Outdoor cooking gone wrong

DEAR HELOISE »

This past weekend, we had beautiful weather, so we decided to cook outside on the patio. Everything went well until my son bumped into our deep fryer and knocked it over, spilling oil all over my patio. No one was hurt, but now I have a large oil spill on the concrete. How can I treat this area to get rid of the oil?

— Patricia H., New

Braunfels, Texas

DEAR PATRICIA » Put baking soda on the area in a generous amount. Follow this with dishwashing soap that contains a grease-cutting ingredient. Afterward, use a nylon scrub brush and scrub the oily area. (This will require some elbow grease.) Let it sit for about 20 minutes and rinse well. You might have to repeat this process again to get as much grease out of the concrete as possible.

If the grease has gone really deep, you may have to try a degreasing agent found in most automotive stores.

DEAR HELOISE » There’s always some type of scam going on these days, but this one is fairly new. Someone is emailing people across the country offering television and movie channels for an annual fee of only $2! This sounds attractive, but it’s a scam.

Most of the credit card companies have flagged it as a scam and reject the card when someone tries to sign up for this phony offer. Still, there are people who will try to sign up. It’s a case of: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

— Howard E., Bend,

Oregon

DEAR HELOISE » I play cello in a large orchestra, and when I’m home, I practice every day in our family room, which is just off of the kitchen. Since I also love to cook, I found that using my music stand works well to hold my recipe books. I just move it from the family room to the kitchen and set it down by my counter.

The idea caught on so well that several of my fellow musicians, as well as my sister, have begun to do the same thing.

A metal music stand is very light, easy to move around and high enough to be read with ease.

— A Reader

DEAR HELOISE » While seeding hot peppers from my garden, I discovered that I need to wear gloves, and I should never touch my eyes or face. I made the mistake of not wearing gloves, then brushing a couple of hairs out of my eyes. Never touch your skin while seeding hot peppers! I ended up in a minor emergency clinic. So, be sure to wear gloves for a task like this.

— Jack Y., Flagstaff,

Arizona

DEAR JACK » If you don’t have rubber gloves, use a heavy cooking oil on your hands to make certain that no pepper residue remains on your hands. Scrub your hands afterward with lots of soap and warm water. Rinse well and try to remember to keep your hand away from your face for several hours.