The One-Child Tea Room, version 21... the Hawaiian Islands. Cocktails, anyone?

[Jacksmama]

Welcome everyone to the 21st (!!!) One-Child Tea Room. Not to be misleading, we do have inhabitants who have or are planning more than one! Everyone is welcome.

The usual rules apply: no fisticuffs, or you will be escorted out by Mellors the Hunky Gardener. Depending on your preference, he looks variously like Daniel Craig, George Clooney, David Boreanaz, Gerard Depardieu... I have a feeling we all see something different but whatever we see makes us drool! And considering that this Tea Room is in the Hawaiian Islands, whoever we see is definitely shirtless! :o

Cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, yummy food that is entirely without fattening effects, and lewd rolls abound in the Tea Room. There is also a full cappucino bar.

This is essentially A Tea Room of Requirement, and we're currently on the lovely sandy beaches of Maui, with beach huts, lounge chairs, cabanas, mango and papaya trees, and of course, lots of coffee directly from Kona.

Pop on in and stay a while. We may all seem a bit mad eccentric but we're very friendly!

::gave up the search years ago and so either shouts or weeps silently into a cushion::

Nope, not a sign of them. Which is why when the TV licensing people have just written to me for the 5th time to ask where our office TV is and demand we get a license, I've gnashed my teeth and said a couple of Rude Things. We don't have an office TV! There isn't one!

Do they make a combo patience and strength (physical AND mental) pill? If so, can someone post some to me or tell me where I can go to get them?

Nope. Can lend you Mellors and provide a large cup of something, though?

No patience pills.

Nothing

Nada. Nada de nada...

::Holds glass out to amber:: Please, Miss, I know it's not tropical or good for you, but can I have a large coke with lemon?

Of course you may.

Like a good girl, I have made an appointment to have my poorly finger that keeps bleeding. Eurgh.

... to have my poorly finger looked at.

ARGH!

::Make that a double, amber!:: (Please)

Eek - still not healing then?

Not my pointer finger, no. Can't bend it without hurting and/or blood. Bad -- it's on my dominant hand which gets used A LOT with BabyScout (he also likes to hold that finger when walking and he holds on with a death grip). Was going to wait and talk to my specialist but decided it's better to have the GP look at it since she'll be focused on just that, not all the other stuff I see the specialist about.

Oh, amber, are you still on your sofa with a duvet and a steaming mug of something?

Er...

Umm, no. I'm at my desk, though lovely staff are getting me tea and doing some shopping, and I'm off for a decent break very soon. Much happier pottering about here than sitting at home at the mo. Main operation thingy is now healing nicely so no desperate need to be immobile or resting all the time any more. I'm being sensible, honest

Are you quite sure you're being sensible, Amber?

::stern look over pince-nez::

As long as you're being sensible. No ladders, young lady! And have a long, leisurely pub lunch and skip out early. You're allowed -- I say so.

Oh yes, nothing more strenuous than informing a BBC editor (who rang to apologise for them not giving me info about disabled access for a major event - thus I couldn't go to it ) that wheelchair users are not the only people with a disability. He's a very nice man and is off to google some info about disability access stuff.
Oh and signing some cheques, sorting out a small media crisis, working on the website and chatting on here, really.

::Wonders: Is it true that you can take unused medicine (that's in a packet or unused bubble pack) back to the pharmacy if you don't need them and they're still in date?::

::Also wonders: What's up with the English rain? Honestly, does it ever brighten up in the winter?::

::Wants to know: Why are baby shoes so expensive?!::

::Passes Donki a second bucket of tea:: Everything okay?

Scout. As far as I know

1. Yes - even if it's out of date, as they will dispose of it securely. Or are you talking about taking back over-the-counter stuff for a refund? Dunno about that.

1. Occasionally the sun breaks through but, yes, it is often grey and gloomy.

1. Tell me about it. MissTechno's shoes cost as much as mine.

Scout - you can take it back but they'll bin it. They have to.

Amber - hope you're behaving in a sedate and sedentary manner!

PAtience pills would be lovely
I have none.

I am also trying to quell the rising stress - have been sent the letter my tenants have sent to end their tenancy - of course they have cited the ongoing broken oven saga as the reason and are seeking legal advice over compensation/repayment of some of their rent. One part of me doesn't really blame them; the other part thinks none of this would have happened if they hadn't broken it in the first place! But it is ridiculous and I will end up with an ulcer if it isn't fixed soon. Am not sure what I need most, but a plane ticket home is looking like the optimum choice; however, if I go now, we won't be able to come again in a few months, I'm sure, so it would be a dreadful waste of money just to go for this stupid reason. My Dad was supposed to have taken this over to ease the stress in December but the snow rather stymied the process, and now his friend who was going to help him check it out has had a car accident - I feel like the universe is conspiring against me and it's making me Very Upset.
ARGH!

Sorry.

Thumb, are there no managing agents involved re the tenants? Is it worth hiring some rather than the expense of the flights?

Sedate? Yes, I'd say I'm being as sedate as I get.

Donki, you sound thoroughly naffed off. Hope all's OK??

Blue sky appearing here after a morning of torrential rain and darkness. Hurrah.

amber, yes there are agents - there always were. I was trying to save the callout fees of the agent's electrician/gas engineer but it's no longer an option given that Dad has actually impeded progress rather than expediting the situation, as I had hoped - so I've given the agent the go-ahead to get their engineer in.
What will happen next is anyone's guess - I Know there was an electric cable behind the gas oven but I cannot remember whether we left it there intact when we installed the gas oven, or whether we cut it off for safety. Still - there should be some sign of it!

So far, early indications suggest that the tenants don't have much of a leg to stand on re. rent refund, as they had cooking facilities, even if they weren't full; but who knows. Still, the ulcer is settling again - don't feel quite so sick now.

Of course, miniThumb decided to add to the drama by falling out of bed :( - he is fine, he has gone back to sleep (there were no concussion signs) but it definitely increased the ambient stress levels!

Grr re your dad ending up impeding progress. Not all you were hoping for.

Eek re miniThumb's testing of the laws of gravity

You'll be needing Mellors and the contents of the virtual drinks bar, then?

Pretty much! Pass the straws...

I can't really blame Dad entirely - I mean, he's quite old now, he has a lot on, the snow didn't help, nor the Christmas period and then his friend having a car accident just about put the tin lid on it. But it's just all part and parcel of the whole sorry mess, I think.

Still - fingers crossed it will all be over soon.