For me, it's flannel sheets. Don't know how I got along without them. Our upstairs temp is only in the mid-sixties at night and those icy sheets were torture. Now, wow! What about you?
Although it's been years since I first got one, every time I run something through the Cuisinart I just smile. Not having to chop and slice and grate all the ingredients for a meal is an absolute blessing.
1. Flannel sheets are one of the Wife's favorite things. She'd put them on the bed in August, I think, if I didn't object. They have been very nice to have this winter, I must say, though I stay with the cotton pillowcase.
2. I've had a Cuisinart since the first one came out, and am on my 3rd one now. It is a useful tool, though the clean-up always makes me think twice about it so it gets used for large jobs only. So much easier to wash off the knife and cutting board.
3. Chopping onions is something I like to do manually, I enjoy it, it means I'm COOKING which is good, it smells good, there are the nice tactile sensations; the crunch, the movement of the knife through the crisp flesh of the onion, the scraping of the cutting board. It's the same with slicing and chopping most vegetables.
4. The most useful appliance in the kitchen? It's probably the electric can opener.
I must be a negative person, I keep thinking of things I wish had not been invented, like: flannel sheets. I can't stand them. Worse: fleece garments.
The best thing I saw this Christmas was a decorative garland with LED lights, and it came with a simple-to-set battery-operated timer. And only uses one set of batteries for the whole holiday season. Mine has been in use since the last of November and still works perfectly.
I can see the day - probably next Christmas - when the pre-lit artifical trees, and all holiday lights, are all LED, timer/battery operated. No electrical cords, less electricity used, on and off by themselves. Perfect, especially for the elderly and the infirm who still want lights but not the hassle.
Thanks for the tips on LED stuff. I am one of the elderly that wants lights without hassle. I completely forgot eggnog this year. Or at least the egg part of it. I have never had an electric can opener. We have few electric things because they always break with our heavy touch.
The librarians at SUNY at Buffalo marveled at the 30,000 books I donated to them each in its Zip-lock bag. If you want to preserve your books, that's the way to go!
I LOVE cold sheets!! Few things feel better than climbing into cold sheets, pulling the covers up around my head, and letting everything warm up around me. Like building my own little igloo every night.
My favorite invention? The DVR. Allows me to live my life much more on my schedule.
For me, the world's greatest invention ("great" being defined as filling a vital need and ALWAYS working properly) would be the humble staple remover.
On the other hand, if you define "great" as something that has become totally indispensable in our lives, and you hear yourself saying, "How could we ever have lived without it?", then I would put the telephone answering machine/voicemail at the top of the list.
Anyone who has ever worked in an office, as I still do, thanks God for the staple remover. I would have said wite out once but those days have passed. DVR is a great one. But my second choice would be the Internet. Thanks, Al.
What's the Worst Thing That Can Happen, Al Tucher, A TWIST OF NOIR
The Good Doctor, Adam Haslett, YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE
Clouds in A Bunker, David Cranmer, PULP INK
Burning End, Ruth Rendell, THE BEST OF THE BEST SHORT STORIES 1986-1995
Something is Out There, Richard Bausch, MURDERLAND
Uncle, Daniel Woodrell, A HELL OF A WOMAN
Dark Adapted Eye, Katherine Tomlinson, SHOTGUN HONEY
Whiteout on Van Buren, Don Winslow, PHOENIX NOIR
An Invisble Minus Sign, Denise Mina, DEADLY HOUSEWIVES
Everything I Want, Megan Abbott, SPEED CHRONICLES
The Garage Sale of the Three Lindas, Marly Swick, THE SUMMER BEFORE THE SUMMER OF LOVE
Everybody Loves Somebody, Sandra Scoppettone, A HELL OF A WOMAN
Harpooned, Sandra Seamans, MYSTERICAL-E
Burn Patterns, Michael C. White MARKED MEN
World of Gas, Bonnie Jo Campbell AMERICAN SALVAGE
Snakes in the Briar Patch, Chad Eagleton, Cathode Angel
Sea of Grass, Jim Wilsky, ROSE AND THORN
The Pool, Keith Taylor from LIFE SENTENCES
Locked Out, Art Taylor, PLOTS WITH GUNS
Giving Blood, John Updike from THE MAPLES
Two and Half Miles, W.D. County, SPINETINGLER
ReBecca, Vicki Hendricks, FLORIDA GOTHIC STORIES
What is Your Emergency, Chris Rhatigan, GRIFT MAGAZINE
Here We Are in Paradise, Tony Earley
2. 984, 000 Pounds of Pressure, Anonymous Nine. Crime Factory: The First Shift
You Boys Be Good, Antonya Nelson
A Blunderbuss for a Broken Heart, Chris LeTray Pulp Modern 2
Spending Light, John Stickney, NEEDLE, Issue 2
365- February
A New Life, Kyle Minor, DISCOUNT NOIR
A Composer and His Parakeets, Ha Jin GOOD FALL
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates
Girls in Their Summer Dresses, Irwin Shaw
The Last Spin, Evan Hunter
The Birthday Party, Graham Greene
Blue, Rachel Seiffert, FIELD STUDY
Tonto Woman, Elmore Leonard, THE COMPLETE WESTERN STORIES
Only Good Ones, Elmore Leonard, THE COMPLETE WESTERN STORIES OF ELMORE LEONARD
Super Trooper, Nigel Bird, OFF THE RECORD
The Incident at Owls' Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bierce
Food Man, Lisa Tuttle, BEST OF CRANK
The Babysitter's Code, Laura Lippman, PLOTS WITH GUNS
Graveyard Shift, James Reasoner, Hard-Boiled
Portrait of An American Family, Benoit Lelievre, SHOTGUN HONEY
Thanks for the Ride, Alice Munro, Dance of the Happy Shades
A MAtter of Principal, Max Allan Collins, FAVORITE KILLS
Cold Snap, Thom Jones COLD SNAP
Piano Man, Bill Crider, ON DANGEROUS GROUND
The Ladder, Adrian McKinty, CRIME FACTORY: FIRST SHIFT
THe Confessor, Lonni Lees, SHOTGUN HONEY
Plaything, Daniel Hatadi, DEADLY TREATS
Going to Shrewsbury, Sarah Orne Jewett, THE COUNTRY OF THE POINTED FIRS
Sunlight Nocturne, Bill Cameron, DEADLY TREATS
Escapes, Joy Williams, ESCAPES
Ugly Pictures, Terrie Moran, THE AWARENESS
Just Another Saturday Night, William Link, EQMM
Pride, P.J. Parrish, DETROIT NOIR
Bonus, Jim Ray Daniels, DETROIT TALES
Casanova Succumbs to Two-Ton Tina, Rob Kitchin, A TWIST OF NOIR
The Lost Child, Jean Thompson WHO DO YOU LOVE
365-March
365 March
Unfortunate Misfortunes of a Man Named Lud, John Weagly, FIRES ON THE PLAIN
Lamb to the Slaughter, Roal Dahl
The Navy Man, Kyle Minor, IN THE DEVIL'S TERRITORY
Cops and Robbers, Jean Stafford, MOTHERLOVE
Tort, Ken Bruen, EQMM
Melinda, Judy Doenges, O'HENRY AWARDS
Honeymoon, Arturo Vivante, SOLITUDE
Hard Rain, Katherine Tomlinson, NOHO NOIR
Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead, Joe Hill, THE LIVING DEAD
Death is Daily, Craig Garret , FIRES ON THE PLAIN
Ice, Lily Tuck, 2011 O'Henry Collection
The Basher, Jason Starr, Wall Street Noir
Your Fate Hurtles Down at You, Jim Shepard, 2011 O'Henry Collection
The Neglected Garden, Kathe Koja, WEIRD STORIES
Windeye, Brian Evenson, 2011 O'HENRY COLLECTION
Triangulation, Anonymous-9, THE BIG CLICK
The Genius, Frank O'Connor
Why I Live at the PO, Eudora Welty
How to Talk To Your Mother, Lorrie Moore, SELF HELP
Jungle Bob, Ron Scheer, FIRES ON THE PLAIN
Last Song of Antietam, Patrick Lambe, ON DANGEROUS GROUND
On the Gull's Road, Willa Cather
Leaf in the Wind, Gene Wolfe, STORIES
Pack of Cards, Penelope Lively
Ember Days, Nick Ripatrazone, PLOTS WITH GUNS
The Chrysanthemums, John Steinbeck
Stay Awake, Dan Chaon, STAY AWAKE
Smantha's Diary, Diana Wynne Jones, STORIES
Unwell, Carolyn Parkhurst, STORIES, (Gaiman and Sarrantonio)
Naked Angel, Joe Lansdale, L.A. NOIRE
The Bees, Dan Chaon, STAY AWAKE
Blue Rose, Peter Straub
365 -April
Land of the Lost, Stewart O'Nan, STORIES Push Comes to Shove, B.V. Lawson, NEEDLE What He Was Like, William Maxwell, Running Hard, R. Thomas Brown, ALL DUE RESPECT Mr. & Mrs. Dove, Katherine Mansfield (online) The Beginning of Grief, Adam Haslett Family Ties, Craig McDonald, GRIFT Rosie's Chicken & Biscuits, Axel Howerton, FIRE ON THE PLAINS Not Quite Final, Richard Bausch, Who Has Seen the Wind, Carson McCullers, Confession, Stella Pope Duarte, PHOENIX NOIR Bonanza, Jo Ann Beard, THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH Flying Solo, Ed Gorman, DAMN NEAR DEAD 2 Triage, Alice Elliott Dark She Don't Eat No Meat, Kurt Gowran, NEEDLE No Rest for the Weary, Sandra Seamans, FOTP The Traveler, Wallace Stegner, THE COLLECTED STORIES Mortals, Tobias Wolff, THE NIGHT IN QUESTION Here Comes Santa Claus, Bill Pronzini Titanic Victim Speaks Through Waterbed, Robert Olen Butler, He Loved Her So Much, Sandra Scoppettone, LOVE KILLS How to Become a Writer, Lorrie Moore, SELF HELP I Danced with the Prettiest Girl, Dagoberto Gilb, Zolaria, Caitlin Horrocks, THIS IS NOT YOUR CITY The Squatter, Andy Henion, PLOTS WITH GUNS Romero's Shirt, Dagoberto Gilb, THE MAGIC OF BLOOD Pie Dance, Molly Giles, YOU'VE GOTTA READ THIS. Greatness Strikes Where it Pleases, Lars Gustaffson The Infamous Bengal Ming, Rajesh Parameswaran, A Hand on the Shoulder, Ian McEwan, THE NEW YORKER A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor Hard Times, Ron Rash, BURNING BRIGHT Peconic Nightmares, R. Thomas Brown, BEAT TO A PULP The Best of Everything, Richard Yates
17 comments:
Those stick things that you burn to keep insects away.
Although it's been years since I first got one, every time I run something through the Cuisinart I just smile. Not having to chop and slice and grate all the ingredients for a meal is an absolute blessing.
I hope we need one of those soon, Paul.
We have never had a Cuisinart. I don't know why because chopping onions is so dreadful.
1. Flannel sheets are one of the Wife's favorite things. She'd put them on the bed in August, I think, if I didn't object. They have been very nice to have this winter, I must say, though I stay with the cotton pillowcase.
2. I've had a Cuisinart since the first one came out, and am on my 3rd one now. It is a useful tool, though the clean-up always makes me think twice about it so it gets used for large jobs only. So much easier to wash off the knife and cutting board.
3. Chopping onions is something I like to do manually, I enjoy it, it means I'm COOKING which is good, it smells good, there are the nice tactile sensations; the crunch, the movement of the knife through the crisp flesh of the onion, the scraping of the cutting board. It's the same with slicing and chopping most vegetables.
4. The most useful appliance in the kitchen? It's probably the electric can opener.
I must be a negative person, I keep thinking of things I wish had not been invented, like: flannel sheets. I can't stand them. Worse: fleece garments.
The best thing I saw this Christmas was a decorative garland with LED lights, and it came with a simple-to-set battery-operated timer. And only uses one set of batteries for the whole holiday season. Mine has been in use since the last of November and still works perfectly.
I can see the day - probably next Christmas - when the pre-lit artifical trees, and all holiday lights, are all LED, timer/battery operated. No electrical cords, less electricity used, on and off by themselves. Perfect, especially for the elderly and the infirm who still want lights but not the hassle.
Flannel sheets are good but what I dig are seat warmers in the car, especially when it's leather upholstery.
Right now I'm really really happy someone thought of vanilla eggnog.
Thanks for the tips on LED stuff. I am one of the elderly that wants lights without hassle.
I completely forgot eggnog this year.
Or at least the egg part of it.
I have never had an electric can opener. We have few electric things because they always break with our heavy touch.
How can I have forgotten ziplock bags? The best thing since the electric light bulb.
I would give up almost anything before ziplock bags. Let the environment be damned!
The librarians at SUNY at Buffalo marveled at the 30,000 books I donated to them each in its Zip-lock bag. If you want to preserve your books, that's the way to go!
never thought of it but it makes great sense.
Patti - Just wanted you to know there is an award for you on my blog.
Seeing as we never turn our thermostat above 60-62 I like the four or five blankets and the dog on my feet more than the sheets.
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I LOVE cold sheets!! Few things feel better than climbing into cold sheets, pulling the covers up around my head, and letting everything warm up around me. Like building my own little igloo every night.
My favorite invention? The DVR. Allows me to live my life much more on my schedule.
For me, the world's greatest invention ("great" being defined as filling a vital need and ALWAYS working properly) would be the humble staple remover.
On the other hand, if you define "great" as something that has become totally indispensable in our lives, and you hear yourself saying, "How could we ever have lived without it?", then I would put the telephone answering machine/voicemail at the top of the list.
Anyone who has ever worked in an office, as I still do, thanks God for the staple remover. I would have said wite out once but those days have passed.
DVR is a great one.
But my second choice would be the Internet. Thanks, Al.
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