DEAR HELOISE: One serious point about trying to replicate the wide plank floors of early American homes: The wood that you can obtain at a semi-reasonable cost is not the same as the antique stuff. It is of a different quality. It is wetter as it is not well-seasoned and often an entirely ...

DEAR ANNIE: This Thanksgiving I will be meeting my new boyfriend’s family for the first time, and I am already a bundle of nerves. His mom is hosting a big traditional dinner at their home, the kind with a perfectly roasted turkey, gravy from scratch and about 10 different side dishes. She is ...

NINOSHIMA, Japan — Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war on a small western island started making the treat that has thrived in its new homeland. Today, the confectionery known as “tree cake” because of the resemblance to ...

The suit-preference signal is one of the more effective weapons available to the defenders. The signal can be utilized in many different situations, depending on the circumstances of that particular deal. Consider this case where South wound up in five diamonds after his Blackwood inquiry ...

If you go ... WHAT: “Spring Awakening” WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 23 WHERE: Kent State University at Trumbull, 4314 Mahoning Ave. NW, Champion. HOW MUCH: Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for students and senior citizens and $15 for ...

The Warren Civic Music Association will serve up a Spoonful of ’60s hits with its next concert. Performing Monday will be the Lovin’ Spoonful. Original bass and keyboard player Steve Boone is joined in the current lineup by Bill Cinque, Jeff Alan Ross, Rob Bonfiglio and Mike Arturi. ...

Top Hat Productions is bringing back “Amazing Grace” for another chorus. The musical opens Friday for a two-weekend run at Fairview Arts & Outreach Center. In 2019 Top Hat was the first non-professional theater to produce the Christopher Smith and Arthur Giron musical. “It was ...

Trans-Siberian Orchestra was born with the song “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24),” recorded by the progressive metal act Savatage for its 1995 album “Dead Winter Dead.” Paul O’Neill, who wrote the song and started TSO, died in 2017, but the drummer on that recording, Jeff Plate, will ...

Daniel and Kathy Glozer, lifelong residents of the Youngstown area, celebrated their 50th anniversary on Sept. 13, 2025. Mass was held at St. Luke Catholic Church and dinner at Alberini’s Restaurant, both attended by immediate family members. Daniel Glozer and the former Kathy Gromada ...

Charles and Gail Ann Holquist, of New Middletown, held a 70th anniversary celebration on Aug. 30, 2025, at Welker Park in New Middletown, hosted by the couple’s three children. Charles Holquist and the former Gail Ann Osborne were united in matrimony on Sept. 10, 1955, at Chapel of Friendly ...

The golden anniversary of Dennis and Sherry Matey was celebrated June 7, 2025, at the Bessemer Croatian Club, the location of their wedding reception 50 years ago. Mr. And Mrs. Matey were married June 7, 1975, at St. Joseph the Worker Church, previously of New Castle, Pa. The reception was a ...

The families of Nicholas Beck and Kaitlyn Adams are announcing the couple’s engagement and upcoming marriage. Kaitlyn Adams of South Portland, Maine, is the granddaughter of Ann Trueworthy of South Portland, Maine, and the late Wayne Donald Trueworthy. Parents of the groom-elect are Don ...

I heard the phrase “hidden wisdom” the other day and thought, “Hey, that’s me!” I am chock full of wisdom. I have so much wisdom that it’s rolling out of my ears. But my wisdom is hidden. It must be. Nobody can see it. “Cole, if you had a brain, you’d be dangerous,” is one ...

“You want me to come over and help you take those air conditioners out of your windows?” I shook my head. “I hate to do that so early. We’ve got to have another stretch of warm days, right?” The next morning when I left for the office, the thermometer shivered at 37 degrees. ...

I slithered through the crowd, trying to avoid contact. Not from elbows. I was afraid that someone in this bubbly mass might talk to me. Brrr. I broke through the swarm and headed for the far corner. Someone had beaten me to it. A woman — my hero — stood there in a T-shirt that ...

Years ago, professional wrestler Chris Jericho used a list as his schtick. If someone offended him, Jericho shouted, “You just made the list,” and angrily scratched another name on the ever-thickening pad of paper clipped to his board. Sometimes, opponents snatched the List of Jericho ...

This week may get a little deep, but ’tis the season of reflection. A few weeks ago, I decided to take a quick 24-hour trip to Annapolis, Maryland, to visit friends — and boldly insert myself into their annual neighborhood oyster fest. I think I consumed enough oysters to last the next 12 ...

This weekend — and honestly, the entire week — left me buzzing with ideas. Do you ever have those moments where your brain fires off faster than your thumbs can text your own number just to remember things later? (Yes, I do that too — my own personal version of Post-It notes.) And just as ...

The strange thing about life is how it sneaks up on you in the most ordinary places. Sure, we expect big emotions at weddings, graduations or at the end of a long journey. But nobody warns you about the emotional ambush that hits when you turn onto a road you haven’t driven in 10, 15, maybe ...

This fall has been… well, not the fall we’ve all grown accustomed to. The weather’s been a little indecisive, the leaves have taken their time, and honestly, it’s felt a bit offbeat compared to the picturesque season we look forward to every year. But even with its ...

In my earlier years of gardening, I was attracted to and purchased unusual plants. Many of those didn’t survive beyond their first year. As I have “matured,” I have redirected my purchases toward the easy-to-grow natives that feed our local pollinators. The hotter, drier summers have ...

Here are upcoming gardening events through the Ohio State University Mahoning County Extension Office. Contact the Extension Office, 490 S. Broad St., Canfield, at 330-533-5538. For a complete list of events, visit https://mahoning.osu.edu/events. Plant and Pest Clinic What: Stop by to ask ...

As I watched a woodpecker banging away at a tree, it made me think, why don’t woodpeckers get headaches or suffer brain trauma from all that drumming? So, I looked it up. Once again, nature has created a miracle that does not allow the woodpecker to get headaches or become dizzy. ...

Our temperatures have continued to fluctuate, but our winter weather will eventually remain colder and the darkness will cause us to bundle up, keeping ourselves warm. The days are gaining minutes of light in the morning and evening, but it will be a couple of months before we notice ...