Lifestyles

Dear Annie: How and when to unpack your life baggage

DEAR ANNIE: I have now been married and divorced three times, with a total of over 37 years of married life. Though I doubt I will marry again at this stage of life, I would like to find a woman interested in a lasting, serious relationship. In trying online dating services, thus far I have found most women run the other way or quickly giving me the brush-off when I tell them, in the spirit of being honest and upfront, about my being divorced multiple times, plus having been estranged by my three daughters. In sharing these facts of my past, the two options both appear to be doomed to ...

Hints from Heloise: Tips for freezing your corn

DEAR HELOISE: My mother froze a lot of corn, and she used these two easy tricks: After she blanched the corn, she would set the ear of corn on an angel food cake pan and use an electric knife to cut off the kernels. This made cutting off the kernels quicker and easier. And the pan caught the kernels, so there was less mess. — Michelle R., via email DEAR HELOISE: I read Casey’s concern about faded laundry in a recent edition of the Press-Enterprise. As a lifelong clothesline user, I’ll share my hint: I do laundry in the evening when electricity is less expensive and leave it ...

To Your Good Health: Reader says parents ‘crazy’ on gabapentin

DEAR DR. ROACH: You have commented on gabapentin before. This seems to be a miracle drug that they’re giving out to everyone for everything. However, I’m absolutely convinced that this drug made both of my parents crazy. Both were given gabapentin in the hospital, and I absolutely felt that it altered their mental state. For the record, both were in their 80s and were hospitalized after falls. — K.W. ANSWER: Gabapentin (Neurontin and others) is frequently used for several conditions. It’s only indicated by the Food and Drug Administration for a particular type of seizures ...

Thursday evening TV

Bridge by Steve Becker

Most books on play include a section that tells you how to handle the most frequently occurring card combinations. But because many other less common combinations are not included, it becomes important to learn how to solve such problems all by yourself. Take this deal where South is in four ...

China’s imperial cuisine lives on today

BEIJING — It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi once dreamed of a pastry during the final decades of imperial China. The same treat was served to her at breakfast the following morning. Delighted, she summoned her chef and rewarded him with a silver ingot. “It was originally called ...