Secret Retreat 
Field workers? REFS
Late notice? OBIT
Port container CASK
It can help you carry a tune IPOD [my only hope --- and my favorite clue in a long time]
Word often preceding a sentence GUILTY
Time pieces: Abbr. HRS [note two words]
Somme soul AME [not in English except as part of a phrase, but it’s clever]
Lasagna ingredient WIDENOODLES [actually it’s wide macaroni, which is made from semolina; noodles are not]
Take out, in a way BORROW [the one way I can think of is from a library --- probably what Gail had in mind]
Hose fillers TOES [I’d go with “Stocking stuffers” because that’s a common phrase]
Fools SIMPS [Denotatively, yes; but smart people are more often fools than simpletons, from whom little is expected. Foolishness suggests that an act was unexpectedly unwise; toddlers are never foolish, nor are guppies.]
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = No fun
