Dear Heloise: I went online to learn how to make fortune cookies (it’s not difficult), and on a piece of paper that was 3 inches long and a 1/2 inch in width, I wrote out fortunes such as: “Temptation is sometimes mistaken for opportunity,” or “Take a much-needed vacation to a sunny place.” I placed the fortune cookies in a basket on the table during dessert. It was a big success because so many “fortunes” hit home with my friends.

— M.D., Bristol, Connecticut

MEMORABLE PILLOWS

Dear Heloise: When my husband passed away, I took all his Western shirts and made pillows for my great-grandkids. I also gave each one a picture of him wearing the shirt when he was holding them through the years. To this day, they still treasure these pillows and the memories with him. Each one of them got a different shirt and photo.

— L.N., in Canby, Minnesota

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Dear Heloise: Why are so many people angry and vocal these days? It seems like no one is happy.

— R.T., in Darby, Montana

R.T., angry, vocal people make the news, but there are many happy people in the world. Make up your mind to be one of them!

— Heloise

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

Dear Heloise: When I’d get a bonus at work, sometimes I wouldn’t tell my husband. I ended up feeling guilty, so my hint is to come clean. Tell your spouse everything and share the wealth. My marriage is better for this.

— Susan, in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Susan, I completely agree with your new M.O. Honesty is always the best policy. And don’t worry: If you’re longing for a great new outfit, pedicure, or designer bag, let him know, make sure it fits in the budget, and allow him a new fishing reel or a computer game that he wants.

— Heloise

LEND AND LET GO

Dear Heloise: My father always said, “Don’t lend money that you can’t do without,” but this can apply to anything you lend. If you lend something to a neighbor, friend or relative, and this person doesn’t return it, you can “let it go” rather than harbor feelings of resentment, anger, a grudge, or anything that will hinder your relationship with them.

— C.M., in Athens, Ohio

UNKNOWN CALLERS

Dear Heloise: I keep reading in your columns all these different ways to avoid phone calls, and it made me aware that a lot of folks may not realize there is a convenience built into our smartphones for this problem:

Go to settings, then to apps, and select the phone menu. (This might be different depending on your brand of phone.) Scroll down to “silence unknown callers” and turn it on.

Now any caller who is not in your contacts list will automatically go to voicemail. My voicemail message says that I’m either away from my phone or that you are not one of my contacts. If you want me to call back, you need to leave a message.

Very few spam calls bother to even leave a message.

— Kasey, in Prescott, Arizona

Send a great hint to Heloise@Heloise.com.