Boyfriend won’t make effort to fit in

SENSE & SENSITIVITY DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently started dating a man, and we go through the same trials and tribulations as any normal couple. However, none of my siblings approve of this relationship. He has not met my family yet, but I am anxious for when that day comes.

Save empty milk cartons for moving

Here’s a reason to start saving empty milk and juice cartons (and ask your neighbors and friends to save for you!) a few weeks before you move: They can help protect your fragile items. Just insert breakable items like glassware into the cartons.

Picking up after mom is lifelong family dilemma

DEAR ABBY: My mom has never been what you would call a housekeeper. Dad did all the shopping, cooking and cleaning. As a child, I remember our house always being a mess. Mom worked, and I don’t know why she never felt like she needed to clean up after herself.

Man’s private mailbox leads wife to question finances

DEAR ABBY: I have been happily married for more than 40 years. Since he retired a couple of years ago, it has come to my attention that he has been getting mail at a separate private mailbox. I don’t see a good reason for this, and it is weighing on me heavily.

Studies link hot drinks and esophageal cancer

Dear Doctor: I’m a tea drinker, and I like it best when it’s steaming hot. My sister says drinking liquids that hot is bad for you, and that they can cause cancer. Is she right? Should I be worried?

Daughter tries to mediate among extranged family

DEAR ABBY: My sister “Thea” has distanced herself from the family. I understand why she did. Our parents were mentally, physically and emotionally abusive while we were growing up, with one who instigated the issues and the other taking it out on us kids. I feel stuck in the middle of chaos.

Lots to consider for grandfather wanting a dog

Dear Doctor: Our granddad went through a really hard time after our grandmother died last summer. He turned into a hermit. Now he’s set on getting a dog, which our mom thinks is a bad idea because of all the extra work.

IRS gets my money; in return I stay out of jail

Every month, I and most other business owners have to go online and submit a payroll withholding report to the fine folks at the IRS. Then they rummage around my checking account in search of however much money is stated in the report. Generally, it works out fine.

More than 600 new words added to dictionary

Merriam-Webster just added 640 new words to its dictionary. Contemporary words like "go-cup" and "vulture capitalism." The problem is, we all know how to spell those words and what they mean. After all, we invented them. Who needs a dictionary to look up the words we already know?

How can Dems talk down the economy?

“The recession talk in late 2018 got way, way out of hand,” New York Times economic reporter Neil Irwin tweeted a few days ago. Indeed it did.