Dear Heloise: When my mom was a senior citizen home alone, she would call her cousin, who was also a senior citizen home alone, each morning at 7 a.m. They would enjoy their morning gossip session, after joking that they both were still alive. They lived in the same town but not near each other. I read your column each day in the Republican-American, which is published in Waterbury, Connecticut. — Carolyn McDonough, Canaan, Connecticut

FALLING IN THE ­BATHROOM

Dear Heloise: This is about the guy who fell in his bathroom and couldn’t reach the phone. The same thing happened to a friend of mine. She fell in the bathroom and couldn’t reach the phone, but she had Alexa (Amazon’s virtual assistant device). She told Alexa to call 911, but the device didn’t understand. So she told Alexa to call a friend, and then told the friend to call 911. After she recovered, she taught Alexa to call 911. — Patricia Roberts, via email

Patricia, thanks for this great idea. The bathroom can be a dangerous place. You also can take your cellphone with you, just in case. — Heloise

REMOVING STICKY STUFF

Dear Heloise: Don’t waste money on over-the-counter products to remove sticky stuff from containers. Pour a layer of cooking oil, let it set for a while, then wash in hot, soapy water. Works for me! — J.R., via email

OPENING GLASS JARS

Dear Heloise: I might be telling my age, but as a kid, we were taught to use a church key (the old can and bottle opener) to loosen the seal on a screw-on lid that refuses to be opened by raising the lid away from the jar in a couple of places. When the seal is broken, you will hear a popping sound and the lid will easily unscrew. — Vicki Palmer, Temple, Texas

STORE PRODUCTS UPSIDE DOWN

Dear Heloise: Some of my skin-care and makeup products sold in bottles and tubes have applicators. To be sure I access all of the product, as it gets toward the bottom of the container, I store the bottles upside down and stand the inverted tubes (mascara) in a cup. — S. Phillips, Columbia City, Indiana

AGGRESSIVE DOG ­CHEWER

Dear Heloise: A reader in Dallas had an issue with an aggressive chewer. A few years ago, we had a miniature poodle that developed a habit of chewing on books, etc. I contacted our vet, and he suggested giving him cut-up raw carrots. We did, and that cured the problem. I hope it works for M.P. in Dallas. — Bubba, Santa Clarita, California.

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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.