THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017
FEATURES
Friend drowning in junk
Dear Annie: A close friend, out of state. He will never be
“Jenna,” has a mental illness: invited to her home, yet she’s
She hoards. Her house would be talking of marrying him and
condemned if the health admin- moving to his location. Her
istration were to go there.
kids are well-adjusted to their
I can start tracing this behav- hometown. The older one will
ior back to when she first be a senior in high school next
became a mother and
year, and the younger
DEAR
discovered that raising
one will be a sopho-
children requires more
more. These kids don’t
ANNIE
than just buying them
want to move, but with
new clothes and get-
her illness, she can only
ting pictures taken. She
think of herself and get-
worked and had trou-
ting a new start. She’s
not being totally hon-
ble juggling everything.
est with her new mate.
Fortunately, her mother
Others close to her need
lived next door and
Lane
to know how to help
helped out a lot — did Annie
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
her and her kids. —
her laundry and fixed
Stressed Out in Middle
meals for the kids. But
then her mother died, and Jen- America
Dear Stressed Out: Start
na’s personality began to change
even more. She could not keep with Jenna. Express your con-
up with the daily needs of her cerns about her mental health,
family. Then her husband died, and encourage her to seek pro-
only 10 months after her mother. fessional counseling. Then
Long story short, her life has expand to her circle of family
continued spiraling downward. and close friends. Make sure
Her house is a disaster, with everyone is aware of the prob-
holes in the walls that let the lem. If she’s been preventing
outside air in, mice, snakes and people from coming into the
cat urine and feces everywhere house, it’s possible they have no
because the litter box never gets idea how severe the situation is.
Visit the International OCD
changed.
She’s met a man who lives Foundation’s hoarding website
5A
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
at https://hoarding.iocdf.org for
more resources.
Dear Annie: I had to respond
to “Ex In or Ex Out.” I married
my second husband 29 wonder-
ful years ago and met his ex a
few months later at his daugh-
ter’s high school graduation. I
was so pleased to find out how
friendly and outgoing she was
toward me. I was a little jealous
because he still cared for her, as
he had two children with her. She
wrote me a beautiful, kind, gen-
erous letter saying how happy
she was with our marriage and
how he deserved the best. From
then on, she invited us to Christ-
mas and Thanksgiving in Florida
to stay with her and see the chil-
dren. We each bonded as close
friends from then on and have
taken several trips together by
ourselves and with others, sep-
arate from my husband. I came
to know her as the most honest
and caring woman I know and
think of her as my best friend.
She dubbed us “wife-in-laws”!
— Friends With the Ex
Dear Friends With the Ex:
Your example is a reminder that
women can often find so much
common ground if they just look
for it. Thanks for sharing.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll slip into your
zone. The frame of mind that comes with this
allows you to be quick, masterful and impervi-
ous to any obstruction that would stop a less
powerful operator.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Trust isn’t an all-
or-nothing game. It’s about learning a person’s
nature to know what you can expect. Observa-
tion is the way. You’ll ask a seemingly innocuous
and open-ended question and then back off to
see what’s revealed.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). There’s a relation-
ship that’s taking your focus now. The two of
you are like porcupines in the snow. You need
warmth but must keep a certain distance. You’ll
find the balance.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You have no
agenda and are not looking for what you can get
out of a situation. You’re simply there to help in
whatever way you can, and because of this, you
will be able to help many.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Remember when you
experienced an instant attraction to someone
you didn’t know, and then you got to know the
person and watched the attraction erode? It
could go another way this time, though. You’ll
have to say hello and find out.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). New aspirations will
form in your mind and heart. Bits of brainstorms
will align. Disparate ideas will bond to make
plausible ones. All that chaotic, random energy
bouncing around crystallizes into a real thing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Since you already
know what you think, you’ll try other people’s
opinions and viewpoints on for size. This will
increase your capacity for empathy and your
power, too, since it’s easier to influence those
you truly understand.
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There are those
who will give before you ask, and in ways
you never expected. It’s not really a favorable
dynamic now, as some contributions come with
too much attached to them. Besides, you want to
make your own way.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). If there were
a multiple-choice test on your life right now, you’d
be bubbling in a lot of answers like “None of
the above” and “All of the above,” as big groups
of events seem to be either happening or not
happening.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It happens
all of the time. Smart people do dumb things.
Enlightened people do petty things. Simple
people do complicated things. Maybe we should
stop labeling people and just accept them and
what they do.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Excitement and
boredom are both states of mind that are inextri-
cably linked to their impermanence. You’ll relax
into a deeper understanding of life as you accept
what cannot be maintained indefinitely.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Learning is always
forward movement, even when what you are
learning seems to stop you from going further.
Ask a different question. One good question may
very well be all it takes to change everything.
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 20). Some-
thing quiet and small turns into a very successful
and perhaps even famous venture. There’s big
love coming your way in the weeks to come.
Through 2018 make your life easier by dealing
with honest people — and, it goes without
saying, being one yourself. Travel brings luck,
especially a road trip next month. Cancer and
Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 6,
20, 14, 7 and 30.