March 1984

EXERCISE: YOU CAN'T START TOO YOUNG!

COMMUNITY GARDENING CONTEST

LOOKING FOR LEAKS

SPEAKING OF PETS ...

MUCH ADO ABOUT MUSTARD

WHO'S WHO IN RV RENTALS

FIVE MONTHS FREE!

INSURANCE REASSURANCE

MICRO-COOKING BY BRAILLE

LAID-BACK LEATHER

Are We Being Fair To Gifted Children?

Consider the story of Arlene Morales: In seventh grade, Arlene had to compute percentages and square roots along with the rest of her math class, even though she was studying algebra at nearby Johns Hopkins University in her hometown of Baltimore.

TAXES

Ten Common Oversights That Could Be Costing You Money

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Mention the word "affordable" and you invite ten different definitions from ten different people. But if you're a young, first-time home shopper, the two-phase building concept might be a genuinely affordable option.

Trash Bag KITES

Kite flying entices adults as readily as kids, making it a wonderful family activity. It takes only a kite, a light breeze, fair weather, and an open space away from kite-snaring trees and wires. If you fashion your own kites, it's an inexpensive hobby, too. The kites here are a cinch to make, cost only pennies, and fly as you've always dreamed a kite should-- soaring free and easy.

A Harvest of Ideas from Community Gardens

Vegetable gardeners are always on the lookout for new ways to improve their harvests. If a fresh idea proves fruitful for one gardener, it's a sure bet that friends, neighbors, and relatives will try the same method in their own garden.

Eye, Ear and Nose Disorders

Unlike many health problems, ailments affecting your dog or cat's eyes, ears, and nose often are difficult to detect. But untreated symptoms can do more than cause discomfort; they can lead to conditions that needlessly handicap your pet.

Care Tips for Audio-And Videocassettes

Cassette tapes require less care than record albums, but some maintenance guidelines should be followed to ensure that your tapes have a long, trouble-free life.

TOUGH DOOR

VAPOR HEATER

SWIVEL HINGE

METAL TILES

CLOSET KIT

GROUP COOKER

What to Do if Your Car Is Askew

Although bumpy winter roads can take a heavy toll on your car's alignment, it's a problem to watch out for year around. Misalignment can damage the tires, cause the car to wander across the road, or, worse still, impair steering.

The Pleasures of CROSS-STITCH

Exquisite embroidery is a breeze, even for beginners, when you use quick-and-easy cross-stitches to make pretty table linens and accessories like these (left). This sampling of beautiful handmades will dress up your home and show off your stitching virtuosity.

RAISED BED GARDENING

Gardeners everywhere are turning to raised-bed gardens. Why the switch? A raised-bed garden allows you to produce top-quality harvests in less space and with less work than a traditional flat garden. Raised gardens work because your crops are growing in an ideal medium: a loose, deeply spaded, fertile soil.

LOW-COST DECORATING high-style results

We've often written that high style doesn't necessarily mean high cost. But never has such style and function been so easy to to achieve on a moderate budget. Here are some of the reasons:

STORAGE SPACE You Never Knew You Had

Lots of handy home storage possibilities remain unused simply because they're hidden. They might be inside your walls, under your floors, behind your stairs, or camouflaged as dark, dusty, hard-to-reach corners of existing storage.

THE BEST BUYS IN FAMILY VACATION CRUISES

Suggest a cruise to most families and their prime reservation is price. Can we afford to take all the family along? Are there deals or discounts to help keep costs in line? How can we get the best cruise for our money?

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.

SHOPPING

HOME PLAN: This Two-Phase plan is for the cost conscious! Start with a one-bedroom apartmentlike home over a double garage, then develop Phase II. (See more on page 40.) You get great savings by ordering our 8-Set Homebuilder's Package-- includes 8 sets of the plan of your choice-- for only $155!

The Man Next Door

Ed Bell says his late-winter vacation to Florida didn't make him feel any better about going back to work, but it did make him feel poor enough to have no choice in the matter.