Dear Anna,

I've been with my boyfriend for two years now. We’re both in our mid-20s. His family is honestly the most toxic group of people I’ve ever encountered, and it's taking a huge toll on me. They’ve caused nothing but chaos and drama, moving in and out of our place, causing fights, skipping bills and even trashing our house. My ...Read more

Years ago, a bona fide gourmet cook showed me how she passed off store-bought bread as homemade by sprinkling a little sifted flour on top.

From that day forward, I was always suspicious of her offerings at large gatherings, although I greatly admired her ability to economize time and energy.

Not long after, my mother tried to pull a fast one ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

We need help figuring out a logical consequence for our almost 9-year-old son who snuck into our closet (definitely off-limits) and snooped around and climbed up to the top shelf and found his big birthday present. This happened last year at Christmas and we thought ruining the surprise for himself was lesson enough, but ...Read more

Q. I wish I could say I look forward to the holidays, but now that my kids’ mother and I have split up, it just seems impossible. Thanksgiving is the worst. We used to live in the same neighborhood, therefore alternating just Thanksgiving Day worked. But their mom recently moved to the next town. The kids hate sitting in the car. I hate ...Read more

The expenses don’t end when you buy a house. In fact, they’re just beginning. Homes come with a lot of hidden costs — and chief among them is maintenance.

You might not take maintenance into account when purchasing a home, especially if you’re moving from a rental where upkeep is largely handled by the landlord. Result: surprise or even...Read more

FORKSVILLE, Pa. -- On a stormy Sunday night in late June, one of Sullivan County’s newer residents stomped his little sneakers in rainbow-ringed puddles outside his parents’ gas station in a tiny town where two clear creeks converge.

Up the road, past Forksville’s wooden covered bridge, county settlers rest in a hilly cemetery where some ...Read more

Most people know they should be saving a portion of their income, but they might not grasp all of the benefits of doing so. Saving is an important habit to get into for a number of reasons — it helps you cover future expenses, manage financial stress and plan for vacations, just to name a few.

Understanding the different merits of saving ...Read more

Pinky Winky has gone Prime! One of my all-time favorite hydrangea paniculata varieties, Pinky Winky is now being offered as Prime. This means you can now choose Pinky Winky or Pinky Winky Prime hydrangea for your landscape or pollinator habitat, as I will explain.

Your first question is what the difference is, and that would be size. It is ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I've been dating my boyfriend (36M) for five months, and recently, I found out that he had quite a reputation for sending unsolicited, borderline harassy messages to women online. A coworker of mine showed me some of his old DMs on Instagram — telling her how hot she was, and asking her out repeatedly, even though she never replied...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- TikToker Logan Ivey creates playful videos that often feature the quirks of living in Sacramento, but one of his lighthearted videos centered on the city received serious attention.

On Aug. 22, Ivey posted a video documenting the derelict state of several broken or missing street lamps in the city of Sacramento. In his ...Read more

This all began with guitars. I play the guitar, but beyond knowing how to change a string and tune one, I had never given much thought to how it worked, how it was put together. Then one day, I gave it some thought, and began watching videos posted by luthiers on YouTube, which led me inexorably from guitar making to guitar repair, which, in ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The weathered UC Davis Marine Laboratory looms in thick fog on the edge of the ocean near Bodega Bay. Inside, an experiment is playing out that gives a badly-needed boost to Northern California’s kelp forests—underwater cathedrals of green and gold that nearly vanished from the north coast a decade ago.

In early October,...Read more

“In your opinion, why am I still single? I want love to find me!!”

This is a text message I received recently from a frustrated client of mine.

I actually get this question more often than one might think. I replied, “This sounds like a question that can’t be answered over text. But I’ll start here: You’ve had relationships before,...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I teach first-grade and have two students who scream, cry, and/or whine extremely loudly when they don’t get what they want or something doesn’t go their way. They just sit at their desks (or sometimes go under their desks) and make noise. I’ve attended Behavioral Leadership training, so I know to delay Learning ...Read more

Q. I read your column, and I find it fascinating that you think that people who have volatile backgrounds can get along. My ex was a very violent person. We all had the bruises to prove it. I finally left three years ago and didn’t look back. They never see the kids, and to think I should reach out for the sake of the children is outside of my...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. -- An endangered species of ape, a siamang, was born at ZooTampa at Lowry Park last Sunday night. The zoo called it “a sign of hope for the species.”

Siamangs are the largest of the lesser (meaning smaller) apes that are native to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, and they are listed as endangered. They play an important role in...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. -- One of the weirdest spectacles in aviation history returns to Tampa for the first time in more than a decade Saturday when the Red Bull Flugtag competition sets loose the imaginations of wacky inventors who dare to create outlandish feats of flight.

The competition is expected to draw more than 100,000 spectators to the ...Read more

Does anyone remember when you made a purchase, went to a doctor or took your car in for a repair and weren't asked for a review? We are in the throes of review mania.

I recently visited a new dentist. Two hours after I left his office, a text arrived asking for a review. I hesitated. What if I inadvertently posted something he took the wrong ...Read more

Costa Mesa, California, realtor Valerie Torelli comes from a family of card players; her father was a successful handicapper (someone who analyzes sporting events to find an edge when placing bets on games).

So, when her then-teenage son Alec told her he wanted to go pro as a poker player, she had but one thought: “WOW, just WOW,” she says....Read more