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NOTE: We’ve been a working duo for 38-plus years and were recently interviewed by another female duo—Maura and Christie--who’ve been working together for 10 years which includes co-hosting their The Balance Dilemma Podcast  Despite many asking us: Are you two still getting along? We are, as are our interviewers. Here’s our story from their FEB 20, 2026, recording.                                                             ### What Two 70-Something Writers Know About Collaboration, Reinvention, & Why Everything Gets Better After 50 For 38 years, Margaret Crane and Barbara Ballinger have been writing together through five children, one divorce, one widowhood, relocations, reinventions, and enough life plot twists to fill several...

We hear the terms opinionated and judgmental bandied about and wonder, what are the differences? You might say about a friend who typically doesn't like your movie or restaurant choices, “Oh, she’s so opinionated.” But then, when she rolls her eyes or tut-tuts at a young girl’s mini-mini skirt or multiple tattoo piercings, you think, “My goodness, she’s judgmental.”   Are these terms interchangeable? Is one better than the other, or are both put-downs? Where does this stem from? Does social media fuel these fires? We were eager to learn the differences between the behaviors, so we asked Baltimore psychologist...

  We’ve discussed what you think you need to do to be a great host, but what are some hosting faux pas that might irk friends and family? Maybe it's asking guests to take off their shoes without offering slippers. Obviously, anyone invited into your home should be comfortable, since hosting takes effort, time and money. It’s much easier to gather at a restaurant, yet it’s so much warmer, cozier and welcoming to be together in a home. A few tweaks can help you avoid leaving a bad impression on your guests.  Why not do your best? We’ve borrowed a...

  We grew up with parents who considered discussing anything financial to be fraught with problems, less than classy, and, might we say, downright tacky. We were instructed: ·       Don’t ask how much something costs (as the adage goes, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it”); ·       Don’t share that something was costly since it makes those unable to buy it feel uncomfortable (cheap is OK at times); ·       Don’t divvy up restaurant meals by figuring out who ate what rather than splitting the bill equally, even if someone drank their weight in alcohol; ·       Don’t ask how...

We’ve written about how to stay warm in prior blogs. Still, with the latest blasts of Arctic air, we think putting out our ideas is the equivalent of a public service announcement to family and friends who are going stir-crazy inside or feel they might turn into an icicle, which we each see out our windows. Here are 16 suggestions; share yours. 1.       Layer up indoors. We dress in an underlayer of tights and tops, some from Uniqlo, which offers a very high-tech warm line, including socks. On top of this, we add warm pants and a sweater—even that Christmas...