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Try this easier way to open bottles

Dear Heloise: This is to add to Karen from Michigan’s suggestion about recycling toilet paper rolls. I reuse them by cutting the rolls in half and standing them upright in the bottom of a plastic ice-cream bucket. Next, I add potting soil until it reaches the tops of the shortened rolls. After moistening the soil, I plant one vegetable seed in each roll. When the seedlings are large enough to transplant, and weather permits, I plant them directly in the garden -- cardboard roll and all. There’s no need to remove the seedling from the roll. This method keeps the roots from being ...

When a dire decision is the only option left

Dear Annie: I’ve had a dear friend for nearly a decade. He has been addicted to meth, heroin, alcohol -- you name it. For years, I was the savior he ran to when everything fell apart. He’s married and has two young children. Before his youngest was born, he was a full-blown meth addict. I broke into his house multiple times after he overdosed while home alone with their first child, who was only 3. He cheated on his wife, got another drug-addicted woman pregnant (she later had an abortion), and his wife threatened to leave. I tried to impress upon him the severity of the situation, ...

When planning a scavenger hunt

Dear Heloise: My 4-year-old grandson and I enjoy playing scavenger hunts together, but sometimes we can’t remember exactly what he has hidden outside. To make things easier, we now line up seven or eight items that we’ve chosen to hide -- usually his toys -- and I take a quick photo of them on my phone before we start. As one of us finds an item, we line them up again and compare them to the photo to see which ones we’ve found and which are still missing. It keeps the game fun, avoids frustration, and helps ensure that nothing is left behind. Having a photo helps every time! -- ...

Police logs

Brown County Sheriff’s Office • Responded to a one-vehicle crash without reported injuries on CR 24 just east of Mathiowetz Construction, Leavenworth at 2:24 p.m. Wednesday. Levi Jakes, 20, New Ulm was driving a 2020 GMC Sierra westbound that crossed the road, entered the opposite ditch, hit a fence and REA pole. Damage was moderate. New Ulm Police • Arrested a 41-year-old New Ulm man without incident on a Brown County warrant for failure to appear in court at 10:22 a.m. A report was done for documentation.

Balancing independence with newfound curiosity

Dear Annie: I need advice about a situation I never expected. I’m 37, single and mostly happy with my life. Then my new neighbor moved in. He’s charming and easy to talk to, and I realized I’m suddenly aware of every interaction, overthinking every glance or comment. He’s friendly and sociable, nothing overt, but I catch myself reading too much into casual gestures. I find myself planning my errands around seeing him, replaying conversations in my head, and feeling a strange mix of excitement and anxiety I haven’t felt in a long time. I’ve always been independent and ...

Don’t pick at the produce please

Dear Heloise: I frequently see fellow shoppers in the grocery store produce section who snatch and eat bits of items there -- grapes, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, little peppers, and even a small apple one day. While individual instances are miniscule, this “grazing” over time can have a significant impact on inventory costs, which jacks up the prices that we all pay. Oh, by the way, it is also shoplifting ... theft ... stealing. Don’t do it. -- Jim R., in Houston Jim, it’s also unsanitary. You never know how many unwashed hands have touched the tomatoes or grapes. ...