Get a senior a great gift this year
Dear Heloise: I read your column about gifts and wanted to share some ideas I’ve discovered. I will be 90 in November.
I live independently, but no longer drive. While the suggestions so far were good, I’ve found that I don’t need many “things” anymore. I much prefer gift cards. The hair salon is a big one, but grocery and retail stores are also welcome.
I thought of something different this year as well. I drink a highprotein food supplement once or twice a day. They can be expensive, so one of my grandsons has a case of my choice delivered to me once a month. This is a big plus. His brother has also set up a regular delivery of my over-thecounter vitamins and supplements I take. They are all recommended by my doctor.
I’ve found that just an offer to go along to a grocery or retail store when someone else is going is appreciated, but seldom thought of. Just getting out of the house, even to the store, is a huge gift to seniors who can no longer drive! Gifts of yardwork are good, too. I hope this will create some new ideas for gift givers this year. I love your hints and solutions! -- Diane V., Pennsylvania
DRINKING WHILE DRIVING
Dear Heloise: Insert a straw in your coffee lid to drink while driving, which prevents spillage! -- Donna Nugent and Ronald Morgan, The Villages, Florida
SAFELY REMOVE A BROKEN LIGHT BULB
Dear Heloise: I am a lady union electrician with 40 years in the trade. I felt it necessary to explain a better way to remove a broken light bulb from a lighting fixture. To easily and safely remove a broken lightbulb from a light fixture, use the end of a carrot or potato, cut to fit the lightbulb base.
Make sure the power is off. I don’t mean to scare anyone, but sometimes even with the power off, there is some current coming back into the light fixture. Push the potato into the broken light bulb and turn it “lefty loosey.” This way, there will be no damage to the light fixture’s base, or to you. When using a set of pliers, as suggested in one of your recent columns, you might damage the light fixture or get a slight tingle from stray current in the light fixture circuit. Glad to be of help in keeping everyone as safe as possible around electricity in their home. -- Laura Vergeront, Retired Union Electrician, Riverside, California
CLEAN WITH A FLASHLIGHT
Dear Heloise: I’ve been doing this since we moved into our new smaller home, and I wondered why I didn’t do it before! We no longer have much carpeting, but now a waterproof floor and two small dogs. I vacuum, but realized that it was not enough after laying a powerful flashlight sideways on the floor! Oh, my! Now, I do this every time I vacuum and feel SO much better after, as do my lungs! Hope it helps others! -- Chris Ziegler, Reading, Pennsylvania
NO OLIVE OIL IN THE FRIDGE Dear Heloise: Working in a specialty olive oil store for years, one thing I learned was to never refrigerate olive oil. It becomes semi-solid when cold. When it heats up, there is condensation in the bottle, which causes water to collect with the oil. Having water in the bottle causes the oil to go rancid more quickly. -- Nancy Service, via email
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
(c)2022 by King Features Syndicate Inc.