• Homemade liqueurs: Gifts to sip and savor
  Homemade gifts from the kitchen are culinary treasures. They have a personal touch and in these challenging economic times, a present from hearth and heart seems especially meaningful. So when I spied A.J. Rathbun's new book, "Luscious Liqueurs" (Harvard Common Press, $12.95) I knew I'd found the blueprint for my '08 holiday gifts.

• ALL BUSINESS: Economics 101, by way of toy hamster
  In a world full of economic indicators, the best one during the holiday season may prove to be a furry toy hamster.

• Palliative medicine draws doctors interested in easing suffering
  It was a personal experience that first exposed Dr. Christine Cofer to palliative medicine.

• Our Health: Will a live it' book work better than diet books?
  We all know we are an obese nation, constantly worrying about what we eat and eating all the wrong things anyway.

• Landreth Seed Co. turns 225, launches African-American collection
  Six years ago, when Barbara Melera bought the venerable D. Landreth Seed Co., it had been decades since Landreths were at the helm, and the company no longer specialized in the vegetables and flowers that had built its fine reputation.

• Christian leaders issue 'call of conscience'
  More than 150 Christian leaders, most of them conservative evangelicals and traditionalist Roman Catholics, issued a joint declaration Friday reaffirming their opposition to abortion and gay marriage and pledging to protect religious freedoms.

• Should your walls go black?
  Black walls aren't just for Goth kids and heavy metal fans anymore. They're popping up in upscale shelter magazines, hipster design blogs and just about everywhere in between. Witness the black dining room at the Benjamin Moore paints Web site, where "Black Satin" is one of the featured "Colors for Your Home, 2009."

• Kentucky routs Sam Houston State
  Kentucky made a season-high 11 three-point baskets. That made the Cats the weak sister from the perimeter Thursday night.

• Cuban blogger urges U.S. Congress to lift travel ban
  A high-octane effort to let U.S. tourists visit Cuba got a major endorsement Thursday from one of the island's leading dissidents, who suggested that "along with suitcases, Bermuda shorts and sun block, support, solidarity and freedom could come, too."

• 36 states may miss Real ID deadline
  While Congress debates national health care legislation that could put new fiscal burdens on the states, the nation's governors are pushing Capitol Hill for a reprieve from another costly federal program that states have long criticized: Real ID.

• Snapdragons are simply irresistible
  No matter where you live in the country, there is a season when snapdragons will absolutely steal the show in your landscape. In zones 7 and warmer, many gardeners plant them in the fall as pansy partners. They are planted in late winter to early spring in colder areas where they give riotous colors almost all summer.

• Fixit: Some are more prone to head lice; removing scratches from glass; placing CO alarms
  Q: Are some children more prone to get head lice than others? It seems to me that it's more of a problem with girls, but maybe it just seems that way because it's so much trouble dealing with long hair.

• Cheat Sheet: Shoveling snow needn't break your back or heart
  This is one of my foolish annual exercises. I call it providing information on shoveling snow, from buying shovels to rearranging your snowfall without breaking your back or giving you a heart attack.

• Home energy Q&A
  A GUIDE TO HOME ENERGY SAVING STRATEGIES (Part 3 of 3)

• Real estate Q&A
  Question: I read your article posted online regarding the future of real estate. I noted your comment about there being fewer homeowners, and specifically fewer homeowners of expensive homes, for the future. The number of homeownership reached its peak in 2006 and is viewed as being "unsustainable" in the years to come.

• Neighbors work together to take care of vacant homes
  Eric Blount, 51, an accountant at DTE Energy, spent the spring and summer mowing grass at his own yard in Detroit's Sherwood Forest and also at the large corner lot next door.

• Overdraft protection underdone: Opting out of automatic coverage for lack of funds didn't help one consumer
  For Benjamin Cohen, August arrived like a bear this year, tearing into both his life and his finances.

• Home and garden news and notes
  WHAT'S NEW: TOOTHBRUSH IS SELF-CLEANING

• Handmade items in big demand
  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Clint and Lacey Loumaster of Lenexa, Kan., met in an advanced calculus class. But the husband and wife share more in common than a prowess for complicated math.

• A haven for his work; Artist uses found items, skills to create home, sculpture garden
  MILWAUKEE - In a bark burl at the bottom of a woodpile, Paul Bobrowitz saw a mask with a wise man's face. In an old sewing machine case, he saw a handy computer printer table.

• Do-it-yourselfer Q&A
  Q: I want to paint several rooms in my house this winter and would like to use paint that is healthful and safe for the ecology. How can I be sure I am getting that kind of paint? -Maryann

• Lipstick Mystic Love Forecast
  WEEK OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 TO SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2009

• Award-winning illustrator is living his dream
  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Driving east on 31st Street in midtown Kansas City, Mo., you can't help but smile. On the concrete wall of a plain, single-story building is a large and simple cartoon drawing:

• Home Base: So many decor rules, so little obedience
  I was hesitant to place furniture in a room other than where it was intended to go - until I fell in love with a nightstand that complemented my living room sofa. I wonder if I broke the rules.

• A garden fit for a Hobbit: A little bit of Middle Earth survives in Texas
  "Beyond this place there be dragons," reads the sign over a courtyard door, visible once you've walked across a drawbridge, over a moat and passed through ornate iron gates. Let it be known there are talking trees and fairy woods, too.