Alexa saves the day!!!!

So I was buzzing around the house trying to finish off the laundry, including making the guest bed, putting clothes away, and folding towels. Mission accomplished. I managed to get the filter and pump cleaned in the pond, and decided that the water level was a bit low, so I grabbed the hose and let the water run. I set a 30-minute timer (Alexa - the only thing we use it for in our house). Murphy had already been walked, but Lexi needed a walk, so after the cleaning crew arrived, I took her out for a thirty-minute walk.  

When I arrived at the house, I could hear Alexa beeping in the kitchen. OH MY GOD!!! I totally forgot I left the water running. Can you imagine if I had left the house for the airport with the water running? And who would have known it was running? It would have been a costly and messy mistake. Thank goodness for Alexa!!!! I ALWAYS set that timer when I'm filling the pond!

At the last minute, I decided there was one more quilt I wanted to take with me, and I had to cram it into a suitcase, and then it was time to go. The girls got a cookie and were unhappy that they couldn't take it to the backyard to eat it. But I had to leave. I had three suitcases and my backpack. When you choose Uber, you get to choose a regular-sized car or an XL, which is larger, like an SUV or van. I didn't need that, but I also didn't need a Prius coming to pick me up. 

Thankfully, the guy had enough room in the car for the suitcases and even helped to get them in and out. Oops - I must remember to tip him. I haven't done that yet on the app. Yep -- there's an app for that! There's a flipping app for everything these days. 

One little SNAFU with the luggage drop-off at the airport. I'm not sure what was happening, as one bag didn't like being scanned, but a ticket agent soon took care of it, and then I was through security, and all was good. I had plenty of time to spare. Look at me --- PLENTY of time. 

I learned something new at the airport. I typically stop at this one store and pick up a sandwich and a bottle of water. It can cost over $20 for those two items. This time, I decided to go only to Tim's and get everything there, which I remember was equally expensive. I bought a medium tea, a cookie, a bottle of water, and a breakfast sandwich for $15. I guess I won't be buying my water or sandwich from that other place any longer!!!

Then I actually got to sit in the boarding area and enjoy my tea. I met up with my colleague, and my boss eventually showed up as we were boarding.

The flight was pretty uneventful, which is always a great thing. 

WAIT -- I had a few minutes before I left and I did this. Of course I did!!!! I grabbed all the lighter purple pieces and laid them on the table. Only one color left after this round!!! I even managed to get a few pieces of the puzzle in place, and you can see the work along the table's bottom edge. OK -- I confess - obsessed!!!!

Almost done with the gradient color jigsaw puzzle.

In the Facebook group, there's a participation event where a puzzle style is selected each month, and you can post what you have done. This month was rainbows, gradients, and color. It's just a way to keep everyone engaged, and I think it's great. Not everyone strictly adheres to the theme, but I guess they do what they can with what they have. So far this month, there are 450 posts of their puzzles. Last month, it was close to 1,000. I am going to make two posts, as I have another puzzle that I want to get done this month as well, as it fits within the theme. Wait until you see that one! 

The three of us took a cab together to the hotel. We needed a van, as between the three of us, we had nine suitcases!!! I know -- it's crazy, but that's what happens when you travel to a quilt show, and you need quilts for display purposes. And samples for my presentations next week. 

There was only one cart at the hotel, so I bundled my three suitcases like this and got them to the room in short order. It works like a charm. 

How to move three suitcases at the same time

Of course, I was at the complete opposite end of the hall from the elevator!!! 

A long walk down the hallway

That would be my room -- 725 in the far corner. Look at the size of 724. Hmmm -- must be a suite, but this room is plenty big enough for me. 

As far from the elevator as you can get!

And look --- my name on the screen when I walked in the room. They must do that remotely. It didn't stay on very long. I don't think I have ever turned on the TV in a hotel room. 

My name in lights

I had one largish quilt at the top of each of the two big suitcases, and the first thing I did in the room was get them out. I didn't want them squished for the show. This is one, and well, you can't see the other, but it sure cheered up the room a thousand percent. I even remade the bed this morning, which I rarely do in the hotel. I never have my room made up either. I don't have that service at home; it seems silly to insist someone make my bed for me while I am away. 

My bed in the hotel

I love this quilt above. It's one I taught online a couple of years ago—sorry, can't run downstairs to check my poster for the year. The designer had a single word on each side of the square quilt. I loved the idea of words, but I wanted something more. Something that spoke to me, so I found a great quote. By the way, I just checked the blog, and it was 2023.  

Check out the quote - I found one that split nicely into four sections, and one section is appliqued onto each side of the quilt. 

Part one of the quote

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Isn't that just the perfect quote for me? There are so many good quotes, and we need to keep them close to us as reminders of what we want to accomplish, who we are, and how we feel. Anyway, I'm glad I remembered that quilt at the last minute and that it's on my bed. While others are comfortable staying on a steady course, I would be bored to death. So in everything I do, I try to find something new outside my comfort zone! 

The first order of business after checking in was to find some food. My breakfast sandwich didn't go far. There is a restaurant on the main floor, so we grabbed something light, with the intention of going down later to eat. Well, later never came as I wasn't hungry - I had brought the leftovers of our nachos to the room, and I finished that off. And that's OK. My eating has been so erratic over the last week; it's good to try to settle things down. Sadly, there won't be any big donuts on this trip!

But I had a huge laugh when I saw this on the menu. I took a picture and sent it to KU. No deep frying for this restaurant!! I don't know why, but the smell of air frying makes me ill. OK -- so I'm exaggerating - I don't get sick, but I find the smell obnoxious. And I know -- it's probably all in my head!!!

Air frying in the hotel kitchen

WAIT --- when will chain restaurants follow suit? Instead of hot, greasy fries, we're going to get air fries? 

Then Margaret had to go to the drug store, so I tagged along to get some steps in. I spotted this in the magazine rack and bought it. I know!!!! I got sucked in, but the cover promises so much. I want to see what all the hype is about. What I'm afraid of is that I'm going to see apps or commands that will suck the fun out of my day. Planning, scheduling, and a whole lot more. It's basically saying that if I let AI do stuff for me, I'll lose weight, have well-panned meals, a completely decluttered house, and save time. But where the heck is the fun in that? 

And I'm saving time so I can do what? In my case, that is working on a puzzle or sewing, but for others, it means spending more time on their phones. With all the AI, we will be married to our phones and have ZERO skills in our brains. I know people argue that they have to give AI the commands so they are still in control. WAIT—before any of us judge, let me read it. 

I'll be reading it with a very open mind (OK -- I'm going to try to maintain an open mind), but I suspect most of it will never happen in my life and is for people who—well, not for me! 

I'm going to call that research reading!! I want to know why I should or shouldn't be using this technology. Notice how it says, I can streamline my schedule? Could it really do that? I doubt it! Be open!!!! 

OK -- here's a tricky question for you. I am sure that every one of you has a shower in your house. What's the one thing about a shower that annoys the heck out of you? It doesn't matter if the shower is in the tub or standalone - the same silly setup exists. 

What is that one thing that every one of us hates!!!

Well, have a look at the shower in my room. Here is the right side. 

The right side of the shower

And here is the other side. There is a solid glass wall on the right, and it's open on the other side. Although I originally thought water would splash everywhere, I really like this style. There is less glass to keep clean!

The left side of the shower

Did you notice anything unusual? Look again. What's ONLY on the right, and what's ONLY on the left? 

Yep—the showerhead is on the right, and the controls are on the left. Now - doesn't that make super logical sense? How many times have you popped in the shower and either scaled or frozen to death as you tried to adjust the water temperature? This is brilliant. I want a new shower at home, and I want this in it!!!

It's something so simple, so why haven't I seen it before? 

But here's a new puzzle to contemplate in the shower. Can you tell me what this bar is for? 

A mystery bar in the shower

It's on the left side of the shower, near the floor. I have two theories. Of course I do. Can you guess what they are? 

The position of the bar

Theory number one -- you put your foot on there to brace yourself as you get shampoo and soap from the dispensers. Those dispensers, by the way, are brilliant. They have been in hotel rooms for many years, and there is no bar of soap to slip on, no waste, no plastic bottles. Just brilliant!!!!! By the way, it's easy to get the shampoo out of the dispenser, so I doubt that's the reason the bar is there. 

Theory number two - should you slip on the floor and can't get up, is that bar there to drag yourself away from the water jet and try to grab the other grab bar? LOL!!!!

I have no idea what that bar is for. So now I have a new mystery to solve. 

OK -- so I Googled it! It's to put your foot on while you shave your legs (seriously?), or you exfoliate your legs/feet. Good lord—I would have thought of that—I really would have!!! By the way, that was Google's AI that told me that. 

But here's the thing - I am confused by AI and Google. I know that Google has AI, but it also had an amazing search engine once upon a time. That seems to be replaced by their version of AI. To me, Google's AI is just a search engine on steroids. It's all very confusing!

It doesn't matter -- we now know why that bar is there. Personally, I preferred my theories. They are more fun! 

Well, it's setup day at Quilt Canada - my favorite day of any quilt show, and I can hardly wait to get started!!!! NOT!!!!! But it's fun to chat with others. OH -- as I entered the line at Tim's in the airport, the person in front of me said hello! One of my students from an online class!!! It's so hard to recognize people in person when you used to seeing only their face. I'm not good at facial recognition. I'm sure that's the first of many encounters!!! 

All kidding aside, I am not fond of setup day, but the hard work pays off when you see the booth set up and all the quilts and other projects on display. So much eye candy, and it's going to be a great show! I also have TWO things I want to check out while I'm here. I am remembering that I don't have a ton of room in my suitcases!!! But I could always wear several layers of clothes home, or I could pack a bit tighter, and I'll have room for the two things that I hope to buy here. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

PS-- I know you are anxiously waiting for me to post the list of classes. I still need to put the dates in my calendar! I know—perhaps I should ask AI to do that for me. But seriously --- I will try to post at least the projects I have chosen, so you will be aware of what I will be teaching. 

I will get the dates, costs, and more links up, probably next week, but in the meantime, this gives you an idea of what is happening. I think this was all I decided on based on the feedback I got from you! 

There is nothing to do at this point in time. I am not taking signups; I don't have dates yet, but I will get the information to you ASAP. All classes are on ZOOM - once a month, lasting for one hour. My rates are ridiculously cheap. And be sure to pass this information along to anyone who wants to know. I will be sending out emails and posting online as soon as I get a chance to put those dates in the calendar. 

Here are the classes: 

• One class is My Kinda Town - paper pieced. While I have chosen a specific pattern, I suppose you could pick any paper-pieced pattern if people absolutely wish. Will be several classes - not determined yet. 
• One class will be on scraps—9 or 10 sessions.
• One class will be an ongoing quilt with crazy blocks to work on (9 or 10 sessions) - 40 shades of grey.
• One class will be handwork - wool applique - I have a specific project in mind, but anything goes. Here is a link to the kit I highly recommend. Keep in mind that there are six kit styles, and within each kit, there are four colorways. See the picture below. If you are at Quilt Canada, I think Wonderfil will have those kits, so you may want to get one. Otherwise, I'll give you local resources to buy. 

40 Shades of Grey

Sue Spargo precut wool applique kits.

OMG!!!!! I forgot that we are also doing Show and Tell by Elizabeth Hartman. I knew I was going to forget something.  No picture but search online

Writing quilt patterns

There is one area of my life that won't get cluttered with digital stuff, and that's Zoom. I think I have 5 GB of "free" storage, enough to store a month's worth of video recordings—about 12 hours or something like that. I get emails from Zoom if the account is getting close to full. Do I want to buy storage? No, and then I go in and delete the older videos! Yeah, me! One area that will never become cluttered! They will shut down the ability to record if you go over! Or so they say! I'm not testing that. 

That area is easy since it doesn't have history! 

I'm trying to get ready for my two presentations this morning. I'm a wee bit behind, but I have time! One is done, and one is almost complete. It's a matter of sorting the slides into a logical order, and I sometimes take MANY photos, and I don't need them all. So all is good! And without Bear to walk in the morning, I have oodles of time! 

On my big walk the other day, I spotted these tulips. Yep, the tulips are almost done in Vancouver and just starting here. Different growing seasons!

The tulips are just starting

When I was at Indigo, I browsed the few remaining quilt magazines. The numbers are dwindling, and many we no longer get. I heard the other day that Quiltmania recently shut down. They published three titles:  Quiltmania, Simply Moderne, and Simply Vintage.

Remember when I said that Quiltmaker made a double issue for the summer. How convenient for us! However, the publisher (Golden Peak Media) also combined Quick and Easy Quilts and McCall's Quilting. Hmmm - are they trying to tell us something? 

MORE double issues by Golden Peak Media

I've managed to empty one of the three giant suitcases. I'm in no rush, and I have all this week to get them empty. Only two more to go!

Suitcases to unpack

I went to the Paris Quilting Bee's quilt show in the afternoon. What a treat, as I hadn't been to a quilt show in a long time. I rarely use cash, so I loaded all my loonies and toonies into my "purse" - a Ziploc bag and got rid of some of that! I did NOT win any of the door prizes or penny draws, but I heard that my friend won TWO pairs of applique scissors. Two separate draws, and she won both! Yeah!!! Scissors are so important to the success of machine embroidery. 

I had put my tickets in on a couple of jigsaw puzzles, and I guess the powers that be were telling me that I did not need more puzzles. However, remember the door puzzle from the other day? I already had someone say they would take it off my hands once I was finished with it. The only problem is that I didn't buy it! Perhaps I need to go back!!!

The show had many beautiful quilts, but I will only share one with you. OH  MY GOSH! What a surprise to see this quilt pieced by Lorna Z. 

Radiant Light quilt

Deborah Edwards (Design Director at Northcott) designed the quilt. She wanted to dabble in quilt design and used one of her Northcott fabric collections called Radiance. 

The pattern

I got the lucky job of writing the instructions. That task took forever and darn near killed me as I provided pressing instructions. There were a lot of arrows in that pattern! It was made up of nine blocks, and well, it was a nightmare to write! I'm glad to see someone made it! 

The pressing instructions

Then we had a virtual retreat last night, and I confess that I got barely anything done. OH -- I made a binding for my Heartfelt Sampler! That was it. I MUST be more productive today. Although I'm OK with slacking off last night. I needed some downtime, but I have loads that need to be sewn today, and I should have no problem doing that while chatting with the group. 

The binding for Heartfelt Sampler

So, if you're around today with nothing to do, be sure to pop onto the Zoom call to say hello. 

Virtual Retreat - Sunday - April 28 -- starts at NOON (or perhaps a little bit later if we run over on the digital cutter club) 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

On that note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!

Heartfelt Sampler Reveal

The Heartfelt Sampler class is done! We started it in October and completed it right on time! I had seen the quilt somewhere online. The quilt was designed by a local quilter. She originally made the quilt for herself, which was displayed at a local quilt show. So many people asked for the pattern that she put together a pattern, which you can buy on her Etsy Shop. She also designed a mini version for those who did not want to make so many blocks!

Here is Sandy's original quilt. Yes, I screen-captured that from the Etsy website! Notice the background is made up of small squares. In keeping with her name in the quilt world - Scrappy Gal Quilt Co.- she added words about "using up" in the border. The heart is soft and pretty; note there is NO outside border. 

Sandy's quilt

Now, let's see what the group did. 

Let's start with the finished quilts. And by finished, I mean quilted and bound! This monochromatic version has words (they are there, but they are subtle), a final pink border, and a striped binding. 

Sharon

I'm not sure if it's the picture's orientation, but this one looks rectangular rather than square. The quilting on this one is almost completed. It's being done by hand, but notice that she has already bound it. That makes it look done! She added words, and I believe she said she wrote the words on with some sort of writing tool. I'll have to get more details on that. 

Sharon 

This person made the edge of the heart pronounced by adding a border. It shows up very dark in the photo, but the fabric is NOT that dark. Then, to smooth the edge, she added half-square triangles. You can't tell from this photo, but the background fabric was so busy that she got away with sewing it in stripes rather than squares. 

Katheleen

In this picture, the quilt is not quilted, but the heart shows up better in this photo than the one I have of it quilted. The background of many blocks uses the same values/colors as the background, and this heart looks very lacey. It's delicate and very pretty. You cannot see it in the photo, but she had various words machine embroidered on some blocks. That is a beautiful and subtle way to add words to any quilt. 

Brenda

And there's ONE more that was quilted and bound. This is a very romantic version of the heart quilt. It's very soft and looks gorgeous. She custom quilted it so the background and the heart would stand out a bit more from each other. 

So, five participants out of 29 completed the project. That's impressive!!!

Now, let's look at the quilt tops that were completed. 

It's interesting how some people look at all the pictures and lament that they lack high contrast, too many weird colors, or whatever. But here's the thing. We should embrace our quilts, figure out why we don't like them or why we like them, and use that as a learning experience for the next project. 

Many people used scraps for the entire quilt! Some had to piece fabric together to create large enough pieces, or they changed things as they went along, as in this next quilt. She had run out of the medium-to-dark value for the last blocks, so she added in some lighter backgrounds, which I think makes the quilt much more interesting! 

Sheila

The above quilt did not have words. It was interesting to see the dilemma many faced—words or no words. And if words will be added, how will I get them on the quilt? 

The next quilter used the same background fabric for the entire quilt, although she cut it up into squares and sewed them back together again. I think that keeps with the scrappy theme. Then, a final border of green. This is a curated scrap quilt in that she chose greens, gold, and a few other colors, but it was a restricted color palette. 

Pauline

Here's another one that is soft in values. It's OK to have a quilt that doesn't have a lot of content! She initially did not plan to put words on the quilt, but after seeing what others have done, she may rethink that!

Marg

This person was absolutely not going to put words on her quilt, but then she thought outside the box and added words!! The words are pieced together, and I love the effect. Some people changed the style of the words (piecing versus applique), and they came up with their own words. 

Karen

A very bright and cheery version. Isn't it amazing how different they look depending on the value and colors chosen? She ran out of neutral backgrounds, so she added in a couple with a bit of a pattern. Hey -- that works!!!

Lorna

Here's an example of another dilemma we had to deal with. How do you deal with the bottom border when you put the words around the quilt's perimeter? There is a very soft border of grey surrounding the heart. 

Heather

This person used the same fabric for the background and sewed it in strips, which works. Once that is quilted, no one will be the wiser. 

Nancy

That freed up some time, so she also made the mini. 

Nancy

Here's one more quilt top. It was fascinating to see all the finished quilts and tops!! It's a large quilt, so getting a picture of the entire thing is hard. This person used machine embroidery applique to add the words. 

Louise

Here's another quilt. The owner was NOT going to put words on it, but after she got the top together, she said, "Why not?" It looks fantastic; the colors are curated, so it has a defined color palette. 

Donna

Here is my quilt. I went with BROWN and, for the most part, only used my scraps. I had to dig into yardage to get enough squares for the background, and some of those squares are not exactly in the brown family, but that's OK. I attached the final two borders this morning, so the top is officially done. I learned a lot while adding the lettering using machine embroidery applique. 

It's the quote that gets me excited because it's how I look at everything I do! 

Elaine

That makes TEN quilt tops that are done. Yeah!!!

Now, let's have a peek at the quilts in progress. Some of the tops are so close to being done. I think this next one needs the lettering added to the borders, and then they can be sewn on. These fabrics are the leftovers from THREE previous projects!!!

Joanne

Here's unusual coloring, but I love how the values change. When I looked at it this morning, it almost seems like we are looking into a window to see the heart. It's super creative, and there's no need for words. They will get lost in that border. 

Darlene

The blocks are all together, and assembly has begun. This is made with batiks and looks gorgeous. Well, anything with batiks is gorgeous - OK -- not everything! 

Jody

This one is made with Tilde fabrics and is very soft, but it is going to look amazing once it's together. 

Kathi

Here's a very unique coloring. It has a very modern vibe, and that added grey border makes it appear to be floating off the background. 

Nancy

That makes five tops that are very close to completion. That accounts for 20 of the 29 people in the class. 

I know four are still working on piecing their blocks, and I had five people monitor the class, so that was a pretty good turnout!

I'm thrilled with the results, and it's always super fun to see how each person interprets the same pattern—changing colors or values, adding their spin to the borders, or the lack thereof. In this case, we also had the words. 

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the class—it was great fun. And YES, there will be another one in the fall. It's called Spice Market! So watch for more details later. I'm unsure where the picture is this morning, and I'm running out of time!!

I have two presentations this morning, and both are ready to go! But the girls and the boy will howl for their walk soon. I see it's raining again. Oh, joy!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

A RACE to the finish

It's our show-and-tell for The Heartfelt Sampler, and I really wanted to have my quilt top done. I have the presentation ready to go for this morning. All I can say is—you have to wait to see what I accomplished. There is one thing I'll say—overall, I'm happy with the results, but there is definitely room for improvement. So, guess what? I'm down a new learning path! Or should I say REFINING the knowledge that I have. 

The girls don't know it yet, but I'm sacrificing some of their walk time this morning to get a bit further ahead on my quilt top. SHHH!!!!

Speaking of walk time, this is the little guy. It was raining yesterday, so I put on his rain jacket. It has legs on the front and the back. He was NOT happy and didn't want to walk. So while we seemed to be out forever, he didn't go far!!! Doesn't this dog live in Vancouver, where it rains all the time? He should be used to this jacket! 

Rain jacket time

When we all got back from the walk, Lexi took up her guard position in front of DH's office. Bear didn't know how to get around, so he went into the living room to sit in the front window. Those steps so he could get into the bed were a godsend!! He gets up and down like he's done it his entire life! 

Lexi guarding DH's office

You know how we always say, "There's an app for that?" Last night, when I finally crawled into bed, I was notified that the front door was unlocked. Unusual activity. Hmm - I could go downstairs and lock the door. WAIT A MINUTE -- there's an app for that! So, yep -- I went into the app and locked the front door! Of course, the girls, the boy, and DH were all wondering what was happening! The lock is very noisy when it locks and unlocks. Don't worry, everyone -- Mom has it under control. 

Shoot -- I should have made DH go and lock it since he's the one who forgot to lock it in the first place!!!

I was off to Fabricland to find something to cut with my digital cutter. I know—that's a bit silly since I had tons of stuff here. But I wanted some specific fabrics and colors. I chuckled when I spotted this one in the rolls of outdoor fabric. I bought and made a bag from this MANY years ago. So much for fabrics disappearing. I have to say there were some beautiful fabrics. 

This fabric is still around!

WAIT—I have to make a project for QUILTsocial, and I could buy some decorator fabric and make something. Hmmm—what can one make for the great outdoors? Cushions? 

But all this followed me home. I know --- I can't wait to get started cutting it up! 

New fabrics to play with!

I knew my Heartfelt Sampler deadline and didn't have time to shop, but I needed a break. So, the intention was a quick trip in and out. That didn't happen. I kept running into staff members that I knew, and then my phone ran, and I needed to take that call (OK -- so call me a hypocrite for taking it while I was shopping!). But I had been waiting on that call for a few days and got a lot of information, so that was good. 

My apologies to the staff at Fabricland for being rude and on the phone! I hate it when people do that, and I should know better! 

Then, it was back to the "command center" in Studio B. I like this configuration and must see how much more permanent I could make it. Well, I guess I would never make it permanent. I must look at some kind of desk or rolling cart on wheels for the computer! Maybe something with a bit of storage? 

As I worked in two software programs and used the two digital cutters and one embroidery machine that did not all talk to each other, it was handy as I rolled back and forth on my wheeled chair to plug that USB in where appropriate. 

The command center in Studio B

I get a kick out of these two. They have their respective sides they like to be on, and they can spend hours watching outside and guarding the house! Yesterday, I got several "intruder alerts" because a car was picking someone up in the neighborhood! I don't know if Lexi will miss Bear, but I think Murphy definitely will. 

Guard dogs on duty!

Thanks for the time notifications on the embroidery machine (my Husqvarna Viking!). That's for those people with that OTHER brand I mentioned the other day! Can I push the time limit? You have to wait for that one to find out the entire story!

The countdown to finishing this hoop of machine embroidery

It looks like it's going to be a busy weekend. There is so much to do and so little time. Some of it has to be done while I'm out at events next week, mostly assembling samples, and I might just try to squeeze in a new sample or two. And then there is stuff that I want to do for myself! There isn't much time for that these days!

What's with the weather? It looks like a blustery autumn day out there, and the temperature is down as well. I'll be bundling up this morning!

On that note, I'd better salvage some time to get the girls out and prepare for Heartfelt Sampler!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!