It is 10:30 at night and my 4-year-old should be asleep. Instead, she’s waiting for me at the top of the stairs. Lately she looks so big — little girlish with long legs and a defiant smile. But right now, she seems like my baby again, zipped up in pink footie pajamas and clutching her […]

Maine banks, businesses and, yes, counterfeiters alike once printed the state’s paper currency. Paying bills in the ‘wild West.’ Imagine heading down to the local coffee shop for your morning caffeine boost. You get your medium with extra cream and no sugar and reach into your pocket to pull out that well-worn $10 bill. Ah, […]

The key to a nonstick cast-iron skillet is a little bit of oil Q: I finally bought a cast-iron skillet, and I know it will take a while to build up a real patina to where it is nonstick, even though it came preseasoned. Are there tricks that will specifically help that along at a […]

I’m forever looking for clever ways to streamline my closet, declutter my junk drawer and organize the mail. As a mom, though, my favorite tips are those that are not only useful but also easy to incorporate into everyday child-rearing. I’m not the only one looking for new ideas. Since 2005, Asha Dornfest, a Portland, […]

It’s mid-January, and I’m shopping for a dress my daughter won’t need until June, even though she’ll probably grow three inches and gain 10 pounds before then. This, I’m told, is not a dumb idea. “Everyone” does it for eighth-grade graduation.I have no idea if this is true, but Sophie, my eldest child, says it […]

Especially for men The idea of a “marriage advantage” to health and happiness has existed for well over 150 years. In 1858, epidemiologist William Farr found that people who were coupled up lived the longest, while the unmarried died in much higher proportions from the diseases like cholera that were raging at the time. The […]

You send an innocuous text — something as simple as, “hey, how was your day?” or “my plane just landed.” One hour passes, then two, three, four. Funny, you think, they usually don’t take this long to respond. At first you assume the explanation is innocent: Maybe their phone died. Maybe they went to bed […]

Tuck Tucker has a fun name. That’s fitting for a guy who’s known for unleashing verbal wit and physical comedy that elicits snorts and guffaws across New England. Tucker, one of several comedians coming to Lewiston for an event April 30, doesn’t just deliver the wit, he teaches others in the ways of stand-up comedy, […]