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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
It's taken me 57 years to catch on. "Push tab to secure roll, or Press here to lock roll." Take your pick, they're both new to me. I'm constantly learning new things, obviously some surprisingly simple, because after polling family and friends, (yes, I called folks and asked, and now they think I'm really a nut) apparently I'm the last to know, that yes indeed, you can stop that roll of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, from jumping out of the box when you try to use it.
My daughter-in-law was greatly amused when I inquired, "Did you know there are little punch-in tabs on the sides of the plastic wrap and aluminum foil boxes?"
"Yes, that's how you hold the roll in place." Smiling through the phone, and trying not to laugh, she could tell by my enthusiastic voice that I'd just discovered this modern miracle.
Just think, all those years--wasted time and words--I've spent a fair amount of time cursing the plastic wrap box, because when I start to unroll the plastic, the cardboard roll wiggles and wobbles, sometimes even jumping right out of the box, which makes it practically impossible to tear off a piece of plastic wrap, so I can cover up my leftover chicken salad.
Hoping to rally support and not look quite so stupid, I decided to ask a man. (A dad, raising his children alone, surely he uses plastic wrap, and I bet he's never paid any attention to the "how-to secure" instructions on the side of the box.)
"Hey did you know there are little tabs on the side of the plastic wrap roll?"
"Hmm, yeah, I think I remember them being there. Otherwise the roll would fall out of the box, wouldn't it?"
Okay, so even men know the secret, but obviously, from his lackadaisical response, this dad doesn't use plastic wrap. "So if you don't own a box of plastic wrap, tell me your secret. What do you use for leftovers?"
"I burp my Tupperware and it sounds like you should, too!"
Now I'm wondering how many other modern miracles I've missed throughout the years. Maybe my toilet really DOES scrub itself, I just didn't press the magic button. Maybe my dryer can dry AND fold clothes, I just didn't notice the tabs on the side of the machine.
Talk to you tomorrow, I'm gonna go look right now.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/
P.S. Enter this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest. It's writing for fun, prizes and a little bit of fame! Win an Amazon Kindle, $50 gift cards to your favorite bookstore, get your entry published in my Dear Reader column and at BookTrib. For deadlines and details, and to read samples of past winning columns, goto: http://tinyurl.com/WADR2011
* This month's Penguin Classics book is CELESTINA by Fernando De Rojas. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/July11Classics
AUTHORBUZZ: To read more about COMMUNE OF WOMEN, and to enter this author's signed book giveaway, click on the link below, then click on COMMUNE OF WOMEN.
Suzan Still, today's featured author, writes...
What happens when everyday citizens meet their worst nightmare head-on? Escaping horrific chaos at LAX, six women take refuge in a tiny staff room. Strangers, they could not be more diverse: a Jungian analyst, an ancient bag lady, a resourceful mountain woman, a top business executive, a histrionic housewife and a wealthy, neurotic artist. They sustain themselves by sharing everything: their food and medications, their hopes and fears and their life stories, which become deeper, darker and more intimate as the days pass.
To read more about COMMUNE OF WOMEN goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
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