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!...

cor - semantics of paved/wooden areas outside the house!

I think (and am prepared to be corrected) that a patio is a paved area that is level with the rest of the garden, whereas a terrace is a paved area that is stepped above the garden (or below).

We are considering closing in our back porch (being Australian it's huge) and making it into a conservatory type affair - but we might not. Don't really need to - it's just another way to keep the sodding flies/mozzies out!

Good morning all!!!

I have discovered if you take Arabic bread and fill it with jam it tastes a bit like a non greasy donut...

Mmmmm!!!

We spent yesterday at a Willy Ronis exhibition. DD (and I) fell in love with a photo of some young Naples lads taken in 1938 involved in a playful scuffle.

Today I must do some important paperwork... but first I must organise a picnic, have the picnic, walk the dog, meet a friend, perhaps take Milk to the park... ... perhaps the paperwork will actually get done tomorrow?

I rather like screened porches - my colleagues in Virginia all have them as is the only way to sit outside and not get bitten to death.

I'll give your marking a go Donki - I might be a bit harsh though . Just explaining my cats names to my 17 year old nephew (doing A level physics) was traumatic enough.

DH has more exams today - cue mucho stomping around...

Coffee and pastries ?

Coffee and pastries sound good!

Well, I've been to the Dr and he doesn't know if there is anything wrong and is sending me for a chest xray just in case...

Great.

And I waited 45mins for that...

Never mind.

Car picked up today - new one not quite ready, so we'll be borrowing one for a couple of days until it is... Mistlechick was very sad to think of it going. But if you know anyone looking for a Skoda Octavia Estate, there's one coming up in teh BCA that I can give you a run down on

I thought there was more of a class distinction for patio and terrace - a patio is what you have in the suburbs, a terrace is what you have if you move in the right circles generally in more rural areas... Talking of which, I need to do some work on paths etc near the veg - MrMT seems to think that 'laying' slabs means putting them down on the hardcore (that I put down) in approximately the right position and leaving them - no bedding down or getting them even or non-wobbly

Lovely day here!!!

Not sure if I did mention my location......North East Scotland. Rural. Hence the friggin snow! It was lying - no kidding - on my car this morning!!!!

We live in a rural village, new housing estate, and we all have patios. Some bigger than others, mind!!!

Mmmmmm went out with my best pal in RL this morning for coffee and cheese scones. Yum.

Mistlechick has made a snowman on his 3rd birthday - 6th April 2 yrs ago. In the freezing...... south oxfordshire!!!!!

Ah, just time for a nice bit of Tea Room Caravan cake and a cuppa. Have put on a decent casserole for later.

Amberboy has chosen a career! It's like a miracle. Years of "I dunno", and now, inspiration! Yippee! Occupational Therapist. Never thought of that before...and the government pays for the Uni course and there's loads of females, which he says is a Good Thing (well, he would )

I vaguely remember 2 years ago being under about 14 inches of snow...... Little kitten was about 6 months old and I was trying to walk to a pals house....it was so deep I couldn't push her pram through it!

Just couldn't believe that we are so close to May and still getting snow. Its baltic up here today, lovely and sunny but freezing cold. Was below zero again last night, my poor Guinea Pigs were complaining till I gave them their heat pack!

Never mind, more coffee and cakes tomorrow with ex-work colleagues. Nice.

Round us the Patio or Terrace is what the Estate Agents call the bit of flat roof on extensions. Throw a bit of bamboo round it, put a couple of chairs on it and you have "outdoor space" - if you can climb the 900 stairs, wedge open the window, climb over the lintel, avoid the bird poo and still have something left in your glass that is

Mistle - sorry you have to go for a chest Xray. Just a tip. If you have the Xray and catch sight of it please don't then google chest Xrays to see what yours looked like. You will end up convinced you have only minutes to live - unless you are far more sensible than I, which I suspect you are

Thanks for coffee and cake Amber and YEAH to career choice for Boy - nice one

Am Lara at snow!

A good career choice Amberboy - and you can get quite geeky with OT should he choose to.

It's gorgeous weather here - a bit chilly in the morning, but it was nice enough to go riding in a long sleeved t shirt.

During the long saga of DS's chest, he ended up with a series of chest x-rays. TBH, I (and am pretty good at x-rays etc) couldn't tell the difference between the pneumonia one, the partially collapsed lung one, and the OK ones. But it was only the x-ray that took us from 'you are a neurotic mother' over a number of months to 'Eeek'

well I am not good with Xrays
I was convinced I was going to die
I spent a night sitting watching OxBoy weeping gently that I would never see him grow
Luckily my GP is very kind and explained things to me the next morning very calmly

amber very impressed at Boy's choice of vocation - I was interested in that at one stage of my life. I think being a man in a female-dominated profession is good for career prospects, actually - a young man of my acquaintance is a recently qualified paediatric nurse and hospitals were falling over themselves to employ him - I guess little boys get sick as often as little girls and at that age it's good for them to be cared for by people of both sexes.

DMC, that's my view too - there are some specialisms where it will be good for people to have a choice of genders available so that might make him popular. He's very good as a coach, with sports science, with getting people involved with things, entertaining people whilst doing something (see his teachers for details and helping people to learn new skills. Which is Jolly Impressive given the struggles he's had so far.
But he's totally rubbish at finding stuff and essay writing without help, so traditional academic Uni courses would have been hell.

CMOT, it's a bit draughty only riding in a t-shirt, I'd think?

MT, when do you actually get your chest x-ray done, though? Is it a 'turn up and see' or a 'wait three weeks'?

amber -- How old is amberboy?

Lara -- at snow!

Rough day with BabyScout. Think it's teeth. But, if it does decide to pop through soon it'll be his first! DH home very, very late tonight so just me -- might have to crack open some more chocolate.

Is there somewhere I can hide for a while?

Hello all. Nice to see you again Donki You've been much missed. And nice to see new (to me) faces too. Sorry I haven't read all your news in any depth. I hope I'll just be able to pick it up as I go along.

All is well at the Hacienda Hatita. We survived the annual trek south (3 days there, 3 days back) and then me having to work away for 3 days the week we got back. I am officially exhausted, but happy that travelling is off the cards fr a while. Perhaps, I can get some serious MNetting work done at last.

I am at snow in April and for Amberboy's career choice. I hope it works out for him.

X-post Scout. Hello. I think the mobile version of the priest hole is open. Or perhaps you might prefer Donki's hay pile???

Teething is a pain for all concerned.Don't be afraid to use Calpol is my advice.

I too, am at Amberboys career choice (not to mention the bonus of lots of ladies ).....Nice too that the government are funding. All good!

Snow (according to weather forecast) will tonight be confined to the hills, yeah right. They said that last night too. My poor daffodils are totally bamboozled!

Little kitten being particularly obtuse tonight. I think lack of afternoon sleep in favour of playing with her teddybears has a lot to do with it. Worried, as coffee and cake with ex-work colleagues takes place in ex-place of work too......hoping she'll sleep tonight and therefore be more co-operative in afore mentioned professional environment! (is it bad etiquette to staple her to the chair in order that peace shall reign?)

Scout19075 - I don't think we have met before. I am at your disposal. After doing the washing up and dispensing medicine, I could offer you a relaxing aromatherapy back and shoulder massage, if you like that sort of thing. Most of the tea room ladies do, it seems.

I love my only. boy, ( uniboy if you prefer) managed to "help" me perfectly today by playing on his own in his semi furnished bed room for an hour or so. FANTASTIC, I got on with repositioning a socket, applying a 2nd coat of gloss to a window frame, tidying away some paint, watering plants, moving a few boxes upstairs... Meanwhile , from what I could hear coming from his room, he was parking a car at sainsburys, going to the shop, telling his children to be carefull & making them tea all while lolling in a corner on his back with his legs up teh wall.

Nice to see you back cat, glad you survived trial by relatives.

ummm, bolly and hot chocolate. nice combo. don't mind if I do.

We lose net access sometime over teh weekend for a week or so, I'll be back at some point, following teh trail of breadcrumbs and campfire circles trying to find the tea room in its new home.

Sat on! SAT ON! Oh the indignity!

I know you didn't mean to Amber dear, BUT...

Please excuse me - I've had a very long day (up at 5.30 am to finish the marking. I get very inefficient late in the evening being a morning-sort-of-a-donkey. Then school (lovely school, right across Leeds 'though), then back to collect small donkey, then down to Sheffield to see Dad and have tea, then back here to get small donkey to bed)

On second thoughts, if you really want to use me as a sofa Amber, I don't really mind, in fact I probably won't notice.

Oh, excellent choice of career for Amber boy by the way!

And hello to Catita!

Good night, all!

Oooh Amber, glad The Fine Lad has decided on a career and a pretty good one too! Not that it'll be massively well paid or anything, assuming the NHS continues after the next election, but a great job!

Welcome back catita!

I am royally peed off. The computer people have just phoned to say my own laptop is f**ed. They tried to reload XP on it but couldn't and the hard drive is dead. I might not even get all my data and pictures back which would be TERRIBLE. Am very unhappy about it all.