Last night I caught water in the very act of dripping through my dining room ceiling. I have covered the chest under the Fatal Spot with newspaper, and the drips made a very audible quick staccato-sound. I phoned the young ladies upstairs. Someone, indeed, had just had a bath. She hadn't used the shower-head, and hadn't splashed (I was told), so the fault must be somewhere in the plumbing.
Earlier in the day, I had succeeded in actually speaking to the owner of the flat. As I feared, she doesn't employ a letting agent. We go back quite a way, Mrs Carson and I -- the last time this happened, she did have an agent -- it simplifies the transaction enormously, from my point of view. But I had guessed from the upper-class arrogance of both tenant and landlord that this time she might be letting, even, to a daughter and her mates, and therefore thought she could do without an agent -- since they cost, and the only inconvenience would be to me. None of the young ladies has "Carson" for a surname, but that proves nothing, these days.
She will get onto it, she said, and get back to me. I phoned her again when I caught the drip in action, just to keep her au fait with events. Watch this space.
When I write about our country neighbours, I avoid mentioning names, and I am stingy with the names of the village and the glen, just in case the neighbour should be addicted to Google. MRS CARSON, however, is welcome to read every syllable of this. I suspect she's not a Google'r.
The Ribwarmer
It's finished. It looks really good. The new peripheral i-cord is still slightly tight, so I think I will block it. Perhaps when it's dry I'll get my husband to take a picture of me wearing it.
Other Knitting
I sorted out the yarn, the needles, the pattern-aids today for the striped Koigu sweater like Jamie's which I mean to knit for my daughter. They're in "the box" to go to the country with us next time. Pattern-aids being my own pattern for Jamie's sweater, Meg Swansen's issue of "Woolgathering" devoted to Elizabeth's Percentage System, and the book "Knitting Great Basics" by Vicky Square which consists pretty well entirely of schematics with matching stitch-numbers.
I don't think I mentioned that I was wandering around John Lewis recently, partly in search of the annual Kitchen Item which I like to buy myself in January. I failed on that one -- too much choice -- but bought ANOTHER four skeins of Debbie Bliss' "Maya". This will probably be a straight-up-and-down v-necked vest, also for self. But the ourchase reveals a certain weakness of character.
But I've now got the famous alien scarf pattern, done in shadow-knitting. It derives from the Stitch 'n Bitch book, but was reprinted in the Guardian last week. I'm keen to do that for an alien-loving grandson.
Non-knit
Indulge a proud mother: http://mag.udn.com/mag/money/itempage.jsp?f_SUB_ID=621
Jean, you have my sympathies on your drip. We have been experiencing our own (tracked down, we think, to the showerhead in DS's bathroom, after much trial and error and removal of drop ceiling) into our basement. We, sadly, have no Mrs. Carson as we own, not rent, so are currently waiting for the plumber to arrive (we're not an emergency--and told him so).
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