Her neighbor took her too far up on offer

DEAR AMY: My family has a garage sale every fall. Last year a neighbor showed interest in a child's bike, and I told her that she could take it free of charge. After all, our children are in school together and we socialize from time to time. My neighbor then proceeded to take as much "free" stuff as she could carry. She left with about $75 worth of items. While I wouldn't have minded giving her the bike or a few inexpensive trinkets, I felt she was taking advantage of me. How can I tactfully let this neighbor know this is not acceptable? I don't want to cause any hard feelings since we will be seeing a lot of each other in the neighborhood.Speechless

DEAR SPEECHLESS: The time to tackle this would have been last year, as your neighbor was loading your household goods into her minivan.

A year later, there is no tactful way to handle this; however, if your yearly yard sale is approaching and this neighbor shows up expecting the same deal, make sure you re-educate her in no uncertain terms that the term "yard sale" contains the word "sale."

DEAR AMY: I was stunned at your answer to the lady who asked her husband's friend "John," to stop sending them porn by e-mail. Send his mail to the spam folder? I don't think so. This goes way beyond spam and should be treated as such.

I would tell this guy that if he sends one more porn image to our e-mail address I will block his e-mails, period. And then do it. He obviously has no respect for this family's wishes, so why should they have to have any contact with subject matter they deem inappropriate? And if "John" has something important to say from then on, he'd better just use the phone.Another Concerned Grandma

DEAR GRANDMA: Many readers felt the spam folder was too gentle a fate for this daily dose of porn.