Packing a picnic basket and eating somewhere in the beautiful outdoors is a beloved summertime activity for many of us. But plan your picnics without single-use bottles, disposable plates and plastic utensils that can lead to waste both at the picnic site and in landfills. You can make your picnic more eco-friendly by opting for nearly zero-waste loose fruit selections like peaches and apples, wrapping up sandwiches in recyclable aluminum foil, and filling reusable bottles with homemade drinks.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been fighting with my sister for a decade. I want to end it but don't know how. My sister and I haven't been speaking because of a childish argument we had when we were 20 years old. I honestly can't even remember what it was about and have really missed talking to her. We were best friends growing up and would tell each other everything. We are both stubborn and set in our ways, so neither of us wants to admit we are wrong. I don't have her phone number, but I have been considering asking my brother or parents for it. I don't want to look like the weak sister, but I really miss her.
CONCORD, N.H. — Sometimes politics is about chemistry; sometimes it is about mathematics. This presidential campaign is about a little of each.
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DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who doesn't respect my time at all, and it's very frustrating. We will make plans to go out for dinner or an event together, which I will have been looking forward to all day, and she'll cancel on me an hour before we're supposed to leave. If she doesn't cancel, she will postpone for an hour. I find it incredibly disrespectful toward me because time and being timely is something that I value. I find it interesting that she doesn't respect my time since she gets very upset when people mess with hers. All these incidents keep piling up, and I feel like I might snap at her and say something that I regret soon. How do I approach having a conversation with her about this and avoid creating tension? We are both in our early 20s, and I have learned that people around my age don't like being confronted about topics like this. I consider her my best friend and don't want this to ruin our friendship. — Honor Time DEAR HONOR TIME: You are overdue for a face-to-face. Sit down with your friend and express to her how disappointed you are in how your interactions have been going recently. Explain how you look forward to activities that the two of you plan together and how jarring it is when she regularly cancels, postpones or delays plans that you have made together. Tell her that it isn't respectful of your time, and you do not appreciate it. Sure, she may not like that you are bringing this up, but you must.
The next election is more than 14 months away, but every analyst who studies the data is coming to the same conclusion: That contest — a likely rerun between Joe Biden and Donald Trump — will be very close. Democrats start with a small advantage in the electoral map, but the latest national polls show the two contenders in a dead heat.
It's seven minutes after 10 p.m., and the usual ruckus ensues.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I'm having trouble with a musician friend of mine. She came to me seeking advice about a few songs she's been working on. I gave her my opinion, trying my best to be as tactful as possible. However, she took my feedback the wrong way and ended up getting quite upset with me. She claimed that she valued my opinion, yet her reaction said otherwise. I'm now wondering if it would be unfair for me to ask her to stop seeking my advice altogether. — You Asked DEAR YOU ASKED: Why not just pause altogether? You don't need to address this situation right now. You see the impact that your advice had on your friend, at least in the immediate aftermath. Perhaps she will consider your input after getting over her hurt feelings and take it into account. Perhaps not. There's a good chance she won't ask you for advice anymore since she didn't receive it well. If she does, that's when you can decline, telling her that you do not feel comfortable sharing your honest opinion since you have experienced her taking your feedback very poorly.
CLINTON DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL
There's a lot of talk among House Republicans about impeaching President Joe Biden. But GOP members disagree on whether there is enough evidence to go forward. On one hand, Republican investigators have made enormous progress in the past few weeks. The testimony of former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer demolished Joe Biden's claim that he didn't talk to his son about Hunter's shady foreign business deals. GOP lawmakers are also finding increasing evidence that foreign money flowed to multiple members of the Biden family close to Joe Biden himself.