Drought-tolerant palms also need to survive the rainy season
'Drought-tolerant'' is a characteristic high on every gardener's plant list these days since water restrictions are about to become permanent.

Pet insurance vs. a savings plan
Q: My financial planner says that pet insurance is a gimmick and that I should invest in a pet savings plan, instead. My vet doesn't have an opinion on this. Do you?

Checklist: In the garden

Garden

For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

Unsure if your lawn still needs watering after a rain? Garden consultant Al Figone of Folsom offers this tip: If one inch or more of rain falls, turn off the automatic sprinklers for five days. If another half-inch falls during that period, keep the sprinklers off until there are another five days without rain.

Home

Looking for ways to save energy? Here are some tips from Frigidaire:

When making meals, take everything you need out of the refrigerator at the same time, if possible. This minimizes the number of times you open the door. Every time the door opens, energy consumption by your refrigerator increases 10 percent.

Your freezer works best when filled to capacity. Use ice to keep it full and cold. Place covered plastic water-filled containers in your freezer for maximum efficiency (make sure to leave a half-inch of head space in each container; the ice will expand).

Clean the refrigerator's condenser coils annually.

Thinking of updating to more energy-efficient appliances? See how much you might save through Frigidaire's energy savings calculator at www.FrigidaireEnergySavings.com.

– Debbie Arrington

Roof assessment wasn't used up so why wasn't excess returned?
Q: I own a condominium with garden-style buildings. The board decided we needed to replace the roof on one of the buildings and created a special assessment of $40,000. Instead of replacing the roof they ended up only doing a patch job for much less, less than $3,000. I was outraged that we would have to pay for such a large assessment when not needed. I think the overage of the assessment should be returned to the owners. The president says they will keep the funds in an account. I do not trust...

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