DEAR READERS: Today's Sound Off is about guests who arrive late:
"My brother and his wife never show up on time and never call to say they are running late. At Thanksgiving, I hosted a family dinner, which took hours of work. I told them we would be sitting down to dinner at 2 p.m. If they weren't there, we would go ahead without them.
"And that's exactly what we did. They showed up at 4 p.m. expecting to have Thanksgiving dinner, which I refused them since we all had eaten and had just finished cleaning up the kitchen. In the past, I've tried telling them we were having dinner at 1 p.m., thinking I'd actually prepare dinner for 2 p.m., and they still showed up two hours late!"
-- A.D. in Maine
A holiday dinner is expensive, time-consuming and takes a lot of work. Showing up late on a continual basis is inconsiderate to the host.
DEAR READERS: Here are some additional uses for safety pins:
• Pin socks together before washing so pairs stay together.
• Pin a scarf to the back of a coat collar so it stays in place.
• Use to keep skirt hems up in an emergency.
• Pin gloves to a child's sleeve so they won't get lost.
DEAR HELOISE: You had a pre-wash mixture that worked well, but I've lost the instructions. Would you reprint that for me?
-- Kate W., Reno, Nev.
DEAR READER: Mix equal parts water, household ammonia and dishwashing (not "dishwasher") liquid. Put the mixture into a clean spray bottle. Label it and keep it away from children and pets. Once you apply this to a stain, wash immediately.
DEAR HELOISE: Every year I get lots of address labels from charities, and I use them in a number of ways. They go on the back of my phone, in books I lend to friends, on my address book and on platters I take to potluck dinners. This has made it easy for people to return things to me.
-- Claire U., Kansas
DEAR HELOISE: When my husband and I watch a movie in the evening, we usually munch on some chips and dips. Recently, I saw my daughter roll down the sides of the bag, then push the bottom up, and it made a bowl out of the bag! Very handy for all of us.
-- Marybeth S., California
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email
ActiveStyle on 01/20/2020