Return of the plumber

Today I had occasion to call up the immortal plumber. Contrary to what regular readers may believe, the reason is not that I am wasting away from want of his enchanting company. The thing is that when he sledgehammered his way through the bathroom wall and removed the bathtub faucet, he also removed the little rosette-type things [or whatever they’re called] that shield the screws that attach the faucet to the wall. And I want them back. Because it looks absolutely stupid like it is now.

So I called him up, ‘Hi, it’s YT blablabla… rosettes blablabla… looks stupid.’

Immortal plumber [in a (mono)tone of supreme superiority]: They’ll be in the bathroom.
YT: They’re not.
IP: If I take them off I always leave them in the bathroom.
YT: Well, they’re not there.
IP: They should be there.
YT: They’re not.
IP: Somebody must have thrown them out.
YT: Nobody threw them out…
IP [struggling to maintain zen-like tone]: Well I certainly didn’t throw them out!
YT: Well, they’re gone now.
IP: Then somebody must have removed them from the area.

[A doubtful YT heads for the bathroom to double-check]

YT [checks window sill, behind Venetian blind, sees one rosette-type thing]: Oh, here’s one of them!
IP [triumphant] See? The other one is there, too.
YT [marvels at IP's ability to see great distances and through walls] No, there’s only one.
IP: If one is there, the other one is there, too.
YT: The other one is not here.
IP: Then somebody must have thrown it out.
YT [exasperated] Look. There is only one rosette-type thing here. I don’t know where the other one is, who threw it out, or if it walked out by itself. How can we handle this situation?
IP [annoyed] OK, OK, I’ll get you another rosette-type thing, all right? [Changes into martyr] I have no idea what it looked like, but…
YT: It’s one of those antique-look things…
IP [annoyed again]: Yes yes, I can’t remember what it’s like. [Martyr again] But I’ll get you another rosette. Don’t worry.

Already YT is breathless with anticipation at the prospect of the plumber’s delightful discourse first thing tomorrow morning.

THE WEATHER
I couldn’t believe my eyes this morning: half of Mt. Esja was actually white with snow! Which can only mean one thing: all those blueberries we left behind are now officially dead and buried. [Sniff. They would have made such an excellent pie.] And yes, it was pretty damn cold today, what with the wind from the north and the windchill factor. Still, headed out on a mini-hike with EPI’s colleagues up in the Heiðmörk nature reserve, then had a barbecue replete with burgers and hot dogs and beer, before heading home. By that time we were freezing our buns off, so it was not a moment too soon. Current temps are 6°C and daybreak was at 05.59, nightfall at 20.49.