• With nearly 10 million cut flowers sold every day, knowing where flowers are grown for your bouquets and arrangements is important. Most flowers come from faraway places like Africa, South America and Europe, where fields of colorful blooms are grown in monocultures that are far from eco-friendly. A new directory called Slow Flowers has more than 850 farmer and florist members who use domestically grown “farm to vase” materials. Learn more at slowflowers.com.
Two things can be true at once. Here are two things that are true about this year’s presidential race: One, Donald Trump is the most fundamentally unfit presidential candidate ever nominated by a major party. He’s a congenital liar, a dangerous demagogue, a convicted felon who has long shown contempt for the Constitution and has increasingly shown symptoms of psychological instability. Worse even than all that, he was the only sitting president in U.S. history to attempt to illegally, violently retain power after losing an election. For the good of the country — and virtually regardless of the electoral alternative — America must not return Trump to office.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m the mother of a 16-year-old daughter who loves shopping and frequently goes out with her friends to the mall, the movies and various other places. Up until now, I’ve always paid for her extra experiences – whether that’s her shopping sprees, lunches or outings with her friends. Financially, I can afford all of these things without issue, so it hasn’t been a problem to cover her extra spending. However, I’ve recently been thinking that maybe it’s time for her to get a part-time job and start learning to budget her own money for her personal spending. I want her to understand the value of hard work and how to manage her finances responsibly before she goes off to college or becomes more independent.
Dear Doctors: I had such bad abdominal pain that my husband took me to the ER. I was told I was passing a kidney stone. It took two days, and it was excruciating. What are kidney stones? Is there anything I can do to keep this from happening again?
There are three words that should guide any interpretation of the 2024 election: Mind the gap.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My younger brother, who is only 12, recently came out as gay, and while I fully support him, my parents are struggling to accept it. They keep insisting it’s just a phase, and it’s heartbreaking to watch.
The men who have been making the terrible noise are still at it. The construction on our building began in the early spring, before my husband, Peter, and I returned from Mexico. When we arrived, scaffolding had been set up all around the building and blue plastic had been taped over our windows to protect them from flying debris. Our balcony was unusable, and the driveway was blocked off, filled with piles of bricks.
If Kamala Harris loses the election next month, one big reason will be the steady drift of Latino voters away from the Democrats. In a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, Harris led Donald Trump by 18 points among Latinos, 57 to 39. Only four years ago, those voters favored Joe Biden over Trump by 33 points.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have recently transitioned into a new role that has me working in an open office layout. While I appreciate the collaborative environment and the opportunity to interact with my colleagues, I have been struggling with distractions and noise that make it difficult for me to focus on my tasks effectively. I have tried using noisecanceling headphones to block out some of the distractions, but it hasn’t been entirely effective in creating an environment that is conducive to work. I find myself unable to concentrate on my tasks, which is impacting my productivity. I want to address this issue with my team or management in a constructive manner, but I am concerned about coming across as complaining or causing any tension in the office. Can you provide me with some guidance on how to communicate my concerns about the open office distractions without creating any negative perceptions? – Open Office Distraction DEAR OPEN OFFICE DISTRACTION: Talk to your supervisor and describe the challenges you have been having with concentration and productivity. Ask for support so that you can do your job better. Some suggestions you can offer include asking if there is an area in your office that is tucked away from others where you could move. While it may still be out in the open, if it is on the perimeter, that may help you. Suggest being allowed to work from home when you have a looming deadline or other project that is essential and time-sensitive. You can also request the use of a conference room for a few hours per day to carve out quiet time to get things done.
Dear Doctors: I was in a car accident, and an X-ray showed I had two broken ribs. A second X-ray taken a month later showed I also had a cracked rib.