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Is combining friendships like a recipe or musical score? Hardly, but it does take trial and error.  We blend wines, spices, words, colors, ideas, and sounds all the time. Unfortunately, not all efforts mix well like oil and water or credit card bills and your budget. There can be clashing tastes in a recipe not yet perfected, a variety of hues in one room that may not be complimentary--too jarring, and the divergent, loud sounds of traffic may sound cacophonic and actually hurt your ears.  After we each became single in our 50s and 60s and after 31 years and...

by Susan “Honey” Good We can recklessly say what we choose, or we can carefully choose what we say. Remember, we are wise because of our life experiences. Our grandchildren are much younger than us. So we must think before we speak.  Here are a few things you may be tempted to say to your grandchildren, but they will not do anyone any good: “Don’t tell your mom or dad.” This is teaching your grandchildren it is OK to be dishonest. “Boys don’t cry.” Of course boys should cry. They have the same emotions as girls. It is normal to...

"Does she have a thyroid problem?" Two women looking at a photo of an obese relative.  "Have you talked to your doctor about portion control?" A mother says this to her daughter as she eyes her up and down.  "How can you not go to the wedding (when you're almost related)? "How can you be invited to a shower when you're not invited to the wedding?" A friend makes both statements to her friend on the phone. Some friend.  "You spend so much more on clothing than I do. I would never buy that at that store." Sister says this...

We were raised conventionally, prudishly. Both of us were brought up in homes where the topic of sex was never or rarely mentioned. Nice girls didn’t talk about sex, or "do it" before or out of a marriage. When we started dating, our mothers would remind us not to do anything they wouldn’t do. Implicit was: Don’t have sex, get pregnant, and ruin your life. That was just understood.  But we never had that conversation.    Once we reached puberty, sex was on everyone’s brain. Most of us didn’t have the benefit of sex education at home and, if taught...

“Oh my aching back!” “When I get up from a chair, I can barely move.” “I was bending down the other day to put a pot away and suddenly I heard a pop.” These are typical comments from those suffering from implacable back pain.  A few years ago, I did a story on back problems and discovered one of the best ways to ward off back problems is really very simple: Take a walk. Apparently hoofing it strengthens stomach and back muscles and bones and keeps your heart rate up doing something aerobic that isn’t stressful on your body as...