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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?
amberlight · 04/03/2011 09:32

Phew re LCT having a better night's sleep!

Morning all! Still feeling disgustingly well. Who's for a celebratory cuppa?

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 04/03/2011 10:03

::Slurps cuppa::

Thanks, Amber!

It was meant in an entirely positive and flattering way, JM. You're fishing for compliments now, aren't you!

::Puts nose back on grindstone::

CMOTdibbler · 04/03/2011 10:13

I have always been bad with jigsaws, and wouldn't do them as a child at all. But I read at 3, and am v v good reader. So not sure about that theory tbh.

Glad you are feeling great Amber, not to rain on your parade though, but this is common on first cycle - effects are a bit additive.

DH seems brighter, so am crossing fingers madly that this means things picking up.

Tea and a bun please !

amberlight · 04/03/2011 10:35

CMOT, yup, especially since they'll be swapping me onto Potion Mix 2 after a few weeks, which has a reputation for being rude to people. But I'm still enjoying myself right now Grin

Hooray re DH seeming brighter!

Maud, get your nose off that grindstone! Shock

::adds that to the Tea Room Health and Safety Checklist::

::passes over tea and bun to those in need::

mistlethrush · 04/03/2011 10:56

Amber - long may it continue! Its surprising how differently different people react to the same things.

I take my hat off to anyone that does HE. I think that in some ways, mc would thrive on it. However, I think he'd have me crawling up the walls in a matter of weeks. Although I do think that we could probably manage to have some 'interesting' projects which effectively incorporated a lot of the different curriculum requirements into a single thing.... probably without him realising that it was 'work'.

We now send emails when he's away which he likes getting and replies to.

Mini's not bad at jigsaws - although we did a lot when he was little. But then both MrMt and I are good at jigsaws - and can do a 1000 piece in a few hours between us if its not too difficult a picture. And we both like reading too.....

Catitainahatita · 04/03/2011 17:05

I'm confused. Maud met Scout; Maud (under a different name) met Melvin Bragg; Mellors also met Bragg (top photo!). Who met Will Self and when? Confused

I like Self on the tv. I borrowed one of his books form the library once but couldn't get past page 3. I got the impression that I was intelligent enough for him in prose.

[waves at all]

Catitainahatita · 04/03/2011 17:07

"I was not intelligent enough"

I must preview messages.
I must preview messages.

Pass the Wine

UnSerpentQuiCourt · 04/03/2011 19:16

Interesting re jigsaws; that CMOT spoils the theory. I think I quite liked jigsaws, but not to any obsessive extent. I am a voracious but very lazy reader, but read quite late compared to you precocious lot, at 5.

Glad to hear that Oxboy isn't into reading, since he is the only tea room offspring who doesn't appear to be extremely advanced in this way apart from Wriggle. Wriggle has a vague interest in books, but what she really likes is me to tell her stories - about flying cats, kittens in crowns, the fairies that live in her treehouse, RacingPig's adventures, Dora [bleugh emoticon], Peter Pan, etc. Books would be far less taxing on the brain! She also argues with me; 'No, Serpent, it's not like that. RacingPig can fly because he's got poudre magique ...'

UnSerpentQuiCourt · 04/03/2011 19:17

Tea, please mention to Milk that it was DH who made the snowman. He is the grumpy creative one in the family.

teafortwo · 04/03/2011 21:24

no, no, no, I am not planning on mentioning the snowman again for fear of another crying session.

Eccles is all over the place tonight. She has made several attempts to reproduce with Milk Hmm and after one attempt almost threw up Shock...Milk and I took her to quite a trendy café/bar after school tonight. I suspect Eccles happy hour cocktail was a little bit stronger than she anticipated Grin!

teafortwo · 04/03/2011 21:28

... Aaaaaaaaaaand she has just completed her evening of disgrace by falling asleep... on... Milk's head!

UnSerpentQuiCourt · 04/03/2011 21:29

Photo pleeeeeze!

teafortwo · 04/03/2011 21:45

OH

You have hit on a rather sore point there.

It would make such a fab shot because ontop of it Milk went to bed dressed as a devil's angel tonight... I wish I had a camera and will use this as an example of why we NEEEEEEEED to buy one asapSad.

(We used to have a very good hand-me-down one and it broke and I was out-voted on buying a replacement because MIL and DM take so many and put them on fb we have, according to htetm (him that earns the money) no need for one of our own, woe is me back of hand to head.)

UnSerpentQuiCourt · 04/03/2011 21:51

Of course you need a camera! How else can you capture moments like that? And share them with htetm and MIL for that matter.

Was on a fantastic course today where they showed a project where 3 and 4 year olds were given cameras to photograph what made them happy and what made them sad or frightened at school. Thought that I would like to try that at home with Wriggle. Although she might not quite be able to grasp the concept yet.

teafortwo · 04/03/2011 21:58

The course sounds superb! What a BRILLIANT idea.

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 04/03/2011 23:16

Tea - you need a camera. What if FB breaks? Look for a cheapy not too expensive one now.

Serpent - I learnt to read at 5, when I started school. My mother and all the other parents were expressly forbidden by the school from teaching us to read and this being the 1960s before sex and non-compliance were invented quite some time ago, she did as she was told (and we weren't a bookish household so I doubt I'd have had the wherewithal to teach myself). And for different reasons, I did not teach GardenGirl to read before she got to school, because we always had better other things to do. I am always Hmm about those MN threads which say that Persephone taught herself to read at 3, and then go on to say that mummy and Persephone have been looking at flash cards since Persephone was three weeks old - so it wasn't exactly spontaneous then, was it? Hmm

Catita - I once bumped into Melvyn Bragg in the rain. When Mellors met him I don't know. I once saw Will Self at (perhaps) a railway station. None of these - I hesitate to suggest - could exactly be described as meetings, sadly. I spend a lot of time on public transport and walking about in London so my chances of seeing famous folk are, I guess, comparatively good.

Wine all round.

Scout19075 · 04/03/2011 23:22

I fear we're planning on getting ToddlerScout one of those children's cameras for the 3+ set, probably for this Christmas. He is his father's son and I think he would love it, even if for the first year he's just mucking about with pushing buttons. MrScout is an ameuter photographer and has been "published" and has all of the fancy kit. He got me decent kit for Christmas 2009 (which was good cuz the aim-n-shoot camera he bought me for my 30th birthday in 2004 was just starting to die and ToddlerScout was still very new and needed his photo taken a lot. ToddlerScout has grown up around fancy cameras and is good at ignoring the camera (though he's also taken to "cheesing" as well if he's in the mood).

Poor LCT!

UnSerp -- ToddlerScout doesn't read yet, either. Grin He likes books and puzzles though. He's recently taken to snatching books from me and sitting on my lap (or next to me) and "reading" it to me. If he has his paci in he will take it out, put it down next to him, pick up the book and start chattering. It still makes me giggle.

Hate lack of internet -- it keeps breaking. ARGH.

Scout19075 · 04/03/2011 23:30

Another hoodie

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 04/03/2011 23:35

I like that one, Scout (I like the illuminated lettering) but think yesterday's was a t-shirt. Does it come in hoodie form? I really liked its feminist vibe.

Scout19075 · 04/03/2011 23:37

It does come in hoodie form. I just clicked on the tee since my internet is dodgy. Just wanted to make sure I got it up since I was telling you about it.

Scout19075 · 04/03/2011 23:44

ToddlerScout poked me in the eye this evening and now my eye keeps watering at the most inappropriate times.

teafortwo · 05/03/2011 00:34

WHAT???????

SERIOUSLY?????

Guides wear hoodies now????????

To make things even have drug dealers also taken to wearing old style guide uniforms?

Grin Wink

Night night x

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 05/03/2011 00:46

Yeah, Tea, we is well cool, innit.

Good night. xxx

Scout19075 · 05/03/2011 07:43

For Tea Check out the Senior Section wear. It doesn't look like a uniform at all!

amberlight · 05/03/2011 07:52

'e man, wot u sayin, blud?*

*which I am assured by my teenage son means "Good morning and how is life treating you today my friend?" I shall try it on the nearest gangster later today and see if he seems pleased.

Slightly worried about the image of drug dealers piling out of their rides whilst dressed as girl guides Shock

Still feeling fairly ok. Hurrah! Don't care if it's only temporary Grin

Tea, most mobiles have a camera built in these days? Or you can pick up some seriously good ones for £30 or thereabouts on Amazon or equivalent www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-A520-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B0007WW3YC/ref=dp_cp_ob_ce_title_0 which might be do-able.

For your collective delight this morning, we have pancakes with maple syrup and a range of other enticing breakfast goods, all carefully laid out by Mellors and crew.