Sunday, April 18, 2021

You Tube and Me............

 It's Sunday. Unless I am spending time with family or have a special commitment, that means church and breakfast in the morning, quiet and personal time in the afternoon and that dinner is leftovers or ordered in so the labor is as little as possible. Even in retirement.

I should be sitting on the patio, knitting meditatively, journaling or doing something similar-which I often do, but not always. Today, however, I just watched a You Tube video on patriotic decor "dupes" or how to copy Pottery Barn and such for a tenth of the money. That was followed by a video on organizing with things from the dollar store.

Yes, I may have a (moderate) You Tube addiction. 

In fairness, You Tube is fun. It's rarely perfect, often real and can be instructive. Where as on some level both Instagram and Pinterest are more about the pretty and perfect pictures than the how to get to the pretty and perfect pictures (and I say that as someone who is on both). The gal I watched to the patriotic decor instruction worked on her dining table, had to move a chair to set up her ironing board, and functioned as most of us do.

All of which sounds great,yes?  Except for the fact that I am subscribed to SO many channels. So many that I stopped counting as we were moving well past one hundred. 


Yes, she is going to un-box and review 12 boxes at one time. And no, I probably will not watch this one.

Exercise channels because I work out for an hour besides my walking (strength, stretch, Pilates, yoga).  German language and TV show channels so that I can practice my language. Multiple music and virtual tour channels.  Sounds great so far, yes?  


Shoulder exercise against the wall cause my shoulder will be an issue forever.

And then, we have all the Dollar Tree deocr, haul and organizational channels.  Two women who review subscription boxes on a daily or semi daily schedule (these are a weakness of mine and I manage to avoid pulling the trigger 90 percent of the time, but I can look). Clothing haul videos from Walmart to Nordstrom (again, I can live vicariously, yes?). An organizing channel. Multiple craft channels that cover everything from card making to painting to furniture refinishing (which I will probably never do-if I can't paint over it, it's gone).  


That copycat patriotic decor video

Knitting and crochet and macrame channels. Quilting and sewing channels. Including the Knitting Bartender, the Quilting Cowboy and the Quilting Marine. Money saving and frugal videos. Easy cooking for dummies videos (sheet pan and casseroles and slow cookers). I've been sucked into at least one life over sixty channel, may the good Lord help me. And during this time of Covid-19, let's not forget the road tripping channels as well as those that stream shows, operas and the like. 

He made that sweater himself, and probably in two days.

I'm somehow sure I missed a bunch.

None of these are harmful in their own right. And I'm not watching Grey's Anatomy excerpts or stories on the real lives of the monarchy or Prince Harry, or political crap, or porn or prank or challenge videos or following the most recent influencers (not that there's anything wrong with any of that).

And it's also not like it's taking up all my precious retirement time. Each morning after my meditations and prayer time, I scroll through (right before my quick news check and blog check) and save the videos I might like to my library and that's it. And then I either cast them to the TV to watch or to the tablet to follow in my sewing room. When I need to be reminded how to do something or learn how to do something new. 

Still, it's a rabbit hole. One of many available online. For every worthwhile video is two or three that are simply vicarious pleaseure. Which I suppose is no worse than watching Line of Duty or reading John Sandford 20th Prey book or whatever.

But it's something to keep track off. Along with the blogging, Pinteresting, and other social media time. And it may be time for a You Tube challenge. I'll have to go searching through those videos. 


Tomorrow's in Denton visitation:  The "Chairy" Orchard.

I've been asking bunches of questions on my local city pages (best day drives, best places to sit outside and drink or eat with a book, most important things to see in Denton. Just me being me).  It was suggested that I should start a You Tube channel about everything I see and do as a new person in town and document it in my own fun style.

I don't think so.

26 comments:

  1. Barb, at least you haven’t gone down the rabbit hole of gossip forums, where viewers discuss the youtubers who annoy or disgust them! Now I am hooked on that, as well, because a lot of the commentary is more entertaining than the actual videos. I have a feeling that as I get more comfortable doing things out in the world again, my youtube watching will decrease, but it’s been a good diversion.

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    1. Okay, now you're gonna have me going through all the comments. A whole different rabbit hole indeed.

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  2. Who knew? I didn't realize You-tube had that many possibilities. But then I'm late to discovering Facebook videos. I tend to watch those just before bed, with a cat snuggled up watching with me.

    Have fun!

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    1. See and I NEVER watch Facebook or instagram videos.

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  3. You tube has lots of interesting, too many. The chairy video really intrigues me.

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    1. No that's aoca.place I plan to visit. The chairy orchard.

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  4. I've never been down those rabbit holes. They sound addictive but fun.

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    1. And I have learned so many things to be fair.

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  5. It is very easy for me to go down Youtube's various rabbit holes. They see me coming and put odd yet wonderful link possibilities that I can't resist.

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    1. Yes!! All the other cool.videos suggested next to the ones we are watching as well !

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  6. Another YouTube rabbit hole goer here! Mine are food hauls, vegan cooking, and British lifestyle vloggers. Now adding upcycling as I'm living vicariously though my daughter's house hunting life.

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  7. I've only used YouTube for how to videos when I need a little help repairing something. I have trouble enough with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon browsing to find something to watch and then being overwhelmed with way too many things I want to watch. If I add YouTube to my browsing I may never get anything actually watched!

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    1. Lol. I only watch one series st a time at my leisure and I've finished one and waiting for Line Of Duty this weekend. I watch more utube than tv these days.

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  8. I am going to go to the chairy orchard.

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  9. Barb, I absolutely love YouTube, too. I had to reign it in a while back, but I've pared down to a handful and most of them have taught me much! There's one I'll recommend, Whippoorwill Holler. This couple moved from a larger home to a cabin on an acreage in Arkansas. They are sweet and share their lives with viewers. The wife is a great cook (all the recipes I've tried were winners), and her voice and style of speaking relax me (so I watch them before bedtime). My husband really likes Youtube, too. We watch it more than TV

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  10. I love YouTube and subscribe to far too many channels as well. It's my Cable TV, but much less boring.

    Deb

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    1. Unless you count all the stuff I had to go out and get because some YouTuber recommended it! LOL!

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  11. I really haven't checked out YouTube much as of yet. I am afraid I would get hooked.

    God bless.

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  12. I’ve checked out a few FlossTubes but don’t subscribe to anything. Most are too long and I get antsy thinking about other ways to spend my time. I do like the instructional videos and have learned a lot that way. Sometimes it helps to watch someone do something instead of just following written instructions. Other than that, YouTube has not become that rabbit hole for me.

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    1. I understand. Different things for different folks. I do alot of knitting and that's usually done at the same time...

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  13. I LOVE You tube! I watch videos on bargain shopping, on art journalling,water coloring, on travel, cooking videos..so many fun videos! Yes, it can be a rabbit hole but I feel I am always learning so much!

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    1. I do to. Which is why I like it more than pinterest and Instagram

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    2. Barb,
      This post was a lot of fun and pushed my curiosity button. Never spent much time surfing YouTube, except when I am stumped or need specific instructions that I can't find in a manual. Thanks for posting and have a great weekend. Joe

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!