Since last week's post it occurred to me that there is a flipside to "giving someone the cold shoulder." Done in a flirtatious and coy manner it can be a part of the courting process. The playful snub can add allure to the chase and conquest. In conclusion, the "cold shoulder" isn't always a negative act. Let us continue.

How to Encourage the Squatting House Guest to Leave 

Solution: Cook mutton, serve for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Repeat.

Recommended Mutton Recipe for Sqautters: Medieval Recipes

Take a legge of mutton and cot it in small slices, and put it in a chafer, and put therto a pottell of ale, and scome it cleane then putte therto seven or eyghte onions thyn slyced, and after they have boyled one hour, putte therto a dyshe of swete butter, and so lette them boyle tyll they be tender, and then put therto a lyttel peper and salte.

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There are two schools of thought when it comes to house guests:

The first, delighted with house guests, you have, Kahlil Gibran, who said, "If it were not for guests all houses would be graves."  

And then, Erma Bombeck: "House guests should be regarded as perishables; leave them out too long and they go bad."

What are your time-tested solutions for the overfamiliar house guest?

Rosalinda Oropeza Randall is an etiquette consultant who owns Your Relationship Edge in which she teaches classes and presents workshops to a variety of audiences. She can be reached at rosalinda@yourrelationshipedge.com and her website is www.yourrelationshipedge.com. She can also be reached on Facebook.