<p>My Garmin GPS is first, but my new love is the H20 steam cleaner. This thing is absolutely amazing. It’s supposed to be for floors and carpets, but I have stood up on a chair and done the walls, my bathtub, you name it.</p>
<p>I am a smoker, and it took the nicotine right off the walls in my office ( the only room I smoke in). </p>
<p>It takes the dirt out better than anything I have ever seen. It’s one of those as seen on TV things, but my mom loaned it to me and I am in love.</p>
<p>Vderon, tell me more about the steam cleaner. I have been wanting one, but I have read about dangers (leaking hot water and steam). I’ve been reading reviews of the Shark and other brands, but haven’t heard of the H2O.</p>
<p>OH, no! I just googled it, and this is what came up - a recall:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09279.html[/url]”>http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09279.html</a></p>
<p>Please check your model, Vderon!</p>
<p>Yes—please post opinions on the best steam cleaner! Sounds like a wonderful tool.</p>
<p>“AnuddahMom, what is so great about those scissors? They just look like scissors to me!”</p>
<p>That’s riiiiiiiight, NYMomof2. Just scissors. Where would we be without scissors? </p>
<p>We’d have to bite the umbilical cord in 2 just to be born! How could we make clothes? Cut ribbons at ribbon-cutting ceremonies? There would be no Edward Scissorhands. No Peter Callesen! (petercallesen.com) Rock/paper/scissors would be just rock/paper, and what fun is that?</p>
<p>I use scissors to:
Wrap presents
Cut pizza
Massacre slugs (thanks to someone on CC!)
Trim hair
Poke holes in soil for planting
and oh, so many other things!</p>
<p>Think about it. Scissors. Form follows function. It’s the ultimate in usability. OP said gadget. Nobody said it had to be dependent on filthy old electricity or batteries. Clean and simple, can be deadly or create beautiful objects.</p>
<p>Hi- thanks for the heads up on the recall! I checked , and luckily my model is not one that is affected. </p>
<p>I am moving on Saturday, so I have been using this H20 cleaner on everything. I mean everything. The outside of the fridge, the bathtub, the walls,some windows, the floors, and the carpet. It made my 12 year old carpet look like new. It took spots out. It loosened up the dirt in the tub so that it was easy to clean.</p>
<p>I have the older model that came with the microfiber cloths. I can’t imagine buying the one with the disposable cloths, because I would have gone through 100 of them. As it is, I have been washing the microfiber clothes almost continously. :-)</p>
<p>I can’t really recommend abusing it like I have been. I figured the thing costs $100, and it would cost a lot more than $100 to have someone come in and do what I have done with it. Even if it craps out now, I got my money worth. </p>
<p>So far so good, tho. It’s going strong. I have not been burned, and it has only left the floor wet when I didn’t let it warm up properly.</p>
<p>I’ve looked for the Cocomotion Hot Chocolate maker at Walmart and Target. No luck…I would rather buy it at a local store, but may have to order it online…</p>
<p>Third or fourth vote for the microplane grater here!
I’m glad I discovered parchment paper several years ago; can’t believe I baked so long without it.</p>
<p>My XM radio. Love it, love it, love it.</p>
<p>AnuddahMom, thanks for the laugh! I admit that I was harboring the hope that you had discovered some special, wonderful scissors with magical properties! You are, of course, right that scissors were a wonderful invention. I guess I just take them for granted.</p>
<p>This recipe yield pie dough that rolls out beautifully every time, drapes over the pie pan without cracking, never needs patching. Before I was given this recipe, making pie crust was a chore that always elicited many curses from me. Now it is a delight.</p>
<p>You will need a cloth pastry sleeve to go over the rolling pin, and a special cloth to roll the crust out on. You can get them at Williams-Sonoma and many other places. I store them in a large Ziploc bag in the frig between pie-baking sessions, because you are not supposed to wash the cloth and I am sure there are traces of butter left in it. I replace them every year at least.</p>
<p>Pie crust (2 single shells or 1 double-crust)</p>
<p>2 cups all-purpose flour
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.75 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons margarine or vegetable shortening (I use Crisco)
0.25 cup ice water</p>
<p>Put flour and salt in bowl of food processor; blend. Cut butter and shortening into flour. Process a few seconds until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water drop by drop, processing very briefly after each. The whole process should take 20-30 seconds. Wrap and chill the pastry for at least one hour. (It can be frozen at this point.) Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Roll out using pastry cloth and rolling pin cover.</p>
<p>When I get back home, I’ll have to check and see how this compares to my pie crust in the food processor recipe. Like this one it’s foolproof and very easy to roll out, but I don’t use it every time because my mil’s recipes (which is about 2/3 Crisco) makes a flakier crust.</p>
<p>My new iPhone–just got it after years as a Verizon Wireless basic-cellphone user. I don’t know that it will stay my favorite gadget once it isn’t a novelty anymore or I have a negative experience with my new carrier, but it really is amazing–so clear and user-friendly and fun. But in the long run, the gadget of choice is probably my food processor because how else would I grate cheese or make good-enough crust for peach cobbler, or get potatoes properly shredded and chopped for potato latkes?</p>
<p>I really love my new All-clad double burner grill pan that I got from William Somoma :)</p>