Dear Heloise >> A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I invited a few friends over for a cocktail hour, and everything was fine until I saw a guest pull out his cigarettes and light up. I went over to him, and I asked him as quietly as I could to please smoke outside. Both my husband and I have respiratory issues that are affected by smoking. He became angry and said I was rude. He grabbed his wife and stormed out of the house.

We have a no smoking sign just above the doorbell, one in each bathroom, and one on a needlepoint pillow on our sofa. No one else smoked that evening -- some have given it up, while others respect the fact that we don’t smoke.

In this day and age, when so many people have quit smoking due to health hazards, I thought it was only polite to ask if you could light up in someone else’s home. Even if we didn’t have problems with our lungs, I hate the smell of cigarette smoke and that awful yellow smoke stain that eventually lands on everything. The last thing I need is a cigarette burn on my furniture or ashes and cigarette butts in my cups and dishes.

Heloise, please remind people to ask permission from the host or hostess before smoking in another person’s home. As so many people have quit the use of tobacco, it just seems uncouth to assume it’s OK to smoke is someone else’s home.

— Joel and Kelly M., Arlington, Virginia

Joel and Kelly, you’re right. It’s only good manners to request permission to smoke in another person’s home. Not only does the smoker risk their health, but the health of others in the room. I have a cross-stitched sign in my home that reads, “If you’re smoking in this house, you’d better be on fire.”

Lost an earring and don’t know what to do with the one that’s left?

• Remove the backing and use as a decoration on a gift (maybe in the center of a bow).

• Collect all of your orphaned earrings, remove the backs, glue together and make a lapel pin out of the earrings.

• Have a ring made out of the one earring if it’s a valuable stone.

• Have a jeweler make it into a pendant for a necklace.

Dear Heloise >> It seems as though I always break off a couple stems while I’m repotting a plant. Someone once told me that this doesn’t mean it can’t be repotted. Do you know what she meant?

— Casey L., Kingston, Tennessee

Casey, yes, you can place the leaf in water, and after a few days, it might start to show the beginning of its roots. Keep the leaf in the water, adding a little bit of fresh water every day. Some people will dip the stem of the leaf in a leaf-starter product, which you can find in a plant nursery. This way, you can get two plants for the price of one!

Write to Heloise at P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; Fax 210-HELOISE; or email Heloise@Heloise.com.