Dear Annie: I am a 64-year-old woman. Trying to date seems more difficult as I get older. Seems like most men only want one thing or younger women. I have tried online dating sites with not much luck. I live in a small town, and there aren’t many single men. Do you have any suggestions on where to meet a good man? — L.C.

Dear L.C.: To the men who will only date younger women, good riddance. They’ve done you a favor by disqualifying themselves. Now, on meeting men who are deserving of your time and attention: It’s fantastic that you’ve dabbled in online dating, and you should leave your accounts open on those sites. That said, I think you should also venture out and try some new hobbies offline, e.g., tennis lessons, a book club, classes at a local community college or library, a jogging group, a volunteer position, or anything else that you might want to experience. Often it’s when we focus on our own growth that we end up meeting someone special.

Dear Annie: We have been living in our house for more than 30 years and have always had pets. We’ve never had a mouse problem in the house — until now. This has been a very cold winter, and I saw a tiny mouse in the kitchen sink several weeks ago. I turned the water on and didn’t see the mouse for weeks, but this week I have heard mouse noises and seen evidence of cat treat bags bitten or scratched open, and our cat’s food and treats tampered with. Is there anything I can do to get rid of the mouse (or mice) without endangering our cat? — Karen in Kansas City, MO

Dear Karen in Kansas City: When nature comes inside, there are natural ways to show it the door. For mice, deterrents include the wonderful-smelling peppermint oil and the not-so-wonderful-smelling bobcat urine. (You can find predator urine at home improvement stores and online.) Some also have reported success with Tabasco sauce.

Be sure to keep your house extra clean. Store pet food in airtight plastic containers. Plug any holes that might be mouse entryways with steel wool, the one material that they cannot chew through.

See the Humane Society’s “Humane Rodent Solutions” page for more tips on nontoxic methods of mouse removal (https://www.hsi.org/news-media/humane-rodent-solutions).