Breaking News

New stovetop can turn itself off

Dear Heloise: I read the hint from your reader, Jim, about leaving stovetop knobs slightly off the vertical line to remind him to turn them off. If anyone's in the market for a new stovetop, may I recommend induction stovetops? Not only can you boil a cup of water in 60 seconds, but if you ...

Waiting room worries

Dear Annie: The doctor I have been seeing for over 20 years has decided to discontinue her practice in the town I live in and move to another town. I can't get to that town, so I've asked friends to recommend their doctors. But I'm dreading having to set up an appointment with a completely ...

A Season of Distance, Not Goodbye

Dear Annie: I am an 86-year-old mother of three children, a grandmother of six and great-grandmother of eight. We have always had a great relationship with our children. Our youngest daughter, who has always been close to us, went through a stressful divorce. Her husband had an affair, and ...

Keeping the absorbency of clothes

Dear Heloise: Here's a hint about maintaining clothes' absorbency. Perhaps I had previously learned this from you, but it's worth repeating as long as we're on the subject. Softeners decrease clothes' absorbency, so dry them without any softener. — John S., in Newbury Park, ...

One parent’s dream, another’s heartbreak

Dear Annie: My husband and I are in a painful disagreement about our children's education. He went to boarding school as a teenager and says it was one of the best things that ever happened to him. He talks about the independence, friendships, the sports, the teachers and the confidence it ...

Skip the overpriced hair treatment

Dear Heloise: Years ago, when I was growing up on an Iowa farm, my hair would dry out because I was outside so much of the time. We also had what people called “hard water,” which would dry out each strand of hair. Instead of buying an overpriced hot oil treatment, my mother would warm up ...