George Leppla wrote:

> All in all, if your wife is happy and you have done your family
> obligations, then $150 wasn't too bad a price to pay.... and you got
> another story out of it to add to the "Legend of BN".


If only I could have got away with taking them to Butterballs and
treating them to double big breakfasts. :-)

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:57:17 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
> wrote:

> I think Dave has been able to step
> aside and look at this as almost a form of entertainment just to see what is
> going to happen. He writes about it very well.

If nothing else, it's a form of cheap entertainment - and it also
makes some of us count our blessings in the relative department. I
look forward to his sporadic BN posts and thank my lucky stars I don't
have "one of those" in the family.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Dave Smith wrote:
> George Leppla wrote:

>>
>> When I am invited out to a restaurant, I usually ask the host what
>> he/she is going to have as we all look over the menu.
>>
>> Then... I make sure not to order anything more expensive then they do.
>
>
> That is the proper thing to do. When people take me out for meals I
> certainly would not be looking at the most expensive items or ordering
> extra courses and side dishes.


That's what most people would do, but unfortunately not all.

We have been to dinner with people who order every course on the menu,
particularly when someone else is picking up the check, then take half
(or more) home and enjoy it for lunch all the next week. And they
order all the a la carte extras. We try not to go out with these folk
more than once, but sometimes it is a business dinner and we have no choice.

gtloria p

Dave Smith wrote:

>
> To make matters worse, I had baked an apple pie for dessert because my
> brother and his wife were coming for dinner. When I got the pie out for
> dessert I was stunned to find that she had sampled it. Not just a little
> slice or even a serving..... she had eaten a hole in the middle of it,
> about 6 inches across.... in a 9 inch pie pan. She left a ring around
> the outside about an inch and a half wide.
>

Evidently she doesn't like the outside crust. Keep that in mind for
next time, willya?

gloria p

gloria.p wrote:

> That's what most people would do, but unfortunately not all.
>
> We have been to dinner with people who order every course on the menu,
> particularly when someone else is picking up the check, then take half
> (or more) home and enjoy it for lunch all the next week. And they
> order all the a la carte extras. We try not to go out with these folk
> more than once, but sometimes it is a business dinner and we have no
> choice.


We had a guy at work who I will call Andy, because that is his name for
whom we coined the phrase "getting Andyed". we were on expense accounts
when we were on the road so we would just pay for our meals and submit a
claim. Andy was working in the same area as me and wanted to meet for
lunch. We went to a place that had good food and great prices. This was
a few years ago, but even then, $3.25 was a pretty good deal for soup
and sandwich with fries and coffee or a small soft drink. Andy ordered
fish and chips with extra fish, a large soft drink and then a chocolate
sundae.

When it came time to pay the bill, Andy didn't have any money so I had
to loan him $10 to pay his. A few days later when I asked him for the
money he didn't have it. He had to wait for his expense cheque to come.
The day after his expense cheque came in he still didn't have it. I
started hounding him for it. Finally, a few weeks later, a bunch of us
were working together and we were going to flip to see who would go for
coffee (and pay). I offered to do it.... if Andy paid me the money he
owed me for his lunch. He begrudgingly gave me the $10, and then it cost
me $5 for coffee, so I got half of it back.

The SOB had sucked me into paying for his lunch, claimed it on his
expense account. I am out $10 and he is up $10 plus a free lunch. It
seems Andy had a habit of doing that. We tended to avoid going out for
meals with Andy, and on occasions when we had to, we made him show us
that he had money, and made sure that he did not order more than he
could pay for.

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:30:47 -0600, Omelet >
> wrote:
>
> > Oh I never eat buffet sushi! Bleah!
> > The sushi bar is not a buffet. It's all prepared fresh. :-)
>
> OK, sorry. I misunderstood.

Cheers! :-) My fault for not explaining, sorry!
Even tho' it is kept over ice, I'd rather not risk food poisoning.
And it tends to be a bit dried out.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

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gloria.p wrote:
> Dave Smith wrote:
>
>>
>> To make matters worse, I had baked an apple pie for dessert because my
>> brother and his wife were coming for dinner. When I got the pie out
>> for dessert I was stunned to find that she had sampled it. Not just a
>> little slice or even a serving..... she had eaten a hole in the middle
>> of it, about 6 inches across.... in a 9 inch pie pan. She left a ring
>> around the outside about an inch and a half wide.
>>
>
> Evidently she doesn't like the outside crust. Keep that in mind for
> next time, willya?


LOL. It was a long time before she was invited back. Come to think of
it, she was never invited back, but she did invite herself. I did not
bother baking anything ahead of time, and then she was fed pasta with
spaghetti sauce and sausage, about the cheapest thing I could think of
to fill the void.


It was comical when she came down for her mother's 70th birthday party.
SiL had offered to supply all the food if we had her, her husband and
kids here for dinner. It was a nice warm evening so we ate out on the
patio. When she asked where she should sit, I suggested a seat in the
far corner. Then I sat next to her and her stepfather on the other
side. We had her corralled, so instead of going to all the effort to
get everyone to move to let her out, she just sat there and ate and
drank and ate and drank until she puked. We moved to let her out for
that. :-)

In article >,
George Leppla > wrote:

> Dave Smith wrote:
>
> >> I'm thinking you went into this with a bad attitude and it became a
> >> self-fulfilling prophesy.
> >
> > Quite right. After all the years of knowing her and not liking her, I
> > was not thrilled about taking them to a restaurant, knowing that a human
> > sized meal would not be enough and that they would order extra side
> > dishes,extra drinks etc. Perhaps I should add that this is the one who
> > won a million bucks in a lottery and her version of spreading the joy of
> > her windfall was to buy my wife a china coffee mug. She also told her
> > brother to go out and pick out a car and she would help him with it, and
> > when she finally gave him a check it was for $400.
> >
> >
> > However, I have to admit that it was not quite as bad as I had expected,
> > and I know that it is not likely to happen again.
>
>
> OK... I get it. You did it to keep peace in the family. Sometimes
> observing the social graces can be a pain in the ass but we all go
> through it sooner or later.
>
> All in all, if your wife is happy and you have done your family
> obligations, then $150 wasn't too bad a price to pay.... and you got
> another story out of it to add to the "Legend of BN".
>
> George L

She has paid the price and is now Diabetic. It's kinda sad if you think
about it... but she did it to herself.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

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On Mar 13, 7:19*pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> I had to take her.

If it was your nephew instead of your niece I would 'take him' for you
myself!
The cream of sumyunguy...................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :-))))

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia


Join the Google Groups revolution.........
http://groups.google.com/support/?hl=en

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Dan Abel wrote:
>
> > Oh cmon, George, don't destroy our fun! BN (Big Niece) is an
> > institution on this group. I'll never forget the story about the five
> > dozen cookies. It was the holidays, and he needed to bake them in
> > advance, but BN was coming, so he put them in an anonymous box and hid
> > them where nobody could *ever* find them. After she left, he dug out
> > the box. It was empty!
>
> Slight correction. It was not a holiday. It was just an ordinary
> weekend, and I bake cookies cookies every week or two. Because she was
> coming, and because she was coming, I made a double batch. My wife was
> upset about that because BN , about 16 at the time, was supposed to be
> on a diet, I had to hide them. I put the cookie tins in the back corner
> of the bottom shelf of a kitchen cupboard so that she would not be
> tempted. And indeed, when I went for a cookie after she left, they were
> all gone, an entire double batch of chocolate chip cookies, about 5 dozen.
>
> To make matters worse, I had baked an apple pie for dessert because my
> brother and his wife were coming for dinner. When I got the pie out for
> dessert I was stunned to find that she had sampled it. Not just a little
> slice or even a serving..... she had eaten a hole in the middle of it,
> about 6 inches across.... in a 9 inch pie pan. She left a ring around
> the outside about an inch and a half wide.

On Mar 14, 12:57*am, PLucas1 >
wrote:
> sf > wrote in news:1ftop5lc02ktv3iq9fob5ibe86ra2jagrt@
> 4ax.com:
>
> > On Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:32:30 -0600, Omelet >
> > wrote:
>
> >> Breakfast buffets (orlunchbuffets) are always a good bet...
> >> 'specially chinese buffet!
>
> > Ugh to all buffets! *Beyond nasty and that includes the expensive ones
> > too. *Hate them.
>
> HUH????
>
> "When still in college, my friends used to do a Christmas
> Day get together in the Crown Room at the Fairmount hotel. *We were a
> group of 14-20 depending on the year. *We stayed there literally for
> hours and went back for food many, many times. *We were *never* told
> to leave or even given "the bum's rush". *Life was good back in those
> days."
>
> You're contradicting yourself, as well as being quite forgetful, and are
> being just a *tad* aggressive.
>
> Wassup??

Whats "Wassup" is your constant badgering of sf................
attempting to deliberately provoke her publicly under my identity.
If you were genuinely concerned (which you are NOT) then you would
take it to email. You shallow petty little boy in a mans body!


--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

Join the Google Groups revolution.........
http://groups.google.com/support/?hl=en

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Slight correction. It was not a holiday. It was just an ordinary
> weekend, and I bake cookies cookies every week or two. Because she was
> coming, and because she was coming, I made a double batch. My wife was
> upset about that because BN , about 16 at the time, was supposed to be

And she's 50 now? When you write your book, let me know.
I want to buy a copy.

"Dave Smith" > wrote
>
> If only I could have got away with taking them to Butterballs and
> treating them to double big breakfasts. :-)

That just seems to be an appropriate place for BN

Dave Smith > wrote in
:

>> That's 35,50$ per person. Pretty standard around here if you want to
>> go to a decent place. My father groused about paying that much at
>> Inigo Jones in London in 1973, but times have changed.
>>
>> The children bought us a dinner at the local trattoria down the
>> street. It was for 100$ and we ended up paying 6$ more. And I had
>> no alcohol, never do, and we stuck to the table d'h“te which is
>> excellent anyway.
>
> This was lunch, not dinner. I knew that these two had appetites.

That was an aside. If you want reasonably priced fare, I suggest a good
dim sum restaurant. You would have paid half that and eaten as much as
everyone could stand.

--

"The officer corps will forgive anything they can
understand, which makes intelligence the only sin."

Carnell, Blakes 7 episode 16

Dave Smith > wrote in news:4b9d2877$0$13663
:

>> When I am invited out to a restaurant, I usually ask the host what
>> he/she is going to have as we all look over the menu. (What looks good
>> to you? What are you having? What is good here?)
>>
>> Then... I make sure not to order anything more expensive then they do.
>
>
> That is the proper thing to do. When people take me out for meals I
> certainly would not be looking at the most expensive items or ordering
> extra courses and side dishes.

You obviously have not learned how to mooch properly ;-)

--

"The officer corps will forgive anything they can
understand, which makes intelligence the only sin."

Carnell, Blakes 7 episode 16

Sure buffets are mediocre but they are a great way to put a lid on the
bill when need be. Family restaurants aren't an answer always. A friend
took her growing grandson to IHOP for a birthday lunch - he ran up a
bill of $40. jh

In article >,
(j h) wrote:

> Sure buffets are mediocre but they are a great way to put a lid on the
> bill when need be. Family restaurants aren't an answer always. A friend
> took her growing grandson to IHOP for a birthday lunch - he ran up a
> bill of $40. jh

Good perspective. If I had a family member that I knew ate like a pig, a
buffet would be my FIRST choice!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

j h wrote:
> Sure buffets are mediocre but they are a great way to put a lid on the
> bill when need be. Family restaurants aren't an answer always. A friend
> took her growing grandson to IHOP for a birthday lunch - he ran up a
> bill of $40. jh

It depends on where you go. Some buffets are average, but some are
surprisingly good. My favorite buffets are the Emerald Coast Chinese in
Sunny Isles, Florida, it is $18, the Rio in Las Vegas and it is $24 and
Kirin Japanese in Houston, it is $25.


Becca

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:30:41 -0500, George Leppla wrote:

> George Leppla wrote:
>
>> And why did you choose THAT restaurant? If you knew they were going to
>> "take advantage" of you. it would have been easier to choose a cheaper
>> place. Obviously the price of the meal is important to you (she chose
>> the "much more expensive" salad). If your relationship with her has a
>> price tag, then take her to a place that fits the amount you are willing
>> to spend.
>>
>> I'm thinking you went into this with a bad attitude and it became a
>> self-fulfilling prophesy.
>
> I'll piggy-back on my own reply.....
>
> When I am invited out to a restaurant, I usually ask the host what
> he/she is going to have as we all look over the menu. (What looks good
> to you? What are you having? What is good here?)
>
> Then... I make sure not to order anything more expensive then they do.
>
> George L

george, i respect your instincts, but we've heard some other, earlier tales
about big niece from dave before. she seems to be, um, a remarkable
individual. a one-woman plague of locusts.

your pal,
blake

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:18:20 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:

> George Leppla wrote:
>
>>
>> I'll piggy-back on my own reply.....
>>
>> When I am invited out to a restaurant, I usually ask the host what
>> he/she is going to have as we all look over the menu. (What looks good
>> to you? What are you having? What is good here?)
>>
>> Then... I make sure not to order anything more expensive then they do.
>
> That is the proper thing to do. When people take me out for meals I
> certainly would not be looking at the most expensive items or ordering
> extra courses and side dishes.

hell, i'm usually too shy about getting the expensive stuff when *i'm*
paying.

your pal,
blake

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:49:37 -0700, Dan Abel wrote:

> In article >,
> George Leppla > wrote:
>
>> Dave Smith wrote:
>
>>> It was not my idea to take these two to a restaurant
>
>> I'm thinking you went into this with a bad attitude and it became a
>> self-fulfilling prophesy.
>
> Oh cmon, George, don't destroy our fun! BN (Big Niece) is an
> institution on this group. I'll never forget the story about the five
> dozen cookies. It was the holidays, and he needed to bake them in
> advance, but BN was coming, so he put them in an anonymous box and hid
> them where nobody could *ever* find them. After she left, he dug out
> the box. It was empty!

yep. the big niece definitely has lotsa balls for a woman.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:

>>> Then... I make sure not to order anything more expensive then they do.
>> That is the proper thing to do. When people take me out for meals I
>> certainly would not be looking at the most expensive items or ordering
>> extra courses and side dishes.
>
> hell, i'm usually too shy about getting the expensive stuff when *i'm*
> paying.

Same here. I am not rich, and even if I were, I don't think that I would
automatically go for the most expensive item on a menu. If I am being
taken out for a meal I appreciate the hospitality and the generosity,
but I don't want to take advantage of it. My father in law loved to
entertain in restaurants and at his clubs and did it often, but I know
that it annoyed him when people ordered the most expensive items, even
more so when he thought it was something that those people would not
normally order if they were paying. I remember his once grumbling about
his own son ordered a large lobster at the most expensive club. That, at
the time,would have cost about three times as much as the other entrees.

blake murphy wrote:
is with a bad attitude and it became a
>>> self-fulfilling prophesy.
>> Oh cmon, George, don't destroy our fun! BN (Big Niece) is an
>> institution on this group. I'll never forget the story about the five
>> dozen cookies. It was the holidays, and he needed to bake them in
>> advance, but BN was coming, so he put them in an anonymous box and hid
>> them where nobody could *ever* find them. After she left, he dug out
>> the box. It was empty!
>
> yep. the big niece definitely has lotsa balls for a woman.

Then there was my wife's 50th birthday party, which was held out in the
yard. The party was catered by a friend of mine. We had about 60 guests
and lots of food. There was no reason for her to be snooping around in
the pantry and opening up unopened packages of cookies and biscuits, but
just about every time I went into the house to get something, there she
was, with a freshly opened packaged of something that she had no
business opening. Hell, opening a box of crackers where there are
platters of real food out on the patio?


I did enjoy watching my son and his cousin playing Seagull with her at a
party at my brother in law's. The boys, about 12 and 14 at the time,
would take a bite of something and then leave it on a plate and then
stand back and watch her come around and eat the bait.

On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:20:56 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>
> Same here. I am not rich, and even if I were, I don't think that I would
> automatically go for the most expensive item on a menu. If I am being
> taken out for a meal I appreciate the hospitality and the generosity,
> but I don't want to take advantage of it. My father in law loved to
> entertain in restaurants and at his clubs and did it often, but I know
> that it annoyed him when people ordered the most expensive items, even
> more so when he thought it was something that those people would not
> normally order if they were paying.

Well, I *can* afford it... but I don't prefer most of the food that's
on the menu at a higher price. I gravitate toward the pasta, polenta
or risotto. A lot of meat on the plate just doesn't appeal to me.

> I remember his once grumbling about
> his own son ordered a large lobster at the most expensive club. That, at
> the time,would have cost about three times as much as the other entrees.

Children, even adult children, will do that. For them, their parents
money always grows on trees... they don't actually work for it. :/

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

blake murphy wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:49:37 -0700, Dan Abel wrote:

>> Oh cmon, George, don't destroy our fun! BN (Big Niece) is an
>> institution on this group. I'll never forget the story about the five
>> dozen cookies. It was the holidays, and he needed to bake them in
>> advance, but BN was coming, so he put them in an anonymous box and hid
>> them where nobody could *ever* find them. After she left, he dug out
>> the box. It was empty!
>
> yep. the big niece definitely has lotsa balls for a woman.
>


Plus an incredible appetite and no self-control. She's a 50 yr. old
teenager.

gloria p

On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:27:29 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
> is with a bad attitude and it became a
>>>> self-fulfilling prophesy.
>>> Oh cmon, George, don't destroy our fun! BN (Big Niece) is an
>>> institution on this group. I'll never forget the story about the five
>>> dozen cookies. It was the holidays, and he needed to bake them in
>>> advance, but BN was coming, so he put them in an anonymous box and hid
>>> them where nobody could *ever* find them. After she left, he dug out
>>> the box. It was empty!
>>
>> yep. the big niece definitely has lotsa balls for a woman.
>
> Then there was my wife's 50th birthday party, which was held out in the
> yard. The party was catered by a friend of mine. We had about 60 guests
> and lots of food. There was no reason for her to be snooping around in
> the pantry and opening up unopened packages of cookies and biscuits, but
> just about every time I went into the house to get something, there she
> was, with a freshly opened packaged of something that she had no
> business opening. Hell, opening a box of crackers where there are
> platters of real food out on the patio?

that's the story that killed me.

> I did enjoy watching my son and his cousin playing Seagull with her at a
> party at my brother in law's. The boys, about 12 and 14 at the time,
> would take a bite of something and then leave it on a plate and then
> stand back and watch her come around and eat the bait.

nasty thing to do, but funny.

your pal,
blake

In article >,
blake murphy > wrote:

> > I did enjoy watching my son and his cousin playing Seagull with her at a
> > party at my brother in law's. The boys, about 12 and 14 at the time,
> > would take a bite of something and then leave it on a plate and then
> > stand back and watch her come around and eat the bait.
>
> nasty thing to do, but funny.
>
> your pal,
> blake

I thought it was hilarious too. ;-)
That poor girl needs counseling, and maybe some drug therapy.

Food addiction is a recognized mental disorder.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

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