Lifestyle

Dear Abby: My husband and I have been happily married for 28 years. We rarely have a problem we can’t settle, but I’m stymied over this issue. His 72-year-old mother took up gambling several years back, and it has become an issue. Over the past year, she has been asking us for “loans” of $300 to $500 to cover her gambling losses. More than once, she has told us for weeks on end not to cash the check she gave us to repay us. We were late paying our insurance because she has yet to repay us. This is stressing me out.

Dear Dr. Roach: I know a successful career woman, a psychologist working for the school board and a private practice as well, who has recently been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. She has never had an addiction to any type of drugs or alcohol, has never been suicidal or even shown any suicidal ideation, has diligently put together a lucrative retirement package for herself, has never been diagnosed with any mental health afflictions or had any personality-altering brain injuries.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am an 82-year-old, reasonably fit woman. I am having cramps at night in my feet and legs, causing me to wake three or four times a night. Getting up and walking helps, as does applying a hot washcloth and using Voltaren on the cramping areas. However, I would prefer not to wake up so many times, which makes me feel exhausted all day. My father suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and I would like to know if the cramps indicate ALS.

Dear Abby: I’m at a loss about how to deal with my sister, “Julie.” We had an incredibly hard childhood. We lost our mother when she was only 48. My issue with Julie is her constant and blatant storytelling. She has two young children and is recently divorced. While I feel terrible about her situation and have gladly been there to help her, her lies drive me up the wall.

Zig Zag Galleries in Denison recently hosted the “Believe” Art Exhibition by the Miller Family. Bryan and Aubrey Miller along with their daughter Rose and son Cam combined their artistic abilities to bring this unique art show to Denison. This show combines multimedia, lights, textiles and traditional art mediums into one cohesive but out of the box show unlike most art shows that you see.

Our son lives north of Dallas. The cold spell in March dipped below freezing and he says their Chinese pistachio was browned.

Dear Abby Dear Abby: My son is in a relationship with “Cheryl.” They live together. Cheryl has a daughter and is demanding that I treat the girl as one of my granddaughters.

Between 2007 and 2012, Ben Affleck directed a trio of movies, including eventual Best Picture Oscar winner Argo. Since 2012, Affleck’s only directed two features, the 2017 dud Live By Night and now his newest directorial effort, Air. Affleck’s time away from the camera can be attributed to an array of factors, some rooted in the film industry and others deeply personal But he’s back now as a filmmaker with Air, a crowdpleaser attempting to be a Jerry Maguire yarn about the Nike corporation. The feature is nothing challenging or revolutionary, but its easygoing charms feel like a good way for Affleck to segway back into the director’s chair. Plus, there’s enough talent going on behind the camera to remind people why Affleck garnered so much buzz for his directorial skills in the first place.

Regardless of how strange the previous year has been, spring still fearlessly bursts onto the scene covered in new leaves and colorful flowers as the earth turns from brown to green. The first time in years the bi-colored Narcissus along the walkway to the house have bloomed in such profusion. The redbuds are buzzing with honey bees and bumble bees. At ground level the bees also find the prolific henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) enveloped in small purple tube flowers. Henbit and Easter always go together.