Dear Gail: I moved to Las Vegas in May from Vermont, and fall was my favorite season before the bitter color of our snow-filled winter — which is the reason I moved here. I was surrounded by the fantastic fall colors outside. I know fall is a bit different here, so I’d like to do some simple things to bring the outside I so enjoyed inside. What are your favorite things to do? — Gloria
Super Bowl LII is just around the corner. In addition to adult beverages, bowls of chips and dips, pizzas and a giant television with surround sound, the most important item for enjoying this must-see sports spectacle is a comfortable sofa or lounge chair.
Q: I have a patio door handle that is all screwed up. The thing hardly even locks anymore. Can I repair the lock or do I have to buy a new one?
Q: I have had much success with sugar snap peas, but lately I’ve been planting sugar snap peas and getting snow peas instead. Is it because the seed is old?
Gardeners who haven’t started their summer garden can still get some fruits and vegetables into the ground and harvest their crop by summer’s end. The best suggestion is to plant cantaloupe. A fresh, end-of-summer cantaloupe from your backyard is sweet and flavorful and so much more delicious than the melons from Honduras and Guatemala currently sitting in grocery stores.
Q: I would like to grow my own rhubarb. Could you tell me where I can find the plant or the bulb, and when would be a good season to start?
“Color speaks all languages.” — Joseph Addison (1672-1719), English dramatist, The Spectator (1711)
One of the benefits of living in Southern Nevada is not having to worry about seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression related to changes in seasons. Symptoms are most common in areas that experience fewer sunny days, usually starting in the fall and continuing into winter. Treatment for the “winter blues” may include phototherapy, psychotherapy and medications.
Dear Gail: We just moved into a new house and we’re really stuck as where to start on the decorating. When we moved we decided not to take anything with us since what we had was dated and we were just tired of it. So now we are a bit overwhelmed. We went with all neutrals in our selections, which we are happy with, plus figured it was the best way to go. But now what? — Pete and Cindy
Q: I live in an older neighborhood where there have been some burglaries lately. I would like to install a peephole in my front door. The door is very large and heavy and is solid wood. What do you recommend?
