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Spooning out seeds from squash

Dear Heloise: I use a serrated grapefruit spoon to spoon out the seeds from squash. It really gets them out easily. -- Nancy K., in Amsterdam, New York DON’T FORGET! Dear Heloise: I live in a two-story home and have a spare fridge in the garage for the “overflow.” I keep a pad of sticky notes in the kitchen. Whenever I need something from the lower level, I write the item on a note and stick it to one of the glass panels om the french door that leads downstairs. (No marks are left on the glass.) There’s no more forgetting what I needed, and it helps limit the up-and-down ...

Midlife, heartbreak and starting over

Dear Annie: I really enjoy reading your column. I have a problem of my own I’d like some help with. I have two daughters in university. When they’re home, they stay in their rooms or maybe talk to friends on the phone. They hardly talk to me. They go back to school and I’m home alone. I really miss them. They come back for the holidays again and it’s the same cycle. At the same time, I’m dealing with the trauma of infidelity. My husband had a secret affair, and I found out the woman has a child with him, too. I have started having serious heart palpitations after finding ...

Opening pill bottles with ease

Dear Heloise: If you can’t get the cap off a pill bottle on the first time, use something like a dull knife blade or a bottle cap opener to pry out the plastic insert inside the cap, and then replace the cap on the bottle. It’s much easier to open. -- Christa, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Christa, if you ask the pharmacy, they’ll remove childproof caps and put the easy-to-open caps on your pill bottles. Please, readers, keep all medications where children can’t reach them. Over the years, we’ve heard too many sad tales of youngsters who get their hands on medication that looks ...

Married life has lost its luster

Dear Annie: I’m writing because I feel embarrassed even admitting this, but I’m starting to dread parts of my own life that I worked hard to build. I’m 52, married for 24 years, and we have two grown kids who are mostly launched. Our son is across the country and our daughter lives close enough to drop by for Sunday dinner. I used to look forward to this “quieter season,” but instead I feel like the silence in our house is highlighting how far apart my husband and I have drifted. From the outside, people would say we’re lucky. My husband is decent, we’re financially ...

Enjoying flowers in the present

Dear Heloise: First, I’d like to say that I enjoy reading your hints each day. Here is a novel idea my late mother once said to me: “Why don’t you give me flowers now when I can enjoy them, not when I am dead and cannot?” I find it rather sound advice. What say you? Thank you. -- Daniel D., via email Daniel, I agree, and I think many of my readers do as well. Thank you for writing in. -- Heloise COLD WATER FOR BLOOD Dear Heloise: I, like many other senior citizens, take aspirin and blood thinners and suffer from occasional pop-up skin bleeds that get on my pants, shirts ...

Weighed down while husband is worry-free

Dear Annie: I’m writing because I can’t tell if I’m being too sensitive or if I’m finally seeing something I’ve been ignoring for years. I’m 46, married, and we have three kids (two teens and one in college). On paper, our life is good. We’re busy, we’re stable, we show up for school events and family birthdays. But lately I feel like I’m disappearing inside my own home. My husband isn’t cruel. He works hard and he’d say he loves me. But the day-to-day is starting to feel like I’m the household manager, the default parent, the calendar keeper, the meal ...