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!...

Like RS from a very young age there was never any question - I was just going to be a teacher. My Dad had it sorted - oldest dd teacher, youngest dd nurse and hopefully they will add something to humanity while never ever going hungry whatever happens in life!

He is right I somehow ended up living in Paris sans français and was getting phonecalls about lots of dodgy sounding jobs work simply through word of mouth.

It is generally thought that considering my natural ability I have achieved the best I ever could... but... I do now have a few fantasies now and then of having a more wonderful brain and deep rooted confidence that allowed me to end up lecturing English literature at a top university while taking breaks now and then to write my own highly aclaimed and yearned for novels or just to lay by the river on a picnic blanket saying clever things. I would of course constantly live in a sort of 1950s fantasy, have a bike, with a basket at the front, sometimes wear odd socks and never be seen without a scarf.

Naturally I would refuse to be interviewed by any paper bar the Guardian (and because of thisspecial relationship would get a VIP invite to the mn party where I would be the cool slightly serious one sipping champagne at the back).

I had to look up the word esoteric .

Am taking a morning service on Sunday and preaching twice, and inspiration came to me in the middle of the night, so I started scribbling away... now feeling pretty tired! May need a sleep later!

MT and stillcrazy - Oh yes, yes, yes - you should get PhDs!

I LOVE PhDs...

One of my absolute bestistist friends, my chosen sister, has one. When she was awarded it I held a party and made a speech about how brilliant she is which ended up in me crying, Gwyneth Paltrow stylie, to about 15 quite confused people. I also say "My dear friend, - who has a PhD in ----,....." whenever I talk about her to people she hasn't met!!! ... I am very proud of her and think PhDs are fab for friends and relations showing off about you!!!!

catita - glad you've got that sorted, hope your journey is considerably less eventful than my last one and make sure you take lots of Vit C and cold preventatives before and while you go - I now have my post-travel lurgy and it's a beast. Not so bad on the cold front but lurking phlegm that gets suffocating at about 5am, and I feel like the proverbial piece of chewed string.

CMOTD - good choice of ebook - I am just re-reading the Tiffany Aching set of Pratchetts, I do so love the Wee Free Nac MacFeegles.

ah I forgot to mention my fantasy career in favour of my actual major career change - I kind of wanted to be a forensic pathologist. Right up until.... well, perhaps that really is TMI for the tearoom - let's just say the thought of it turned my stomach and I'm very glad I didn't go that route.

However, I'm sure that fuels my obsession with shows like CSI, Silent Witness, that one with Trevor Eve etc. Haven't got into Bones though. My fave was Quincy though (perhaps that started it?)

I had a "fear" that I would end up as a teacher - I also had a "fear" that I was avoiding my vocation to be a doctor. In the end, I became both a teacher (albeit at higher Ed level) and a complementary therapist (ok, only similar to docs in that I try to fix people) so both those "fears" became reality but in good ways. Dad would like me to have done a PhD but I haven't the motivation to put the effort in [lazy emoticon]

DCMB - one of my BFs from school wanted to be a pilot - others scoffed because she was a girl - lo, she is now a Captain in BA so ner ner na-ner ner to the sexist scoffers, say I!

As it's morning with you ladies, I will offer restorative teas of a herbal/fruit type that suits - I'm having Double Echinacea with extra vit C (very nice, I might add!)

Tea, do you know or could you find out for me the French for Criminal Records Bureau check - the check that you have to have to work with children. DH's 18-year-old niece wants to come and spend two months with us and is a bone idle sponger absolutely delightful but will be in need of occupation. We might have found her somewhere free to stay not to far from us, but need an occupation for her, preferably earning at least some pocket money. She is good with children, but on previous visits has spent the time sitting around playing computer games and eating.

Of course, I have just thought - what I would like to be, apart from guinea pig farmer, is a teacher trainer. I do a bit of that now, but I think I would love it instead of actually teaching children.

Morning all.

Err, Thumbwitch, where did you say you went to school? Have had a bizarre thought that we might, ahem, have crossed paths.

StillCrazy - it was a girls' private school founded in 1711, sited in the outskirts of SW London - any good? Not that I'm paranoid or anything...

Sorry to hear about your back - have you not got yourself a tame osteo/chiro yet to crick it back into place? I saw my osteo twice in the 3 week UK trip - bless the poor man, he'd actually missed me! (my scintillating conversation and wit, rather than my disaster that passes for a spine)

Morning all!

Thumbwitch I suggest a mug of lemon honey and ginger (and hot water ). It's really lovely and great for colds. My family all live in Florida, they came over for christmas and all got ill...its pretty lethal coming into this weather from warm weather.

Have a boring morning ahead of me, bank and then doctors. But after that I'll pick ds up from preschool and we'll go for hot choc in a lovely local cafe with lots of toys, so that will be nice. Plus Lost is on tv tonight, woohoo! Oh my exciting life !!

I am eager now to get on with it though, having spent the last week trying to come up with a plan for the future, I now have no patience and want to leave my job and start phd asap! Can't happen though obviously, have to be patient and plan .

Hope you are all well today, sorry to hear about the back problems.

Honey and lemon here too as I fight off sinusitis - very yuk!
T minus 2 days to dd's princess birthday party - was up til 11.30pm making crowns - think I'm enjoying the preparation as much as she'll enjoy the party!

There are obviously two girls' schools producing pilots for BA, then. Ra ra ra for women's education!

I hope the party goes well LJH

Ds got an invitation to one of his best friends parties - they are going to the cinema - so I guess that they're not inviting the whole class! I'm very pleased - I knew his birthday was sometime over halfterm and was just getting a bit paranoid that ds had been left out but trying not to think about it He's only been to one film before - and that was an IMAX one (the fish one) and all parents came along - so I have been coaching him in the 'its a good idea to go and have a wee before the film starts so that you don't have to miss any of it - just ask bf's mum!'

Sorry for all the aches and ills - my mother's patent cough/cold remedy was sage tea - big sprigg of red sage in a teapot and steep in boiling water. Pour into mug on top of a teaspoon of honey (lovely pink colour) add a big splash of lemon juice (magically turns yellow!). If nothing else, the colour chnage magic makes you smile!

I'm STILL coughing - although significantly less now thankfully. Only been going on since November...

SC - are you feeling shaken from anything apart from your back - or just that. You must go and find a good osteo and see if they can do something to help - I hope so.

Don't think that my current employers would think much of me doing a PhD. I already have more qualifications than the Directors

We're all coughing - DS has a GP appointment for tomorrow as it's been too long for him.

DH and I have come up with a 5 year plan over the last couple of days, which is nice. Feel better for some attainment targets, as am currently wandering in the wilderness of 'what next' at work.

DS is asking daily if he can have someone to come and play at his house - unfortunatly no one wants to come it seems

Snowing still...

CMOT bravo for booking the ticket. A great plan of actoin

Mistle - I was shaken because I thought for a moment that I might know Thumb from school.

But I don't.

Cmot - What do you include in your plan? I've always been more of a serendipity kind of girl and look where it's got me.

Roasted tomato soup and a lewd roll for lunch, anyone?

How do you roast the tomato soup?

Been through the snows to a meeting. All very scenic, but exhausting. Not settling, just causing visual interference which isn't brilliant for small aspies really.

Mellors is available for those needing a comforting foot/back rub to go with their aches, pains, tirednesses and ills

Its just grey and mizzly here at the moment. Will have to put the light on fairly soon. (I do get laughed at though because I much prefer natural light to the extent that I let it get quite dark before putting the desk lamp on - and try not to put on the main overhead at all. My office is slightly out of the way, so, when its fairly dark, no one thinks I'm in at all! have to keep the singing down though or I give the game away! (Currently still singing Bach's St John after monday lunchtime's concert)

So... SC didn't go to school in SW London. Neither did I - home counties - originally convent based, but strayed away from nuns - definitely CofE though, and had its own chapel.

But I havent' kept in touch with anyone from school, so don't know whether we have a pilot or not

There were some people playing lax for England though

Daisy - I think you meant Catita there

StillCrazy - well this one involves moving house, some livestock, and organising the ability to care for them correctly. We only occasionally have a plan, and mostly stagger round rely on things just happening to us.

2" of snow and still falling here - had to pick DS up from nursery early as the roads were bad, so bundled him up and went out sledging

I only keep up with one person from school, and that is only on fb. Not sure anyone is doing anything as interesting as being a pilot - but then I went to a slightly scummy comprehensive

Livestock??

Well, chickens (no problem, know loads about them), horse and a dog. We need a few years to argue sufficiently about what sort of dog

BTW, I remember having a fascinating time at the vets when a couple of the goats had caesarians - can still remember seeing the kids through the uterine wall now.

Good plan, chickens. My BIL, who has a little house in the middle of nowhere in Beaujolais, has set up his chickens to look after themselves completely while they are away at work during the week by diverting a bit of the mains water from the ajoining farm to run through their 3 m high foxproof enclosure. Said enclosure is also very cleverly just under the kitchen window, meaning that all soggy tomatoes, uneaten crusts, veg peelings etc, can be tossed directly out of the window.

hello ha.

I bring you hot choc and fresh bread from the wet and chilly south west.

Mellors was looking on admiringly was he? thats good to know, I thought he might have been in pain.
Untill last week I had no idea what any of my classmates from primary school were doing these days. then I took a look at friends reunited and found one of them.

Knitting in RL is going slowly. In teh Tea room however I can knit and purl beatifully, would you take a look at teh scarf I've knitted fro lady grey, its keeping her whole back lovely and warm.

Off to even wetter and chillier west wales tomorrow. see you next week.

Glad the shaken moment is over, SC! I keep up with about 4 girls from senior school - that's all. One I haven't seen since her wedding, easily 15+ years ago, but we still send each other Christmas letters. The other 3 I see quite regularly and one is godmother to miniThumb. The pilot is one of the regulars I keep up with. I also am still BF with a girl I have known since we were 4, despite us going to different senior schools. That's a looooooooong friendship!

Echinacea tea with extra vit C, manuka honey and ibuprofen seem to be doing a good job between them of keeping this lurgy in check - I had better sleep last night and feel less "chewed-stringy" today. Like the idea of the changing colour sage tea though!

Hot chocolate sounds good though - hope you don't get drowned in Wales, UniS - the wettest I ever got was in Llandaff in Wales, at at Regatta (or it might have been a head race, thinking about it) - I didn't think I was ever goingi to get dry again, even my bones felt wet!

CMOTD - 5 year plan sounds good.

amber, I meant to say (in case you weren't being facetious) - the tomatoes are roasted before making the soup - does that help?

We had some lax players who played for county and SE England - not sure they ever got to national level though.

RS - the chicken story reminds me of my parents' story about their first 'flat'. It was in a Manor House of someone that my mother was teaching with. 'Flat' wasn't quite the word as, by the sound of it, there were stairs and significant corridors... However the (large enough to house the piano at one end as well as the kitchen table) kitchen overlooked the yard where the geese and ducks lived. There were large muscovy ducks who were very greedy. All the kitchen waste went out of the window and disappeared. My mother decided to try a new butcher and bought a piece of meat and cooked it - but it was so tough that it was inedible. Without thinking, a large chunk went out of the window and a muscovy drake got it and wolfed it - but it got stuck... My mother thought it would kill him as, several hours later, he was still waddling round trying to swallow it - luckily it eventually worked!

CMOT - I can recommend writing yourself a list of requirements from a dog and then going to the Dogs Trust - you need the list otherwise you'd find that you would come back with something completely inappropriate... our list went something like...
short haired
medium sized (so I can lift into car if necessary)
preferably a bitch
reasonably young
good with children

And I can't imagine a more perfect dog for our family at the moment. She has been so patient with ds - even to the extent that she brought him back into the sitting room holding on to her tail (and looking pleadingly at me as if to say 'get him off, get him off') when he was learning to walk - and as soon as he touched one of her toys she would let him have it - its only now that she will start to play with him, but even so, she is still really gentle with him compared to us!

So I sneak back in after months to then disappear for another week. Hopeless!
Sitting here in ugg boots (fake), PJs and a long cardi,looking like glamour inncarnate. The gymgirlie and I are trying to decide what to do today. She's favouring the science museum, I'm leaning towards the Roald Dahl museum. To be hoonest I could quite happily have a PJs and movie day.
The girlie has had a nice half term, aand has an extra day on Monday which I'm looking forward to immensely. Maybe I could persuade her to try a museum then as they'll be nice and quiet....wanders off in a state of indecision...