DR. WALLACE: I'm a high-school-age girl, and I love playing sports. I was talking to my family the other day about how I need to figure out some sort of fundraiser so I can make some money to buy my sports uniforms and also pay for some trips that we are going to be taking as a team.

We talked about doing a carwash, a pancake breakfast, all the usual things, but my grandmother was with us that morning, and she suggested that we could sell her special homemade jam! I know this jam well because she always brings a few jars over to us, and our entire family loves it. I told my grandmother that sounded good, but we wouldn't have time to make a huge batch of the jam and get it all jarred up and ready for sale as quickly as I need to complete my fundraiser.

I was really surprised when my grandmother told me that she keeps a huge inventory of her jam in her cellar and will give me as much jam as I need until I sell the quantity that helps me reach my goal. In the moment, I told my grandmother I could never do that, but she kept insisting and said she could always make future batches to rebuild her stockpile.

I do know the jam is beyond excellent, particularly her blackcurrant jam and her raspberry jam! Do you think I should take my grandmother up on her generous offer? — Grandma Has the Inventory, via email

GRANDMA HAS THE INVENTORY: Yes, I do think you should take your grandma up on her generous offer! However, do tell her that when she goes to make future batches at her leisure in the future, you'll be more than happy to go over to work with her and help her when she makes the restocking batches.

You'll both benefit from spending time together and enjoying family camaraderie, plus you'll see firsthand just how she makes her wonderful jam. And when you do sell the jam at your fundraiser, be sure to attach to every jar a card or tag that provides your email address so that people can order future jars of jam directly from you, even after the fundraiser is completed.

Perhaps you and your grandma could start a fun small business together, as I'm sure there's a lot you could teach each other about the various aspects of creating a great product, marketing it and getting it out there to people who enjoy consuming it.

MY TACKLE BOX WAS SILENTLY REPURPOSED BEHIND MY BACK!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a male college student, and I've been living with my girlfriend as we both attend the same college. I'm a huge outdoorsman, and I really like hunting and fishing, particularly the latter.

I take great pride in my fishing gear, my rods and reels, all my equipment, and I've been known to keep an immaculate tackle box as well. Last weekend, I was rummaging through our garage because I was going to go on a fishing trip with a buddy of mine, and when I started to pack all my gear into my car, I went back for my tackle box and was surprised to see that the latch on it was unhinged even though it was closed. I knew I never left it that way, so thank goodness I opened it first. To my utter surprise, it was filled with all kinds of makeup, eyelash curlers, nail files, nail polish and all the tools a woman would use in front of a mirror when applying makeup and getting ready to go out for a night on the town! My first reaction was to be furious, but I was in a hurry so I was wondering where the contents of my tacklebox could be, and I soon noticed a 10-by-10-inch square box nearby. When I opened that box, all my tackle was in there! At least it wasn't thrown all together in a huge ball; it was stacked relatively neatly, but it was not conducive to being easy to use in a boat.

I felt like I had no choice but to take that cardboard box with me, so that's what I did. My girlfriend was at a baby shower the entire day, so she wasn't even aware that I went fishing. How should I bring up this intrusion into my personal space without starting a massive fight over her commandeering my tackle box without asking me? — I Couldn't Believe What Was Inside of It, via email

I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT WAS INSIDE OF IT: You did the right thing so far by not saying anything and not starting a massive fight over this. You definitely were in the right, because she didn't ask you for permission to empty your tackle box and use it for another purpose.

If you value your relationship, which I trust that you certainly do, my recommendation is that you go to a local big-box retail store and find a really nice tackle box that you would enjoy for yourself. Buy the replacement, stack all your lures, hooks, weights, pliers and so forth into the new tackle box, and when the time is right, show it off to her by telling her you decided to treat yourself to a tackle box. This will certainly get your point across to her, and at the same time, you can tell her that she can keep your old tackle box since she obviously found a good use for it!

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Barbara Chowaniec at Unsplash