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Giving up relaxing hot baths

Dear Heloise: Up until my 50s, nothing was more relaxing than reading in a very hot tub of water. However, since then, there is no way that I can get out of the tub, even with grab bars. Now I just take a shower and accept that I'm getting old. I'm in my 80s. — Donna, in The Villages, ...

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Up until my 50s, nothing was more relaxing than reading in a very hot tub of water. However, since then, there is no way that I can get out of the tub, even with grab bars. Now I just take a shower and accept that I'm getting old. I'm in my 80s. — Donna, in The Villages, ...

The Kovels

The richly colored glazes of Chinese porcelains have enthralled collectors and inspired artists for hundreds of years. They are often given descriptive names, like the dark red "sang de boeuf" or "oxblood"; the famous peachbloom that inspired the late Victorian craze for two-tone pink glass; or the speckled olive shade called tea dust. Tea dust glaze was first used in the Tang dynasty (618-906). It may not be a coincidence that Chinese "tea culture" emerged in the same era, although tea plants had been cultivated in China and the leaves consumed as food, drink, or medicine for thousands ...

Dear Annie

Dear Annie: I'm 37 and the oldest of four siblings. We lost our mother to cancer 15 months ago, and then about a month ago, our father died very unexpectedly at 60. We never expected to be orphans this young, and the whole thing has been a shock for us. But we were in for an even bigger ...

Dear Annie

Dear Annie: I moved to northern Florida over a year ago to help care for my parents. My sister has lived in southern Florida for many years, and for as long as I can remember, nearly every conversation with her includes the same question: "When are you coming down?" Before I moved here, she ...

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Apparently, there's truth to the saying, "You're never really too old to learn new things." Several months ago, at the tender age of 77, I learned that I'd been purchasing the wrong type of toilet paper for decades. I accidently purchased a no-frills, plain ol' roll of single-ply ...