Q: I know you've written many times about cleaning decks, but mine is looking kind of dingy and, because it sits on the north side of our house, is coated in mildew. The deck is gray, but the color is more greenish-black. Can you dig into your files and see if you can find your advice? I would have liked to have gotten it done for July 4. Maybe I'll get it done in time for Labor Day. Thanks.

Q: I sent a letter to the White House requesting a greeting for my mother's birthday, but it never came. Isn't the Obama White House sending out presidential greetings?

Q: Now that hot weather is here, I'm not going to be going up to our attic again until fall. It gets totally unbearable up there in summer. I wonder sometimes how much damage this intense heat can be doing to the ducts and pipes in the attic as well as all the valuables we store up there. Are there any easy ways to cool off our attic?

Q. I have a 1915 house with the original wood entry door. The door sags and rubs the frame so that it is difficult to open and close, even through I have removed it and planed it to fit better. I think the door is out of square. What next? -Paul

The Black Thai banana was one of the most sought-after bananas at the early spring Mississippi Garden and Patio Shows. Unfortunately I dawdled and missed my opportunity to grab one. A friend of mine in another town purchased one and now I am green with envy.

THE SHELF: LEARN TO KNIT OUTFITS FOR BABY

For many students, the last day of homework precedes the last day of school. But for those teens choosing to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, the homework doesn't stop, even over the summer.

WILMORE, Ky. Nancy Sleeth doesn't use her oven very often. At least not her conventional oven. Instead, she turns to her more energy-efficient toaster oven, microwave and convection oven. When Sleeth bakes bread, she uses a bread machine.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - My friend's voice erupts from the other side of the phone with a degree of giddiness usually heard only in the voices of children.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Collections are a blessing.

Q: Why does the new water heater make the water smell of sulfur? We had it installed and then left for vacation only to return to stinky hot water.

I need to feed you a line - a clothesline, in this case, which, without fear of contradiction, remains the most energy-efficient way of drying laundry.

Q: I thought I was operating our air conditioner efficiently until a neighbor came over to our house and told me he just read in your column that I shouldn't leave the "fan setting" running all the time on our thermostat like I usually do. Now I'm wondering if I'm using the air conditioner properly or not. It does seem our house never cools off in hot weather. What tips do you have for staying cooler?

AKRON, Ohio Rain barrels are good for the Earth, but they're not always easy on the eye. So a group of young artists has set out to change that.

After three years, I am hooked on the New Guinea-type impatiens series called SunPatiens. The heat over the past few weeks has made gardening a real struggle. But every day, as I return home from work I see the Sunpatiens near my front door putting on a dazzling show.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. The quickest way to freshen a piece of furniture and lift the spirits is through fabric.

THE SHELF: SPEND WEEKEND ENJOYING SEWING

Q. I want to fix a number of holes in the drywall of my house. The holes range from about three inches wide to 12 inches. Can you help? - M. Chapman

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. That's the case with a gem I encountered from Family Hack, a blog created by the Davis family of Charlottesville, Va. At least that's the family's home base, although they spends much of their time traveling - the subject of the blog.

PHILADELPHIA Domenico Scicchitano has no need for famous foodie Michael Pollan, "slow food," or any other trend that celebrates the way people long ago cooked and ate.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. At a time when Inspiration Networks has been cutting jobs, freezing wages and even adjusting the office thermostat to save money, the chief executive of the Charlotte, N.C.-area broadcaster has invested about $4 million in a lakefront home under construction in South Carolina.

Some handy how-tos from the August issue of Fine Gardening magazine:

Outside the back door of Kim Caruso's home in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee is a beautiful yard.

Along with a three-day supply of water, food that won't spoil, medicine and other supplies in preparation for hurricane season, you should also be squirreling away important documents to keep them safe from damage.