Episode 33 - The Orangery - Tea anyone?

[mistlethrush]

The tearoom has traveled back to the Orangery for another visit. There are bluebells in the nearby woods, and Mellors has Earl Grey and Lady Grey ready for some excursions. Mellors has, indeed, been overwintering away from Canada for some reason - I think he's been helping Maud out in the garden. There are tulips out in urns outside, and there are a few tables out in the sunny courtyard for use between showers.

Whether you have one child or several, pull up a chair and share a or a . The only rules remains no fisticuffs.

Thanks for pattern offer, but I think I can wing it, tutorial was pretty clear about what to measure and mark. Main barrier is definitely motivation.

I can relate to that - we haven't yet been to buy the pattern and fabric for The Girl's dressing gown!

Could it please be Friday already? I'm not exactly looking forward to the hassle of moving, but the days between now and then are dragging - I just want to get ON with it!

LaBelleDame - I saw above that you were going to PM me but I haven't seen a PM from you, but do have a nosey in the other place!

Woo-hoo, Jacksmania! Want some more of la Veuve?

Yes - I could definitely use some. I need the internal anaesthetic. I was grocery shopping with DS and he was being uncooperative and bouncing in the shopping cart and somehow shifted the cart forward and I got my thumb caught and pinched hard between the cart and a piece of metal. I am embarrassed to say the pain made me burst into tears and shout at DS. Got the obligatory looks from surrounding shoppers...
Took him out to the car and sat in it and cried for about five minutes before driving home.
Thumb is currently residing in a bowl of cold water with ice cubes in and is swelling and turning a light shade of purple. The nail has a break in it at the moon part and I'm worried it's going to turn purple and fall off eventually. Fortunately it's my left thumb so not disastrous for work but bad enough, and lifting boxes and moving this weekend... ah man... :(

I'm so angry at DS. I'd asked him not to be a goofball and move the cart the way he did. And after I was done crying he just started chattering, "Mummy look at this, Mummy look at that" - he didn't even say sorry. At what age do children start developing real empathy? He's not the least bit concerned about how much I hurt - the only reason he's upset now because we'd made plans earlier to go to the pool and now I'm not taking him because I can't stand to take my throbbing thumb out of the ice water for even a minute.

Oh no. Poor poor you.

Empathy is quite an elastic concept, I think. Even when little children start to show some awareness of how another person might feel, they don't (in my experience) have any sort of scale for that, so that the death of a cherished person ranks the same as breaking one's Lego model. I doubt that J really grasps how much physical pain you're in. Not going to the pool probably makes sense, though, as a direct consequence (not a punishment) for what he did.

Have some arnica.

Wow, work is going to be fun today. Not....

Yes, lots of arnica.

Read something about children and grief, where it said that children 'puddlejump' their way through grief; experience it for a few moments, then out again - with reference to Maud's analagy - so think empathy is similar. He will be feeling remorse and empathy, in short flashes.

I think I read it in Michael Rosen's Sad Book - probably the saddest book ever , especially as Michael Rosen's son Eddie accompanied me through teacher training.

Oh dear - I don't think I could stand to read The Sad Book then :( - I find that since I've had JB, I have lost my ability to distance myself from things I'm reading. It seems I take things on too much.

Thank you both for your input on this, and the virtual arnica :o - I'm not anymore (although working today is an interesting experience), and I know he didn't do it on purpose, and didn't really know what to do with the fact that his action had hurt me.

No, don't read The Sadook unless you need it. It is a book written for children by an English poet abput dealing with bereavement. The poet's son died suddenly in his late teens/early twenties, I think.

Sad Book

That's very interesting about the puddle-jumping, LaBelle. I had not thought of it in that way, but it rings very true and makes perfect sense.

I admire MR hugely - he's a national treasure, isn't he? - but don't think I could bear to read The Sad Book. It's bad enough when I hear him on the radio talking about Eddie.

A little Veuve, anyone?

Me!! Me me me!!!

::Pours champagne into buckets::

::proffers straws::

Had a nice evening girls? Yesterday I found teh motivation and did quick n dirty dressmaking dressing gown project. Hurrah. now to make the sandcastle hat to go with it before Saturdays "fashion show" - Something you find at the seaside. Boys pirate ship bike is made and rides well, it JUST fits through the door of the Fashion show venue.

Champagne! Me too please!

Hope you recover JM and that moving day goes well (I am very nosey and would love to see a link to your house if you can pm me ). I'm not sure about the empathy thing, so far we might get a 'sorry' and a bit of concern but it moves on very quickly. The puddle jumping makes a lot of sense.

Small Bean 'won' a new truck today for swimming from one side of the pool to the other without his armbands. It was pure determination that got him there (rather than technique or style) but I was very proud .

::Makes space beside the bucket for UniS and Bean::

Accepts space gratefully.

::hands round the Twiglet Surprise::

:: accepts Twiglet surprise and passes round olives and slightly smelly cheese ::

I bring you the best potato crisps ever: Lay's Barbecue Chips. Yum.
We're mostly packed.

So when do the vans arrive, Jacksmania?

:: nervous and excited on your behalf::

Is house-buying a quicker process in the dominions than it is here, or has this been going on behind the scenes for months?

Moving vans ate due to come in two hours :)

It's usually a little bit slower. Between putting in an offer on a house and taking possession you could normally expect 2-3 months. Not to mention selling one's own house.
This has gone lightning fast for us, which has been a bit shocking really. And we were ridiculously, incredibly, unbelievably lucky to sell our townhouse in 19 days. In this economy that's almost unheard of.
We're still shaking our heads about it - in a good way obvs!

Will update later :)

to all

Don't drink all the wine before I'm back :o

:: UniS very carefully does not drink all teh wine::

ohhh, smelly cheese, lovely. Just teh ticket after a family bike ride. Today we went mountain biking in teh rain, without a single mountain bike between us. Went to nearish trails centre, did teh challenge loop on DS- his Isla bike that he rides for just about everything with road tyres and mudguards, DH, his courier style bike with minimal gears, mudguards and slick tyres., me, my touring bike, drop handle bars, mudguards, road tyres. It was fun, all the bikes coped OK.

Can I do a little plug for the Ladies bike ride network ( Breeze) I've joined? You may find there is one near you if you fancy getting out on your bike ( and going for tea and cake) www.goskyride.com/Breeze/Index . It was one of their rides that persuaded me that MTB on a tourer wasn't tooo daft an idea.