Take a moment and write
DEARHELOISE » I know some people have more time on their hands these days and ask how they should fill the hours. I’ve recently started writing letters to seniors in assisted living or nursing facilities. Many can no longer have visitors or go on outings to fill their days.
I found a website that collects and sends out letters to seniors in isolation, letting them know they are on people’s minds. I’ve sent letters to seniors in Canada, Minnesota and Illinois. I’m not creative, so I just write letters like I would to an acquaintance. I talk about the area I live in, and if I’ve visited where they are located, I talk about what I’ve seen there.
The website shows cards and letters that have been sent. Some people use colored markers or stickers to create cards on a plain folded sheet of copier paper. Others are muchmore fancy. I have also found a use for all the post cards I’ve collected! This is a good cause to get the kids or grandkids involved with.
— Kathy, via email
50 QUARTERS
DEARHELOISE » While thinking of my grandson who in two years or so will be losing his baby teeth, the idea of a state quarter came to mind. I thought how fun would that be to collect all the state quarters for him and then he would end up with a collection!
— Vivian H., via email Vivian, what a great way for your grandson to learn about our 50 states. You can purchase a state quarter collection book to display them and maybe encourage him to be a coin collector. TON OR TONNE? Great question. In the United States, a ton is, of course, 2,000 pounds. Outside of the United States, a tonne is another way of saying metric ton, which is 1,000 kilograms or 2,204.6 pounds. A metric ton is sometimes written as “tonne,” typically seen in reference to objects outside of the United States.
Fussy felines
DEARHELOISE » I regularly read your column in The Washington Post, and I have a hint for people with picky felines.
My cats are on restricted diets and don’t always enjoy their food. Using a tasty food topper often solved this problem, and I’d been using easily crushed, dried salmon bits for this until themanufacturer discontinued the product.
There are packaged toppings, but they’re very expensive. I tried some other treats, but they’re typically hard and difficult to grind with arthritic hands. Using a food processor seemed a bitmuch, so I bought a small, inexpensive electric coffee grinder to dedicate to this job. It works like a charm!