Ask Mavis: Greenhouse Heaters, Pasta Feed Tips, Chicago Travel Tips and More

It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:

Hi Mavis, I’m in Indiana and this is my first year having a greenhouse. It’s going to get cold soon so I was wondering what is the best type of heater for a greenhouse.

~T.J.

Electric fan heaters are best for heating greenhouses in my opinion. You have to be careful about placement, though. Put them in an open, central spot at one end of the greenhouse. Obviously avoid placing it where the heater is likely to come into contact with water. If necessary you may need to angle the heater slightly to direct the airflow above plants that are too close to it. This will prevent them from getting too hot and dying off. You might also want to try heated propagation mats to help your seeds germinate.

Hello! Would welcome & appreciate cheapest travel & destinations that my two granddaughters (14 & 15 yrs old), myself can make for $1,000. It isn’t the best travel time for this month but any of your help would be great! They both love to travel, not by car (“BORING”). We live between St Louis, MO & Memphis, TN in SE MO. Thought about Chicago but wouldn’t know what to do after we got there that they would have fun with. If you are busy & I don’t hear back from you, I’ll know there is nothing you can recommend. Thank you for reading!

~Danetta

There are so many fun things to do in Chicago on the cheap. First on your list should be a slice of deep dish pizza. You can’t go to Chicago and not eat deep dish! But then you can fill you days with all sorts of free activities. The Loyola University Museum of Art offer free admission on Tuesdays, the Chicago Cultural Center has a full calendar of FREE art exhibits, music and dance performances, film screenings and lectures, or you can take a Free Tours by Foot. Navy Pier, Millennium Park, or the Lincoln Park Zoo are also awesome free places to visit! In the winter at the zoo, ZooLights illuminates the grounds with colorful displays of light, and has activities, rides and crafts for all ages.

Another suggestion if you decide not to do Chicago would be Boston. I LOVE Boston. I think your granddaughters would as well. There is so much to do and see there, and if you hit up Priceline, you can find great deals on hotels! Check out my post on 10 Things to Do in Boston.

I was reading about how you fed all those people from your husband’s work dinner so quickly. I’m in that same boat. I have just a few days to plan a big dinner after my daughter told me her entire choir was coming over to our house for dinner after their Christmas concert (gotta love those teems!). Help!!!

~Kimber

Deep breath. I’ve got you covered. Host a pasta feed. We’ve been doing it a few times a year for our kids’ sports teams throughout their school careers. We’ll feed upwards of 50 kids and get this, it’s actually pretty simple. Here are my Tips For Hosting a Pasta Feed in Your Home. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

I just stumbled onto your $20/$20 Challenge and love seeing all the pantries. Is there anywhere I can go to see all the ones you’ve posted so far?

~Sam

You’re in luck. The $20/$20 Challenge: Show Your Pantry – Fill a Pantry has been a big hit, so there are tons of pantries to scroll though. See all of them by heading HERE. Enjoy and beware of pantry envy!!

Have a question?  Submit it HERE, and I’ll try to answer them.

~Mavis