One bouquet goes a long way when company is coming

heloise

One bouquet goes a long way when company is coming

Dear Heloise: When I’m having guests over, I buy a large bouquet of mixed flowers and rearrange it into a number of smaller bouquets. I arrange the larger flowers and greenery in a tall vase, then put a few smaller flowers in a bud vase and stick flowers with short (or broken) stems in a small, shallow pot with a “frog” inside.

A display of several small vases, matching or random, is an unusual and pretty way to decorate a table. The smaller vases also allow guests to see one another across the table.

Although the large arrangements cost $10-$15, I think I get at least $30 worth of decoration out of them. Susan T., via e-mail

Susan, fresh flowers add so much to the ambience of a home. I’m with you about spreading them all over the house! Sometimes a single bud in a small vase is as pretty as a large bouquet. Heloise

Dear Readers: Here are a few more hints for using large plastic zippered bags:

UStore picnic plasticware.

UStore games when the box has been damaged.

UHang in the laundry room for lint collection.

UStore pens, pencils and crayons.

UStore a child’s small toys or building blocks. Heloise

Dear Heloise: When ordering garments from mail order, before wearing them, I wash and dry (if the care label says it’s OK) first to be sure that it performs the way it was advertised (no wrinkling, etc.). I save the envelope or box and shipping label until I’m sure it’s a keeper. F.C., Rosebud, Texas

Dear Heloise: I read a column where there was a letter mentioning what to do with old stamps when the cost has gone up.

I had a full roll and a few booklets of the former denomination of stamps. I took them to the post office and traded them in along with some cash for 100 new stamps. I wish I had thought of this a few years ago, when I would just keep using the old and adding 2-cent stamps to every envelope! Also, now they have a “forever” stamp that is supposed to be good indefinitely! Victoria from California

Victoria, we checked with U.S. Postal Service officials, and they said they do not have this service. You must have run into a kind postal worker. They say, “Unless mistakes were made when originally purchased, or your stamps were defective when purchased, post offices have ample supplies of appropriate ‘makeup’ stamps (e.g., $.01, $.02).” Heloise

Sound off

Dear Heloise: My sound off is hair dye. It tells you to test it to make sure you are not allergic to it. But when you do this, you end up wasting the whole bottle. They should already have a small tester full of the dye. Thanks for listening. Sarah in Indiana

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