DEAR SUN SPOTS: The L&A Veterans Council would like readers to know that Veterans Day and the holidays is a perfect time to gift a family or friend an inscription of their veteran’s name on our Monument No. 33 at Veterans Memorial Park on Main Street in Lewiston.

We have one side completed and are taking names to complete the list on the other side, which will be in two columns of 54 names each. We have to have both sides completed before we can submit the stone to Collette Monuments for engraving.

The only prerequisite is that the veteran has served honorably. We need proof of service, either with a copy of an honorable discharge, DD214, a photo of dog tags, military cemetery marker, or obits stating the veteran served in the military. The cost of inscription is still $35.

All information is on the application on where to send it once completed, etc. Applications can be downloaded from the City of Lewiston (lewistonmaine.gov) or the City of Auburn (auburnmaine.com) websites. Type “veteran” in the search box and it will bring you to the Veterans Memorial Park page where you can get all the applications needed.

If any family member or friend of a veteran would like to have a veteran’s name on Monument No. 33, please call or e-mail me at 782-1725 or nmcote@roadrunner.com

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Acorns are quite abundant this year. Do you or your readers have any viable suggestions of what to do with nature’s bounty? It would be nice to have many available acres to systematically plant these acorns Johnny Appleseed-style and create an oak forest. Prepared a certain way, acorns are edible. Are there any other suggestions for their use? — Mark, no town

ANSWER: Acorns can be used in fall or winter decorations, but they have to be really dry first. Choose brown ones with the caps intact, and if you like, spray them with gold or silver paint to decorate the Christmas tree and holiday wreaths.

You are right; acorns are edible IF they are correctly and carefully prepared. You can find good instructions online, including recipes for using both whole acorns and the flour made from them at several websites including https://www.almanac.com/how-prepare-and-cook-acorns. The acorns have a rich nutty taste and although it is a bit of a fuss, you may find it worth the trouble.

Only brown acorns with their caps on should be harvested for eating. They should be thoroughly rinsed and their caps removed. To get at the nut meat, use a nutcracker or hammer.

Have two pots of boiling water ready and drop the raw, shell-less acorns into one pot and boil until the water is the color of strong tea. Strain the nuts with a colander and drop them into the second pot of boiling water. Discard the dark water from the first pot, then refill it and bring the water to a boil again. Repeat this process without interruption (do not let the acorns cool) until the water boils clear. This process leaches the tannins from the acorn meat making them edible. You can dry them and proceed to roast them.

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