Living & Lifestyle | Charlotte Observer

Living

Deputy Mike (Mike Brown) dispatches a bad guy on the streets of Ghost Town in the Sky in Maggie Valley.

Local

Infamous Ghost Town theme park in NC mountains vows to reopen. Some call it ‘cursed’

One of the world’s most infamous shuttered theme parks — North Carolina’s Ghost Town in the Sky — has announced it is going to reopen in the summer of 2019. Details are being kept secret.

For the past week or so, I feel like I've been living inside a novel penned by the late great Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The surreal has become acceptable and the absurd commonplace. Reality has turned into a preposterous three-act play.

Health & Family

Ask Mr. Dad: How to leave the house without freaking out the baby

Dear Mr. Dad: My 18-month-old has suddenly started freaking out whenever my husband or I leave him with anyone – even places he knows well and with people he's known for a long time. What's going on?

Health & Family

Raising sons to be men post-Kavanaugh

As an adult woman who has witnessed the imbalance of power between men and women, who has been a victim of sexual harassment in workplaces and doctors' offices, and who knows countless other females who have experienced the same, I am a champion of the push for women's rights and an ardent supporter of the #MeToo movement.

Health & Family

Ex-etiquette: Deciding on child’s activity is a joint parental decision

Q. My ex and I have been divorced for 6 years. Our daughter has been playing competitive soccer for the last two years. Her father was her coach and they traveled all over the state. She excelled, I will admit that, but it just got too much for our family – and it's very expensive. (I have two other children with my current husband,) so we made the decision as a family to transfer her into Parks and Rec Soccer. Her father was furious and will not attend any of her games. I think he's being petty. What's good ex-etiquette?

Health & Family

Mysterious paralyzing illness leaves Washington families reeling

Everything is fine with your child; the years ahead are full of promise. It's all documented in smartphone photos of camping trips and birthday parties.

Health & Family

Living with Children: The myth of parenting determinism

As the current school year kicked off, I began hearing the same-old, same-old report from teachers and principals: children who have never lied. At least, that is what the parents of said children claim.

Health & Family

Chris Erskine: When life hands us lemons, we make lemon-drop martinis. Cheers!

Life is the greatest novel.

Tommy Kofinas (left) and John Tatsis opened Kofinas’ Snack Bar on West Trade Street in 1954 and closed in 1981. The building stood where the Carillon Building is today. Kofinas and Tatsis died within five days of each other, in 2002.

Food & Drink

Greeks built Charlotte’s restaurant world. So where’s all the Greek food?

Families from Greece helped build Charlotte’s restaurant scene, but without much Greek food on the menu. The popularity of Mediterranean dishes, and a new generation of restauranteurs, could bring a Greek revival to Charlotte.

Health & Family

Parents of children with AFM being treated in Baltimore warn about rare, scary polio-like condition

It started with a sinus infection. Then 4-year-old Camdyn Carr couldn't move the right side of his face or lift his arm to scratch his nose.

Travel

A hiker explores his father’s homeland peak by peak. It’s not world class yet, but the views –

My son, Marc, and I had tromped through shin-deep snow for several hours, and by the time we reached the blustery top of the peak, we couldn't see more than 25 feet because of a whiteout.

Health & Family

Who knew? Life begins (again) at 65

I was convinced I would become an adult when I turned 21. But now, I'm certain that turning 65 was the watershed moment that finally grew me up.

Health & Family

How to steer kids of all ages through the political season

Today, when the latest campaign trail gaffe, political scandal, or candidate counterattack goes viral, your kids may hear about it before you do. How will they know whether a claim or a charge is based in fact, an unsubstantiated smear, or typical campaign overstatement?

Health & Family

Social Security: Workers’ compensation and certain disability payments may affect your benefits

Many people working nowadays have more than one job, so it's not uncommon for them to have several sources of income. Owning multiple small businesses, seasonal jobs and the gig economy add to the mix – and complexity – of our modern day economy. It's important to keep in mind that having multiple sources of income can sometimes affect your Social Security benefits.

Health & Family

App review: Dragalia Lost: Cute anime-style game has rich storyline and hours of free play

Parents need to know that Dragalia Lost is a freemium Japanese RPG (role-playing game) for iOS and Android devices. While there's frequent combat, the violence is cartoonish in nature, and no blood or gore's shown. Defeated enemies vanish when beaten. Players will also see "damn" and "hell" in dialogue, but no other swearing. Players can friend one another, and the app suggests friending via listing and post-battles. Player profiles only contain character info; no personal information is provided. The app contains an online co-op mode, but players can only communicate with one another through pre-selected chat stickers. Ads for the in-app store appear every time players load the app; the shop sells in-app currency and items priced from $.99 to $79.99. Read the developer's privacy policy for details on how your (or your kids') information is collected, used and shared and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.

Health & Family

Game review: ‘The Path of Motus’: Adventure tale encourages gamers to stand up to bullies

Parents need to know that "The Path of Motus" is a downloadable adventure game for Windows PCs. Players take on the role of a goblin attempting to fulfill his dreams against other goblins that attempt to stop him. Combat is an occasional part of gameplay, involving characters matching keyboard prompts to fire missiles at opponents. When defeated, characters dissolve in a splash of water, but no blood or gore is shown. The game also features logic puzzles in addition to platforming arcade elements. Aside from fighting (against bullies), there's no inappropriate content.

Home & Garden

Celebrating the joys of living smaller

When you upend your life; launch an unconventional adventure; discover valuable insights; end up in a book, for crying out loud, there likely will be questions.

Health & Family

Five books to read before you see the movies

If you're one of those families that insist their kids read the book before seeing the movie, there's some serious page-turning in your future. And if you're happy just to be able to go to the movies for some kid- and teen-friendly fare, you're in luck, too. From the timely, thought-provoking high school drama "The Hate U Give" to a classic like "Mary Poppins," kids' books and young adult novels are getting the Hollywood treatment. And now that movie trailers, sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes footage hit the internet months in advance of films' releases, kids' excitement for big-screen adaptations of their favorite books starts early.

Home & Garden

Dining with Denise: How I survived my kitchen remodel

I'll never forget the day in 2002 that I first walked into my kitchen.

Travel

Berlin leaves its mark on this visitor

In the shadow of the ruined spire of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a platoon of protesters lifted banners and voices in outrage. Their grievances were with the policies of Recep Erdogan, the president of Turkey, who would be arriving in Berlin the next day for a state visit. Erdogan would tie up traffic during his stay, which coincided with mine, rather as happened during the visit of the last dignitary who came to Berlin the same moment as I had, the Dalai Lama – but for very different reasons.

Living

Trending Stories

Top Photos

Subscriptions

Learn More

Advertising