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.

What, not back at all???!
Or just not back before Christmas?

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

I hope you mean not back till the new year Oxeye. Please. With sugar on top.

I am taking ds to the panto this morning, then maybe the crib service this afternoon if he can be separated from his friend

Morning all.

We have a day of last minute preparation. SmallBloke has already gone out to fetch the turkey and various parcels which the post office/couriers think appropriate only to deliver at times when everyone is out.

SmallGirl has just made her first serious attempt at wrapping presents for her pater herself. With pretty good results. We'll be going to a crib service later - SmallGirl is likely to have a starring role if turnout is at low as last year's.

Hot chocolate and cinnamon pastries on the aga for anyone in breakfast need.

We arrived in England tired but smiling and are well into our English countryside Christmas. Carol singing in the pub tonight!!!

Merry Christmas to one and all.

x x x x

Hurrah re your presence in this fine country again, tea
Merry Christmas!!!!!

- it is lovely!

Talking of presence...

... I better go and get some presents. A couple of my Amazon deliveries are stuck somewhere out there in the snow.

Merry Christmas to all in the tearoom

Phew! Have just finished epic present-wrapping, including whether or not to include small balance bike in the "wrapped" section (it's half wrapped, so it's not immediately obvious what it is)

Only thing not wrapped now is MIL's present from miniT - a digital photoframe keyring - which is charging on my laptop as we speak. Am though - the USB charging/uploading lead that came with it doesn't work. Luckily the connection matches the one for my camera, so am using that, but can't give that lead to MIL. Poo! Still. at least she'll have it charged and with some photos on. Am though - it has 8Mb memory yet claims to be able to hold up to 107 photos - not on my watch, matey! Our camera (bless it!) takes photos of between 1.5 and 3Mb each - I resize them but still, I'm probably only going to be able to get about 20 on the keyring.

My Dad's pressie has apparently arrived but for some reason he had to go and collect it from the depot rather than them deliver it ( he hasn't explained why) - but at least he has it.

Oxeye - you had better be coming back after Christmas!

Made mince pies this morning - prior to Ordeal. I used 1/8 icing sugar instead of flour (so 7oz plaing flour and 1oz icing sugar) which worked marvellously well and gave lovely crisp sweet pastry.

The Ordeal was ok-ish, for the first couple of hours. MiniThumb caught a fish! MIL bought him and MrThumb new fishing rods, which she brought over yesterday, as they had been fishing at her place earlier in the week and had caught a few tiddlers but the rods are all old and messed up. So today they tried out miniT's new rod - and caught tonight's supper on it! A large leatherjacket, the biggest I've ever seen and bigger than MrT has ever caught in his life!
I don't like fishing much myself - I don't like them leaving the fish to gasp to death; I don't like them not bashing it on the head, and I don't like it being actually killed either. If I had to do it or starve, I probably could - but it's not my idea of fun.

Anyway - BIL was civil and even helped with the fish - but as lunch dragged on, he started muttering and swearing - and then after lunch it was just mounting tension. Eventually at about 4pm, MrT's uncle said he was off - obviously taking their cousin as well - so we scooted at the same time. MrT was very stressed by then - he'd been holding himself in for a couple of hours and the pressure was beginning to show.

I don't think we'll be going to the uncle's place tomorrow if BIL is there...

Hope everyone is better by tomorrow - and if not, that they manage to enjoy it anyway.

Merry Christmas One and All - and see you on the other side.

Have got horrendous Season Cold and feel Seasably rotten. Have solved wrapping problem by not giving any presents yet - will do a couple for New Year and blame French custom. I have actually just today sent off the parcels to French cousins and am blaming English weather, as there is no way they will get there before January.

Small, look in your inbox.

Happy Christmas all.

Congratulations, Thumb, on coming through The Ordeal almost unscathed.

Thank you, Serpent, for your generous message - now look in your inbox. Commiserations on la rhume. Would some mulled cider help? I'm sure it would be restorative.

Anyone else for mulled cider and a festive slice/dish/bucket of Surprise de Twiglet de Noel?

Not sure whether mulled cider is advisable after stiff G&T. (Only for medicinal purposes, of course.) But why not?

Have just baked a pie to have an excuse to burn enough oil for DH and WRiggle to have a bath. [yearning for hot bath emoticon}

It's all medicinal, Serpent. It's made from fruit. Cin cin!

Oh dear, is your oil shortage really that severe? Couldn't you elbow MonsieurSerpent out of the way and get in with Wriggle on the grounds that the steam will help your cold?

Oh my dears. Happy Christmas x. I only meant until after the Festivities. I'm not going anywhere soon!
Tea welcome back to the Sceptered Isle
Thumb well done with Ordeal and hope it means you can now have a rstful christmas day
racing are you ok? that sounds grim on the oil/ bath situation do you fancy coming up this way?
I'm all done. Lovely DH is taking over the las bit of wrapping so it's wine, fire, food a gogo xxxx
love to all you lovely ladies

Praise be!

Mulled cider and festive bits sounds good to me.
After a morning at work, I've washed the cars, scrubbed the kitchen floor, put the cards up properly, got my i-pod thingy working with the new hi-fi unit, chatted with a friend, eaten a chinese takeaway and now need a bit of a rest!

So glad that rumours of your departure were greatly exaggerated, my dear!

Food a gogo sounds like the theme for the next few days, for good or ill. Perhaps we should all run away to a spa, where Mellors can offer massage a gogo and Serpent can have a hot bath?

ARGH! Families. More importantly, inlaws.

Pours copious rather good wine for Scout
praise be my mil made it to Scotland
yes to a spa
I'm taking running shoes with me as a feeble ballast against over indulgence

Oops. Mine was supposed to be mulled cider. Oh well.

InLaws and holidays should not mix.

Oh dear. Is it really that grim? Can you escape for a little while - take BabyScout to the park for a swing, say? Run an errand to the petrol station for an extra pint of milk and make it last all morning?

Can't break open the alcohol (unless its virtual) as I'm preaching at Midnight Mass! Eek!

Most of it's me, I'm sure. And I disappeared ALONE (BabyScout left with MrScout) for two glorious hours today. Twas lovely. Unfortunately BabyScout still poorly, and picked up nieces and nephews poorly in addition to what he already had, so no outside to play in the snow for him for a while.

Good luck, Mary!

Good luck, Mary. A large glass of tea room mulled cider sounds like just what you need. Will there be incense?