Lifestyle

LOS ANGELES — If your yard is tiny, or even just a balcony, Jordan Karambelas has a suggestion for growing food organically: a good-looking aquaponics system that uses recycled water enriched by fish poop to irrigate vegetables planted above.

FICTION

This week, while Reagan and I were practicing her batting in the front yard, she suddenly saw something brown hopping around in the grass. Immediately, she dropped her bat to inspect it and was pleasantly surprised to find a tiny toad.

Q: We have a 3.5-year-old daughter and each night we have a routine we go through with her — bath, pajamas, brush, choose two books and read them, sing a couple of songs, and pray before lights out. Bedtime typically falls between 7:30 and 8 p.m. each night and she sleeps soundly for about 11-12 hours. We try to go through the routine calmly but most evenings, she finds some way to deviate from it. Almost every evening, she ends up having a screaming meltdown because we’ve told her the next step, given her time to respond, and she procrastinates in a big way. We’ve tried skipping books and songs as a consequence, to no avail. Last night, for instance, when it was time to go to her room to read, she threw herself on the floor and screamed bloody murder. We ended up having to carry her into her room. What can we do to make bedtime happier and calmer? I don’t want her last thoughts as she closes her eyes to be about the meltdown that just ensued.

After 32 years on the ground leading the City of Lima as mayor, David Berger looked to the sky for his next challenge.

My teenage son opened one of these bars and exclaimed that they taste like a Rice Krispies treat, but better. He’s right, only I’d say way better. The bottom is like a very dense Rice Krispies treat but then on top you find pretzels, Chex Mix, rainbow sprinkles and a sweet confectionary coating. The bars are so full of flavor and so packed with goodies, it’s hard to believe they are only 140 calories.

DALLAS — H-E-B has taken the lead in a consumer preference index as the top e-commerce grocer ahead of second- and third-place finishers Amazon and Amazon Fresh.

We’ve all been there. We didn’t think the sun was that hot. We didn’t think we needed sunscreen. And we ended up with a sunburn.

“The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere,” written and illustrated by James Spooner; Harper (368 pages, $26.99)

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I am a young plus-size woman. I am comfortable with my size and am taking advantage of the increasing number of fashion companies offering “extended” size options. My problem is my mom, who keeps harping on my weight. Telling her that I am comfortable and confident in my size and that she’s hurtful doesn’t do any good. Do you or your readers have any words that will resonate with her and end her fat-shaming?