Tea Room the Ninth: I love rock and roll, put another dime in the juke box baby

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

Welome to the ninth incarnation of the tea room. It's been a long and eventful road, from a tea room overlooking a cathedral garden to a beachside cafe, with a diversion via a yurt. Now - voila - we are in a music lounge. We cater for all tastes and, as this is a tea room of requirement, it manages simultaneously to be many things at once. For some, it is a 70s glam rock disco with a cool boho edge - glitter balls, smoke machine and much wearing of platform shoes and eyeliner. For others, a jazz bar where mellow music is played as cocktails are served. For still others, it's a concert performance of Spem In Allium. We still have a garden, with shady parasols for the summer, and a menagerie of pets. Our membership is international.

The tea room has few rules. Everyone is welcome. But anyone visiting with the sole intention of causing hurt or shouting abuse will be ejected by Mellors, the multi-talented gardener-handyman who (it turns out) is also a guitar wizard and rock god.

Please come in.

Racing - I wouldn't worry. DS equally gets some very educational anatomy lessons from the cats (why, by the way does tabby cat eat rabbits from the head down, but leaves the ears ?), and was pretending to pick up dead wildlife from around the house this morning. He has been a lemur this weekend, which is actually rather pleasant.

Am off to buy Persephone books - what a find Daisy !

Morning all!

If you are shopping at Persephone Books, be sure to get Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (the only one I've read so far). 'Tis marvellous and a bit of a cult at work, where copies are circulating from desk to desk!

Am grinning from ear to ear at Wriggle munching on an imaginary hippocampe or sniffing badger droppings. Or MiniThumb meeting Henry VIII. Or DaisyBoy practising thespian gestures in the bathroom mirror. Is he destined to be an ack-torr? Am deeply envious of DaisyPoppins and want one to look after me.

Cup of cha, anyone >?

Here MadBad, I shall look after you

Would you like some birtday cake to go with it? DaisyBoy did the decorating and candles himself. He chose special "Happy Birthday" candles but wanted to put them in himself so it actually reads

HPPBT HIY RYDAAH * or something like that

Think less Acccctooour and more Narcissus and you have DaisyBoy in mirror

Help me be brave, ladies. MadBadBaby has just told me that she hates being the only one in her class who doesn't have brothers and sisters. This isn't, as I have reminded her, actually the case - there are several others without siblings - and I have been bigging up the virtues of her cousins and god-siblings. But I still feel a bit bleurgh.

Aw MadBad, the consolation is that next week is that she'll hate being the only one without a pony/mainframe computer/luxury yacht.

Yesterday my niece was being sniffy about university accomodation she had visited that was beyond my wildest dreams when I was a student. For a start, it didn't have vermin. Although, the mice did provide entertainment when we didn't have a tv. Kids today..

Yes, Cmot. I know that in many ways a sibling is just another consumer durable which she covets (or, at least, professes to covet). Difference is, I guess, that we might just stretch to riding lessons and a laptop. The luxury yacht is, of course, moored at Cannes ready for the next MadBad family cruise.

I have found another bonus to only having one (despite the fact that we are still trying for #2) - if he decides to move back to the UK, or anywhere else in the world, there will be no split loyalties - we will just upsticks and follow him. Can't do that when there are sibs to consider.

Have a supporting and unMNly (((hug))) and probably a firm pat on the shoulder as well. Plus some more bolly and some of this rather fine comfort food

Oh yes. I am planning to enrol for a PhD at whichever university MadBadBaby attends, in order to stalk her offer practical and moral support.

Would anyone like to share the bolly with me?

Go on then, I'll help you out with it - I'm feeling a tad blue tonight anyway - things are getting me down, too much to do, too little time or motivation again.

Plus I really don't want to leave my house!

Oh, Thumb, have a wee stroke of the arm. You have been so very very brave and upbeat about moving, it must be tough in lots of ways...

MadBad it is tough when the MBBaby's hit our weak spots isn't it? Intellectually you konw CMOT and Thumb speak words that are true, but it's hard because it's not a neutral comment on her part...

Not much to say of help. However, by way of assistance...at the moment I feel that I don't spend enough time with DaisyBoy what with work 'n' all so I am acutely sensitive to any "Mummy, don't leave me" "Mummy play and spend more time with me" comments although I now it is a developmental phase rather than an expression of deep angst and emotional deprivation....somehow having him in my arms yelling/ crying/ being unreasonable is so much easier than hearing him yell/ cry/ whatever down the phone when I am not there

Actually, that wsa far from helpful, wasn't it....

Hello all, and (slightly exhausted) greetings from Dunnigan, California, where we have landed on our third driving day in the camper wagon on our way down to California and the First Tea Room Meet-Up. (Oddly, and quite touchingly, DH is as excited about it as I am!!)
We finally left our home in Langley, British Columbia, around 5 pm Saturday, because the border line-ups were monstrous all day (but they notoriously die down around dinnertime). We made it to Puyallup, in Washington State, before calling a halt. Stayed at a crappy little campground and woke up to pouring rain and cold at 6:45 am courtesy of a toddler who'd fallen asleep far too early!! Turns out you need a key for the bathroom/ showers, and so we decided to forego cleaning up and just got going as soon as we'd progressed beyond comatose.
Had a good day driving on Sunday, only moderately marred by a bit of a fright - I think I may have developed mastitis again in my left breast. It's unbrearably painful to touch, and I had the typical flu-like aches for a few hours (before dosing myself with ibuprofen and paracetamol). I told DH about it and we decided that if a fever developed we'd stop at a medical clinic Monday morning. The weather eventually improved, and we stopped for lunch at an Outlet Mall near Portland where we'd been two years ago. We wanted to get to Ashland, Oregon, by Sunday evening, and we did. It is absolutely beaustiful. In fact, the entire state of Oregon is gorgeous. If I were going to live anywhere in the United States, Oregon would be it. After a hair-raising drive along a windy road that took us to 4500 ft of elevation, we landed up at the Howard Lake Resort Campground, one of the most beautiful spots on earth. I didn't even mind being woken up early again on Monday morning because the sunrise was worth it!! Mist over the lake, loons calling, nothing but silence and hazy morning sun... aaaahhhhhh!!!! Boob update: still painful to touch but no fever or aches, so we decided to forego the clinic and continue to observe (me).
We called an early halt today, at 5 pm, just outside Sacramento. California, because we didn't want to face trying to get through Sac in rush hour traffic. Besides, it's only another 8 or so hours to Anahei, and we don't need to be there until Weds. So no need to rush. Found a lovely campground with a pool and took Jackbaby swimming, which he loved. In fact, I am going to hop in the pool with him again shortly, in order to exhaust him before 10 pm tonight!! Boob is still sore but functioning perfectly well, and no fever or anything else. I think, if it was mastitis, I'm over the worst of it (and most grateful not to have needed antibiotics this time!!).
CMOT, do email me please about your travel plans - I have my PC with me on this trip, not my Mac, on which I have your email address.
Love to all of you from JM!

Hi JM, It sounds like your trip isn´t going that badly! I hope the mastitis clear up and Jackbaby behaves himself for you.
No exciting news here. DH has gone off to Texas and is beavering away at his thesis. he is optimistic that he can see light at the end of the tunnel. I hope so.

Big hugs and sympathy to Madbad and Daisy.

OOoo JM I am feeling the glory of your virtual road trip! How does JackBaby cope with the long drive? We find we can only do 2 days of driving in our camper before DAisyBoy explodes. Camper much better than car though

Have Oregon Envy sounds magical!

I have just discovered I have LOADS of airmiles from a now defunct collection card which are going to expire so I just HAVE to spend them, perhaps we should come and see Oregon for ourselves

Catita, hope your DH is ok, I well remember the FInal Push for the PhD, I don't think my DH spoke coherently for about 3 weeks

Come to Anaheim Daisy - Disney, JM and I await you !

-

Anaheim bunting!

Great bunting, Daisy!

I am wearing my chic French name for Bastille day. It's tres tres a la mode.

ah bonjour monsewer, monge tout monge tout.

and thats enough of that. Happy prison bust day to our french friends.

I spent the day in a team day thing for teh childrens centre, morning was fine- future plans, updates etc. Afternoon sounded interesting , Guest speaker on Reggio Emilo educational philosophy, but somehow she mamanged to put all my hackles up. Which is odd as I actully quite like what I have read about RE style. MAybe it was the way she focused on 3-6s when our centre mostly sees 0-3s although we do also cater for 4s. But I guess 1s & 2s don't produce pretty art work to show people what A nice time they are having in their beautifully resourced day care centres.
Maybe it was her dismissal of the Early years approach in the UK, which I believe has actually adopted some of the Ideas coming out of RE already.

House buying continues to not happen, had another offer turned down. ho hum. We just don;t HAVE the money people seem to think their houses are worth.

well, chateau neuf du pape! And duck a l'oronge.

Hope it was nice weather for the Bastille Day celebrations en France - it was ok here, I s'pose. Good enough to dry curtains, anyway.

UniS - sorry to hear about your house-buying woes - at least that's one thing I don't have to worry about. Still no visa though.

• Y'all have a good time now, y'hear?

Veuve Cliquot hey - nice change!

my thought for the day
it is funny how revolutionary anthems become stock in trade "national" anthems once the rebels win

hence Les Marseilles and Sikele Afrika whcih I was listening to on Radio 3 now I am trying to be like Mistle

Heh how and bottoms up to the Veuve and all that

Uni wow about the house and about your educational rant. I would have guessed Reggio Emilio was a cheese, a close cousin of parmesan but of course I agree with you

yes dear, it was lovely, now how about you have a little rest with this large glass of red wine to keep you company.

Tea! Lovely to see you again. My, that Phrygian cap tilted over one eye is tres chic.

Sorry to hear about house-buying woes. I guess you're tired of being advised to be patient.

I'm off now to google Reggio Emilio early years education. Would anyone like some French onion soup and a lewd roll before I go?

happy googling. there is lots out there, I may not have the spelling quite right on Emilo, I was listening and Italian is not my language.

Yes please to soup and roll. have just had RL roll and butter.
Off to deliver something work related, then take boy and car through car wash- have a voucher for a freebie and think boy might be intrigued.

Oh yes, soup and roll please - I am hungry and with DH away it's been a while since I've had a roll

Hello tea long time no see!

How's tricks with you all?