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I have spent 90 minutes to accomplish a tech task, and I am at a dead end.

It is not because I am not “tech savvy.” I am surrendering because I value my time and I am frustrated when things don’t work as they should and are not streamlined when they could be.

I want to choose how I allocate my time, not have it stolen from me.

These pictures say it all. It’s a snowy day and I finally have the chance to work in my home office taking care of loose ends.

I decided to try to get my Honeywell wi-fi thermostat back online so I can monitor the temperature in my home while away and even turn the heat up before I come back. Great concept, right?

First I look up the password to get onto my Honeywell account. I had saved it and found it, and bingo, I’m on.

The emails that I get incessantly from Honeywell to reconnect say “click here for instructions on how to reconnect” and that link takes me to a page of the site where it asks me which model I have. I pull out the manual that I had stashed in a safe place by my cookbooks, and bingo, I have the model number. I write it on masking tape with a Sharpie and affix it to the thermostat. It would have been time-saving and convenient if the model number was put on the outside of the thermostat by the manufacturer.

Next, I have to download the app again on my phone, because it either disappeared or I removed it during the year that the thermostat was not connected, and I needed the space on my phone.

App downloaded, I try the same password that worked on Honeywell 20 minutes ago, and it says “wrong password or email.” Finally I open a new account with new info, and that works. Next I have to get the app and the site coordinated, because apparently these are now from two different companies.

I go back to my computer to choose my thermostat device. There are 12 pictures of models on each of 5 pages. It would have been time-saving if there was a box to type my model number into, or if the models were categorized by type, or any number of ways. I have to read the small numbers pictured in light blue under each photo to look for my model. And…it is not listed. When I finally get a dialog box to type it in, I get “Sorry, no search results found.”

I have spent 90 minutes to accomplish a tech task, and I am at a dead end.

It is not because I am not “tech savvy.” It is because I value my time and I am frustrated when things don’t work as they should and are not streamlined when they could be. I want to choose how I allocate my time, not have it stolen from me.

I think back fondly on my pre-computer life when I could make a phone call to a repair department and the person who knew how to do the repair would walk me through it. My wish in the Twifties Wishing Well today is that companies support their products and make it easy for people to set them up and get help.

These are product values that were important to companies and customers in the past.

Products that look out for their customers’ time and needs are products that I would go out of my way to purchase and recommend to others.

What is your wish for the #TwiftiesWishingWell ?

This article is available free for publication/syndication. And Lauren can guest post on your blog. Please contact me.

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Drop your Wish in the Twifties Wishing Well

by Lauren Traub Teton

Lauren models “Blanket Chic” during cool weather outdoor dining. Photo by Kenny Lee, Burger Bar & Bistro, Norwalk Connecticut

This article was first published on LinkedIn, here, in 2020. It was edited to please Yoast’s SEO algorithm on this site.

In my Twifties blog post of January 4, 2017, I invoke the “Twifties Wishing Well. As you know “Twifties” are the fun people over age 50. In fact I focus particularly around my birth year, 1956.

 The Twifties Wishing Well is where I toss my digitally written wishes for products. And for services that will make my life simpler and more efficient. And probably yours too if you are a Twifty.

Product Design in the 60s and 70s

We grew up in a time where product design and marketing strove to fill our needs, not dictate them. So let’s reclaim that ethos, let’s design and produce products to delight people like us. And to satisfy us, in the lives we live now.

 In the fertile Twifties Wishing Well, with the LinkedIn Community as nutrients, I send energy for these products and services for Twifties to sprout and manifest.

Some of the wishes from that blog post are:

 Instant Tech Help by phone $5 for 5 minutes

Flattering clothing for women as our bodies change

Let’s address our eyes and vision as it changes

A personal concierge

Twifties Sharing What Works

I envision an online gathering place where all of this information can be shared, Like a Craigslist for Twifties!

 Throw your wishes for products and services for the fun people over 50 into the Twifties Wishing Well too, by posting below, and use the hashtag #TwiftiesWishingWell.

 Watch for Lauren’s next post, titled “I just want to take a picture.”

 Lauren Traub Teton is an inventor and the creator of Twifties, VibeMatch and other products, websites, and concepts. She is available as a guest poster or blogger, and is enthusiastic about finding partners to bring the ideas from the Twifties Wishing Well to life.

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Chocolate Mint Chip Vegan Ice Cream

I was searching for the recipe for “Eating Bird Food’s” delicious vegan key lime pie, based on avocado, that I have made, to great acclaim from clean eaters and not.

Along the way I spied this recipe, using the same base and creating chocolate mint chip ice cream that is vegan. It brought me back to my family in Cincinnati and the way that we used to try to recreate Graeter’s chocolate mint chip ice cream at home. My aunts found that the most successful DIY was to buy mint Eskimo pies and break them up and freeze them up a bit more.

The reason that works so well is that the Graeter’s version of any of their chocolate chip ice creams uses very thin, very high quality chocolate as the chips. They are a candy store and bake shop as well as having their cult-worthy ice creams, so they know how to do chocolate candy. Unlike semi-sweet chips which are actually coated to melt more slowly, the Graeter’s chocolate actually melts in your mouth even though it is mixed with ice cream.

So now that Brittany had supplied a reliable green vegan base for the ice cream, my job was to come up with something like the Graeter’s chocolate. And to do it without the soy that is ubiquitous in most chocolate.

I think I did a pretty good job figuring it out. I will tell you the whole secret later because I am at the pool now. Here are some pictures to whet your appetite.

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Vegan Onion Dip

I have always had a weakness for Sour Cream and Onion Dip, made with Lipton Onion Soup Mix and served with potato chips. I think my parents served it at their cocktail parties, so it was forbidden “grown-up food” when I was 6 years old.

Since giving up dairy many years ago, I longed for this snack. And I figured out how to make a satisfying non-dairy facsimile of it. It uses dry ingredients you may have or keep on your pantry shelf, so no need for a trip out to the market for yogurt made of coconut, almonds, or cashews. You could make it that way too. This recipe also avoids the potential allergens of corn, soy, coloring, and additives that Lipton Onion Soup uses.

Here are the main ingredients I use. Scroll down…

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I Visited the Glass House

  • And then we went to lunch at Elm. I needed to wear shoes that would be super comfortable for an outdoor walking tour. And be presentable for lunch in a nice restaurant.

My shoes are Bzees.

And I had a great birthday today. We actually started celebrating yesterday.

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And this is why I use a flip phone…

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My friend Robina told me yesterday that she hates her new washing machine, and gets anxious when she has to use it. I told her I have seen the new machines and used them at a friend’s house, and I knew exactly what she meant. Too many blinking lights, choices, sounds. Were these designed for the pinball generation? Methinks not, despite the multi-sensory entertainment they provide. I still have the “old” oven set; 2 electric wall ovens, non-electronic. Manual dials. So easy to use! No pressing and beeping, no fumbling, no cursing. Same reason I am using a flip phone, by choice. I have 2 smart phones for other purposes. But (every day) when I need a phone that is simple, not easily breakable, that does the job well, that’s frugal and easily replaceable if lost, well that is why I carry a flip phone. Low tech solutions can be better!

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Like things the way they used to be?

As Twifties, we spent over 2/3 of our lives writing with pen and paper. It is efficient! I have created a pad and pen set that is compact, fun, portable and will help you have your notes handy where and when you need them. I pitched it in the HSN new invention contest, and now I am selling it on Twifties.Gifts. You can see my 2 minute video pitch for the Twifties Idea Deck here.

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Yes, I should be saving that money, but…

Speaking of spending money for having fun while you are not super-flush with money, Kenny and I are going on 2 separate ski trips in Europe this winter, a month in Sun Valley, a season share at Hunter, Killington here and there, and…who knows, this winter and spring. Yes, I should be saving that money, not spending it on ski trips, but last winter in France, having a Club Med French snowboard teacher all to myself while being led around one of the most beautiful places on earth, in fresh powder on my snowboard, I decided, “this is what I live for.” So, I am making it happen! And I think it will turn out all right!    

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