [that must have been a very difficult decision... I was truly curious as to what she'd decide to do in the end!]

Anyway, while Matt is focused on the new land, Amy is working on making a dream of her own a reality. See, she has wanted to create her own cookbook for like twenty years, and she feels like now is the time. Apparently she's had a flair for the culinary since she was twelve years old, and when she graduated with a degree in hospitality, she thought about owning or running a restaurant. [wow! how different would that be!] She throws together a dinner party for some friends so she can test some of her recipes, then has the various family members try others. Part of her problem is that she doesn't always measure things, so she needs to work on figuring out how much of this and that is in these things. [this is the main reason why I can't make my mother's signature dishes. She doesn't measure, plus she'll sometimes substitute whatever's on hand and manage to make it work. I'm too exact for that... I level-off my dry measures and whatnot so everything is always precise.] After calling a few publishers, she meets with one who is interested. He helps guide her into creating a stronger proposal. [I thought the uneasiness in her voice really stood out, since she normally seems to be much more confident.] She tries more recipes and works on the proposal quite a bit, and in the end, a large national publisher is interested. Amy talks about the idea being for those who don't know much about cooking AND busy mothers. He likes the layout, and the book will be called Short and Simple, coming out this October. [wow... I imagine that Amy will be doing some things to publicize it... right in the middle of pumpkin season! eek!] 

A few other tidbits that took place... Zach drives down to Santa Barbara to visit Jeremy for a few days. Jeremy has a roommate now, and it looks like a different space than where he moved originally. Jeremy has taken an interest in rock climbing. Also in the episode, Jeremy flies up to visit the family when Amy's parents come to visit. While there, he acts like the typical college kid who needs a lot of money... particularly a $4k camera and a bunch of software. [geez! though photography is a very expensive thing to start up... take it from someone who has a couple family members intrigued by the pastime!]
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