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Deciding how to deal with dad’s wedding drama

Dear Annie: In a couple of weeks, I will attend my dad’s wedding. He is 77 years old and this is his fourth wedding. That isn’t the biggest issue, though. My sister and I (both in our 50s) were surprised to find out about five months ago that his fiancee is none other than the woman he had an affair with 30 years ago, while married to our mom. While my mom never had an affair, she had her own issues, so they divorced a couple of years after that. Forgiving my dad took a lot for all of us, but we moved on. A few weeks after we found out, my sister, brother-in-law, husband and I all ...

Barn swallos nest on the porch

Dear Heloise: Our residential neighborhood has barn swallows. In mid-May, we realized that they had built a beautiful nest in the corner of our very small porch, and a female sat on it as the male watched from close by. When we sure that the eggs were hatched and the babies were gone, my husband took down the nest and cleaned the porch. He installed a 12-inch owl to discourage them from coming back. Today we found that they had started a nest behind the owl. When we removed the nest, two hours later, they had started to build on the owl’s head. We need help! -- Linda E., Conway, ...

Right on schedule

Sleepy Eye’s Independence Day fireworks went off on schedule Thursday evening. The forecast called for rain all day and despite an afternoon shower, the rain stopped hours before the pyrotechnics display over Sleep Eye Lake started at 10 a.m. Hundreds of spectators had time to gather around ...

U18 softball places 1st in Luverne tourney

Struggling with my son who only uses me for money

Dear Annie: I left an extremely abusive marriage almost 30 years ago. The physical, verbal and mental abuse was so bad that I had to escape from the house one day when my husband was not home. I had a son with him that I had to leave behind. My son was 5 years old at the time. He would not have let me have him, so I made the decision, with the help of a family member, to leave with just the clothes I was wearing. Fast forward to the present, I recovered from that horrible episode in my life, completed my education and got a great job. I divorced him a year later. All these years, I had ...

Getting dogs to eat their food

Dear Heloise: I read your column in the Houston Chronicle every day. It has been a part of my morning ritual for many enjoyable years. Thank you. I am a dog person. We have two Labrador Retrievers. Every now and then, one of our dogs will go “off” of their food, but I have a simple solution that works every time: I put beef or chicken broth in a spray bottle. I just spritz a couple of sprays onto their dry food, and voila! They gobble it down! Stay well. -- Rob L., in Houston SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise@Heloise.com DIGITAL DATING Dear Heloise: In this world of AI and ...