Purina Cat Chow continues its three-year commitment to breast cancer awareness by donating $200,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

These are the top 24 finalists out of more than 400 photos submitted in this year's Lowcountry Paws Cutest Pet Contest. Voting is now open to select the top 12 pets, who will be featured on the 2011 calendar that will be printed later this year.

I have always been fascinated by headboards. I am quite the expert, as I really sleep around. Not what it sounds like: I just stay in a massive amount of different hotels and friends' guest rooms during my constant travels around the globe. A headboard is decorative.

The Charleston Horticultural Society is accepting applications for its 2010 garden docent training course. Fifteen trainees will study the plants, people and places that define Charleston gardening. Their training will include lectures, demonstrations and field trips to private and public...

You probably have seen this one's bright butter-yellow flowers, the plants commonly abundant in old agricultural fields and roadsides. The plants sometimes are present in the thousands, and they can produce a brilliant floral display in the fall, sometimes even through a light frost.

LOS ANGELES -- So you're a renter and you want to green your space, but your landlord won't splurge on solar panels. Don't fret.

Q My old asphalt shingle roof is leaking and it has ugly dark streaks. I am thinking about installing a metal roof this time. Will a metal roof be hotter and are there tax credits for it? A: Installing most, but not all, metal roofing will actually keep your house much cooler, not hotter.

There's nothing like some me time in a luxurious spa after a long day. And it takes just a little effort to transform your own bathroom into just such a place, an oasis in which to relax and rejuvenate. Some simple fixes and inexpensive accessories can do the trick, designers say.

I have had dogs almost my entire life. Most of them were members of the Heinz 57 variety that were given to us by a friend who had too many puppies. Later, on the advice of a friend, we got our first registered breed, a Shih Tzu.

In the garden --Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then, feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year. --To prolong bloom into fall,...

While I love the charm of wood floors, I confess that I think of them as a blank canvas just waiting to be dressed up with the right area rug. Areas rugs are a key component of a well-designed room.

Q: My neighbor and I have patches in our yards of sparse, light-green grass that grows faster than the rest of the lawn. Even during the recent dry spell, this stuff kept growing. What is it, and what can we do about it?

My grandpa was a Ninja. There's no other way to explain his toenails. They were sharp enough to cut holes through his slippers. I'm not kidding. Maybe he used them to climb walls. Like a Ninja. Maybe he used them as switchblades. Like a Ninja.

Wicked, wacky or just a little tacky, when it comes to yard art in the Lowcountry, there are plenty of pieces worth stopping to consider. Each piece functions as a window into the personality of the owner who decides to put it out there for all to see.

Q: I have semisweet chocolate squares that have turned white. Can I still use them? A: The white haze is called bloom.

There are two steps to canning. First you must sterilize the jars; then you have to process them when filled.