Tea room 22- A Farmhouse kitchen, anyone for a cuppa?

[UniS]

Welcome to the 22nd incarnation of the tea room. This time we are watching for spring from a cosy farmhouse kitchen. There is an aga for baking virtual cakes and an inglenook with toasty fire and settles to rest weary bones on. The distressed chintz sofa and footstool have arrived safe and sound and the priest hole is around here somewhere. On the Window sill is an aspidistra its pot surrounded by a hand holding circle of nearly naked mohawk babies, they have placards and a brazier.

Outside in the surrounding fields can be found the tea room horses, Earl and Lady Grey, also a herd of bison AND a Ha Ha to keep the bishops from invading.

Usual rules apply, no fisticuffs, if you want an argument go else where. Mellors the butler / game keeper will supply all sorts of things on request. Welcome Mums of one, none or many to the tea room of requirement.

CMOT, eek...! Does he have a union or a HR person he can talk to in confidence about his work stress??

CMOT that's awful.
We're dropping like flies.
Is he OK this morning?

Oh CMOT, that's not good. How's everything today?

Yay for improvement in LCT!

We're going to go do a stock-the-cupboard shop today -- YAY! (I'm such a geek to be excited about it.)

Morning all.

::Puts steaming jug of hot chocolate and plate of delicious pastries on the aga::

Oh dear, Cmot. Has dh said how long he has felt like this or what's caused it? I don't suppose his industry is much unionised, is it? When I was having a torrid time at work, I had the lucky coincidence of being able to have some career coaching from a friend who was doing some training and needed a guinea pig. It was really helpful in talking it through, getting some perspective and identifying bits that were in my power to change. Would that work for dh? For me, I'd be reluctant to go to HR simply because I wouldn't want to talk about sensitive stuff with people who work for the same company (but that's just my ishoo).

Yay for shopping and healthy babes.

LCT no longer improved. Has kept nothing down all morning, one very wet poo, very little pee. Waiting to hear from out of hours doctor.

CMOT I hope things are better today.

Ooh pastries and hot chocolate, thanks!

He is going to the gp on Monday to get signed off for a bit. He'd phoned the 'employee supportline' counsellors last night. He is a union member, so could get help from there too. Its just too much work in a ver high stress enviroment where all the customers are in very bad places themselves.

He's gone to watch some rugby this afternoon. TBH, I'm pleased it's come to this as he has not been the pleasantist person to be around lately, but wouldn't listen to me

CMOT, :( re DH. It's a good thing he's recognized that he's not doing well, though, isn't it?

I have to get ready for work this morning, and then tonight will hopefully be going to see "The King's Speech" with a friend (does an anticipatory swoon over Colin Firth>) but will check in later.

Amber, negatory re paying for burned-boobies-prevention cream. In my world, friends are allowed to give friends-in-need a gift. So there :)
I'll be seeing CMOT in April, I'll give it to her and she can bring it back to the UK with her (I'm assuming that's ok CMOT?).

BoffinMum, you crack me up. Please stick around!

Purple, I was a more or less evil teen. I certainly felt evil! Oh my poor stepdad. I often think all the issues I have with him now re my mum are karma for how awful I was to him as a girl.

Tee, please update re LCT.

Scout, did you go to the dinner thing?? And we need to sort out your protein bar support parcel. I'll go shopping as soon as you tell me what flavours you like.
Peanut butter?
Sweet or salty or both?
Chocolate?
Caramel?
Cookies and creme?

If I've forgotten anyone, apologies!!! ((((HUGS)))) to everyone who needs them. xxJM

Just spoke to the doc and she says it sounds viral. She's rung in a script for diolyte or whatever it's called, which I cannot believe he'll drink since he hates all things juice, but we'll give it a go. He's actually pretty much himself at this point, but she said to keep an eye, obviously, and if he gets worse again, give them another ring.

Does LCT like fizzy juice (pop/soft drink -what ever you lot in E Anglia and various southern parts call it), Tee? I know it's hardly great dietary advice, but watered down sprite or orangeade might go down easier...

Disclaimer: I live in Mexico, where they drink more fizzy juice than anywhere in the world after the US. This tip is via my neighbours; it worked with Gatita, but then she wasn't as poorly as LCT sounds. If this is a frowned upon notion in the every so much less fizzy juice drinking UK.

CMOT: It is very disconcerting the breaking down bit. Mr H. went through a terrible time in his first years of his doctorate programme: lots of classes, papers and deadlines plus his insistence on his need for him to be earning money (I had a job but the failed to pay me for it for the first 6 months). I remember phoning him one evening after a meeting to tell him I was going to have tea at a friends. His sobbing down the phone brought me home straightaway. Things then went down hill further as he started to drink himself silly while he waited for me to arrive.
However, it convinced him that he needed outside help (a fact of which I had been trying to convince for a couple of months) and to jack in his classes and concentrate on the doctorate. Things got better empotionally for him and I eventually got paid and life started to seem a buit easier. Hopefully Mr. CMOT's episode and a visit to the Drs. will mark a similar improvement (although it's likely to be slow).

Sorry forgot to finish my sentence: "If this is frowned upon .... please ignore".

Tee, in my corner of the non-fizzy-drinking UK (I don't think), our GP advised me to give Wriggle flat coca cola to drink ... or have her taken into hospital for dehydration. So it's not disapproved of everywhere here. It worked ... but I have been drinking the stuff ever since!

CMOT, I can't offer any helpful advice that hasn't already been offered, and my DH does not respond to stress with tears but with anger directed at everyone around him, but I do know that there is a lot of stress about at the moment. It's not only your DH,I fear. Wish I could think of something that would help. Bach flower remedies? If you believe in such things. (I obviously do) Acupuncture could also help him feel that he could cope.

Milk's envelope is in the post - who knows if it is this very minute winging its way to Paris or to the Bermuda Triangle which has swallowed most of my postings to The House of Tea.

Ah well then, UnS, I feel a bit better about advising this then. It was actually coke that my neighbours mentioned, but I worried about the caffeine content and went for a different option.

Bunny is MISSING. He's in the house, we just don't know where. Fingers crossed BabyScout has loved on Teddy and Blue enough to cuddle them to sleep until we can find Bunny and slip him back into bed.

Thanks guys. I felt very shoved off my the out of hours service and so we are at A&E. Long wait but I will feel better if he's seen. I personally think it's a bit urgent if a 19 month old has kept nothing down for over 12 hours.

Oh dear, Tee. Fingers crossed for LCT.

Fingers, toes and everything.

(And for finding Bun.)

All digits crossed here too.

Thinking about here too Tee. I hope you get seen soon.

Hope he's OK Tee.

DS has been vomiting since 5, so am on washing load 3. Bless him.

I need a bolly now - anyone else ?

Thanks again all. Still waiting to be seen and his rash is spreading as I watch. Can't remember if I said, but it does pass the press test. Still worrying though.

Fingers crossed tee. You're in the right place
cmot sorry indeed for your dh vi think you also need to think hard about how you can reduce stress in the rest of life. It's not to say that work isn't stessful but the less stress elsewhere will certainly help. I know that's the case for me

Praying he's OK Tee...

Thanks for the update, Tee. It's scary when the littles are so sick and can't tell you what's wrong. I hope the doctors in A&E are able to figure it out positively and give you reassurance.

If someone could tell me where in my house to find this Bunny I would be eternally grateful. I'm about to get serious with St Anthony as it's starting to stress me out. We know Bunny didn't go outside as we had to put BabyScout's coat on and his coat covers his hands so we don't give him anything to hold. He's asleep with Ted on his chest, but Ted's just not as fuzzy and he doesn't have long ears and arms to stroke as a soother. (And yes, this has been the swift kick we needed to order a dopplerganger this weekend.)

Hot chocolate, anyone?

Scout, did your DH make it home? Forgot in the angst that was CMOT and Tee - and CMOT how is Tiddler?

Any news Tee?

Catita, sorry to hear Mr Hatita got so when doing Dr, we just locked Oxbloke up in a small attic when he was at it (that almost rhymes - preen)

There is quite a bit of Pale Blue East Anglia in this tea room, isn't there

Home gang. Very very bad viral infection. A&E doc saw no need for him to have the ABs GP gave him Thursday and gave me a very broad hint to stop giving them to him, so I will. She said he was a bit dehydrated but not so bad as to be a concern, do everything we can to keep him hydrated and, of course, bring him back if he doesn't improve.

My big problem is that he won't drink anything but milk and water and neither will help him right now. So I'm going to try some thinned down apple sauce tomorrow to try to get some sugar etc into him. And we have the Ocelyte stuff, which he hates, but will tolerate in small bits.

So it's just a matter of time.