Whether it’s removing pine sap from a new pair of summer shorts or keeping your drinks super cold, my readers are always anxious to share their best tips, tricks and ideas for ways to save time and money!

Will there be a vaccine against coronavirus? Eventually, we pray. But in this age of unreason, undue attention is already being paid to those who may refuse protection against this oftenfatal disease.

Dear Annie: What advice would you give to a divorced man regarding "moving on"? My boyfriend and his exwife have been divorced for 10 years, yet she continues to manipulate him and behave spitefully toward him. She and their adult children show no consideration for my boyfriend's wishes. And I see him do a lot of tiptoeing because God forbid he upset the "posse." He tried to establish that he'd like to see his adult children in settings other than his ex-wife's home, but that rarely happens. And he is expected to still go to her house for birthday gatherings.

Is her racial diversity America's greatest strength? So we are told. Yet, even before America becomes a majority-minority nation, 25 years from now, recent changes in the composition of the country are going to impact both parties in 2020.

A recent article in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology gave advice for self-care during today’s trying times. The following are a summary of those suggestions: • Prioritize.

Dear Annie: One of my elderly relatives is a real sweetheart, but she also is quite a talker. Our phone conversations go on and on -- for 45 minutes or longer. I do not want to hurt her feelings, but her conversational skills far exceed my listening skills. The only way I can get a word in is to interrupt her from time to time. How can I diplomatically shorten those interminable phone conversations? I recently had the same problem with our new plumber. He is really a nice guy and a good plumber, but he continues talking long after his plumbing job is done.

It's time, once again, to reach into my virtual mailbag to read what a handful of my Dear Readers have written. Dear Mary: I need a new robot vacuum.

It's finally county fair week! Several fairs are taking place in counties in Southeast Kansas this week. While all of them have had to make changes due to COVID 19, changes have been made in the past few weeks due to a second virus affecting cattle, sheep, hogs and horses. While horses aren't something you don't find at the Montgomery County Fair, this year cattle will arrive a few hours before the show on Sunday.

With the high summer temperatures, now is the time to be on the lookout for Blue-green algae in ponds. Blue-green algae can occur in a pond as a result of runoff that carries nitrogen or phosphorus into the pond. When the temperature reaches 75 degrees or higher the algae will grow and bloom. A period of hot, sunny days with little wind following an increase in runoff from rain will also increase the likelihood of bluegreen algae blooms. Blue - green alga includes many species of photosynthetic cyanobacteria (bacteria capable of photosynthesis) that live in the water. Cyanobacteria are a species of blue-green algae that produce toxins that are poisonous to animals. The toxins that result from harmful blooms of blue-green algae are stored in the cyanobacteria until they die, and as the cyanobacteria decompose the toxins are released into the water.

By now, Republican officeholders are daily and in ever-increasing numbers coming up with reasons why they will be unable to attend the late-August GOP convention in Jacksonville, Florida. In every campaign year, everything is a poll -- who shows up and who doesn't when your candidate comes to town; who elbows in for the picture with the standard-bearer as opposed to who suddenly remembers that he and his family have an unbreakable appointment with the hometown taxidermist about stuffing the late, beloved family hamster.