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Watery Potato Salad

Dear Heloise: Every time I make homemade potato salad it gets watery if not eaten on the same day. Tell me, what am I doing wrong? — Maxi R., Waterloo, N.Y. Maxi, potatoes hold a lot of water, so you’ll need to allow time for the water to drain by leaving them to cool in a strainer. If potato salad is made while the potatoes are warm, they will continue to release the water, making the salad watery. Good luck with your next batch. — Heloise SAUSAGE PATTIES Dear Heloise: I have read Heloise’s Hints in the Omaha World Herald since the ‘50s! Here is my hint for sausage or ...

Early Lesson in Social Graces Helps Overcome Initial Shyness

DEAR ABBY: When I was a young adult, I had difficulty speaking with strangers. I recall, some years later, attending a party in honor of someone I truly admired. Most of the people there didn’t know each other. Someone had the bright idea for each of us to tell how we knew the honoree. We went around the circle describing our connection to the person. This not only kept the spotlight on the honoree, but it was a great icebreaker. I found myself interested in several of the folks there, and it gave me fodder to follow up with questions for them when we began to mingle. I learned a ...

VIRUS DIARY: The Coronavirus Came, and She Kept on Training

SEATTLE (AP) — This year started with so much promise. I spent two weeks in January competing in biathlon races in Seefeld, Austria, during the Winter World Masters Games 2020, winning three silver medals and celebrating with 3,000 winter-sport athletes from around the world. Six weeks ...

Sobering Up Changes Dynamics of Wife’s Closest Relationships

DEAR ABBY: I know I have been blessed with wonderful relationships in my life. I have been married to the same lovely man for 25 years. I am also fortunate to have had the same best friend for 40 years. The problem? They drink. Because of past behavior, I decided to get sober two years ago. I know I won’t be able to drink socially again. I changed; they didn’t. We are all very high-functioning alcoholics. We never miss work and lead, for the most part, productive lives. I love them both so much. My husband is supportive and adoring. My best friend and I have gone through ...

Safely Store

Dear Readers: There are some documents, certificates and other valuable items that might be better held in your bank’s safe deposit box rather than in a shoebox under the bed or in the closet at home. What are they? Here’s what you need to know: * The title to your car — you really don’t need it until you sell the vehicle or trade it in, and then it can be expensive and time-consuming to replace. Also, marriage licenses, birth and death certificates and diplomas go well in a safe deposit box. * Stock and bond certificates — most of these are done online nowadays, but you ...

It Still Hurts

For some reason I didn't change the channel on the TV Wednesday night. With a single click I could have spared myself a revisit to that horrible day on Sept. 11, 2001. But I didn't. The History Channel offered an anniversary tribute show to that day when life as we knew it spiraled into chaos. Instead I sat frozen, watching the screen as if it were the first time I saw airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center's twin towers and then the Pentagon. I gasped as if I had never seen the people hurling themselves out of the towers or the police and firefighters running toward the ...