The flower for today is a pink calla
lily. I got these from Michigan Bulb a couple of years ago and didn’t think
they were going to come back this year. But, they finally did and I love the
color. A neighbor has black calla lilies and I’m hoping at some point he’ll
give me a start. I’m also worried about getting the next Michigan Bulb catalog
because I might break down and buy more bulbs for next year. I didn’t buy any
new ones for this year because I thought I’d be leaving it all behind…now, who
knows.
I’m sitting here trying to think of
what I should write about as well as trying
not to scratch the latest crop of mosquito bites. Why it can’t bite me
and move along, I don’t know. The bug appears to bite in one place, move a
little bit and bite again. Since these are almost in my armpit, the only time I
can think of when I was laying with my hands behind my head was when I went to
bed last night. Perhaps I should burn a citronella candle in my bedroom???
When I tore the muscle in my left
shoulder about 18 months ago, it was lifting my wonderful Sears vacuum cleaner.
After surgery, I bought a new vacuum cleaner. I went on line and did some
research and bought what was supposed to be the lightest vacuum on the market.
It’s a Bissell and I hate it. I know if I keep using it, I’m going to tear
something in my right shoulder. I need to figure out what kind of vacuum to
buy.
Again, with the research. I went on
line this morning and typed in, “Best vacuum for old people?” I got a number of
internet sites I could visit, so I visited the site, “The best lightweight
vacuums for the elderly.” Okay, that would be moi. Turns out that now there are
vacuums that weigh eight pounds or less.
The
first choice on this site is for a Shark ION. It weighs 8.7 pounds is cordless
and includes rechargeable batteries and the review lists five Pros, i.e.,
· Versatility; works from
floor to ceiling (I don't vacuum my ceilings).
· Features DuoClean suitable
for different floors
· Very light in weight and
compact
· Flexible
· Cordless
The
Cons:
· Comes with small dust cup
I
can purchase it on Amazon for $339.82 with free shipping.
The
Shark Rocket is the second recommendation on the list. It has seven Pros, i.e.,
· Weight less than 8 pounds
· Converts to a hand vac
· Highly effective in
removing pet hairs from carpets and bare floors
· Works excellent on medium
pile carpet
· Powerful suction
· The multi-layered filters
are washable and easy to clean
· Free replacement or refund
facility.
The
Cons:
· The dust cap is relatively
small
· Not recommended for high
pile carpet
The price
for this vacuum is $169.95 from Amazon with free shipping.
The
third vacuum is an Orek Commercial upright vacuum cleaner. It has nine Pros,
i.e.,
· Weight is only 8.2 pounds
· Suitable for older person
· Best for carpets & Hard floors
· Speedy cleaning with less
effort
· Highly effective for
cleaning carpets
· Automatic floor adjustment
· Low maintenance and repair
· Can deodorize the room as
well with scent tab
· Reasonably priced -- $163.55
from Amazon with free shipping.
The Cons, i.e.,
· Is 15% louder than other
vacuums (but I wear hearing aids, take them out)
· It has no docking station
for the bags
· Not useful for cleaning
long pet hairs
A
Roomba price begins at $1,099.99, but has models that run $799.99, $599.99 and
$349.99. Well, let me tell you that I will risk injuring my right shoulder
before I pay over a thousand dollars for a vacuum cleaner, even if it does run
all by itself. So, I compared the bottom three. The higher priced one has ten
times the suction power of the other two. I can also clean and schedule by room
with smart mapping, comes with link technology and clean base automatic dirt
disposal. Don’t think I’ll be buying the $799.99 model.
Now,
the $599 model has something called vSlam navigation, but the cheaper one does
not. What is vSlam navigation…I don’t know. The only other difference is entire
level cleaning with coverage maps. I only have one level in any case.
So,
if I’m going to spend $339 for the Shark, I may as well spend $349 for a vacuum
that puts itself to work and then puts itself away. Or, I could spend less and
continue to vacuum myself with option #2 or #3
Before I began this post, I called my neighbor who got a new vacuum for Christmas, one of those Roombas by I-robot. It sounds like she has the one that's listed at the $799 price. We talked vacuums and she had the Shark ION
before she got the Roomba. She likes both of them and uses the Shark for her
steps and other areas the Roomba doesn’t go. She also has a big dog with really
long hair, so the Roomba works every single day and does a good job. She didn’t
pay $799, but got it for less than $500 before Christmas when Costco or Amazon (or someone) had it on sale.
So,
now, aren’t you glad you read your way all through this post so you now know so
much about vacuums? I’m so sorry to have bored you with all this, but it was
helpful for me to get my ducks, hmmmm, vacuums???, all in a row. I honestly don’t
know what I’m going to do about a vacuum. I’m not vacuuming a lot because I’m
not having much in the way of company, so I could quite possibly keep on using
the Bissell. Or, I could purchase one of the Sharks. Or, I could just wait and
see if the Roomba goes on sale again for less than $500. Or, maybe I could sell
this place and just move into something really really small that could be
vacuumed with a DustBuster…that’s way more my speed these days.