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Dear Heloise: Get a child’s wading pool, fill it halfway with water and place it under a tree. Set your potted plants in the water, and the plants will be in good shape when you return. I read your column in the Houston Chronicle. -- Patricia Roberts, Bellaire, Texas

Dear Heloise: I read your column daily in the Houston Chronicle. A woman wrote of all the uses for a potato masher. I do similar things with my U-shaped wire pastry blender, which I inherited from my parents. It is a wall hanging decoration in my kitchen, with its Bakelite handle. But I take it down and use it to mash guacamole, stir ingredients into meatloaf, etc. It is a vintage treasure that is also a useful kitchen tool. I don’t often make pastry or pie crust, but it sometimes is used for its intended purpose. It brings back great family memories. -- Rusti Stover, Houston

Some of you had good fathers and mothers. Some did not. I learned a long time ago that Christmas is a time of celebration for many with children. But for those women who have lost children, Christmas can be an exceedingly tough time.