Tea Room the Fifteenth - The Viking Hall

[amberlight]

Here we are in the 15th instalment of the Tea Room for the One Child Family board. All are welcome, whether parents of a single splendid offspring or any other number.
We are this time in a Viking Long Hall tearoom, complete with optional helmets, roaring log fires (in case of chilly spring evenings), rugs aplenty, and all the usual mod cons of life as well.
Our Viking tea room contains Mellors the gardener/handyperson with a talent for relaxing massage (amongst a variety of other characters including Bishops, camels, bison, horses, guinea pigs, dogs, etc etc for reasons that would take too long to explain but you're welcome to read the other Tea Room threads and prepare to have your mind thoroughly boggled). Plenty of tea/coffee/cake/virtual bolly always on offer.
Join us, relax, chat, enjoy.

I am a barrister but I might delete this post later cos I'm a bit paranoid about small world and that sort of thing

I do some DIY nothing on the UniS/ Mistle/ Thumb stakes, but Oxbloke thinks I am slapdash - he is right. So now he does most. We have quite a bit of harmony, I do all washing, most shopping and cooking but he would do it. He does all housework and all DIY

I have to say he looks after Oxboy beautifully. From the start we approached it as beginner parents with a starter baby. We each developed our own styles, but neither better nor worse. If I am out/away/late, which happens depressingly often, I never worry about Oxboy - they manage fine without me, perhaps finer

In between being a bit of a domestic godess, Oxbloke is a cross between Bear Grylls and Edmund Mallory so is known to disappear on Long Expeditions. In between times we live a serene very urban life. Not chic but peaceful. We have one kitten who perhaps should be called Daisy but for whom Jess is current fave

has anyone heard from Catita recently? I rarely venture from this thread and hope she is ok?

Jess is a good, and non embarrassing name to yell from the back door.

BTW Oxeye, if you are looking for a campsite, the one at Gullivers, Milton Keynes was v nice and DS loved the theme park as he could go on nearly everything.

DH has also been left with DS on a very regular basis and copes just fine. Although even I raised an eyebrow at DS's reported breakfast today of chocolate brioche with squirty cream.

DS has an all day visit to school on Wednesday, and I won't be there to drop him off or pick him up

oh no! we are heading for the morning visit for oxboy soon. Various days for local kids, I think we are last, so have been hearing stories - mothers all in pieces, kids, some initially wobbly and sobbly but all coming out very excoted! Poor you CMOT - I have taken a day holiday so I can go!

Everyone has such exciting lives!

Oh no, Scout, I am Truly and Irrevocably Dull.

But I do have Bolly. Would you like to share?

I remember the first day at school but we didn't get a taster session before that.

Mine isn't exciting - there's nothing more tedious than airports imo

I have a meeting to go to Oxeye - booked months ago, and either a very long day, or I drive up tomorrow evening and still get back late

DS will be fine though - he skipped into his previous visit, and is going on a day when a nursery friend who is already going to the kindergarten will be there

I have put off first day at school until next year. Phew!

Have just been watching Spring Watch with loads of scenes from our immediate neighbourhood where we frequently walk and one reserve where DH used to work.

Wriggle tried to watch with me but kept making suspicious snoring noises, so we went to clean her teeth. When we had finished, she swayed slightly and asked, "Please, Mummy, am I allowed to close my eyes now?" Bad Bad Bad Mummy forcing exhausted child to watch Improving Nature Film.

Latest on menagerie: Racingracingpigeon made use of his go faster stripes to leave home, no doubt having been cuddled quite enough.

Have butted on to your thread, Racing, with a probably useless suggestion.

Oh dear about racingracingpigeon. His stay was brief but glorious.

Bolly is good, thank you very much!

I have many, many years to wait for the first day of school. However, BabyScout may get some nursery experience sooner than I excepted as I may be eligible for respite nursery while I start my treatments. Fingers crossed -- it would be nice to know it's there if needed.

I finished making treats for Seniors tomorrow and so far have resisted the urge to test one for quality control. Would anyone like a Mars Bar Cupcake (though there is no cake involved)?

Racing -- Never underestimate the healing power of cuddles on go faster stripes.

small useless fact**... when knitting plastic bag yarn with chop sticks... purl stitch is easier than knit.

** useless until you want to knit your plastic bags into something useful .

I'm making a waste-coat for a recycling themed show. The plastic was binding on metal knitting needles, SiL was doing great stuff on bamboo needles, I have no wooden needles but did find some pointy chopsticks in a kitchen drawer.

farewell racing pigeon. Do you think he will cop it for being late home.

I am in awe of this latest evidence of UniS's crafting skills.

The Mars bar cupcake is delicious, Scout. May we have the recipe?

You'd have laughed at SiL and I the other night, both knitting away with great long strings of shredded plastic. DN2 is also a knitter. Boy has been decorating a yarn box ( a box, now covered in stickers) for her birthday. Being a 4 yr old boy he thinks his 9 yr old girlie cousin will like tractor pictures on her box.... ho hum. I steered him to add some more girlie ones too.

Not having a TV is great , lots more time to do stuff in. To wet and rainy today to want to be doing in the garden.

at knitting plastic - that's just so, so... worthy! has to be up their with
lentil weaving, doesn't it? Or yoghurt spinning?

Sorry, sorry - I'm not being mean - certainly not meaning to be mean, please don't take offence. Just in stitches (pardon the pun) at the plastic waistcoat and the plastic strings melding with the knitting needles.

Bye bye racingracingpigeon - are you sure M.Snake wasn't eyeing him up for some pigeon pie?

Oxeye - Jess is a good name for a cat.

Yes, I was also wondering where Catita has got to - hope she's ok.

Day 7 of being carless and it's chucking buckets and we have swimming lessons today. Then Seniors four villages away this evening.

S'Ok Thumb.. It its right up there with lentil weaving, tho it does show up how many plastic bags come into the house... so I'm not as lentil as all that it seems.

Lashings of ginger beer, scones, clotted cream and strawberries on the table for your Elevenses .

Hello all we are on day three of the pox (chicken)!!!

Milk is supposed to be playing an African village woman in the school play on Friday - I wonder if she will make it???

On the side I have an AIBU for you...

AIBU to insist that Milk continues to speak to the dog in English... she is a "cocker anglais" I sturnly explained - she REALLY can't understand French.

"Errrr but Mummmmmmy I don't think she can understands English either. You say something in English and she doesn't do it and Daddy talks to her in French and she still doesn't do it and anyway when she tries to talk she just goes waaaaaaaf waaaaf so I think it is OK to talk to her in French."

"NO! She is an English dog we have to speak English to her - otherwise she.... errrm.... well she just won't know!" I frowned... Yet I had a deep feeling that I had lost this argument!

Oxeye - I am sure you've mentioned your profession before. However, I don't think you're in the same line of work that I do - I fairly regularly work with that profession (!)(just in case you remove that post) now - Inquiries - latest was a Compulsory Purchase one that was really interesting. And I think I held my own being Xexamined by an ex one of those, now turned judge... Main problem with that one was the other side kept on introducing new evidence - or changing their evidence - the Inspector got quite fed-up I think. It closed in Dec, still not got the decision yet though - election won't have helped.

In addition to mistledog we have two chincillas - one named after the feathered aztec god (we use the first syllable only!) and the other after the food item that's either a chocolate or a mushroom found underground by pigs... Mistlechick is all for going to a pet shop and getting a lot more... including three fish, and 18 gerbils (in fact, we could probably just start with 2, I'm sure we'd get 18 pretty quickly!)

Sometimes DH can be quite efficient - I sent him a list of 3 things to do yesterday lunchtime, one of which was to get a tag for the dog - she's been missing it for about 3 months now - and he managed all of them!!! Must go out and use the slug pellets on the newly planted out runner beans whilst there are still some left. Major slug and snail problem!

Off to straw the strawberries.

Hi ladies,

Back from Connemara! Had a great time. I'll read through the last few pages now and see how you've all been getting on.

Coffee anyone?

I've just been our dispensing slug pellets. I've made a jug of hot chocolate if anyone would like some.

Has anyone got any reliable method of deterring foxes? I'm utterly fed up with the damage they cause digging in the beds and burrowing under the fence (despite my fortifications). I heard on the radio yesterday that one should, ahem, get a gentleman to mark the garden as his territory. I may have to send SmallBloke out, after a few beers and under cover of darkness.

Small bunch - mistlechick would be very happy to oblige - but I'm not sure whether chick's work as well as cocks ifyswim! He rather enjoys alfresco weeing and will do so whenever the chance occurs... even to the extent of rushing outside to wee in the garden, then rushing back in to wash his hands

How about one of those motion sensors triggering a spray jet of water?

and at the thought of Mistlechick paying a lightning visit just for an al fresco wee.

I have just posted in gardening to ask whether the motion detectors (or anything else) actually work. I think the problem is that our house is on a hill and so the garden which backs on to ours is lower, so although I've put wire mesh below our fence, it's still too easy to get underneath it. I've just found frog entrails on the lawn.

Bl@@dy wildlife.