For safety, get your chimney inspected

Dear Heloise: Last year we had a fire because we failed to have our chimney inspected. Please remind your readers to never neglect this very important safety inspection. — Paula in Montana

Paula, thanks for the reminder. Readers, if you have a fireplace, have your local chimney sweep do an annual inspection. Over the course of a summer, animals can become trapped inside, a bird can build a nest or creosote build-up can ignite and cause a fire. If you have a fireplace insert, which is basically a wood burning stove fitted into a fireplace opening, you’ll need to have the fans and blowers inspected by a professional chimney sweep. Make sure, for the sake of you and your family, that everything is up to current safety standards. — Heloise

Mulch in the Fall

Dear Heloise: With winter approaching, many of us are trying to protect tender plants and keep our yards safe from the winter’s cold. As a life-long gardener, I can’t stress strongly enough the need to mulch. Many of us put a lot of time, money and effort into our yards, so mulching in the fall helps protect our plants from winter’s frigid temperatures. — Morris, via email

Chain Tangles

Dear Heloise: I have several chain necklaces that seemed to get tangled up in a drawer or even when I hung them up with two or three chains on the same hook. A friend of mine told me to place the chain part of the necklace down a plastic straw and lay it down in a drawer. — Kathy in New Jersey

Memory Book

Dear Heloise: My folks were getting ready to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, and they asked people who were invited to the party not to give gifts, but instead to write down memories of them through the years or of one special occasion that they remembered. Some were so hilarious that we read them aloud at the party. After the party I put all the letters in a pretty binder and gave it to my folks. They loved it. — Sherry-Ann in Oklahoma