Helpful Hints

DEAR READERS: Here is this week's Sound Off, concerning advertisements that list only a website for information:

"We are active seniors and decided to discontinue our Internet service. Money is not the object; we prefer to talk to friends and relatives, and we write letters and enjoy receiving them.

"Lately, we see advertising on TV for new restaurants and other establishments without an address or telephone number. We like to try new restaurants, but the advertisement does not include an address or phone number.

"We wonder how many customers those establishments are missing by not telling us where they are located."

-- Anna F., Colorado Springs, Colo.

Anna, I'm on your side! Businesses are missing out on a part of the population that does not have or want Internet service. Why should the burden be on the customer, who is making money for the company, to scurry around for an address?

Call your library (or a friend) and ask them to find the information you need.

DEAR READER: Other ways to use a cake stand:

• Place in a bathroom and keep beauty products on it.

• Put candles on it and make into a centerpiece.

• Use as a place to hold change, keys, etc., on an entry table.

• Use to display cupcakes or cookies instead of a cake.

• Next to a sink with soap and a hand towel on it.

DEAR HELOISE: Through the years of my life, I've collected small souvenir spoons from my travels. Also, I taught school for 30 years, and my students would bring them to me, as well as friends and family. We've recently moved to a house with minimal wall space, and there is hardly any space to put pictures, much less my collection. Do you or your readers have any ideas what I could do with them?

-- Carolyn B., Tyler, Texas

DEAR READER: Carolyn, I have a suggestion: Use them! Stir coffee or tea, scoop out some jelly for toast, or use one when you want just a little Dijon mustard from the jar.

They are just the right size for little ones who cannot hold an adult spoon.

I like to use similar spoons to enjoy ice cream. Just the right-size bites.

Make them into art! I made a wind chime from a handful of odd spoons and forks I seem to have collected. Artists and craftsmen make rings, bracelets and necklaces out of otherwise unused items.

What do you think, readers? Let me know your hints, and I'll pass them along.

DEAR HELOISE: When I buy a new device for my computer (a printer, etc.), I tape the CD that contains information and drivers to the side of my tower. If I sell the device or get a new computer, the disk is readily available and easy to find.

-- Russ in Omaha, Neb.

DEAR READER: Russ, very clever! Do, however, check how hot the tower may get, which over time could render the disk unusable.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

[email protected]

ActiveStyle on 04/27/2015

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