Our last two dinners had strong potential to be disasters. One involved a major Mom Fail, a blender, and a mango. The other involved putting Lindell, 5, on live radio … without a delay. Thankfully, both events ended peacefully and have been added to our special memories of Dinner with the Smileys. Breakfast with the […]

Spring is here, spring is finally here! The robins and red-winged blackbirds are back. Cardinals are singing their mating songs. It’s too early to do anything outside in the garden — or even for starting most things by seed indoors. But this is the time to make decisions, buy seeds if you haven’t, and plan. […]

Robin Blair does what she can to help her plants thrive. She plants them in good soil and keeps the weeds away. She also waters them regularly with rainwater captured in barrels in the yard of her Shrewsbury, N.J., home. Collecting the water is easy, she says, and good for her plants and the environment. […]

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick High School jazz program brought home state honors after a weekend at the Maine State Jazz Festival in Bar Harbor. Music director Mike Scarpone said Monday that the school’s jazz ensemble made BHS history, placing second in its division. “We’ve never had a jazz ensemble place in state competition before,” Scarpone said. […]