Products & Stuff

For the first few months of my time living in Toledo, taking care of my Father-in-Law, the focus at home was on my wife and I's comfort but now that Jim is out of the hospital and living at home again, Heather and I have been working to make his home environment as safe and easy for him to both live ... as well as ultimately become independent again. As someone who has COPD, is on medical oxygen, and suffers from allergies - his indoor air quality was one of our biggest concerns. Thankfully the folks at IQAir provided one of their HealthPro Plus air purifiers to us so we can help him breathe easier.

: Written by: James Hills; Published: 30 August 2023; Last Updated: 31 August 2023; Hits: 1174

For many years I had a big aluminum tub that I lugged to the beach in San Diego to use as a makeshift fire pit. It worked ... not well ... but it worked and it fit in the back of my car so that was all I needed. Now though, I have a Breeo Y Series portable grill that is pretty much perfect in terms of being portable and multi-talented. Last night we used it to celebrate my father-in-law's continued improvement in health by setting it up in his front yard so he could watch as Heather and I roasted marshmallows and ate some s'mores. We of course gave him some as well. Afterwards, we just let it cool and picked it up by the hand to take it back into the garage.

: Written by: James Hills; Published: 27 August 2023; Last Updated: 27 August 2023; Hits: 917

Gear & Gadgets

Indoor air quality isn’t something we usually think about but this year I’ve been living in my father-in-law’s house and working to get it healthier for his ultimate return from spending several months in the hospital due to pneumonia and associated breathing issues from COPD. Unfortunately his house is older and windows have been painted shut over the years. While we can install air filters to remove particulate matter, one challenge we had was simply understanding the actual air quality in his house - and specifically CO₂, that we were facing. With the INKBIRD IAM-T1 Smart Indoor Air Quality Monitor, we’ve been able to discover some surprising things about the house that we didn’t expect.

: Written by: James Hills; Published: 25 August 2023; Last Updated: 25 August 2023; Hits: 1939

We've taken a look at the original MeatStick previously and were quite impressed. The brand is locked in a head to head battle with Meater but MeatStick appears to focus more on innovation while it's competitor is more focused on simply doing one thing and doing it well. The right choice ultimately depends on your needs and what type of grilling you're doing. However, the fact that MeatStick managed to put four different temperature zones in one wiress meat probe is a pretty freaking cool accomplishment!

: Written by: James Hills; Published: 23 August 2023; Last Updated: 24 August 2023; Hits: 1073

Life as we know it would not be possible without enough water to go around. The first time I saw a water wise garden was in Tucson, Arizona during a garden walk. I was simply amazed at how innovative these gardeners were to create such incredibly vibrant gardens in what would otherwise be desert wasteland. While most of us don’t live in a climate like this, even in the Midwest and other parts of the country where there is regular rainfall, water conservation is an important topic that shouldn’t be ignored.