May 1984

SUN KING VISITS WEST

SNAP TO IT AMERICA!

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

SHADOWING THE ECLIPSE

GET SOMETHING FREE FROM UNCLE SAM!

GUARDRAIL LIFESAVER

AND THE WINNER IS...

GROW A LUSHER LAWN

HELLO, PAPER BOTTLE

Getting The Most From Your Home Improvement Dollars

Home improvements can be a major investment, but there are a number of ways to make sure you get the most for your money. Here's an update on developments in several key areas.

How to Waterproof A Low-Pitch Roof

Bright Flowers THAT GROW IN THE Shade

Shade-loving plants are easy to grow and can transform even the gloomiest landscape into a festival of flowers. Although many flowers do prefer to grow in a sunny location, there's still a plentiful assortment of shade plants, both annuals and perennials, to choose from. All of these plants will thrive in partial to deep shade. In fact, many would perish if they were planted in full sun.

THE SIMPLE MAGIC OF SOUTH WEST STYLE

The rugged beauty of the Southwest has inspired a decorating look that's easygoing and natural.

Vocational Education

Vocational Education Are Our Schools Training Today's Kids For Yesterday's Jobs?

Tips, Tools & Techniques

This feature is written by you. It's a wide-ranging collection of installation tips and shop shortcuts that you-- and millions like you-- have picked up as do-it-yourselfers. We pay $25 for each problem-solver we publish. See the box below for submission details.

REMOTE SWITCH

DAYLIGHT DEVELOPER

PATIO STYLE

MULTI-TOOL

TALKING CLOCK

HANG-UP DRYER

Summer Camp NEW OPTIONS FOR YOUR CHILD

If your idea of summer camp is a few rustic weeks of hiking, canoeing, and Indian crafts, think again. While traditional activities still are a big part of the camp experience, there's much more these days.

Record Care Tips

Most new records come to you factory pure, but it's up to you to keep them that way. A few precautions can make all the difference.

WHAT'S NEW IN PET MEDICAL CARE?

Pets are living longer and staying healthier than ever, thanks to strides made in pet medical care. New drugs, techniques, treatment facilities, technology, and equipment are being perfected. Many of the advances that follow are available today; some are still a few months away.

Antiques & Collectibles

Few American antiques have a history as long and varied as that of Indian pottery of the Southwest. The art of pottery making is nearly 2,000 years old in this region.

What To Do If You Have A CAR ACCIDENT

Even a minor car accident can make you anxious or angry, but it's important to behave logically and calmly. Set about gathering the information required to make a claim. If you take the following steps after the accident, you'll get the accurate documentation you need to speed the settlement process and put your car back into service.

Keeping Your Chimney Clean

Now that the heating season has passed, it's time to check your chimney for creosote buildup. When hot gases rise inside the flue and come in contact with cooler surfaces, they condense into a tarlike liquid that hardens into a crust resembling charcoal.

New Life for a has-been house

Delightful, dramatic DAHLIAS

Turning an ordinary garden into a spring-to-fall flower show is easy when you put dahlias at the top of your garden shopping list. Dahlias offer an almost unlimited selection of heights, colors, and flower styles, and bloom willingly without being coddled. Unlike many other flowers, dahlias form tubers that you can dig up in the fall and replant the following spring. The tubers will increase in size, giving you more plants each year. For sparkling color right up until frost, plant dahlias now.

PORCHES FOR ALL SEASONS

Porches are perfect for dozens of activities, from sipping a cold glass of lemonade in the spring, to watching the leaves turn color in the fall. But what happens in the winter? In the case of these two lovely porches, plenty! When cold weather comes knocking, these porches become solar collectors, stretching their usefulness and livability to 12 months of the year.

Sizing Up Solar Hot Water Systems

Those solar collectors dotting the landscape in your area are hard at work helping families reduce their bills from-- and dependence on-- the local utility company.

Dramatizing A Dining Alcove

Old Houses With New Trombe Walls

A century after it was invented, the Trombe wall is finally coming into its own. This passive solar heating device, developed in the 1880s, carries the name of the French physicist Felix Trombe, who revived the idea in the early 1960s.

LONG DISTANCE PHONE SERVICE

With the celebrated breaking up of AT&T, all sorts of communications companies are scrambling for your long distance business. Should you stick with the service you've been using (for most people, that's AT&T), or switch to a competitor, such as Sprint, MCI, or one of the many other regional and national systems currently vying for your business?

Investment Terms You Should Know

With so many types of investments in the marketplace, it's easy to become confused or lose track of what's what. To help you sort out the choices, here's a glossary of some of the most common investment terms in present use.

Small-Space Shower

Easy-Does-It Vinyl Flooring

Sheet vinyl flooring always has been durable and easy to care for. Now, it's easier than ever to install, too.

Gardener's Log

Gardeners interested in trying new vegetable and flower varieties this spring may be overwhelmed by the large number of choices. To find the cream of the crop, look for the seal of the All-America Selections while you're scanning the seed racks and plant flats at your local garden center.

Watering Container Plants

Your plant-watering habits may be the key to a backyard bright with blooms this summer. Set the stage with a collection of pots or tubs filled with annual flowers. Then, pay particular attention to their need for water to keep them alive and blooming all summer.

How To Order Material From The Magazine

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

"When all is said and done in the affairs of business and government," observes editor Earl Reeves, "far more gets said than done."