July 1984

DIRECT-BY-SATELLITE TV

U.S. FAMILIES HOST IRISH CHILDREN

BRIGHTEN YOUR SALAD

STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS

NEW LOOKS FOR SHADES AND BLINDS

THE SHRINKING HOUSE

APPLIANCE HOTLINES

KEEP THOSE LABELS COMING, BABY

How to Start a Successful Business In Your Home

The idea of running a home-based business appeals strongly to millions of Americans. For some, it's the opportunity to work and attend to family needs at the same time. For others, it's the desire to expand a hobby or special interest into a profit-making enterprise. Still others share the time-honored dream of freedom-- the chance to be their own boss.

Antiques & Collectibles

Wooden butter molds that once formed and decorated homemade butter, today lend quaint charm to bookshelves, coffee tables, and display cases. Admired for their attractive colonial engravings and for the rich patina years of use has given them, butter molds have an intriguing history, too.

Camper's Kitchen Cupboard

Now you can take a small kitchen sink along with you on a camping trip! Use our 28x20-inch camping box to corral and transport everything you could want to make camping chores almost as convenient as doing them at home.

Stylish Side-Yard Privacy Fence

Side yards are likely to be overlooked as potential outdoor living areas. Their shape-- usually long and narrow-- and their proximity to the street often pose problems. But clever landscaping tricks can turn these liabilities into assets.

HELPFUL MICROWAVE

3-IN-1 CAR SEAT

MICROCOMPUTER SEWING

BLUE TUBE

COOK AND SERVE

Gardener's Log

Seeds of Chinese vegetables planted this month will bring you a fall harvest of wonderful Oriental flavors. Besides offering new varieties and tastes to gardeners, Chinese vegetables are easy to grow and don't require a lot of space. Fast-maturing, these vegetables are perfect candidates for second crops.

Jury Duty: What Can You Expect?

Chances are fairly good that you'll open your mailbox one day to find a jury notice. Whether you greet the prospect of jury duty favorably or not, the experience can be confusing at first.

AMERICANS AT HOME

Our homes are the centers of our lives-- havens of family love and comfort, places made exceptional by our caring. In this special issue, we visit with families from coast to coast who demonstrate that the "can do" spirit flourishes in American homes ... with outstanding results. You'll meet a couple who designed and built their own home, a family that transformed a suburban house into a charming country cottage, and others who share ingenious ways to decorate, garden, cook, and craft, and to be good friends and neighbors.

Super Ideas For A Neighborhood Celebration

Joys Of Sharing Your Skills

Mary Limbird's dishes are always great hits at every Fourth of July picnic on Hodge Street. An enthusiastic cook-- and wife of the director of international education services at Iowa State University-- she uses recipes and techniques she has learned on her many foreign travels.

Fabulous Gardening And Country-Fresh Cooking

To Elisabeth Sheldon, home means a resplendent flower garden; to her husband, George, all the good things he can grow: vegetables, fruit and nut trees, grapes, currants, and an abundance of berries.

The Bounties Of Gardening

George now grows enough produce to satisfy not only household needs but to sell at the farmer's market every week, along with mouth-watering French and Dutch breads he has become expert in baking.

Create A Country Cottage In The Suburbs

Even if you live in the city or suburbs, you can imbue your home with storybook-cottage style. All you need are fresh colors on the walls and the patience to scout around for just the right mix of secondhand furnishings and "almost antiques."

A Do-It-Together Project Re-Siding Your House

The spirit of the neighborhood barn raisings of yesteryear (though perhaps not the barns themselves) still lives in communities across the country. Inviting your friends and neighbors to help with big building projects not only saves money, but also can be a lot of fun.

Great Party Fare In A Gracious Setting

Like many two-career families, Bryan McCay and Ann Levine of Des Moines, Iowa, wish they could spend more time enjoying their home. So their philosophy is to make up in quality what they can't have in quantity.

A Do-It-Yourself Dream House

It takes a lot of grit to design your own home and then build it yourself. But as Bryan and Beth Richards, of Vienna, Virginia-- and countless other American families-- have shown, it can be done.

Whimsical Designs To Brighten Your Rooms

Home and workplace are the same for artist/crafter Mary Engelbreit of St. Louis, Missouri. Mary has always applied her talents to her daily life, and recently, she formed her own company to sell cards and posters of her whimsical designs that have long delighted her family and friends.

A Backyard Bonanza Of Herbs, Fruits, And Vegetables

Toby and Jan Hall saw the potential for their dream home despite the neglected condition of the three-acre grounds and house they found in southern Massachusetts in 1972.

A Brand-New House With A Traditional Heritage

Re-creating an authentic early-American house requires loving care and patience, both of which Linda and Jim Eberhardt have in infinite supply. They spent years planning and building their New England saltbox.

Kitchen Knife Basics

A kitchen knife can be friend or foe: it can cut swiftly and cleanly or reluctantly and jaggedly. The proper selection and care of quality cutlery will make your culinary endeavors more satisfying. Good knives are available in a wide price range, but before you invest in a set, review these buymanship tips:

Planning Tips for a Summer Celebration

Here are some helpful tips on organizing your own neighborhood celebration, whether it be the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, or any other fair-weather occasion that permits outdoor activities.

TRAILERING TIPS

To tow a boat, camper, do-it-yourself moving trailer, or a travel trailer, it's essential that you match your car and towing equipment to the kind of load you intend to pull. Otherwise, you risk severe damage to your vehicle as well as serious hazards on the road.

Fun-for-All Houseboating Vacations

Houseboating is an easy way for families to vacation on the water. With an hour or less of on-the-spot instruction, even novice boaters are set for one of the most relaxing vacations imaginable.

Pet Update

To help clear up the quandary about which pet food products to buy, recently enacted laws require that U.S. dog and cat food manufacturers specify the use of their products on the labels: (1) for complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages; (2) for a particular phase of life only (such as puppyhood, maintenance of adult pets, or old age); (3) for intermittent feeding or as a diet supplement.

How To Order Material From The Magazine

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.

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

Isabel Norman has decided that Independence Day is an aptly named holiday: "No gifts to wrap, no parcels to mail, and if you're having a picnic, no dishes to wash."