h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, I made a start earlier by telling my eldest son (who's on home leave with a sprained ankle), and his 'excuse' was: 'ah, but you always cook for all of us, and if you don't and ask us to help ourselves, it's what we do.' I told him that I wasn't happy with that, and that it was very inconsiderate to only think of themselves and nobody else. He was a little embarrassed because he knows that I am right.

what you did wrong was not keep the kitchen locked

they would soon start to apreciate you then

My mother's attitude was basically that it was *her* kitchen. If you wanted to cook in it, you asked her permission.

And you put everything back where she wanted it, not where you thought it ought to go...

Rule One: If you take out an ice tray, refill before leaving kitchen. Rule Two: If you eat over the sink - as all male persons do, to avoid washing a dish - clean up the sink and use the garbage disposal. Rule Three: Do not eat the bananas hidden in the cupboard. They are hidden so that there can be banana pudding... Rule Four: Do not show your father where the bananas are hidden (see Rule Three)...

See, I still remember these rules...you need a list...

There is one rule: if you eat/drink the last cheese, milk, whatever, tell me so that the one who next goes shopping can buy new milk/cheese/whatever. If you don't want your husband/dad to eat something you would like to eat yourself, write your name on it.

The other day, my son did the shopping and bought pizza. He brought some with salami, and one without (because he knows I don't like salami pizza). Guess which pizza was gone when I came looking.

If I complain, the standard reply is: there was no name written on it.

good one, dmitri

first day of my apprenticeship the boss called me in and asked me "what is the basic rule you must always follow in this line of w*rk?"

i tried "always tell it like it is", "always get to the bottom of things", "always tell the truth, even if you don't like the truth" and so on and so forth

"nah" he said "whoever empties the coffee pot brews the next one!"

as fate has it that was the exact words given to me by my priest when i was confirmated

That is a good rule for life, Pierce - if you do this, your coworkers will always appreciate you.

it is my hope that bel can pass this wisdom on to her sons

look, i'm not a saint myself. far from it, actually. it took me a looooong time to figure out that when both mum and dad are w*rking outside the house then daddy has to do some w*rk inside the house as well

in my defence i was raised in a family where dad w*rked outside the house around the clock while mum w*rked inside the house around the clock (i have four siblings) and it was an okay system at the time

same thing happened in all other families we knew, grandparents included, so yes, i (as well as a lot of other males) needed a wake up call - and of course none of the females were raised to give us one - go figure!

but don't worry, we are all moving forward

some of us just haven't noticed yet

time to play the "game" B'El, make your own meals and when they ask about theirsjust reply "well! I've seen you do your own and not ask in anyone else wants something" so! MAKE YOUR OWN! now

make army son feel 'at home' give him one small saucepan and 4 or 5 tins without labels on, see what he comes up with

i would not do that if i was you

he might feed you with it...

I've talked to both my sosn now, and they promised to ask me next time the go about cooking something. That's promising, but then they are lovely boys - just a little thoughtless at times.

work on hubbywith rolling pin

That's too violent.

no it isn't, put self raising flower on it first

Bel, I'm glad you said something. Your story of the pizza reminds me of a trick my step-daughter used to pull all the time. She had a favorite candy that none of the rest of us liked. It was always her first choice when she bought it for herself. When I went shopping I would buy her this candy and buy something else for her brothers, something they liked. So what would she do? She'd sneak around and eat their candy until it was all gone before she would start in on her own, knowing she'd have it all to herself. So I just stopped buying her any. I figured she didn't deserve any.

I've just made dinner only for myself. But that's because everyone else was having chicken

just for that i'll empty this glass of without giving you any, mala



and with these words i bid you all good night & may your gods go with you

night Pierce - sleep well mate

Dave Alan

'Night, Pierce.

I agree with your approach, Hypatia. That was a nasty thing to do.