Hello there Splodgies!
I've had a bit of a pavlova of a day. I know that's not the right word, but I like pavlova and everybody knows what I mean anyway.
So after having worked a lot on Friday and all weekend I was hoping to have a nice long lie in today. So I was surprised to be woken by a knock on my door a few minutes before 8am. It was Mr. Downstairs- He was in a panic because somewhere between him doing his washing up and going to get his stuff before he went to work, a valve under the sink had burst and there was water going all over the kitchen and spilling out into the utility room. After about 15 minutes of us both going "Oh shit, this is very wet" We were able to turn the water off and he had to go to work shortly after, so I set about trying to work out what to do.
Obviously the first thing I did was call the landlord. Luckily for us, he happens to also be a plumber. It took me ten attempts on various phone numbers to get through to him, but eventually when I did get through half an hour later he said "No problem, I'll be there in about 20 minutes" and he was! He fixed the problem under the sink, and told me what to do if it happened again. Then he brought out this device:
THE AQUA-VAC. It's literally a hoover for water. A HOOVER FOR WATER! I got a close up shot of it because I was so impressed.
Once he'd fixed the problem, he vacuumed up all the water and mopped away the strange sediment left behind. He was super cheery whilst he was going about it, and was even humming and chatting to me whilst he did it. When he left, I thought "Well you can't ask for more than that in a landlord! Good for you, Mr. landlord!"
So I went back to bed for a few hours, as I felt like I'd definitely earned it and I had plenty of time before my online grocery shopping order was due to arrive and I'd even be able to have a shower and everything on top of my nap. Super duper. So I went ahead and had my nap and my shower and by this time it was 1.45- so I had 15 minutes before the delivery slot began. Plenty of time!
....OR SO I THOUGHT. As I sauntered into my room I happened to glance out of the window. There was a missed call on my phone and a voice mail. The delivery man had arrived early...! Dammit. So I had to go downstairs in my pyjamas with wet hair and no glasses on to open the door. This added to my pavlova of a day. But nothing was too drastic, I'd sorted out the flood problem, I'd put away all my shopping, and I'd made a cup of coffee so I could finally watch Call The Midwife in peace.
It suddenly occurred to me that it would be a great idea for me to put my laundry in whilst I was watching Call The Midwife because when the programme finished it would be nearly ready to hang up. So I went downstairs and threw my clothes in the machine. Moments later, this happened:
The rope (which had been frayed and damaged since I'd moved in, but hadn't been problematic until now) had snapped. The whole drying rack fell on me and I felt very very silly. Not to mention hysterical (the angry/crazy version of hysterical, not the funny version) at how many seemingly massive things had gone wrong on my first day off after three flat out days of work. For dramatic licence I also took this picture:
Because that's not exactly how it fell, but it is exactly how it made me feel. Though it was quite fun hacking through the super tight knots with my favourite knife (Nej, if you're reading this, it's the one I called the jungle knife whilst we were living together). It felt very much like it looks like cutting through rope feels like when you see it done in films or on the TV. Initially seems hopeless, but quickly fruitful and successful.
I called the landlord again- and he told me to put it in a corner and he could come and replace the rope next week as it wasn't an emergency. But having already put my clothes in the machine, and not having a tumble drier, I had to do something so that I'd have somewhere to put my damp clothes when the cycle was finished. So I constructed this makeshift clothes drier:
It may seem like the obvious thing to do, but required more thinking about where to put it rather than what to do. I had to find a place in the kitchen where it wasn't blocking anything. I couldn't think of anywhere more appropriate to put the drier than this (other than on the ceiling, where it belonged of course) but managed to find a spot where you could just about get through to the downstairs bathroom, but could still open the big cupboard under the stairs where we keep lots of food (I dunno if the correct term is "pantry" or "larder", both seem too posh for what it actually is, but whatever). So I felt quite accomplished. And when the cycle was over, I hung up my washing like a pro.
Maybe tomorrow will be more restful? I do have to buy a light bulb, and all manner of things can happen when you step outside your door...
Today, this is me:
See you tomorrow!
-Rosa
x
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