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Resolving inheritance disputes

Dear Annie: I read a letter in your column about inheritance issues, and I wanted to share my own story. My mother transferred a $930,000 house near the ocean to my single brother a few years ago in secret. We found out when trying to look at money for a care home for my father. Her argument was that he has no family or children like my other sibling and me. This sibling also decided to give up working in his mid-40s and surfs, dives and fishes, while my other brother is a Fortune 500 director and I have my own property company. He often mocks us for working so hard and the toll it ...

How to remove road tar from cars

Dear Readers: To remove road tar from your vehicles, purchase an oil-based, prewash spray made specifically for the surfaces of automobiles. Spritz this onto the tar spots and let it work for several minutes. Then scrub with a plastic scrubber. Rinse completely and buff the areas with a microfiber cloth. -- Heloise KIDS AT PLAY Dear Heloise: I have a round lawn sprinkler that shoots water straight up in the air. Last year, I bought a child’s wading pool that was big enough for two small children and filled it with water. Then I placed the round water sprinkler in it and let my ...

Warning signs of undiagnosed dementia

Dear Annie: I’m writing in response to the letter from “Brokenhearted Grandma,” whose husband grew angry and controlling over time. Reading about what has happened in her family brought back memories of what happened in my own family. After 20 years of marriage, my husband also became angry, self-centered, self-destructive and uncaring about the consequences of his hurtful and neglectful words and actions. He would tell lies to everyone, including our friends, our counselor and his doctors. Although he still looked like the wonderful man I married, I felt like I was living with a ...

Be ruthless when decluttering

Dear Heloise: It’s the time of year when people start spring-cleaning and adding fresh touches to their homes. One of the best things that you can do to improve your home is to declutter. When I say “declutter,” I don’t mean throwing things out and replacing them with new clutter. I mean getting rid of items that you don’t love, gifts that you don’t like, and all the craft materials for that one hobby you’re going to do ... someday. These hints might be of help to you as you go through your home: -- Don’t do the whole house at once. Take it one room at a time, but get ...

Drill pressed

I recently felt a pressing need to own a drill press. No farm shop is complete without one and a man isn’t any kind of man if he doesn’t have a drill press. An internet search yielded a perplexing panoply of choices. There are big ones, small ones, short ones, and tall ones. I was fantasizing about my ideal drilling machine when the sharp slap of sticker shock stung me in the wallet. Some drill presses cost more than my first car which, admittedly, was a junker that lacked a few minor accessories such as an engine or a transmission. Just as when I purchased my first car, I felt ...

Chores help kids in the long run

Dear Annie: I’m 74 years of age, and I rent a room from a lady who has a 15-year-old son. I pay $600 a month for rent. I pay her $350 in cash, and I work off the other $250 by cleaning and cooking. I vacuum and make her bed and clean the restrooms. I wash dishes and clean the kitchen. When I cook food, I always wash the dishes and put them away as I go. So, when the food is prepared, I put it in the oven and leave the kitchen spotless and the floors mopped and cleaned. Her 15-year-old son comes in and makes food and leaves dishes and grease all over the floor and then expects me to ...