Happy Halloween! Here’s hoping for all treats and no tricks this year as the H1N1 virus rears its ugly head in every neighborhood around the country. But the little ghosts and goblins who come knocking on your door still want to have fun, so let’s let them enjoy their night of frights with a few tips to keep the spread of germs in check.

• Stress the importance of not sharing candy or drinks with others.
  
• Tell your kids to wash their hands often, and well—and you do the same between handing out treats.
  
• Consider handing out non-food treats, like stickers or pencils.
  
• Use a scoop instead of your hands to get the treats into the kids’ bags.

Once your trick-or-treaters have returned home, inspect their bags, and toss any candy with wet or torn wrappers. Then keep the rest of the treats in a clean bag, and don’t touch them for two days—which is plenty of time for lingering germs to die.

And if you’re still wracking your brain for the perfect last-minute costume, how about going as the one thing everyone fears most this Halloween—the swine flu! Search online for an image of what the virus looks like under a microscope. Then paint your face to match the image, add pig ears, a pig snout, and a curly pink tail. And happy haunting!

Boo! Get ready for the spookiest time of the year—that’s right; Halloween is just a week away. So have you picked out a pumpkin to carve into a jack-o’-lantern yet? Here are a few timely tips that’ll help you get the job done just in time for trick-or-treat night frights:

• Liven things up this year, and choose a pumpkin that’s not perfectly round or evenly colored. You can use the imperfections to give monstrous character to your design.
  
• Add a notch to the pumpkin’s top when you remove it to make a lid. Otherwise you’ll have a devil of a time remembering which way it goes on.
  
• When you’ve decided on your design, draw it on the pumpkin’s surface with a dry-erase marker so you can wipe away any stray marks after you’re done cutting.
  
• Ice cream scoops are ideal tools for scraping out the pumpkin guts, and paring knives are just the ticket for cutting out the facial features.
  

Once your pumpkin is carved to perfection, find a place of horror—er—honor for it on your front porch. And when it’s time to clean up the mess, don’t throw away those pumpkin seeds! They’re a good, concentrated source of zinc, a critical virus-fighter. Separate the seeds from the pulp under running water, then spread them on a cooking sheet in a single layer. Coat them with non-stick cooking spray, then sprinkle them lightly with salt. Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes or so, until toasted. Then gobble ‘em up!

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In a week or so, our trees are gonna start droppin’ leaves like there’s no tomorrow. And before you know it, we’re going to have to deal with gunked-up gutters. But this year, the job will be a whole lot easier because I’m using a DIY gutter scoop that’s made from an empty laundry bottle. Here’s how to do it:

• Start with a plastic fabric softener, detergent, or bleach bottle that’s no wider than your gutters. Most standard 100-oz. bottles will fit just fine, but choose a bottle that’s got a handle.
• Rinse the bottle out, and replace the cap.
• Turn the bottle so that the handle is on top, and slice off the bottom with a pair of scissors. Make sure the cut is angled so that the bottom of the bottle is much longer than the top—cut the top back nearly to the handle.

That’s all there is to it—your scoop is ready to slide along the gutter, scraping up any and all leaves and debris that are in its path. So grab some garden gloves and an extension ladder and dig in. Just a few words of caution before you get started, though: Whenever you’re up on a ladder, make sure you move it with you as you work, or you’ll stretch beyond your reach and could lose your balance. And never, ever hang on to a gutter or downspout because they can let loose with the slightest pull.

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I’m heading outside this weekend to plant a bunch of tulip, daffodil, and crocus bulbs for a terrific explosion of color next spring. My super secret to getting two—or even three times—the blooms in the same amount of garden space is a fantastic layering trick! All you do is dig one hole about 8 inches deep, then plant several layers of bulbs in the same spot. Here’s how:

1. Set the bulbs of the latest bloomers you’ve chosen (usually late tulips or lilies) in the bottom of the hole.
2. Replace enough soil to barely cover the tips of those bulbs, then set in the next layer (early and midseason tulips are a good choice, and so are daffodils).
3. Repeat the process of adding more soil, then setting in the top layer of smaller bulbs (perhaps a mix of snow crocuses for extra-early color and squills for a little later color).
4. Finish with a mulch of leaves, shredded bark, or wood chips, plus a scattering of moth crystals over the top to help keep critters away.

Remember, the biggest mistake you can make when planting bulbs is to scatter them all over the place. Trust me—whether you’re planting 20 bulbs or 200, you’ll always get the biggest bang for your gardening buck by growing ‘em in groups. A half-dozen bulbs is a bare minimum for each group, but you know what they say: The more, the merrier!

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I’ve been so caught up in cheering on my favorite Major League Baseball team as the pennant race heats up (go Tigers!), that I’ve given myself blisters from playing too much catch between innings. I’m no major leaguer, but blisters sideline even the toughest players—and I don’t want to let one put me on the disabled list.

The only time a blister is really dangerous is when it gets infected, so the best way to keep nasty germs at bay is to clean it (and the surrounding skin) once or twice a day. Wash the area well with soap and water, then dry it thoroughly. Too much moisture will soften the blister and make it more likely to break open before it’s ready.

Even though it’s good to protect a blister with a bandage, you should keep it uncovered for at least 20 minutes a day. A little air circulation will help protect the area from infection-causing bacteria, which thrive in dark, moist places.

If you’re still worried about infection, do what my Grandma Putt did for me when I was a kid: Add a teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme to a cup of hot water and steep for about 10 minutes. Let the liquid cool to room temperature, pour some on a cloth, and hold it against your blister for about 20 minutes. Repeat once or twice daily until the blister is gone.

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