Episode 34 - The Tearoom moves to New England

[beanandspud]

At this time of year New England is famous for its glorious foliage as billions of leaves change from green to a kaleidoscope of colours. The air is crisp and cool ? perfect for hiking, biking or a drive along back roads, where farm stands are piled high with crunchy apples and orange pumpkins.

Everyone is welcome. There are tea, cakes and wine aplenty so pull up a comfortable chair and join us.

The usual rule applies - no fisticuffs please!

::Passes more down to JM and tops up the glasses for everyone else::

Only been away for a couple of days and I have missed so much.

Poor Mistledog (and for Family MT)

Sorry for TS and the missing balloon, we had similar with a green balloon over the summer - it was forgotten as soon as the next one arrived thank goodness. Good news about your trip home though Scout, it must be nice to have it booked finally?

JM, I hope you make a speedy recovery.

And Donki, we will miss you. Do stick your head in occasionally and good luck with the studying.

SarahStratton was talking about cake on another thread. Now I want cake.

I'm so tired. Am sat at the playground while JB is playing. It's gorgeous and sunny and I want to lie down and nap. JB wants to ride his bike to the Mac's which is like a gas station store and get a slurpee. It must be 3 km there and back to our house. I feel like such a weenie but I don't think I can do it. Bugger.

Cake- you want cake. Then you shall have cake.

"Mellors" bellowed UniS " The lassy wants cake, chop chop"

would you like a windsor tart? I can recommend them, a local speciality .

The mistledog situation is still on-going... But not for long I think - she has been in pain but happily eating - we got something for the pain and now she's not eating, and that was one of the few things that she was still keen on. :( I hate seeing her in pain.

We've been talking up a 'new dog' with mistlechick - not that even he wants to lose mistledog, but at least it distracts for a bit at least.

Nice and sunny here this morning. I've got lots of work to do, but I'm going to have to walk into town at lunchtime because I forgot to bring my soup in with me today.

Three a.m. -- talk of the red balloon. ARGH!

How are you today, JM?

I've decided that maybe, perhaps, the NHS is annoying and I can see why people struggle with it. I had a letter today from the hospital and in it is said that I wouldn't be starting round two until 2014. Originally spring 2012, then spring 2013 and now 2014. ARGH. They did say they'd keep my appointment that is already booked for January 2013 and we'd discuss/review things then. Double argh!

What??? Scout, that's ridiculous :(
I'm so sorry to hear that.

And the 3 am wake-up call for the red balloon :(

Here, have some tea and cake and a ((((((HUG))))).

And another hug for the Mistle family. Poor Mistle Dog :(

I just came back from the GP. She gave me a prescription for some type of non-addictive sleep aid, and something to calm down the itch. Pain not too bad. Since I stayed home and did almost nothing yesterday, it didn't hurt as much. So I believe I'll be doing more of the same. Although I have to admit, I'm bored already. Sigh.
It was also time for my annual pelvic exam (what fun) and I promise not to TMI but she found something that needs to be looked at (benign but unpleasant), and that, coupled with some ongoing concerns regarding my ability, or lack thereof, to, erm, clench, means she's initiating another gynae referral. Fun times.

Wasn't that a fabulous lack of oversharing? I did well, I think! :o

I'm nervous about waiting and quite frankly a bit pissed off about being flubbed off for two years when they wanted to start round one asap. MrScout says I should talk to my GP to see if I can find out what the priority criteria is, how can I bump myself up on the list and who (which PCT) is paying for me (I live in one but the hospital is in another) which may affect my place on the list. I hate fights discussions like this but if I don't fight for myself no one else will. (Why is it I can fight for Toddler without hesitation but won't stand up for myself?)

I hope, JM, you're taking it easy! Your oversharing TMI stories always make me wince (in pain, usually, not by the oversharing) but smile at the same time. I hope everything is okay.

I've just made a batch of tangy onion chutney for Christmas time. It's cooling before I jar it up.

Mom's getting very excited about our upcoming trip and we've been planning our days/trips out. Now that Toddler's older we can take him out, do things, have adventures. It looks like, so far, we have a day out to the train museum/steam trains, a day at the outlets, a trip to the Crayola Factory and a trip to the Please Touch Museum. Wahoo!

Scout - You could also check where all of that fits with the guidelines on waiting times. I know that hospitals have dodges to get around the guidelines I was prey to them myself, but I outsmarted them but I find it hard to believe that such a delay is within them.

Ouch, JM. You have made me have another go at my PF exercises. Get well soon and good luck with the further exam.

Oh and Crayola Factory sounds like my notion of heaven!

Crayola Factory I went once, YEARS ago, as a chaperone with my mom's class of three-year olds. I think Toddler is a perfect age for it. And the Please Touch Museum is going to be a great day out for Toddler, too. It's a given that steam train day is a Toddler's idea of heaven.

I'll join you in the queue for the Crayola museum Maud!

for red balloon, it will pass, honest.

Grandma and Grandpa Bean are with us for a few days which is lovely and Small Bean has been so excited to see them.

Picked Small Bean up from school today...

Teacher: Small Bean has been telling us all about his trip to X, and the plane ride, the hotel, and the rugby games he saw including all about the players and the badges on their shirts ...

Me: Erm, but we've never been to X

Teacher: But he was so convincing.

Creative writing classes, here we come!!!

Anyone for ? Tomorrow is the first day this week I haven't got to get up before 5am - hurrah!

I have a feeling this trip home is going to cost us a small fortune in goodies for Toddler.

Oh, yes please bean! I could go for a RL but it's too late to have one.

Hey, there was no oversharing in my post at all! [hmmpff]

I didn't say there was. I was just saying I do love your TMI/oversharing posts (as well as those when you don't).

?

for all... again.

some kids do tell VERY good stories don;t they. One of boys mates regaled me with a tale of watersking on holiday, I thought it unlikely for a 5 yr old....

JM you were very restrained and we're all sending .

mistlechick is very good at stories - including ones about knights and dragons etc but seems to be completely unable to get them down on paper. He can put huge amounts of imagination and description into telling a story verbally and it comes out in short stilted sentences when down on the written page, lacking most of the detail. I'm not sure he's got over his Yr1 experience yet.

In the summer I had some sort of premonition about mistledog I think - and went out of my way to get some nice pictures of her and mc playing on the beach together - got some nice short videos of her playing too.

Has anyone seen the billboards with all the James Bonds on it? Mellors is wearing just the glowering expression he does when someone puts the lawnmower back in the shed without refilling it with petrol.

Sorry to hear about Toddler's balloon Scout. Can someone explain Mellors to a newbie?

Aha. Mellors is is the tea room handyman, gardener and general factotum. He is adept at serving cocktails and champagne to those in need or distress, and does a marvellous aromatherapy massage when one is feeling tense. He can also give riding or swimming lessons, depending on the tea room's current location. He is always immaculately dressed, whether in jodhpurs, swimming apparel, a tuxedo or his gardening garb (although the Tattersall check shirt may have to be removed in very hot weather). He looks just as you would wish him to look, which might be Wesley Snipes, Cameron Diaz or (to me) Daniel Craig. He seldom speaks.

His only fault is that he gets a teensy-weensy bit jealous of the cardboard cutout of George Clooney which we nicked liberated from outside an Odeon very many tea rooms ago.

Sending love to your lady parts and shingles JM.

I am tired today - the 2 hr time difference to Helsinki really messes me up, but its always nice to visit the team.

Anyone for sticky cakes ? Calorie and allergy free of course

Hello Bander - good to see you again, I was just hoping we'd not managed to show anyone the door already

CMot sticky cake would be lovely thank you.

I'm now completely all over the place. Tuesday evening mistledog was so bad I told DH that we either needed some more pain killers or we needed to get the vet over - but Wednesday was quite a bit better, and we have got some more meds. Meanwhile the puppy I'd thought might be a goer went. And this morning 2nd choice puppy is also reserved. I don't know what to feel - should I be sad that we've not got them or happy that we still have mistledog even though she's now in pain, am I being hard hearted looking before she goes or simply practical? (We don't want a big gap - we would like something to keep mistlechick (and ourselves) distracted as much as anything else). How will we know when its time?

Thanks for the Mellors explanation Maud. Sounds like a useful sort of chap to have around!

Mistlethrush that sounds like such a difficult situation with mistledog :( . PILs had a similar situation with their labrador a few years back. They ended up with around a 4 month gap between dogs, but I don't know to what extent that was planned or just how long it took to find a puppy. The original dog went downhill very fast so there wasn't much time for a "handover" for want of a better word.

I've just had an afternoon off after a manic week at work. DS and I baked a carrot cake and made lemon/vanilla cream cheese icing to go on top. Anyone fancy a slice? Only virtual calories, so they don't count!