DONNA RIVERS had a commitment problem. She took her time, shopped around, weighed her options. This one was too loud, that one too bland. What she really wanted was to take the goods home before taking the permanent plunge.
Q. I have a healthy, 5-year-old lemon bush that only produces lemons on the lower branches. There are no flowers or fruit in the upper two-thirds of the lemon tree. How do I get lemons to grow on the upper portion of this plant? A.
LIGHTING plays a large role in the success of a room. So many homes I visit are inappropriately lit. Sometimes there is only one lamp in the corner. Other times, there are so many lamps that the room looks like a lighting showroom.
Pesto lovers will sing the praises of "Summerlong," a new dwarf variety of basil. Burpee offers Basil Summerlong packets of 100 seeds (No. 63660A) for $2.95 or an order of three plants (No. 21009) for $9.95. Call (800) 888-1447 or visit www.burpee.com.
"Frizelliae" is a fern with a different look. Instead of airy swordlike fronds its stems bear rounded pinnae that appear beaded. They can add a jewel-like sparkle to the shade garden. Wayside Gardens is selling Athyrium felix femina "Frizelliae" plants (No. 41198) for $9.
Make plans for your spring garden and meet a Bay Area garden author at Smith & Hawken in Burlingame today. Gail Holmen, author of "My Green Thumb: Your Gardening Organizer" (Almanor, $34.95) will give a lecture, answer questions and sign books starting at 11 a.m. The event is free.
Q. I am 50 years old and in good shape. I find, however, that working out five times a week is exhausting, time consuming and negatively affecting my work.
IONCE asked Sammy Reshevsky, the diminuitive American chess genius, who at his peak was one of the most feared players on the planet, the secret of his success. "I keep making good moves and wait for my opponent to make a mistake," the then 73-year-old grandmaster said with a gleam in his eye.
NOTE: Today's column will discuss how you can prepare your dog for the arrival of a baby. A future column will address the same issue for cats.
Congratulations! You have a bundle of joy on the way.
In "Walk on Water," Eytan Fox's third feature-length film, the director takes on the controversial subject of Israeli nationalism in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Have you heard the one about Jay Leno, the gag order in the Michael Jackson case and the First Amendment? It's no joke, according to one legal expert: Leno, concerned he could be barred from making "Tonight Show" quips about Jackson's molestation trial, can claim constitutional protection.
The Soweto Gospel Choir, which has a style harking back to South Africa's legendary Ladysmith Black Mambazo, makes a stop in Stockton on March 13 as part of its 35-city North American tour.
By Justin Hoeger
SACRAMENTO BEE
The original "Star Fox" was an amazing piece of work when it came out in 1993. A custom chip in the cartridge boosted the Super Nintendo's processing power to let it handle a polygon-based game instead of the 2-D sprites for which the system was designed.
OPRAH WINFREY says her timing couldn't have been any better when she decided to offer the lead role of Janie Crawford to Halle Berry.
"She had just won the Academy Award the night before," says Winfrey with her trademark grin, speaking to TV critics in Los Angeles a couple of months ago.
Q: My daughter, a fourth-grader, attends a private school. As a former teacher, it was my experience that elementary-school homework may be a part of the report-card grade, but it is to be taken on a complete/incomplete basis.
THURSDAY afternoon's San Francisco Symphony subscription concert opened with Stravinsky's red-hot sparkler, "Scherzo a la russe," which had the usual aging and infirm matinee audience buzzing even before Vladimir Feltsman sat down to the company Steinway.
Dear Prudence: I've been crushed, hurt, then infuriated by a gift I received from my boss at an annual luncheon. There are only five employees in our department all women. This year, as in the past three years, we all went out for lunch and exchanged (nominally priced) gifts.
Send Letters to Living to: living@angnewspapers.com or 1080 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402. Letters can be dropped off in person during business hours at our offices in Pleasanton, Hayward, Fremont, Oakland and San Mateo.
Iwould like to thank you for the courage to write the article "Costly 'benefits'" (Feb. 22). I am a father of two adult boys and one teenage girl. We practice the Christian faith as a family.
By Sandra G. Boodman
THE WASHINGTON POST
It's an image enshrined in popular culture: the wise old doctor who knows how best to treat patients because of his years of clinical experience.