I actually had one of those before, and loved it. I have no idea what happened to it, maybe I left it when I moved back down here. She never showed any interest in that for some reason, although you're right, they are similar. I'll have to price them both and see if there's a difference, as well as what's involved. It's been so long, I don't even remember how it worked, just that the snow cones were delicious . I figure at her age, she should have what makes her happy and comfortable. It's always a fight to get her to buy anything new, she's also frugal, and doesn't feel she should treat herself. I think she should treat herself to whatever she wants, as long as it won't cause financial hardship, which it shouldn't. She doesn't want any new appliances right now, is always complaining (as do I) about the size of her kitchen, and the lack of counter and storage space, so I'll wait until she gets moved. Hopefully she will follow through with that.
She sounds like my mother. My mom is almost frugal to a fault, at least when it comes to things for herself. She does complain of not having enough storage space as well, but I always hear, "I just don't need a thing." Yeah, well, maybe not, but surely you must want something. She won't tell me anything she wants though. I love it when I can find something that's just right for her and will make her happy. I now consider doing so to be a personal challenge.
Well it is a time saver if you are having a party, but short of that, or needing to refrigerate something because the fridge is on the blink, I don't buy bags of ice. Like you said, I have an ice maker, so buying ice is just extra money. You could probably create your own bags of ice, if you planned for doing it long enough. I just don't see it overall as a good thing to do...and you always have to end up draining, the cooler, container, etc.
