Dear Heloise: It’s a shame that people don’t write letters anymore. My husband passed away nine years ago, and after the funeral and all the work I needed to do to get everything and everyone settled, I dug out some old letters from my husband that I stored in my old hope chest. He wrote them while he was stationed in the Pacific during World War II. We were newly married — I was 19, and he was 23. It brought back so many wonderful memories.

I know you encourage people to stay in contact with friends and family, and with our busy lives, it’s very important to know that we have people we can talk to who (hopefully) will not judge us. It lets us know that we are not alone, and for a great many people, this connection is a lifeline. — M.N., in Maryland

DISHWASHER DILEMMA

Dear Heloise: I thought I was being clever by washing my dishes by hand when I only had to clean a few dirty dishes. Turns out, I was wrong. I needed to get those dishes into the dishwasher and turn it on when it was full.

Why? By not using my dishwasher regularly, I had managed to clog the working parts due to our hard water here in San Antonio. I only used the dishwasher when I had a large dinner party, but this wasn’t enough. I thought I was saving water, but today’s dishwashers use much less water than they did years ago. Now I use it once a week. — P.W., in San Antonio

MOUSE-PROOFING

Dear Readers: If you have mice inside your house, try this easy way to stop them from entering:

Stuff lots of steel wool in all of the cracks around water or gas pipes and any other small openings that they could sneak into. Make sure that your doors are always secure and kept closed. — Heloise

MELTED GEL PACKS

Dear Heloise: My dishwasher air valve started puking water, signifying that my effluent plumbing was backed up. I dismantled the pipes and found that a gummy, plastic-type goo had formed inside the pipe. I managed to extract the stuff and saw that it was the gel pack that dishwasher soap comes in. The gel melts in the hot water of the dishwasher, but as the effluent water cools in the waste pipe, the gel returns to a solid form and blocks the pipe.

You might want to caution your readers about using any form of gel, whether it be in packet form or liquid form, since I am sure that others have suffered the same outcome in their pipes as I did. — P.B., in California

PET PAL

Dear Heloise: Hello! This is Jinx! She’s a 2-year-old tortie with a lot of attitude. This picture pretty much sums up her personality; just look at her little blip! She loves chasing bugs, talking to squirrels, and people-watching from the balcony. — Jenifer Schneider, Jinx’s Mommy

Readers, to see Jinx and our other Pet Pals, go to Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”

Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to Heloise@Heloise.com. — Heloise

Send a money-saving or time-saving hint to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column