Are you going to hell and need a better mode of transportation? Try a hand basket!

The Linens 'n Things near here is going out of business. I hadn't gone b/c I knew I would see a bunch of worthless stuff that I don't need and I'd think "Hey, what a great deal I'm getting on all this worthless stuff!" and end up with no money and even less storage space.

Yes, that sentence was intentionally past-tense. I finally gave in yesterday and rummaged around. I just started donating plasma again, so I felt I could afford to splurge. I gave myself a $20 limit, and only for things that I really couldn't live without. I only spent $10, but I got two great things (small treasures, really): a hand basket and a travel cooler.

Hand baskets are great. You know, those baskets that they have at grocery stores that force you to stick to your budget? I get to the frozen vegetables and think, "I sure would love to buy some broccoli!" but my basket is already full of pretzels and ranch dressing. I can't be expected to carry a hand basket and a case of coke AND try to balance a bunch of vegetables on top. 'Cause once I start down that trail I end up with party pizzas stuffed in my pants, a gallon of milk balanced on my head, and a sack of fruit over my shoulder. I look like a grocery store version of Where's Waldo. No, best to just stop shopping once the basket is full. All the benefits of saving money without the hassle of eating healthy.

Anyway, hand baskets are severely under-rated and I'm glad that one is now a part of my life.

The thing that I'm far more excited about is the travel cooler. Not so much the cooler itself but what's inside. Travel coolers use a Peltier cooler (also called a thermoelectric heat pump), which is a small electronic device that looks like a thin metal plate. When powered, the Peltier cooler magically get really cold on one side and really hot on the other side. (even more magically, if you manually heat up one side and cool down the other, it will generate electricity.) I haven't decided yet exactly what I will do with it, but I'm leaning toward a mini-mini fridge. A USB cable has enough current to chill a can of soda...we're probably headed in that direction. I'll keep you posted.