HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: With all the baking, cooking, shopping and gift-wrapping, I start early, especially with Christmas cards. Mine all go out on Dec. 1. People like to have time to enjoy them and decorate with them. If I get a card a few days before Christmas, it may not get displayed. Not to mention, this is less stress on postal workers handling all these cards. — Early Bird in Pennsylvania

DEAR HELOISE: Iowa winters are rough, so I am always reaching for my sweaters. But long sleeves can present a problem when cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, so I cut the elastic tops off my husband’s old socks and slip one over the top of each sleeve. No more trying to keep my sleeves pushed up and dry.

— A Reader, via email

DEAR HELOISE: We came home to find a little gray cat at our door. I said, “Oh look! We have a new kitty! What are we gonna name him?” My husband said, “We ain’t.” So we named him “Waint.”

— Mary Jo H., Indiana

DEAR HELOISE: I inherited a set of pearls from my aunt. What’s the best way to care for them?

— Terry in Massachusetts DEAR READER: Pearls need special attention. Perfumes, hair spray, makeup, lotions and environmental pollution all can build up on a strand of pearls, which may damage them. So, after each wearing, wipe the strand of pearls with a lint-free cloth.

DEAR READERS: Cotton swabs are multi-useful — make sure you have them on hand for:

Makeup application: Eye shadow, and cleaning up any bleeding of lipstick.

Art projects: Perfect for making small dots and detail work on art projects.

Cleaning: Getting in tiny grooves of the computer keyboard and detailing the car.

Applying a line of vegetable oil around a nail polish bottle will keep the top unstuck

DEAR HELOISE: My husband can snore pretty loudly on occasion, and it used to really bother me, but now I just count the snores instead of counting sheep.

— Marion L. in Indianapolis DEAR READER: Marion, snoring can be a symptom of an underlying medical condition; have hubby get a checkup, and then count on.