Product review: MEIKAN Mens Merino Thin Wool Socks

Meikan socks are a very nice quality thin wool socks.  The seams are flat and comfortable.  The socks are shipped held together by a clip, they are not pierced through the sock. I hate when manufacturers use a plastic staple as it often snags a thread it causes holes. I was very happy to see that Meikan does not use the plastic staples.

The sizing of the socks is a little tricky.  I got a pair of socks in Medium and Large. The medium size is equivalent to lady US regular 9-11 size, which fits US shoe size 7 to 9.  If you have a small foot size and wear shoe size 5 or 6, the heel will be a bit too large. I wear shoe size 7 and the medium size is acceptable. I think after several washings the fit will be perfect as wool socks tend to shrink a little.

The large size fits my husband foot, he wears size 8.5D shoe.  He has a comfortable fit, and it looks like it accommodate a larger foot as well.

Here are the sock measurements from toe to heel (unstretched):
Medium toe to heel: 8" long
Medium cuff: 4 3/4"
Large toe to heel: 9.5" long
Large cuff: 4 7/8"

Overall, excellent quality, good fit.

   

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: The Hidden Pope: The Untold Story of a Lifelong Friendship That Is Changing the Relationship Between Catholics and Jews

This is a touching and interesting story about a close friendship between the Jurek Kluger and John Paul II.  How close?  Close enough that he was the first person to whom that newly minted Pope granted the first Papal audience, baptized his daughter as married her 16 years later.  We follow the story from their childhood to 1997 (this book was published in 1998).   Jurek happens to be Jewish. Having a close friend who is Jewish had a tremendous influence on John Paul II, and he used his friends as sounding board as well as a secret negotiator for helping him establish the formal relationship between Vatican and Israel.  The book helped me understand the complexities of this lengthy process known only to the insiders. It made me love and respect John Paul II even more. 

There are two things about the book that I did not like (but not enough to change my overall opinion).  The photos in the Kindle edition of the book are terrible (the faces are often just black blobs).  I also did not think the title described the book well, I would have called it "True Friends".  This is an interesting and important book.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Manual Lemon & Lime Squeezer Juicer

This lemon juicer has a heavy duty build. It feels well made. It has a large cup which means a lemon has a lot of room to spread as you squeeze and that makes squeezing easier. We have another manual juicer which has a smaller cup and it is harder to squeeze because the lemon does not have the room to get squashed.

In the video you see my husband doing the squeezing. As you can see he was able to get all the juice out and he said it was easy to use especially compared to using the juicer with a small cup.

The lemon squeezer weights 14.15 oz and is 8.5" long.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: MEIKAN Womens Thin Merino Wool Socks

Meikan socks are a very nice quality thin wool socks.  The seams are flat and comfortable.  The socks are shipped held together by a clip, they are not pierced through the sock. I hate when manufacturers use a plastic staple as it often snags a thread it causes holes. I was very happy to see that Meikan does not use the plastic staples.

The sizing of the socks is a little tricky.  I got a pair of socks in Medium and Large. The medium size is equivalent to lady US regular 9-11 size, which fits US shoe size 7 to 9.  If you have a small foot size and wear shoe size 5 or 6, the heel will be a bit too large. I wear shoe size 7 and the medium size is acceptable. I think after several washings the fit will be perfect as wool socks tend to shrink a little.

The large size fits my husband foot, he wears size 8.5D shoe.  He has a comfortable fit, and it looks like it accommodate a larger foot as well.

Here are the sock measurements from toe to heel (unstretched):
Medium toe to heel: 8" long
Medium cuff: 4 3/4"
Large toe to heel: 9.5" long
Large cuff: 4 7/8"

Overall, excellent quality, good fit.   

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Clpp'li Mens Slip On Slippers

These slippers are made out of all men made materials - both the top and the bottom are synthetic. The top is pseudo suede and faux fur, the bottom is synthetic rubber. The sole has some shape and thickness to it (it is NOT one of those totally flat thin soles). The slippers are fairly comfortable, although arch support is very slight.

Instructions say that these slippers can be washed in a washing machine and dried flat (not in a dryer).

These slippers were made in China for Chinese Market place and I received a free pair to test the fit for American market. Getting a free product does not influence what I say, if you are skeptical about that examine my record to see a long history of critical reviews. My husbands likes the slippers and finds them comfortable. He wears them in the morning while getting ready for the day and they work quite well for that.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: LIFE EASIER Wall Calendar 2017 Erasable Yearly Appointment Planner Size 40" x 24" 12

This calendar is one shiny piece of paper. It is 40" wide and 24" tall.  Each row represents a month.  Each day of the week is is marked by one letter, the top and the bottom of the page has numbers from 1 to 31 for each day of the month.  Each of 52 weeks is numbered in light blue color.

Each day is 1" x 1.5".  Even though the square is small I can make two or three notations in each square.

The pen is not included in the package. So I tried a couple of pen I had at home. I started writing on it with a permanent ink pen and that ink cannot be erased.  However, I found another non-permanent ink pen (black in the video) that can be erased by using a paper towel.

The calendar is shipped rolled so it took a little work to make it lay flat.  I am using scotch tape to attach it to the wall of my office.

This calendar is available on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: AT&T 210M Trimline Corded Phone

I owned my Trimline phone for 20+ plus years. It sounds great and is built like a tank, surviving many drops and other accidents. These days we mostly use cordless phones but the old Trimline is still in service in one of the bathrooms and when the power goes out it the only one that works.  Sure, cordless phones are nice because of the convenience of not having a cord, but the Trimline phone sounds better!  When I needed a simple phone for my elderly mother - something that sounds  clear, works without batteries and is easy to use - I immediately knew that I had to get her a Trimline phone!

The new Trimline phone sounds just as good as my old Trimline, but it is much lighter, especially the base.  Will this new lighter version last as long? Not sure... but it sounds very good and it is simple to use.

Weight comparisons:

Old Trimline weight (overall) 1 pound 4.6oz
New Trimline weight (overall) 13 oz

Old Trimline weight (base) 12.8 oz
New Trimline weight (base) 5.4 oz

Old Trimline weight (handset) 8.3 oz
New Trimline weight (handset) 7.9 oz

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★