May 1976

Are you driving a collision course?

When the blame for an accident goes to that phantom scapegoat "loss of control," the real culprit is usually a driver who either isn't prepared to take emergency action or gives up control of his vehicle in panic even though there's still enough time for quick evasive measures.

What's What in Skin Care Cosmetics

However far-out the names on the labels, modern-day cosmetic creams are all refinements of the 2,000-year-old cold cream formula-- olive oil, beeswax, and water. The concoction got the name "cold cream" because, when it's applied to the skin, the water evaporates, resulting in a sensation of coolness.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU BECOME DISABLED

Suppose a crippling disease or accident prevents you from working for months or even years. Where will you get the money to keep your family going? What if your disability prevents you from returning to your chosen occupation, though you can do other, less satisfying work? Must you take a job you don't want?

A great privacy wall for a busy street

Don't write off your house solely because the street out front is beginning to resemble the freeway at rush hour. Instead, consider building a low-cost wall to screen out the noise, seal in a sense of privacy, and snap up the styling.

SUMMER BULBS FOR COLORFUL BORDERS

For mounds of color and big clusters of exciting blooms, plant quantities of summer-flowering bulbs throughout your flower borders. Many of the plants listed below grow from winterlender rhizomes, tubers, or corms, but are roughly classed as bulbs.

How to paper your floor with a "Strawberry patch"

Paper the floor? That's what we said! It's an easy, inexpensive alternative to traditional floor coverings, and the pattern possibilities are endless.

HOW TO BUY BINOCULARS

When you're shopping for a pair of binoculars and a salesperson asks you, "Which do you prefer, 7x35 or 10x50?" don't be intimidated. That numbering system is easy to understand, and once you get the hang of it, picking the right pair of binoculars should be a snap.

Problem-solving privacy screens

Visitors and deliverymen were forever confusing the front and back doors since they were both on the same side of the house. A shutoff screen around the service area solved the problem.

HOUSEPLANT HOW-TO

The iron cross is choice and not hard to grow. Simply put it in shade and keep the soil on the moist side-- not sopping wet. If you have taller plants, put this begonia under them. Sun is the number-one enemy. It won't kill your plant but the lush chartreuse-green leaves marked with reddish brown will turn ugly yellow and burnt brown.

CANDLE TIPS

Candles are really very simple objects-- "a chunk of wax and a bit of string," as a poet wrote. But that very simplicity accounts for their beauty and versatility. Today, there are candles to meet every decorating need: candles that emit a delicate scent, cylindrical candles that take on fascinating shapes as they burn, and an assortment of humorously shaped candles just right for that special birthday party or for some unusual event.

WARRANTY RIGHTS: FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

No doubt you've been frustrated more than once when something you just bought broke down and the manufacturer or dealer wouldn't take the responsibility for repairing or replacing it. Perhaps he said you had to pay for the repairs, even though you felt you were stuck with a lemon.

HOW TO UNSCRAMBLE A PROBLEM KITCHEN

Fed up with your kitchen? Judging from our reader mail and our cross-country editorial travels, an enormous number of families are battling kitchens that thwart them at every turn. We hear about cramped-for-space kitchens, rush-hour traffic jams, skimpy storage, out-of-reach cabinets, inadequate lighting, counter shortages, and dull-as-dishwater decors.

DOWN-TO-EARTH LANDSCAPING GUIDE

In this second section of our landscaping story, we show you how to create outdoor living areas and solve various landscape problems. All the ideas are adaptable to fit most garden situations, so you can mix and match the projects and plants to fit your needs and desires. For ways to beautify the front of your home, please refer back to our April issue.

A project center you can personalize

Start your garden on a windowsill

Rechargeable drill operates where others won't

Super-safe trimmer cuts without blades

Compact grinder keeps shop tools sharp

Grow tomatoes without staking

Low-cost little gardens in pots

Ingenuity-- that's what counts more than cash when it comes to container gardens. Even if you're at the tag end of your budget, that needn't deprive you of a cluster of potted plants to brighten your porch, steps, or patio. The following suggestions will help you get a big effect for a modest outlay.

DUAL-PURPOSE TABLES

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A HOUSE LIKE THIS

You've seen this house before somewhere-- maybe with different siding or a detached garage, but otherwise a carbon copy. That's because thousands of these sturdy little numbers were built from coast to coast in the '30s and '40s. Dated but serviceable, the original 1,400-square-foot version easily adapts to a variety of personalities and uses --and doesn't require a major overhaul to take on new life.

Make a big splash with little cash

If you have an orchid taste but a petunia pocketbook, cheer up. The petunia and its bedding-plant cohorts can be fantastic. They'll fill your garden with sparkling color, and cost only a pittance. To prove it, we found some gardeners who have parlayed a few dollars' worth of flower seeds or inexpensive bedding plants into a wealth of beauty. Prices quoted are what these homeowners paid; costs will vary from place to place and season to season.

MIND-OVER-MONEY DECORATING

Imagination is the next best thing to a big fat bank account-- especially when it comes to decorating. Without setting foot in a furniture store, you can solve a slew of decorating problems-- and supplement your furnishings needs-- simply by using everyday objects and materials in unorthodox ways. Some people have a knack for putting commonplace objects to creative use, but most of us need some food for thought. Here, then, are six pages packed with ideas.

Bring on the Servers!

SHORT-CUT SPRING FLOWERS

Having trouble composing those early spring blooms into gay bouquets? If the flowers defy arranging because of size, rubbery stems, and brittle heads that break off. try any one of our lovely arrangements shown here.

GARDENING IN MAY

With summer just around the corner, it's time to wind up your spring planting and ready your garden for the hot-weather months ahead.

UPHOLSTERY HOW-TO

Here are several special techniques you can use to add a decorative touch when you reupholster a chair or sofa.

The Forge Of Freedom

During our country's painful birth and struggle for survival much of the crucial action took place within a triangle whose points you might roughly mark as Philadelphia, Williamsburg, and Charlottesville, Virginia. It was here that the spirit of freedom first took hold, that the principles of a new life-style were defined, that the new country was baptized in blood. It was here, too, that moralistic shackles of the New England Puritans were thrown off, allowing true religious and intellectual freedom for all to develop, that the nation's capital was located, and that the new nation's economy took shape.

Time to re-roof?

You know the time has arrived whenever the old roof no longer does its job. That could be:

PRO TEM WORKSHOP

THE BETTER HOMES & GARDENS BACKYARD VEGETABLE PLOT

If you planted your early crops with us last month, by now you can see signs of life in radishes, lettuces, spinach, and, if you're lucky, peas. With these green shoots to inspire you, get ready for a busy vegetable month. May is the time to put in the warmweather crops.

TIPS TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

A REGULAR FEATURE DESIGNED TO MAKE AROUND-THE-HOUSE JOBS EASIER FOR YOU

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence. If not delighted, each company will happily refund your money.

The Man Next Door

Last summer Rosemary waited tables at a resort where there were a lot of "cute" college boys, but this year she will be working at a restaurant that caters to an older and more affluent crowd. "A boy is a boy," she explains, "but a good tip is hard cash."