DEAR Jasminda, My new girlfriend chats incessantly as soon as she wakes. I prefer to ease into the day. How can I get our morning routines in sync? Karl B. Dear Karl, I’m with you on this one. My husband’s mouth seems to wake up before the rest of him. From the moment his eyelids […]

DEAR Jasminda, HOW do I get my kids to pick up after themselves? It seems so simple, and yet we follow a continual pattern of them being told to pick up, falling back into bad habits, me getting annoyed and doing it for them, and returning to the beginning again. It’s driving me crazy. Gabrielle […]

DEAR Jasminda, My friend gave me a book for my birthday. When I started to read it this week, I noticed it had been signed by the author but addressed to her, not me! Should I bring this up with her? It’s obviously second-hand. I’m a bit offended. Miriam L. Dear Miriam, People have very […]

DEAR Jasminda, MY partner wants to go travelling around Australia, camping along the way. While this sounds great in theory, I’m wondering if the reality will be feasible. We both have jobs that are about 70 percent office-based. Rachael O. Dear Rachael, It sounds like the most wonderful adventure. What an experience. ‘Sounds’ being the […]

DEAR Jasminda, AFTER a couple of weeks away, my husband and I have realised that we get along much better when we are away from home. Our relationship improved, we both relaxed for the first time in a long time, and it became apparent that we are soft touches and often feel that others take […]

DEAR Jasminda, There has been so much hype around the gotcha moment when Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught in an embrace with his chief people officer at a Coldplay concert. Why is there so much interest? Jerry P. Dear Jerry, Coldplay songs cover the gamut of emotions. It’s one thing to drive a loved […]

DEAR Jasminda, WHILE attending a car show on the weekend, I was almost ploughed down by a man on a mobility scooter. He looked at me as though I was the one in the wrong, even though I was just minding my own business on the footpath. What are the rules around mobility scooters and […]

DEAR Jasminda, Since the recent heavy rain events, we now have a flock of bin chickens in our yard. They are not a very attractive bird, but I can’t seem to shoo them away. How do I get rid of them? Jonathan R. Ah, Jonathon Using the term bin chicken tells me everything I need […]

DEAR Jasminda, My wife is preparing for the latest weather event like we are getting ready for a world war. What can I do to put her mind at ease? Kevin B Dear Kevin, I received your conundrum during the calm before the storm, so to speak, at which point some media outlets were using […]

DEAR Jasminda, I WAS scrolling through the local community page on the weekend and came across a cheeky post. The post didn’t raise an eyebrow, but what did was the pile-on from adults hating on this young person. It seems strange that people over a certain age would stoop this low. Why are people so […]