DEAR HELOISE: Everyone has to drive through a school zone at some point or another, and I drive through several on my daily commute. Most have signs that designate where school zones start and stop. But how do you know when a school zone ends if there is no sign?
-- Eilene in Texas
DEAR READER: Most school zones should have signs designating where the school zone ends. If it does not, here is a hint: Look to see where the school-zone sign is posted when driving the other direction. That should be where the zone stops.
If you know that there normally is a sign to designate where the school zone ends, you might want to contact your city and make it aware that the sign is missing or damaged.
It is important to drive carefully whenever you are near a school. Even before and after a school zone begins and ends, there may be children walking or biking to school. Those children who live in the neighborhoods located directly next to the school may not be given bus service and have to walk to school. If you know that a school is on your daily route, take extra care to slow down, even when you're not directly in front of the school. Avoid any distractions, and be on the lookout for kids walking, biking or crossing the street. We wouldn't want any accidents to happen.
DEAR HELOISE: When flying, if offered a hot towel, I use it to wipe my hands, etc. When finished, I use it to wipe down the tray table, just to make sure it is clean.
-- Helen, via email
DEAR HELOISE: Our house gets very cold in the winter. To help keep our house warm and save on our electric bill, I hung thermal curtains on the windows. It helped a lot, but a few rooms still were getting too cold. I bought another set of curtains for those rooms, and inexpensive tension curtain rods. I hung the second set of curtains underneath the first, using the tension rods in the window frame. The double set of curtains helped keep the house warmer without us having to crank up the heater, which helped save us money. The best part is, no one ever knew they were there, because they couldn't be seen.
-- Kellie, via email
DEAR HELOISE: I wanted to make sure that I hopefully would be contacted by the finder in case I ever lost my cellphone. I typed a message on my computer (or you can write it on a piece of paper). It said, "If found, please contact," and had my email address and landline phone number. I printed out the message and then took a photo of the message with my phone's camera. I then set it as the lock screen on my phone. It is the first thing anyone will see on my phone.
-- P.F. in California
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email
Heloise@Heloise.com
MovieStyle on 03/27/2015