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Dear Annie: I was abused by my dad as a child, and my relationship with my mother was hell growing up. She was verbally and physically abusive toward me well into my 20s. She began a new relationship and things got worse. The situation between us got a little better when she became sick and I had to take care of her. My siblings didn’t pitch in, even though she treated them better than she did me. I have two daughters now, and she makes comments or critiques the way I parent. If I defend myself, she calls me disrespectful and says I’m hurting her feelings. I am very close to my two ...

Laundry bag used a tool for soups

Dear Heloise: I used a small, new zippered laundry bag to make soup. For chicken soup, I put the bones, skin and fat in the bag, then put the whole thing in the soup pot. All the flavor is added to the soup without the mess. Just empty the bag and discard it. I also did this with ham bones and scraps for ham-and-bean-soup. -- Cindy Fox, via email MOVING HINT Dear Heloise: Invariably, when you are moving, there’s always one box that gets lost. Maybe it was stolen or left behind, or something else happend to it. But if you mark each box No. 1, No. 2 and so on, then when you get your ...

A college chapbook

A lady named Marla, who lives at Cherokee, Iowa recently mailed me an antique artifact. I know that it’s antique because it’s a little bit older than me. The relic in question is a chapbook that was published by Iowa State College in September of 1954. The 70-year-old booklet contains a collection of essays that were penned by students who were enrolled in English 101, 102, and 103. I’ve never attended college, so I have no idea what those numbers mean. For all I know, they refer to the ages of the professors who taught the courses. The book’s essays are all well written. ...

Worried about how lonely my life will be

Dear Annie: I am very confused. I have a friend who is 70 and is in the hospital. She has put a mutual friend, “Dorothy,” down as her daughter. She has a son, but he is a man-child. Our friend Dorothy has so many obligations as it is. Dorothy and I are close, and we are similar ages. I do not have siblings, since my brother passed away at a young age. I have an 85-year-old father who has been both mother and father to me. I have had “Fred” as my life partner for nine years already! You see, after my father passes, I will have Fred to lean on. But when Fred passes, I will ...

Learning geography in fun ways

Dear Heloise: You had a letter from a woman who complained that geography isn’t being taught in schools nowadays. It is a subject that has always interested me, and I was lucky to study it in school. Also, my mother bought my sisters and me a jigsaw puzzle of the United States. The capital city of each state is shown, and it’s a great learning tool. I gave one to my daughter for my grandchildren. -- Carolyn McDonough, Canaan, Connecticut SHREDDED PAPER HINT Dear Heloise: I wanted to share this hint with you. When we receive a sturdy, medium-sized box, I save it for recycling my ...

2.4 billion Easter people can spread a lot of love

Easter is unique among holidays in that it skips around on the calendar. It depends on the vernal equinox and a full moon. Regardless, it comes in spring. Which is perfect. New life, resurrection, birth, greening of nature: all of a piece. There was one Easter morning in history. But we remember and celebrate that single event every year. It’s interesting that we humans commemorate things at regular times on our planet’s journey around the sun. It is a way to make sense of the eternal by connecting it to time and days we can understand. The church calendar is a creation of ...