Have a flashlight handy for safety

Dear Heloise: In my adult life, I have never been without a good flashlight. Extremely strong LED flashlights can be used in cases of emergencies to tempo- rarily blind an assailant. — John Emmons, via email John, I think we all can agree how helpful and use-

ful flashlights are in our lives. So, to my readers, buy batteries when you plan to use a flashlight, because batter- ies, like lithium-ion ones, do age. To keep them useful longer, store them indoors during the winter and in cool places during the hot summer — never in the sun.

Cleaning phones

Dear Readers: Because we use our cell phones and landlines so much, they do get dirty and need to be cleaned often. To remove makeup, smudges or dirt, spritz an all-purpose cleaning spray onto a paper towel and wipe over the dirtiest areas on the phone.

Never spray cleane rs directly onto the phone. For a quick clean, use prepackaged wet towelettes. — Heloise

Charcuterie board gift

Dear Heloise: You are going to love this! For Christmas, my friend gave her grandchildren small charcuterie boards. They are in middle school. She also gave them a knife safe for chil- dren. They are loving mak- ing all kinds of appetizers. — Corrinne Berkland, Universal City, Texas Corrinne, how lovely! For my readers who don’t know, a charcuterie board is a selec- tion of meats accompanied by nuts, fruits, crackers and dips.

Listing contacts

Dear Heloise: I am in my late 70s, and my memory is not so sharp anymore. I eas- ily forget doctors’ names, but will recognize the name when I see it. So, when I put my doctors’ names in my contacts, I precede the name with “Dr.” and put that with the whole name (first and last) into the “first name” field — for example, “Dr. Joe Smith.” So, now all my doc- tors are listed together under

“Dr.,” and I can easily pick out the correct one to call.

I also do a similar tech- nique with restaurants that I call for takeout, by pre- ceding the restaurant name with “Cafe.” It’s important in both cases to put it all in the “first name” field so that they display in alphabetical order, starting with “Dr.” or “Cafe.”— Dr. Bob Durham, Schertz, Texas

Pet pal

Dear Heloise: This is our Golden Ginger who had just given birth to nine puppies! She is a wonderful and proud momma. — Lynne Gallegor, via email Readers, to see Lynne’s Golden Ginger and our other Pet Pals, go to Helo- ise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”

Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to Heloise@hel- oise.com. — Heloise