Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 2536

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 2536
by Angharad

Copyright© 2014 Angharad

  
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“What were you thinking about, Auntie Cathy?” asked Cindy.

“I was thinking back to when my mother taught me how to make a dress.”

“Wow, you were lucky, my mum can hardly sew a button on.”

“I thought you could do your own these days?” I threw back at her.

“Yeah, but it’s nicer when someone does it for you.”

“Is it?” I mused out loud. “If you’re very busy somebody doing something for you, which you could do yourself if there was more time, like making a cup of tea...” None of them took the hint. “Like making a cuppa, you mean?”

“Yeah, Auntie Cathy, we can all make tea for ourselves but it tastes much better when someone makes it for you.”

But they don’t in this house they’re too bloody thick. “Hmm, I could just do with one.”

“What about my dress?” asked Danni.

“It’ll have to wait while I make myself a cuppa, won’t it?”

“Make her a cuppa, Cind, or we’ll never get started,” Danielle urged her friend.

“I’ll do it,” sighed the brain, strolling off to the kitchen.

“Make Cindy one as well.”

“Zap—you’re a cup of tea,” said Trish turning at the doorway. Cindy nearly collapsed in laughter.

“That is so funny,” she said tears running down her face. Given that Trish has very good dramatic or comedic timing meant that the throwaway was delivered very well, but I still think the girl needs to get out more. “You’re all so funny, it’s one of the reasons I like to come.”

Some people seem easily pleased, but then we all fell about laughing watching her reaction, which was funnier than the joke, especially when you’ve heard it ad nauseum.

I cleared the dining table of the decorative centre piece and spread the velvet protector across the table. We’d work on the table, or try to, if necessary we also had the floor, but my back preferred working at a decent height rather than crawling round the carpet.

Trish brought the two teas back on a tray and Cindy and I thanked her for her trouble. The first thing, measure your model. I took the tape out of my sewing basket and called out the measurements in inches—they all looked at me as if I were a cavewoman. I’d been brought up with both systems, SI in school and university and imperial at home. It was my parents’ stand against becoming part of a European super state, to ask for pints of milk and pounds of spuds. I’m happy with either, it’s when you mix them the wotsit hits the fan, or not if the directions to the transmitter are mixed.

For the next hour we trimmed the pattern, pinned it to the material and marked then cut it out. By that time it was time for another cuppa and food. David had done some scrambled egg with smoked salmon on top with crumpets as a base. Two of those and I was full as a pig. I did find room to force down some more tea—I’m such a martyr—before reconvening our dressmaking class. This dress was going to be more complicated than the one my mother had shown me, including things like facings and bound hems. I’d bought several lots of petersham and bias binding. I meant the dress would take longer to make, but they’d learn a few new tricks as we went along, plus the fact the material would run unless it was over-sewn or overlocked as they sometimes call it.

After lunch,Trish and Livvie had had enough of playing at seamstresses and went off to play on their computers. I asked them not to reprogram the international space station. Trish went off cackling. I’ve searched her part of the room but I can’t find a broomstick or cauldron.

Cindy and Danielle stuck it for another hour before admitting they’d had enough. “I didn’t realise dressmaking was so complicated, Auntie Cathy.”

“It depends on the pattern and the material. This one will run unless we either overlock it or bind the hems with bias binding.”

“I thought cutting them with pinking shears also stopped it running.”

“It will with some but not this one, so we over-sew the seams and bind the hem. It gives a more professional finish and it’s more robust regarding washing.”

“I’m really enjoying it, I wish Sister Ignatius had your patience and way of teaching us.”

I shrugged, it wasn’t my place to comment on other teachers. I know Trish calls her Sister Ignoramus, and torments the life out of the poor woman, or did until I stopped them doing scripture lessons, but they do current affairs and Trish clashed with her over global warming. The pope has declared he’s going to help stop it. If he can, I’ll consider the things I do small beer by comparison and admit it to anyone. The problem is global and somehow despite Christianity growing in leaps and bounds in China, I can’t see them cutting CO2 emissions because some well meaning chap in a white dress asked them. But I’m pleased to have him on side—better than his predecessor suggesting transsexuals were the cause of all sin or something similar. I ask you, when did I last commit a sin—apart from that—okay those ones. I’ll have to ask for a few more to be taken into consideration.

Cindy sat and talked with me while Danni was upstairs shoving a broom handle somewhere quite tender, and may well be walking funny for a short time afterwards. She asked me about dormice and how I got into them. I explained that I was better at counting things than chopping things up or boiling them in test tubes, having done things like counted hedgehogs when I was a schoolkid. I was invited to help a postgrad student at Sussex and fell in love with the little critters. It’s perhaps ironic that I went on to become an authority on them and he disappeared without trace—I think he went to Canada to study wolves or polar bears or unicorns. I took over his project, transferred it to Portsmouth, did my master’s and doctoral degree and the rest is history so to speak.

“Danni said she sometimes comes with you when you count your dormice?”

“She’s come a couple of times.”

“D’you think I could, I’d love to learn more about them. Your film was so interesting.”

“You want to come on a survey?”

“Yes please.”

“Unless we have a very early spring, that probably won’t be until late April or even May.”

She nodded.

“Okay. I have to warn you it’s hard walking in rough woodland so you’ll need clothing and footwear to cope with it. If it rains, you’ll probably get rather wet.”

“I’ll cope.”

“Okay, remind me in the spring and you can come along.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. I know I’ll never be as clever as you or Trish, but I’d like to be part of it.”

“Sometimes I’d rather work with enthusiasm rather than clever people. Enthusiasts do as you tell them clever people often think they know better.”

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Comments

Problems

Angharad's picture

I have water dripping through my lounge ceiling and am waiting for the plumber to call me back. Depending upon what the problem is, could determine if I'll have time to write tomorrow.

Angharad

Water dripping

through the ceiling is never good, We had something similar happen to us when the pipe to the bath became disconnected, I noticed a little while after the bath had been used that the ceiling seemed to sagging. We called out the plumber who fixed the pipe, And his answer to the ceiling was simplicity itself, he got a ladder, climbed up a few steps and stuck his screwdriver through the plaster. The water escaped, However thankfully we had put a waterproof sheet down, So no real damage was done. Can't say the same about the ceiling though, We had to have new plasterboard and plaster put up!

Hope it goes really well for you with the plumber Angharad, I have my fingers crossed , At least it did not happen over Christmas if it had i dread to think what you might have had to pay

Kirri

I assume ...

... you don't live in a bungalow and the water is from the plumbing and not the roof. The time to start worrying is when the water's dripping from electrical fittings. I try to avoid plumbing though I've repaired the CH boiler a few times. Electricity is far easier to handle - electrons don't drip from disconnected wires and are easily made safe by pulling a fuse. Can you turn off the water at the stopcock? (and that's not a euphemism)

Be careful Ang. water and electricity are not good companions. Hope it's a simple problem and not too expensive.

Rob

Sorry to hear about your

Sorry to hear about your water leak problem. Looks like another wonderful way to start out a new year. NOT. Janice Lynn

Bummer!

Floorboards up and carpets up in the upstairs bedroom I presume as the bathroom's usually above the kitchen in most British houses. Here's hoping it's a small leak (Possibly the heating). If it was a big leak the ceiling would be down by now.

Why do so many water and electrical problems seem to occur around Christmas time? It's reckoned that the firsts throws of cold weather bring the first tests of stress to any aging systems especially heating and electrical as they are switched on for longer periods (often all day for some people,) and then the weakened spots get exposed. As a land-lord I know this seems to certainly be the case!

Hope you find an efficient plumber and (and an honest one.) I'd offer to help myself but I'm too far away. I used to de many repairs myself but now all gas central heating and large electrical repairs have to be done by registered installers in the UK and it's difficult finding one quickly and cheaply. When one finds a good trade's-man it pays to keep him on-board.

Sadly, I never learned dress-making and a beautiful sowing machine is now lying idle upstairs. I suppose I could go to dress-making classes but clothes are so cheap these days and I don't really have the time.

Hope everything is resolved quickly,

Bev.
xxx

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Water leak

Hope your water leak does not become life imitating art (re: Part 27 - Totally Insane).

Warmest wishes and hopes for a wonderful New Year. And a million heartfelt thank you's for all the wonderful hours of reading pleasure you have given me and so many others.

Lots of hugs, Sarah Ann

The leak

Angharad's picture

is from a radiator upstairs. It's under control and I hope will be fixed soon, just more stress to my already overworked little body.

Angharad

Should be an easy fix, then.

Either tighten up/resolder the joint or, more expensively, replace the radiator. Fingers crossed!

Rob

3-D Cindy?

Podracer's picture

Has she more to her than we have seen before? Nice to see the girl has better than "Ooh the cute liddle furry thing" in mind.
Not fond of plumbing, our last was a lovely episode of corroded fittings and backache; I hope yours is straightforward Ang. Yes plenty of domestic breakdowns seem to coincide with the cold, and inconveniently with holidays and closed businesses.

"Reach for the sun."