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Episode 32 - The New Zealand tea room

999 replies

ComeIntoTheGardenMaud · 14/01/2012 22:06

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.

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Scout19075 · 29/04/2012 09:11

I really need to repot Toddler's seedlings but the weather's not cooperating. I wanted TS to help do it which means we need to be outside because of the mess but it won't stop raining. Poor seedlings. Think I'm just going to do it today while he's napping.

mistlethrush · 29/04/2012 11:50

i've just bought some celery leaf so I'll have perenial parsley substitute - although got some flat parsley too as I've not manage to sow any - will split and make several plants so we'll have lots (I love parsley).

Wanted to plant that and potatoes - but its pouring here. Not that we've got drought conditions or similar - DH said reservoirs were 95% full here - not sure where he got that from.

Scout19075 · 29/04/2012 16:42

There was a break in the rain and even a ray of sunshine! Shock I quickly got outside and repotted the lettuce and cucumber seedlings. I've decided to hold off on the tomato seedlings another few days (to get some more bottles and to let them get a bit bigger since they started growing later and are still a lot smaller than the other two veg). Finally have some life in my flower greenhouse so hopefully they'll grow big enough for me to transplant them, too.

Scout19075 · 30/04/2012 00:03

It's a darn good thing Toddler's cute or I'd have sent him back to the baby factory and asked for a refund tonight. ARGH!

Scout19075 · 30/04/2012 07:12

I think I might still take him back and ask for a refund -- ARGH!

Had a very strange dream this morning (that woke me up). Dreamt that a mutual friend of MrScout's and mine (who was a friend of MrScout's from Uni who became my friend in our own right, not just "MrScout's friend L") was talking with him/us then I left to go back to our room (we must have been at a hotel) and she came running down to us a few minutes later to tell me that MrScout was "desperate for another baby." Hmm I feel very disconcerted by the dream.

mistlethrush · 30/04/2012 08:47

Back to work - sitting in office looking at long tailed tits out in the sunshine. I'll be able to make silage when I finally get round to the lawn.

UniS · 30/04/2012 10:43

scout - it was a weird dream, thats all. had you been having cheese dreams for supper?

Oh- MT - I see your long tailed tits and I raise you..... erm, not a lot today as its STILL pidling down with rain.

Morning coffee Brew any one? with Biscuit ?

CMOTDibbler · 30/04/2012 10:47

Just one of those dreams Scout. FWIW, last night I dreamt that I was visiting the just born baby of a colleague and everyone from work was in the delivery room. V bizarre.

Sunny here ! It was torrential yesterday, and the river will be over into the flood plain today

beanandspud · 30/04/2012 17:41

Anyone for Brew and mini chocolate brownies?

Scout - I have very odd dreams from time to time and I'm sure it's when I'm overtired iyswim.

MT - I waved in the vague direction of you on my way to the airport this morning!

Our garden is now desperate for some tlc. The sweet peas need planting out and mini tomato plants have started arriving. Half wishing I could just send the boys to visit PIL at the weekend and have a couple of days to get it all done (wouldn't be a terribly popular idea methinks!).

On a different note we took Small Bean to the indoor ski place yesterday and he is really keen to try skiing so I am going to try to enrol him in a taster class. He is very excited!

Scout19075 · 30/04/2012 19:01

Oh, yes please. Have realized I haven't eaten anything today (other than a bit of Toddler's pasta). We've had a rough 24 hours -- I hope I can get some dinner soon.

oxeye · 02/05/2012 00:12

::creeps in lays out Wine Wine and twiglet surprise and the Teapot of Requirement::

:plumps the cushions, lights the fire and settles back::

ahhhh, lovely
x

mistlethrush · 02/05/2012 09:55

I wonder whether this one will get through without disappearing into the ether? Been a lot of it recently, hope the server situation improves.

Twiglet surprise makes a very good mid-morning snack btw, thank you Oxeye.

Scout19075 · 02/05/2012 13:15

Does Twiglet Surprise help calm nerves and lower blood pressure?

mistlethrush · 02/05/2012 14:26

Yes it does, as does a nice calming Brew and a sit down on the sofa... here....

Jacksmania · 02/05/2012 19:20

A ((((HUG)))) tends to help, too, Scout... here's a few if you need them.

UniS · 02/05/2012 20:42

Just as well I dropped in a friend up the hill for a cuppa this afternoon before I finished my LONG walk. When I got home and found the electric was off I'd have been MOST peed off if I'd not had a cuppa already. Shower still worked and I did the emergency door open thing on the washing machine- and it had washed before the power went off.

UniS puts a disc on the juke box and settles down to being funky, shimmys round teh tea room dusting the aspidistra on her way.

mistlethrush · 02/05/2012 20:49

Whoops that was meant to be a shape not a Wine. I hope that the NMBs recover - although they're not looking too unhappy about it.

MC managed to run his bath himself this evening. Unfortunately it took a bathful before he yelled and told me that the water wasn't coming hot. THat's the 5th time its been off since the beginning of April for no apparent reason. New boiler required I think.

UniS · 02/05/2012 20:52

WOW d

I was intending to catch up with Radio 4s "Shakespeare's restless world" but c2c are a bit good arn;t they! only just heard them for 1st time.

Scout19075 · 02/05/2012 20:57

Toddler has worked out he can get out of bed as well as in.

Sunday -- five hours to go to sleep (from 7 p.m. until midnight)
Monday nap -- two hours
Monday night -- three hours
Monday overnight -- two and half hours (from 2:30 a.m. until nearly 5 a.m.)
Tuesday nap -- one hour
Tuesday night -- one hour (though, to be fair, it was very late to bed due to Seniors)
Wednesday nap -- one out-of-bed (but had been falling asleep on the way home from the hospital so expected easy down)
Wednesday evening -- 45 minutes and the threat of no Ben & Holly tomorrow

I have been mostly consistent a la Super Nanny (bar Monday overnight when I lost the plot). However, MrScout leaves for work by 5:15 and has a 100 mile commute so I did most of Sunday night and all over Monday overnight. Monday night he got home after Toddler finally settled and Tuesday night & tonight he's not home.

I'm exhausted.

I'm not surprised my blood pressure was slightly elevated (still considered very low for the average Jo but it was a bit high for me).

UniS · 02/05/2012 23:29

Well it looks like he is learning (slowly) scout, so thats good. Another couple of weeks and he will have sussed " going to sleep in a big bed and staying there". Hard work to get there tho.

Here. have some ginger and honey ice cream to help you relax. with a twiglet garnish.

Scout19075 · 03/05/2012 05:16

He's been up since 3 a.m. Out of bed every 30 minutes or so. No sign of going back to sleep, even after I told him he'd be too tired to go swimming if he kept getting up. It's hard not to lose my marbles at this time of night/morning.

mistlethrush · 03/05/2012 09:22

Scout - we did have a bit of this with MC. MC goes to sleep to the radio (its normally on a timer). So, when this happened and I had to go in, I would ensure that he'd been to the loo, then straight back to bed, no light on in bedroom, put the radio on and tell him 'its sleepy time' (sorry Blush but that seemed to get through and work), sing a short song (which is part of our normal bedtime routine) and, when appropriate, depart. I never played or read at that stage (even if he wanted to). Its also what I did to pull the 4.30am waking to 5.30am which wasn't quite so bad Grin. Perhaps its not surprising that I don't actually need an alarm clock to get up at 6.30am most mornings... I don't know whether a similar approach might help or work for you, but I hope you get something sorted soon.

UniS · 03/05/2012 19:32

OUCH scout - thats a rough start to your day.
sympathy, and a twiglet or two to prop your eye lids open.

Scout19075 · 03/05/2012 19:49

Finally got TS "back to bed" (nap, really) around 9:15. Woke him up 75 minutes later to go swimming and he's been up since. Well, until 6:15 when he crashed (took about 5-10 minutes of him getting up/being put back for him to give up the good fight). Fingers crossed for a full night's sleep!

Who'd like a slice of pizza?

beanandspud · 03/05/2012 21:34

Scout - pizza would be lovely, thank you. Let me pour you a Wine.

I'm not sure I have much to add to MT's advice. Small Bean has always been a pretty good sleeper but on the occasions when he messes around and won't settle I will go in once for a kiss and a final goodnight, next time is a 'sleepy time Small Bean' (same as you MT Blush) and after that I don't enter into any dialogue. Easy to say now but difficult to remain rational when it's the middle of the night and you are exhausted.

My only other thought would be to ask whether he goes to bed at the same time every night? I was obsessed for a while with bedtime routines but we are 7pm-7am now and you can just about set the clock by him. I have the No Cry Sleep Solution for toddlers which I remember being quite helpful - if you want to pm me I will put it in the post for you.

MT - did you join the mn night out? Hope you had a good time. I was hoping to come along but I have been away so much lately that I couldn't justify another late night.