The Friday Five 11.16.18
Make a cooler your best friend on Thanksgiving.
When you have a house full of guests and multiple dishes that need to stay warm (or cold) until everyone eats, a cooler can save the day. Refrigerators and ovens can fill up quickly. For cold items, fill a cooler with ice and the items from your fridge that you won’t need on Thanksgiving (think pickles, salad dressings, and that huge jar of mayonnaise) to clear out space in the fridge. To keep hot items warm after they cook, line a cooler with foil and folded towels in a cooler and place items in as they come out of the oven. We also love this video that has 35 super clever cooking hacks that will help anyone and everyone during Thanksgiving meal preparation.
Prevent unnecessary charges to your credit card.
Few things are more annoying than having to provide your credit card information for a 30-day free trial, only to forget to cancel the subscription before being charged. To avoid this, use a pre-paid Visa gift card. Most cards cost only $3 and can be loaded with as much or as little money as you’d like. Once you have decided that the subscription is worth it, provide your real card later.
Learn about the world around you.
If you have seen our past Friday Fives, you have probably read about my appreciation for Winston Churchill. If you have a historical figure that you love learning more about, a place in the world that fascinates you, or are curious to know more about a specific era, check out Documentary Heaven. Hundreds of documentaries can be found here and using their search box will let you watch films on anything your heart desires, right from your computer.
More Siri shortcuts
We recently highlighted “Siri Shortcuts” and how they can be used to automate tasks such as launching an app when triggered by a certain event, ordering pizza, and many other useful actions. Since then, a new shortcut called “Police” has been created and it will discretely record an event where you are pulled over by the police. All you have to do is say, “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over.” At that point, your phone switches on the front camera to begin recording, switches to Do Not Disturb mode and sends an automated message to someone you have designated as an emergency contact. Such person will be alerted that you have been pulled over and the app will also give such person your exact location. To read all about it, click here. Hopefully you never need to use it, but it’s there just in case!
Keep your family’s memories alive to pass on to future generations.
There are going to be some great family stories told this Holiday season, just like every year. One cool way to archive all of your family’s recipes, photos, stories, and even newspaper clippings or letters is with the Family Tree Memory Keeper Workbook. Every time you have family over or you head to a relative’s house, bring it with you and have your loved ones record special information for everyone to remember.