Tea Room the Fourteenth

[amberlight]

Welcome to the 14th instalment of the Tea Room. It's now officially spring, and we've moved the tea room to a Gipsy caravan pulled by the tea room horses, which is making its way up the countryside in an effort to follow spring. There are of course hedgerows filled with spring flowers, Mellors the handsome gardener/driver/handyperson, the usual virtual Bishops, and the assorted animals and characters from previous tea rooms. All are very welcome to join in with us parents of one (or indeed more!) for general chat and the occasional very odd conversation. Climb aboard, grab a cuppa, enjoy the view, relax!...

Evening ladies, thanks for the ballet advice everyone - whilst Mini Mindy is not that bothered about ballet, think I'll leave it be. Glad everyone is enjoying the cake, just you wait for the sprout and sultana tea bread!

Hi Bergitte, lovely to have you here and between your dh doing the cooking and mellors taking care of the gardening, massage and whatever else we ask of him, you can relax on a chaise and need never lift a finger

Talking of garden, think this may be the year of me finding my greenfingers so glad horticultural matters are getting an airing - you are all bound to get some very stupid questions from me. I'm keen but inept!

Poor AandO, had to do two lots of two week stints in India and China for work when mini Mindy was a year old, broke my heart. But skype and overcompensation with some very cool Indian and Chinese gifts helped! Fortunately have not had to do it since but I think there's a lot of truth in it being tougher on you than them!

Just need to say something so that I can find you again without having to run after you.

Things OK atm, although Wriggle fell off the worktop in our new-to-us RL caravan onto her nose on the floor. Who would have thought someone with such a little nose would have so much blood. Much soaking of blood-stained towels, jumpers, tee-shirts etc and two days later she is still complaining that her nose hurts. (Although it was not helped by Wriggle experimentally clamping a peg onto it with DH watching. ) Then she fell backwards off the windsor chair onto the tiles in the kitchen the same evening.

Then I fell down the garden steps in the rain holding a guinea pig (which flew gracefully through the air and seems fine).

May insist that the whole family only moves when wearing full body armour.

And, in no paticular order:
Yay to new UniHouse
How brave to go to a meetup, Tea
Welcome, Birgitte

I'm there three days, well I fly in one day, present the next day, fly out the third day, but hopefully I'll get a chance to look around.

My little sister is only 19 so I get to read all types of out drinking type things about her, and photos of her out in clubs. So does my mom, our aunts, my other sisters. It's really quite strange, nobody took a million photos of us at that age falling around drunk and stuck them on the internet, we can pretend it all never happened alot easier!

All these meet-ups! And typical that Tea has such a chic one! What did you wear to it Tea - somehow that sort of event and mnmeet up don't seem to be quite compatible!!!

um, spout and sultana bread, my fav.

my RL muffins are a bit dry. maybe the pink vanilla iceing boy and I dolloped on will help.

I fear I shall havet o break itto poorly boy ( cold and cogh) that he's not well enoughto go swimming tomorrow. If he takes it well I shall be suprised, but know that he really is feeling rough.

Hello and good night dear ladies.

Bergitte - Lovely to see you here. Have you had one of Mellors' stress-busting massages? He is very, very good at what he does.

Cmot - have you posted your pre-bathroom makeover shots yet? I found a lovely picture of CmotTiddler on a pony, but no bathrooms!

Racing - Somehow, I can visualise the adorable Wriggle clamping a clothes peg to her nose. She would need to know, wouldn't she, what it felt like? I am rather besotted with Wriggle, even without meeting her.

I know that international travel is a pain in the butt when you have to do too much of it, but even so I am at the mention of Geneva and Chicago.

Wotcha ladies.

(And a special welcoming hello for Bergitte; very classy name you have there!)

I'm currently avoiding packing. Another reason why I hate travelling. I'm the world's worst packer and manage to crease everything to hell.

I hope Jm's meetup went alright. to all the who can find MNetters in your region. I suspect I am the only one daft enough to be living here.

Muffins:

In a bowl, stir together:
2 1/2 to 3 cups ground almonds
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

In the blender, blend:
one entire lemon or orange, NOT peeled, cut into quarters
a dash of vanilla essence
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs

Stir together with the dry ingredients and spoon into muffin tin.
Bake at 350 F for 20 min or a bit longer, until golden-brown. Makes about 12 muffins.

Yummy.

Seeing gf from nursing school was LOVELY. It felt like a journey to the past but without a lot of the angst and stress (I was such a misfit in nursing school). 16 years is a lot to catch up on, I'm sure we haven't even scratched the surface, but, unless her husband gets another job somewhere else (mining is like that), we have time. Her children are lovely, too.

Sorry - welcome Bergitte!!

Hugs to Catita, packing sucks. Bleh.

Hello Bergitte and welcome! Join the madness fun here, there's plenty of entertainment. Guineapigs, horses, bishops, Mellors, the priesthole for when things in RL get too much for us, naked mohawk babies (how I wish I could find that cake again).

Muffins - MrTHumb is the muffin man - he makes superb chocolate choc chip and blueberry muffins - genius. I do biscuits and other stuff.

The Sydney meet up was good fun - we went to the Sydney Opera Bar to start with. The other two were Abithormonal, who was due to drop on Monday; and bunnygirl80, who only moved to Australia in November. I guess I didn't really have much prior idea of what they would be like as we hadn't really chatted much on here beforehand - not like you lot, who I have quite strong ideas about what you're like, helped by seeing photos of some of you. Anyway, we had a lovely long lunch and chat - I was overbearingly chatty as I often am when a bit nervous but remembered to shut up and let the others have a go once in a while!

I am always intrigued that BA is so lovely - she really doesn't do herself any favours on here though, I find myself going quite often at her posts!

RS - poor Wriggle! I can maybe offer some small consolation though - a teaspoonful of blood can look like a massacre has happened - it has very low surface tensions, so a little of it goes a looooooong way! (you should see what a dropped/split bag of donated blood looks like!! at how far it goes)

Catita - packing as well? I've probably missed it - are you another conferencing type?

A&O - I feel for you. When I was in hospital for those 2 days prior to Christmas I really worried how miniThumb would get on, but apparently he was fine and dandy. Being away for a week might send me a bit loopy, I think!

CMOTD - not quite so at your nephew de-friending you since you said he was 17 - you probably qualify as Them now. Still not very nice though.

Back to work for me now... I'll join you for a bolly later. And maybe some Easter cakes?

Bergitte - welcome!

Morning all. Abandoned the tea room caravan yesterday to divert off to deepest London for some government advisory thingywotsit in which there was No Lunch Provided but we survived.

Was also totally utterly confused at Richmond station when trying to find the Underground. Why are there only signs to the underground if you're outside the station?! How to confuse an aspie in one easy lesson. Had to be rescued by a very nice rail worker who was probably thinking "poor dear!"

Seem to be back again now, thanks to the speed of Mr T the spare horse. Anyone for a cuppa to start them off for the day?

Yes please Amber - tea would be lovely...

I find tube stations problematical - I don't know whether its the heat, the dust/fumes the excess of people or the pressure changes, but I often feel quite peculiar and need to hold onto someone/something. Will be down in London for next 1/2 term, so will need to brace myself and try not to show mistlechick how much it worries me...

Those muffins sound jummy - and great for coeliac visitors too.

Well, holding onto someone is one way to make new friends on the Underground

I think I was fooled by them putting the Underground at ground level. That's not a very logical place to look for it.

Oh, my message went missing! I'll try and write it again in a bit.

yes, Richmond being still overground rather than underground doesn't help, does it! (sounds a bit Womble-y there)

I tried out the Sydney "underground" on Saturday as well as everything else but it went very smoothly.

For anyone very young and/or outside the UK who didn't have a Wombling childhood!

Oh no, now I'm singing the Wombles song!

Who's for a glass of something to go with their wombling?

Thank you for huge welcomes, so lovely Will try to write something more personal when I've got to know you. Thanks again T&E!

So busy busy today. No time for even a quick cuppa...

Unfortunately I didn't manage to shack up with an earner so have to drag my sorry self to work every day while DH sits at home watching soaps and eating chocolates (not true, he's a fab SAHD - just wish I could SAH too!)

Anyone else looking forward to retirement or is that a bit strange?

Thumb - I always do that, chat and chat and have to tell myself to stop and let someone else have a go!

Got no work done today! DH stayed home from uni and despite having only 32 days to finish three essays, his dissertation and sit his finals was in chatty form. We spent alot of time looking at schools on the internet and watching lady gaga and damien rice music videos. Poor ds at his childminders while we just mess around all day. I think when you're paying someone to mind your dc you feel really bad on the day when you are supposed to be working but then just mess around. I always think, oh he could have been at home with me instead.

Bergitte as you can see I have the none earning type of dh too! He went back to uni as a mature student just two weeks before ds was born. So I work, but dh finishes uni in just 32 days...we are really really looking forward to it. I am planning to be a sahm for a year or two, it's his turn to work!

I greatly enjoyed my time as a SAHM and only went slightly mad.

What a day! Amber, may I have a glass of Pinot Gigglio or whatever else you have opened?

Bathroom status day 2 - ceiling plasterboarded and skimmed (no more artex !), all plasterboard filled in where necessary, pipe work all put in to move everything around, pipework hidden under floors. Things start going back in tomorrow.

DS's bad behaviour last week at nursery has continued this week - he is determindly not listening, and generally being a pita. He knows it is wrong, and we have had phases of this before when he has a terrible couple of weeks before he starts doing something major and new, and then it all goes back to normal. But, gosh, it is . Not nearly as bad at home, but easier when there is less scope to do things and less people.

Off to Brussels tomorrow. Are you sure you wouldn't like to go instead T&E ? It'll be a incredibly boring thrilling day ?

No, I hate the idea of retirement! I only work part time at present and resent every day away from Wriggle, but the year I spent at home was not an unalloyed pleasure. With no outside input and deadlines, I slowed down almost to a full stop.

Of course Wriggle had to find out what a clothes peg felt like on her nose. A pity that she had just fallen onto that same nose. Possibly at some time I had suggested that clothes pegs are not good for noses; that would be enough for her to clip a whole basketful of pegs onto it.

I will never remember to use counter psychology or whatever it is called - I cannot stop giving her good advice and suggesting that she behave. Which of course ensures that she does the opposite.

Yesterday we were with a friend and her G&T 3-year old. The girls were putting on their shoes. Little Friend was warbling, 'Are my shoes on the right feet, Mummy, are they, are they, are they?' (They always are.) Wriggle quietly took off her own shoes, which were also on the correct feet, swapped them over and clumped off. This is why Little Friend will go far - she will always be seen to be right - while Wriggle probably won't; she does the wrong thing for her own satisfaction.

Still adorable???

CMOT, xpost there,; not ignoring you. Could CNOTiddler be very tired at the end of term?

Well, he doesn't have terms, but does suffer from not napping at nursery when he could really do with it still - he will have 2 hours at the weekend. Only a few weeks till our holiday though.

DS is very like Wriggle in some ways - he has to find out why, and will do things to be contrary. He had to find why putting a klippit on your lip is a bad thing too