The Useful Book

The Useful Book

Adult nonfiction
Over Christmas break I discovered a book that I believe belongs
on every family's reference shelf, right up there with dictionary,
cookbook, and human and companion animal (if there is one on the
premises) health guides. The Useful Book: 201 Life Skills They Used
to Teach in Home Ec and Shop by Sharon and David Bowers is a treasure
chest of how-tos for novice to near expert. It's a fairly recent
(2016) paperback so it should be possible to track down. Not to
mention it's a total bargain. Utilizing its instructions will save
you back the cost in no time flat. A number of suggestions can help
decrease your carbon footprint. And don't you love how the words
idiot and dummy appear nowhere in the title.
The first section involves cooking anything from hard boiled
eggs to steak. It also covers overarching topics such as how to stock
a kitchen and how to plan meals. Sidebars extend topics. How to cook
with tofu is accompanied by a list of protein sources for non meat
eaters. The food you prepare at home from scratch is more wholesome
and less expensive than boxed mixes or take out. There are also
creative ways to use up leftovers and odds and ends. You know we
waste far too much food. I'm going to try out the ice cream recipe.
Perfectly good clothes take up way too much landfill space. The
variety of mending and laundry and stain removal techniques in the
book can be very handy to extend garment life.
On the shop side of the book there's a wealth of ways to DIY
instead of calling on professionals.
*This time of year mice come in out of the cold through even the
tiniest of openings. Ever hear them run around in your walls? That
is not good. If you don't share space with an expert mouser like my
Joey cat, you will find the advice offered up very useful.
*Weather stripping can keep your house toasty right now and save on
those too high heating bills. If you live somewhere like Maine you
might need to insulate your attic or prevent or remove ice dams from
the roof.
*And how about those annoying faucet drips and drain clogs?
There is so much more! I know I'm going to get my own copy of the
book. I suggest you do too.
On a personal note, the storm has arrived and so far is living up to
the hype. I feel like I'm in a snow globe some giant is shaking
because a lot of the white stuff is being slammed by wind gusts, not
drifting down gently. I think I made a wise decision to not go to
church.
A great big shout out (and prayers for their safety) goes out to
Eugene and all the others who are out there blizzard battling to make
streets and parking lots safe for the rest of us. Also to the folks
who don't have to go anywhere and aren't getting in the way of the
plowing professionals.
jules hathaway



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