Life

Doreen Grandmason and her family discovered financial freedom in the bottom of an old peanut-butter jar. In 1971, Grandmason was a single mother raising two children. She devised a budget with priorities: mortgage, food, clothing and school.

RIO DE JANEIRO - The candy-colored steps of a staircase in Rio's bohemian neighbourhood of Lapa were the life work of Chilean artist Jorge Selaron and a symbol of his adopted city. On this grey, rainy Thursday, they became his memorial.

JERUSALEM - When Margaux Stelman began modeling a few months ago, she always had her sister Aline in mind.

They call themselves “the minimalists,” but a more apt title might be “the meaningfulists.

LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney toys are sold around the world. Now, children can find them in the cloud as well.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Marine Corps has advised its legal staff that spouses clubs operating on its installations must admit same-sex spouses if they wish to remain on the bases.

TOLEDO, Ohio - A new defence spending plan will keep the nation's only tank manufacturing plant operating through the next two years, ending months of worry about the future of the factory where about 800 workers refurbish the Abrams tanks.

DAKANUA, Taiwan - Her eyes lit bright with concentration, Taiwanese linguist Sung Li-may leans in expectantly as one of the planet's last 10 speakers of the Kanakanavu language shares his hopes for the future.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9 Music from Around the Baltic Sea, presented by the Galiano Ensemble of Victoria, with conductor Yariv Aloni, 8 p.m., University of Victoria. Phillip T. Young Recital Hall. Tickets at Ivy’s Books, Munro’s Books, tel.

Getting a family organized requires more than a few well-chosen New Year's resolutions.