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DEAR ANNIE: Splitting mental load creates healthy marriage

DEAR ANNIE: My husband is a wonderful man in many ways, but lately I feel more like the household manager than his wife. We both work full time, yet somehow I am still the one remembering birthdays, scheduling appointments, keeping track of the groceries, planning family events and noticing when something around the house needs to be done. If I ask for help, he usually does it, but only after I bring it up. He says I should just “tell him what I need,” but I am tired of always being the one who has to notice, remember and delegate everything. I do not think he means to be ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Getting the most out of butter knife

DEAR HELOISE: I’m not done with that butter knife! After making a sandwich, I like to set the knife on the edge of the sink instead of sending it straight to the dishwasher. A knife with just a light smear of butter on it often comes in handy again later for toast, another sandwich, or a quick snack. This habit keeps me from washing the same utensil twice in one day and frees up a little room in the dishwasher. I make sure that the knife stays in a clean spot and doesn’t sit there overnight, because nobody wants old butter hanging around. It’s a simple system, but it works well. ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Results of cholesterol tests are reliable

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 74-year-old male in good health. My lab work has been pretty consistent over several years. My cholesterol level is always below 200 mg/dL with a high HDL (80 mg/dL). All of these results over the years have been done at the same commercial lab company. I recently had blood drawn, but this time, I used a different lab. In three months, my cholesterol went from 178 mg/dL to 211 mg/dL. There were no changes in my diet or exercise. Some other test results showed higher numbers than my usual ones as well. Is there a difference in how they calculate lab results from ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

In many deals, declarer may find it more dangerous to have one opponent on lead than the other. In such cases, he should try to shape his play so as to keep the dangerous opponent out of the lead. Consider this deal where West leads the king of spades against five clubs. If South proceeds without giving the matter much thought, he wins with the ace and either leads a heart right away or attempts to establish dummy’s diamonds. Either way, assuming best defense, he goes down at least one. But a really careful declarer winds up making the contract by doing a most peculiar thing. He ...

The buzz about the bees

We enjoy fruits and vegetables, especially from our gardens, but many of them depend on pollinators. About 75% of flowering plants rely on pollination to some degree. There are many pollinators, including insects, birds and mammals, but bees are the ones we focus on because of their high ...