Dear Abby: I married my husband five years ago. He has three younger sisters. During the year we receive about 20 pictures of them, and another 20 during the holidays. We also receive a similar amount from my husband’s parents. Isn’t this excessive? When they visit us, they are upset that we haven’t displayed all or most of these pictures.
Dear Abby: Aside from my soon-to-be husband, the most important participant in our wedding will be my 70-year-old father. Dad has been dating a woman, “Mary,” on and off since my parents’ divorce 25 years ago. Mary has always had health issues, so she rarely attends family functions. Dad is in excellent health, enjoys the outdoors and is very involved in his children’s and grandchildren’s lives. Recently, Dad has been spending the majority of his time taking care of sickly Mary.
Dear Abby: I have wanted to write you for years, but my ex-husband thought it was “ridiculous.” We were married 29 years and rarely argued, which led me to believe we had a great marriage. Then, 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and was on chemotherapy for a year.
Whether your go-to workout is a spin class, a home HIIT session, or strength training at the gym, many exercises have you moving forward and backward and up and down. But moving side to side – or laterally – is an equally important part of a wellrounded workout routine.
With just a slight change of angle and direction; everything changes! This thought process isn’t applied only to traveling and getting from point A to B but includes our fitness movements as well. You can have a basic exercise focusing on a particular muscle and by slightly changing the angle you train the muscle in a completely different way.
Dear Abby: My boyfriend and I have gotten engaged and we are being married in a year or so. Everything about him is wonderful — except for one worry. I have been an animal lover my entire life. After living with him this past year with my two cats, I have slowly come to the realization that he absolutely loathes the idea of pets.
A year to the day of March last year, the Bradford pear tree on the east side burst into bloom. How consistent. I did not even have to see the bundles of dense white blooms or smell the vile scent of the Asian invasive because the hum of busy bees gave the tree away in the backyard. Many are European honey bees. I guess this may be the one benefit a Bradford pear provides; source of nectar and food for pollinators. The Bradfords disguise themselves as lovable giant white lollipops in the leafless winter scenery. Soon, the much smaller sand plums will begin to display their delicate white blossoms. The American elms are blooming. My three peach trees have fearlessly started to open their blossoms.
Myth Buster! Several have mentioned this method recently, but the science does not support this for healthy plant growth. Tums are 40% elemental calcium, but the source is calcium carbonate - with a pH of 9, serving as an antacid and also the same ingredient as garden lime. Tomatoes are going to grow best at a 6.5 to 6.8 pH. If calcium is needed, gypsum is calcium sulfate, and will not raise the pH. If you have very many plants, this would be much more cost effective as well. Most of our Oklahoma soils have sufficient calcium, but it is more of an availability issue. pH can affect calcium availability, as well as uneven watering. Save the antacids for medical use and try the tips below.
Keeping houseplants leaves dust free will help plants photosynthesize better. So clean up those houseplants to keep them beautiful and healthy.
Dear Abby: I’m concerned for my sister and her three young daughters. She has been married to “Rick” for 10 years. After she recently discovered he has inappropriate feelings toward children, she kicked him out of their home.