Dear Annie: I never thought I would write to an advice column about this, but I am genuinely torn. I am a 34-year-old woman with two dogs, Bella and Murphy. They are both rescues and have been with me through a breakup, a move and the death of my dad. I joke that they are my “first kids,” ...

Dear Heloise: I have one neighbor around the corner who just put up a flagpole in their front yard. I have another neighbor who has hung windchimes from a tree in their front yard. I can easily hear the clang clang from the flagpole and the ding ding from the chimes in my house, even though my ...

In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Alice Sanger as the first female White House staffer at a time of a growing movement for women’s rights. In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II. In 1959, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 1 ...

Dear Annie: Now that my husband and I are in our 70s, it feels as if our social world has shrunk to the size of a postage stamp. Friends have moved away to be near their children, others are dealing with health issues, and a few have simply drifted off. We used to host dinners, take short trips ...

Dear Heloise: In response to Diane T. in Arizona, I had the opposite happen to me. I had been going to a hairdresser for many, many years. It was my hairdresser who started to not be on time. My time is important to me. I booked appointments on my day off from work. I am a morning person, but ...

Dear Readers: Before we rush into a brand-new year, I want to pause and say thank you. Thank you for reading, for writing in and for trusting me with the parts of your life you don’t always share at the dinner table. Thank you for letting this corner of the page be a place where we can talk ...