Free Attractions at Precious Moments.


The public is invited to enjoy all of the attractions at Precious Moments free of charge from Friday, Dec. 21 through Saturday, Dec. 31, 2001.

Precious Moments attractions include the Fountain of Angels show, the Victorian Wedding Island Tour, the Precious Moments Art Museum Tour (formerly Samuel J. Butcher’s Home), and the Precious Moments Chapel.

Chapel hours during the holidays are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. These hours continue through December 31, 2001. The Chapel will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day and will close at 5 p.m. the day before each of these holidays.

Show times for the Fountain of Angels are at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily. The Chapel Tour is offered every twenty minutes, and the Wedding Island Tour is a self-guided tour with some limited availability due to scheduled weddings. The Art museum tour is available until 5 p.m.

For more information call 1-800-543-7975 or visit www.preciousmoments.com.

I can remember always seein’ a box of matches in my grandparents bathroom. Bein’ there was a little gas stove for knockin’ off the chill, as a kid I just figured they were kept there for the purpose of lightin’ it up on a cool mornin’.

At some young age, I can still remember the embarrassed laugh when I mentioned the matches to my mom. She explained that although lightin’ the stove was a handy function of the phosphor tipped sticks, their more typical purpose was to eliminate the telltale evidence of a visit to the throne.

‘Course at that time there wasn’t a "plug-it-in-plug-it-in" or were my grandparents interested in a storebought air freshener (the bottle of green fluid with a wick pulled up). From time to time I find myself reminded of that box of matches.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Workman's Loan

The Super Handyman

by Al Carrell & Kelly Carrell

Q: We put down a really nice wood parquet floor in the kitchen about four years ago. It is starting to show wear in several spots. These areas are much darker than the rest of the floor. How can I refinish these spots to the lighter finish that was the original look? - L.N.A.

A: If the finish is still intact, the dark look might be just dirt on the surface that could be cleaned away.

If the floor was ever waxed, the darkness could be just wax buildup. See if a wax remover solves the problem.

Most refinished parquet floors have a top layer of polyurethane, which is a long-lasting finish. However, if the finish is gone, then the darkness might have to be bleached out - which then means you probably would need to restain the area and try to match the rest of the floor.

Dear Al & Kelly: I’m an old-timer, and I love to make yard ornaments and decorations. I always use beeswax to dip wood screws into before using them. The wax makes them go in easier, and I’ve never had a rust problem on anything. The only thing I don’t like is the dust that collects on my cake of wax. I have learned to keep it in a covered butter tub now. That way the wax doesn’t get dusty, and it’s also easier to keep up with in my shop, which is also my garage. - B.Z.

Dear Kelly: When I redid the master bedroom I wanted to add a border around the top of the walls to go with the fabric in the drapes and spread. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the matching border only a matching wallpaper. So, I cut my own border from the wallpaper. I was able to get two borders from each section of paper, so it wasn’t that much more expensive to use the paper. - C.T.