Giving a gift basket
Dear Heloise: One of the staff who helps my disabled son is from Africa and has been here for several years. Now his wife and two young children are coming, and I need some suggestions for items to put in a gift basket for them. Since he has been here for several years, they do not need household items. Can you help? — Barbara H., Springfield, Mo.
Barbara, they might like various food items. Have you asked your staff member if anyone in his family is allergic to certain kinds of food? You wouldn’t want to put cheese in the basket if someone is lactose intolerant. You also might draw ideas from the various sites that sell gift baskets. Ask yourself, “What represents America?” Barbecue sauces? A special beverage? Chocolate?
You might want to go in a different direction and include small toys for the two children, depending on their ages, and maybe some nice things to pamper the wife, such as body lotions, bubble bath and things of that nature.
If any of my readers have suggestions, please let us know. — Heloise
THE HUNGRIES
Dear Heloise : I have a question. I need to eat something at night that will hold me over until morning. Which is better and has fewer calories: a bag of microwave popcorn with double butter or a medium baked potato with sour cream? Thank you. —
Karen, popcorn with dou- ble butter? A potato with sour cream? These are rather heavy things to eat at bed- time. If you must eat some- thing, try fruit or a small salad. A banana with a glass of milk can be filling and provide you with vitamins and fiber.
Better yet, I’d suggest that you eat a filling dinner and not eat or drink anything before bedtime. There is an on-going debate about eat- ing before bedtime, with one side arguing that your metabolism slows down at night and eating at that time causes weight gain. The other side argues that some peo- ple lose weight, because they don’t eat enough during the day and become hungriest later at night. Please check with your doctor to see what he or she suggests and why you can’t sleep without eat- ing before you go to bed. — Heloise
RING AROUND THE TOILET
Dear Heloise: In two of our toilets there is a yel- lowish or gold ring in the bowl at water level. It’s very noticeable, and you can even feel it. I’ve tried everything I can think of to clean and remove it, but no luck. What do you suggest? — Betty B., Brookville, Ohio
Betty, it sounds to me as though you have hard water. With a mineral buildup, you’ll need a lime remover (found in hardware and grocery stores). If you can find a spray-on type of lime remover, follow the instruc- tions on the bottle. This may take two or even three appli- cations, depending on how much buildup there is. But afterward, you can use a toi- let bowl cleaner with a lit- tle bleach to have a spark- ing, clean toilet. —