If you're like me, you absolutely love to shop. But even we shopaholics feel a bit of angst when we stare down our long holiday gift lists. There is so much pressure to pick a perfect, thoughtful gift that you're tempted to start your shopping marathon at the confections store, where you can draw on the power of chocolate for inspiration and reinforcement.

Q: My wife insists that we remodel the bathroom because the tub, toilet and sink are all a lime-green color from the 1970s. I can do the work myself, but I know from experience that removing the tub will require removing a wall or two. Then there is the problem of getting a new tub and shower up the steps and into the bathroom.

Dear Helaine and Joe: I have finally summoned the courage to write and ask about this whirligig discovered in the barn of the old house my husband and I bought. I have no idea how old it is, or whether it's valuable. It is missing some of the deep maroon- and cream-colored paint; otherwise, it's intact. There are no names or markings. Thanks for your help. -- P.W., Methuen, Mass.

We'll bet that the inventor of the Christmas card, British illustrator John Calcott Horsley, never anticipated that his first commercially printed card in 1843 would be the forerunner of a global phenomenon. In the United States alone, we buy and exchange more than 2 billion (yes, billion) cards between November and December.

Americans are attending college in record numbers. According to a Pew Research Center study, 11.3 million Americans ages 18 to 24 attended college in 2008, continuing an upward trend that began 30 years ago.

'Tis the season for soft and cuddly fleece.

I love this pillow project because it doesn't require a sewing machine, and the finished product can be as simple or as embellished as you like. The secret is using knots to tie the front and back fabrics together, because fleece fabric doesn't need to be hemmed.

FOXBORO, Mass. - Bill Belichick cursed his New England Patriots after they blew a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead at Indianapolis.

"He (chewed us out) pretty good on the things we did wrong," quarterback Tom Brady said. "There were no hugs in the locker room."

Jets coach Rex Ryan cried while talking to his team the day after they lost to Jacksonville.