Tea Room the Twentieth: The Greek Island

[asmallbunchofflowers]

Welcome to the twentieth (yes, really) Tea Room.

We find ourselves on a sun-kissed Greek island, where our whitewashed, blue-shuttered house nestles in the dappled shade of a gnarled old pine tree. In the olive grove, Mellors the gardener/handyman/factotum is tending the tea room menagerie of horses, camels, bison and guinea-pigs, recently joined by some recalcitrant old donkeys. The distressed chintz sofa, aga and cardboard cut-out of George Clooney have survived the relocation from the south of France and the aspidistra has pride of place on the mantelpiece.

Come in, put your feet up and join in the conversation. It may not make sense, but that's not important. What matters is the lovely people here and the chance simply to relax.

Aw Amber, hope you're feeling better soon!

That Greek coffee smells good! Anyone for some?

Am currently marinating the lamb for the Greek banquet later. Not to mention the kebabs and stifado. Also stuffed vine leaves for those who don't want meat.

I haven't been to Greece for ages!

Kalymera. (?) (Just to mark my seat in our new premises.)

It's like a whole new language - what's a Kalymera? What should one do with a Stifado, if it's not too impolite a question in front of the Bishops?

Oh I love lamb stifado, if it's the one I'm thinking of, it's where the lamb has been slow-baked for several hours in some kind of earthenware kilny thing - the meat is amazingly tender and drops off the bone, melts in the mouth and is generally gorgeous.

Don't know what 'kalymera' is (Maybe "hello" in Greek?) but stuffed vine leaves are fantastic too.

Morning all. Do you think the bishops, being Greek Orthodox, will be particularly strict?

I have just been asked whether I am SmallGirl's grandmother. I suppose in a borough which leads Europe for the number of teen pregnancies that may be slightly more understandable but, really, grrrruuuuhhh.

Er, apparently they're not, no.

Remind me not to attempt hoovering when I have flu.

oh dear Small! That's really very rude of them. I wonder sometimes if people think that of me and miniThumb as well but no one has been rude enough to ask (yet).

There was this woman who taught facial exercises to keep the face young - can't remember her name but she was nearly 70 when I saw her on TV and looked abotu 20 years younger - there is a DVD of her techniques you can buy if you feel like it.
The power of Google has turned up Eva Fraser - that's the bird. I use two of her exercises whenever I remember (I don't have the tape/DVD but she demonstrated two on the talk show I watched and I still remember them!) and it has helped me to avoid a double chin for sure!
this is the amazon link for her video - read the reviews - there is a DVD available as well, if you google Eva Fraser it comes up.

Anyway - only if you're bothered - I keep thinking I ought to get it myself!

Aha - have just read the reviews for the DVD and it is of obviously poorer quality than the video - but the book that comes with it is good, apparently. The exercises are definitely worth it though!

'Sokay really, Thumb. I think I'm in reasonable nick for my age (remembering that old adage about you can either keep your figure or your face and my figure has, ahem, gone south) but it was a question from someone I've never met before who was clearly endeavouring to make friends! Or maybe I'm just deluded. I caught sight of a former colleague recently and thought how hag-ridden she had become, then recalled that she's only a couple of years older than me. Maybe I need to buy new specs and polish the mirrors?

Anyway, .

Καλωσόρισες

Oh dear. Greek alphabet doesn't travel well.

Small, I have been asked the same. And I would love not to have a double chin.

Oops Small - but it is a sign of the age of some grandparents in areas where generation after generation have children very young. Mind, my mum frequently reminds me that her friend is younger than her and is a great grandmother.

A car salesman asked a friend of mine if her dad was buying the car for her. It was her partner, and she was buying the car for him. She very much enjoyed his discomfort as she put him straight !

Theres a picture of ds and his pony on my profile

I am a horrible Mommy making BabyScout wait until stupid o'clock for his lunch (about 3-ish) then giving his a variety of cereals, fruit, yogurt and sweet potato puffs for his dinner at 7 (only because the original dinner idea would have take hours to make poor plannng on my part).

CMOT - we are very jealous!
Scout - you are not a horrible Mummy; you are teaching him resiliance and flexibility. Cereals, fruit, yogurt ... carbohydrate, vitamins and protein ... what more could he want?

I was feeling guilty for lack of veg in his diet today.

BabyScout is good about food times -- we don't have a schedule, more like a routine. Any meal can be offered/fed/eaten (usually) within a two hour span of time (example, lunch is typically between 12 & 2, occassionally earlier or later) but never has he eaten lunch after 3. He enjoyed his pizza lunch with his "girlies" though and kept showing off for them.

One of the greens in ye old university town has an ice rink set up every Christmas season, which is where my Senior Unit wanted to make their Promise (ice skating then pizza lunch). On the ice in the same session as us there were two SN adults in wheelchairs with their carers. The woman, bless her heart, kept rocking forwards and back with a huge grin on her face -- like she was enjoying the wind on her face and trying to get her carer to go faster. The carer looked bored out of her skull. I wanted to go over and say "I'll push her around the ice" (I wasn't skating because of BabyScout) just so someone would share the joy with the woman. Even my girls commented on seeing her and how happy she looked.

The girls also said I should have asked if I could have taken BabyScout's stroller on like the wheelchairs were so they could have all had a turn pushing him around.

Small: this has happenned to me before now. I am 35; in 10 years time they will be asking me if I'm their great-grandma . May women seem to be by 50 in Mexico, and, as I am not good at facial exercises, I shall look at least that old by then. I have seen the photos of my grandma, whose face is the spit of mine.... I think I should make the most of my youth now...

Scout - one day without veg isn't a major issue. Ditto flexible meal timing - he'll be fine!

CNOTD - what a beautiful pony! Am so very .

Serpent - have your oils arrived? Are they making any different to Wriggle?

Oh, Catita, it's happened to me before. But with my warped sense of humour I find it funny that this should have been her opening gambit when she was obviously trying to find someone to have a friendly chat with.

Scout - Oh, does it? We might visit during the school holidays, as we go there often.

CMOT what on earth is on your childs hat???

small pony.

I've just a had a very grubby day at work, lots of dust on sports hall roof beams. I've been rigging cable, truss and lights to turn a sports hall into a theatre. still, its money, and it got me away from in law.

hello! Happy Birthday MiniThumb, sounds a great day

wonderful pony and pic CMOT top stuff!

I gave up on facial anything years ago. I am going for the Georgia O'Keefe look - will try to find a link

I was all for Mellors and his Stifado earlier, am glad he recovered enough to give Small a massage

Was the Kalamary battered squid which I think is Calamari?

I too like aniseed

I know he'll be fine. Was just having a guilty moment, especially thinking of the nice stew we were going to have instead of cheerios, etc.

Good day with the girls. Once again, though, I'm glad I didn't end up pre-ordering skating tickets like I told them I was going to three of them didn't show up and didn't tell me. ARGH! BabyScout watched from his stroller or from a high chair in the cafe every time the girls would go by he'd get excited and reach out for them. It was was sweet watch him beam when he saw "his girlies."

Why is it that even though I'm a SAHM I never feel like I have enough hours in the day?

coz there never ARE enough hours in teh day.

Shall I have another glass of vino??

Hi again...