the toolbox
Getaway homes
"Homes From Home" (Quayside Publishing Group, $40) will take you on a vacation in your mind.
The book, by British journalist Vinny Lee, takes readers on a tour of vacation homes around the world. Included are cabins, treehouses, mobile homes, tents, boats and even getaways made from an old circus wagon and a train car.
There's a quirky cabin in Sweden that looks like a turtle, a home in Wales that was fashioned from a grain silo and a contemporary shepherd's hut built by an owner who was too tall to fit comfortably in a traditional version.
Lee shares these shelters with readers as a source of both diversion and information. She includes plenty of pictures of the getaways and their settings, so readers can enjoy their virtual visit. But she also gleans practical suggestions from the homes, such as ways to store needed items in limited space and furniture that can withstand punishing beach environments.
Phone thermometer
No more overdone roasts. The iDevices Kitchen Thermometer keeps tabs on meat as it's cooking so you don't have to.
The thermometer measures the temperature of the meat and sends that information via Bluetooth to your smartphone or tablet up to 150 feet away. The app alerts you when the meat has reached the desired temperature.
You can choose preset temperatures for various foods and levels of doneness, or you can set a customized temperature.
The app currently is available for certain models of the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. An Android version will be released this year.
