On Sunday morning as soon as it was light enough I went out to get photos of the cordwood mess. It was a cold foggy morning, but warm enough so the rain could start and stay rain in the afternoon.
When I got down to the stacks, I discovered a third pool I had missed in the dark. It was at the front of the stacks and had not pulled the tarp off. So I went and got the pickeroon and shovel and punched a third hole in the tarp. Then I shoveled off the ice and leaves when it had drained.
I went back in and cleaned up the kitchen and made breakfast. I was finally ready to get started on bills/budget at 10AM when my brother appeared and wanted to get his baked beans started. So I was finding all his ingredients.
Then my sister calls and wants to see if we can find a good phone to replace the one she had bought for my mom. We needed one that had large buttons as she is visually and hearing impaired.
But often there were some serious drawbacks in the negative comments and finally I said I would look and she could get back to her genealogy.
So I spent the next few hours looking at dozens of phones. The criteria:
Large buttons
At least 2 portable handsets
Possibly a landline base with corded handset
Good sound and volume control
Not too many other buttons
At least 9 easy to use preset phone numbers
Longevity
Signal distance from base
Under $100
Some had a few of these, but not all. I found that if the 1 star and 2 star reviews exceeded a combined total of 13% the phone had serious issues. Often the same issues were across the board, such as longevity. There seemed to be a problem with any of the phones lasting more than 2 years.
In the past, back when I was a young Neanderthal, one went to the store and examined items and talked to knowledgeable sales people. There weren’t hundreds of reviews to read, and items tended to last awhile.
I did this when I bought my current camera. I’ve never gone to read the reviews on it, but I should have. So there’s something to be said for online shopping. Unfortunately, the camera has lasted 5 years, but is finally showing signs of impending serious problems. It’s always had issues.
I liked this one, probably because it so resembled the phone cards I made her 18 months ago. But it had no portable handsets and to call numbers not programmed, you have to find a button on the back and switch it over. Big drawback.
Anyways, by 3:30PM I was toast. I’d looked at and read about dozens of phones and none seemed worthwhile. I just gave up.
I’d hate to get her something that I know might fail to work as needed but my brother said to just pick the best and hope. If it didn’t work out, we’d return it.
So if anyone has gone through this phone hunt (not a cell phone!) for elderly relatives and has a success story, please share in the comments!
On Monday I have laundry to do, finish the phone hunt, find some other presents and get them ordered, and watch it continue to rain. I might even get ornaments on the tree!