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One of the most common challenges that I am asked to address by readers is what to do about windows. It may be that they have windows that are an awkward shape, or placed too high or too low. Others have too many windows, or too few.

Trekking into the back garden on the hunt for dinner remains a significant satisfaction at this time in the year, even after many years of growing and enjoying a winter food garden.

Dear Helen: My favourite and most-used herb is basil, which I try to grow in pots at a window through the winter. My preference is for the large-leaved 鈥淕enovese鈥� type basil. My problem is that my seed-grown plants grow too big and flop over.

Dear Tony: I want to thank you for your many years of columns, and hope that you would consider a column about the really good side of living in a condo.

Like a bespoke suit that鈥檚 perfectly measured, cut and tailored, this elegant penthouse, recently purchased by a Calgary couple, has a refined and chic ambience.

Dear Debbie: We have decided to rip up our carpets and put down hardwood floors. It鈥檚 a big investment and we want them to last a long time. There are so many choices of colours and even the size of the planks.

Dear Reena: My mother always told me that lettuce should be hand torn and never cut with a knife. Is this true or is it a myth? Aim茅e Dear Aim茅e: Many cooks believe that lettuce that touches metal will prematurely turn brown.

New Year鈥檚 Day dinner was memorable this year. A friend and her son had put together a spectacular beef Wellington, accompanied by roasted yams, green and white asparagus, and mashed rutabaga.

Dear Helen: I marvelled at your account of a Red Lion amaryllis blooming several years in a row. Here鈥檚 my story: In the spring, I moved a planter holding six Red Lion amaryllis bulbs outdoors.

Dear Tony: We had our AGM on Saturday, and our property manager ended up chairing our meeting. The manager also did registration, certified proxies and took the minutes.