BrooklynInMyBones

Which is best way to honor the deceased and comfort the bereaved family: to attend the funeral, or to pay a sympathy call (visit) to the family such as at a wake or a shiva?

Do people expect to get a gift when the baby is born, if you already gave them a gift at the baby shower? Is that the proper thing to do?

If you attend a funeral of an acquaintance, or the wake, should you also send a card? if you are not close to the family or the deceased.

None of our children (now in their 30s-40s) call us very often. They never tell us what the grandkids are up to unless we ask very specific questions. I felt very hurt and cut out of their lives, until a good friend told me her kids were they same. They went on a vacation to the Caribbean and posted the fact on Facebook, but never told her directly.

Don't you think that's rude and insulting? it shows no respect for their parents.

Someone taught my 5 yr old granddaughter to play and she mastered the game immediately. She even beat Grandpa the day after she first learned. Is that typical? or is she advanced for her age?

My granddaughter is 5 1/2. She learned to play very quickly and beat her grandfather the very next day. Is that normal, or is she a genius?

My daughter-in-law only values designer labels and expensive things. She has much more money than I do, and I can't afford to give her what she'd really like.

I don't have time to make something for her, and she wouldn't appreciate a homemade gift anyway.

I'm afraid of looking cheap if I give her a $25 gift card to one of her favorite stores, but that's all I can afford.

What should I do?

My daughter-in-law has no use for homemade or inexpensive gifts. She has plenty of money to buy herself designer label clothes and such - things I can't afford.

If I gave her a gift card to one of her favorite stores, all I can afford would be $25, which I'm sure she'd sneer at. Of course she never does it in front of me, but only once in the 10 years since she met my stepson did she show any appreciation for something I gave her.

I hate to spend money on something she won't like or value, but what else can I do?

My cousin refuses to ask me what I'd like for my birthday, and ends up buying me things I don't like. She won't let me ask her what she wants, because she wants to be surprised. So she ends up being surprised that I don't get her something she likes. I've made guesses and bought her things I thought were beautiful - jewelry, scarves, etc. - but I never see her wear them.

Is there anything I can do about this? Or do I just have to live with it for the rest of my life? That's a lot of money wasted on unwanted gifts.

My cousin refuses to ask me what I'd like for my birthday and then gives me things I don't like, don't want, can't use. It's such a waste. She also won't tell me what she'd like; she says she'd rather be surprised.

Well, I have a feeling she doesn't like some of the gifts I gave her, because I never saw her wear them: a handmade scarf, a beautiful pin, etc.

What can I do to change this? or do I just have to accept it as it is?

Help! Wild ginger is taking over my garden. Digging it up is very difficult and doesn't help much, although I've tried, because it just returns.

For a few years it was confined to one spot, and I didn't realize how lethally invasive it was. Last year it jumped about 20 feet to a new spot. Now it's popping up all over the place. I'm afraid it will invade my house one of these days. :-)

I'd rather use nontoxic means to conquer it, but maybe I have no choice.

Many foundations boast that they eliminate shine on your face.

They end up looking too dry and cakey on me.

I'm in my 60s with light-toned olive skin. I need a foundation that glows!

I want to crochet a sweater for my little granddaughter. I have a pattern but I need to adapt it. Little Rosie is now 8 months, but it will take a couple of months to finish the sweater, so I want to make a one-year-old size.

How long should it be measuring on the back from the center of the neck to the bottom?

How wide should it be measuring across the front from armpit to armpit?

How long should the sleeves be?

I'd appreciate any guidance you can give!

My daughter stores coffee in the freezer and takes out the amount she needs each day. She drinks lots of coffee so the ground coffee doesn't get stale. But I think taking the container out every day exposes the grounds to temperature change and moisture that ruins the coffee.

I have a new can of ground coffee, which I keep for guests since I don't drink coffee. The last can I stored on the shelf, and it got stale after a while.

Will it keep longer if I store it in the freezer?

I'm not supposed to eat seeds (because of diverticulosis).I want to make a great recipe for Thanksgiving with bruseels sprouts and caraway. Is there any nonseed thing I can use instead of caraway?

I just switched from a powder-to-cream foundation, which was applied with a little sponge.

I like the coverage I get with liquid, but it's so messy to apply. I hate having to wash my hands thoroughly after I put it on. It also means I can't put it on in the car (when my husband is driving).

Any suggestions for a quicker and easier way to apply it?

My fasting blood sugar was high last month - 117. I have been told I have pre-diabetes. I am overweight and find it impossible to lose weight.

When it turned cold recently, I experienced intense hunger, even tho I was eating a normal amount of food.

I have no other symptoms - not extremely thirsty, for instance. I am going for a checkup the day after Thanksgiving (!) but just wanted to know now.

I bought 2 sets of matching cups. One set was made in Mexico and is fine. The other was made in China. I put it in the microwave to heat water for tea, and the handle was so hot it burned my fingers.

I figure that means it has some kind of metal in it, probably lead. Is it safe to drink the tea? Does the lead leach out into the hot water?

And will it taste just as good when it's thawed and reheated?