1. What is your favorite American band?
I was going to say Billy Joel, but he’s not a band, just a person.
I’m listening to a lot of Plain White T’s these days.

2. What is your favorite song about America or with America or American in the title?
“American Woman” by the Guess Who. I know people have said it’s chauvinistic, and the band says it’s not, but really, it’s a kicky tune, and parts of it are kind of sexy. Don McLean’s “American Pie” comes in a close second.

3. Do you have any L.P. records? If so, how many and what is your most treasured?
I used to, but we finally got rid of them. I had an original copy of the children’s album “Free to Be You and Me” and I loved it. Recently, I bought the CD, just to have.

4. Name another use for an L.P. record other than playing it.
45’s make excellent coasters, and 33’s make great frisbees. 78’s are too brittle to play with, but look cool with a planter on top of them. Also, several 45’s strung on fishing line hanging from dowels = a kickass mobile.

You, too can mambo, here.

Home improvements come in many sizes, from the small things like replacing washers in sink faucets, to more obvious ones like replacing doors and windows. One of the most expensive variants of the latter is dealing with double-paned windows, when the seal breaks. You can always tell when this happens, because they fog up inside. It isn’t pretty, and if you have wood window frames, it can lead to mildew or rot, as well.

If you’re in the UK, however, you have an excellent resource at your service, especially if double glazing is what you’re after. What resource? It’s Anglian Home Improvements, a company that has been around for roughly 30 years, and specializes in windows.

More than just replacing old windows with new, Anglian also builds lovely conservatories to meld with any style home (I’m suddenly wishing we had space for one, or could replace the deck with one, though anything glass around my house is usually covered in dog-nose prints too soon to be worth it), and handles garage conversions as well.

They offer free quotes, and a 10-year guarantee on their work.

Check them out.