Tea Room the Thirteenth

[amberlight]

Welcome to the newest instalment of the One Parent Families tea room. As it's heading for spring, we're now in a nice warm orangery surrounded by woodland filled with spring flowers. All are very welcome to join in with us parents of one (or indeed more!), the tea room gardener/handyman Mellors, various virtual Bishops (don't ask) and a variety of other characters from previous tea rooms. Grab a cuppa, relax!...

Oh on the subject of trains, was intrigued to see a Haynes Manual for Thomas the Tank Engine, on sale in WHSmith. Was extremely disappointing inside though, nothing at ALL like a Haynes Manual.

I've never worked out what I would do if I didn't do what I do now. A few ideas in closely related fields, but my only non related, money not an issue etc one is to be the proprieter of a bookshop and tearoom. The bookshop is modelled at the one at Penn, Bucks, where the bookshelves are so close together you have to sidle down one way, turn round, and sidle back, and there are books piled on any flat surface including the stairs. The tearoom is of the large china teapot and extra pot of hot water, and cakes/scones on one of those little cake stands sort.

We have had pancakes too - me lemon, DS honey, and DH an assortment.

DS was just very nearly sick in my face, which was not nice. This was not due to pancake, but to having two drinks before bed, then a big coughing fit when he first laid down for snuggles.

For the tearoom tonight, I have made what I wanted to make in RL, Semla - cardomon buns filled with almond paste and whipped cream - which are the Swedish shrove tuesday food

we had spelt pancakes made to an American recipe so a bit on the thick side but yum nonetheless - cinnamon was included. Lemon and sugar on top.

I have done the big career change thing - after 10y in the NHS working in blood labs, I had to get out before I had an aneurysm from the stress - which is when I trained as a complementary therapist. It took 2 years but because it was modular I was able to start working with it after 1.5 years (could have started after 1 year but didn't have the inner confidence). It worked out very well for me but I also always had a paid job as well - one of my tutors needed someone to help her start up her own college so I started working for her. And that's what I did until we packed up to move to Australia, so for about 9 years.

Mind you, while I was trying to work out what to do I went through various options, including being a BA air stewardess , thinking about opening a florist shop (the early hours put me off) and a couple of others but in the end what I did was the best.

Dad would have been proud - 6 lemon and sugar pancakes and now totally beached!

StillCrazy - (whispers) there are many utter speechless Newswipe clips, did you find the Doug Stanhope on children and the planet then? Utterly un-PC but could not help chuckling.

As for careers, I co-own an online learning business so have part of my career dream in so much as I don't work for a corporate anymore and despite all the self employed pressures, probably get to see a whole lot more of dd. But in an ideal world, I'd get my Psychology doctorate and become a counselling psychologist. Don't necessarily need the phd but would prefer to be fully qualified I think. But sooper dooper expensive. This train of thought you've ladies have kicked off has got me thinking about at least getting the certificate anyway (or should that read get certified )

I had my pancakes with raisins and maple syrup. Yum yum yum.

Ljhooray - Yes I did. I googled CB + newswipe + babies and that was what I found. What would you do your PhD on? I have PhD envy - I was just thinking about enrolling, as my consolation prize for not having a baby, when I (at last) got up the duff.

Oh look. Mellors has just sashayed into the orangery, wearing a rose-sprigged pinny over the lederhosen and wielding an authentic French crepe pan. Has anyone not had their fill of pancakes yet?

Thanks ladies

Glad you remembered your Dad in style ljhooray - I think those warm fuzzy "nothing special" memories are the ones that really count - the fabric of our recollections....

We had friends over and ate MANY pancakes. Me for lemon and sugar. Nutella, maple syrup, ice cream and jam may have formed part of the evening

Ideal job AandO? Well, for you, what about something to do with trees? I feel a need for cool green leaves....

As for me? Librarian

I thought my ideal career would be Anchorite for the Tearoom, so I could live down the priest's hole and dispense wisdom and be waited on

I had pancakes with genuine Maple syrup someone brought back from Canada for me, and cream.

Sorry, Daisy - when you said librarian, I immediately thought of the librarian in the discworld series (who is an orang for anyone not familiar - he had been a wizard but got caught up in some magical disturbance) - I was imagining you sitting in your nest wiht your banana!!!!!

When I was little I always wanted to be a mounted policewoman...

We had savoury leek and sweetcorn filled pancakes iwth cheese topping (stilton for dh and I and edam for mistlechick) - mistlechick's went down quite well. However, his sugar and lemon one just vanished - as did the next - I decided that he should probably have something marginally healthier and he had ham and cottage cheese in the next one! He then asked what was for pudding . I am pleased to report tha tthe first 2 days of half term have gone OK with dh and ds - its been quite positive as far as I can tell - certainly no sulking on either side

Those look like good buns which appear to have been left over out of a large plate - I think I'll try one with a big pot of lapsang souchong...

Oook ? I bought Carpe Jugulum for the ebook btw - there was too much choice, so just decided on one to start with.

I couldn't be a librarian - I'd be standing there going 'no, I wouldn't get that. Are you sure ?' and being a judgey pants in general. Maybe an academic librarian though.

It is bitterly cold here, and snowy/sleety. Cats are not impressed in the least

I do like that one - hope you will too!

but CMOT that the whole point of being a librarian - to bring the reading world round to the correct my way of thinking about books if I must be an oranguatan so be it

No chance of PhD now StillCrazy? Having said that I'm glad DaisyBloke got his out of the way before we sprogged.

Mistle snap - I too wanted to be a policehorsewoman. And an archaeologist

My problem is having them all in paper form - so I have a dilemma on buying things I already have, just because I want them with me constantly.

Archeology eh ? I know two things about archeologists, and one of them is that they drink a lot

According to a primary school book my mum kept, I wanted to be a bantam farmer

Dasiy, the knack is to train the horses to dig, I find.

I wanted to be a pilot. My dad claims I gave that up because 'girls don't fly planes', but that's rubbish. It was because I saw a plane's cockpit, and didn't think I could remember what all those buttons and switches did (which is actually almost as bad, ho hum). Then I wanted to be a zookeeper, can't remember why I changed my mind about that. Then a journalist, but thought I wouldn't be very good as I am a bit shy and wouldn't be able to find any stories. Then a lawyer - actually chose my A-levels based on that, but for some reason I wanted to be a barrister, and decided that pupillage sounded awful. Finally I figured that I would like to do something worthwhile for society, so perhaps would be a civil servant. And here I am, the only person I know who actually set out aged 17 or so to be a civil servant, rather than drifting into it.

If I had my time again, I might do medicine at university. In fantasy tearoom world, I would run the bookshop/tearoom on the other side of the road from CMOT's. The competition would be entirely friendly, and there would be more than enough customers to go round. In fact we would create the seed of a new Hay-on-Wye, only lovelier.

Ladies: I've no time to read all about your latest exploits with pancakes. Ijust wanted to tel you that I have grasped the bull by the horns and bought a ticket to the UK.
Gatita and I fly out on Saturday (to arrive Sunday).
She has her Mexican passport and so can go. I've got someone coming in to look after Kittenito in the afternoons. His op has been posponed. So we're all set.

Fingers crossed it (the trip) goes well.

I used to want to be an accountant. work experience in an accounts office saw teh back of that idea!

I rather had the career I wanted. now I chose not to work out of house very much* as am in fortunate position that Dhs salary has gone up as my income has gone down. In teh future.. . once boy is at school.I'd like to train as a cycle trainer, run cycling clubs in schools, save the planet and lay some hedges, build some more living willow structures and grow more fruit and veg.

I may take up knitting yoghurt from lentils while I'm at it.

• my definition of not much is currently I work 1 or 2 days a week. I'm worth between 50 and 150 quid a day depending on what I'm doing and for how long.

catita, you've grasped a bull by the horns?!? Oh my! I knew you were in Mexico but never realised we'd get the full bullfight! At least we have Daisy's archaeological horses on hand to act as your steeds.

But seriously, shall be hoping and praying that all will go well. Will there be a chance for a meetup with anyone, or is it straight in and straight out again?

Well done, Catita, for making a decision. I think any decision will turn out the be the right one, although the icy drizzle here will not cheer you up at all.

Have been trying really hard to think what I want wanted to be one day. I think I wanted to be a teacher! How low can horizons be! I didn't want to be an author and have my books in the mobile library, I knew I would be, just didn't know what genre. Still waiting for that one.

I had ideas about being a vet, but that wore off while doing work experience and being frequently involved in killing unwanted pets. In contrast, I loved my first cow caesarian, where my crucial role was holding the cow's tail to stop her flicking it inside! I also had a fantasy life as a bantam farmer.

I do like the idea of librarian and archaeologist, although I have a friend who was one and says it was not really very interesting at all.

Do you all realise that you can, of course, in the tea room be involved in your ideal careers? Uni can be in charge of the honesty box, order the muffins and the oil for the aga, Daisy can organise the bookshelf, and you can take turns on Earl Grey with the Mounties uniform that JM has thoughtfully provided.

organising an honest box and ordering oil is too much like RL. I'm here fro a break from all that. So I'll just go and gyrate round that pole over there and have a dance lesson with Mellors if you don;t mind.

Mellors doesn't seem to be doing much teaching - more standing back and admiring UniS

StillCrazy - well be a Chartered Psy you need to go down the vocational doctorate route, so its far more practice base although of course you do actually have to write a thesis! Not quite sure what the focus for the paper would be yet but I always enjoyed economic psy (I can hear the snoring from here) so pursuit of wealth and it's impact on mental health would be interesting.

Although I think if I trawled some of the AIBU threads, I could find a thesis right there

Racingsnake - I can confidently say that this is the first time I have ever come across the phrase ' I loved my first cow caesarian' MN is always a journey of discovery and new experiences

Before I hobble off to bed (I've done something to my back again, ooh, aaahhh, ouch) ....

I've still not entirely given up the PhD idea, Daisy, but I'd had a very informal offer of a place at a university which is more than commuting distance away, so I'd have to find a solution which meant that I could abandon CrazyBloke and Crazy Girl for days/weeks on end while I went In Pursuit of Knowledge. I suppose I could ask Mellors to come and au pair for us as I'm not letting any Ukrainian nymphet into my house. I did try to suggest to CrazyBloke at the time that we could move to Distant University City, but he was unwilling. Now, I can't readily see how I would find time for a PhD, although I suppose giving up MN in favour of Great Works of Learning might help.

UniS - have you made a living willow sculpture, then? I do so want to have a go. Maybe I could make one on the allotment this year.

Catita - Bon voyage for Saturday.

I'm intrigued by all these alternative careers. I think Mary gets the prize for most esoteric choice, as Anchorite of the Tea Room.

That's great news Catita!

Racingsnake, I wanted to be a vet when I was younger and did work experience with a vet when I was 16...I loved the cat caesarian! But hated slaughterhouse visits, a horse castration (he was so blatently in pain) and the bloody removal of bulls horns.

Most of the time I wanted to save the world in a generic unfocused way. I wanted to look after all the starving children in Africa ! But in my stupidity I didn't realise there were such things as aid workers or international development work and believed I'd have to become a nun and then a missionary to help...I went off that idea during my teenage years, for obvious reasons !

CMOT, When I'm stressed with work I sometimes think the bookshop/tea room idea would be great, and I once actually nearly opened a cafe but it all fell though. But the reality would probably not be all tea drinking and reading but instead a lot of hard work. And even if it was all tea drinking and reading I think I'd actually get bored after a while.

I managed to get into research following my MSc and never did my Phd so I think what I'll do is go back and do it!! Then it'll get me in to a different area of env policy than I'm in currently. DH will be starting his phd also (already planned), so we can do them at the same time! I calculated today that we'll be on the same income as now pretty much if both of us do it at the same time and so its totally doable. My current income has tax removed and then childcare costs, if I wait a year until ds is in school then I won't be spending a fortune on childcare, and the funding is not taxed so if both of us get funding we will actually be on the same income as now. I'm delighted and now have a plan of action!

Stillcrazy, I know millions of friends with PhDs and most only met their supervisor about once a month so its not necessary to live that near, unless of course you need to use university labs. I will be moving hopefully in a few months, I currently live half an hour from the uni but I'll be moving two and a half hours away and will try to do it anyway. Work from home, have laptop in uni system so can access journals, go to city every week or so to give tutorials, get journals, meet supervisor etc.

If I did anything more I'd have to go for PhD - although I've got quite enough of a collection of letters to not really feel the need to get even more... to the extent that I drop my first degree (and a Diploma) as its not really relevant to my current job (and indeed I could get some interesting questions on it if it appeared!). I did like studying though - although I got a bit annoyed at the last course head who assumed that the area of study was firmly over in his original field of study - whilst I was coming at it from an entirely different stand point (and brought my own experience from that)(which he hadn't got!)