Episode 32 - The New Zealand tea room

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

Well folks, here we are, beside the hot springs of New Zealand.

The tea room (with the customary distressed chintz sofa) overlooks the steaming, bubbling lake. For the bold and sporty, hiking, biking and sky-diving are on offer. Personally, I'm not planning to leave the spa.

Please come and join us for a celebratory drink and conversation ranging from the profound to the profoundly silly. The cardinal rule remains: no fisticuffs.

Oxeye - did you want some more cheese with that wine?

Scout - hope big bed went well. It took MC a long time to work out that he didn't have to stay in bed when he woke up but get out and come and find me (unluckily, the door handle to our room just became reachable at this age).

It has been the dog getting me up each morning this weekend - and again this morning. She doesn't make enough noise to get told off for being noisy but too much to let me stay asleep or go back to sleep

Back to school nerves this morning - don't know why.

It was a bit of a shock having to get ds ready for school this morning - it was also the start of summer uniform, so a bit of a scramble for the right bits.

DH has an enormous boil on his back atm. He is on heavy duty antibs, but has refused to let me photograph it for MN. Rotter

It would have had to be a video to 'really' pass muster on some of the threads I've seen through cracks in my fingers

We had summer uniform due to it being allowed during the last week of term. We can't find shoe bag with pumps though, and three reading books myseteriously turned up int he reading folder that DS had said on several occasions was devoid of any reading for the holidays.

Eek. The MN pluke porn.

Oohhhh, a .

roar roar

hungry dragon eats flowers.
gardener thinks" should not have left those flowers so near a dragon. I'll go and have a and while I think about planting more in a proof location.

I love the .
I fought for the last year - forgot to ask them to bring it out again this year so I'm glad they did - bet someone remembered to ask though!
It's a very cool , I think!
- he needs a cuppa after all those flowers!

Dh had his abcess drained earlier. 2 hours later he said his back felt funny, reached round and blood was running down his back. Nothing stopped it, so we went to a&e where they couldn't stop it either, and he's now in surgery. Am rather EEEEEKKK tbh as he had lost a lot of blood, and was starting to get quite dozy from it.

Eek, CMOTD!! That's a bit scary... Hope he's all right now.

Oooh I hope he's OK CMot. Very (tearoom special) about it.

MC is reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid rather than eating his breakfast this morning

Fingers crossed for CMOT's dh.

CMOT - wondered how DH was?

hope school going ok. We're well into the swing of week two, but all the little ones with bare, blue legs and arms due to ridiculous summer uniform make me rather sad ...

dh is home now, and thankfully no longer bleeding everywhere. Hes woozt though.

ds's summer uniform is shorter socks (his are usually round his ankles anyway), and a thinner jumpers. shirt is short sleeve, but undetectable under jumper.

Currently, its nice and sunny here, hoping that it continues, though it is great for the fields

DId they have any explanation as to the bleed, CMOTD? Poor MrDibbler, what a shock.

I seem to remember that we could choose whether to stay in winter uniform or move to summer for the first half of the summer term because of the vagaries of the British weather... do they not do that now then?

There were some blood vessels that needed cauterising - I guess a vein was cut in the poking around.

We have set dates when they must be in summer/winter uniform, but there are some cross overs like the start of the autumn term. Its more obvious for the girls as they have blue striped dresses for the summer

Ds would have been perfectly happy in summer uniform since last half term and is very happily in summer uniform now - no issue over shorts as he's wearing shorts at home most of the time anyway. If its raining at home his coat covers most of his shorts so only his bare legs get wet so he isn't bothered by damp fabric.... . DH also in shorts most days now.

I've had the window open in the office today and had the goldfinsh singing regularly. At home they've taken most of the flusff off my dwarf willow so that it looks very peculiar. Appologies about typing but its taking ages for the type to catch up and I'm doing most of it including the corrections I'm aware need doing without being able to see anything at all.

CMot - glad DH is somewhat recovered and at least not bleeding anymore. Did anyone give any explanation to him getting it in the first place? Clearly don't want the same thing to happen again.

just listening to a R4 and bit about singing in a choir being a good way to beat/ alleviate depression
thinking of all our happy Choir singers in the tea room and how right that soudns. I'd love to be part of a choir

Oxboy and I sitting in bed tonight reading, he looks down and says with great joy "look mummy! you are having another baby! LOOK!!!"

er..... not, its just a few pies DS.....

Oh, Oxeye.

::Offers consoling hug and ::

I have just returned to hell the gym, as I look as if I am about to give birth to The Alien.

HAIL- flipping hail, the road turned white, the lawn turned white.I had just finished planting on my broad beans, so I sat in the shed for 10 minutes playing garden I spy on my own - got stuck on K. J was Japanese anemone.

poor old Mr CMOT- hope he's on the mend.

I've not yet caught boy playing " i'll move that generator into position and level it up" with his toy tractors. Last night after the St Georges day mummers play he and 2 classmates were busy playing St George ( and his brother) slay Slasher ( another knight) before going to solve a "mystery" .

Any one for a little late night marzipan? with or without dark chocolate?

ooo marzipan and dark chocolate - yes please!

Oxeye - and manly shoulder pat for you.
Singing definitely enriches the soul and raises the spirits (unless there's a truly dire men's section, in which case it can plunge you into the depths of despair [yes, Oxford Harmonic Society, I DO mean you])

MT - I had to snigger just then - I misread your goldfinch typo as being goldFISH, not goldFINCH and was truly impressed that you had a singing goldfish!

ANZAC day here today = public holiday; we all walked down to the war memorial to see the parade and the service but I felt a bit ill so we left before the wreath-laying had finished . It's very odd to have it all without poppies, I have to say - although the bigwigs who do the main services (at Gallipoli, in Sydney etc.) and are therefore seen on TV do wear a poppy as well.

I have returned to the gym after 10 years of not going... got a programme set on Saturday... at least it wasn't with the apparently teenager with acne who thought that the fact I was complaining that what he suggested I did made me ache meant it was working. No, it wasn't working. I couldn't walk properly for 4 days, so didn't go to the gym again all week. And it was dangerous going downstairs. That's not 'working'.

(BTW, any suggestions on where the tearoom is going soon - I was wondering about going back to the orangery - the stables were good there, and perhaps we might catch up with Mellors, I think we've left him behind at some stage)

Anzac biscuits and ? or if you prefer
Aztec biscuits and or maybe blood.

Back to the orangery for spring sounds good.

I think the orangery would be lovely.

Hugs Oxeye. I too need to lose some weight, and must make some effort to do so. Fortunatly my conference season dresses still fit, so no emergency shopping needed before then.

I think I'll go for the Anzac biscuits somehow

I've got works do at the races again to work out what to wear....

I might, potentially, be able to wear the dress I did 2 years ago... Not willing to buy another at the moment because I don't want to be this weight so don't want to buy clothes that let me stay at it. Also seems a waste of money and I don't like shopping for clothes when I feel like this either. I think the gym is starting to work in terms of inches even if not weight

Anyone want a ?

those aztec biscuits do look quite unappealing don't they.

Hurrah for gym success for those you indulge in such practises. I've barely left the house expect to garden or take boy to school this week. And the garden time has been pretty short, its just rain rain rain.

Well done boy for getting him self all dressed up in full waterproofs ate th end of teh school day today, he was actually ready to walk hopme in teh down pour, which was nice change from him emerging from teh classroom in shoes and sweatshirt as teh heavens open around us and his wellies ,coat and over trews are all stuffed in his bag.