Best Buys
“With all of my boys,” said my sis Meg, surfacing from her boys’ messy bedroom, “I really should be refreshing our home more often. Between odiferous shoes and sweaty bodies, it’s a true blessing my …
"The problem with the Baby Bjorn is it’s a two-man job,” complained my brother Mike. A new dad, he was having trouble finding a comfortable baby carrier. “Someone needs to adjust the back straps for …
"What’s the matter with you kids? It’s frozen pizza!” I couldn’t believe it — my own children picking at the cheese on top and regarding me with mournful eyes. And me trying to get out …
This time of year, hordes of flies visit our 1930s-built home. One would think we were in farm country the way the flying pests invade. The real culprit for the invasion is our lack of …
“How’s life in the new house?” I asked my friend Suzy, who recently bought a North Park bungalow. “New?” she answered. “More like old. I’m still charmed, but ever since we decided to have a …
I will not be surprised by 2009’s Mother’s Day. The 2008 observance caught me off guard. I found myself in a crowded mall the day before the holiday, frantically searching for gifts for my mom …
“They told me the freeway would sound like the ocean,” griped Patrick’s friend Jon just after buying his first house. “It doesn’t. It sounds like the freeway.” “A good solution might be our acoustical curtains,” …
Hubby Patrick despises Easter grass. “It’s like the plague!” he complained over our nightcap. “It gets everywhere and clogs up the vacuum. Who created this stuff? This year, no Easter grass will enter the Kelly …
“Eve, maybe you can help me,” pleaded my Aunt Azelda, slowly shaking her snowy mane. “They finally put in a computer station here at the senior center. I asked your nephew to get me started …
‘I hate being the go-to guy at school,” griped my husband Patrick. It seems he missed a meeting and got himself “volunteered” by some of his fellow teachers to run the activities at this year’s …
"We can move any type of piano except concert grands, the largest-sized pianos,” explained Ron Castiglione, owner and technician at Pitch Perfect Piano in Encinitas (800-205-0076). When moving grand pianos, “You have to protect your …
My efforts to help my stressed friend Barbara prep for her upcoming nuptials continue. Her plea: “I want to arrive in style!” “We have a white wedding trolley, the ‘Felicity,’” said Erica Frost with Old …
My husband Patrick’s grandparents’ wedding photo, taken in 1917, sat on the bookshelf with water damage. The damage got me thinking about photo restoration. Only a handful of heirloom photos have survived on Patrick’s family …
‘Fat girls need love too!” crooned Barbara as she sashayed into my kitchen, waving the ring on her left finger. “Oh, hush — you’re not fat,” I chided her before offering my congratulations on her …