Q: I can't figure out how to arrange the furniture in my living room. The problem is, the front door is directly opposite the door to the kitchen, and nearly everyone just races straight through the room, dodging around chairs and tables and making conversation hard. Should I just give up and shove everything out of the way to one side of the living room? A: The best answer is yes. Family traffic is like ... [full story]

If ham is a must-have dish for your Easter brunch, but you are weary of the same old spiral cut, consider the homey ham ball. Judy Goodpasture of Lake Township, Ohio, makes tender meatballs from ground ham and pork and serves them in a rich brown-sugar sauce.   PRETTY IN PINK - Judy Goodpasture¹s grandchildren cheer when she bakes mini loaves of strawberry bread. CNS Photo by Stan Myers.    SWEET AND SALTY - Judy Goodpasture of Lake ... [full story]

This year, for the first time in the 100-year history of the Westminster Dog Show, a beagle was selected best in show, the only one of his breed ever to win the country's most prestigious canine competition. Definitely the fan favorite, there was a standing ovation when the lively (and noisy), tri-colored, 3-year-old Uno won over some of the more refined poodles, terriers, Weimaraners, Australian shepherds and Akitas in the running. This led many people ... [full story]

Q: I am 57 years old and the pig cookie jar in this photo has been in my family as long as I can remember. She is wearing a white dress with a blue collar, a blue flower above brown buttons, and there are blue flowers on her hat. She stands more than 11 inches tall and is in perfect condition. I couldn't find a manufacturer's mark.   COOKIE JAR - This Winnie cookie jar was ... [full story]

The garden catalogs are still coming, and with them comes the desire to plant just about everything in the catalog. Not every plant, which is touted as easy to grow in some catalog, will work in everyone's garden. Some people find it simple to grow zucchini and others can't get any production at all.   Cool season crops grow in the spring and fall, while warm season crops develop in the summer. A beginning gardener will ... [full story]

It's a unique way to bring ordinary glass to life. The art, from Randy Mardrus, combines three-dimensional deep relief sculpture in a flat glass surface - a distinct advantage over flat two-dimensional art.   ART GLASS - Carved art glass luminaires from veteran artist Randy Mardrus are making their way into some of the most opulent venues of the world, including this marine scene headboard. CNS Photo courtesy of Randy Mardrus.    TICKTOCK - The Rosario wall clock ... [full story]

  When it’s time to decorate or replace an interior door, the most important job will be measuring. Here are a few tips for creating mortises for hinges …  [full story]

Q: With summer coming (even if it is minus 11 degrees outside this week!), we are planning to add a wraparound porch to our small ranch house. I know it sounds weird - everyone puts a deck on a ranch - but we want an old-fashioned covered porch. Here's our question: what should we put on the ceiling? Every porch we look at has a wood plank ceiling. Is that our only option, and if ... [full story]

Nothing says comfort on a wintry night like a cozy fire, a steaming mug of herbal tea and a pot of short ribs, bathed in red wine, simmering away in the oven.   TIME SAVOR - For boeuf bourguignon, Pascal Vignau, owner/chef of Savory in Encinitas, Calif., simmers beef in wine before braising the mixture in the oven. CNS Photo by Eduardo Contreras.    SIGNATURE DISH - Slow-cooked boeuf bourguignon is a signature dish at Savory, French-born chef ... [full story]

Just the names alone - "Pepper Young's Family," "Ma Perkins," "Young Widder Brown," "Mary Noble, Backstage Wife," "John's Other Life," "The Romance of Helen Trent," "Bachelor's Children," "Life Can Be Beautiful" - are enough to tell you that these were relics of a long-past time - the Golden Age of radio. These were the seminal daily daytime soap operas (so called because so many of their sponsors, such as Procter & Gamble and Lever Brothers, ... [full story]

Q: The little vase in this photo stands about 4 inches tall. It is decorated with gold, black and gray-brown geometric designs against a white background. "Redwing - U.S.A." is marked on the bottom and it is in mint condition. Also there are three raised dots on the bottom.   CREAM PITCHER - This cream pitcher was made by Red Wing Potteries in Red Wing, Minn., in the mid-1900s and would probably be worth $25 to ... [full story]

Q: I was told that I should do a soil test before I start gardening this year. I have had a vegetable garden for more than 10 years and I plant annuals around some of my shrubs and perennials. I have never tested before, but I usually have a good crop.   Would the soil test help my garden? I was also told that I should add compost to my vegetable garden. Is that a good ... [full story]

Although he was given his due when he died recently, few members of the general public knew the name Richard Knerr. He, with a partner, was the man whose company, Wham-O, promoted two of the most iconic, faddiest, "weren't-they-always-around?" products of the 20th century - the Hula-Hoop and the Frisbee. Not to mention Slip 'N' Slide, Water Wiggle, Super Ball and Silly String. Together with his childhood friend Arthur "Spud" Melin, he founded the firm ... [full story]