Dear Home Ec 101: I hope one of you two can help me myself from a want’er to a doo’er. I want a lot- I want save money, I want to keep my kitchen clean, I want to keep up on the laundry, I want to plant a garden, I want to landscape my house, …
Dear Home-Ec 101, Here’s one for ya. With the summer party season coming up, I was hoping you could explain to me (and the Monster in Law) the proper ways to handle dishes and leftovers that a guest brings to your gathering. Signed, Party at my house! Ivy says: Cool, I’ve been looking for a …
Dear Home-Ec 101, Okay, I live in Taipei, Taiwan, and, as you may or may not know, it never stops raining here during the winter. It’s gotten so bad that my toes are wet nearly every day for hours (until I can get home to change). It’s anoying the sin out of me, so I’ve …
Dear Home Ec 101: I know I should have paid closer attention on Monday, but I’m a procrastinator. We’re having spiral ham for Easter dinner. I’ll be serving 8 adults and 2 kids, how big should my ham be? Also, do you recommend a specific sauce? -Ham Tied Yankee Heather says: I’m sure you aren’t …
Heather says: Let’s give my pal Crystal a round of applause. She saved herself $95 by tackling basic home appliance repair. Not too bad for 1.5 hours worth of work, including the trip to the part store. She IMed me asking if I knew anything about dryer repair. I suggested she check and see if …
Dear Home-Ec 101, We’ve always had a problem with wasps (mud-daubers…are they the same?)….however, they seem to be much worse, and it seems they’ve arrived early…what can I do to get rid of them…or at least keep them to a minimum. Our back deck, back doors, and the back yard area, in general, are swarming. …
Ivy says: Kathy T over at Where’s the Mute Button asked us some questions. We at Home-Ec 101 are here to help, so here’s where I answer those questions. Kathy’s questions are in bold: 1. How to clean up *shart-stains. In case anyone was unaware, shart stains are those brown stains that mysteriously appear in …
Dear Home Ec 101: I started to bake some cookies and realized I was completely out of butter and margarine. Is there anything else I can use? I can’t believe I’m out of butter! Substitutions are a piece of cake if you know where to look. For your particular dilemma, you have a choice. 1 …
Dear Home-ec 101: My son’s school had an earthquake drill; they sent him home with a worksheet to fill out. We need to locate the main shut off valve for our home’s water supply. Can you help? Shakin’ in Shelbyville Heather says: Excellent question, your main shut off valve is the knob on the house …