Lifestyle Columns
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On homes and real estate: Happily ever afterSep 24, 2011 12:00 am - Q. Nine years ago, you took the time to advise us not to turn over our home to our seven kids. We took your advice and have lived happily ever after. Thanks. PS: Fo...
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Mortgage Professor: Don’t sign these loan docs blindlySep 24, 2011 12:00 am - Editor’s note: This is the final column in a two-part series appearing in HomesSaturday. As discussed last week, step one in preparing for the mortgage deluge that borro...
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Super Handyman: Tips for keeping your bathroom safeSep 23, 2011 12:30 am - They say most accidents happen in the home, and judging from our experience, it might be true. But let’s try to keep mishaps to a minimum. The bathroom, for example, can...
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The nation’s housing: 20 percent down? Don’t bet on itSep 23, 2011 12:00 am - WASHINGTON — Remember the proposed requirement from six federal agencies that homebuyers make minimum 20 percent down payments if they want the lowest interest rates? Re...
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Home inspector: Downstairs room won’t get warmSep 23, 2011 12:00 am - Q. We have a problem heating the family room on the lower floor of our split-level home. It just won’t get as warm as the rest of the house. The room is side by side...
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About Real Estate: How older homeowners can benefit from a reverse mortgageSep 23, 2011 12:00 am - A reverse mortgage can help homeowners pay their bills and enjoy life more in their retirement years. The loans don#146;t have to be repaid until the owner moves...
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'Iced' cream, you scream, we all scream for 'iced' creamSep 21, 2011 11:00 pm - A friend of mine called the other day and announced: “I'm making homemade ice cream on the deck today. Come on over.” Funny how all my “straightening up the house” plans...
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New uses for plastic ice cream tubsSep 21, 2011 12:00 pm - Plastic ice cream containers seem too good to throw away. They're bulky, so you don't want to save them without having a purpose for them. Some are now available as a sq...
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Elgin artist to sell work at folk art fairSep 21, 2011 12:00 am - Chris Robinson has always dabbled in some sort of art project, trying various things over the last several decades. Years ago she made hundreds of Santa and Uncle Sam do...
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Rediscovering ChardonnaySep 20, 2011 4:00 pm - Chardonnay is the grape Americans love to hate. It's our top-selling wine, but the only wine with its own protest group — the ABC Club (that's Anything But chardonnay). ...