Dear Dr. Roach: I have arthritis in both knees, but otherwise, I’m in good health (I’m 5’6” and weigh 130 pounds). My Fitbit indicates I get about 9,000 steps per day. I am ready for knee replacement, but I’m concerned about one activity I do. We usually spend two consecutive weeks at the beach, and I love to boogie board. When the tide is strong, it can take a lot of effort to get out to where the waves are.
NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday celebrants in Hilo, Hawaii, might notice something different about the traditional Yule Log cake from the Short ’N Sweet bakery this year. Maria Short typically makes her popular $35 bûche de Noël with two logs combined to look like a branch.
KOREAGUI, Ivory Coast (AP) — For more than 40 years, Jean Baptiste Saleyo has farmed cocoa on several acres of his family’s land in Ivory Coast, a West African nation that produces almost half the world’s supply of the raw ingredient used in chocolate bars.
Dear Abby: I had a close friend, “Kayleigh,” for about 10 years. She helped me through tough times and was always there for me. Now I feel like she has turned into someone else. For the last six months, she has been putting down everyone I love, even in front of my daughter. She sees no problem with it, nor does she have any remorse.
Dear Dr. Roach: I suffered a lower back injury in 2001, with crushed and bulging discs in the L2, L3, L4 and L5 vertebras. After over a year of physical therapy and drugs, my pain doctor tried an epidural injection, which did not work, and then suggested I try something new at that time called a radiofrequency ablation, also called a lumbar facet rhizotomy. It’s done as an outpatient surgery and may have to be repeated.
Though it may have been built way back in 1966, the beautiful home at 911 Starlight Drive in Sherman has more than withstood the test of time. It has all the classic charm you’d expect from a home of its ilk but has also been impeccably updated to keep up with the times.
Mindfulness meditation worked as well as a standard drug for treating anxiety in the first head-to-head comparison. The study tested a widely used mindfulness program that includes 2 1/2 hours of classes weekly and 45 minutes of daily practice at home.
When thumbing through seed catalogs or plant-care manuals, you’re likely to encounter at least some descriptions that elude you. So here’s a cheat sheet to help navigate the offerings – and maybe impress your gardening friends.
Dear Neil: Is there any trick to keeping birdseed from coming up in beds beneath my feeders? I’m tired of having all the grass germinating. That’s probably millet, a common ingredient in some of the standard seed mixes.
Dear Abby: My daughter is about to turn 14 and wants to get a job. We just found out that in our state, 14and 15-year-olds can work if they get a permit. I’m very concerned. I tried negotiating with her by telling her that her dad and I will give her a job at home and pay her, but she insists on working to help with our family finances. I have congestive heart failure and adrenal insufficiency, which is why I can’t work outside the home. Her dad, my husband, is the only source of income.