For elderly people struggling with memory loss, one of the toughest things can be forgetting the details of their own lives. What must it be like when you struggle to recall something you were sure you’d never forget — the name of an old friend, perhaps, or a favorite city where you once lived, or […]

When half or more of your honeybees have deserted the hive and are lingering nearby, who ya gonna call? Swarm chasers can provide quick help to fellow beekeepers, keeping them from getting stung literally and financially. “A swarm is the division of the honeybee colony into two parts,” said Donald Lewis, a professor and Extension […]

It was snowing the day I went to St. Joe’s Emergency Department in Bangor to talk to the staff about working the night shift. Given the weather, most places might have asked me to reschedule. Not the emergency room. They don’t stop for weather, time of day, holidays, natural disasters — or even a writer […]

For the holidays, there are people who absolutely love a classic green bean casserole made with condensed soup, canned beans and packaged fried onions. I get the nostalgia. And the thought is a winning one: tender green beans enveloped in a creamy sauce and topped with crispy crunchy oniony things. But how about a fresher […]

NEW YORK When people find out that I’m an empty nester with a “woman cave” in my New York City apartment, they seem to have a lot of questions. So I recently created this FAQ about it for Facebook friends, which led to a whole other round of comments and questions. If you’re curious about […]

There are many stages of parenthood, and much is written about the first ones — the infant and toddler years. The teenager years, therefore, come as a shock. And, no, I’m not talking about the orneriness, aloofness and growing legs and feet. I’m talking about the way the teenage years impact us as mothers. Two […]

Traditional nursery decor tends to be a gently stirred mix of cute animals, soft hues and nicely matched furnishings. And there’s much to be said for all that sweet serenity; these are rooms both peaceful and soothing. But many parents and designers are looking to inject nurseries with a quirkier style sense, creating spaces that […]

On my living room floor once sat a clerodendron plant, a gift that became an indoor oasis of lush greenery and clusters of red-tipped white flowers. Problem was, I had to tiptoe among its sprawling stems every time I wanted to approach the window. What’s sometimes needed in a houseplant is a bold plant, but […]

SEATTLE Matt Hofmann walks along a small brown pond, the earth of its bank springing underfoot like a muddy mattress. The ground is, in fact, floating. It’s a peat bog on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, and it’s from here that Hofmann, the co-founder of Seattle’s Westland Distillery, is taking an unusual step for America’s booming spirits […]

My son and I were sharing stories about our day at dinner. I went first — which is to say, I interrupted my son and bulldozed his story with my own — because I was absolutely consumed by something that had happened nearly eight hours before. In fact, I had been consumed with it all […]