One Challenge Begets Another

One of the things I indulged in while I was away on vacation was a little television. I'd finished the seven week hiatus I'd set forth for myself in May and was really looking forward to the season premiere of my guilty summer pleasure, Big Brother.

So on the second or third night at my sister's, I tuned in with much anticipation - only to find myself super impatient with the proportion of commercials to actual programming. Okay, the program wasn't really all that great either. But I couldn't believe how many commercials there were! It felt like one long series of commercials with a few interruptions from the program itself. I like to think that I'm not really affected by advertising like that. That as a person living on a fairly modest income who's relatively non-materialistic, seeing that amount of advertising doesn't really get under my skin. That's what I'd like to think, but after sitting through that many commercials - I gotta wonder.

I also found myself a little dizzied by the pace of things - particularly during the commercials. Images flashed across the screen a mile a minute. All jagged and tipped about at one angle and another. I remember when NYPD Blue first began shooting its program like that and the industry was all abuzz about this new technique. How appealing it'd be to the generation who'd grown up on video games and MTV. Well, I guess I must have become accustomed to it years ago, but it made me positively seasick when I tuned back in after seven weeks of life ashore.

It's been an interesting experiment. And one that's not entirely over... I came home on Tuesday and went to turn on my own TV only to find that it did not survive The Switch intact. I live in a very large city and two of the major networks aren't coming in at all. I've tried repositioning the antenna, channel scanning - no luck. And I don't honestly have the patience to deal with it right now, so it's still sitting mute and dark in the corner.

So - if I ever do get that antenna in gear and actually have reception again --- can I become the kind of person who turns the television on when I want to watch something special and turns it off again afterward? That's the new challenge. Because there is some wonderful television out there, after all... It's almost been easier, I think, having a complete ban in effect. Despite some very antsy few days in the beginning, I really didn't mind not being able to watch TV for most of those seven weeks. There were only a couple times I wanted to watch it badly. In both cases, I was also feeling either lonesome or under the weather at the time. How's that for a link. TV's been my hot water bottle. Filled the gap when I was bored or lonely in this new city - comforted me when I was feeling sick or cramp-y. Television was also a way of unwinding for me. A way of relaxing after a long day at work and letting somebody else take the wheel. But there are other ways of relaxing and unwinding and I'm looking forward to discovering them...

Without a doubt, I have loved the sensation of having longer evenings in my home. It's like I've stolen a few hours back from evenings that used to fly by without my even realizing it! Fitting a home-cooked dinner, chores, and relaxation into my evenings doesn't seem impossible any more. I'm not there yet, but it's a way of life that truly feels attainable now. And just in the nick of time, too. I'm going to be adding a whole new beauty routine to my evenings next week and I'm going to need that newfound time.

In the meantime, I've got a new vintage culture mission in the works. Tune in tomorrow for the announcement!

Sunday, Monday, or Always

"Oh, yeah," I thought to myself this morning when I heard on the radio that today was the big day. The transition from analog to digital television was made today here in the United States. At least, I think it was. I felt the tiniest bit tempted to turn my TV on to see if it was picking up the new signal, but decided against it. This was big doings in the Jitterbug household last winter when they were planning to make "the switch" in February. I'd purchased my converter box, fussed about trying to pick up stations, figured out - finally - that my set would need a digital antenna, set that up and fussed about some more. Everything was in order when I parted ways with my television three weeks ago, so I'm sure it's fine now.

One of the things I'm certainly not missing about TV - analog or digital - is the constant grumbling about weather. Oh, those local newscasts... They'd moan and groan if it was in the 60s ("Too cold!"), they'd moan and groan if it was in the 90s ("It's a sizzler out there!"), they'd gripe about the slightest breeze ("Gusts of up to 40 mph!"), and rain? Forget about it. The softest shower was built up to be some massive rain system moving through the city. As if the griping and groaning and going over it again and again is going to make the slightest difference. It is what it is outdoors. All you have to do is open a window and you can see and feel what's going on out there. If your allergies are acting up - yep, there's pollen on the move. I can see how important forecasts would be if you were a farmer or if you lived in a Northern climate during the winter. I know firsthand how great Doppler radar is when a snowstorm is moving in. I used to get really frustrated hearing all that grumbling from the anchorpeople several times a day. (Not frustrated enough to just turn off the TV, mind you!) But it's an irritant that's gone now. Completely absent. I don't think I've heard a weather report of any kind in three weeks and I'm surviving quite nicely.

Another subtle shift for me is that I think I'm becoming more attentive to things like song lyrics. Music that was once more background for me than foreground is now the main attraction. If I'm sitting here tapping away at the keyboard and listening to big band, I'm really paying attention to the song. And this is probably going to sound goofy, but it's as if the lyrics of ballads and things are beginning to seem more passionate - and sexy at times - than they used to. Frank Sinatra singing "Sunday, Monday, or Always" is all crazy sexy to me now, and I probably would have written it off as a nice tune several weeks ago. It's kinda funny. Today's singers think they need to practically have intercourse on stage in order to elicit the same reaction that Sinatra got just from the way he paced his lyrics. And the catch in his voice. The bobby soxers were swooning in the aisles, but I'll bet there was many a housewife who stopped - iron in mid-air - to close her eyes and listen with a smile...

I'm getting ready to spend a few hours catching up with my kitchen. Because of the changes I've made to my housekeeping routine this week, I just wanted to post the revised list of chores I'll be doing on a weekly basis in the kitchen. These would have been daily tasks for the '40s housewife - and probably still are for many of you!

Open windows top and bottom for free circulation of air, or open kitchen ventilator.

Rinse and stack dishes, pots and pans.

Check and reorganize foods; put away.

Collect all refuse and put in garbage can.

Wipe off top of refrigerator and all work surfaces in need of cleaning.

Wash dishes. Dry and put away, if not room to rinse with hot water and leave to dry.

Wipe off surface of range. Clean spilled food from drip pan or oven.

Dry damp work surfaces.

Dust radiator or register.

Take out garbage; put clean lining in garbage can.

Clean sink. Rinse dishcloth or mop; hang outdoors if possible.

Collect soiled towels; wash. Hang fresh towels.

Who Says You Can't Make Time Stand Still?

Dare I say it? I think my nights are getting longer.

The absence of television seems to have slowed down the clock here at the Jitterbug household on weekday evenings. I noticed this for the first time several days ago. "It must be about 10:00," I thought, looking up at the clock. Nope, just 8:30. "It must be a fluke. Just a coincidence," I told myself. Nope, I felt that extra jag of time the next night - and again the next. It's like the morning that Daylight Savings Time ends, when you're smiling like the Cheshire Cat just to luxuriate in bed for an extra hour. It's an absolutely unexpected phenomenon, but I'm loving it!

My evenings are beginning to feel positively leisurely... and that's something this working woman never thought she'd hear herself say about a weekday evening. It used to be that I'd get home from work, heat something up for supper - snap my fingers - and it'd be bedtime. These days, I find myself actually reading, thinking about taking hot baths, and singing the greatest hits of 1944 as I give the kitchen a little extra magic.

It's like I found a way to stop time! We've been talking about it for years, but I've actually found a way to add hours to the day!!! (Now the trick is going to be not to fritter away that extra time with equally fruitless pursuits.)

Some of the downsides to being without television:

Where to eat dinner? I don't let myself eat my vintage dinner on Sunday evenings in front of the TV, but that never stopped me any other night of the week. Now I find myself all awkward when I'm ready to eat. Like somebody all dressed up with no place to go. (You'd think the clean kitchen table at my elbow would be a hint.)

I find myself in odd moments fantasizing about some of the great television I've watched over the years. Masterpieces like Homefront, life-altering documentaries like The Farmer's Wife, even the cheesy, comforting sitcoms that wrap problems up so neatly in a 30-minute bow. When I tune back in, I don't want to spend the time that's standing still for me now on anything that I don't wholeheartedly enjoy.

Detox

Day One

I'm good. So busy, I didn't even notice.

Day Two

Ditto.

Day Three

Ditto.

Day Four

Serious withdrawals. I was all antsy and jittery on Sunday evening. I felt so out of touch without the TV. Kind of like you feel after a long power outage at home. Which is odd since I can get plenty of news over the radio or in news stories online. Maybe there's something about the visual element to television news that makes me feel like I'm getting the real scoop. I don't know... I definitely felt like I was missing out on things I wouldn't get the chance to see again. Sunday evening was the pits.

Day Five
One of the things I like doing when I have a weekday off - or a sick day - is catching up on one or two of the soap operas I loved as a teenager. And late Monday morning, right on cue, I realized I'd missioned myself right out of my soaps. Eek --- no Newman family Memorial Day barbecue on Y&R! No picnic and fireworks amid mob shootouts in the park on GH! Am I actually going to have to start living my own life? I clung to my vintage radio programs like a lifeline on Monday.

Day Six
I've become accustomed to ironing with American Idol. It's one of those chores that really goes well with television. I'm listening to some music instead tonight. Right now, a May 27, 1936 episode of "Your Hit Parade" is playing. It was the Top 40 of its day. They only featured 15 songs per show, but the songs were covered live by their house orchestra and vocalists. You know, ironing to music isn't half bad. I think I'm actually working a little more quickly. Maybe I'll have to add some more musical programs to my collection...

After announcing my mission last Thursday, I've had to make some additional decisions about what I meant exactly by "no TV." After all, TV is available online now - sometimes in full episodes, sometimes in clips. You can see TV on DVDs, too. I gave it some thought and decided that none of the above would be okay during these seven weeks. Also, no movies on DVD. If I want to see a movie, I've got to get up and leave the house to go see it in a theater. Or watch something with a group of friends. If I'm going to treat myself to a movie, it's got to be something I get out there and exert some energy in order to see.

There's always been a little something off to me about shutting myself up in my home and privately consuming entertainment. And yet that's the outcome of the story of entertainment during the last century. Once upon a time, people went out to vaudeville shows or community theatricals of some sort - maybe a dance at the local Grange hall - to break up the workaday routine. As radio came in and the record industry boomed, they began retreating a bit more to their homes. Hosting parties for friends of their own choosing. Even when television began being broadcast, people would watch it in roadhouses or have viewing parties at home. They still enjoyed being entertained in the company of others. While we haven't closed ourselves off from the world entirely, I know plenty of folks who don't even watch TV or movies with other family members. Couples who share the same Netflix account, but rarely watch the movies together. Our music is wired directly into our earbuds, movies downloaded right to our computer screens, and we can program right through whatever commercials or slow-moving storylines might have interrupted our favorite TV programs and watch a whole day's worth of favorite programs in no time flat.

I'm vastly over-generalizing here, I know - and heaven knows what a boon my iPod has been to me, especially while walking - but there's something very antisocial in the way we keep ourselves entertained in 2009. We can target very precisely the things we want to watch or listen to, but is that quite as good a deal as it sounds? Are we missing out on anything? Maybe in hearing or seeing the reactions of others. Or in discovering something randomly wonderful that we'd never have picked out for ourselves... Just some of the things I'm finding PLENTY of time to think about these days! I'd be interested to know what y'all think. Will unplugging the TV force me out of this cocoon to seek the real thing?

Cutting the Cord

I'm venturing into the world of 1940s culture this week with a special seven-week mission. For quite some time, I've been thinking about diving into a vintage cultural mission here and there, but - between mastering the weekly kitchen cleaning and making a success of this diet and exercise thing - well, let's just say I haven't been lacking for mission material!

It's time to cut the cord to television. TV plays an outsized, overblown role in my life. And maybe this has a lot to do with living alone... In any event, I've gotten used to turning on the television when I get home from work - and it stays on until bedtime. It's comforting background noise. Especially during the long, long summers here when all my windows are closed tight for the air conditioning and I can't hear a peep from the outer world. Sometimes I see something really exciting that I hadn't planned on watching. But most of the time, I just end up listening to or watching a bunch of tired schlock I didn't get anything out of and don't remember 15 minutes later. Not a wise use of electricity, nor of my time.

What would my world be like if I didn't have that shiny little box to rely on for half-minded entertainment? Would I pick up new hobbies? Would I be a little less interested in celebrities? Would I feel deprived of anything? Would it force me to find some live entertainment instead?

Mind you, I don't think television is the devil incarnate or anything. I just want to put TV back into its proper place. So it's something I turn on specifically to watch a single program - and then turn off when that program is over... The timing isn't any accident. I had to wait until the finale of American Idol aired last night! (Had to see me Krissy boy take that title home like he deserved!!!) My other favorite reality show is Big Brother. (Yes, I'm hanging my head in embarrassment at this one.) Anyway, Big Brother doesn't get underway until July. So there's going to be a seven-week moratorium on TV here at the Jitterbug household. In fact, I think I probably ought to just unplug the thing so I don't turn it on absentmindedly! I'm curious to see what a post-television world holds for me...

Couch Carrot

The last few days have been such busy ones and today I'm feeling kinda un-bloggy, but I thought I'd stop in while I wait for my iron to heat up and post an update.

The first week of my first vintage beauty mission ends tomorrow night and it's coming along successfully. I've done four of my five 30-minute walks allotted for the week. On Saturday afternoon, I went to a park about a 10-minute drive from my home to workout. We had some unusual rain that morning and it had ended a short time ago, so the park was dead. Usually there are people all over the track; this time, there were only four or five. It was a little creepy! I was nearing the end of my first lap when I heard some raggedy man's cough about 20 feet behind me. Immediately, my mind jumped to all kinds of terrible thoughts. You know the type: "He must be alone." "He's a murderous thug." "He's about to jump me." "Can I make it to my car on time?" "Oh, there's a car pulling into the lot. Wait! Wait, people!"

Of course, this does get me walking faster - and burning more calories. I made it back to my car, leapt inside, locked the doors... and looked up to see a very undaunting dad-ish fellow with a paunch walking by. All that adrenaline for nothing! So after a few minutes, I got back out and took on a second lap. And then a third. Halfway through the third, it started raining again. No sweat. I've got a hoodie. Three-quarters of the way through, the rain turned to hail. Hail! It was like the heavens opening up and throwing every possible excuse I could use to get out of exercising at me!!!

Excuses aside, I did walk for 37 minutes. Not counting the time I spent cowering in my car.

My vintage dinner menu on Sunday evening was pretty tasty. I wasn't feeling good, though, and didn't enjoy the process or the meal quite as much as usual. Here's the menu, straight from 1945:

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Tomato Sauce

Buttered Peas

Carrot Sticks

Baked Caramel Custard

The Cabbage Leaves were stuffed with a mixture of sauteed chopped cabbage, onions, parsley, bread crumbs, and spices (yep, that's all the recipe told me - "spices"!). The cookbook instructed me to garnish them with Tomato Sauce, but I was dying to throw them in the oven just at the end with tomato sauce and parmesan. Those are my modern tastebuds wanting to dress things up in a way that might not have been pleasing to the 1940s palate. These dishes I've been cooking have been fairly - well, I'm not sure how to characterize them. I started to say "bland," but that's not exactly right. The flavors have been very true to life. Not a whole lot of fusion goin' on. Then again, maybe it's just that they're missing all the MSG I'm probably injesting in my modern prepared foods every other night of the week!

It's been ages since I shelled peas, but it came back to me pretty quickly. And, boy, do they taste world's apart from their canned cousins. The Carrot Sticks were a nice break from the weekly salads, and the Baked Caramel Custard was delicious. My big mistake was not in the kitchen. I was feeling so crummy by the time dinner was ready that I curled up in the living room and turned on the TV while I ate. What a change for the worse! I can't remember more than a few bites of what I ate. It's as if television completely short-circuited the connection between my meal and my mind. There wasn't that sense of rest or thankfulness that I'm accustomed to when I've sat down at the kitchen table for one of these vintage dinners. Before I realized it, my plate was empty. And that's with a sour stomach! Strangely enough, my manners changed, too. I caught myself at one point shoveling a piece of Stuffed Cabbage into my mouth with the end of a Carrot Stick - without really tasting either. Gee, I wonder how I gained all this weight?

Back to the Bargaining Table

Jitterbug is getting her groove back, but it's taking some time. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if I hadn't been hit with a one-two punch. If I had gotten sick without having been so overtired from taking care of my niece. Well, life deals you a few knocks once in awhile, and I'm sure I can put this behind me. What can I say? My bad habits when it comes to housekeeping took years and years to put on - and it's only been a few months since I started trying to turn it around.

Even as we speak, I'm bargaining with myself: "I can blog for five minutes, but I have to straighten up my living room afterward." "I can check out all my favorite blogs after that, but I have to clean up the pots soaking in my sink." A messy frump of a devil lounges about on one shoulder while a serene, aproned housewife stands on my other shoulder waving her finger at me. (Of course it doesn't help that this has been a great week for reality TV... Between the shocking finale of The Bachelor and wild card week on American Idol, I've been very - um - busy.)

On the upside, my morning routine is back in place and I actually enjoyed my breakfast today for the first time in a couple weeks. I've been vetching about it, but I'm getting that evening routine done most of the time now, too. I did my wash on Monday and some marketing this evening, but that's it for weekly chores. All in all, I'm doing much better than I was this time last week. And I've got a 1945 dinner on Saturday night to begin getting ready for. Here's the menu:

Parsley Buttered Potatoes
Canned Green Beans
Pear and Grape Salad
Corn Sticks

I love how fancy they make Canned Green Beans sound by capping it all like that... And how 'bout the Pear and Grape Salad? After the Celery Cabbage incident, I think I'll do some investigating before making a grocery list!