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More safety tips for carbon monoxide monitors

Dear Heloise: The letter about preventing carbon monoxide poisoning by getting a monitor for your home is a must but, it didn’t go far enough. You should get a monitor that you can also travel with. How many articles have we read about carbon monoxide poisoning in vacation rental homes, condos and even hotels? Vacations are a relaxing getaway, but you shouldn’t let your guard down while you are staying in places that probably do not have an installed monitor. Taking that home monitor with you, or a separate unit, could save your life. –– Kagey in Prescott, Ariz (reading the ...

Horoscope

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Out with thinking you must do everything alone. Independence is admirable, but isolation is exhausting. In with supported ambition. Let others help, teach, collaborate, cheer and lighten the burden. Receiving is as powerful as giving. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Out with perfectionism. It’s a trap dressed as ambition, keeping you frozen in place. In with steady progress. Small steps done imperfectly move mountains over time. Let yourself try things. Stop judging yourself for not being flawless. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Out with saying yes out of habit or ...

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 31, the 366th and final day of 2025. This is New Year’s Eve. Today in history: On Dec. 31, 1879, Thomas Edison first demonstrated his electric incandescent lights for the public by illuminating some 100 bulbs in and around his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Also on this date: In 1904, New York’s Times Square saw its first New Year’s Eve celebration, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance. In 1972, baseball player Roberto Clemente, 38, was killed when a plane he chartered and was traveling on crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto ...

What to do with leftover holiday greeting cards

Dear Heloise: What I do with my greeting cards, including and mostly Christmas cards, is to cut off the fronts of the cards and give them to a preschool at my church. They can use them to make all kinds of different projects. Check with preschools in your area to see if they would like yours as a donation. –– Joanne Baird, in Salem, Ohio Dear Heloise: For all of you who live in snowy areas and put your car in the garage each evening, here are ways to keep the garage floor clean from slush, snow and melted ice. Kick off snow under car before garaging. After you remove the car, ...

DEAR DR. ROACH: My wife was having problems getting to sleep and has stocked our medicine cabinet with various p.m. versions of popular pain relievers that have been advertised as sleep aids. Recently, I’ve had problems getting to sleep as well and began taking a single pill before retiring, but I can’t honestly say that they’re helping. I would appreciate your opinion if these particular “sleep aids” work as advertised, and if so, can you recommend a preferred brand? Additionally, I seem to recall reading that continued use of certain pain relievers can lead to intestinal ...

Coping with an empty nest at holidays

Dear Annie: I’ve read plenty about empty-nest depression and how to cope with it, and I managed that stage just fine. I enjoyed my grandchildren and watched them grow into teenagers. But now I’m struggling with something different: how to handle the emptiness of the holidays. I have two sons. One has always made sure I get time with his family. The other is married to a woman who insists they spend Christmas with her mother across the country. As a result, my husband and I are left alone for the holiday. I’ve suggested they visit a week early and then go on their trip, but it’s ...