2024, Family, Health, home, Kids, Uncategorized

Good Gadgets

48 Comments

Husband and I have noticed over the past year that we are no longer as strong or flexible as we used to be. That has made gardening and housework a lot harder. We just can’t so things as fast as we used to.

When I was in Brookings in early May, I discovered that my daughter in law had neck problems that made it really hard for her to vacuum or do heavy housework. She damaged her neck vertebra last summer. They are both busy enough with their jobs and their son, so I suggested we get them a Roomba or something equivalent to help with the housework. We got a Shark Roomba knockoff, and it works great. They named it Clean Elizabeth. She does a great job keeping their floors clean.

We live where it is really dusty. Husband has allergies to dust. The prospect of moving the mattresses to vacuum under the beds was daunting, so I suggested to Husband that we get our own Clean Elizabeth to clean under the beds and the living room furniture and the dining room buffet. We named her Good Clean Bess. The dog is surprisingly standoffish, allowing Bess to go back and forth and suck up the crud. I was appalled at the dust that came up from under our bed. My only question is when did I get old?

What are your newest or favorite gadgets? How old do you feel these days? What would you want a robot to help you with?

48 thoughts on “Good Gadgets”

  2. Rise and Shine, Baboons, from JacAnon,

    Our robotic vacuum is named Dizzy because it spins. My favorite gadget is my iPad–that all purpose little computer that keeps me informed and entertained.

    OT: I am feeling a sense of victory today–After 3 months we now have an authorization for Lou’s Long Term Care policy and can start to submit claims back to the day he was hospitalized–3/14. We missed VS’s PiDay party because he was in such bad shape that day. WaaHooooooo!

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  3. We bought our first Roomba like vacuum cleaner several years ago. I think it was a Samsung. For whatever reason, it didn’t last long. After that, we bought an actual Roomba. Living in the country, with the windows open, and three dogs, like you, we are rather amazed at how much dirt it picks up. Dirt and dog hair. But what it needs, is kind of a snorkel on it so it could park at the top of the steps, and then reach out and vacuum the corners of the steps. Even better, if it could get itself down the stairs and then vacuum the rugs in the entryway and into my mudroom. I can vacuum in there, and I swear in an hour, they’re dirty again. Dirt, rocks, chicken feathers, straw, …it’s a wonder.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

        1. YA upgraded our robot vacuum last year and had installed the old one upstairs-but we haven’t actually run it upstairs yet. I’m worried about the dust ruffle in my bedroom and we’ve never really done a thorough “move these cords” that we had to do downstairs. It’s on the long-term to-do list though.

          Liked by 1 person

  4. I wrote this for writing class:

    Ode to a Roomba

    The first was Rosie. This is Rosie Two.
    Named for the maid of an ancient family, forgotten by many. 

    Spacely Space Sprockets was the company. George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy. Jane, his wife, were the patrons upon which that Rosie served.
    That Rosie was much more capable than this Rosie. Number One or Two.
    That Rosie never seemed to need recharging. She wore a frilly apron, and cooked and cleaned and washed and dried with her electronic “Bing Bing”, and probably ordered groceries while lamenting the lack of appreciation for her skills.
    Our Rosie backs up three feet, gets stuck under a plant stand, whines until her battery dies. We rescue her. 
    The fringe on a rug confuses her. 

    She hides under daughters dresser to avoid work. We rescue her. Again. 

    Somehow, she gets into corners she can’t get out of.
    Her bin is always full.
    She will find a loose thread on a rug and pack it around her rollers with no comprehension of her own inadequacies. Even the googly eyes on her top, while giving the illusion of intelligence, fail to yield results.

    Rosie One seemed to commit vacuummenical euthanasia. 
    Calls to the helpline, new batteries, cleaning contacts, nothing would revive her.
    The company cheerfully, and without charge, delivered Rosie Two. She does well, when she’s not dead or dying. Or stuck.  

    It’s either her or us; cleaning is a requirement. 

    Two dogs in the house, dust from the country, windows open. Perhaps she’s exhausted? The map shows every room as “heavily soiled“. She tries to make us feel bad with lack of voice or feelings.  
    But we know what she means. 
    She doesn’t have to say it. 

    We place her back on the charger. Jiggle until the green light steadies.
    A nights rest, a day to think about what she’s done. 

    The cycle begins again.

    May 2024

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  6. I suppose my iPad, but it’s four years old now. I haven’t begun to figure out how to do everything, because it’s just my back-up, I’m at the desktop computer for most of my computing. But I can check email and get on internet when Husband’s using the desktop.

    One of my favorite gadgets (and I have two at least) is my little cup warmer. One is in the kitchen where the little teapot sits, warming the rest of the tea till I want it. The other is by my living room chair… this one is new, and not as warm as the one it replaced (when it broke a month ago).

    I presume your Roomba isn’t narrow enough, Renee, to go under couches… that’s what I would want one for. Also to flip the mattresses, but I think that’s out of its wheelhouse.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  8. I wish we had a robot that could lay down newspapers between the rows in the garden, wet them with a hose, and then spread topsoil over the newspapers. That is our task for next weekend. We do this as a weed deterrent. It also helps prevent blossom end rot in the tomatoes.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  9. Interesting that you also asked How old do you feel?

    At book group yesterday, that’s a question we discussed, having read Anne Lamott’s Almost Everything – her Chapter 9 starts out with: “Your inside person does not have an age…”, and we all agreed that we feel much younger (sometimes decades) than our chronological age. I feel like I’m about 45 or 50, except when I first get up in the morning.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  10. I just got a Ninja Foodie to replace my gas grill that was outlawed by our association. It’s really not quite the same as grilling outside over a flame. I’m learning. So far I’ve used the air crisper for some potato wedges, the roasting mechanism for some chicken, and the grill for some salmon. I used a maple-balsamic glaze on the salmon, then I set the timer for 9 minutes and it was a bit too long. I have a lot to learn. I think you could use this thing for just about anything. I’m on the fence about whether I like it or not. I don’t cook enough anymore.

    I love my iPad. I can’t imagine life without it. I barely use my Dell laptop anymore.

    I have a very old Apple Watch. I used to really love it but it has died twice and I’ve done a reset on it and brought it back to life both times. I could use a new one but I’m feeling bad about buying stuff that has such a short life span – and then what do you do with it?

    Somedays I feel very old. Other days I feel like I’m still in my 30s. I can’t run anymore though. I ride my bike when I can but sometimes just thinking about it makes me tired, especially when it’s hot.

    I’m with Ben about having a robot to clean the stairs and in the corners of the stairs. I could use an elevator in my vertical condo to get stuff upstairs. That can be an “uff da!”

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  12. The last gadget I purchased I’ve already talked about, the egg cooker. I did have the raclette machine out over the weekend for company (one of my favorite gadgets.). I have more than once recently looked at a waffle iron that makes nine little waffles, like silver Dollar waffles, all in one go. But it’s pretty hard to justify that.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Raclette is the flipside of fondue. Instead of dipping the food into the cheese, you melt the cheese and pour it over the top of the food. The machine is a fancy dancy way to melt the cheese in little trays so each person can do their own pouring. and there’s a specific kind of cheese, raclette cheese, that works best.

        Like

        Reply

  13. my favorite gadget is my massage gun. My robots task would be to run the massage gun. I have visions of the massage gun robotic tool that I am inventing in my mind and it’s a good one.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  14. my other robot task …and it may not be too far off with AI coming on strong would be one that would photograph my hats and coats for eBay listings and do the measurements to write the descriptions

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  15. I see that apple bought chat yesterday so AI will become even more mainstream. I thought AI was a bunch of who but went to a seminar that talked about the abilities of AI and encouraged me to look into Claude as the writer of prose

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. I bought my wife the $600 robot vacuum two or three years ago upon my daughter’s recommendation who is all this stuff. My wife is a cleaning maniac and I I bought my wife the $600 robot vacuum two or three years ago upon my daughters recommendation who is all this stuff. My wife is a cleaning maniac and I thought this would be as well as the vacuums and shampoo that I keep her current with.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. wherever I run into a situation where I’m not physically able to do it anymore I figure I better do something to get back into shape because my 18-year-old body is just falling a little bit into a lazy disorder that needs to be toned up and rectified because there’s no way I’m giving up on physical participation in life

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

  17. I don’t have many gadgets.

    I enjoy robot stories from literature, movies and television. I, Robot from Isaac Asimov is a favorite. I, Mudd from original Star Trek is very funny. Next Generation has a thought provoking episode about Data and how a researcher wanted to claim him as property and duplicate him essentially creating a race of androids to be slaves.

    I’m old. Very old.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.