A: North Carolina's annual sales tax holiday on the purchases of certain energy-efficient appliances is always the first full weekend of November.
This year, that'll be Nov. 1-3.
The tax holiday applies to sales of certain appliances that qualify for the Energy Star rating, including washing machines, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, air-source and geothermal heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and programmable thermostats.
Meanwhile, the sales tax holiday for the purchase of school-related items is always the first full weekend of August - Aug. 2-4 this year.
Exempt from sales taxes that weekend are clothing, footwear and school supplies under $100 each, sports and recreation equipment under $50, computers under $3,500 and computer supplies under $250.
Note: You'll still get taxed that weekend on such items as food, cosmetics, jewelry and furniture.
For more info, check www.dornc.com/taxes/sales/ salestax_holiday.html.
A: Thanks for letting us know about her experience, L.H.
L.H. said her mother had the treatment about 13 years ago and was free of cluster headaches until her death about five years ago.
She said the treatment also seemed to greatly reduce the number of migraines that her mother had suffered from since childhood.
Cluster headaches are not the same thing as migraines, though they're sometimes called "cluster migraine" headaches.
L.H. said her mother started experiencing cluster headaches when she was about 53 and said they were far worse than any migraine she'd ever experienced.
L.H. said her mother received acupuncture from Dr. Richard Serano at Highland Neurology.
Other readers have posted suggestions and information about cluster headaches in the comments section of the June 25 column in question, which you can find at fayobserver.com/help/ staff/catherine-pritchard, and at Live Wire's Facebook page, facebook.com/FOLiveWire.