Dear Mitzy,

I have a sister who has a very bad habit of showing up for dinner every single Sunday. It's so annoying that she does this. My husband is about ready to have her hi-jacked on her way over here. She knows that we eat around 2pm and she has a knack of showing up at 1:45. She always says that she didn't know we were ready to eat. Reluctantly, I always say to sit down and we get her a plate. She even has the nerve to say that the food is spicy or that the meat isn't cooked all the way.

Sometimes my temper wants to go through the roof. I can feel my blood pressure going sky high. What can I do to get her to understand that she is a royal pain. My sister is 51 years old and can't cook anything. She once fixed us chili and the whole family was in the bathrooms for three days. Thank God we have three full baths in the house.

My husband saw her coming up the walk with a pan in her hand and he broke out in a rash and had convulsions. We need your advice on this one. Please help us Mitzy.

Very Upset in Stantonville   

Dear Upset,

You might want to eat a couple hours earlier or better yet go out to eat. Maybe even go to eat in another city and stay away for the day. Do this for five consecutive Sundays. If this doesn't work you might want to move to another city and not tell her you moved. You could put a quarantine sign up and call her and tell her not to come by. On the other hand it might be easy to just say to her that she's being a bit selfish of your family time. The other option is to enjoy her visits and make the best of it. Afterall, she is your sister and family too.

Mitzy