Before I can give the Saturday report, I have to give the Friday night report. First thing you probably all know is that about 98% of the time, Vince and I get along spectacularly. With his Sicilian heritage, that just proves what a wonderful wife I am! 🙂
Seriously, he doesn’t give me much grief about the time I spend in the sewing room, about the chores he has to do to help with the garden and the chickens . . all of which are my “hobbies”. He likes to rattle my chains about the yarn I buy but he really doesn’t care. But, every now and then, we just have to have a “how the cow ate the cabbage” conversation and last night was that night.
I do not like the TV and I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I terribly dislike the way Vince watches TV. He comes home from work and turns it on. He may be outside or in some other part of the house but the TV never gets turned off. Almost the minute he sits down to watch it, he falls asleep . . with the remotes. At 8:00 p.m., there might be a show I can tolerate but when he goes to sleep at 8:10 and then something else comes on at 9 and I wake him up and ask him to turn it to something else please, he usually says “I’m watching this!”. I’m betting it’s the same way at some of your homes.
So, last night we had a discussion about the TV and he’s going to keep it off more. I tried to explain that I don’t mind him watching something he wants to see if he’s truly interested in it but keeping it on non-stop — storage wars, pawn shop whatever, the gun show, the Texas storage wars, the Louisiana pawn shop and gun shop . . I can’t take it! So, he said ok . . he understood completely. He wanted us to watch a show about “happiness”. Can’t remember what it was called . . Happy maybe! It was something on Netflix. OK. I’ll watch it. Right off the bat, he decided it might not have been a good choice because a whole lot of it is what I’ve been telling him.
Guess what happened about 1/3 through the show! Yep, Vince was asleep.
What is wrong with going to bed when you’re sleepy? I’ve never seen anything like it. I’d say . . wake up Vince! He’d say he was awake. I’d ask him a question about what they just said. He got all the questions wrong! 🙂 It was not a good ending to our discussion about the TV.
Now . . that gets us to this morning. He knew I wasn’t real happy with the whole incident so he said “Let’s go eat breakfast somewhere.” I’m thinking . . there’s a Cracker Barrel in Abilene . . but he was thinking more like McDonald’s. McDonald’s it was. But before we left, I went and got a tape and measured our doors. Vince was getting nervous because he knew what I wanted and he knew how much the blinds had cost for the doors in Missouri.
We have nothing covering the glass in our doors. I’m not worried about anyone looking in. I’m pretty darned sure no one is ever going to wander back here but the problem is . . with the lights on in the house, the glass is covered with bugs wanting to see what’s going on inside. When we open the door to take Speck out, all those bugs come in. There are moths and mosquitoes (West Nile is a big deal here right now), some little green, crunchy speckled bug . . lots of bugs come in.
After McDonald’s, we went to Home Depot and I found blinds that I’m so hoping will solve the bug problem. But . . get this . . I guess because Vince was feeling kinda bad about last night, instead of coming home and sticking the blinds in the corner, he immediately got out his tools and installed the blinds on the French doors and the back door.
The picture is kinda dark and the windows are kinda dirty but these blinds are perfect! He had the anchors on the bottom but I had to undo them to clean the glass. They’re the exact color as the door, they fit perfectly, everything works and they were $32 each. I knew I wasn’t going to spend what we spent in MO but I figured I’d spend at least $100 per window. I’m so happy . . I think I’ll order more yarn! Or maybe I’ll just add more channels to our Dish lineup! 🙂
Here it is 3:30. Vince is watching football. He loves college football and I’m happy when he watches that . . it’s just keeping it on non-stop that bugs me. I’m just now getting over to the sewing room. Not much sewing today but there’s another football game on tonight so maybe I’ll end up making some good progress.
Debbie Rhodes says
Oh yes, they all have some form of TV “virus” Mine watches with the remote pointed at the TV,,, watching no more than 10 minutes of any show.. he changes at every commercial.. I don’t mind the TV being on, but his taste and mine are miles apart.. I can hardly do hand sewing without the TV,, so have a chair in my sewing room for that,
Love him …..but…………
Donna F says
My hubby takes care of everything in the house. The laundry, the cooking (most days), cleaning, vaccuming, sweeping. I have really bad back problems and I can’t do a lot of anything. I go into my sewing room and he does the house work. It’s kindda one sided I know but before my back went out he was the king that had everything done for him, although he’s one that always has to be busy except tv time. He runs the tv like your hubby. I don’t give him any grief about it cause hey, I have it easy!! Sooo, tv on? So be it! As long as things get done, I’m happy.
Sophie says
Most of my family has the TV disease. When my dad was sick and I moved from California to Michigan and stayed with my parents and then my brother and his family for a while, IT MADE ME CRAZY. I am completely sympathetic. Somehow, for them, having the TV on ALL THE TIME is some sort of innocuous white noise.
I have plantation shutter style blinds on the French doors, sliding doors and all the windows here. Dusting them takes longer than I like, but I do love them and they really help “manage the house” in terms of controlling how much sun is streaming in and heating up the house.
pdudgeon says
maybe all you need is a second remote. that way when he goes to sleep you can just quietly turn down the sound on the tv, cover him up with a nice quilt, and keep right on knitting in peace and quiet.
Marlene says
I’m pretty sure Vince is my husband’s long lost brother! We solved that by putting a tv in both the living room and the sunroom that opens off the living room (no doors or walls between them) and getting earphones for both. I sit in the sunroom, he sits in the living room, we both wear earphones, and we can see each other and have a conversation but I can watch what I want and he can watch what he wants, or sleep through it. :). blessings, Marlene
Dot says
You need your own remote! My brother-in-law was just like Vince. If my sister took the remote out of his hand, he’d wake up and say he was watching that show.
One day their remote quit working, so he bought another one. Then they discovered that the old one just needed new batteries. Now when he falls asleep, my sister just gets out her remote (which is hidden away, out of sight, out of mind).
Debbie in Alaska says
My husband absolutely does the same thing…turns on the tv as soon as he enters any room with a tv…and leaves it on. I rarely watch tv with him because he loves the food network and I can’t stand watching food all the time…it just makes me hungry! But what drives me the most crazy is the constant channel surfing. I walked into our bedroom one night to find him asleep in bed with his finger on the surfing button…nonstop channel surfing while he slept. I think if there were better programs to watch there might be less hunting/channel surfing. Maybe not!
shirley bruner says
That TV thing has gotta be a guy thing. i watch 2 shows….that’s it…wed night and thurs night….2 hours. hubby has tv on non-stop from dawn to dusk. plus…he’s hard of hearing and usually won’t wear the hearing aids….so crap tv is blasting throughout the house. the only way to drown it out is to put the tv on in the living room…where i sit…but…there isn’t much to watch. no good solution.
Linda in NE says
Your husband and mine could have a race to see who can go to sleep the fastest after sitting down…..no TV required. What is it with that going to sleep thing anyway?!? Mine will do it while I’m talking to him…guess I must be pretty boring!
Donna says
All men must be kin! My husband turns on the TV as soon as he gets up. I can say what did they just say and his response will be, Oh I don’t know I’m not listening to it, I’m reading the paper. My thought well then turn it off! He will go outside to cut grass or work in the garage and the MINUTE I turn it off he comes back in and says oh I was gonna watch that. Drives me nuts! If he’s watching it I don’t care unless I’m trying to have a chat with him because he can’t chat and watch TV. Same programs as Vince watches….junk TV! I try to watch one show a night with him just so we’re doing something together but when he starts flipping channels I’m done! I can tolerate Pickers or Survivor, maybe American Idol, Good Wife or Blue Bloods but that other junk drives me crazy. They will make a TV show about anything! Do you think he would watch a quilting show with me…….NOT!!!!!!
Gotta love ’em.
JanetB says
And, they watch reruns of those shows like pawn stars, storage wars, poker tournaments… the one that gets under my skin the worst is swamp people. I don’t see how he can watch it. I have my own remote in the den and the bedroom so I can turn the volume down and turn the tv off when he falls asleep.
Stephani Siekierski says
Is it any wonder, what a good reason to have two TV’s. Let the living room be a living room again. Amen Judy, you said it all!
carol c says
I always liked watching football when I was single, then here, the tv is on football somewhere from early morning till late at nite. and I find I will find ANYTHING else to watch, I do like storage wars, tx or other one, i like even Dog Whisperer (last yr), Turtle Man (LOL) and animal planet, dr Pol after Ceaser
on Saturdays, I watch alone , and I find I dont watch football till its playoffs these days, it is a general tirade the day after what each game did, no matter if it is by season=boring.coming from DH, he gets it all wrong telling me
wanda says
Judy solve the problem like I did. Buy another control. Then when Vince goes to sleep you can change the channel and never wake him up, When he does wake up you can say ” well you were asleep and I wanted to watch this.” SO next time you are at Wal-mart get yourself another control. Live a little girlfriend. The whole world of ladies has the same problem I think. He!!!He!!!
Andrea says
I have the same problem re: him falling asleep. He’ll say it’s too early to go to bed because he doesn’t want to be up at 4:00. What difference does it make where you sleep??! If you’re sleeping you’re sleeping. Your body doesn’t care if it’s on the couch or on the bed!
Karen says
I think it’s a ‘boy brain’ thing – controlling the remote. Bob & I each have a remote – not that we have ‘control wars’. But, when he falls asleep I lower the volume and then change channels to something I want to watch.
Angie S. says
My husband doesn’t like to watch TV…says it’s a waste of his time. I’m lucky if I can get him to sit down for movie and popcorn once a week with the family. Our TV is lucky if it gets turned on twice a week. I’ve even considered getting rid of it, except the occasional movie is nice to watch.
Peg says
MEN!!! ROFL!
Sibyl Scott says
Judy
Don’t you know it isn’t Vince’s fault he is like that—he learned it In utero? It is with every man—he has hismones that causes him to do things like that. I remember my dad doing the same thing, we didn’t have remote control back when I was a child, but if we even thought of changing the TV he would wake up, same thing with my husband, and now with my son. They can’t help it–it is inbreded in them. Just like the time come up with a super good idea, and they think it was the worst idea ever. Then sometime in the future, might be a week, month, year, or half a life time later, they come up with the very same idea and think it is the best thing ever since sliced bread. I have learned over all of the years I’ve been married just to do my own thing, and attempt to not pay attention to the TV. Yes ours is on from sun up to sun down (and longer). But at least he is home, and I know he is happy here. A little inconvenience of having the TV on is worth knowing he is here and feels comfortable. But again, it isn’t Vince’s fault. Almost all guys are the same.
Sibyl
Ranch Wife says
Mine’s not a big TV watcher, but when he does turn it on, he falls asleep too. We mostly like to watch the same things so it’s not a problem: UFC and horse training programs, hunting, gun stuff and history. Oh, and we like Dirty Jobs. 🙂 And yes, the fact that Vince is Sicilian and you get a long so well, DOES mean you are a wonderful wife! I think he hit the jackpot with you.
Michelle says
And then there’s the one — I think it’s called Combat Pawn — that combines a gun shop –and– a pawn shop. I can almost handle that. It’s COPS and the police chase shows that I will never, ever in a million years understand.