All of the recent comments about the Keurig coffee makers got me thinking about a few items that I think are really neat gadgets to own. As I have mentioned before, my husband enjoys gadgets, which means we have many! So, at the risk of sounding materialistic, here are just a few of my “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” things:
1) Head Flashlight >>> Our local electric company has us on a faulty circuit, which goes off more than several time a year. It’s truly frustrating to look outside and see that it is always our side of the street that has lost power. This gadget is great! We keep several of them in different locations, so that when (not if!) our circuit goes out, at least we can see what we are doing. (Also, on the occasions when we need to carry Sprite outside in the middle of the night, these head flashlights make it possible for us to have our hands free to carry our “puppy” in and out.) (I got four of these flashlights for Christmas one year, I think it was the Christmas after I got four fire detectors for our home… I’m easy to shop for!)
2) Keurig coffee maker >>> I absolutely did not want this coffee maker! But, my husband’s office moved to a new location where it made it impossible for him to go through a drive-thru for his daily coffee. We have programmed this little gem to turn itself on at 6:00 am, he pops a K-cup in, and he’s out the door with a 12 oz. travel cup of hot coffee in about 30 seconds. I actually held out for several months before I started using the Keurig, but finally got rid of my Mr. Coffee machine. We opted for the Keurig with five cup sizes because my mom has a Keurig with only two size settings, which I find a little limiting. Sometimes I want a “a more expresso” type of coffee, in which case I set it on the smallest cup size possible. We are now enjoying all different types of tea, as well as the most delicious 70 calorie cup of hot chocolate imaginable. (This was my husband’s birthday gift… Easy to shop for him, also…)
Let’s see, I know there are a few other things we use every day…
3) Sage TV >>> This thing is more like a “do-it-all” DVR to me. Again, I balked at getting this. (I am notorious in my family for being a very set-in-my-ways technologically impaired person, who never wants to move ahead with the times!) But, I can honestly say that I am now the person who uses this Sage DVR thing the most. (If my husband had taken my balking seriously, we would still be using VHS tapes — That’s how much I complain about having to learn a new device!) Getting back to this Sage thing… You should see my “Favorites” list: Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Judy Holliday, William Powell, Melvyn Douglas, Jimmy Stewart, Norma Shearer, ETC. Any time one of their movies plays, my Sage records it. I don’t have to rely on the schlocky shows the networks play when I have movies with all of my favorite actors. The movies were made before I was born, but I love watching them anyway!
4) My Top Loading Washing Machine!!! >>> I tried and tried (for around four years) to like my front-load washing machine, but NEVER got out of the “Hate It” mentality. It simply did not get our clothes clean. My husband did some research, finally found we could actually still buy a top load washing machine, and he then bought it for me. The TRUE translation for this is that he got tired of my weekly complaints about the new HE (Healthy Environment/Dirty Clothes) washing machine.
I wish I could get back all of the shirts I turned into rags during those four HE front load washing machine years!!!
Arlene says
Oh, if I had a dime for everytime I wished I had thought of something, I’d be a rich woman! I agree about the front load machine. They’re all the rage, but I know three folks who have them and are really not pleased with the performance. I’ll keep my very old and paint chipped top load machine until it dies, and then I’ll most likely buy another.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Arlene, I soooo wish I had kept my old top load washing machine! Mine was “very old and paint chipped” also, but it got my clothes clean! I hated my very new, all nicely-painted front loading machine since I first used it…
Marla says
I don’t do the laundry in our household – my husband does! But, when we went to purchase a new washer and dryer, he makes the deal to get a front loader washer, to which I said (after arrangements had been made to ship), “maybe we should rethink this front loading thing.” Well, to my surprise, he agreed to listen to my complaints (the big one – How can you add clothes when the machine is full?) and we got a top loader. Now when I read your comments about clothes not being clean, I am so-o-o glad I changed his mind!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lucky you, Marla, having a husband who does the laundry!
And, lucky you, Marla, for not wasting your money on the front loader. You are right about not being able to add more clothes once the washing machine is engaged. Finding a renegade dark sock and having to wait until next week’s laundry day because you’re done with the dark loads >>> Just another reason not to go with a front-loading washer.
Vickie B says
DH has a few of the headlamps for his hunting trips and he used them when he rebuilt the engine in the ‘girlfriend’ his 240Z. You made me realize we should have them around the house for each of us when we have our power outages. I’ll have to research to see if they make them for an eight year old’s cranium.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Vickie B, my husband uses his head flashlight when he is fixing his computer and has taken it all apart. (I had to look up “240Z”… That’s how much I know about cars!)
Frostie says
I am a victim, victim I say ! of The Front Loader.
What junk !
So much for water savings, I had to add water with a hose every time – this was a questionable practice.
If one forgot to stand there as the water was being added,
one would hear a very loud peculiar worrisome sound, which later on one discern as the door being burst open.
Well, they sure got rinsed that way.
I did this enough times that now the machine does not work and I can justify buying a new top loader.
Front Loaders are just agony.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Frostie, I had a terrible time with our front loader… Since our clothes always came out dirty, I would up the soap. This led to many times when the wash room floor would be covered in soap suds, and I would have to wring the clothes out in the bathtub. I absolutely hated that machine!
Lisa C. says
Ugh. Another front loader hater here. It smells (and I’ve tried the tricks…) hence, my clothes smell (in my opinion) and it doesn’t spin right!!! I would never buy another one again!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lisa C, I think the consensus is that Top-Loading washing machines are at the bottom of our “Favorite Things” lists!
linda says
Two different comments on this topic. One,my darling hubby is a gadget freak. He sees something on TV and he thinks he has to have it!!!!!!! Made for TV products were actually made for my hubby!
Another is some time ago I read a story about how a lot of out of work industrial engineers who found themselves having to stay home to take care of the kids and do the housework are the ones who came up with most of the recent time saving gadgets that we now have.
Boys and their toys!