My Excellent Choices

If you like quick, high-quality meals – a Food Vacuum Sealer is an essential. Fresh fruit and vegetables keep longer in the refrigerator if they are sealed and re-sealed.

We prepare 2-3 weeks of meals (pre-cooked salmon, burgers, streaks, turkey, chicken, quiche) in vacuum-sealed freezer bags. Each bag contains a meal portion for one or two people. Thanks to the handy microwave. the main entry of any meal is ready in minutes.

Now for the bad news. Not all vacuum sealers are created equal. Since an airtight seal and a healthy vacuum pump is required for a really good seal – these handy kitchen tools will eventually need to be replaced.

But wait, for the really good news! After we tried three other models, our personal experience with this particular product has been stellar. It is still running now – already two, three, four times longer than lesser models. This one is worth the price!

Perfect for hard surface floors, every chair at our house has one on each chair leg. These snack tables needed floor protectors too. Try the square-leg version for the snack tables. This 32-piece package has enough for 8 chairs.

The felt tips are firmly bonded to the plastic cups, and you will want to match the size and shape of these little “boots” to the items. Check out the shape and size information on the linked page above.

You can install these in just a couple of minutes. Just gently stretch open and slide over the end of the chair leg.

This is a huge improvement over those “stick-on” adhesive felt protectors from the hardware store.

UPDATE:

I just discovered the “LIVE TV” link on the Amazon Video Home Page! It brings up a cable TV-style channel list offering free content and easy access to any add-on channels you may have enrolled.

June 13, 2020

Everyone knows about Amazon Prime free shipping, but some of my friends who have taken advantage of this original benefit have barely scratched the surface of the free and reasonably priced offerings in Amazon’s streaming video.

If you have tried the free and Amazon original productions, including an old TV favorite like Boston Legal, you know you need to stay on top of the current offerings. Popular favorites will sometimes be free for awhile and then rotated to the purchase isle.

Fortunately, there is always new free content, and some good buys if you decide to purchase.

One great feature of the Amazon video streaming platform is their bundling of add-on services like CBS all access, HBO, Britbox and more. It certainly simplifies life to have one streaming app that consolidates access and billing for the optional streaming services.

It’s really easy to add a streaming channel, like BritBox, to binge watch a show like David Tennant in the suspenseful detective show, Broadchurch; and then drop it from the monthly subscription with no hassles and no penalties.

If you stream Amazon video, or if you are new to Amazon Prime, click the link at the top of this post and check out what’s new. Try the search feature for an old favorite TV show or movie.

UPDATE:

I have been using this gadget in the KITCHEN! It has a “dual mode” switch that allows it to check surface temperatures of food pulled from the freezer or the microwave. It also will check “room temperature” as well.

Check it out!

July 20, 2020

Dad bought one of these non-contact thermometers, and I was surprised how easy it was to use! I was curious about their accuracy, so I “googled” reviews from medical institutions on the web.

The “Gold Standard” according to some web sites is till the old fashioned inserted thermometer, but there was a consensus among the site I visited that if used correctly, these new non-contact thermometers are accurate.

You see these in use at the entrance to doctors offices everywhere, thanks to COVID virus; so I was able to confirm Dad’s idea that if his doctor was using it to screen for fever, it would be good for him to use as well.

Most instructions advise taking a reading of the forehead and to be aware of any clothing, cream, or prescription that might interfere with an accurate reading.

UPDATE:

Still using ROKU streaming sticks at home and while traveling, and we have added a couple of streaming apps for ROKU that may be hard to obtain through some other devices. MeritMedia (By Dr. Phil) is available on ROKU. Also known as Merit+, it hosts shows by Dr. Phil, a US history TV series, a series by Mike Rowe, and more. If you have ROKU, check this new streaming source out. If you don’t have ROKU and it is not available on your streaming hardware – you may still be able to get these videos on your laptop or desktop computer, tablet or cell phone.

June 3, 2020

For years, television content has been delivered in expensive bundles via cable or satellite. Then, Netflix, Sling, Hulu, YouTube and others offered alternatives that streamed shows on demand over your internet connection to your PC.

ROKU devices are attached thru the HDMI video and audio available on most connectors. (Some ROKU models still support older TVs with last generation TV signal connections.)

I actually prefer the ROKU add-on device to the “built-in” streamig capabilities of large flat screen systems, even when the excellent ROKU software is included inside your TV!

Streaming TV is made possible by special purpose computers dedicated to doing one thing very well. But, how often does the demand on these devices change? How often should we consider a faster processor, more memory, and a move from 1080P to 4k Video and beyond?

I won’t replace my large screen TV every two year, but ROKU devices are relatively inexpensive and updated frequently with newer and more capable models. It is not unreasonable to update the ROKU on the main screen every couple of years and gift the older device or move it to a second screen.

Eventually, the oldest devices won’t be capable of running the most robust streaming services, as some Netflix users found out last December. An ROKU upgrade can bring new life to an older TV at a bargain price.

ROKU is also “screen-casting” friendly. The convenience of projecting the video and audio from a personal device is supported by most ROKU devices and I have used ROKU to present from Windows PCs as well as Android and Apple mobile devices. In fact, I can set up an instant slide show on my smart phone and project wirelessly to a large TV screen by attaching my little ROKU to the TV’s HDMI connector!

One other thought about the advantage of having the power to stream large screen television in a pocket-sized device… Our ROKU traveled with us on our last “away from home” family vacation. One quick connection to the television where we stayed and a couple of clicks to set up connection to WIFI, and our complete streaming library was available for evening entertainment!

Since we are US residents, there are some countries and markets where our streaming subscriptions are not allowed, but trips to the beach, the mountains or another US location with a reliable WIFI connection has never been a problem.