Dear Sun Spots: For the person looking for a recipe for watermelon pickles: I have my husband’s grandmother’s from Nova Scotia. I make it every year and it’s so delicious:

Watermelon pickles ingredients: 6 cups water, 9 cups peeled watermelon rind, 1 cup white vinegar, 4 cups sugar, ¼ teaspoon oil of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon oil of cloves (both oils may be found in your local health food store). First day: Bring water to a boil in a large pan. Add rind and simmer until tender when pierced with a fork (about 10-15 minutes). Drain thoroughly and place in a glass bowl. Combine sugar, vinegar and oils in pan. Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Pour syrup over rind, cook, cover and let stand overnight. Second day: Drain rind, save syrup. Heat syrup to boil, pour over rind, cool, cover and let stand overnight. Third day: Same as second. Fourth day: Heat rind and syrup to boiling point. Add two to three drops red food color. (Makes it pretty). Pack immediately in sterilized jars. Seal tightly. Makes about three pints. This is well worth the lengthy preparation! – Alice Brown, No Town.

Dear Sun Spots: A craft fair to benefit the eighth grade at Strong School will be held Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tables are available by calling (207) 684-3521. – Carolyn Allen, No Town.

Dear Sun Spots: I recently bought a house with some great closets in it. One of the closets must have been used for storing winter clothes. There is an awful mothball smell. The house was built in the late 1920s and looks like it has plaster walls. Any ideas on how to get rid of this offensive mothball odor? I put a test shirt in and it reeks of the smell so we can’t use the closet until the smell is gone. Thank you. – Daisy from Rumford.

Answer: In addition to helpful tips from readers, Sun Spots contacted ServiceMaster ( P.O. Box 191, Oxford, ME 04270, 1-800-244-7630, (207) 783-6310, (207) 539-4452) to discuss your challenge and spoke with Cathy Stevenson, one of the owners, who says one option is to wash the inside of the closet, including shelving, racks, doors, walls and anything else then air it by leaving the door open all the time. Another option is also to use a small box fan. Stevenson does not recommend adding other scents as they are not liable to work. If the odor has penetrated the paintwork and you can paint it, first wash the paintwork down and consider sealing with Benz Kilz and then repaint it.

Servicemaster Clean serves Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford and Cumberland counties.

In the meantime, Sun Spots also located a tip from Heloise about trying an enzyme-based-pet-odor remover to see if that’ll help. Follow the directions on the package. Sun Spots also found references to thermo-fog deodorizing smoke as another option. Stevensen says it will look like you’re filling the house with smoke and it’s supposed to penetrate the surfaces but she believes you might consider using this is a last resort since it leaves a lemony scent that may also prove to be bothersome.

Dear Sun Spots: A Christmas craft fair will be held at Fayette Central School Gym, Route 17, Fayette, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 19. Tables are still available for $10 each. Items being sold include soaps, candles, quilts, mittens, Rada knives and more. Please call Sue at (207) 685-4702 to reserve a table. Admission is free. – Suzanne Rich, Fayette.

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