Since the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its first “Love” stamp in 1973, the annual design has featured roses, swans, ribbons and, yes, plenty of hearts. But none quite like this one. “We consider stamps to be miniature works of art,” says William Gicker, the Postal Service’s manager of stamp development. And indeed, the average Valentine-sender […]
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Lifestyle news from the Sun Journal.
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Mystery photo for February 14, 2016
Mystery photo for February 14, 2016 In a random drawing, Linda Fontaine Howe of Bethel was chosen as the winner of last week’s mystery photo. She, along with many of the other entrants, had memories and stories about the photo’s location. In her email entry, Howe wrote, “The mystery photo in Sunday’s edition is located […]
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Man-brain an edge in losing weight
All’s fair in love and war – but not in dieting, apparently. If you’ve ever wondered how it is that men can cut out a few desserts and quickly drop 10 pounds, while women tortuously calorie-count their way to incremental weight loss, a new animal study may have the explanation: It’s in the brain. A […]
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Eats: Mother sauces flavor the love on Valentine’s Day
What is this thing called love we’re celebrating today? And why don’t we have more words for it in English? The Greeks have four. We’ve got metaphors for love, such as “You’re the apple of my eye.” And we’ve got words that represent love. Think “passion” and “fervor” and “zeal” and “food.” Food is love, […]
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How old classmates have found new love with each other
On Aug. 21, 2014 I saw his friend request and private message on Facebook. “Hi. It’s Charlie. Remember me? We used to ride the bus together.” I remembered him all right. Charlie and I grew up together in Sterling, N.Y. He used to pull my ponytail and try to tickle me on the bus from […]
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Face Time: Vincent Ratsavong — from Dormouse to director
And was hooked. At 29, he’s been a performer most of his life, dancing, singing and acting in musicals and other plays throughout the country. Today, the Turner native is artistic director for Community Little Theatre in Auburn. Just one part of the job that he loves: helping the next generation of young performers have […]
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Wood or gas: Fireplaces are the pride of the place
Imagine the coziest spot to watch the big game: a cushy long sofa, a table full of snacks, a bar stocked with craft beers, a giant TV and a crackling fireplace with real wood burning, providing a woodsy scent and a warm glow. “When people imagine their dream family room, they think of a fireplace […]
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Garden roses vying for Valentine’s favor
On a table in her 1820 stone farmhouse in Waterford, Va., floral designer Holly Heider Chapple is reinventing the Valentine’s Day bouquet.Amid a soft confection of fernlike plumosa, blue-green seeded eucalyptus and the wands of white veronica blooms, a dozen plump roses repose luxuriantly.The blooms Chapple has chosen have a name, Miranda, and sorry, Cupid, […]
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Couple of 83 years to give marriage advice on Twitter
He was peddling produce along coastal towns in Connecticut when he fell in love with the neighbor girl, Annie. She was a few years younger and still in high school. She’d walk with her friends in the morning, and he’d drive by in his 1932 Ford Roadster and give them a lift. The country was […]
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Mother hears son’s donated heart beat
Heather Clark’s son, Lukas, died in 2013, when he was just 7 months old.Clark donated her baby boy’s organs – including his heart, which went to Esther Gonzalez’s young daughter, Jordan Drake.Years later, Heather Clark heard Lukas’ heartbeat again.It was beating inside of now-4-year-old Jordan’s chest.“That’s your baby,” Gonzalez said, as Clark held the stethoscope […]