Programming your mind to program your body is the most complex endeavor imaginable.

This week, simple tips to keep in mind before you go out running in the heat.

Never underestimate a girl with a little red wagon, says Johanna "Jodie" Odum. With hers, Odum has hauled salvaged bricks, scavenged rocks (with permission) from the neighborhood and moved dirt here, there and everywhere. And all it took to transform her sloping front yard into a garden retreat was sweat and time.

I need some help finding a source for slipcovers that have separate covers for each cushion. You and several other decorators recommend slipcovers to update or freshen, but finding ones that fit or look like something other than a throw, or that don’t have to be straightened each time the furniture is actually used is difficult.

I get a wonderful bulletin from my local garden club, very erudite, for real gardeners. This one has an article called "Garden Work for July."

Two words many parents dread this time of year: “I’m BORED!”

One of the positive effects of the energy crisis is a flood of newcomers to gardening. Local greenhouse operators say many folks are turning to gardening to lower their food costs. Others are increasing the size of their beds.

Zach is loquacious. In fact from the moment he lifts his fair head from the pillow his mouth is in action and doesn’t dither until lights go out and the darkness once again beckons silence.

To the untrained eye, the home was perfect — right out of the pages of a magazine. But, in today’s tight housing market, Mark and Michelle Roehnelt wanted to leave nothing to chance. To ensure their home won’t linger on the "for sale" listings, they enlisted the help of expert home stager Colleen McLinden of Peoria, Ill.

Weekly family rail, with a look at “Hellboy II,” tips on picking the best cloth diapers and more.

More valuable than oil, water is making a big splash in the conservation movement, with rain barrels enjoying a surge in popularity.

As I was sitting at home Monday night watching the Home Run Derby, something just got the best of me.

Kate Lundahl writes the weekly Backyard Botany column for the Norwood Post.

Ellen Metrick writes a weekly column about parenting for the Norwood Post.

Weekly home & garden rail, with more roof tips, rose-pruning tips and suggestions on how to keep your home fresh and clean.