Damn and blast, and a mystery solved

Building work finally began on our roof and terrace today. Guess who had a capital A arse of a day.

Our builders Tom and Olaf arrived bright and early. As predicted, our dog Mia was baffled by the invasion of strange men bearing large tools. She planted herself squarely under a ladder on our terrace that was about to be demolished, and refused to budge. (Pit bulls are very stubborn. View large to see the look in her eyes.) Fortunately, it didn't take Mia long to decide that these men were just 2 more people for her to flirt with. She took a particular shine to Olaf, and wanted to spend all her time getting to know him, NOT a good idea when a bloke's busy with a jackhammer.

So my day was largely spent trying to keep the bloody dog indoors and out of harm's way. Moses had better luck parting the Red Sea, I'm sure. I also ferried many cups of coffee, tea, cake and lunch out to the workers. Did an impressive amount of sweeping. Horrors have been unearthed under the roof tiles and in the ancient guttering. At one point I found myself explaining to my partner Tim and our builder Tom why my small crème brûlée blowtorch would not be a suitable tool for roof repairs and they really needed to go find a proper blowtorch to rent. It all felt a bit surreal at times.

Clearly I need a lie-down and a very large drink, but first, the correct answer to yesterday's mystery blip.


It was fun to receive different guesses (many sensible, some hilarious) from people on Blip and also from friends on my Facebook wall, to wit:

- the bottom or inside of a ceramic bowl/plate/mug/vase
- a bolt
- the planet Jupiter
- part of a faucet
- the inside of a cement mixer
- a toilet float (if only Belgian toilet floats were that sexy)
- the opening of my car's petrol tank
- a wok-type thing
- my sink drain
- the bottom of a saucepan

The prize for the correct answer goes to maxellis on Blip who guessed that it was "something that had been heated like a burner on a stove of some kind," and to Jaki and Jennifer on Facebook who guessed it was a wok-saucepan type thing. Bingo.

What it is, is a newly-seasoned carbon steel wok. Seasoning a carbon steel pan requires it to be subjected to very high heat, first unoiled and then oiled, to give it a non-stick coating. I liked how the very hot metal took on a blueish-yellowish tinge and reflected the red of the chair I had placed it on so I could snap the picture. Mystery solved.

Congratulations, Max, Jaki and Jennifer! Your prizes - a generous barrowload each of builders' rubble - are on their way to you via Dusty Dog Courier.