Get creative with beloved pets’ names
DEAR HELOISE: Our first golden retriever, Katie Scarlett O’Hara, was a beautiful girl, the matriarch of the five goldens that followed her. We met Rhett Butler, a really red golden, one day at the park. We rescued a sweet golden girl and named her Tybee, after Tybee Island, Ga., where I spent time growing up. Our other rescued goldens were named Phoebe, Judge, Sammie and Mittie, after my husband’s father. Reggie Muhammad Ali, our cat, was frequently fighting.
— Elizabeth W. Henry,
Little Rock, Ark. DEAR ELIZABETH: Your family truly loves dogs and has the most wonderful and creative names for your beloved pets!
— Heloise
DEAR HELOISE: I wanted to express my deep gratefulness to the reader in Temple, Texas, who gave the hint about opening stubborn jar lids by using the church key to lift the lid in a few places around the edge.
I have had two jars of salsa (one bought to replace the other when I could not open the first) that I have been unable to open by pounding the jar upside down on a hard surface, cold water on the jar followed by hot water on the lid, my husband, my friend’s husband, etc. No luck. They have been taking up space on my counter for months now.
I tried the church key method and voila! They’re now open and ready to consume! Thank you, thank you!
—Rachel Wissner, Baton Rouge, La. DEAR HELOISE: I have a 13year-old pug named Annie, who is losing her sight. A couple of years ago, she seemed to start being finicky about her meals. We had to coax her to start eating by putting a small amount of food on the floor, and she usually stopped while there was still food in the bowl. She didn’t seem to be sick, as she showed her same enthusiasm for meals and treats that she’d always had.
Earlier this year, my daughter commented that maybe Annie couldn’t see her food. I looked for a low-edged dog bowl, but couldn’t find one. I decided to try a low-edge pie dish, and it worked. Annie has been eating just fine since I got the dish! I thought that someone else might benefit from my daughter’s observation and our solution.
DEAR HELOISE: I love my new gummy vitamins but found they stick together in the bottle and are sometimes hard to get out. I added 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to a baggie, then separated the gummies and added them to the cornstarch. Then I shook the bag to coat them — no more sticking together, and there is no taste from the cornstarch.