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 ...

Dear Readers: With climate change has come some very unpredictable weather, which has caused many of you to ask how long food can last in the refrigerator or freezer. It appears that weather-related outages have increased significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and ...

Dear Readers: A recent column about the caregiver who felt worn out prompted a deluge of letters, mostly from others who are, or have been, caregivers themselves. As I read the letters, I thought of the fact that airlines tell mothers to put on their own oxygen masks first and then help their ...

Dear Heloise: Several years ago, my husband and I decided to start saving the coins we had in our pockets at the end of each day. We found several containers and separated the coins, putting pennies in one container, nickels in another and so on. After a year, we got some coin wrappers for each ...

Dear Annie: My daughter is 8 years old and was recently diagnosed with autism. She was just diagnosed at age 7, but I have suspected she is autistic since about age 3 when she used to be severely speech-delayed. Over the years, I had suggested she was autistic to my husband several times, and ...

Dear Heloise: If you’re given flowers, set them in front of a mirror. The bouquet will look twice as large. While at thrift sale, seek vases of various sizes. Every room should have some red color because it brings the room to life. You can also pick one color to use in three places in each ...