Dear Heloise: I liked the idea of doing easy crosswords upside-down. Something I enjoy is to try to solve the puzzle using only the across clues. It makes it fun, and it requires imagination and visualizing the possibilities when the clues are vague. -- Tim K., in Elkhorn, Nebraska WASHING ...

Pati Kachel at Lyon County Museum Sept. 16 Pati Kachel will present “Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Little Author on the Prairie” at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday. Sept. 16, at the Lyon County Museum, 301 West Lyon Street, Marshall For the past four decades professional storyteller Kachel has performed ...

Dear Annie: I recently had my 50th birthday. My boyfriend and I have been dating for seven years, with a two-year break. His friend recently asked me if my boyfriend gave me a present from him. I hadn’t received the present, so I didn’t say anything to my boyfriend, hoping maybe time just ...

Dear Heloise: I love precooked whole chickens from the grocery store as much as anyone, but I dislike the fat in them. So, I do this: When I buy one, I remove the chicken pieces from it while it’s still hot/warm and put them into a container spread out flat. I then put a paper towel on top ...

Dear Annie: I am at my wits’ end. I don’t know what to do for my 29-year-old grandson. He needs help, but I don’t know how to help him. This is what I call a wasted life. He has no motivation to better himself. He has been living at my house for five months. After he got here, he got ...

Dear Heloise: An article about purse safety just appeared in this week’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A woman came out of the grocery store, placed her grocery bags in her car, put her purse in the front seat, and walked only a few steps to the rack to return the cart. As she was doing so, a very ...