Try to avoid ‘cold war’ in close quarters

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This article was published 07/04/2020 (2380 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I met my woman at a wild party where people swapped partners. We both came to the party with other people and left together, falling into passion, and then love, very quickly. That was New Year’s Eve. We felt so crazy about each other, we moved into a little house together on Valentine’s Day.

Now we are working from home and in each other’s pockets every day and driving each other crazy. Since this COVID-19 climate is not a good one for moving house, we are stuck for the foreseeable future!

We do have a developed basement with a bedroom and a locked door at the top of the steps. Blessed privacy.

Should I move down there, or will that create a bigger hell than the annoying daily situation we have now? She could have the better space upstairs and I’d suggest I take the basement though I pay more of the rent.

— Driving Each Other Crazy, St. Vital

Dear Driving: Moving apart within a house creates the feeling of a cold war. Nobody needs further isolation at this point in our world. It’d be best to work out a better situation within the house.

Many couples have one room each as a private study/office/craft room and still share the house. Could this work for now, or is the fighting so nasty you need to divide the house into separate living levels with a locked door?

Think hard about this. Pockets of privacy and a decent friendship — and even friendly sex — in the shared house would be a lot better, if you can work it out.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I have a couple of suggestions for Should I Bite It? (That’s the reluctant husband whose wife is working (plus overtime) from home, and told him to “Bite the bullet, baby!” and do all the cooking for the family for now.)

We love to watch Chef John at Food Wishes. He works with recipes from simple to complex, but with detailed, not-too-long videos in a really lighthearted and encouraging manner (wfp.to/foodwishes).

I find his videos way more helpful than cooking shows when learning something new. He doesn’t use a ton of flashy cuts, nor does he rely on useless shots of an upscale kitchen. There’s just a simple focus on what he’s doing, with great tips on what to look for if you’re new to cooking.

To learn to bake, Stephanie Jaworski (her husband is a Winnipegger!) at joyofbaking.com is the best (wfp.to/baking). Hope this helps Mr. Maples!

— Christie, Winnipeg

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I have an idea for the Bullet Biter. Please suggest that this guy go to allrecipes.com. It’s easier than trying to take notes when watching TV cooking shows or flipping through cookbooks.

You get great recipes with videos to follow step-by-step. You can input a list of ingredients you have on hand and it will suggest things to make. Other people review the recipes and suggest modifications or tips they have used to adapt the recipes.

— Robert, Winnipeg

Dear Robert & Christie: Thanks for your kindness in helping reluctant new cook, Bullet Biter.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

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