Tag: Family & Home

DIY Gardening Tips, Tricks, and Recipes

Is there anything more gratifying than a beautiful garden when you just happen to be the gardener? But one trip to the garden center to pick up soil amendment, weed cloth, and weedkiller can pretty much zap all of that joy with its hefty price tag. That’s why I love today’s tips and tricks—including, back…


Minor Concrete Repairs Are an Easy Do-It-Yourself Project

Dear James: I need to do some projects around my house that require patching and adding some concrete. Is this a project the average do-it-yourselfer can do without expensive tools? —Sharon M. Dear Sharon: If you have a container or wheelbarrow for mixing the concrete, and you are strong enough to carry the heavy bag…


11-Year-Old Girl’s Letter From 1969 Made Some Accurate Predictions of the Future

An elderly couple from England made a surprising discovery of a letter, believed to have been written by a schoolgirl over 50 years ago, predicting the future, and some of the points stated stand accurate to this day. Peter Beckerton, 67, works as an upholsterer in Peterborough, Cambs. In February this year, he found a…


Power-Wash Cleaning Do’s and Don’ts

A power washer is a versatile machine that can help restore sparkle and shine to a variety of surfaces in your home. If you don’t want to invest in your own power washer, they are readily available for rent at home supply and hardware stores. However, before you enthusiastically hook up the hose and douse…


Turn Drywall Scraps Into Easy Wainscoting

Dear James: We think wainscoting would look good in our dining room. We have extra drywall here from a previous project. Can this be used instead of wood for wainscoting? —Julie R. Dear Julie: Wainscoting is becoming more popular again, even in newly built houses. The decorative walls are attractive, and doing just one wall…


Actress Candace Cameron Bure Wants Her Kids’ Future Dates to ‘Love Jesus’ the Way She Loves Him

“Fuller House” actress Candace Cameron Bure, a mom of three, has spelled out her criteria for potential matches as her adult kids enter the dating world. The one thing at the top of the outspoken Christian star’s list is that potential dates should have faith. “When it comes down to it, I just want [their…


The Frugal Lifestyle

I’ll admit I used to think frugality was a distasteful lifestyle forced upon the poor. I believed it was synonymous with never buying new clothes and dumpster diving under the cover of night. Boy, did I have a lot to learn. And learn I did—and I continue to learn—that it is the path to building…


Vegetable Garden Troubleshooting

Q: We planted a new vegetable garden with a lot of different vegetable seeds. We killed the existing lawn grass by scraping the plants off, and we did some digging to loosen the soil. We covered the garden with 2 to 4 inches of bark mulch from the city to keep out the weeds. The…


Co-sign a Loan? Never, Ever

Dear Mary: About 10 years ago, my daughter co-signed on an automobile loan for a friend. The “friend” skipped out on payments and left town, so they came after my daughter for payment. All these years later, she still has not paid anything on the loan. Is there a time limit for how long they…


Adventuring Close to Home

Are you feeling jittery about taking a family vacation this summer? You’re not alone. Whether it’s your family’s safety abroad, the high cost of gasoline, or a thin bank account that has you unsettled, this might be a great time to consider a dramatic alternative: a stay-at-home vacation! You can become tourists in your own…