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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
I own three hot water bottles, most people don't even own one. That theory isn't based on any scientific study, but rather on a comment the minister made one Sunday morning from the pulpit. He was telling a story about his grandmother and when he mentioned Grandma's hot water bottle, he paused and reflected, "Who would even know what to do with a hot water bottle?"
People were laughing but I almost raised my hand. "Pick me, pick me. Not only do I own a collection of three hot water bottles, but I have compelling hot water bottle stories that would make everyone sitting in the pews want to buy one, too!"
I remember my very first purchase. I was packing for my second business trip to New York City. It was the middle of winter and memories of freezing my toes on my last visit, were still vivid in my mind. So I bought a hot water bottle and neatly rolled it up in my suitcase. Later that evening in my hotel room, after trudging through icy cold, slush filled streets all day long, I filled my red rubber bottle up with steaming hot water, and my toes stayed toasty warm all night long. Now I never leave home for an overnight stay without one.
Hot water bottles get a bad rap. Yes, I admit they're "only-a-mother-could-love-ugly," and the institutional colors red and gray, don't entice people to buy. But a hot water bottle is one of those practical, work-horse sort of products. When you need one, nothing else will do. Sprains, pains, freezing toes, too much gardening, cozy up to a hot water bottle and I'm good as new.
Even Mama and Papa, the stray outdoor cats my husband and I take care of, could provide marketing testimonials for the therapeutic benefits of hot water bottles. Four times last winter when the temperatures were "burr" freezing cold overnight here in Florida, my husband hopped out of bed at 3 a.m. to refresh the hot water bottles tucked away in the make-shift houses he'd made for Mama and Papa. "Mew, mew...we love our hot water bottles!"
But I'm an honest marketer, so I'll have to share that the only downside of a hot water bottle, I've personally experienced, is waking in the middle of the night thinking I've wet the bed, but then being relieved to discover it's only the hot water bottle that's sprung a leak.
Enter my hot water bottle giveaway, cozy up to one of your own. To enter, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/bottle.html
* And today I'm introducing the Penguin Classic Paths of Glory by Humphrey Cobb. Start reading today's Penguin Classic, get a discount if you'd like to purchase the book, or check out a copy from your local library, and be sure to enter-to-win one of the famous Penguin Classic book bags. I have one and I love it. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/November11Classics
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/
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