Dear Doctors: When someone tests positive for COVID-19 now, what are they supposed to do? So much has changed since the pandemic started, what with the vaccines and the boosters and the different variants. Now they're even changing how long you're supposed to isolate. I'm confused.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My mom and sister have gained a lot of weight since the beginning of 2020. My sister is out of work, and my mom is working way too much. I think these are both contributing factors to their weight gain. I know they aren't alone. Most of my friends, co-workers and neighbors have packed on some pounds. As I have seen a few people out and about, I have noticed this. To avoid that problem, I chose to exercise more intensely during quarantine, but my familydid not. How can I help them? How can I say something about this without offending them deeply? I know we made different choices before, but I want to motivate them to change so that they can be healthier now. – Trying To Help
I don't know about you, but both as a participant and a spectator, I have always looked to sports as a refuge. A refuge from what? Well, what have you got? Work, politics, public controversy, pretty much everything this column is normally about.
DEAR HARRIETTE: At Christmas dinner, my dad called me out about my outfit in front of everyone. He told me that what I was wearing was completely inappropriate and that I should change immediately. I'm a grown woman, but I was absolutely humiliated by the way my dad spoke to me in front of friends and family. I'm not even sure why he still feels that he can talk to me that way. I haven't spoken to him since the incident, and I'm not sure when I will speak to him again. When I do speak to him, what should I say? – Dad Called Me Out
● Many of us reach for salt to de-ice sidewalks and driveways during the winter. It's effective, but when the ice melts, the salty mixture can wreak havoc on plants and our waterways. A more natural alternative is alfalfa meal, which you can find at gardening and feed stores. Totally natural, this fertilizing compound melts ice and adds traction to prevent slips and falls. Plus, your lawn and plants will feed on it come spring. And unlike most fertilizers, alfalfa meal smells nice, too.
He lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground ... Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; and after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
"You'll never guess what I did!" my husband, Peter, announced.
Republican Glenn Youngkin was recently sworn in as the new governor of Virginia, a state that Joe Biden won by almost half a million votes. What caused such a rapid shift in sentiment?
DEAR HARRIETTE: I decided to limit the amount of contact that my family is allowed to have with me. Now that I am older, I realize how truly toxic they are. I want to be cordial with them, and I want them to know how much I love them, but cutting off their access to me means protecting my peace. I feel slightly guilty about this, but it's been months since I've spoken to them, and I haven't had even the slightest bit of drama in my life ever since. Am I doing the right thing? – Family Ties
We thought we would share some of the headlines we would like to be able to publish in the Clinton Daily News this year.