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Tea Room the 23rd - The Canadian Rockies

996 replies

Jacksmania · 11/02/2011 16:49

Welcome to the 23rd incarnation of the One-Child Tea Room. Not to be misleading - although its inmates inhabitants mostly have just one child, we also have mums of many (but no dads yet... hmmm...). Everyone is welcome.

The usual rules apply - no bunfighting. If you like that sort of thing, go elsewhere.
Other rules: bring Wine. Or [tea]. :o

We find ourselves in a lovely spacious log cabin in the Canadian Rockies. Enormous west-facing windows show a gorgeous view of the sunset over the mountains, and there are log and/or gas fireplaces in every room, even the priest hole (which is a Hiding Spot of Requirement for Those In Need) and the bathrooms. In the open-concept living room, we find the Aga gently simmering against the wall, the bar fully stocked, and the cappuccino bar prepared to dispense any hot beverage of your choice.

Fluffy duvets and colourful pillows abound on the deep, squashy couches and armchairs. Outside, we see a vista of deep snow, dotted here and there with deer and bunny tracks. The walking trails and access roads have been ploughed clear of snow by our able (and hunky) handyman, Mellors, who is also available for massages and facial treatments in the Log Cabin Spa.
There is a hot tub outside on the west-facing deck, with a mini-bar conveniently nearby.

There are no aspidistras in this log cabin, as the cold of the Rockies causes them to shrivel and die. However, the Naked Mohawk Babies have come along and are swarming along the rafters, and in the adjacent stable, the Tea Room horses, Earl and Lady Grey are available for snowy rides. The bison are frolicking in their snowy paddock, and I have no idea if the bishops followed the trail of breadcrumbs or not.

(For newcomers, the last paragraphs obv. makes no sense - just go with, all will be explained.)

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
teafortwo · 03/03/2011 22:35

I have some memory of you once mentioning seeing someone famous and it was Will Self and thought it would be like the last time!

Urrrmmmm.... We REALLY need more clues America is a v big place and over half the population of the World are of the female kind...

Scout19075 · 03/03/2011 22:35

((confused))

Scout19075 · 03/03/2011 22:36

Tea -- someone who you were supposed to meet last summer....

teafortwo · 03/03/2011 22:38

Aaaaah HA!!!!

Soooo....

It was scout wasn't it

Scout19075 · 03/03/2011 22:38

Does anyone know -- with the WBD Tokens if you want to use it to get one of the £1 books do you have to request it or will the participating shops have them? And if they have them do you have to ask for them? Never had a WBD Token (or even an ordinary book token) before so not 100% sure what to do with it.

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 03/03/2011 22:38

Oh, I had meant to pick up Secret's point about self-esteem. I agree that self-esteem is incredibly important - one of the things I try to do at Brownies is ensure (as much as we can in 90 minutes a week) that the girls feel positive about themselves - but it's important (I think) in its own right.

My experience is that there isn't much correlation between self-esteem and being able to get on with people. People with low self-esteem are often people-pleasers who have (outwardly at least) very harmonious relationships with other people. On the other hand, there are people whose self-esteem is so bomb-proof that they have immense difficulty negotiating relationships because they can't conceive that anything they do is less than perfect. My partner friend is so sure of his own wonderfulness that he finds it hard to apologise for anything, on the grounds that if he did it, it must ergo be wonderful. A former colleague has now alienated just about everyone in the office because, in her unshakable self-belief, she has told them how they could be so much better at their jobs if they were just a little bit more like her.

Scout19075 · 03/03/2011 22:39
Scout19075 · 03/03/2011 22:41

Speaking of which, Tea, any plans for Scoutshire any time soon? How's Milk feeling?

teafortwo · 03/03/2011 22:53

Sorry - in rl I went for more tea and got a bit behind on the posts. Maud once saw Will Self at a distance by a bus stop or lamp post or something or other and I for one was very envious... hense why I said "Will Self" to begin with.

Scout -
"someone who you were supposed to meet last summer"
LOL
Sounds like a soppy American movie title.

And.. I do hope it was a great meet up but with scout and maud there, there is no doubt it was anything but lovely!

Milk is pushing on our side for a meet up with Wriggle (Milk: Tears - I miiiissss wriggle sooooo much. Me: She is your penfriend you have never actually met her. Milk: But her snowman is soooo good I miss her snowman.) I feel we really are becoming like the women in the book we all read some tearooms ago called "Can some Mother help me" we are becoming both pen and rl friends which I nevr really expected when I nervously signed up for mn! Grin

Scout19075 · 03/03/2011 22:57

Twas very lovely! Grin

UnAgentSecrete · 03/03/2011 23:01

Tee - I had asthma as a child, and so did MrS; also SBoy has the same as LCT in that every time he gets a cold, it turns into wheezing within a couple of days, which can then last for up to a week.

We are obviously concerned that it is asthma but like you we were told that under 3 is too young to be diagnosed as asthmatic; even now he's 3 no one has come out and said that's what it is, and I feel we'll just wait and see.

The thing they have done for us is to give us the salbutamol inahaler (the blue "reliever" one as it's known) along with a special chamber/mask thing that fits over his little face to administer it to him. Is that something you could get for LCT? We got this, as I say, without him actually being diagnosed as asthmatic, tho it is one of the main things that are used to treat asthma. And it helps A LOT. As you say, it is horrendous to watch your child struggling to catch their breath and not be able to do anything.

It's good that you say it doesn't seem to bother him; the same is generally true for SBoy, which is the one good thing about it. Not much stops him bouncing! With my own asthma, I remember it vividly - still prone to it now - and when I had an attack I was really, really ill and not able to do anything much except try desperately to breathe, so that does give me hope that what SBoy has is maybe not asthma after all. Also I don't remember my lips or fingers ever turning blue, so I don't konw if that's particularly a thing to watch for (but I am NOT a medical expert so don't quote me on that!!!) - what I remember are nasty headaches as a result of not getting in enough oxygen, along with the wheezing of course. LCT probably a bit too young to be able to communicate anything like that to you.

Donki you're right about the breathing out being the problem but it doesn't feel like that when it's happening, iyswim! and also the coughing - one doctor told us that if a cough lasts for more than a month, then it's classified as asthma.

Anyway, I would def get back to your GP as Donki says, see how they can help you manage this. Oh and of course try to keep his head raised if it's possible at nighttime.

Serpent - can I send you a virtual hug - what's happening with your AP must be very difficult to cope with, both practically and emotionally, not surprising if you get a bit shouty. And I agree that children need to know that we're not perfect and get stressed and let it out - and that's ok. You always sound to me like you really like Wriggle as well as obviously loving her, which is a really lovely thing. I hope you can get some support with your AP.

Jazzie - some of us are (whisper it) more than twice your age Shock so I really don't think you need to be worrying about lines just yet!! That's awful about the housing situation, it's pretty much discrimination against one child families! Also very interested to hear more about what you do, presuming you can/want to tell us.

On the subject of Methuselah we had an electrician here today (no spring chicken himself) and he did ask me if we were planning any more, so I'm off to buy more of that yummy organic moisturiser!

Thanks again all for all the comments re HomeEd, really good to hear your thoughts Scout - it's all grist to the mill and really getting me thinking. Am too tired to address it all now but will come back to it again when I have a bit more energy.

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 03/03/2011 23:01

Will Self is an author and critic, one of whose claims to fame or notoriety is that he allegedly took drugs in John Major's election plane.

teafortwo · 03/03/2011 23:18

scout - The wonder of Will Self... he is really very very hard to explain...

How would you describe him, for scout, Melvin Bragg?

If you like the idea of him - Also check out his blinding QT appearances, HIGNFY, Shooting Stars and Buzzcocks on youtube and then any lamp posts/bus stops somewhere near maud.

UniS · 03/03/2011 23:23

scot- I wonder if you have met my SiL... a little like your uber godly HEers.

I'm reading but not typing much. tendonitus flare up. agrevated by mousing and typing.

busy weekend ahead. keep my mug warm.
night night

teafortwo · 03/03/2011 23:34

Jazzie - I am tea, I am English, a teacher, I live in a tumbledown apartment just outside Paris, I have one dd aged 4 (Milk), my dh (Beer)is currently snoring in bed after a hard day at work and my much adored dog who I probably discuss as much as Milk and more than Beer is my dear darling Eccles!!!

Do come back and tell us more about yooooooouuuu - because so far we like you lots (but, I hasten to add, in a none creepy way)! Smile

teafortwo · 03/03/2011 23:37
ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 03/03/2011 23:51

Breaking news! Mellors has met Melvyn Bragg!

Trouble is, although Will Self really is a reprobate, he is soooo charismatic that I do feel a little bit giggly whenever I see him. On the telly. I'd forgotten about seeing him in RL. Where was it?

::racks what's left of her brain::

Jacksmania · 03/03/2011 23:56

Ok, Maud, I'm completely confused. Who did you meet in a cafe??

OP posts:
ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 04/03/2011 00:00

I met the very lovely Scout and the very cute Baby/ToddlerScout.

Jacksmania · 04/03/2011 00:04

Oh - I'm an idiot Blush

OP posts:
ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 04/03/2011 00:07

No. You are very many things but you are certainly not that.

Good night all!

oxeye · 04/03/2011 00:20

Hello my lovely darlings
sorry to be so absent
welcome Jazzie I am Oxeye I have been here from the very start 23 long tea rooms ago. I have one oxboy aged 4 and oxbloke who works abroad a lot. While I am uk based o work silly hours so often keep company with crazy canadians. Except I don't wear plaid and I love twiglets and aspidestras

oxeye · 04/03/2011 00:26

Can't catch up with all the chat but a few comments...
Amber so glad treatment is underway and ok
scout/ maud how exciting!! A stealth meet. Am very envious. Was it in the Pale Blue town?
Tea I agree the fellowship of the tr is amazing and I love how yours is inyergenerational with wriggle
unserp I think you are amazing what you cope with and wriggle knows you love her. You have more time in a day having fun and chatting than shouting
what happened about bullying couple? I still think Wriggles response when up against the wall "no I am a guinea pig" shows her at her briiliant best
I too thought the jigsaw thing was interesting. Oxboy not keen on jigsaws Still does baby huge pieces. Also wholly unkeen on Reading.

Interested on he views. It's such a multi faceted concept. I know a few adults who were he. Only long term problem appears to be an inability to throw and catch and lack of interest in team games xsome may feel that a positive advantage

unis sorry for hand pain. Sorry for I'll babies too

Jacksmania · 04/03/2011 05:14

Maud, I am BlushConfusedHmm at "you are very many things but you are not an idiot" (paraphrasing obviously) - not quite sure how to take that :o but going to assume the best :)

Another fantastic yoga class tonight. TOUGH!!! My butt was well and truly kicked. I feel an amazing glow of tired and accomplished :o

OP posts:
Tee2072 · 04/03/2011 08:27

Morning all.

Guess I left out most of the story! LCT has had inhalers for almost a year, both a preventer and a reliever. He takes them 2 times a day or 4 times if he's got a cold. He's been given 5 days of oral steroids at the minute because he's just so wheezy and they nebulized him yesterday.

What I want is a home nebulizer, but apparently I can't get one of those until they say 'yes, he has asthma'. It's also been recommended we get a humidifier, so I'm looking into that today.

He's much better this morning and had a much better night's sleep than he's had in about 2 weeks, so that's good!