TEMPTING
BITS OF
INTEREST
AND INFO.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

EDITOR

Hit Me
With
Your Best
Shot

You may be one of the lucky
ones whose health insurance
includes immunizations, but
there are more than a few poli-
cies out there that do not.
If your health insurance
does not cover immunizations
and you're eager to part with
your money, you can pay your
physician for the shots yourself.
Or you can call the Oakland
County Health Division.
The health division regularly
offers immunizations, at no
charge, to all children who re-
side in Oakland County. For in-
formation, call the department
at (810) 424-7046.

Pillow

collection of three pillows, each
side of which bears a single
word. Placed together, the pil-
lows can form such phrases as
"I Love You" and "Read Me
Stories." The set, with a total of
18 different words, also can be
used to make every parent's
most oft-repeated phrase, "Time
For Bed," plus another handy
message (just in case children
didn't get the idea the first
time): "You Are Sleepy."
These colorful pillows, with
writing in green, purple and
red, are each 5" x 5" and made
of 100 percent cotton canvas.
They cost $49 a set and are
available at the Print Gallery,
29203 Northwestern Highway
in Southfield, (810) 356-5454.
The pillows are part of a new
children's gift collection at the
Print Gallery. The collection
also features Ecostuff Furniture,
which children can decorate
themselves (yes, you'll actually

vorites as "Puff, the Magic
Dragon" and "When You
Wish Upon a Star"; and wall
posters and prints by Mary -En-
gelbreit, Richard Scarry and
Beatrix Potter.

Talk about a car that packs
power!
Kars for Kids is a Washington

Also instrumental in creating
the cars was Steve Shores, an
occupational therapist at Good
Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup,
Wash. Mr. Shores is responsible
for the design of the car's seat,
with a local high school teacher
and students having created its
electronic system.
The cars include tiny switch-
es which can be easily activated
by little hands, or head controls
for children unable to move
their fingers. One even features
a straw so its driver can
blow inside to activate.
movement
The buggies are lent
indefinitely to families,
with the local Lions
Club picking up the tab
for each (at a cost of
$500 a car).
For information, con-
tact Kars for Kids, 11507
45th Street East,
Puyallup, Wash., 98372,
or call 1-206-863-4659.

How To
ale
A Good
pres-

:

T HE A PPL ET R EE

A young driver takes to the road in a Kar for Kids.

B

Who knows which one of these
messages Doris Day might have
picked when she filmed her
classic Pillow Talk, but we bet
you'll be opting often enou
for "You are sleepy."
Former Detroiter Craig Var-
terian has created a charming

want your boys and girls to
draw and paint all over the fur-
niture!), the ZOLO building
sets with cool and weird op-art
body parts that can be put to-
gether to form cool and weird
op-art creatures; step stools and
photo frames that play such fa-

state-based company that has
created child-sized, customized
buggies that make getting
around a lot easier for children
with severe physical disabilities.
The electronic cars are made
individually to meet the needs
of each owner by the nonprofit
organization, which was crated
by Dep. Sheriff Dick Ritthaler, in
memory of his son, Joey, the
first to try out one of the six-
wheeled cars.
Joey, who died in 1994,
was born in 1980 with cere-
bral palsy.

1 on

key. S

If you have young children,
you no doubt know all about
Play-Doh. And just when you
thought there's nothing new
you could do with it, here's a
fun game to try.
Take a large piece of Play-
Doh and divide into small
pieces, about 1/2" thick each.
Roll each into a ball then flat-
ten, leaving the top smooth.
Now challenge your child to
make impressions that you
can't guess. You'll have to close