The Nordic Tearoom (Number 31)

[beanandspud]

We have moored the barge for the winter and have moved to a beautiful, cosy log cabin in deepest Scandinavia overlooking a frozen lake and surrounded by pine trees.

Mellors has lit the log fires and candles, it is snowing outside and there are comfortable seats for everyone and fleecy blankets to snuggle up in. For the more active tearoomers there are skis and sledges outside as well as a steaming hot tub for winding down after a busy day.

So pull up a chair. The kettle is on for and there is always plenty of depending on your mood and time zone. (Alternatively there is schnapps, smorgasbord and smoked fish).

Everybody is welcome ? share as much or as little as you like ? but no fisticuffs please!

Maud - was it a Black Cab or an inferior version? I remember getting into a private taxi in London once and the person couldn't find Waterloo. It's not exactly an uncommon destination but no! he had no clue how to get there and we were on the wrong side of the river. After about half an hour, we bailed out of the cab in Chalk Farm (!)and refused to pay him anything because we still had to get to Waterloo and needed another cab who knew how to get there!

Glad you had a lovely meet up :)

It was fab, JM. I have PMed you.

How's the knee today?

This was a totally bona fido back cab, Thumb. I don't go in anything else.

Which is probably wise knows nothing about London cabs but is well familiar with the antics of some of the Toronto cabbies.

The knee is ok-ish. I can walk on it all right, not with my full weight but nearly (and yes, I'm supposed to weight-bear, for all of those looking at me with gimlet eyes :o) but it aches at odd, random intervals. Whether I'm resting or not. Which is odd but then, I've never before had sharp instruments stuck in my knee joint before so don't really know what it's supposed to feel like. Not Too Fantastic, I imagine, but all in all, it's not too bad. I'm so tired though. I've been up and around, puttered, played with JB a bit (poor little man, I'm no fun right now), I really don't think I've overdone it, and I desperately want to take a nap. Not a chance, of course, but I really want one. I also want to get out, almost as desperately. I'm sure I could drive, it's my left leg and I drive a boring mum-car Kia with an automatic shift desperately missing my manual shift VW except right now when it wouldn't be good... but I have no reason to go out and when I asked JB if he wanted to go to the grocery store she said, sounding suspiciously like a teenager, "neeeaaaaahhhh". Grrrr. [itchy cooped-up emoticon].

"she said"? HE said. JB is a boy. Last I checked which was half an hour ago when he refused to go have a wee unaccompanied.

Bloody GA. Seriously, I can hardly remember Saturday, yesterday is a bit of a blur and I still feel like my brain is foggy today. DH was a little yesterday when I said I was feeling so stupid-headed, but when I asked him when the last time was that he had a GA, he said at age 18 or 19 when he had his wisdom teeth removed, and he couldn't remember a thing about it. Thanks for proving my point :o

Ah yes, the days of the escorted wee and the potty patrol. Thank heavens they're over.

That sounds good to my inexpert ear, JM, if you can walk on your new and improved knee. But take it steady though.

::Gimlet eye::

No need to worry, I'm honestly too tired to overdo it.

Yeah, it's an odd one. I guess what it's trying to convey is that it is an improved version of something that has existed before so not, in other words, completely new but new enough to be distinct from the previous one.

Maybe its trying to convey that it has been changed to improve things, rather than changed because we wanted to make cheaper/non toxic etc. Hmm.

I am still a miserable coughing thing. dh is also miserable. ds is very cheery and has been entertaining us with his Happy Feet impression.
We must decide on what to eat on Christmas day today. So far, ds has only specified sushi rolls, and dh filo prawns. This will not last us all day I think.

anyone ?

Well I can guarantee that they create new and definitely-not-improved products - take half the versions of Windows, for example! Win 98 - ok. Win NT - crap. Win 2000 - ok. Windows Vista - shit. Windows 7 - ok again.
And what Maud said; and CMOTD.

Boo to coughingness! I can finally talk normally again and nearly sing full range again (bit cracky in places) - thanks, ABs!

JM - continue to take it easy. I will try and wrack my brains for something that is supposed to expedite recovery from GA - I'm sure there is something but can't think what...

Made glittery tree hangings with miniThumb today - but I got a bit controlling perfectionist grumpy about it when mT wouldn't do it right - still, they're rather nice! I also wasted an inordinate amount of time drawing and cutting out my own snowflake template to do spray snow snowflakes on the window - it's worth it though because mT does love them

I still have to buy Christmas food. I also have to clear the fridge out to accommodate the turkey. These 2 things may be mutually incompatible - I am Perturbed.

Mental fogginess better. They told me I could take the tensor wrap off to sleep because it was so bloody uncomfortable so I did - much better sleep last might. I've actually been walking around without the tensor wrap all morning and it feels soooo much better. I'm almost walking normally without it. Would it be really bad if I left it off? I've been monitoring for swelling etc and it's fine. Aargh. Torn between doing what I was told to do (keep wrap on until I see the surgeon again) and doing what feels A Lot better.

JM, ooo eck, not at all sure

Last radiotherapy tomorrow! What a journey! And apologies for being as much use as a chocolate teapot recently, all.

I'd personally have a lot of use for a chocolate teapot! I'd put hot milk in and have some lovely hot chocolate. Mmmm...
[too literal again] :o

Maud, FanFair LOVED by not only Toddler but all of his cousins as well. It was, along with the cars/trucks, the most played with toy today.

My youngest neice asked me today when was I going to have another baby. While I'm sure it was asked full of seven year old innocense I'm the room got silent (her parents were definitely ear-wigging) and I'm not convinced it came 100% from herself.

Am I crazy to feel a bit hurt by it?

My sil got her kids to ask that sort of question. I racked it up to sil stupidity count tbh.

Hurrah for the end of radiotherapy Amber and to you. You have done amazingly well through all the treatment

Around the same age neice 2 kept asking MrScout and I "where's your baby? When you grow up and get married you have a baby." I know, I know, out of the mouths of babes but it definitely seemed very "Momma & Pappa."

Cmot's absolutely right. If your SiL is writing the script here, just ignore and make a mental note that she's a bit of a moo. Glad the toys are earning their keep!

Oh dear, that's rotten if/when adults "use" their DC to find out things like that! hope you're not too upset by it, scout.

Amber - last one, hurrah! Fantastic news. :)

I have hurt myself. I turned my ankle on an uneven pavement edge (2-3" drop) because I wasn't paying attention and have sprained it, oh yes. Sat on the floor trying not to a) cry, b) faint or c) throw up - luckily a nice man from the sorting office across the road saw me and sent his boss out to check up on me, who then rang DH for me (I wasn't able to talk clearly). So I am home - DH also walked back and fetched my car after (not far) and have my foot up on a cushion. It has been iced for 20 mins, tiger balmed and is now strapped - I am using miniT's hobby horse to get around but oh how I wish the rubber foot hadn't come off because it's scary on the wooden floors! I have a GP appt this afternoon anyway (presumably to tell me to start taking Vit D pills, as that's the last test I had done) so she can have a wee look at it as well - although I'm pretty sure it's just a sprain. "Luckily" it's my R ankle which has had 3 previous bad sprains, so it Knows The Drill and should recover ok with some work. Unlike DH's Christmas mug I had just bought, which made an ominous crashing noise when it hit the floor . My left knee is all ripped up as well, although my trouser knee is remarkably unscathed (How???)

(((Thumb)))
How are you today?

Scout, heck re question from niece...yes, I'd be a bit hurt too.

Thumb, Mellors has returned from the party in another place and is available for massaging hurty bits.

JM, how's that knee?

Last radiotherapy done!!!! So, that's 4 lots of surgery this year and 8 lots of chemo and 18 lots of rads. Gee whizz, that deserves a

quite some christmas carol you got there Amber

On the 11th day of christmas my true love gave to me.....
11 radiotherapists, 10 nice nurses, 9 injections, 8 bouts of chemo.......

Bad news about the ankle thumb , and be careful with that knee JM.

YAY Amber!

How are you JM?

And Thumb?

How about you UniS?

at Maud -- FanFair still a hit with Toddler and his cousins.

, !