Scotland lost to France.

And I didn't find the iPad.

I'm grateful for all your help. But nothing worked. I search in ever-widening circles, and keep returning to where-I-had-it-last and where-it-ought-to-be. Clearly, I have laid it down somewhere very unusual. No one was in the house except us on Friday. Two people came to the door, but neither crossed the threshold and anyway the iPad wouldn't have been in the outer hall. My husband suspects flesh-and-blood evil, but it couldn't be.

Friday lunchtime, when the crisis began, I came in here to check email, noticed that the iPad wasn't here as I had more or less expected, but also found that this computer wasn't connected. That problem had to be dealt with first – it turned out the router (or whatever the damned thing is called) had to be reset. Not a major problem; it has happened before, although not often.

But as the greater tragedy then unfolded, it left me feeling that the Evil Force which had come in here and grabbed the iPad had been so Evil that it disturbed the equilibrium of the router. I know this is absurd. The two events were entirely unrelated. But you can see how people get to be superstitious.

The iCloud hasn't worked, so far. It says that it can't find any devices of mine because they are all offline. I'm not entirely sure that the iCloud knows about the iPad anyway – the only thing listed was my new MacBook. That leaves the option of having someone ring me up using FaceTime. I will explore that one. Roger in CT?

Maureen, I was particularly comforted by your suggestion that I march out and get a new iPad. I will, if this continues any length of time. My universe is contracting rather briskly, but John Lewis' computer dept is still within reach.

But I began, yesterday, to try to adjust to my new life without an iPad.

The linen square is nearly finished (it needn't have taken so long). I'll polish it off and contemplate it this evening, It is very badly knit, but that's not the point. We're looking at the texture and drape of the fabric, and the process – could I bear knitting eight of them? I can well imagine that on Hellie and Matt's wedding day, I will be sitting there in my pew practising the next Pocket Square and the groomsmen will be sporting pocket handkerchiefs. (And no one will notice, on that happy day.)

Skeindalous, no, I hadn't seen Franklin's new post about the lace square. I love that sort of thing. It's very tempting. Thank you.

But maybe I'll drown my troubles in another couple of inches of Archie's sleeve, this evening.