DEAR READERS: Here is this week’s sound off, about handicapped parking spaces:
“Thanks for providing us with the Sound Off columns. They’re great!
“I am disabled with a hip/ pelvis spinal injury and truly need handicapped parking spaces.
“In the 12 years I’ve needed them, I have found that people are abusing these spaces in the most ingenious and selfish way: They park the car in those spaces, and leave the handicapped person in the car, while the able-bodied person trots into the store.
“I cannot believe they feel justified in doing this, because they are taking those spaces from people who need them.
- A Reader, Torrington, Conn.
Yours is a complaint that my readers have written about for a long time. One thing to consider is that an “able-bodied” person may look healthy and just fine, but he could have a medical condition that warrants using a handicapped parking space. You never know. There are many medical conditions where the person looks “normal.”
DEAR HELOISE: You had a recipe for a shower-door cleaner in one of your columns that I failed to cut out. I think it had vinegar, water, alcohol and I don’t know if there was anything else. My shower doors have soap scum and hard water built up on them.
- Patty, via e-mail.
DEAR READER: Here is my easy recipe for a shower-door cleaner. Mix a half cup of vinegar (white or apple cider), 1 pint of rubbing alcohol and 1 teaspoon of dish washing liquid, and finish with enough water to make a gallon. Put some into a clearly labeled spray bottle and use the rest for washing windows. Vinegar is a multipurpose, cheap product that can be used for many chores. Soak a stopped-up shower head in a small, plastic bag (if it can’t be removed) of full-strength vinegar overnight to remove hard-water buildup.
DEAR HELOISE: I have a hard time keeping my heels soft, especially when I wear sandals. I found an inexpensive way to do so. If I am going to wear tennis shoes, I rub petroleum jelly over my feet, put on socks and then my tennis shoes, and wear them all day. When I take them off, my feet are soft like a baby’s!
- Lucy C., Artesia, N.M.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail Heloise@Heloise.com
ActiveStyle, Pages 28 on 03/11/2013