Today’s Home Spun Wisdom

Do Your Part: Searching for the Safest Sunscreen

(MCT)—One of the best parts of the summer for me is hitting the lake with family and friends. I love relaxing on the water and feeling the sun on my skin. What I don’t love is jumping through hurdles to find the safest sunscreen among all the different varieties on store shelves.

Living Smart: Pet Fencing

(MCT)—Ah the family pet. A source of great joy, deep camaraderie and yes, at least occasional frustration. Perhaps you have a dog that spends a little too much time checking out what’s inside the cat’s litter box;

Real Estate Q&A: With Retirement in Full View, Try to Avoid Refinancing

(MCT)—QUESTION: I have five years left until I pay off my 30-year mortgage. I received an offer to refinance, which certainly is tempting, but I’m getting pretty close to retirement. Should I lighten my burden now or try to hold on for five more years?

5 Ways That Small Businesses Fail

(MCT)—Starting a small business is risky. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, approximately 50 percent of new businesses last five years or more, and only about 33 percent last 10 years or more. To find out why, the News & Observer reached out to David Grant,

Top 10 Coastal Drives

(MCT)—Few things celebrate the end of winter like a great drive and enjoying the beach. Whether you can put the top down or not, members and editors of travel website VirtualTourist.com are sure you’ll enjoy any of our “Top 10 Coastal Drives.”

Barbie’s Dreamhouse Goes Life-Size

(MCT)—Days of Malibu living are long gone for Barbie. The iconic doll has moved to Florida and is inviting people to step into her life-size dream house, the first one now open worldwide.

Do Your Part: Pick Non-Polluting Lawn Equipment

(MCT)—The sounds of spring are most definitely here. You know, the loud buzz of the lawn mowers, the piercing sound of leaf blowers, the incessant whir of the trimmers. Not only is there the noise pollution to contend with, there is also the air, land, and water pollution that comes with gas powered lawn equipment.

On Gardening: Brazilian Plume Flower Magnificent in the Shade Garden

(MCT)—If you find yourself looking for some exotic, colorful plants for the summer shade garden, look no further than the Brazilian plume flower. It is so wonderful that it was once known botanically as Jacobinia magnifica.

Your Place: Readers Offer Solutions to Persistent Problems

(MCT)—I get the impression that there are a lot of untrustworthy cats in this country from the number of remedies submitted to me on combating urine odors.

Living Smart: Air Conditioning Care

(MCT)—If last year’s record temperatures were any indication — 2012 ranks as one of the hottest years on record — you can plan to once again crank up your home’s air conditioner this summer.

How to Activate Travel Insurance

(MCT)—Q: What is the best way to activate the travel insurance I purchased? Due to an unexpected illness, a person in my party cannot take the trip. We are two weeks out from the travel date.

Top 5 Places to Relive the 1920s

(MCT)—With Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” opening just before summer, there’s no better time to celebrate the spirit of the Roaring ’20s. From speakeasies to grande dame hotels, the members and editors of VirtualTourist.com have chosen

Do Your Part as You Battle Weeds

(MCT)—If there is one thing gardeners everywhere hate, it’s weeds. However, many times the solution to getting rid of weeds can actually be more of a problem. In fact, it can be downright dangerous because there are growing health concerns about one of the chief ingredients, glyphosate,

Living Smart: Garbage Disposals

(MCT)—The garbage disposal is often one of the most-used appliances in the kitchen. It’s also the most abused. “Foreign objects in the disposal is the most common issue,” says Kevin Harner of Kevin Harner Appliance Services Co. in Enola, Pa.

Your Place: For Vinyl Tiles Badly Set, the Only Fix is a Do-Over

(MCT)—Q: When Sandy flooded our basement, we had a contractor pull up the carpeting and install vinyl tiles. He prepared the concrete floor by scraping up the rug glue that remained, and used commercial adhesive to put down the new tiles.

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