HELOISE Make sure family friends are notified of deaths
Dear Heloise: Please suggest to your readers that they make sure that family friends are notified of deaths. I suspect that an old friend of mine died sometime in the past couple of years, because her Christmas cards stopped coming. However, I'll probably never really know, because the widower didn't write.
Also, when the last parent dies, one of the children should assume the responsibility. When my mother died, my sister took her address book home and, in a period of weeks, wrote short notes to people with whom she knew mother was still in touch.
As we all age and die, a short note would be greatly appreciated by long-time friends. Louise Betts, Speedway, Ind.
Dear Louise: Thank you for writing with this heart hint. An obituary in your local newspaper only reaches locals.
Indeed, when a dear friend in England died, I didn't know but guessed because (like you) the Christmas cards stopped. Many months later, a short note arrived, and I was very grateful to the dear lady who took the time to let me know. I sent her a little thank-you note. Heloise
Fast facts: Other uses for rubber-mesh shelf liner:
UPut it under slipping couch cushions.
UPut it under a pet's bed to keep it from sliding.
UPut between frying pans to keep them from scratching.
UUse to remove pet hair from furniture.
UPlace a square on the seat of a baby's highchair to keep baby's bottom from sliding off.
Dear Heloise: As secretary of several clubs, I had the problem of notifying all members when snow or other severe weather conditions made it necessary to cancel meetings.
We adopted a policy that a meeting would not be held if local public schools were closed on that date. Our winter meeting notices emphasized this and included a list of radio and TV stations that carried school-closing announcements. Perry Crabill Winchester, Va.
Dear Heloise: I have a hint on how to get small jewelry out of the sink drain without having to take it apart or call a plumber. I dropped one of my mother's diamond earrings down the drain and used a shop vacuum cleaner for wet/dry to suck it out. Be sure to empty the vacuum canister first. Dawn, Fort Myers, Fla.
Smart solution -- just be absolutely sure it's a wet/dry vacuum! Heloise
Dear Heloise: Being a numismatic (interested in coins, etc.), and with the need for some prescription medicines, I found that I was disposing of a lot of prescription vials. I discovered that they are the exact size for storing coins of all diameters. Chuck M., via e-mail
Sound off: I never cared for ironing, and I thought one of the best inventions of the 20th century was permanent-press fabric.
Today, aside from T-shirts, shoppers are lucky to find anything remotely resembling easy-care fabric. Nearly all casual clothing is 100 percent cotton or cotton blended with linen, rayon or a dab of spandex. Would you please discuss the demise of permanent-press fabric? Ellen Nolte, Springfield, Mo.
What can I say? I'm right there with you! Heloise
King Features Syndicate