Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gammaman/6205703006/sizes/z/in/photostream/

OLD & NEW

I am having trouble with today's concept of the words "old" and "new". Youngsters would certainly put me in the category of old, when someone brings me a present for my home I call it new. I ring the repairman to come and fix my refrigerator and I tell him it is only 7 years old, he says, "Oh, it's an old one – have to see if I can still find parts". My previous fridge, a Tadiran, was 25 years old and I only changed it because I wanted a larger one.

This change in the meaning of these two little words causes me a lot of trouble when I go shopping for a new item for my home. I ask a lot of questions that many of the salespeople do not know the answers to. In reply to my same question at various shops regarding the details of a small dishwasher and also of a vacuum cleaner, I received completely different replies, except for one : "Madam, this is their latest, their newest", which appeared to the salespeople to be the answer to everything!

PHONES IN CARS 

I understand that in the U.S. a bill is being introduced to stop the usage in cars and other vehicles of all phones, SMS' and iPods etc. According to the media in the U.S. more than a million of the accidents in which cars were involved were attributed to the usage of cellular phones, messaging and iPods while driving. I think it is about time Israel introduced this as well. Nearly every time a car in front of me suddenly slows down for no known reason, clearly it means the driver is either listening or talking on his phone.

HINTS

Here are a few simple hints from my everyday life which I have found very useful.

Washing knitwear: To prevent knitwear from stretching when washing in the washing machine, place it inside a pillowcase. And, if, like me, you are still using a line to dry your washing, then spread woollens on a towel, fold carefully and leave for a few minutes before putting them out on the line.

Labeling food: When labeling food before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer, wait till it is cool, otherwise the label will not stick. In reverse, if the package is already frozen or very cold you cannot put a label on same.

Storing woollies: I put bars of soap in the drawers together with my winter "woollies", whether made of wool or other fabrics, and in all drawers of clothes that are not opened on a regular basis. This also leaves a very pleasant smell on the clothes and linens.

Nail varnish: To keep the top of a bottle of nail varnish from sticking and becoming difficult to open, spread a little Vaseline on the grooves of the bottle.

If you have hints that you feel are useful and that you would like to share with us, send to me at ariel54@netvision.net.il with the title on the subject line: "Hints for Esramag". Please do not send lists from the internet.