A Collector’s Lot

[Arcadia]

I admit I didn't even understand the distinction at first (that's what comes from scanning, not actually reading ) But when I did, I was so proud of myself I had to brag.  

Now you've got me curious why there IS a distinction, however. Hmmmm…..

[Carol the Dabbler]

I assume it's simply because the two words/spellings originated in different special fields (e.g., tax collection vs stamp collection), where they certainly have different emphases, if not altogether different meanings.  And once the two special fields had fully adopted their respective words/spellings, there was really no point in either of them changing.

My personal feeling is that they're merely two different spellings of the same word, and that one spelling is used mostly by tax collectors (et al.) and the other is used mostly by stamp collectors (et al.).  I suspect that most people are totally unaware of the distinction (and use the two spellings interchangeably), and it's mostly the grammar police who even give a damn.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yup, I looked up "collectable" on both of my go-to dictionary sites, Merriam-Webster (American) and Oxford (British), and both consider it to be the same word as "collectible," just a different spelling.  M-W considers "collectible" to be the usual spelling, but lists "collectable" as a less-common variant.  Oxford (which now calls its online dictionary Lexico) considers "collectible" to be the American spelling, and "collectable" the British.

Most importantly for our current purposes, neither makes any distinction in meaning.

[Arcadia]

Spoilsport!  

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 3/9/2019 at 12:42 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Just yesterday I happened upon a furniture store that actually carries a type of chair that I'd seen only online before.  It was just as comfortable as I had assumed, and I was open to the idea of buying it until I saw that the price was *gulp* $4,650.  For a chair!!!

 

On 3/9/2019 at 2:17 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Lemme see if I can find it online -- OK, here it is.  The angle is adjustable from "lying down" (as shown) to "sitting up" and anywhere between, simply by pushing the upper part.  The effect is similar to a recliner, but in my opinion it has two major advantages:  1.  There are no mechanical parts that could either break or (more importantly in our house) pinch an unsuspecting cat.  2. There's a built-in knee angle to prevent back strain.

Update:  I discovered that there are (of course!) a number of knock-off versions of this chair, ranging from cheap (and shoddy) to reasonably priced (comparable to a typical name-brand recliner) -- in either case, only a small fraction of the original.  I bought one of the latter from Amazon a few months ago, and so far am quite pleased with it,  (My main problem is reminding myself to get out of it!)  Alex swore up and down that he didn't need any such thing.  Then a month or so later, he sheepishly pointed out that they had a brown one on sale.  So now we're a two-chair family.

One more advantage over a recliner:  All the recliners that I've tried, when pushed back just barely far enough to allow relaxation (nowhere close to "lying down"), give me the feeling that they're about to tip over backward.  This chair feels very stable (primarily because it is).

[J.P.]

Just a thought about the chair: I imagine it must be hard to sit down or get up from it. Plus - if you are a rather small person you might get problems with the leg part. I've had an old chair that unfolded itself into a similar shape, but because my legs were too short, I've got knee ache after a while.

[Carol the Dabbler]

11 hours ago, J.P. said:

Just a thought about the chair: I imagine it must be hard to sit down or get up from it.

My brother gave it one look and said the same thing.  It does take a bit more care than getting in and out of, say, a dining-room chair, and I can imagine that I might -- eventually -- need something to grab hold of (such as a basic walker).  But the sitting sure is nice!

11 hours ago, J.P. said:

if you are a rather small person you might get problems with the leg part. I've had an old chair that unfolded itself into a similar shape, but because my legs were too short, I've got knee ache after a while.

Yes, I can imagine that short thighs could be a problem -- one's lower legs would tend to stick straight out, rather than draping gracefully over the "hump."  Alex and I are both about 5'8" (umm, 172 cm), and it fits us very nicely.  Nevertheless, I do find that if I sit in it for a long time, my knees get tired of being in one position -- if I'm not ready to get up, though, I briefly move my feet to the floor on either side of the chair (which is fairly narrow at that point), so that my knees are bent at a sharper angle.

[Arcadia]

If you're describing what I think you are, Carol, I loved the one we had. Never had trouble getting out of it. But I had to give up sitting in mine for the reasons JP gave. But I was sitting too much, because I was so comfy. Soooo … don't get too comfy!

[Carol the Dabbler]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

If you're describing what I think you are, Carol....

Here's a link to the original.  Mine is basically identical, except for the color and the price tag.

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I was sitting too much, because I was so comfy. Soooo … don't get too comfy!

I'm learning that!  But I do wish I'd had it a few years ago when I really needed to rest.

[Arcadia]

Ah. A little different than mine, but the idea's the same. Alas, what I really need is something that will get my rear in gear.....

[Carol the Dabbler]

4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Alas, what I really need is something that will get my rear in gear.....

If you find a good price on one of those, please let me know!

[Arcadia]

Hey, it's free! It's called "a walk." If I could just make myself take time to get one....

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 2/18/2020 at 11:47 AM, J.P. said:

Just a thought about the chair: I imagine it must be hard to sit down or get up from it. Plus - if you are a rather small person you might get problems with the leg part. I've had an old chair that unfolded itself into a similar shape, but because my legs were too short, I've got knee ache after a while.

 

On 2/23/2020 at 4:43 PM, Arcadia said:

If you're describing what I think you are, Carol, I loved the one we had. Never had trouble getting out of it. But I had to give up sitting in mine for the reasons JP gave. But I was sitting too much, because I was so comfy. Soooo … don't get too comfy!

 

Could you tell me a bit more about those knee problems?

My knees have been a bit quirky lately, and I think it's due to walking on our crushed-stone road (the stones sometimes roll underfoot, twisting my knee or ankle).  But just in case it's my chair, I thought I'd better ask.  Thanks!

 

[Caya]

Can't speak for the others, obviously, but I got knee problems once from a computer chair that was too high for me (and couldn't be set any lower). It's a bit hard to describe, but my legs wouldn't reach down fully (soles on the floor and such), it was a bit like sitting on a bar stool. And when I leaned forward to look at something more closely, I would therefore put weight and strain on my legs, which made my knees ache after a while. Now I have a low one where I can crouch like a toad and it's a lot more comfy.

[J.P.]

Carol, the ache came only while sitting in that chair.

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Caya said:

I got knee problems once from a computer chair that was too high for me (and couldn't be set any lower). It's a bit hard to describe, but my legs wouldn't reach down fully (soles on the floor and such), it was a bit like sitting on a bar stool. And when I leaned forward to look at something more closely, I would therefore put weight and strain on my legs, which made my knees ache after a while.

Y'know, that may explain why I sometimes sit with my feet on the -- uhh, feet? of my office-type chair.  I just noticed I'm doing that right now.  That puts my feet five or six inches above the floor.  I'm fully capable of sitting in this chair with my feet flat on the floor, so I suspect that in my case it's more a change-of-pace kinda thing, to prevent discomfort from sitting in the same position for a long time.  (Is there a word for that?  A crick in my knees?)

43 minutes ago, J.P. said:

... the ache came only while sitting in that chair.

Thanks, J.P.  My knees do start to feel uncomfortable after an hour or so in that chair, but shifting position (putting my feet on the floor without sitting up) takes care of it, so in my case it's probably just another example of the crick-in-the-knee syndrome.

 

[Arcadia]

When I was doing graphic arts for the library system, I spend much of the day on a chair that was too high for me ... my feet dangled. Over time I began to have increasingly severe sciatica. Doctors didn't help, but at some point the library also hired a specialist in ergonomics, who told me I should always sit with my knees higher than my hips. Which I started to do ... and haven't had trouble with sciatica since.

However, that's sitting. I don't know about lounging with your feet up; I just know I began to have back problems until I switched to the couch. I suspect it just fitted my body better.

[Carol the Dabbler]

29 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I spend much of the day on a chair that was too high for me ... my feet dangled. Over time I began to have increasingly severe sciatica.

I've developed sciatica twice in my life, a couple years apart.  By comparing my activities during those two spells, I was able to identify the cause as walking on concrete floors while wearing non-resilient footwear.  I immediately bought a pair of Birkenstock sandals (which have a thick cork sole), and the problem cleared right up.  Thanks for pointing out that there can be other causes as well, 'cause I sure wouldn't want to go through that again!

29 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I don't know about lounging with your feet up; I just know I began to have back problems until I switched to the couch. I suspect it just fitted my body better.

I'm beginning to suspect that may true of me as well.  We recently inherited Mom's couch, which is far more comfortable than our old one (which is in serious need of new foam inserts for the cushions), and I've found myself spending more and more time sitting on our "new" couch rather than in my lounge chair.  My back and knees seem to be feeling somewhat better, though it's too soon to be sure, and there could well be other causes (such as no longer walking on gravel roads, as I mentioned recently, and restarting my limbering-up exercises).

[Arcadia]

Yeah, no doubt the exercises help.

I think the shape of the chair is crucial. I remember when I would drive my parents to Maine in their Camry, it was really hard on my back and legs; the seat wasn't too high, but the thigh and back supports were in the wrong place for me. On the other hand, I could drive my little Nissan for hours without any problem. The seat just fit me better. But it was uncomfortable for my Dad.

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

when I would drive my parents to Maine in their Camry, it was really hard on my back and legs; the seat wasn't too high, but the thigh and back supports were in the wrong place for me. On the other hand, I could drive my little Nissan for hours without any problem. The seat just fit me better. But it was uncomfortable for my Dad.

Car seats are starting to be more adjustable, fortunately, but there's still plenty of room for improvement.   The driver's seat in my old Renault had no lumbar support at all (I found a cushion that helped), but fortunately [sic] that car sort of fell apart at about 80,000 miles (130,000 km).  I've discovered since then that Toyotas and Hondas fit me much better.  A friend of ours bought a Subaru even though the seat didn't fit her, because her husband refused to consider the less-highly-rated car than she found comfortable.  She finally managed to get rid of the husband, but can't afford a new car.

[Caya]

1 hour ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

 She finally managed to get rid of the husband, but can't afford a new car.

Well it's a start.

When we bought our last car, the guy in the dealership was utterly baffled by our method, namely to go to every car they had and have my husband sit in the driver's seat, so find out if a] he could fit at all (he's 6'5", so that's not a given) and b] sit comfortably (even less of a given due to his rheumatism). The poor salesman would stand beside him and rattle off technical specs in the belief that those *had* to be of interest to Jürgen.  

[Carol the Dabbler]

4 minutes ago, Caya said:

The poor salesman would stand beside him and rattle off technical specs in the belief that those *had* to be of interest to Jürgen.

 

Because Jürgen's a man, you mean?  That tactic probably works for him a good deal of the time, but it's likely to backfire pretty badly at other times -- especially if he's also one of those car salesmen who, when a wife asks him a question, directs the answer to her husband.

,

[Caya]

In the salesman's defense, he didn't do *that*; plus he directed all info of the financial kind towards me per default. Apparently, in his world men who brought their wives along when buying a car deferred to them in budgetary matters. Either way, the whole experience was slightly bizarre, and I was glad that, when the Renault Modus that was the result of that process finally went where old cars go (here, that means they're sold cheaply to Bulgaria or Romania, where they're still good to go for years ) I found that the Internet had grown a good deal since then and I could do some research beforehand that narrowed it down to three models. Made the buying experience a lot easier for all parties involved.

[Carol the Dabbler]

We prefer to buy used cars in order to save money, but the internet is a big help there as well.  Alex found our "newest" car (an '06) online.  This one sounded like just what we wanted and was listed by a large reputable dealership, plus its CarFax record (another internet innovation) was clean, so we went to check it out and bought it on the spot.  Ten years later, our only complaint is that, as a newer car, it has several newfangled features that need repair every so often.  But otherwise it's a very practical car, and a joy to drive.

[Arcadia]

Yeah, I worry when the baby I have now gives out, I won't be able to figure out how to drive the new models. My Echo is 20 this year, and she's been a peach. Not a single bell or whistle on her, I love it.  

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