Make house welcoming to visitors
DEAR HELOISE: As the time of year for vacations arrives, some of us will have visitors in our homes. Here are tips to make a guest’s visit more comfortable:
1. Make beds with fresh bedding.
2. Provide towels, fresh soap, bath wash, etc.
3. Inquire ahead about favorite drinks and food, and make room in your refrigerator.
4. Inform ahead if you allow pets and where they are allowed to stay.
5. Ask about activities and help make arrangements.
6. If the visit is to spend time with you, don’t invite friends over during this time.
7. Be aware of visitors’ bedtime and allow for quiet time.
—Mary Pittman, via email
DEAR HELOISE: You had a hint about leftover rice recently. Here are two more: I always make rice and chicken gravy when I fry chicken. Leftover gravy gets eggs scrambled in it and poured over toast or biscuits for breakfast. And the kids favorite: rice pudding in the slow cooker with a wonderful smell.
—Linda Still, via, email DEAR HELOISE: I have several small decorative objects that I put out each month. January: winter items; February: Valentine and heart items, etc. I store these items when not in use. Of course, there is limited space and most of the items are breakable.
I save newspaper and bread wrappers, plus any other soft paper i get (from shipping or craft store) to wrap these items in. I usually put a couple items in a wrapper, tying it between the items. These can either be placed into a basket or just stacked on top of each other. I love your column. I read it daily in the Amarillo Globe-News. —Debbie McDougal,
Amarillo, Texas DEAR HELOISE: I pick up the phone for all calls but stay silent. If no one I know speaks up after 30 seconds, I hang up. If it is someone trying to reach me, they will call back. Everyone who I have hung up on and calls back praises my idea.
— Barbara, via email DEAR HELOISE: I am a retired middle school teacher and frequent field-tripper to the local wastewater plant. We were informed by the personnel not to flush cat and dog waste down the toilet. The plants are not equipped to handle animal feces, as they are different from human waste. This causes problems with the system and can contaminate the water so that it isn’t as clean for human consumption as it might be. The best thing to do is place pet waste in your trash can. I wanted to share this information.