HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR READERS: Today’s Sound Off is about the apparel young women wear on television:
DEAR HELOISE: Why is there not enough budget money for the news and weather women to have clothing that would cover their knees? — Anonymous in San Antonio DEAR READER: Many young women keep up with the fashion trends, and the current trend for young women is short skirts. Their mothers wore the miniskirt in the ’60s, and during World War II, when cloth was rationed, women raised their hemlines. Fashions come and go, and no doubt hemlines will drop again.
DEAR READERS: Protect yourself from telemarketing fraud with some of these hints:
If it sounds too good to be true, it more than likely is. It’s OK to be skeptical.
Never, ever give out banking information, your Social Security number, passwords or any other personal information. Telemarketers have no right to ask those questions.
Use caution when a company won’t give you its name, address or references.
Do not be pressured into making a decision immediately.
DEAR HELOISE: I always either recycle or reuse plastic containers. I save them for a number of uses, such as a container for small gift items (jewelry, watches, belts, scarves, etc.). I’ll take a container that held strawberries, put some shredded paper on the bottom and a gift on top, then put a ribbon around it. I used a tub that held a whipped topping by painting it gold and decorating it for Christmas, then place cookies inside.
— Kaycee D., Chelsea, Mass. DEAR READER: What a great hint. It’s an inexpensive gift-giving idea and environmentally friendly. Readers, do you have more suggestions?
DEAR HELOISE: I can’t stand how cold my hands become when working with chopped meat. I discovered that if I put the meat in a zipper-top plastic bag, add all the ingredients and knead the bag to mix, I can mold the meat into a loaf and roll it out onto a sheet pan. I never have to touch the meat.
For meatballs, I put the bag in the refrigerator for an hour and then use a small ice-cream scoop to form the meatballs.
— Susan, via email