The moving castle tea room touches down for the 29th time

[UniS]

Welcome to the tea room. Open to those with one child and those with more and maybe some with none ( hi dave the trucker).

This time we are heading to the mists and mellow fruitfulness of Autumn in a moving castle with a mind of its own. The roaring fire is maintained by magic and Mellors the gardener handles wine and spirits along with massage duties.

The first rule of the tea room is this
No fisticuffs.
The second is this
Put the kettle on for and help yourself to a

Poor LittleStick.

Yay for MC's observant/action-taking teacher.

Picked up the parcel at the post office and I was in right, it was the Brio train stuff for TS that I ordered. However, play put in the wrong code and so the shop picked/packed a wrong item (a train car instead of an engine). I emailed this morning and said I'd like to return the wrong item and would it be possible to receive the correct one after they received the item I sent. The shop said they'll send me the engine AND that I could keep the car. I was happy to send it back, just needed to know where to send it to. All of this happened via email within ten minutes. YAY for good customer service!

(I was very polite in my emails -- as a former customer service rep in a call center AND a former part of a cash office management team in a large/multi-national retail store I always heard about the mistakes/cashier screw-ups/rude cashiers so I like to share when I receive good treatment. Customer services reps have a hard job.)

Poor Little Stick!

I had never heard of hand, foot and mouth until I came over here and various of my friends and their DC had it - it seems more common now I have heard of it, iyswim.
We had scarlet fever in the area recently as well - that still strikes fear into my heart, even though I know it's treatable with antibiotics (shades of Little Women)

MT - missed your post, sorry - glad the teacher is on the ball re. Other Girl and that you will be seeing a (hopefully) helpful GP re. MC.

CMOTD - cast off your elbow, hey? That will be a relief, I'm sure! hope your DH's hand op goes well.

I live on the sofa of procrastination. I have sofa-bum, i sit here so long. :(

I've never tried ski-ing and probably never will. Combination of really crappy knees and strong fear of sliding downhill out of control (and I would be, oh yes) I like ice-skating though :)

::Joins UniS on the sofa of procrastination::

Some work finished early today, so I really should crack on and use the time I've gained productively. Does MNing count as productivity?

Yes, it does

I thought the distressed chintz sofa was the sofa of procrastination. I'm a great supporter of and recliner on it.

I had never heard of hand, foot and mouth before MN either. Mc seems to have avoided it to date. Perhaps his bout of chicken pox aged 3 mo when ebf (and therefore not diagnosed for 5 days) was our main brush with childhood diseases (crosses fingers, touches wood)

I think it always has been, Mistle thinking of the amount of time I spend on it but it's not before been formally recognised as such.

I'd never heard of HFM or slapped-cheek thingy before I joined MN.

Well I managed to heave my backside off teh distressed chinz sofa of procrastination this afternoon. Did an afternoon of weeding at school, and had good converstaion with skate park builders about when and how and how long till we can let teh kids on. Sooner than I thought! Hurrah.

Very random question regarding Sugar Mice -- what are the tails made of?

Afternoon all. Managed to not sit on the chintz sofa of procrastination today and actually got a lot done!

Now I'm cooking dinner but I'll be back later!

Oh dear Stick! Hope he feels well soon.

Good luck CMOT!

I have done a large amount of Christmas shopping already. When I leave it late I over spend, when I take my time, buying one gift every few weeks from Summer on it not only spreads the cost but I also don't panic buy expensive things.

In laws here at the mo so I won't be in all that often until the weekend. Take care everyone xxx

traditionally, sugar mice had a tail made of string. The knack was to Not Eat It

How's Stick doing now?

Scout - why the random question about sugar mice tails... ?

Although I see that the NMBs have been using the tails to strap themselves on for a ride so that they don't fall off....

seconding ambers - string.. If you wish you can used string that has been boiled ( in water) for a while to sort of sterile it.

Has TS eaten a sugar mouse tail?

No, don't think TS has ever seen a sugar mouse, so he certainly hasn't eaten a tail. Someone on another thread mentioned making sugar mice for Christmas (ssshhhh, it's the C-word again ) and I've sometimes wondered what the tails were made of if I've seen them in the shops. Didn't want to ask on the thread and come across as silly. I can ask silly/random/stupid questions here but not out in the big wide world of MN.

Do you dip the string in anything? Or is it just string shoved into the sugar mouse's bum?

It's been a productive day here, mostly, but still have a few things to do.

I think, as you say Scout, that the string is just stuck into the mice's nether regions, so that they can be pulled more easily out of the moulds.

I almost typed something else, Maud, so that was me attempting to be polite regarding the poor sugar mice.

Who's for ?

I have never seen a sugar mouse. Is it what it sounds like? Why a mouse? [puzzled American emoticon]

Dunno, Tee, I've wondered that, too.

Its just sugar moulded into a mouse shape. No idea why though. DS is very fond of buying them from the farm shop, but less fond of eating them. this alleges the pink ones are strawberry, but all taste the same to me

I'm guessing it's because mice appear in so many nursery rhymes. UniS usually knows about this kind of stuff. UniS?

The recipe looks straightforward enough. They are very British. Worth giving it a go and giving them to my cousins' kids at Thanksgiving?