Netflix vs. Library

So if there was a competition between Netflix and the Library in my house (humor me - I'm a wee bit competitive), then the Library would win.  Hands down.  I have a lot of love for the Marin Bookmobile and my favorite librarian, Terry.  She puts my book requests at the top of the queue and delivers them without fail every other Wednesday.  I've learned that because we are in a small, rural town - our requests take precedence over "in town" card-carrying library cardholders and get on that sweet bookmobile headed my way pronto.  What service, huh?

Netflix is also a huge convenience for us, but I've had a hard time finding the time (believe it or not) to even watch movies this summer.  By the time the day's fun is over, dinner, evening rituals with Grady and all of that good stuff - I just don't feel like watching television.  This is a huge departure for me.  When we did away with our cable/satellite in February, I was worried that I would have serious trash t.v. withdrawal.  Turned out that I did miss my Grey's Anatomy and a few other quirky shows, but I barely can find the time to fit in a Netflix movie.  Yes, it's true.

I just read a magazine article that said 1,672 hours of television is what the average American watches each year.  What the heck?  That's disgusting.  What's interesting is that most people tell me we hardly ever watch t.v.  Uh, yeah right.  I don't believe you.  If you have cable and/or satellite, I'm pretty sure you watch more than you think.  I was in that camp and can't believe how much time I wasted watching junk on t.v.  Some of it mindless and a small amount informative.  However, I do read a lot on the computer, but I can't download videos or t.v. shows, due to our lovely slow satellite connection to the internet (another quaint thing about living in the country!) and I've lived to tell the tale.

All in all, I'm so happy we cancelled our satellite.  Life is quieter and a whole lot better for our family.  Grady reads a few hours every day.  The printed word is easily available to him.  His bookshelves are full.  The chair in our kitchen stacks his recent library selections, so it's easy for him to grab what he needs.  We spend afternoons at the library in Sebastopol perusing the shelves and then heading over to the bookstore for more inspiration.

One caveat to all this written word love, if you hear anything new about Dr. McDreamy, please do fill me in.  I'm only human.