There's no slip of the hand here

DEAR HELOISE >> When I am cooking on the stove and want to add a bit more oil to a pan, particularly to a frying pan, I am always afraid of slippage that may cause me to overpour, until I thought of a plan. I put several rubber bands around my olive oil and canola oil bottles for a nonslip grip. Sure enough, no more fear of slippage.

— Priscilla Zanni, Vancouver, Washington

DEAR HELOISE >> A reader recently suggested scanning hard copy photos and storing them on the computer or on a flash drive. With constant “advances” in technology, I am concerned that in 25 years or so, when you would like to show your grandchildren what you looked like when you were young, those flash drives and computer files will no longer be accessible with the updated devices of the time.

I will stick with hard copies of my favorite photos and important documents, stored in a box or in a file cabinet.

— Carol Brown, Poultney, Vermont DEAR HELOISE >> May I offer an alternative thought to the person who seems to be irritated by the convenience of the armchair shopper parking spaces? What I picture is the employee, who schlepped all over the store fulfilling the order and has to push the cart out to the waiting car and load the order into the car, while the customer just sits behind the wheel. Maybe, just maybe, these reserved parking spaces are meant more to help those employees, not for the convenience of the customer.

— Just a Thought, in Colorado

DEAR HELOISE >> In the early 1960s, I worked for an oil company in one of those Dallas skyscrapers. When I arrived at work early each day, the first thing I did was read the Heloise column in the Dallas Morning News that was passed around. Then, throughout my life, I have followed the column and used the many hints both you and your mother provided to the newspaper.

I have lived and worked in many places since then, but your column seemed to always appear in the major newspapers across the U.S., or at least where I lived, in Colorado and West Virginia. Now, I’m back in Texas with my husband, retired and still reading your helpful hints in Central Texas.

— Carolyn Korkmas, Belton, Texas

DEAR HELOISE >> We recently went to our second house in Florida and found that the house plants we brought from Little Rock, Arkansas, started to wilt. This also happened with the parsley we purchased and put in water. So we started using bottled water, and everything perked up with no wilting! Good water (like the water we have in Little Rock) makes a big difference! Thanks.

— Little Rock Bob, in Florida