DEAR ANNIE: I’m in a strange situation with my childhood best friend, “Lila.” We’re both 32 now, and while we’ve stayed close over the years, something shifted after I got engaged last spring. Lila has always been single, and she’s made it clear she doesn’t believe in marriage. I ...

DEAR HELOISE: When a container stops pumping, I remove the pump and replace it with a screw cap from another salvaged bottle. Then I store it upside down. For shampoo, I add a little water and use it up until it’s gone. Everything gets used until the last drop. — Dean Garrett, in ...

DEAR DR. ROACH: About a year ago, a test revealed that I had an 8-mm stone in my kidney. My kidney doctor was not worried about it. I have had no infections or symptoms, and I have normal kidney function. My general doctor recommended a urologist. All three doctors thought that it was 50-50 ...

This deal occurred many years ago in a match between Cadbury’s and Waddington’s, two English bridge clubs. The deal could be regarded as more amusing than instructive, but it is published here so that our readers will have some idea of how the other half lives. North was Tony Priday, ...

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 ...

Greetings to all from cold and snowy Michigan! We had our first blast of winter weather over the weekend. Sunday morning we awoke to 3 to 4 inches of snow. The tree branches were covered. We still have quite a few leaves on our trees, so it made for a very scenic view. It was still snowing when ...