Dear Heloise: Frugal plumber here! Everyone likes to make fun of plumbers when they bend over, but I do not have that problem. I stretch cotton materials before I put them in the dryer or hang them to dry. Doing this makes some quite a bit longer; it adds over 4 inches to my shirts, even after ...

This week we observed one of the most under-rated occasions of the year. We celebrated the spring equinox, one of two points of the year when we have nearly 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. It’s also the official dividing line between winter and spring. I like the spring equinox. ...

My mom was born in 1932 and grew up outside Bourbon, Indiana, a tiny town in the northern part of the state. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone read the local paper, the Bourbon News-Mirror, which they fondly nicknamed “The Bourbon Blab.” Throughout her life, no matter where she lived, ...

Dear Heloise: My husband and I recently returned from a lovely trip to Europe. For the most part, it was enjoyable, except for a couple of embarrassing moments that were not caused by fellow Americans. We were in Germany when a man from the United States started yelling and insulting the ...

Dear Annie: My daughter received some lovely gifts for her quinceanera (an important milestone in Mexican and Latin American cultures that celebrates a girl’s 15th birthday). Unfortunately, there were a few without cards or tags. I am not sure if the card became accidentally separated from ...

Dear Heloise: First, I loved your hint about chocolate bloom! I was working at a Veterans Affairs building that day and took the paper with me. I was there all day in the reception area and had the paper folded, so your heading was at the top. Everybody kept asking, “What is chocolate ...