You can't eat flowers; sending food serves suffering family

Dear Heloise: I read your hints every day in our local paper. Many of them I have done for years. A few months ago, you printed a reader's letter about sending baskets to families upon their losing a loved one.
I never believed in sending flowers, so I take the amount that I would spend on them and make up a full meal for the first night. Everyone is busy and upset and would usually rather not go out to eat. I make one of my slow cookers full of some kind of meat dish and take buns or bread, a large salad and dessert. I take it to the house and have everything ready for them when they come home from making arrangements. I plug the slow cooker in on low, put the rest in the fridge, and they can eat whenever they feel like it.
I have had so many thank-you cards saying that they thought the meal was the best thing anyone did for them during their time of loss. You can't eat flowers. Willadean Ketteman, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Your hint is a heart hint that will help a lot of people. Nothing beats a home-cooked meal, especially at this stressful time - it sure beats takeout. Glad you read the column in The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. Heloise
Fast facts
Dear Readers: Here are some more ideas on how to reuse empty, miniature, cylinder-shaped containers from candy-coated chocolate pieces, sent in by Sarah McCoy of Hammond, Ind.:
UUse to hold change.
UGreat to hold adhesive bandages.
UHold small tubes of glue.
UUse for safety pins, small buttons or cotton-tipped swabs.
UAdd thread, needle and small folding scissors to make a sewing kit. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Always keep several get-well cards on the mantel. If unexpected guests arrive, they will think you've been sick and unable to clean. A reader, via e-mail
You certainly gave my office a laugh! This beats leaving the vacuum out. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have a great suggestion for a family gift. One year, I gave my mom something very unique. I bought a picture frame that has two openings, side by side. I found a toddler picture of myself and put it in one opening and then put a current family portrait in the other opening. This gift was a big hit with all my mom's friends. Crystal Flood, Stephens City, Va.
Sound off
Dear Heloise: I'd like to express how frustrated I am with yet another "reality" show. Isn't that why we want to watch television -- in order to escape reality for a few moments? Most recently, I sat down and began flipping through the channels and was amazed at what people find as entertainment. My thoughts are, I watch television to escape from reality, not have other realities imposed on me! Thank you for letting me sound off! Claire, Austin, Texas
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate