Roger, the robotic vacuum cleaner, my new best friend.

I'd been thinking about these robotic vacuum cleaners for ages.  One of the girls I worked with in my previous, non-retired life had one and loovved it.She'd bought hers with her stash of wishing-well-wedding money.

I didn't have access to such a stash as MLP and I haven't done the "I do" thing: both been there, done that, got the decree nisi. Anyway, I did some research around every electrical supplier in the world, well, not quite, but I am a little obsessive when it comes to price and quality comparisons, and, I decided too expensive, way too expensive! Especially the ones that the Mr Google's reviews said were the best.

How could I, a relatively-freshly-retired person, justify spending that much on a Roger robot when I had all this non-working time on my hands? But, I thought, did I retire to clean house? I don't think so Tim. Yet I still had serious reservations about the cost. Most of the recommended ones cost more than my tiny Dorothy Dyson, the one small enough to fit on an A4 page. Oh, she is so wonderful! I didn't seem to mind spending the money on her and she has well and truly earned every cent I spent. I don't know why she's a she and he's a he; sometimes it just happens that way.

Then, from across cyberspace, from the nether regions of South Australia, from a caravan in the middle of some obscure bird-watching mecca comes an email from my friend, Karen.  "Have you seen the Oz Sale site?" she says. Oz Sale, I'd never heard of it. "They've got robotic vacuum cleaners on special at the moment."  This email results from an over-coffee discussion some many weeks prior. What a memory!

So, I visit OzSale.com.au and there he is. Little smiling Roger for very little money.  How could I resist? If he lasted only a short time or if I thought he was useless, I wouldn't have blown too much money. So, after a few deep breaths, I pressed the button, and Roger was ordered. Then I waited, and waited, and went on a holiday, and then he arrived! 

Excitement extraordinaire!  It's strange how time seems to pass so slowly when you desperately want that parcel to arrive on the doorstep.

Isn't he gorgeous??

Lights flashing.

Roger smiling.

Roger is very unassuming.  He has no brand name and no fancy additions like virtual walls and so on, but, he is my HERO.

I have all tile floors ... It's hot in in Far North Queensland (FNQ). And I have Ralph, an orange moggie who molts summer ... autumn ... winter ... spring.  Vast amounts of orange off-casts swirl deliriously around my floors. But for Roger this is not an issue.  He happily ingests said orange off-casts and other detritus found on my floors and he does so quietly and extremely competently while I sip languidly on a soothing cup of tea.   Roger also has a small microfiber cloth which can be dampened and attached to his underbelly which allows him to wash my floors as well!  How could life be better?

That said, Roger does have his limitations.  He has about a 90 minute work schedule and my longer discarded hair does get caught in his rollers, so I have to clean them regularly. I do have to help him with corner cleaning; after all, he is round.

I have some rugs which have quite long tassels on their ends; Roger does not like these. He does beep to tell me he has a mouth full of tassel.  His ability on carpets would be fairly superficial as his suction is nowhere near as strong as Dorothy's. And, I have only had him for a few months so I do not know what his life expectancy is. But, he is my HERO

Do not fear, Dorothy has not been discarded.  She still has to come out to do her bit, but nowhere near as often as BR (Before Roger).  

So, if you're like I was and contemplating the purchase of a Roger, I say DO IT.  You won't regret the moment. Spend the money and enjoy that cup of tea.  But, be warned, the first few times you turn your Roger on, all you want to do is watch him.  It's mesmerising stuff.

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