Great advice!  Wish I had gotten it years ago before I discovered Teva flip-flops and Chanel flats.  Maybe that’s why my feet have gotten even flatter.

A couple of years ago, I had to make the decision between continuing to play tennis or wearing high heels.  Playing tennis won out. For dress up, the only heels that don’t leave me limping the next day—because they are such a good fit—are Ferragamas.

I would like to know Dr. Levine’s opinion of Belgian shoes?  In the winter, I wear Belgians, some of which I started wearing twenty years ago. 

Generosity, is a huge draw for me.  If a man is stingy with money, he will also be stingy with his affections.  It isn’t about material things.  As long as he is generous with his time and he’s tender, that’s enough for me.  

A good sense of humor and sense of space make me like him even more. I stay away from grumps. Happiness is contagious; if he’s happy, it rubs off on me. He also has to be curious about the world around him.  I need a lot of space and he has to understand that.

As an on-line etiquette consultant, I monitor my site 24/7.  First thing in the morning, I answer questions from those who wrote me late at night or who live in other time zones.  Going out the door for dinner, I often find a question that I have to answer, even if it means that I’ll be more than fashionably late. Checking my Web site is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing that I do before turning off the light.

Some questions take only a couple of minutes to answer, others can take three hours to properly cover all the bases. No day is ever the same. One question will inspire a new chapter for my book.  Another will change my whole take on a tricky etiquette dilemma.  

Having a Web site as a research tool is one of the best things I’ve ever done.  All thanks to my brilliant agent, Esmond Harmsworth, who recently inspired a new entry on canine dinner party etiquette for my book on manners in our time.  

Last week, Esmond e-mailed "A very low-key invitation" for a grilled lamb barbecue mentioning that canines would be welcome.  As it turned out, the celebration was in honor of Eloise’s fifth birthday.  The party for the beloved yellow Lab was a huge success despite the fact that a couple of rowdy guests had to be sent home or taken out to the car.  Some guests were on leashes.  The more mature, relaxed guests knew how to behave and freely roamed the house and grounds.  The French Poodles seemed to have the most difficulty socializing.  

Needless to say, writing the on-line thank-you note was a challenge for this etiquette consultant. 

Thank you, Maggie.  The diatomaceaus earth sounds like the long term solution.  I’ve been using the slug killing granules for years.  They may be keeping the slugs somewhat at bay, but by this time of year the army is in full command of my garden.

I’m not sure what to do with my climbing roses at this point.  There is a high fence covered with brown spotted yellow leaves and the roses have turned to pod (not sure if that is the right word).  Would you suggest cutting the the branches down?  And if so, to how high?  Also, in the past I’ve pruned the skinny branches, but now most of the branches are twig width.  The climbing roses look glorious in June and most of July but by mid-August they really look sad and sickly.  The early bloom is fine.  The second bloom is glorious.  But then for the rest of the summer the climbing roses are a mess.

Thank you for your good advice. By the way, here in Newport, RI the climate is so mild that I actually have non-climbing roses in bloom at Thanksgiving.  So you see it is a long growing season here on the island. 

Does anyone have a way to get rid of snails?  I could start an escargot restaurant with all the snails multiplying in my garden.  I’ve been using the recommended products from our local nursery, but the snail population is thriving.  They particularly like my clemetis.  As they climb from leaf to leaf they leave dead leaves behind. 

My other problem is a rust on the leaves of my climbing roses.  Once again, I have been using a product from the local nursery for several years that doesn’t work.  My climbing roses will be covered with buds, then the leaves will become speckled with dark spots and a dust of red rust powders the underbelly of the leaf.  The leaves then turn from green to yellow, to brown and fall off.  Any suggestions?  I’ve tried hand picking off the leaves as they become spotted, but it spreads so quickly that I can’t keep up with it.

The Woodstock experience was phenomenal.  People everywhere—on the treks in and out and while we were there—were kindhearted, warmhearted, and big-hearted.  

My parents founded the Newport Jazz Festival (the first outdoor music festival) and the Newport Folk Festival, so going to Woodstock was a natural for me.  It was in my blood to be there.  No way, would I have missed being there at Woodstock.

The music was amazing, truly awesome.  I can remember waking Sunday morning to Jimmy Hendrix and finding myself surrounded by Hell’s Angles giving out breakfast bars and bottled water.  When you’re young and connected to the music, weather doesn’t matter.  It was the camaraderie and the magnetic music that drew us there and then pulled us altogether.

I highly recommend three books by Maile Meloy with coming of age themes.  I couldn’t put them down until I finished them.  All three are quite a treat.  

They are great summer reads whether you’re lying on the beach or awake in the wee hours of the morning.  Her first novel, "Saints and Liars," and two collections of short stories, "Both Ways Is The Only Way I want It" and "Half In Love," are beautifully and brilliantly crafted.  

In my opinion, Maile Meloy is in that special category with Joy Williams.