Get plants ready for wintertime

This is the perfect time to get your garden ready for the winter. The weather in most places is still mild enough to be outdoors for long periods of time, and you can protect many of your plants. Some bulbs, such as tulip bulbs, will need to be dug up and stored indoors in a cool, dry place. This is the time to get them indoors.

Mulching will help save many shrubs and trees (especially young trees and shrubs) from dying off during the cold weather. Be sure to fertilize your yard this month. You'll give it a head start for the spring. If you have a compost pile, use it around your flower beds to help protect them.

I highly recommend doing this before the really cold and snowy weather sets in.

— Phil H., Madison, Wisconsin

Many people have a fireplace in their home or cabin, and I have to admit that I love the feeling of being close to a fire on a chilly night. It just makes my home feel cozy.

However, too many home fires occur because people forget to have a chimney sweep check their fireplace for problems. They also don't have fireplace tools, and too many don't think of keeping a fire extinguisher close by. As a firefighter, I've heard of too many people who have no idea what to do if a log rolls out of their fireplace.

There are now fire extinguisher blankets available. You can also use a bucket of sand, but if you have a fire extinguisher (the kind in a red canister), it's better for you to learn how to use it.

Read the instructions. Review the instructions to your family before a fire can occur. If your house is on fire, tell everyone where to meet if you happen to get separated. My family was told to meet across the street and down three doors by an old oak tree. Even my youngest knows she has to get out of the house and go to that tree, and she is only 4 years old.

Believe me, nothing breaks a firefighter's heart like finding a dead child who hid in a closet or behind a door during a fire.

— Mike, a Firefighter from

New Jersey

DEAR HELOISE ❯❯ We have a huge family, and this year, we're hosting Thanksgiving dinner. We plan to put out long tables end to end and rent a bunch of chairs to put on our large patio. We're going to set up a “kids table” out near the swings for everyone under the age of 11.

Our family has grown since the last time we hosted a dinner like this, so while we can rent extra tables and chairs, I knew we still needed tablecloths. The last time we did this, I used my top sheets as tablecloths, and it worked out beautifully.

All my sheet sets are white, but my sister-in-law has multicolored sheets that worked fine as well when she hosted.

— Ann-Marie L., Buffalo,

New York

DEAR HELOISE ❯❯ I got tired of replacing the shelf liner in my cabinets. Finally, my husband suggested that we line all the bottom shelves with linoleum. It has been so much easier to get pots and pans out.

— E.G., in Michigan

Write to Heloise at P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; Fax 210-HELOISE; or email Heloise@Heloise.com.