tea room 36 - Teh Alpine Chalet

[UniS]

Welcome to the Tea rooms newest incarnation. A cozy log cabin with a roaring log fire, comfy chintz sofas and a dedicated man about the house, our Butler, Mellors. Out of the windows you can see sparkling white snow gently drifted up under the green Christmas trees and bright blue skies. Children can all be packed off to play healthy outdoor stuff while we stay snug n warm in here with our mulled wine, tea,artisan hot chocolate and other beverages served in mugs, glasses or buckets.

The usual rules apply - no fisticuffs. And no messing with the aspidistra.

(Master of Orion 2 before you ask )

?Grins at antics of NMBs?

Hmmm must look 2040 up. It must be 2 years since I played a silly computer game... I don't usually have time.

I know just where the NMBs could rig up the large frying pan...

Anyone care for a four year old today? Free to a good home....

Honestly, his laziness and "I'm fed up" to every suggestion today is driving me slightly insane. I've given in and put on his new Octonauts DVD but definitely feel guilty about it!

I'll swap you for a Minecraft obsessed school anxious 11 year old....

Is YD really 11?! I don't know why but I thought he was like, I dunno, six or something. EEK!

I'm not sure how I'd deal with school anxious but I could probably handle the Minecraft side of it okay.

I think SB's "problem" today is we've been on the go every day since last Tuesday and today is the first day we have nothing planned no activities, no friends, no adventures and he just wants to watch Octonauts (MrScout found Series 1 on DVD for £6 so 24 episodes for practically nothing) and/or CBeebies. He doesn't want to do anything else, even things he loves doing like watering the plants, repotting seedlings, going for a walk to take the recycling and collect sticks, gluing & sticking projects, nothing. I'm just letting him get on with his episodes and trying not to think about all of the television viewing today.

I really thought I'd get him with the stick collecting today. We came home from swimming yesterday with a bag full of them. We got a new little gas-canister-less camp stove for Christmas, and I got a new flint and steel, and SB knows this spring/summer we can use it to make lunches (sausages, toast, etc.) but that we need sticks to feed it. He also knows that if we collect enough sticks we're going to build a den/house for creatures either in the corner of our back garden or under one of the front hedges. We have a growing pile of sticks under our ladybug and bee houses. MrScout just rolls his eyes but I thought by agreeing to a den it would give SB's stick collecting a purpose (rather than just a four-year old boy's love of sticks when going out for a walk.

I should add that these episodes are on three disks -- I'm not putting SB in front of 24 episodes straight through!

We had a stick 'called' 'Birdie' in the garden for a while, carefully brought home (it must have been special as we nearly always manage to leave them in the park!) - but the dog ate it

The YD still collects sticks too. Nowadays they are pressed into service as Real Life Minecraft tools (although he is deeply unimpressed by his inability to mine stone with a wooden 'pickaxe' - "it works in Minecraft, mummy")

My brother used to be obsessed with sticks, too, and used them for digging. I can remember when he was four or five he was constantly being told off for digging a hole (with the sticks) in one part of my parents' front yard. My brother insisted he wasn't doing it . My dad came home from somewhere late one night and saw an opossum digging in the very spot where my brother was forever being told "Don't dig there!" Needless to say they never blamed my brother again.

Keeping my ears crossed for tonight's appointment at Relate. (Well, donkeys don't have fingers)

I will keep all fingers and toes crossed for you, Donki. As will Mellors and the NMBs.

Keeping my ears crossed for tonight's appointment at Relate. (Well, donkeys don't have fingers)

Aaargh!
I hit back on my phone - and it repeated the post. There are days when it really annoys me...

I hope he got back in time to go.

He did. I think it was useful, although we are no further forwards. Now there is a 10 week wait for the next appointment...

I just have to hang in there... but have no idea what the outcome will be.

Donki can you set some 'rules' and reclaim some time where you are not 'on duty' at home and get out and do something?

We are going to try and do that tonight. It may be tricky as DH doesn't think having designated "me time" nights will work - he thinks it would bemake it too inflexible and not allow for 'life' (illness, whatever)

Donki, you are a far more patient woman than I am -- I'd have kicked MrDonki with my hoof by now if I was you.

Today has been a much better day regarding my mood and SB we've been outside for a walk (and errands), spent some time "doing the gardening" (watering our seeds & seedlings which are all in pots) and taking pictures of the flowers that have started to grow in our large stone council sponsored-- pot across the street.

For those in the know are beer, lager and ale the same thing or different beasts? I have a recipe calling for beer and since I don't drink beer, ale or lager-- in general I don't have a clue what I'm looking for.

They are variations on a theme...

I don't think lager would work as well as ale or beer.

I agree. Lager is quite different

It's an American recipe, if that makes a difference....

I am not really an authority on American beer (or indeed British beer) - although I believe it is more lager like than the British stuff.

I am not really an authority on American beer (or indeed British beer) - although I believe it is more lager like than the British stuff.