Consumer's How To #44: How To & Make

1. I thoroughly enjoyed all the How To sites listed. The only problem is the amount of information! I could get lost in those sites for days. I think Instructables was my favorite. I will write about it in the next activity.

2. Homemade Jam, the French Way. I saw this link on Instructables for how to make jam and it is so easy I want to try it. It basically just boils down to cooking fruit with some sugar until it gets to the consistency you want. The beauty is...you can even use frozen fruit. How easy is that? And they said that the fruit cooking on the stove makes your house smell like pie, and that, once you make a batch or two, you will not want to buy the jam at the store.

The article also quoted a book I would like to read: Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living. by Robert Arbor. We don't own it, but I think I will order it on Interlibrary Loan.

Here is the article from Instructables;


- More cool how to projects

A Consumer's How To: #43 Buying & Selling Online

1. I enjoyed exploring the sites listed. I searched for things I was interested in on ebay and found some nice items, but nothing I wanted enough to bid on. My favorite site was Craigslist because the posts were interesting. I've never used any of these to buy and sell items except for Amazon. I can see myself buying things easier than selling them, simply because I don't want to be bothered to send things in a hurry. I thought the Etsy website with the handmade items might be good for some unique gifts.

2. I could use PayPal because I buy fairly items often on the Internet. It seems safer and easier than entering my credit card information with each new company. I recently bought a gift and the website listed PayPal as the preferred method of payment, but I didn't have an account. I will probably sign up for one soon.