Mi-Wuk Village resident Sandra Elaine Allen died Aug. 21 at Willow Glen Center in San Jose. She was 68. Born in Amsterdam, N.Y., she moved to San Diego in 1946 and graduated from San Diego State University in 1965. She later moved to Palo Alto with her first husband.

There is always the problem of what to bring as a hostess gift when you’ve been invited to share a meal with friends. A Waterford vase with flowers is obviously too over-the-top, and a book, while nice, is ...