Metropolitan Home joins list of design magazines that closed.

For holiday entertaining, "move the centerpiece above the table and decorate the chandelier," says New York and Washington designer Ondine Karady.

Hanging curtains on bare windows is a quick way to dress up a space as well as add softness and warmth.

From our design experts, here are other small things you can do in the dining room.

Now is the time to check your holiday tablecloth and napkin supply.

Get your dining room chairs ready for holiday entertaining.

Instead of flowers, D.C. floral designer Sue Bluford recommends arranging fruits, vegetables or gourds down the center of a dining table.

On defense for flu season? Doctors will tell you your best shot is to get a shot. But that won't cut it for Sue Berman of Silver Spring's Blue Heron Wellness. To keep sniffles at bay, she plans to spend a whole lot more time with needles.

Here is an edited excerpt from Local Living's daily blog, On parenting. Read the latest at voices.washingtonpost.com/parenting .

Garden help: boxwood shrubs, sheared blue spruce.

These food establishments were closed because of health code violations. The list, compiled from health department reports, reflects actions taken by the departments.

They all seem to be having a good time, the 20 or so girls wielding field hockey sticks on a tree-lined field tucked far behind the Loudoun County campus of Northern Virginia Community College. It's a pleasant fall evening, and the distant hum of cars on Route 7 provides a soothing soundtrack as the...

Travelers responding to my suggestions [ Dr. Gridlock, Nov. 1 ] about long-term solutions to Interstate 95's traffic congestion had their own practices and policies to propose.

A couple buys an apple press and attempts making apple cider at home.

Niermann Weeks will open its Millersville factory to the public on Saturday for a sample sale.

The usual reliable TV options on Thanksgiving -- the Macy's parade in New York and a terrible football game in Detroit -- will be joined by a figure-skating bonanza that is being filmed Monday at Verizon Center. "Kaleidoscope" is a variety show featuring Dorothy Hamill, above, and Scott Hamilton,...

Nov. 12 BEER AND WINE TASTING This ninth annual event is sponsored by Christmas in April of St. Mary's County. Must be 21 to attend. 5:30-7:30 p.m. J.T. Daugherty Conference Center, 22111 Three Notch Rd., Lexington Park. 301-863-2905, 301-863-9345 or http://www.christmasinaprilsmc.org . $25.

Take instrumental solos, add three-part harmonies and mix them with songs that celebrate nature. What do you have? Greentree, an ensemble of performers from the D.C. folk and Celtic music scene. Grace Griffith lends her vocal talents, and she's joined by Carey Creed on vocals and acoustic guitar,...

These sales were recorded in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties and supplied to The Washington Post by Spatial Systems Associates, the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation and the Maryland Department of Planning. To find sale and assessment records for homes in Southern...

Johannes Rasmussen, 90, lives in a corner apartment at Cedar Lane Senior Living Community in Leonardtown. He picked the apartment "so I can shut my door and not bother another soul," he said.

Founded in 1798 by an act of Congress, "The President's Own" United States Marine Band is the nation's oldest continuously active professional musical organization.

Del. Peter F. Murphy (D-Charles) was recently awarded the Conservancy for Charles County's Heritage Award for his efforts to preserve and protect the environment.

Last week, Karin Hill, the director of education and public programs for the National Museum of the United States Navy in the District, visited Calvert Middle School in Prince Frederick.

Every school day, Anne Fogel draws on more than three decades of teaching experience to find what she calls that "light-bulb moment" in her students.

Special Olympics of St. Mary's County needs volunteers to help with sports training programs. Mary Lu Bucci, 301-373-3469.

PAINTINGS BY ABBEY GRIFFIN AND MIMI LITTLE, exhibit of new works. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, through Nov. 22; reception, 5-8 p.m. Nov. 21, CalvART Gallery, Route 4 and Duke Street, Prince Frederick. Free. 410-257-7005.

These were among reports received by the Calvert County Sheriff's Office and the Maryland State Police. Anyone with information about these crimes should call the Criminal Investigation Division, 410-535-2800 or 301-855-1194, or the Crime Solvers line, 410-535-2880. You can also call the Prince...

The countdown is on for the holiday season. It's time to take a good, hard look at your dining room and assess its readiness for entertaining from now until New Year's Day.

Try these designer-recommended colors to transform a dining room's walls:

If your floor is bare or your area rug is worn out, an inexpensive sisal rug will add an instant pick-me-up to almost any dining room.

"The hub of our home is threadbare. The window treatments, lighting, carpet, sofa, desk need to be replaced, but I do like the beams."

How to restore and preserve the shine of an old wood floor.

Los Angeles designer Michael S. Smith has the hottest decorating job in the country: the private quarters of the White House for the Obamas.

The slightest rustle of the Milk-Bone box gets mutts and purebreds alike drooling. But for pet parents who pledge allegiance to Whole Foods and the locavore lifestyle, the number of unpronounceable and unthinkable ingredients in mass-produced canine treats can cause a paw-size pause. So, if cooking...

Dear Dr. Fox: I have two male Westies, ages 6 and 3. They are healthy, happy and look great. No wonder. They are fed your home-cooked brown rice and lamb diet, an occasional hard-boiled egg, some turkey breast and a variety of vegetables. They also get daily Brewer's yeast and garlic tabs. Each dog...

From a health perspective, adult mammals shouldn't be drinking milk, especially the milk from another mammal ["Milk's skeptics would like to steer us away from our herd mentality," Eat, Drink and Be Healthy, Nov. 5]. I would do it anyway if I could find a cruelty-free source of milk and milk prod...

What if there was a small, inexpensive device that was proven to boost your fitness, help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure? Would you use it, especially if doing so was nearly effortless?

Contestants on NBC's weight-loss competition show "The Biggest Loser" undergo all kinds of duress in their efforts to shed pounds. Some of the ordeals they endure -- including a brutal workout in Washington's hot July sun for an episode that aired last week -- seem like sheer torture to me.

I often interview educators and gather data to find which high schools are doing the best job teaching kids. It is satisfying work, with the biggest payoff in visiting those schools and telling them how good they are compared to others. This is often a surprise to the teachers and administrators,...

Representatives of the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County said the county's plans for a cross-county connector are outdated and environmentally hazardous and will bring sprawl to the northern end of the county.

The St. Mary's Board of County Commissioners told federal engineers and county staff members to stay on top of the proposed jetty project at the mouth of St. Jerome Creek.

At a recent forum on health care reform at St. Mary's College, presenters disagreed on the best way to fix our failed system. One big question: whether to have more government involvement in funding health insurance. Comments included "that would likely be a mistake" to "make health care a human...

The boards of Constellation Energy and EDF on Friday completed a $4.5 billion transaction, securing a future for the proposed third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant.

Congress has passed the Interior-Environment Appropriations Conference Report containing $1 million for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and $500,000 for the Star-Spangled Banner Trail.

These deaths were reported by funeral homes in Southern Maryland:

With the graduation of several key players from last year's team, Westlake lost quite a bit of the explosiveness that defined it during its state championship season. But in its 22-6 victory over host Lackey on Friday, the Wolverines showed they've still got some firepower.

12 AND YOUNGER: Southern Maryland travel team seeks one player. Rick, skippyrich@yahoo.com , 301-751-7760.