Helpful Hints

DEAR HELOISE: I'm wondering how your readers feel about shopping malls? When I was a kid, I loved spending time at the mall with my friends; some malls had carousels, ice-skating rinks and movie theaters, and they all had wonderful food courts with delicious choices of eats. But now so many malls are going out of business.

In San Antonio, we still have malls that are doing well, but off-price stores and shopping online are gaining in popularity.

Will your readers always go to the mall? Do you like the energy there? The service? The people? It was convenient to have all the big stores under one roof, and years ago, I used to walk in the mall for exercise. That was fun.

The salespeople in the kiosks outside of the stores can be pretty pushy, but I've learned to just say, "No, thank you."

Is the shopping mall becoming a thing of the past? Hopefully not!

-- Jana B., Helotes, Texas

DEAR READERS: Readers, what do you say about the shopping mall? I've done many book signings in many malls over the years -- a great place to come together.

DEAR HELOISE: My daughter gave me two beautiful scented candle jars (cinnamon and vanilla). Most of the wick and wax is almost used. The jars are beautiful, and I wish to keep them. How can I safely remove the remaining wax?

-- Mom in Florida

DEAR READER: Tuck the jars in the freezer for about an hour. Carefully place a table knife at the edge of the wax and wiggle it gently. The wax should pop off.

DEAR HELOISE: I'm sure there are a lot of talented folks who design containers, so it has always amazed me that they fail to recognize that people who wear glasses usually don't wear them in the shower.

Shampoo and conditioner bottles are ordinarily the same size. How about a giant "S" and "C" printed on the bottles?

-- Marian L., Omaha, Neb.

DEAR HELOISE: Why is it that in school, teachers tell you, "Keep your eyes on your own paper" and "No talking," and then when you get out in the real world, people tell you, "Network!" "Meet and greet!" and "If you want to be like this person, do what he does!"?

A paradox indeed!

-- Glenn C. in New York

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

Style on 07/25/2017

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