HELOISE She stays in touch with her mother by fax

Dear Heloise: My mother has been in a nursing home for three and a half years. I live 100 miles from her, so I only visit on weekends.
She is very hard of hearing, so it is difficult to phone her in between visits. Every morning, I write a letter to her and fax it to the nurses' station so she is able to pick it up on her way to breakfast. She is so proud of this and shares the letter with her dining companions.
Many people have fax machines in their homes, or they can use an e-mail-to-fax service on their computers. C.P., Via E-mail
This is a wonderful way to stay in touch. A short note or letter keeps her informed of daily happenings and lets her be involved and stay up to date with your family.
For readers who would like to start doing this, be sure to check with the facility first to make sure that it can receive faxes and to set up where the faxes can be picked up or delivered.
C.P., thanks for sharing. I love these heartfelt hints! Hugs, Heloise
Fast facts: Other uses for small terra-cotta pots:
UUse to hold pens and pencils on a desk.
UUse as gift bags -- fill with packets of garden seeds, a hand shovel, garden gloves, etc.
UPut one in a guest bathroom and fill with travel-size products for guests.
UA terra-cotta pot can make a great candy holder/dish for someone in a nursing home (if sweets are allowed).
UFill one halfway with dried beans, insert a citronella candle and use on a patio table.
Dear Heloise: I have arthritis in my ribs -- the back ones are the worst. I had trouble keeping heat at the right spot. I went to the thrift shop, bought an inexpensive vest and sewed a pocket inside the back part big enough to hold my heating bag. Now the heat's where I want it, and my hands are free to crochet. Alicemarie W., Lewisville, Texas
Dear Heloise: My husband asked me to prepare 200-plus envelopes for a mailing. I dampened one end of a cotton-tipped swab in a small glass of water, then ran the moistened tip across the glue strip of the envelope and sealed it.
So easy and neat, and I was finished in no time. Betty Yon, Lexington, S.C.
I used to seal large numbers of envelopes for my mother and would line up 10, wipe the glue strips with a damp sponge and seal away! Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have a Sound Off I'd like to get off my chest. About manufacturers of wool blazers: Why do they sew that little strip that says "100 percent wool" on the outside of the sleeve? I've had many that, no matter how tiny my seam ripper is, I cannot remove without leaving a small hole in the blazer sleeve.
All they have to do is put it inside the neck where all the other tags always are. Thanks for letting me air that! Karen Ickes, Bear Creek Township, Pa.
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate