Would anyone like a cup of tea and a muffin?

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

I'm tired and in need of refreshment.

The tea room is now officially open, serving hot chocolate, tea, freshly-squeezed orange juice and a range of home-baked muffins. Tablecloths and crockery are charmingly mismatched antiques (no Cath Kidston here). We overlook an attractive although somewhat overgrown garden, with a distant view of rolling countryside.

Everyone is welcome but house rules dictate that anyone indulging in fisticuffs will be ejected.

Please come in.

ARGH!

I assumed it was your inner sparkle.

No stollen, I am sad to report, but have huuuge bag of Lebukuchen to share round.

Got up at 4.45 this morning, flew to Frankfurt, only to discover that my flight onwards was cancelled. Phoned colleague, who kindly said that he'd come and get me, if the customer could rearrange for 3pm. Stood in queue at Lufthansa ticketing for an hour whilst they persuaded loads of people that the train was just as good as their connecting flight... Drove with colleague at 200 km/hr whilst he was checking his email.

But - all this was worth it for a totally Mumsnetastic moment in the womens toilets at Nurenberg airport, when there was a Mooncup advert on the back of the door !

Am now at Frankfurt eating curry, and trying not to shop.. Oh, and abusing my work wi-fi connection to MN of course

This thread gets more and more international by the day!

Good to see you again, bbpants, and thank you, cmotdibbler, for thinking of us even when you're in the midst of (I imagine) unlimited lebkuchen-buying opportunities. A Mooncup advert? Wow! I like the theory, but. Maybe I should divert to the appropriate thread before it all gets too anatomical!

May I put my name down for a sparkly desk tidy? Purple, please, if you're taking orders for bespoke sets.

On the 'blessings' thread, we've been issuing invitations to come and have some champagne, so we'd better get the party started. So, shall we have it neat or make cocktails with it? Anyone got any good cocktail recipes (champagne or otherwise) to share?

And look - a rather lovely new string of fairy lights. Don't they look gorgeous reflected in the glitter balls?

Gorgeous lights! But it is a bit quiet in here at the moment. Do you think Mellors could hand round the cheese straws? Might bring in some new customers. I'll polish up the honesty box, shall I? And maybe Racingpig could spend the evening in his bucket. We could put this nice tarten rug over the chewed but on the sofa.

Yes, it is quiet, tonight. Maybe I should put the fairy lights in the window, to show we're still open and to entice people in. Perhaps we need a marketing campaign? Something that encourages people to drop in, without actually kidnapping them?

Thanks, Mellors, for the cheese straws. Could you be a sweetie and refill everybody's glass of champagne?

Well, better be off now; work tomorrow. Night all! (Is there anyone there? Apart from Mellors swigging champagne from the bottle?

Hi Reindeersnake - I am here - I am just being very quiet after a party last night...

Some friends of ours are Muslims - actually many people in our neighbourhood are - so we were busy celebrating Eid last night...

I was a bit nervous I might make some faux pas celebrating something I didn't know much about. In the end I just copied what the Muslims were doing - which turned out to be eating sushi and drinking martini - I don't think our friends go for tradition much!!! But anyway I found it all to be very good fun!!!

...so...so please tell me - how do I go about name changing??? -Obviously not to ask advice on a deep dark secret because I am such a gossip I am afraid I have no secrets - actually it is so... the inner Christmasteafortwo can make her entrance!!!

...

Oooh, lovely! Still recognisably you, but with that festive je ne sais quoi!

There you go , Bocca - a purple desk tidy. The Pants family are open to bespoke pen pot requests. Although littlepants does insist on helping with the painting - which mainly involves me shouting 'no, not in the mouth' an awful lot.....

I love the idea of 'inner sparkle', RS - I must work on that!

Is it wrong that I have missed this place whilst I've been so busy in RL? It just feels so homely - in the good sense of the word, not the American sense.

Sorry I missed the rather subdued party last night. This is what comes of starting up some knitting - I don't mn whilst watching rubbish on the TV in the evening - I knit and watch rubbish on TV in the evening instead! Good news is that I've finished one cover and started the second, and done both pom-poms. I couldn't be bothered with the traditional 2 cardboard cirles - its such a pain pushing the ball of wool through - so I did a much quicker version that needs an extra pair of fingers (dh's) to tie the knot. Did mean that I managed 2 large multicoloured pompoms in about 15mins rather than 1 in about 1hr... Quite pleased with 1st golf club cover - will do a photo at some stage. Can't be too bad - dh has suggested taking orders for them!

My offering for the morning - oat and sultana and organic apricot cookies - you know, the ones that are a tiny bit crisy on the outside but nice and moise still and sort of melt in your mouth. I think I'll have a coffee with mine - anyone else?

I don't think it's wrong to miss this place at all. I hope it's like a home from home. I do pop out and investigate some other threads, but I like to return here for a drink (hot, alcoholic or both) and a nice sit down. I think as long as it doesn't become a fully-feledged addiction that must be OK.

Mistlethrush - good to see you! Please explain the speed pom-pom technique, as we have a huge one here, half-made because we ran out of energy and wool.

Thanks Bocca - actually it was Jacksmama's idea back in June - when she first started getting excited about Christmas - but I waited until December to name change!!!

I think I will have a cup of Christmas tea as, although it is my name now , I have never drunk any so don't know what it tastes like!

sorry - x post!!!

And a big kiss for Bocca too!!!!

Bocca - I got a strip of cardboard (section of pizza box top - late in from work ) (mine was about 2" wide and 4" long)
and folded in half so you have a V shape (still 4" long, now 1" 'high') - put a piece of wool down the V, and back along the outside of the crease and knot loosely together (you'll want to get this knot undone later). Squash the V flat. Then just wrap the wool around the cardboard until you've got a reasonable wodge which you think will be enought to pad the pompom out enough. If you want two or more colours, make sure you mix them as you go. Undo the knot from the original piece of wool. You now want to pull out the piece that is INSIDE the cardboard, leaving the section on the outside of the cardboard (which is in the centre of the wool bundle - you can now do a single knot around the bundle with these two ends and get someone else to hold this relatively tightly. Meanwhile you grab the wool bundle to keep it still with one hand and use scisors to cut the wool, putting the points of the scisors down through the two sections of the cardboard. Once all cut, the other person can tie the knot tighter and you can add finger to get this really tight and secure. You will have to do a bit of shaping.

I don't recommend this method for children - they can push the wool through the centre of the cardboard like we used to have to do - but if you want speedly pompoms this is so much quicker for adults!

oh hello you all!!!

I am Soooo glad to be back!

Santabbpants it is not wrong to miss the cafe, I have been away for 4 days hols and the first thing I want to do on return? Check in here!

Bocca we are going to need a new thread soon - up to 950, don't we drop off at 1000? Another night of boogying and we're done

sorry to miss the party, and LOL at Reindeersnake nibbling the Proscecco - I think the clue is in the cafe, if it's in here, and you're in doubt, DRINK IT! fgrin]

But, seriously, reindeer dear I think the most telling bit of your posts is your belief you should Inform and Entertain - you don't have to in this here cafe. We're friends. So you can put down the baton of self appointed role and tell us like it is...

I would be in a right old twizzle with your problems, but adopt a head in sand let's hope there is no redundancy and then worry about the rest attitude....

Stayed at friends at the weekend. They are caring for a bunny. I insisted the bunny was brought inside overnight. I like to think I might be a life save

love the name changes, happy to be home

Hi daisy can I tempt you to a bowl of warming soup? Sorry ds hasn't been breadmaking recently - I'll have to see if we have time after the Christmas card making session we're going to have this afternoon.

(I am rather at the fact that ds is getting christmas cards from friends at school - he's only 3.5 fgs! So that is an extra 16 on top of the 3 for teachers, plus all pil and gpil etc.... Kitchen table will well and truely be covered (with newspaper, then drying cards) later - will have to move the large jars of chutney that dh made 1 month ago and, although I've suggested that he should move them (particularly as we're not allowed to eat it for another 6 months) they are still there....

Aghast at the thought that we are chopped off at 1000 messages? Will we have to move to new premises? That would save spring cleaning, anyway.

I once had a boyfriend (Spanish) who believed in 'casas a usar y tirar' disposbale houses. When his flat was too messy he moved.

Will we be rejuvenated like Dr Who?

Or will everything up and shake itself as in Howl's Moving Castle? (Read it if you don't know it. One of my favourite books, by Dianna Wynne Jones. Also nice surreal cartoon. Baby Bocca might be about the right age, if suitably precocious in a very positive Only fashion)

I'd go for rejuvenation - I need it!

Dodgy spelling is not due to the fact that I am one of those teachers who has led to the dire standards we have today, although I probably am; rather I am trying to do 15 things at school but had to register my aghastedness.

at aghastedness!!! I wonder whether we can have 'aghastednessly' as in 'aghastednessly' open mouthed

I offer you aghastness and raise you flabberghastedness!