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Reading Room:  Doing away with cable TV  |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 3:47:32 PM
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Well, we are taking steps to become a TV free family. Ouch.....but we are cancelling cable which also means no cable computer access. We will be going to DSL though, so not too bad.
We are taking these steps as a family so that our girls will become unplugged and possibly discover the total beauty and freedom of reading. My DH and I think it will draw us closer as a family. I'll teach the girls to sew and crochet and cook. This is part of our 5 year plan to become more self sustaining. I know this sounds like a little step, but it is huge for us. I'm addicted to 24 AND Idol. I'm getting close to being prepared for our place way out in the country!
I know I haven't posted much in the reading room, but that just proves, that I need to read more!!
Are there any other Farmgirls and their families who have done away with TV? If so was it a difficult adjustment? What benefits have you found with not being sucked into the tube?
Thanks in advance!
auntgeorge
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
Edited by - Aunt George on Feb 01 2007 3:59:42 PM |
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Persephone
True Blue Farmgirl
172 Posts
Katrina
Indiana
USA
172 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 4:28:52 PM
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| I would REALLY REALLY like to cut down on the amount we watch- we don't even have cable, just network stations. I do know that once it's gone, you don't really miss it (though I can't imagine dh being ok with sports on the radio only- and we do enjoy our Netflix, which is why I haven't chucked the thing out the window yet) Kudos to you, mama! And I look forward to reading other's responses! |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 4:33:49 PM
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Yep. We don't have a TV...at all. I have watched a few DVDs on the computer, and my little one has one that he loves to watch now and then, but I am SO HAPPY that we don't have one. I just know that I would watch it way too much if we did. It has caused a few other things to happen, however:
1 - I am a total NPR addict
2 - if I am in a place that has a TV on (restaurant, friend's house, etc.), it's really easy for me to get caught up in it
3 - I can no longer carry on a conversation with someone very easily in a room with a TV on - I end up paying attention to the TV
All in all - I love it! Doing away with cable sounds like a good move to me!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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shmeg
True Blue Farmgirl
222 Posts
Megan
Granville
Ohio
USA
222 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 4:47:46 PM
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| We use to not have cable, the only channel we could get for some reason was the Hallmark channel which was actually pretty cool because I love Little House on the Prairie and don't mind so much if my kids watch that. We would also watch soem movies on the kids. But that was it and we didn't miss it at all once it was gone! Since then we have fallen. Long story but basically we work a very wealthy couple, I'm their nanny and in exchange for watching him we get to live in a really nice house on 11 acres and pay no utilities. Anyway, they asked if we would keep their big screen TV until their son was old enough to put it in his room. (crazy) They were getting a new flat screen TV. So, I felt somewhat obligated and said yes and am now kicking myself. Our old TV was nice and small and fit in a cupboard and we could hide it away and not even think about it. This thing is a monstrosity, the kids are always thinking about it because it so damn big and I am ready to give up TV all together. It really is nicer without it so I say good for you. |
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 4:58:31 PM
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We don't have cable,just country cable which is 3 channels. But most of the time we watch dvd's or videos. I could care less for a tv, I couldn't even begin to tell you what shows are on networks now. Now the computer....lol...that would be like cutting my right arm off! I definitely need to break my addiction there. I've considered selling my tv, it's big and i hate it, but that could be the fact that my ex bought it before he left. lol I think it's great all of you who are tuning out the tube and tuning into your families.
Blessings....
Sarah
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." -From The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 5:25:25 PM
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I would LOVE to not have a tv at all..and we did go without cable for about a year and 1/2..but husband wore me down and I finally let him have it turned back on a couple months ago. I hate it and don't watch much tv at all myself..and don't let the kids watch much at all either....in fact...they put it on the radio disney channel and listen to that more than watch tv.. husband tends to like military channel and sci fi channel and like that and watches more in the bedroom (I have NEVER once watched tv in there!!) oh well. I put my foot down though...no tv in the living room ..just one in the family room and the small one he has in the bedroom. MORE than enough. And no video games for us. My husband and I agree on most things..but not this one.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 5:40:39 PM
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We only have one channel as it is, two if the wind blows right. We have not had cable or dish once since we have lived here and we like it that way. When I lived in St. Paul still, we didn't ahve tv at all. We have the radio on most of the day, classical NPR then at 3 o'clock it gets changed to news NPR, though recently we ahve had just the news NPR on. We get a lot more done with the tv off, more done in the way of the house as well as together as a family.
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://frugalwitch.wordpress.com
http://tasharose365.wordpress.com/
Homepage: http://mysticwoodsfarm.com |
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daffodil dreamer
True Blue Farmgirl
805 Posts
Jayne
Hamilton
Victoria
Australia
805 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 02:17:43 AM
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Go for it Georgann - I would so get rid of the TV all together if hubby let me! But he just bought a widescreen TV - grrrrr!! I don't watch it at all and limit severely the amount the kids can watch - at the moment the TV has hardly been on as hubby is away working for a week. But normally he turns it on as soon as he gets home, even if there is nothing specific on. It drives me nuts! I have a cover for the TV that 'puts the TV to sleep'. It is 7 pm here and because the TV hasn't been on, the kids are running around outside playing dressups (even the 11 year old - if her friends could only see her!!) Just proves that kids do not need to grow up as quickly as modern society seems to think.
Anyway - raving again! I think it will be a great idea. I try to let my kids watch one DVD a week - that is better than watching TV as the content can be monitored and once it is over, it is over (easier to get them to turn off that way). All I'll say is, when I tried to phase out TV, I had to have activities available/planned so they would be happy to not watch. But it sounds as though that is what you have planned anyway. Also, I guess accept that you will probably, at least to start with, have less free time for yourself, while they get used to not watching TV. I can't say how great it is - definitely do it!!
Best wishes,
Jayne |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 04:44:03 AM
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My husband and I admire the Amish for their stance of not being hooked up with the utility companies, it really makes them independent. So far the only utility we've unhooked is cable TV, the rest seem to be necessities! We are 50 years old and got married 4 years ago - one thing that we had in common is that neither of us subscribed to cable TV. Both of us were frugal, I had children and didn't want to have to be the police of what they watched, and he says "Better to have nothing on 10 channels than have to flip through 100 channels and decide there's nothing worth watching!"
We do have cable modem (you CAN get one without the other, you know..)
We do have over-the-air broadcast TV channels and I'm a little concerned about what is going to happen to that in 2008 when analog broadcasting is eliminated, we can get some of the digital channels but not very well. Although we don't watch THAT MUCH TV, we do watch the news and a few shows every week, and I like the Public TV/educational stations programming on Saturdays -- Sewing with Nancy, Fons and Porter, etc. The problem is that they are on UHF and those are the the digital stations that DO NOT come in at all. Maybe by then I can get them on the internet like I do the NPR stations that don't come in well around here.
We probably watch more TV in winter than in summertime, there's always something to do in the evenings in the summer and I don't miss TV at all then.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 06:28:07 AM
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Very interesting subject in these very modern times....In Norfolk we got cable again last summer only because the foreign student renting a room wanted it for tv and internet for homework research, so he paid for it. Well, he left in December, and I plan to get another student to rent a bedroom hopefully in March when we go back for the spring. Otherwise, it goes! When I took early retirement in 2005 I wanted to streamline as much as possible since I would be living abroad a good deal of the year, and since my pension is not grand. I ditched the cell phone and cable TV and with the exception of going through temporary withdrawal from HGTV, it was no biggie. Hubby and I are not big TV fans. Since I do not get a daily newspaper, I do enjoy the local and national news, and of course PBS. Americans say French TV is horrible, and by American standards they are right on the money. On "regular" (free) TV here there are several American shows, including Desperative Housewives, which I just described to a dinner guest yesterday as "tres stupid"!! They think this is a realistic look at life in the US!! And why not? It is on TV, ha! French tv has several extremely good weekly series on famous and not so famous landmarks, historic architecture, etc., a good antiques show and garden show (Saturdays seem to be loaded with french versions of our HGTV type programs) and a really good one on Fridays all about the sea. The quality is here to be found, just not the quantity. Naturally, you can pay for Cable TV here and get a couple hundred channels, but I agree, how often do we flip channels only to decide there is NOTHING worth watching?????! Boys and their dads are extremely hard to convince that life without TV (sports) is good.
I really think it is a good thing to have for watching videos or DVDs that you have chosen to purchase, as well as good quality programming; but like all things (except maybe fabric and yarn) it is only truly beneficial when taken in moderation. And that is easy for me to preach because I do not have young children at home anymore, so the struggle doesn't exist at my house. For you gals with young kids, set a reasonable guideline for them (and the parents set the example of course!!) and STICK to it! Limit it to whatever number of hours per day/shows per day and try that for awhile. If you make the time spent in front of the TV quality together time I think it would be something everybody looked forward to as opposed to just another pastime to veg out with. Too much tv does sap creativity, but a little good tv can also inspire it! It is a matter of using our heads, instead of the remote! Have a great day everybody! Nance |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 06:43:10 AM
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I look at things a bit differently. My daughter chose to have no cable because her hubby would be lost in it every chance he'd get. (You know that caveman joke about how a man doesn't watch TV, he becomes the TV? That's him.) But we have DirecTV and TiVo, and we choose a few programs that we don't want to miss. There are hundreds of channels on DirecTV, and I rarely turn the thing on before the local noon news, it goes back off for most of the afternoon, and then we turn it on again in the evening to watch the ABC Evening News. There's usually something on at night that we like (we both love the History channel), but we don't do much serious watching. I mostly have it so I can watch my beloved Cubs in the summertime.
In our house it works to just turn it off when we don't want it, and turn it on when we do.
I'm also crazy about my XM radio, but I'm even crazier about silence, birdsong, summer breezes and the occasional whinny of a horse.  |
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vintagechica
True Blue Farmgirl
438 Posts
Eren
Poolville
TX
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 09:15:31 AM
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We dont have cable either and havent for the past 7 years or so. I dont miss it at all. We 3 unpaid reg. channels that we get. PBS and ABC and one other. We rent movies for family movie night on most Fri. nights. Oh, and I have high speed internet without the cable also. I say go for it!!!! I so want to loose our TV off of the back, of the truck when we move back to VA. Maybe I will drag my feet when it comes time to get it all set up again and see how long we can last without it. There are a few shows that I really enjoy, but most info. you can follow online these days. I would love it if you keep us posted on this!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A sure way to avoid housework...live outdoors.
www.vintagechica.typepad.com |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 09:41:15 AM
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I applaud you gals. We don't have children (yet) but when we do, I plan on getting them out and about and away from television--I don't believe in video games or ps2 or any of that yuck...I do believe in fossil hunting and playing in the snow.
We have never had cable, and frankly, don't miss having it. We really aren't home enough to justify the cost, and when we are, we watch alot of public television--I'd much prefer that, anyway. When I do think of what we watch, it's alot news, frankly....We listen to public radio, too, one a music station, the other nothing but NPR news and BBC news... I think I'd feel a little weird without the local television stations...it keeps me sortof grounded, I guess.
My husband teases that we "jumped" into the techno age without going through all the steps--we have a laptop but no cable, no cell phones or pagers, and we just got an answering machine...
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
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vintagechica
True Blue Farmgirl
438 Posts
Eren
Poolville
TX
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 1:19:53 PM
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I have had girlfriends who ask me "How do you do all that you do?" I think no TV is one of the answers. It is amazing what all you can do when you dont get sucked in to the boob-tube.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A sure way to avoid housework...live outdoors.
www.vintagechica.typepad.com |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
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laluna
True Blue Farmgirl
295 Posts
New York
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 5:38:24 PM
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| @Brenda...oh, I have an iPod, but only because it came free as part of a promotion when I bought my MacBook last summer. I have the modest 2G Nano, and it's basically a portable device. I have music and podcasts downloaded to mine so I can listen when I'm at the Y. You can also get adaptors to plug into your car rather than having to lug around a bin of CD's. I guess it's more useful if you're really into music (which I am, with a CD collection that numbers well over 500!) and it certainly cuts down on the waste of CD's and all the subsequent packaging because you can download virtually any music you want to from iTunes now! |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 6:14:10 PM
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Great information, suggestions and answers! Thank you all, I knew I could count on my farmgirl friends to share their experiences with this. I have read every entry here with enthusiasm!! Please keep posting, 'cause I'm still reading!!!
G
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 7:24:09 PM
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| The issue of cultural isolation in the country is especially acute for young people. I'm not sure I'd want to raise kids out here today without access to a variety of news and full-length interview programs on CNN, CSPAN and so on (not just the sound bites you get on web sites), especially when an important story is breaking. Being current on national and global news today is important to their education in civic affairs, geography etc. I suppose newspapers, radio and the Internet can fill the void, and I hope you'll take advantage of all those media, using them to seek out fresh sources rather than just going back to the same old touchstones all the time. Regular access to social gathering places (coffee shops, the farm market, bookstores, etc.) in town is important. Your kids may find themselves a little "out of it" (or whatever they call it today) at these places if they never watch any popular tv shows -- but on the other hand, maybe they can make other kids feel out of it for not being up to speed on their reading! Just seek balance and you can't go far wrong. |
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faithymom
True Blue Farmgirl
360 Posts
Faith
Sandpoint
ID
USA
360 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 9:11:58 PM
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When we moved to Idaho, we left the cable TV behind as they didn't have service to the house we moved to. We have since moved into town and my husband has talked of getting cable, but I don't really want to. I know how I am when we have cable!!!
24 hour FoodTV, HGTV, and CourtTV!!!
I also don't miss worrying about what the kids might come across...some 'cartoons' aren't fit for adults, let alone kids!
We have TV and I enjoy it in moderation, usually just in the evenings and Saturday PBS (cooking shows ; } )
I wish we got all of the network channels, but we only get 2 PBS channels, one for Idaho and one for Washington, and Fox. It's enough for us.
"All television is educational television. The only question is, what is it teaching?"-Fmr. FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 9:34:11 PM
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We used to have all the channels and just this past year cut back to the very basics on cable. We only get local stations and the Hallmark Channel which I love dearly. I have found that I watch much less TV. I have a few shows that I like but other than that I don't sit down for hours and hours of TV. I will admit I miss the Food Network the most!
You go for it. I would love to have no TV or internet at all. The computer is what sucks up my time and high speed hookup makes it even worse.
The Rustic Cottage Etsy Shop http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
Picture A Day Blog http://rcpicaday.blogspot.com |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 01:03:51 AM
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Again, good points. I guess I should have mentioned that we will have television, just not 200 channels with nothing to watch! LOL.....My husband has mentioned purchasing an antenna or some such devise to capture broadcast TV. Or the alternate thing to do would be to go with Cavalier in our area...still have many channels, but also at a $100 per month savings! Part is wishing to do away with all of the TV junkfood and the other is cost savings. Cable is out of control in its pricing in this area of Virginia...perhaps across the nation too!!
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 07:12:57 AM
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I think we can read about news on the computer. imho the news media is all sensationalized, they report what they want to sell their ratings. I learned that first hand from dating an Army captain for a year while he was in Iraq. What he told me and what you saw on the news were not exactly the same thing. Anyhow, at what cost do we allow all the junk of the world to invade our homes? It is great if you can monitor and control that. BUt I know with me being a single parent, I cannot always be right on top of my kids every second keeping them away from what is harmful. For me it's just better not to have it in the first place.
Blessings....
Sarah
Something I borrowed...
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." -From The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
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koolaidqueen
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Julie
Sherwood
Michigan
25 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 08:27:09 AM
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Hello, farmgirls and especially Georgann,
I will probably be getting on my bandwagon and start preaching, so forgive me, but give me a chance to tell my story...
We had a television for a very long time. As a matter of fact, as I was growing up, my mother was a single mother and people would offer her a TV but not anything of any substance. We did catch up with "modern" times and got one. I was always watching and I was especially a movie buff. We had talked about getting rid of it, but nothing came of it. My mother was NOT going to do it because she wasn't the one who was fascinated with it. She wanted me to come to the place of realizing what I needed to do. One day, I just decided that was the day. It was the day before Thanksgiving, which surprised me because I love to watch parades. Anyway, The set went out and has never been back!! It has now been 9 years or more and I have found that I don't know how I got anything done before. I am also no longer a movie buff...I read the books. I appreciate everyone's own opinion, but I must say that my life is so different now. I have time to run a small farm, work, read, do lots of projects for the fair, and I do know what is going on in the world. I have a more positive and pure outlook on life and the world around me, because of the lack of the media influence. The reasons to get rid of the television far outweigh the reasons to keep it. Thanks for letting me share and I hope I have helped someone else who was/is in my former position.
P.S. My mother encourages everyone to learn by doing(active) rather than by watching(passive).
Julie...Official Farmgirl, Gardener, Stitcher, County Fair girl, and lots of other stuff!!
"I love the way libraries smell." -That Wild Berries Should Grow by Gloris Whelan |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 09:35:32 AM
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Just thought I'd mention that we're too rural to have cable access, so our "cable" is actually satellite, and basic. We don't watch anything on it except news and public affiars programs, movies on Turner Classic Movies (no commercials, really wonderful old movies) and some Comedy Central shows like Jon Stewart -- we're really politicized at our place! When the news is about a Senate hearing or something, we check it out on CSPAN -- no voice-over idiots trying to tell us what we're watching and hearing for ourselves, and often twisting it. Can't get CSPAN on regular broadcast TV.
Mostly, though, we use our TV for watching videos and DVDs. I'd say it's not on for other purposes more than 2 or 3 hours a day, and even then, only every third day or so. We could probably live fine wirhout it. I didn't see a television set until I was about 10 years old, in the late 50s. Mostly, it confused and disappointed me, but I loved the Wilkins Coffee commercials (we lived near Baltimore at the time), featuring some of what would one day become known as Jim Henson's Muppets. |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 5:37:11 PM
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Wow, this has been a great discussion! I rarely watch TV myself. Love 24 and Idol though, but I can do without the. I do love old movies, but rarely sit to watch one. Just find I don't have the time. It takes so much of my time trying to clean house, cook 3x/day x7days/wk...sheesh. Plus sew and homework and my farmgirl time. Julie, love your mother's motherisms!
Thanks farmgirls!! Oh, and Sarah and Rosemary.....I just had a feeling about you girlfriends! *wink*
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
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abbasgurl
True Blue Farmgirl
1262 Posts
Rhonda
USA
1262 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2007 : 7:08:53 PM
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AuntGeorge,
We started out TV free with our boys and stayed that way for 7 years. My goodness, the benefits were probably unmeasurable really. I credit no tv with their love of reading, the outdoors, music and being very creative as well. I miss the tv free zone. It's such a time (brain) waster.
I always wonder what it would be like to eliminate tv again at this point. Our boys are teens now...hmmm.
Keep us posted on how things go.
Blessings,
Rhonda
I'm a one girl revolution. |
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Reading Room: Doing away with cable TV |
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Doing away with cable TV
