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Some tips to become a better wine taster

In just a few weeks, Aug. 7-8, the state’s original wine festival, Vintage Ohio, www.VisitVintageOhio.com, will open at Lake Farmpark in Kirtland, near Cleveland. There are lots of new features in its 31st year, but the stars of this and all other wine events are always the wineries on Festival Field. Northeast Ohio truly has developed a vibrant wine culture as our communities have embraced our wine-producing families as their own. However, before heading to a tasting experience, just like studying for an exam in school, sometimes a review of information will make the final ...

Church services, another wedding and family time

I can’t believe it’s already time to pen another column. These weeks fly by much faster than I like. Today was Monday and of course laundry day around here. Daughters Verena, Loretta (and children) and Lovina (and 10-month-old Brooklyn) came over, and I made grilled cheese with homemade bread for whomever wanted something to eat. I went down to the basement to start the laundry, and the girls sat outside with the children. We filled the little kiddie pool for the children. They enjoyed it and were really relaxed afterward. Kylie fell asleep on Verena, and Byron looked like it ...

DEAR ANNIE: Don’t let the mean girl ruin a day at the gym

DEAR ANNIE: I love the gym. It has really helped me gain confidence and strength. I have been going to the same gym in our small town for roughly 10 years. I know all the people there and enjoy my time there — until lately. There is a woman who just started going to the gym who is toxic. She really hurt a dear friend of mine, whose child was in the same class as her child, by spreading vicious rumors that she was having an affair with a tennis instructor. This was not true. She is the typical mean girl from middle school who we all choose to forget — the girl who never grew ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Walk on washed clothes

DEAR HELOISE: People have written to you with tips on how to dry clothes that you have hand washed, but there’s one step that most people don’t seem to know about. After you wash clothes, wring them out as hard as you can, then roll them up in a towel. Most people might know about these steps, but the key next step is to then walk on the folded-up towel, flip it over, and walk on the other side as well. The body weight of walking on the towel really gets a great deal of moisture out of the clothing, and it dries much faster! Also, when trying to keep dish sponges clean, just put ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Some need pain meds after their surgeries

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m frustrated that my physicians aren’t giving me adequate pain relief. I had a shoulder repair with three severely torn tendons and a torn labrum, and the surgeon cut and moved my biceps tendon. I was given 20 mg of hydrocodone and APAP 5/325 mg for pain! Are the doctors legally prevented from giving me pain medication? — J.F. ANSWER: This makes me frustrated to hear. There aren’t legal barriers to giving a patient medication to reduce pain, but opiates such as hydrocodone should be given cautiously and with consideration for its potential for abuse. There ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Pinochle is a crazy, mixed-up game — at least to anyone not familiar with it. Not only does the deck contain 48 cards instead of 52, but there are no cards lower than a nine. What’s more, there are two queens of spades, two aces of hearts, and, in fact, every card has a twin —an identical twin, no less. And, to add to the confusion, the cards rank in order from the ace down to the nine, just as in bridge, but with one exception — the ten is higher than the king! Now, my friend John, an inveterate pinochle player who never had a kind word to say about bridge — though he ...