DIY Life

I'd taken the kids to their grandparents' some years back, and my eldest managed to brush her hand against a hot element on the stove. It was a mild burn, but painful!

While I was racing for an ice cube, Grandma simply reached for the plant in the window over the stove, snipped off a bit of its pointy leaf, gave it a squeeze so that some clear goop oozed out, and then rubbed the damp innards and goop of the leaf onto my daughter's hand. Grandma repeated this a few times that day. It seemed to do the trick.

"It" was an aloe vera plant, of course. Not only did Grandma use it for burns, but for mosquito bites, bee stings, and just about any other surface skin pain. I always wondered if this was just psychosomatic: My kids all believed 100% in the healing properties of Grandma's "magic plant", but a little research shows that it really does do all that stuff! (It's also pretty effective as a laxative. Who knew?)

It turns out they're not hard to grow, either. It's best to get yourself a large one. Not only are the larger ones more potent in their healing properties, but the plant grows slowly. Don't hesitate to nip off a section of leaf as needed, though: even as it heals your skin, the plant heals quickly, too!

If you'd like to grow your own aloe vera plant, Tipnut provides some sound basic information.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with QVC and Tristar Products Inc., announced a voluntary recall of about 13,500 electric contact grills. Cooking oils or sprays applied to the grill's cooking plates can ignite or flare up at any time when used on the grill. QVC and Tristar have five reports of this happening, including two reports of minor burns.

The electric contact grills were manufactured in China and sold by QVC through its television station, web page, toll free number and its employee, retail and Studio stores. They were also sold by Tristar through their website at www.hulkhogangrill.com, and through a direct response television commercial from May 2007 through August 2007 for about $100.

This recall involves a dual surface electric contact grill sold under the "Hulk Hogan's Ultimate Grill" brand. The silver and gray grills have removable cooking plates and fold for easy storage. Please see the CPSC press release for model number and more information on the recalled grill.

Consumers will receive a revised instruction manual with a cooking spray/oil use warning. For more information, you may also contact QVC at (800) 367-9444 or visit their website at www.qvc.com. You may contact Tristar at (800) 718-5135 or visit their website at www.tristarproductsinc.com.