Christmas and New Years has come and gone, the election is over and winter is most evident with the most recent snowfall. This first blog of 2021 will be a little different. I did not blog in January, we had inventory and even though the Dallas Lighting Market was canceled, we have virtually selected new items which should be rolling in soon.

Lots of display items are now on sale and have been marked down for our annual display sale to make room for the new. So many gadgets are now available to make life easier. The new doorbells can show you who is at your door even when you are away on vacation, you can control your lights from your cell phone and even lock your house from far away.

I thought I would share with you a “gadget” I received because it has made my life a bit easier. Hope you enjoy. This is part 1, part 2 will be posted in a couple of weeks.

Shirley Mae, the newest member of our family

My daughter Angelin and her husband Brent gave me a Roomba for Christmas. I had always thought having one would be nice but never indulged myself.

I was so excited about having a “housekeeper” and read all the directions and decided to name my new friend Shirley Mae, wanting her to feel part of our family. I tried her out and followed her around the house to see just what she would do. I was amazed she would not go down the steps but just in case, I flew down the stairs ahead of her with my arms open ready to catch her. I must have done that about five times before trusting her not to jump.

Sometimes she decided that a room needed extra cleaning and would go back into the same room she had already cleaned. I can appreciate that because I’m a little OCD too and have been known to do the same thing. She certainly has a mind of her own as she bumps into chairs, table legs and such but doesn’t give up.

I watched her again this morning and she turned, bumped, turned, bumped and accomplished success as she pushed her way through a tight squeeze. You go Shirley Mae! All this was fantastic until I heard a crunching sound and immediately blamed Jim for leaving his shoes in her way or his many newspapers.

However, that was not the case. Shirley Mae is in trouble! She made a mess that I had to clean up. Shame, shame Shirley Mae. She decided to get into our fire place and tried to eat all the little coals that surround our gas logs. Her little sweeping arms scattered the little coals all over the family room and I had to chase her down as she tried to escape. I sent her to her room as I was left to clean up her mess.

If you are lucky enough to receive a Roomba, make sure you tell her what she can and cannot clean. I hope she will speak to me when I get home.