Heading for the beach, hopping a plane to France or hitting the American road with your kids this summer? Some books to prep or pack:– “Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach” (Kids Can Press, $15.95, ages 4-8) written and illustrated by Melanie Watt.The germophobic and jittery squirrel is back and stressing out over a trip to […]

Invite the sun in with these window-cleaning pointers from Jeld-Wen Inc.:• A cloudy, dry day is best for washing windows. Intense sunlight can dry the cleaning solution too quickly, causing streaks.• Make a glass cleaner by mixing either 1 teaspoon baby shampoo or 1½ cups vinegar with a gallon of water. Wash windows using the […]

I’ve begun Week 8 of my recuperation from foot surgery. I’m still on crutches with one steel pin in my second toe, but the stitches have been removed and I’m off those nasty pain meds. Now I can actually keep up my end of a conversation and write e-mails without at least 15 typos. My […]

The lobster’s tail is the meatiest, and some say most flavorful, part of the lobster. In this recipe, it is left in the shell and stuffed with the meat from other parts of the lobster. Most grocers will steam or boil your lobsters for you. This is a great shortcut for recipes such as this. […]

DEAR ABBY: Last year, my husband, “Steve,” was scheduled for bypass surgery. He told everyone – all our friends and relatives – that he planned to stop smoking afterward. It has now been nine months, and as recently as last week Steve and I were discussing his amazing willpower with friends.Several times over the past […]

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jack Johnson, 32; Tina Fey, 38; Chow Yun-Fat, 53; George Strait, 56Happy Birthday: There is so much you can accomplish if you are relentless in your pursuits. Money will be offered and contracts can be signed that are beyond your expectations. Your ideas will interest others and moving about will […]

You’ll find lots of new gardening products hitting the shelves and catalogs this spring – many of them enviro-friendly.Here’s a sampling of what’s new, available at many gardening centers:– EarthBox. Think automatic garden in a box. This plastic box – a little more than 1 foot wide and 2 feet long – has a self-watering […]

Good morning! Well, May is turning out the way it normally does. You get a few wonderfully warm days and you think, “Yes, it is spring.” And then, here come the 50 degree temperatures and rain to take that notion away. But then the warmth returns and, yes, it will stay sooner or later. I […]

CAPE ELIZABETH – When it comes to lobster, Kathryn Rolston is all about tails. She finds it easier to wrestle from the shell than claw meat, and more substantial.But for Gene Beaudoin, her lunch companion, it’s the claws that make the meal. He says any extra effort to get at them is worth it because […]

Lobster claw meat is generally softer and sweeter than the tail meat. For that reason, many chefs prefer claw meat for lobster rolls. The claw meat also could be combined with chopped tail meat. Ingredients: 3 cups of chopped lobster claw meat (about 10 to 12 claws) ¼ cup vinaigrette salad dressing ½ cup finely […]