Reader writes in with three separate hints
Dear Heloise: First, I loved your hint about chocolate bloom! I was working at a Veterans Affairs building that day and took the paper with me. I was there all day in the reception area and had the paper folded, so your heading was at the top. Everybody kept asking, “What is chocolate bloom?” It was a wonderful conversation-starter that made my day run smoothly, so I wanted to personally thank you!
Next, I have three great hints from the mother of a rambunctious autistic adolescent with developmental disabilities:
1. How to safely remove a lightbulb that has broken while it’s still in the socket: Make sure the light is off and use a potato to safely unscrew it.
2. My second hint is for beef stroganoff. Use 2 bouillon cubes and sour cream. Pour this over the strips of beef noodles for added flavor.
3. Granulated sugar can turn into powdered sugar through the coffee grinder.
Have a great day! Regards!
Heather Cross,
via email
ACROSS
1 Voting group
5 “The Raven” writer 8 “Huh?’
12 IRA type
13 Raggedy doll 14 Quasimodo’s creator 15 Play opener 16 Filming site
17 Town near Padua 18 Bonehead
20 “Yeah, right!”
22 Pet protector 26 Bamboo unit 29 Puzzle
30 British verb ending 31 Deserve
32 Writer’s block? 33 Use scissors
34 Do sum work? 35 French pronoun 36 Painter of ballerinas 37 Sea urchin variety 40 Desertlike
41 Arrival 45 Copenhagen native 47 “Viva — Vegas” 49 Notion
50 Sea predator 51 Summer hrs. in D.C. 52 Play group
53 Obey
54 Snake’s sound 55 CPR pros
DOWN
Dear Heloise: Mischievous eggshells can easily be tolerated if you remember: “Shell to shell.” I taught my granddaughter this when she started baking, and she still uses it.
If you get a piece of eggshell in your dish, gently take a larger piece of shell, and the two pieces will seek each other, almost like a magnet. Then just gently lift the piece out.
Nancy Lukunich, Simi Valley,
California
Dear Heloise: My daddy described flower stems as tubes of straws that draw water to the buds and petals. But when scissors are used, they pinch the straws, keeping water from getting through the stem. Instead, I learned to use a sharp knife and cut on an angle underwater! Cutting underwater assures that the first “breath” the flower takes in is water, which makes them last much longer.
Joyce Spencer, Pasadena, California 1 Pitt of “Troy” 2 Bonkers
3 “Beetle Bailey” dog 4 Sheer fabric
5 No longer in
6 Low digit 7 Tempted
8 Roulette spinner 9 Working hard 10 CIA employee 11 Sock part
19 Last (Abbr.)
21 Jury enclosure 23 Use
24 Nepal’s continent 25 Workout count 26 Global septet 27 “Mary — Little Lamb”
28 Artillery
32 Curly haired dogs 33 Military stint 35 Roman 1501
36 June honoree 38 Fear greatly 39 Endures 42 Wax-coated cheese 43 Hatchling’s home 44 Makes lace 45 “What was I thinking?”
46 Exist
48 Billboards
Dear Heloise: I recently received a phone call from the county auditor asking me if the property I live in and own is still a rental property.
“After living in a monastery for three years, I now live in the house,” I replied. She informed me that I had not been receiving the homeowners tax credit, since it was still considered a rental property on their books. I didn’t know that I had to make the call to update the change in status if you once rented your property and now live at the property.
I urge your readers to call their county auditor’s office to make sure that it is getting the proper tax credits so that they can reduce their property taxes.
And if you are at a certain age and a certain income level in my locality (not sure if this is just for Montgomery County in Ohio, Ohio as a whole, or maybe the entire nation?), the property owner can receive the Homestead Act tax credit as a strategy to reduce their taxes again.
Dale, Dayton, Ohio
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise@heloise.com.