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Dear Annie: Sees her own future in elderly neighbor’s

DEAR ANNIE: I’m 58, never married, no kids, no siblings, no nieces or nephews. A neighbor of mine is very ill and in a nursing home. She has a daughter, but the daughter barely even bothers to visit her, and it breaks my heart. I call my neighbor often to try to lift her spirits. At the same time, I’ve been dealing with some depression myself. I keep thinking about how I will be 70 one day — and who will be there to visit me? I have health problems, but I stay on top of my appointments. I’m terrified I’ll end up like my neighbor, alone in a home with no one around to show ...

Hints from Heloise: Know plants that aren’t pet-safe

DEAR HELOISE: Every year, we see cats and dogs in our clinic who suffer anything from a sore mouth to organ failure because they chewed on a plant — usually an indoor plant. Here’s a list of the worst offenders and most dangerous houseplants for pets: — Anthurium — Begonia — Chinese evergreen — Dracaena (aka dragon tree) — Snake plant — Aloe vera — Sago palm — Dieffenbachia — English ivy — Schefflera — Ficus — Fiddle leaf fig Either place these plants up high, or better yet, don’t grow them in your yard. — Kathy, ...

To Your Good Health: Woman believes husband is dead

DEAR DR. ROACH: My mom has Capgras syndrome and firmly believes that her husband (my dad) is dead. She thinks that there’s someone whom I snuck in and built a lie around, and she tells everyone that this man is the same man. It’s really difficult for us, especially my dad. I understand that Capgras cannot be cured, but there are medications that help with the situation. She won’t go see any medical professionals (since they believe that she has Capgras and her husband isn’t dead). There are some other wild stories she tells/believes that absolutely aren’t true. What can a ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

In many deals, the play of the cards is fairly automatic, and both sides manage to achieve par. But in some deals, the so-called par result is not achieved because one side unwittingly strays from the beaten path and eventually comes to grief. In most such deals, the error becomes obvious ...

No-cook tomato sauce for peak summer heat

When tomatoes are at their peak — and it’s too hot to turn on the oven — this simple, no-cook sauce from my cookbook “Pasta Every Day” is what I come back to time and again. It’s often called pomodoro crudo and served with very thin spaghetti, though you’ll find many variations, ...

Wildfires near Bordeaux bring more troubles to wine industry

SADIRAC, France — From his vineyards in Bordeaux wine country, Edouard le Grix de la Salle can sometimes smell the burning forests far away. The smoke brings a whiff of hardship for the region’s economic fortunes. Wildfires that have burned an area four times the size of Paris and driven ...