Bosch is another new arrival to this arena and has high hopes for its recent Sensixx steam station. "The station has excellent features -- especially the unique Inox Glissee soleplate, which offers unbeatable glide and ease of use. Anyone with a lot of ironing to do can speed through it far more quickly and efficiently with one of these," states Mr Poulain about the new Sensixx.Another new model that can also be used for cleaning purposes as well as ironing is Karcher''s 1102 BS ironing station. This comes with an optional cleaning kit that includes a 1.8 metre hose with steam flow control, two extension tubes, a floor nozzle, and detail nozzle -- it is recommended for cleaning tiles, wooden flooring, glass surfaces and mirrors.

And two steam products currently on offer from Domena include an all-in-one combined steam station and ironing board (CR 1500) and FG971 steam generator. On the first model the generating station is attached under the ironing board and has a detachable water container. The FG971 also offers a detachable water container with capacity of 0.6 litres and has a three-minute heat-up time. Further to these the maker will be unveiling new products later in the spring.Looking ahead, manufacturers only see the category of steam generators continuing to chip into the conventional iron''s market share, if only slowly; at the same time however the demand for cheaper priced products will remain.

But mostly we collect books. Touring our area libraries, we are rewarded with a truckload worth of choices. One library has an entire shelf labeled "Transportation." Elated, we bring home Diggers and Dump Trucks; Heavy Equipment: Work Trucks; Mighty Machines; and Construction Zone, their pages wrinkled and much-mended. In his fervor, Riley puts his mark on Mighty Machines, ripping the giant blue excavator right through the bucket. I get out the tape. I''m amused to see how many of these books have been written by women, and I''m pleased that they are, as a whole, informative, fun, and much less sexist than I had imagined. Which is good, because we read them over and over. Laura despairs. But I recall that my mother had to read Captain Kitty to me until she could recite it verbatim, so why should I be spared?

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