DEAR MISS MANNERS: During my morning video chats for work, my dad always wakes up late, makes lots of noise in the kitchen (where I work) and eats right in front of me.

He is a not-so-pleasant eater, and I can never unmute because they would hear him chewing. He walks right by me so that everyone can see him. I have asked him politely to move, but he says that this is the kitchen and so he is allowed.

I am not allowed to work anywhere else, due to my family’s workspaces. Can you help, please?

GENTLE READER: Unfortunately, Miss Manners cannot retrain your father, as, with the far greater claim of having to work, you have been unable to do. So let us shift to killing him with kindness.

Suppose you get up somewhat earlier, fix him a breakfast tray, and deliver it elsewhere, complete with covers or pots that will keep the food warm until he awakes. That way, you are doing him a favor, rather than asking him to do the minimal accommodation -- it can hardly be called a favor -- you require.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a healthy 73-year-old mother of two married daughters. Since the pandemic, I have been very careful, wearing a mask and following all the recommendations regarding being safe.

My younger daughter and her family agree with me and follow the rules. I see them, with precautions.

My older daughter and her husband believe COVID is a hoax and refuse to wear masks. I have not seen them in person since February, nor have her sister and family.

The older, less careful, daughter is hurt that we won’t see her. She argues that we are being too careful and masks are not needed. I think she and her husband should respect my position and wear masks in my presence, especially since I am a senior and her mother. Do you agree?

GENTLE READER: The issue here is not so much that your older daughter and her family do not believe in wearing masks; it is that they would rather forgo your company than yield to your request that they wear them for the short time of a visit. It seems to Miss Manners that they can hardly have a claim to being hurt when they have so flagrantly hurt you.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a 73-year-old female with a pleasant and young-sounding voice. I am in sales, and some of the men I speak with can get a little flirty before I actually meet them in person.

I would like to be able to say something that would tip them off that I’m (often) way older than they are before we meet. Any suggestions?

GENTLE READER: You could try using antique slang. But presuming that you are not yourself flirting during these calls, Miss Manners does not consider you responsible for failing to fulfill any hopes or fantasies these people may have developed during what is supposed to be a business call.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: It seems that Cobb and chopped salads are now on menus everywhere, and are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat. My dilemma is how to eat them.

Does one toss it in one’s plate, so each bite contains a sample of a few ingredients? There usually isn’t a lot of room on the plate to do this neatly.

I drizzle a bit of dressing and eat a little from each section, working my way around the plate, adding dressing as needed once I reach the lower layers. But what is the preferred method?

GENTLE READER: When it comes to giant salads fitted in small bowls, one’s life -- and dry-cleaning bill -- is in one’s own hands. Your method is as good as any.

Miss Manners suggests you approach it like an archaeological dig, skillfully swirling and consolidating the further you approach the bottom. If it is any consolation, at least chopped and Cobb salads have the courtesy of coming in bite-sized pieces. Their cruel sibling, the wedge salad, is not so generous.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: For 50 years, I have enjoyed working with yarn. I gave complete baby sets (a sweater set, blanket and toy) to friends when their children came along. These were well received, with many compliments; pictures of them in use were shared with me, and I was frequently told these items would be saved as heirlooms for the baby’s own children.

Twelve or 15 years would go by, and the friend would tell me out of the blue, “I had to discard your beautiful baby set. We just don’t have room to keep EVERYTHING from Terrence’s childhood. I felt so terrible when I threw it in the dumpster.” (This is a mental image I do not enjoy, either!) Then in another 10 or 12 years, they announce their excitement to be welcoming a grandchild, and ask me to make another baby set.

While I understand the need to downsize, and that the gift is theirs to do with as they wish, I’m at a loss as to how to answer these requests. It feels as though they’re asking me to negate their guilt, while knowing they’ve discarded a symbol of our friendship.

Items are discarded for various reasons over time, but I would NEVER announce that I discarded someone’s gift, no matter the circumstances or amount of time passed!

Can you suggest how I can politely respond to the announcement that my gift has been discarded? In the past I have simply said, “I understand.” I now find great satisfaction in donating my creations to charities -- and not knowing their fate!

GENTLE READER: You cannot chastise them, but you can politely express disappointment.

Miss Manners suggests something like: “Oh, that is too bad. If you no longer had use for it, I am sure that someone else might have. Perhaps even Terrence’s children someday, knowing that he enjoyed it so. Well, if you find yourself in the same position again, I would happily keep it for you or donate it, rather than have it go to waste.”

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: As my husband grows older, he is becoming increasingly feral with his eating habits.

We usually enjoy our meals together at the table, but of late, he has abandoned all forms of dining etiquette. He uses his cutlery as if knives and forks were garden instruments. He slurps, grunts, chews loudly and smacks his lips, among other things. It is altogether unpleasant, and I shudder to think what new habit will come next.

When I question him about these habits, he tells me that there is no need to display any niceties, as it is only the two of us. He claims he knows how to behave in polite company. Not only is it insulting and off-putting, I fear that one day he might forget himself in this “polite company” that apparently does not include me.

I have tried to discuss this matter with him, but to no avail. Icy stares do not work, either. I am at my wits’ end. I am tempted to serve his next meal in a dog bowl.

GENTLE READER: While for some, the pandemic has only reinforced the absurd notion that one does not have to be polite to the people with whom one lives, Miss Manners has noticed that the rising divorce rate during it proves otherwise.

You may be able to get away without shoes while being house-bound, but you cannot forgo respect. And the contention that one would pull oneself together for company is not a defense; as you point out, it is only more insulting. Perhaps you can suggest that until your husband can display good manners, you will be dining elsewhere -- even if that means in the bedroom with a tray.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My person and I got married last January. It was an intimate, last-minute, courthouse affair with five friends, who we then shared the weekend with in Palm Springs to celebrate. My now-husband and I dated for 12 years, so this was not a shock to anyone. We are in our early 50s.

Is it too late to do a registry? People are still asking what we want for a present, and I tell them we have everything we need (true). But even now, seven months later and during COVID-19, friends who are just learning that we got married ask where we are registered. (I think they are excited to have heard some positive news.)

What if I did an “in lieu of” and asked for donations to a cause? It’s never too late for that, right?

GENTLE READER: Asking people to donate to a cause of your choosing is not a present. Unfortunately, you must continue to politely demur and find other ways to spread positive news and good cheer. Miss Manners recommends that it not be by regaling them with tales of the wedding celebration that they missed.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it acceptable to post a death notice of one’s spouse online?

GENTLE READER: An obituary is more formal -- with personal phone calls made by you, or friends and family, to people who are close. Miss Manners acknowledges that this is less efficient than social media posts, but she maintains that it is also more dignified.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)