About: Margaret Vander Weerdt

Candy hearts and their sweet little love notes are the best-selling treats made by New England Confectionery Company (Necco), the country’s oldest multi-line candy company. In keeping with tradition, Sweethearts, also known as conversation hearts, have been made from the same simple recipe since 1902, when they were first introduced, even though the original assortment...

I cannot help but react to numbers, but why are odds masculine and evens feminine? Why were Levi's 501s and WD-40 given those names? And is number 3 really “warm” and “friendly?” I think I typed in “love of numbers” for a Google search to find out the word for that. What I found was the...

The first Friday the 13th of the year is this week. For some people, it’s just another day exactly like any other Friday, nothing different, nothing special. They are the same people who really don’t think birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays are any different than any other day in their lives. But a whole bunch of...

So the rest and relaxation of the holidays is over. Now it’s time for some rigorous self-discipline. Yeah, right. Have you read the New Year’s resolutions statistics? Seven percent resolve to make more time for family and friends, 60 percent don’t make resolutions, 13 percent resolve to spend less and save more, and 20 percent resolve...

Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced around stone circles. (The word carol originally meant to dance to something.) The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around...