Dear Queenie,
When you have guests for dinner, must you offer to let them take the leftovers home with them or do you get to keep them for your own use?—Entertaining Etty Ket
Dear Etty Ket,
It is up to you just how generous you wish to be. You are not obliged to feed anyone beyond the meal to which they were invited.
However, if you have been in the habit of giving out “doggy bags” you may have to re-educate your guests by preparing less food than you are accustomed to do, so that there are no leftovers, or by putting the leftovers away immediately and, if anyone asks for some “take home” telling them you are planning to have the leftovers yourself for lunch or dinner the next day.
Dear Queenie,
My husband and I do just great in the bedroom, but he also wants me to let him bathe (shower) with me. He says most people enjoy showering together and we should too.
Queenie, I prefer privacy in the bathroom. Is that so wrong? Should I give in and do what he wants?—Bathing beauty
Dear Beauty,
This is not a matter of right or wrong, but of whether or not you enjoy the experience. Some people enjoy the intimacy of bathing together and having someone help them scrub their hard-to-reach parts, some do not.
Why not give it a try? You might like it. If not, you do not have to do it again.
Dear Queenie,
My boyfriend is divorced and his ex-wife doesn’t like me one little bit.
The ex’s brother died recently and my boyfriend wanted me to go to the funeral with him to be supportive. I said “no” because I felt things were bad enough for the ex and I didn’t want to make it worse.
Queenie, should I have gone for my boyfriend’s sake?—Funeral Etty Ket
Dear Etty Ket,
No, you did the right thing. Funerals are held for the sake of the bereaved. It would have been altogether wrong to do anything that would have made things worse for the ex and her family. If your boyfriend needed your support he could have gotten it at home.
Dear Queenie,
My boyfriend and I have been together for a couple of months and I want to make a romantic dinner for him.
Queenie, what do you think I should serve? And how should I dress? And how do I make a romantic atmosphere?—Inexperienced girlfriend
Dear Girlfriend,
My answer of all of your questions is: How the h*** should I know? I do not even know who your boyfriend is, let alone what foods he likes and what things turn him on.
By now you should have some idea of what foods he likes, what clothes he thinks make you look sexy and what kind of atmosphere puts him in a romantic mood. If you really do not have any idea about these things it is time for you to become less self-involved and start paying attention to what your boyfriend says, thinks and feels.
Dear Queenie,
When we go to a restaurant that serves buffet-style my husband always takes extra food on purpose to take home with us.
He says it’s okay because we are paying for “all you can eat.” I say “all you eat” means “all you can eat while you are here (in the restaurant).”
Queenie, is he right or am I?—Buffet Etty Ket
Dear Etty Ket,
You are!
