With all the changes we've made at the paper in recent months, I've spent a lot of time on the phone talking to readers.

I'm always glad to take the calls. In fact, I want more. Read on.

On the plus side, you like our expanded Home & Garden and Food sections. You like how we've tried to keep the recipes simple, using ingredients you can buy just about anywhere. You like the increased number of how-to stories in both sections.

I must confess: I didn't know how to properly make an omelet until I read about it in our Food section. Now I am the Omelet Master!

Kudos to food writer Jann Malone for coming up with such stories.

On the minus side, well, you didn't like the way we were doing our comics section. We fixed it.

A few of you don't like that we've taken the sports events roundup out of our Saturday TV book. One of the reasons we did that was because it wasn't particularly reliable. We buy the roundup from a Chicago-based company, and because of our printing schedule, the listings are already a few days old by the time you get the finished product. These days, the ratings-hungry sports programmers will change events at the drop of a hat. Our daily events listings in our Sports sections are much more accurate.

Now to the "more calls" part.

We'd like to hear from you on a few specific things.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you're willing to share with our readers? It doesn't have to be something you personally invented; it can simply be a recipe that you've come to rely on. We'd love to publish it in our Wednesday Food section's "Recipe Exchange," along with a photo of the proud (or humble) chef.

One recent chef was Mildred Allen, who didn't want her picture used. We talked her into it, and she turned out to be as photogenic as any person you'll ever see in this paper.

How about a home project you're pleased with? Our weekly Home & Garden section includes a feature called "I did it myself." We recently wrote about Arthur Ritter, whose wife had asked him to build some sort of structure to camouflage their garbage cans. Ritter, who apparently doesn't do anything halfway, built such a stunning "structure" that a garbage collector left a note on it saying he was proud to pick up the garbage "from such a receptacle." I am here to tell you that I've lived in houses that weren't that nice.

But your project doesn't have to be that fancy, or that ambitious. Just let us know about it.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention "Your Best Shot," our weekly travel photo contest. No prizes are involved, but if you're the winner, your photo is published in our Sunday Flair section.

One thing we're proud of here at the paper is that we don't make our readers go through Telephone Hades to get in touch with the appropriate person. If you call the number below, you'll get my direct line. I might be away from my desk, but you can leave a message for me, and I'll return your call as soon as possible.

So there you have it. Send me your recipes, your projects or your photos. This is no time to go being all modest.
Contact features editor Lee Barnes at (804) 775-8129 or Lbarnes@timesdispatch.com.