DH is blind (light perception in one eye; counts fingers in the other) and teaches kids who are visually impaired/blind. What I can tell you about magnifiers is that no matter how good they are, you still have to deal with personal preference. Especially since macular degeneration is about loss of the central field of vision, it would be best if you could take your mother somewhere to try our different devices. How much magnification is needed? Remember that more magnification means that less text is displayed. Reading 2x magnification isn't greatly different than reading unenlarged text, but at 10x you're looking at parts of words. Where does your mother read? If she's willing to sit at a table, a good goose-neck desk lamp, a plain magnifier and possibly a reading stand will give here a lot of flexibility. On most hand-held magnifiers, the light is not adjustable. DH's favorite pocket magnifier hasn't been made for many years. His second choice would be a Bausch and Lomb. They aren't terribly expensive, but they're not illuminated. The illuminated hand magnifiers are nice enough, but the bulbs tend to burn out quickly. I'd probably go for an LED or Xenon version. At the higher price points: The SmartView by Humanware (around $600) is very portable and nice when it works. We had quality issues with both the original one I purchased and the one that was sent as a replacement. The Amigo by Enhanced Vision ($1700) isn't portable enough to use in the grocery store, but if you're seated at a table to read a book or other text, it's wonderful. It's far the best quality of the various low vision aids for reading in our house. If you don't have a local store for low vision aids, check the link below. I have purchased from them and they do have a reasonable return policy. Here is a link that might be useful: Magnifiers at Independent Living

Non glare lamps, that would be a white coated incandescent lamp with a translucent shade is optimal. The contrast between desk top and printed page should NOT be dramatic, it should be subtle. The desk surface should be a matt finish. There should not be any reflective [highly polished/glaring] finishes within your sight lines. The entire room should be illuminated, gently with the most illumination on your work.

My spring float, although very comfortable, did not last an entire pool season. I had to retire it yesterday as one of many small holes that frayed turned into one large enough to fall through. These floats are comfortable and I love that they allow you to be partially submersed on a hot day, which is one thing the Molly Brown does not do. I will probably return this one and try it again. Hopefully it was just defective.

Last week I finished Laurie Graham's Gone With The WIndsors, which I chose because of discussions about it here at RP. Thank you! I loved this book. True, much of the book is funny, mainly because of dear, ditzy Maybell's telling of the tale. But it is also a great commentary on the culture and values of Britain's elite at the time. And underlying it all is the approach of WW2, with "Mr. Hitler" being the subject of casual dinner conversation. Graham has created deeply lovable characters in this story. So am continuing with Graham, now reading The Importance of Being Kennedy, told from the standpoint of an invented children's nanny. This is a more serious book, with a startling castigation of Rose Kennedy and, to a lesser extent, Patriarch Joe, and a lot of sympathy for the downstairs folk, the "help". Graham is an unusual writer, and she depicts various cultures - British, Irish, American - with tremendous skill. I'll be looking for more from her.