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HINTS FROM HELOISE: Try water aerobics to lose weight

DEAR HELOISE: I read the letter from Patty, who wants to lose weight but can’t exercise due to having bad knees. My hint for her is to try water aerobics! It’s non-weight-bearing exercise, and her knees won’t be affected. — Helen, via email Helen, this is an excellent idea! I’ve tried water aerobics, and it was fun. Plus, I met and made a new friend! — Heloise DEAR HELOISE: We all know that plastic bags are a problem in our environment. They choke animals, create garbage and break down into microplastics that have even been found in babies’ placentas! Here are some ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Vaccine lowers risk of getting shingles

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was reading your recent column about shingles. Several years ago, I contracted shingles, even after getting the shingles vaccine. It hit me in my left eye, so I went to my eye doctor. (I wasn’t sure what the problem was.) He took one look at my eye and diagnosed me with shingles. He gave me an antibiotic that cleared up the problem. At no time was I in any pain, which I attributed to my getting the vaccine. Do you concur with my observation? I’m aware that getting shingles can be very painful. —L.J. ANSWER: Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Yesterday, we saw how a team that was losing by 53 IMPs with 16 deals to go in the 2004 Vanderbilt semifinal managed to tie the match on the very last board when a close double gained an extra IMP to produce the deadlock. Without the double, Richard Schwartz’s team would have lost the 64-deal match to Nick Nickell’s squad by a single IMP. The tie necessitated an eight-board playoff, and as the players began the last deal, Nickell led -- by 1 IMP! The bidding shown took place when Peter Boyd and Steve Robinson of the Schwartz team held the North-South cards. Robinson won the heart ...

Corgis run, bark and sniff their way to glory at a growing international race

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — It’s not all about short-legged speed when 150 corgis gather for an international race celebrating the little dogs. There’s a costume parade, the “smartest nose,” and — of course — the loudest bark. The fifth Corgi Race Vilnius drew dogs and their owners to the Lithuanian capital’s Vingis park on Saturday for what organizers said was the biggest edition yet. There were competitors from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the United States and Britain — the country most closely associated with the breed, ...

Milkweed plays host to ravenous moth caterpillars

We have a milkweed colony right up to our mailbox, as the township officials are always cutting back the ditches. We stopped for the mail and Bill was so excited. Caterpillars on the leaves! I took pictures and I even made a video, as they moved with jerking motions, very unusual. I posted ...