Hints From Heloise

Government Information Online

Dear Heloise: Because you always give your readers so many helpful hints, I wanted to share one of my favorites. It is USA.gov -- the U.S. government's official Web portal from my agency, the U.S. General Services Administration.

With a new design and easy-to-navigate features, your readers will get all the ONLINE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION and services they need. They can apply for college loans, purchase savings bonds, contact elected officials and much more, all at USA.gov.

This trustworthy site brings together a gold mine of resources from federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government Web pages. USA.gov has a fast search engine that gives timely and relevant information, news and pictures, such as the local forecast or photographs taken on Mars.

With USA.gov, your readers can find local farmers' markets, get lottery results and learn how to adopt a lighthouse. As you always share your mother's beloved recipes, USA.gov has some to share as well (just type "recipes" into the search box). Do not miss Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge -- it's delicious!

Thanks for letting your readers know about USA.gov. I hope they all visit today -- because it's really government made easy. -- Lurita Doan, administrator, U.S. General Services Administration, Washington, D.C.

Lurita, USA.gov is the site to go to for government information and help. It is easy to navigate and filled with so much info.

Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge! For those who might not know, she was the wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 34th president of the United States (1953-1961) -- who, I might proudly add, was born in Denison, Texas. I "ran into" him, literally, when I was a very little girl and was waiting to see an eye doctor at what is now Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

FAST FACTS

Dear Heloise: Your hints appear in the Antelope Valley (California) Press and are very helpful. Here are a couple of uses for address labels:

* We like trick-or-treaters on Halloween, particularly the smaller children. We make up bags of treats with a small toy inside, seal the bag and affix our address label so parents know its origin.

* We moved a while ago after staying put for 40 years. We carry a section of the labels with us so that when we run into old acquaintances who lost touch, we stick a label with our new address in their address book, check register or whatever they have handy -- usually a shopping list.

-- Mrs. B.J. Rowland, Lancaster, Calif.

CONDIMENT CLEANUP

Dear Heloise: Take a minute to remove the screw-on caps from ketchup, mustard or similar items and give them a quick rinse under hot water. Have you ever taken a look at one that hasn't been "treated" for a while? Unappetizing, to say the least! -- Mary Lou Brown, Staten Island, N.Y.

Mary, how right you are -- yuck! While you are at it, wipe off the bottom of the container to help prevent "yuck" on the fridge shelves.

(c)2007 by King Features Syndicate Inc.