Today’s Sound Off is about weight loss jealousy:

Dear Heloise: I have been able to lose 65 pounds with diet and exercise, and although I had to really work at it, the rewards have been great. I have fewer aches and pains, my blood pressure is lower and there has been a significant improvement in my HDL and LDL cholesterol levels, too.

I never talked about it, because I didn’t want to appear as if I were bragging, but when some people noticed they would say, oh, you look gaunt (or tired or too skinny, etc.).

Please tell your readers to never discourage people who slim down. Many people do it to improve their health and extend their lives. If a friend drops a few pounds, keep encouraging them to hit their goal instead of trying to sabotage their efforts. If someone drops you as a friend because you’ve slimmed down, then they never were a real friend in the first place. — Katherine in Illinois

Katherine, congratulations for having the self-discipline and determination to stick with your diet and exercise plan. — Heloise

FAST FACTS

Gift ideas for a retirement party:

* Gift card to a crafts store

* Fishing equipment

* Golf balls and accessories

* Personalized travel mug

* Tickets to an event you know they would enjoy

* Engraved compass — Heloise

GOLD RIMMED PLATES

Dear Heloise: I have gold rimmed dinner plates that are not dishwasher safe. If I just send them through with hot water only, will that preserve the gold rim? — Verna D., San Antonio, Texas

Verna, it’s not recommended. The heat from the dishwasher may remove some of the metal rim. It’s always best to hand-wash china that has any metallic trim and to never use an abrasive scrubber. — Heloise

LITTLE BAKERS

Dear Heloise: With school being out my young daughters and I are baking more and making more dinners at home. The girls love to help out in the kitchen, but an apron is just too clumsy for them. Instead, they wear their dad’s old T-shirts. Afterward, all I have to do is toss the T-shirts in the laundry. — Courtney in Minnesota

Courtney, terrific idea. Old shirts are good for all kinds of messy projects for kids: gardening, crafts and more. — Heloise

REUSING LAUNDRY ­BOTTLES

Dear Heloise: The area in which I live doesn’t offer recycling as an alternative to discarding plastic. Every time I throw an empty laundry detergent bottle in the trash, I feel a twinge of guilt. Any ideas on what I can do to reuse them? — Joyce, via email

Joyce, I love that you want to do something to help our planet. A detergent bottle can be repurposed as a seed starter pot. Cut off the top half, poke drain holes in the bottom and fill with dirt to plant seeds. You can also use them to hold dog or cat kibble when traveling with pets, or to store bird seed in for easy bird feeder filling. — Heloise

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Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.