Q: We recently painted our brick fireplace white and would like to hang a 40-pound mirror on it. What would you recommend to secure the mirror to the fireplace wall?A: If the mirror has wire for hanging across the back, use hook-style picture hangers with Wall-Dog screws, which hold well in brick. Or, if your […]

Q: Our Corian countertop developed a crack, I believe, after the stove that abuts it was moved. We have a very large countertop and it is really out of the question to replace it, because it is in good condition otherwise. Is there any way to repair or at least disguise the crack – which […]

I try to accomplish two things at the dinner table. The first is to get at least a portion of the healthy, balanced meal I’ve put on the table into my sons’ bodies. The second is to polish their table manners. This mostly involves telling them to stop jumping up from their seats like jacks-in-the-box, […]

If the English language is like a great and churning word stew, then dictionaries must sometimes play the spoons, scooping up fresh phrases as they surface: useful neologisms, well-baked slang and the best bits spilled over from foreign and academic tongues. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary recently announced the results of its most recent haul — more […]

When my son exploded down the stairs and into the kitchen, in his typical 12-year-old way on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon, my husband stopped him before he could run into the den.“Maybe you should mention to Mom? What you’re doing upstairs?” my husband said. They exchanged glances.“Why? What are you doing upstairs?” I put down […]