Browsing: Lifestyle

Dear Amy: Regarding readers’ frustration about birthdays that fall on holidays, I read the following: “When he was 41 years old, Robert Louis Stevenson gave his birthday away to a young girl named Annie, the daughter of the American Land Commissioner in Samoa, who was understandably bummed out by the fact that her own birthday fell on Christmas.”

Nurturing a vigorous, healthy boxwood is the best way to protect it against winter damage. Any boxwood planted over the previous three years should be watered as needed in late fall, if conditions are dry. Recent rains may have been enough to benefit your boxwood, and the soil in my garden has now frozen, so it’s too late to water.

For 25 years, Shikany worked in consulting, most recently with the title of managing director. In the back of her mind, she’d thought about possibly entering health care, maybe as a doctor or a physician assistant. But when her children were young, it seemed too much to juggle as well as afford child care while forging a new career path, and she did enjoy her work.

A replica home of Albert J.D. Cashier sits at the corner of Center and Maple streets Aug. 27, 2019, in Saunemin. Born Jennie Hodgers in 1843 in Ireland, the immigrant enlisted for three years in the Civil War as Albert Cashier. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

This aunt is doing … something. Granted, her efforts are not enough for you and yes, this is obviously disappointing, but you are quite literally looking this gift horse in the mouth and saying, “Well, nice try, but your measly efforts once a year are just not good enough.”

You can initiate a challenging conversation by saying, “This is a hard topic for me to bring up. I hope you will understand that I need to be honest with you. I am still struggling to recover from an incredibly challenging birth. You’ve made it clear that you aren’t willing to help out around our house, and I accept that. But every time you complain about your own burdens, I’m reminded of my own. I really wish you wouldn’t do it.”

If you don’t want to visit this elderly family member, you could explain to them that you won’t be visiting because they aren’t vaccinated, and you don’t want to risk exposing them to the virus. (If this person has actually had the illness, they would have reason to believe that they carry some immunity.)

Winter, when deciduous plants are bare and dormant, is a fine time to trim and shape your shrubs. “With the leaves gone, you can see the structure of the plant better,” Janoski said. Plan to get the work done before the middle of March. You can prune any shrub during the winter, although if you prune branches from plants that bloom in spring, such as forsythia or flowering quince, you’ll be removing flower buds and you will forgo some blooms.

Dear Upset: It would have been judicious for your father-in-law to divide his estate into three equal sibling portions, with your late-husband’s portion given to your children, but he didn’t do that. He cut out your husband and descendants, but you seem to be reacting mainly to the fact that you feel cut out.

Care of all cut Christmas trees is generally the same, regardless of the species. Selecting a fresh tree is the most important, as a dry tree will not take up water and will quickly become a fire hazard. Store it in a bucket of water in a cool, 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, wind-free and sun-free area, such as an unheated garage, until you place it inside. Right before you bring the tree indoors, make a slightly angled cut, approximately 2 inches from the base of the trunk. It is OK to cut more if you need to shorten the tree.