Dear Annie: My mom and I have always had a weird relationship. Throughout my childhood, I always considered us close, even when she moved hours away to the other side of the state when I was in middle school. We would talk regularly, and I would go see her for summer and winter breaks. When I ...
ESCANABA — It’s almost August and that means company is coming! Pack up the picnic basket, bake up a raspberry pie, it’s family reunion time. Fair week is fast approaching, crickets chirp louder at night now, and the short Upper Peninsula summertime is starting to wane. So go for a ride! It’s time to visit the relatives back home. Great Aunt Erma and Uncle Fred are on their way to your house. The old homestead, family farm, camp or cottage are good gathering places. Part of the day will be spent at the cemetery viewing gravestones of kinfolk long passed. An afternoon will ...
Dear Heloise: I use baking soda to absorb odors in my refrigerator. I replace the box about every four months, but instead of tossing out a perfectly good box, I use the remaining contents to scrub plastic toys that my young son chews on. He's cutting teeth right now. It doesn't kill bacteria, ...
Dear Annie: Recently, I had a major social misstep that has essentially pushed one of my best friends out of my life. During the week of my birthday, I had a mid-30s crisis; a string of bad memories from dating and bad luck with women hit me and put me in a very emotionally weakened state of ...
Dear Heloise: For years, I drained greasy foods on paper towels but ended up having to pick off tiny pieces of paper. Finally, I found a better way. We bought a new stove and oven combo, and I saved the oven rack from the old one we had. Now I place the oven rack over the sink with newspaper ...
Dear Annie: My husband and I have a 34-year-old daughter who has lived with us all her life (except for maybe a year). She brought her freeloading boyfriend in. I had cancer at the time and they didn't even bother to do anything, so she ended up pregnant. I kicked her boyfriend out of the ...
