I've lost interest in television

I've never been one to leave the television on all day for "background noise".  That would drive me batty for sure!  But throughout the years, I've generally had a handful of favorite shows I enjoyed watching.  The last commercial television shows I've actually looked forward to were West Wing and The Good Wife, and they go back a few years.  Right now I believe "Call the Midwife" on PBS is the only show I look forward to.  I watch Forensic Files often, but it's mostly just something to kill time.  The other evening Cliff asked if there was anything, perhaps something on Netflix or perhaps a movie on DVD, that I'd like to watch.  I thought awhile and finally said, "Honestly, I couldn't care less about anything on television these days."  

Never have there been so many choices when it comes to watching television:  If you can afford it, you can bring any sort of entertainment into your living room.  Most people have cable or satellite television, plus several streaming apps like Netflix and Prime.  We do, and I'm not sure we aren't wasting our money on those.  We paid an extra ten bucks a month to watch Country Road TV until we'd seen all the Country's Family Reunions several times, and when I realized we weren't watching it much, I discontinued it.  With all the choices available, I still find very shows that interest me unless you count old reruns from past years, shows like "All in the Family", "Taxi, "Andy Griffith" (only the black-and-white episodes), and "Frasier".  

Probably at the root of the problem is this:  I have unlimited books in my life now, thanks to the iPad and our public libraries.  With books, I can pick the genres I enjoy, read the reviews online, and generally find a book I can read and love.  I also pay attention to what my online friends are reading; if there's a good book someone says couldn't put down, I immediately see if it's available at the library and check it out or put it on hold.  Here are some of the books I'll be reading in the next several weeks (if you aren't using the Libby app, you should):

I'm glad my next book will be John Sandford's, and it features my favorite character... Virgil Flowers!  Right now I'm reading "Olive, Again", which I saw mentioned online.  I almost passed on it because it was an Oprah's Book Club selection; sometimes there's an agenda behind their choices, but I'm enjoying this book.  The waiting list is longer than just the books you can see pictured here.  There's a John Grisham book, The Guardians; This Tender Land; Garner Files; and The Whisper Man.  Those all have a six-week wait time.  

Yesterday I was undecided about what we'd have for dinner.  I have a little chili in the freezer, enough for us to put over a couple of hot dogs.  Being in the middle of an interesting book, I thought chili dogs would be simple and quick for lunch, but I could tell Cliff was less than enthusiastic... not that he said anything, but after over fifty years of marriage, you learn to communicate pretty well without saying a word.  Anyhow, I decided, since Cliff has been pretty patient with my wanting to eat out lately, to make hamburger stew instead.  That made a hit, and there's plenty left for today's noon meal, too.  (More reading time for me.)

Yesterday was a lovely day that started out cloudy, but cleared off nicely by noon.  Cliff spent a lot of time piddling around outside.  I got my walk in, but I did it in two parts, since my timing on the soup was a little off.  I like to walk mid-morning; I'm more energetic in the early part of the day.  But I didn't have time to do the whole walk before noon.  Yes, we eat promptly at noon around here.  I'm telling you, with my belly full of delicious soup, part two of the walk was slow and draggy!  

I believe that's it for today.  Have yourselves a great day, won't you?  I intend to.