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.

Aaaaaaagh! No oil company will deliver to us, we are very nearly out of oil and DH is most displeased with my lack of foresight. I don't think excuses about working full time or APs illness are going to cut any ice here. (Probably literally)

oh no Serpent! :(
Don't see why M. Snake couldn't have organised it himself, tbh... but hey.

Ha!

Have been planning to make the best of things - camping in the sitting room in front of the woodburner (which is also on very short rations itself) and digging out an electric heater for AP, who will refuse to use it. She is elegantly garbed in a large blanket and a hot water bottle.

But at least she is much better. Cannot really believe that only one week ago I was planning for a future without her ..

Oh hurrah! Did she have extra antibiotics? can't remember [brain like sieve emoticon].

I do wonder about some Hs. My best friend has just come out to Oz for a holiday, as I may have already mentioned - saw her on Saturday. In the course of our chat, I asked her why her DH hadn't done some of the pre-holiday organising to take the load off her so she didn't have to do her headless chicken impression - and she also laughed bitterly and incredulously. Like he would even think about it, unless it fit in perfectly with what he was already doing!

Mine is a bit the same - but he does actually have the responsibility for all the bills and accounts here. However, when it comes to stuff like getting the health insurance sorted, I had to push and push and push for that to be done.

Tis very annoying!

Glad to hear ap is much better Serpent.

I remeber having some particularly lovely pavlova in a tea shop in the QV building - it is fab.

It has snowed more here today. We'd gone to do pony water (all taps frozen), and dh then suggested popping to the supermarket as we were right by the motorway. Turns out next county haven't been scraping their roads so it wasn't fun in nextcity. And it then snowed lots.

We are just back from Winter Wonderland and the hell that is Christmas shopping on Oxford Street.

SmallGirl loved WW and especially her first experience of skating (which she has been desperate to do since she was too young to come on a Brownie outing) and pronounced the whole thing cool.

So, thank you once again Cmot.

We've just assembled the "main" present from GrandmomScout and GrandadScout (the grandparents in the States). MrScout is NOT pleased with it's size (though he knew before what the size was AND we brought the box with us on our return trip) but I think it's fabulous and BabyScout will adore it.

Ooooh. Can you tell us what it is?

BabyScout's Present

I can kinda see why MsScout is worried, but BabyScout will loooove it. With a bit of time, MrScout will come to accept that, with a toddler around, the house fills up with primary-coloured plastic!

It's only about a foot in depth. It is fabulous. GrandmomScout bought two extra cars, so he has four to play with.

And yet, when it was set up who sat playing with it?

Am vv glad you got to use the tickets Small, and that you enjoyed it.

That is pretty big for an inside toy Scout - as long as babyscout loves it, it'll be fine though. We have a stonking great rocking horse that dh cursed initially, but is much loved and played on. The plastic garage which mil bought against advice, was huge and unloved and so went to Freecycle rapidly

Remember that in the summer it could go outside. VerySmallGirl's huge plastic kitchen lived in the garden.

This is, by far, the biggest present/toy BabyScout has. Everything is little like blocks, rings, stacking cups, LeapFrog phones, and books, loads and loads of books. BabyScout has few toys (he gets to use things around the house like bowls and spoons to play with, too, which he loves).

great ramp/ garage thing. baby scout will love it and I'm sure MrScout will sneak a go too.

Any one care to join me in a winterwonderland white hot choc with marshmallows, white choc buttons and sundry other sprinkles? I have festive on a plate too. pass them round.

DH was very manly today and shovelled all the snow off our drive AND the road in front of drive AND the difficult corner between our house and main road . He did do the last bit with a neighbour, but they did teh best road clearance job in the village. We had a dump of 25 cm snow last night. SNOW day. 2x sledging , making an ice cave and a potter round village for boy and I. DH just managed 1 x sledging, so busy was he with shovelling.

I hope to be able to drive to nearest town tomorrow afternoon and do a food shop. Wondering if I can swap boy for a shopping list and leave him with a friend. Dh is car sharing, other chap has a 4x4 so they will go in that.

I think boy got complimented by one of the teen boys sledging. watching boy hurtle down hill and get big air over a jump and NOT wipe out, teen boy then said, admiringly,"hey pocket rocket".

teen boys are odd creatures, I quite like them. but they did seem to spend much of their morning flinging each other to the ground and trying to stuff snow down necks.

DH and Wriggle made a giant snowman, then an igloo, then decorated the garden with candles. Absolutely the most beautiful thing. Will try and post photos.

We spent today ice-skating and sledging at our town's snow park. It was REALLY very magical!!!

scout - I think that present is very very cool!!! You will find space. I bought Milk a big wooden kitchen for her second birthday.

Beer had similar concerns about he size of it compared to our flat!!! In the end we put a few baskets around it to use as storage for wooden food and Milk sized tin pots and pans, painted a basic interior on the wall and used two shelves we no longer used to make a roof to create a sort of little Wendy House for her. Have you got a nothingness space you can turn into a cool carzone, maybe?

unserp - yes yes yes - photos needed - what a fab idea!!!

I live with a packrat who doesn't understand "get rid of." I have been getting rid of a lof of things (charity shop, recycle center, etc) but MrScout's stuff multiplies, so no dead space (what I wouldn't do for a nothingness zone). But I keep telling him BabyScout has few toys and they take priority over his empty boxes that we don't need but he insists are precious.

Can't remember how to look at anyone's profile, not even my own. Double click? Control and click?? Right click???

Milk's house is in the hallway between the kitchen entrance, coat hooks, box for fire wood and bookcase...

I also live with a hoarder... under our bed is filled with 80s "tapes he made" and I suspect were "made for him". We have no tape player to play any of these!!! We have no lp player but a cupboard of lps and lots of odd old chairs. He also has a drawer filled with love letters which I found rather shocking when I first came across it... but I think I was more jealous because I have (sobs) never been given a love letter and Beer has a drawer of them!

But, going back to the 'toy invasion' I think because I put a few things around Milk's kitchen that say "this is where this should be" it doesn't have the feel of a massive toy taking over the adult space like this - WAAAA HAAA HAAAAAR!!!!

Don't understand it ... I know that I have a public profile and I know that there are lots of photos ... but when I tried to look it all seems to be empty.

Off to try the Other Tea Room.

did you create said profile whilst residing under a different name??

shall I pop over t'other place with you to help you look under the sofa?

I'm sure I'd seen your profile here, Serpent, but I think UniS is right. When you change your name, the profile has (somehow, not sure how) to be re-attached to your new name.

Scout, one of my friends has just bought that for her 18mo's Christmas present - he's going to love it too.

We are lucky to have lots of open plan floor space so miniT's larger toys don't seem huge. Can't leave ours outdoors for fear of redbacks taking up residence in the pepper pot or something.

Serpent - if someone's profile is available, their name will be underlined on their posts. Yours, for example, isn't, so we can't see your profile. Mine usually is but I haven't linked my profile to my Christmas name so currently isn't. CMOTD's IS viewable - just click on her name.