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Daughter Dishes Out Criticism But Can’t Take It From Mom

DEAR ABBY: Recently, I kindly and lovingly gave my daughter some feedback on how she berates her husband in front of my 8-year-old grandson. I told her I didn’t want him to grow up thinking that’s how we treat the people we love. To make a long story short, she said that if I wanted to estrange myself from her, I had succeeded. I remained calm and loving and told her she could use the feedback if it was helpful, or ignore it if it wasn’t. She has now blocked me! My daughter has had no compunction over the years about informing me about my shortcomings, but went into a rage when ...

Good Manners Are For the Road, Too

Today’s Sound Off is about bad driving habits. Dear Heloise: All cars come with turn signal capabilities, so why is it some drivers never seem to use them? I nearly had an accident today when a driver didn’t use his signals to indicate that he was changing lanes. I may have been in his blind spot, which is all the more reason to signal that he was changing lanes. Then there are the drivers who do not pull over when they hear or see an ambulance or fire truck behind them. In many cases a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death to the person in an ambulance. So ...

Twins Are Divided Over Mom’s Treatment for Terminal Cancer

DEAR ABBY: My 63-year-old mother has recently been diagnosed with stage-4 metastatic lung cancer. Even prior to her diagnosis she was a negative and depressed person. She has been a smoker, drinker and backseat driver for almost 50 years. She has undergone intense radiation but is refusing to take her chemo pill. In her words, why should she prolong her life by another year, especially if it causes more side effects and won’t cure her? My twin and I are her only children. She has no significant life partner, and there are no grandkids. While I have kept in steady contact and ...

Savvy Senior: How to Track Down Old Friends Online

Dear Savvy Senior, I’m interested in tracking down some old friends I’ve lost touch with over the years but could use some help. What websites can you recommend that can help me find them? Tracking Tom Dear Tom, Thanks to the Internet, tracking down long-lost friends from many years ago is relatively easy to do and, in most cases, it won’t cost you a cent. Here are some tips and online tools to help you get started. Remembering the Details Before you begin your search, a good first step is to jot down any information you can remember or find out about the people ...

The Hall Closet aka The Phone Booth

I know what you’re thinking. The photo accompanying this column is of — well — a sampling of some ugly wallpaper from the 1960s. Patriotic wallpaper was in vogue during the ‘60s as evidenced by this pattern that my mother slapped on the walls of a large closet located in the ...

Blue and white china is one of the most popular collectibles ever. With its clean look and easy to use style, this is no surprise. Blue and white china can be incorporated into so many decorating schemes, and for those lacking a motif, blue and white is an easy way to make a decorating statement. My first attraction to blue and white china was when as a child, I received a sweet little plastic blue and white bulb holder dish one winter. This cheap imitation, decorated with Holland scenes, was perfect for the bulbs that were housed in it and watching the color of a spring bulb ...