HELOISE Katrina victim is making the best of it

Dear Heloise: Thank you for putting a bright light in our lives. We are from the land of Hurricane Katrina. I never found my home, and my son and his family had 4 feet of water in their home. Needless to say, the past few months have been hard.
I wrote to you a while back, and my hint was printed in a local newspaper. The editor thought it was neat that a local person made your column and wanted to put me and my grandchildren in the paper. It was just a fun thing to do in an otherwise difficult situation.
Most of us decorated our FEMA trailers for Christmas, and we are always finding things to laugh about. We are learning the dos and don'ts about living in a FEMA trailer, one of which is "don't drop the soap in the shower." The shower is so small that you have to step out into the hall in order to bend over to pick it up. If anyone needs to know what to give a person living in a FEMA trailer, it is soap on a rope. Donna Zan Perkins, Pascagoula, Miss.
Donna, it was heartwarming to talk with you, and the photo you sent of your Christmas-decorated FEMA trailer made us all smile. (Folks, please visit my Web site, www.Heloise.com, to see the photo.) You have a positive attitude and a sense of humor ... even in a bad situation. I'm calling on all of my readers to share their hints about dealing with a disaster -- flood, fire, mud, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, etc. Folks, share just one hint that helped you get through. We'll print as many as we can! Send to: Heloise/Disaster Help, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or e-mail to Heloise@Compuserve.com. Heloise
Dear Heloise: When sending correspondence that requires a response, such as Mass and sympathy cards, I stick a printed return-address label on the bottom inside of the card itself. It saves people time in looking or asking for your address. M. Sinou, Toms River, N.J.
A nice hint to share. However, please keep in mind that if a mailing label is going to be used as an address label, the U.S. Postal Service asks that the font or type size be between 8 point and 18 point, and not italic, stylized or bold font. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I have been painting my own nails once per week for about 45 years and have thought of the perfect solution for avoiding nail-polish spills. I cut off a small section of a cardboard egg carton (or use a six-egg carton) and stick my nail-polish bottle in a hole. No matter the size of the bottle, it always fits perfectly and never spills a drop. I just keep the section of egg carton with my nail-polishing kit, and it lasts a long time before ever needing a change. Carol Willisch, Idaho Falls, Idaho
King Features Syndicate