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With the official observance of Memorial Day on Monday, Flag Day on June 14 and the Fourth of July coming, it's time to brush up on the proper way to display the U.S. flag at home, especially for a lot of Americans whose flags have become faded and worn since they began flying them after Sept. 11.

The U.S. Flag Code says that faded and tattered flags are to be retired properly. This means a ceremonial burning. Anyone can do it, but there is a proper way. If you're in doubt, contact your nearest American Legion or VFW post or even a Scout group. Chances are they'll know how to perform this ceremony.

If you have an American flag in satisfactory shape, displaying it on Memorial Day is a little different from other days. If the flag is on a pole or staff on which it is hoisted to the top, the flag should be raised to the top briskly, then lowered to half-staff until noon. After noon, it should be raised briskly to the top.

If you have a flag on a pole or staff and fly it all the time at the top, it can be lowered slowly to half-staff, then raised after noon. Flags that are not on a staff or pole on which they can be raised or lowered can be flown as is.

For those who display the flag by hanging it horizontally or vertically, remember that the union of blue with white stars should be in the upper left. If you fly the flag at night, it should have a light on it.

You'll find a wealth of Web sites dealing with the U.S. flag. Do a search under "U.S. Flag Code." If you don't have a computer, check with your library's reference section for flag information.

Old pool, new pool

What's involved in renovating a pool?

According to the National Spa and Pool Institute, most pools that are renovated or restored are at least 10 years old. Homeowners can have the pools restored or add features that were not available when they were built.

Popular features include what is called the "vanishing edge," an optical illusion that makes a pool look as though it is falling into the horizon, and "zero-depth entry," where the pool deepens with every step, just like the ocean.

Other trends include natural pools that blend into the environment, swim-up bars, play fountains and sunning shelves. Sunning shelves provide in-water seating with a depth of just a few inches.

New lighting can outline the perimeter of a spa and pool. Highlights can be added to spillways and fountains. One of the newest trends in pool lighting is the use of fiber optics, which allows owners to change the color of the pool by flipping a switch.

Renovation costs vary widely, depending on the size of the pool and what the consumer wants, the institute reports. A new vinyl liner averages between $1,800 and $2,800. Extras — a new spa, perhaps — can cost much more; some restorations can top $20,000.

A liner replacement can be done in a day. Bigger jobs can take as long as a month to finish.

Can you do it yourself? Bill Nash, of the UGlassit chain of do-it-yourself pool renewal stores, says owners can put a new finish on their pools in a little more than a weekend.

He recommends pool owners apply the new Fiberglas finish to concrete pools or vinyl pools that don't have steel walls.

For an instruction manual, visit Nash's Web site, www.uglassit.com. The cost of the manual is $19.95, which is deducted from the bill if materials are ordered. For a typical diving pool of about 32 feet by 16 feet, materials cost about $3,000.

Christmas in Harmony

"Christmas in June" is one of the themes in the 2002 Historic Harmony House and Garden Tour, which begins at 10 a.m. June 1 at the Harmony Museum, Main and Mercer streets, Harmony. Reservations are required for the event, which includes a homemade luncheon for $20 a person.

The 10 stops on the self-guided tour feature a house decorated for Christmas, including a half-dozen trees trimmed with handmade ornaments made by local professional seamstresses; a home filled with quilts, curtains and cushions; and another with international antiques, artwork and memorabilia. Vintage and contemporary hats will be displayed in the museum's Stewart Hall, where lunch will be served.

In addition to private homes and gardens, newly renovated Grace Church and Harmony Museum buildings will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., along with the 1825 Mennonite meeting house just outside town. Harmony is 28 miles north of Pittsburgh, just off exit 88 of Interstate 79 north and exit 87 of I-79 south.

Tickets can be purchased from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the museum.

Details: (724) 452-7341 or (888) 821-4822.

Oh, baby!

If art can imitate life, so can design.

Philippe Starck (more precisely, his wife, Nori) is expecting a baby in September. And on Sunday, the wild-and-crazy Frenchman, arguably the world's most celebrated industrial designer and certainly the most animated, will unveil his collection of clever and downright fun baby products (among other housewares) for Target stores.

"I saw the urgency of the baby (category) and especially (products) around the mother," says the 53-year-old Starck, whose 50-piece collection for Target has been 2¹/₂ years in the making. Starck Reality, as it is called, is the designer's largest triumph to date in his mission to design products that are useful and affordable.

"I don't understand why a baby must be surrounded by purple and yellow, small elephants and ridiculous small flowers," says Starck, who has (re)designed everything from stereos and trendy hotels to toilets and toothbrushes. "I have tried to clean around the baby to make the right objects with the right intelligence and soul, with more humor and fun and surprise, but without all the exotic things that people think they are obliged to have."

Besides the baby and juvenile products, Starck did housewares — a magazine rack, letter sorter, small tables, tape dispenser and curling iron among them. Price range: $2.99 for a baby bottle cleaning brush to $49.99 for an end table that lights from the inside so that the surface glows like a museum display case.

Trap sewer gases

You detect an awful odor coming from your sink, and you don't know why.

All plumbing fixtures in the home are connected to the same waste system. Sewer gases are prevented from backing up into the house by p-traps. A p-trap, the curved drainpipe under your sink, traps water between the fixture and the sewer line. It's a water door.

A p-trap can become filled with so much hair and grease that water is displaced and sewer gas is allowed to escape into the house. Keep p-traps clean and clear by using a mild acid or caustic. Vinegar works well if used regularly — weekly would be ideal.

Send home and garden news to Homework, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, D.L. Clark Building, 503 Martindale St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Fax: (412) 320-7966. Or e-mail tribliving@tribweb.com.

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