Dear Heloise: On occasion, when I travel with my child, even if I know where I'm going, I'll ask her to GPS our destination on my cellphone. When the directions are ready, she will, with the help of the prompter, guide us to our destination. I'll say things like, "What'd she say?"
She observes things like distances, street names, turning directions, movement of the traffic and so on. This requires her to watch the screen when doing so, and allows us to converse during the ride, as we both are determined to get to our destination.
Once, I decided not to do it, and she was actually disappointed. She said she enjoyed being our navigator!-Janice R., via email
IN-FLIGHT
ACCESSIBLE BAG
Dear Readers: Here's a travel hint to consider when flying: Try putting any and all things you plan on using during the flight inside a resealable gallon-size bag.
This way, you can toss the bag onto your seat before putting everything else away in the bin above you. Just that little action, and not digging for your stuff when you arrive at your seat, will improve boarding by not slowing down others who also are trying to board.-Heloise
VINEGAR MARINADE
Dear Heloise: I've never used vinegar for cooking and would like an idea or two. For starters, do you have a marinade I could whip up and use for meats?-Greg D., Austin, Texas
Greg, try combining the following ingredients in a medium bowl, and use as you would a commercial marinade:
1 cup dry white or red wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup salad oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dry tarragon
1 bay leaf, crushed into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon thyme or marjoram
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
This marinade has a lot of other ingredients besides the vinegar that you asked for, but I think you'll find it savory.-Heloise
STEEL-WOOL UPDATE
Dear Readers: A reader wanted ways to preserve steel-wool pads. I gave him a couple of good hints, and then this one came in from a faithful reader that I thought would improve upon the original hints.-Heloise
"My suggestion for helping to keep your steel-wool cleaning pads rust-free is to wet the item you are cleaning, NOT the steel-wool pad.
"Then I store the pad in the freezer, as others have suggested. This has worked well for many years.
"I read your hints in the Ventura County (Calif.) Star."-Hilary M., Simi Valley, Calif.
King Features Syndicate