Here in beautiful Blacksburg, Va, where it rained the first two days of my visit, I was parked in front of friends John and Marquita's house, where they live in a lovely old area in the city. Behind their house is a hayfield and rolling hills and trees and far off mountain ridges. Just the scene to paint! Their back yard is as lovely as the scenery behind it and is designated a backyard wildlife habitat area, good for birds and bees and whatever feels like hanging out there. No, it's not a wildflower meadow, though John did try to grow one there. It wanted to grow in the front yard instead, which the neighborhood covenant wouldn't have appreciated. Still, John tried but the meadow declined to exist. Oh, well, the hay field has lots of flowers in it, as does their back yard, just not in one clumped area.
The part of the back yard under which John wanted to plant the wildflower meadow actually is a graveyard of unknown inhabitants. About 50 years ago when the developers were digging up the area hoping to put up another house, they came upon a change in the color of the dirt and in a squarish design and knew that they were about to encounter a graveyard. No one wanted to excavate these so the developer simply covered the whole area up and shifted to the next plot. Apparently there were and still are lots and lots of unmarked graves all over the place here with no documentation, so these graves could be landowners or slaves or Indians or what have you. Hence the land was left unmarked and remained simply a plot which John and his neighbor both purchased a part of to make sure that it would never be developed. Now there is merely grass growing there to celebrate the lives of those who's bones remain beneath.
Marquita wanted to know if there were ghosts in the area but although I could sense the outline of where the bones were, all I saw was one faint image of a black woman, most likely a slave, with rather tattered clothing on. She wasn't very happy, but she felt more like a thought form than a ghost. I picked up nothing else about her or anyone else so this is a peaceful cemetery with no lingering folks still ticked off over whatever it is that irritated them when they died.
On my second day here, John took me on a tour of Virginia Tech where he teaches engineering classes. He was teaching in another building when the students were killed by the mentally ill young man who ran amok. He took me to the memorial at the school and showed me the building where the shootings took place. We also drove by the building where he teaches and he swung by one of the painted and quite gaudy turkeys that are standing around town to remind everyone of the school's mascot - The Golden Turkey. Huh. The students also call themselves 'Hokies.' Interesting. That about ranks up there with the school in either California or Oregon, I fergit, that has taken the banana slug as it's mascot.
So Cincinnati has pigs, both winged and not, that have been painted and displayed by various artists around town; Chicago has cows, Lexington, Ky, has horses, and before Katrina, New Orleans had fish. Blacksburg, Va, has turkeys. John says there are a lot of wild turkeys hanging around the area so that could explain it. At least I hope that explains it.
The third edition of the textbook Marquita wrote just came out. It's called "Understanding Environmental Pollution" and the picture on the front shows a group of workers trying to clean up an oil spill on a coastline. Pretty farseeing when you think of what's going on in the gulf oil spill. Marquita is also a professor, which I think I failed to mention.
Marquita and I just returned from a Farmer's Market where we picked up cherries, two cinnamon roles, two oat cookies with lots of goodies in them and an orange ginger bread loaf. Yum! I can see dessert coming early in my future...
Tomorrow I'm departing and heading towards Raleigh where friend Al lives with an overnight stop near Winston-Salem. It's a little longer than I can handle to Raleigh in one drive so I'm breaking it up. I might stay a day and an extra night in Winston-Salem just to explore the area. And from there I shall stay for a short visit with friend Al. I'll get there, Al, I'm just very slow!
Tonight, to bed early and arising with the sun. And onward to more friends I love as I depart from other friends I love. No goodbyes, just 'until we meet again.'
Lessons Learned
My little air conditioner works but it's not really strong enough to keep the whole van very cool. It tries hard, though, poor little thing. I'll replace it when I get back.
The little mechanism I placed on the left back white light is supposed to start beeping when I put the van in reverse because the white light shines inside it and sets it off. Well, guess what. The sun shining on the white light also sets it off. Took me forever to figure out where that danged beeping was coming from this morning.
Observations
John and Marquita have a wee little cat called Jacqui or Jacky or however they spell it. She was rescued by them and has only one tooth and is completely deaf. Apparently she was also a ragged little scrawny thing when they found her and is much more healthy and fatter now. She's still very shy, however, though over these past couple of days she has come to tolerate me near her as long as I make no attempt to pet her. Getting a picture of her wasn't easy but I finally did it. The first 10 or so were just a blur of something exiting the frame. Sweet kitty, but just kinda shy.
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Day...I fergit. I just know I was in West Virginia yesterday and Virginia today.
Almost heaven, West Virginia...thank you, John Denver. He was right - it is extremely heavenly in this neck of the woods. And friend Jeanne and her husband, Art, live in an especially beautiful area way out in the country. The photos don't do justice to the reality but I can try.
I reached Jeanne's place the day before yesterday and she had an addition on her house set up to be an independent mommy-in-law kind of place. It was large, luxurious and even came with a HUGE HDTV. Not that there was much on, frankly, but it was a kind thought. The kitties enjoyed roaming around in an area bigger than a very small kitchen and I enjoyed a wonderful shower and the company. What fun!
Jeanne and her husband have quite a bit (at least, to me) livestock, including cows, a bull, many chickens, guinea hens, two momma and three baby goats and a pig. We walked around and I was introduced to all the birds and animals, many of who either ignored me, tried lick my hand off, or ran from my presence. Jeanne held up the Bendy Men so they could meet Bunny, one of the mommy goats. The other mommy goat was called "Cleomie." Isn't that a very feminine name?
I took many pictures though only a few will show up here. More will be posted on Facebook, natch.
I was in bed early being a wee bit pooped and the next morning we headed into Princeton (sp?) for a meander through the fun and interesting stores there. There were lots of wonderful businesses there including a used bookstore, without which I cannot exist, and many galleries with some wildly original artwork. I wish I could have taken photos inside the galleries, but I don't think the owners would have appreciated that. I did ask for their business cards whenever I saw artwork I really enjoyed so I could go to their website and peruse some more.
We stopped inside a restaurant for lunch and began seeing folks wandering by the window where we sat who were dressed up in Civil War costumes. Apparently there was going to be a reenactment this coming weekend in Lewisburg, WV, and these actors were drumming up awareness of this annual event. Although I love history I've never been a big Civil War buff - my interests are in other times and places - so I wasn't familiar with this battle. A brochure brought me up to speed quickly, however.
In the early morning of May 23, 18;62, Lewisburg was rudely awakened by the extremely loud noise of artillery and musketry. Apparently at this unlikely spot the Union and Confederate soldiers stumbled upon each other and engaged in an intense but mercifully brief encounter. The Confederate soldiers were overrun and defeated with 80 soldiers dead on the field, 100 wounded (not sure how many died from their wounds) and 157 taken prisoner. Oops. The Union recovered 300 stands of small arms, 25 horses and four artillery pieces. They only had 13 killed and 53 wounded with seven missing. Interesting.
Colonel Crook, the Union leader, was apparently very kind towards the citizens of Lewisburg since he only burned down one house that had held a sniper. But he wouldn't let the the townspeople bury their dead and the brochure doesn't say why. Instead the fallen soldiers were laid out in the Old Stone Church and then placed in a trench in the churchyard without any ceremony. After the war these remains were removed from the churchyard and interred in the cross-shaped mass grave in the present Confederate Cemetery there. The Union dead now rest in the National Cemetery in Staunton, Virginia, though they had been dumped, I mean, buried on an unidentified hill north of town. I guess that was the best they could do at the time since they were on the march at the time.
Anyway, that's the story of Lewisburg's brief involvement with the Civil War. They came out pretty darned good compared to a lot of places. One burned house isn't so bad, though 80 dead soldiers isn't something to shout about.
Oh, back to the Civil War reenactors. One group passing by saw me in the window and were kind enough to pose for me. Then they came in to the same restaurant where Jeanne and I were and sat down for lunch at a nearby table. We watched the two ladies in the party maneuver around with their hoops and I thought they did quite well. I probably would have tripped on the dratted things and had them fly up in my face if I'd tried them on. :-D
We ended our day with dinner at Ryan's and I was in bed early again. This morning I reluctantly packed up the van and bid Jeanne and Art goodby. Still, I was heading to yet more friends who didn't live very far away at all, so I wasn't too sad to head up the road. I'll be back, Jeanne and Art, just you wait and see!
Lessons Learned:
Some of Jeanne's chickens lay green eggs. 'Tis true! They're beautiful! You don't even have to die them for Easter.
Jeanne has a separate flock of chickens that are a frothy white and had long feathers and, of course, I've forgotten their breed is called already. But one of them is called a 'frizzled' chicken, still a part of this breed, and amazingly folks really do breed for this trait. The chicken looks like it either has a bad perm or it stuck it's beak in an electric socket. Darndest thing I ever saw. Compared to it's sisters, it doesn't seem quite so lovely to me, but what do I know?
Observations:
One of Jeanne's cows was 'ready to be bred,' to put it politely, and both Jeanne's bull and the bull across the street were crying out their love in earnest and very loudly. Of course Jeanne's bull was the one that took care of the afflicted lady but the bull across the street kept up his love songs until the sun was down. Sad to see unrequited love, even in the country.
On my way out from Jeanne's place I almost ran over a nice black snake. As soon as it saw me coming it sped up and scurried across but it had nothing to fear from me. I love snakes and I would never run one over or beat it with a stick like the evil woman in Wizard of Id. Poor snakes...
Tomorrow will be from friend John and Marquita's place in Blacksburg, Virginia. Just as lovely a place and they live up on a hill with lots of hayfields behind them. But that's for another day. 'Nite, all.
I reached Jeanne's place the day before yesterday and she had an addition on her house set up to be an independent mommy-in-law kind of place. It was large, luxurious and even came with a HUGE HDTV. Not that there was much on, frankly, but it was a kind thought. The kitties enjoyed roaming around in an area bigger than a very small kitchen and I enjoyed a wonderful shower and the company. What fun!
Jeanne and her husband have quite a bit (at least, to me) livestock, including cows, a bull, many chickens, guinea hens, two momma and three baby goats and a pig. We walked around and I was introduced to all the birds and animals, many of who either ignored me, tried lick my hand off, or ran from my presence. Jeanne held up the Bendy Men so they could meet Bunny, one of the mommy goats. The other mommy goat was called "Cleomie." Isn't that a very feminine name?
I took many pictures though only a few will show up here. More will be posted on Facebook, natch.
I was in bed early being a wee bit pooped and the next morning we headed into Princeton (sp?) for a meander through the fun and interesting stores there. There were lots of wonderful businesses there including a used bookstore, without which I cannot exist, and many galleries with some wildly original artwork. I wish I could have taken photos inside the galleries, but I don't think the owners would have appreciated that. I did ask for their business cards whenever I saw artwork I really enjoyed so I could go to their website and peruse some more.
We stopped inside a restaurant for lunch and began seeing folks wandering by the window where we sat who were dressed up in Civil War costumes. Apparently there was going to be a reenactment this coming weekend in Lewisburg, WV, and these actors were drumming up awareness of this annual event. Although I love history I've never been a big Civil War buff - my interests are in other times and places - so I wasn't familiar with this battle. A brochure brought me up to speed quickly, however.
In the early morning of May 23, 18;62, Lewisburg was rudely awakened by the extremely loud noise of artillery and musketry. Apparently at this unlikely spot the Union and Confederate soldiers stumbled upon each other and engaged in an intense but mercifully brief encounter. The Confederate soldiers were overrun and defeated with 80 soldiers dead on the field, 100 wounded (not sure how many died from their wounds) and 157 taken prisoner. Oops. The Union recovered 300 stands of small arms, 25 horses and four artillery pieces. They only had 13 killed and 53 wounded with seven missing. Interesting.
Colonel Crook, the Union leader, was apparently very kind towards the citizens of Lewisburg since he only burned down one house that had held a sniper. But he wouldn't let the the townspeople bury their dead and the brochure doesn't say why. Instead the fallen soldiers were laid out in the Old Stone Church and then placed in a trench in the churchyard without any ceremony. After the war these remains were removed from the churchyard and interred in the cross-shaped mass grave in the present Confederate Cemetery there. The Union dead now rest in the National Cemetery in Staunton, Virginia, though they had been dumped, I mean, buried on an unidentified hill north of town. I guess that was the best they could do at the time since they were on the march at the time.
Anyway, that's the story of Lewisburg's brief involvement with the Civil War. They came out pretty darned good compared to a lot of places. One burned house isn't so bad, though 80 dead soldiers isn't something to shout about.
Oh, back to the Civil War reenactors. One group passing by saw me in the window and were kind enough to pose for me. Then they came in to the same restaurant where Jeanne and I were and sat down for lunch at a nearby table. We watched the two ladies in the party maneuver around with their hoops and I thought they did quite well. I probably would have tripped on the dratted things and had them fly up in my face if I'd tried them on. :-D
We ended our day with dinner at Ryan's and I was in bed early again. This morning I reluctantly packed up the van and bid Jeanne and Art goodby. Still, I was heading to yet more friends who didn't live very far away at all, so I wasn't too sad to head up the road. I'll be back, Jeanne and Art, just you wait and see!
Lessons Learned:
Some of Jeanne's chickens lay green eggs. 'Tis true! They're beautiful! You don't even have to die them for Easter.
Jeanne has a separate flock of chickens that are a frothy white and had long feathers and, of course, I've forgotten their breed is called already. But one of them is called a 'frizzled' chicken, still a part of this breed, and amazingly folks really do breed for this trait. The chicken looks like it either has a bad perm or it stuck it's beak in an electric socket. Darndest thing I ever saw. Compared to it's sisters, it doesn't seem quite so lovely to me, but what do I know?
Observations:
One of Jeanne's cows was 'ready to be bred,' to put it politely, and both Jeanne's bull and the bull across the street were crying out their love in earnest and very loudly. Of course Jeanne's bull was the one that took care of the afflicted lady but the bull across the street kept up his love songs until the sun was down. Sad to see unrequited love, even in the country.
On my way out from Jeanne's place I almost ran over a nice black snake. As soon as it saw me coming it sped up and scurried across but it had nothing to fear from me. I love snakes and I would never run one over or beat it with a stick like the evil woman in Wizard of Id. Poor snakes...
Tomorrow will be from friend John and Marquita's place in Blacksburg, Virginia. Just as lovely a place and they live up on a hill with lots of hayfields behind them. But that's for another day. 'Nite, all.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Day 1 - Asheville, North Carolina, May 18, 2010
I left in good time this morning with a final hug and 'until we meet again' with Wendy and Jerri. With hot coffee in hand, Fluff(Naked)Butt, Chopper, the Bendy Men and I began to explore the road to Asheville. I requested a route from Miss Charmagne GPS and even though she had been recently updated, I don't think she got the word that Route 40 had been reopened. It had been closed for a bit due to a rock slide from the winter storms and only recently opened back up. Instead, Miss Charmagne decided that the scenic route would be a good way to go so I decided to follow her suggestion. It was a bit longer, but quite beautiful!
I had a phone call from a friend around 11:00 and pulled off and parked in a Walmart parking lot while we chatted. The call took over an hour so by the time I was back on the road it was almost 1:30. I finally arrived at the Biltmore about 3:00 and realized I was pooped and decided to defer the visit until tomorrow. I drove on to the KOA, checked in, and took a rest. NakedButt immediately wanted to go out for a walk but I wanted to wait until the sun was lower. I didn't need the AC, so I just opened windows and turned on a fan that sucks air up and out. That was sufficient to keep us cool and I laid down with the ol' laptop and began processing the photos I had taken of the roadside flowers I had seen.
At odd intervals along 64 East, there were fields of poppies and wildflowers in gorgeous colors and I just about ran off the road trying to keep them in sight. Not really, but you get the point. One field had bright red poppies with gorgeous blue cornflowers and talk about bleeding eye colors! Wowee! There was no place for me to pull over so I couldn't take any pictures, dang it, but I finally found one field where there was enough room for me and the photos you see are from that field. I wish I could do justice to the colors I saw but the day was overcast and I couldn't seem to balance the exposure correctly. Oh, well, I tried. Perhaps tomorrow when I'm in the gardens it will be a bit sunny and I won't have to compensate for such things.
I also pulled over at a scenic turnout and the Bendy Men indicated that they'd like a look at the view also. The photo makes them look like they're getting ready to jump, but, no, they're just excited at seeing the beauty before them. One of them still has an injured arm that doesn't appear to be getting any better. Sad, that, but it doesn't affect his mood so we all just ignore it and move on.
I'm not staying up late tonight because I want to get an early start at the Biltmore tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll stay over another night or move on down the road when I'm done. I guess it depends on my body's stamina, so we'll see!
Lessons learned:
Even though I've dumped the holding tanks, the black water tank still thinks it's 2/3 full. What's up with that?
The refrigerator really doesn't keep things very cool. I turned it to electric cooling as soon as I could plug in, but it was on 12 volt as I was driving. I kept it closed as much as possible but it still lost the coolness faster than I appreciated. This is a typical problem with RV fridges and the suggested bag of ice I stuffed in there hasn't appeared to do much to keep the chill down. The blasted thing is turned on and set to max, so another what's up with that?
Observations:
Although I bought a nice, new, cozy, high-walled litter pan for NakedButt to hide in when we would be on the road, she still thinks she's better off in the litter box. I even placed a ratty old familiar towel in the pan and scattered catnip on it. She sneered at it and crawled in the litter box. Sigh.
I had a phone call from a friend around 11:00 and pulled off and parked in a Walmart parking lot while we chatted. The call took over an hour so by the time I was back on the road it was almost 1:30. I finally arrived at the Biltmore about 3:00 and realized I was pooped and decided to defer the visit until tomorrow. I drove on to the KOA, checked in, and took a rest. NakedButt immediately wanted to go out for a walk but I wanted to wait until the sun was lower. I didn't need the AC, so I just opened windows and turned on a fan that sucks air up and out. That was sufficient to keep us cool and I laid down with the ol' laptop and began processing the photos I had taken of the roadside flowers I had seen.
At odd intervals along 64 East, there were fields of poppies and wildflowers in gorgeous colors and I just about ran off the road trying to keep them in sight. Not really, but you get the point. One field had bright red poppies with gorgeous blue cornflowers and talk about bleeding eye colors! Wowee! There was no place for me to pull over so I couldn't take any pictures, dang it, but I finally found one field where there was enough room for me and the photos you see are from that field. I wish I could do justice to the colors I saw but the day was overcast and I couldn't seem to balance the exposure correctly. Oh, well, I tried. Perhaps tomorrow when I'm in the gardens it will be a bit sunny and I won't have to compensate for such things.
I also pulled over at a scenic turnout and the Bendy Men indicated that they'd like a look at the view also. The photo makes them look like they're getting ready to jump, but, no, they're just excited at seeing the beauty before them. One of them still has an injured arm that doesn't appear to be getting any better. Sad, that, but it doesn't affect his mood so we all just ignore it and move on.
I'm not staying up late tonight because I want to get an early start at the Biltmore tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll stay over another night or move on down the road when I'm done. I guess it depends on my body's stamina, so we'll see!
Lessons learned:
Even though I've dumped the holding tanks, the black water tank still thinks it's 2/3 full. What's up with that?
The refrigerator really doesn't keep things very cool. I turned it to electric cooling as soon as I could plug in, but it was on 12 volt as I was driving. I kept it closed as much as possible but it still lost the coolness faster than I appreciated. This is a typical problem with RV fridges and the suggested bag of ice I stuffed in there hasn't appeared to do much to keep the chill down. The blasted thing is turned on and set to max, so another what's up with that?
Observations:
Although I bought a nice, new, cozy, high-walled litter pan for NakedButt to hide in when we would be on the road, she still thinks she's better off in the litter box. I even placed a ratty old familiar towel in the pan and scattered catnip on it. She sneered at it and crawled in the litter box. Sigh.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Make all preparations for getting underway, Part II
Yes, it is time to pack up and travel the U.S. again. My dear friend, Sharon, died a few weeks ago and I was so glad to be there with her and holding her hand as she passed. And now her departure means it's time for me to move on to other adventures, so let the packing begin!
The van has been through a review with normal repairs made and it's fine. I did cover almost all of the carpet in the van with a thin plastic carpet cover - after thirty days of intense driving to get here, the carpet that wasn't covered was pretty filthy and I had to have the van detailed. I'm certain I'll have to have it detailed again when I get back with two kitties and myself. We all three shed and it can get quite hairy in there.
Actually, since the Butt of Fluff was, um, shaved into a Lion's cut yesterday, there might be a wee bit less of shedding around the van. Not a bad thing, actually, except for her appearance. Rawthuh embarrassing, that. See photo, which will probably damn me to cat hell for posting. Oh, well.
On the good side, she does feel much better and cooler and now likes me to pet her on her back, something she wouldn't tolerate before. On the bad side, she looks like nobody loves her. Pitiful, just pitiful.
Chopper is fine though her cough continues to concern me. Umpteen doses of antibiotics have failed to get rid of it entirely, but besides that she appears to be doing well. Let's hope that's the only problem she'll have.
Wendy and Jerri took me out to dinner tonight at a very nice restaurant where we decided to go in what we had on. I was in lounging pants, Wendy was in about the same, and Jerri looked the best in a nice shirt and jeans. We were treated kindly and I feasted on duck and other goodies. This restaurant/hotel was on a golf course and the view on the covered deck where we ate was fantastic! There was also a nice breeze so it was very cool and pleasant. We ended our meal with creme brule' and banana's foster, and we had to be carried out by the time we were finished. Needless to say, most of my dinner came home in a carry-out box. (Note to self - DON'T forget it!!)
I depart for Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow where I will be stopping to see the Biltmore estate and gardens. Wendy and Jerri urged me to go because it's beautiful, so I made a reservation with a KOA and will spend part of tomorrow wandering around shooting terrible pictures of lots of flowers. Yeah! The inside of the mansion will be available for touring also - should be fun!
Early to bed tonight. I'm pooped, the kitties are pooped, and I'm leaving when I get up, probably around 7:00 am or so.
Lessons learned:
The holding tank for the water isn't always as truthful as it should be.
I think I have way too many clothes now even after packing as much as possible in the storage areas. And I doubt I'll wear half of it on this trip. You'd think I'd learn by now.
Observations:
Nothing fell when I drove the van to the grocery store to stock up on edibles. Let us pray that this continues and that I've truly secured for sea.
The van has been through a review with normal repairs made and it's fine. I did cover almost all of the carpet in the van with a thin plastic carpet cover - after thirty days of intense driving to get here, the carpet that wasn't covered was pretty filthy and I had to have the van detailed. I'm certain I'll have to have it detailed again when I get back with two kitties and myself. We all three shed and it can get quite hairy in there.
Actually, since the Butt of Fluff was, um, shaved into a Lion's cut yesterday, there might be a wee bit less of shedding around the van. Not a bad thing, actually, except for her appearance. Rawthuh embarrassing, that. See photo, which will probably damn me to cat hell for posting. Oh, well.
On the good side, she does feel much better and cooler and now likes me to pet her on her back, something she wouldn't tolerate before. On the bad side, she looks like nobody loves her. Pitiful, just pitiful.
Chopper is fine though her cough continues to concern me. Umpteen doses of antibiotics have failed to get rid of it entirely, but besides that she appears to be doing well. Let's hope that's the only problem she'll have.
Wendy and Jerri took me out to dinner tonight at a very nice restaurant where we decided to go in what we had on. I was in lounging pants, Wendy was in about the same, and Jerri looked the best in a nice shirt and jeans. We were treated kindly and I feasted on duck and other goodies. This restaurant/hotel was on a golf course and the view on the covered deck where we ate was fantastic! There was also a nice breeze so it was very cool and pleasant. We ended our meal with creme brule' and banana's foster, and we had to be carried out by the time we were finished. Needless to say, most of my dinner came home in a carry-out box. (Note to self - DON'T forget it!!)
I depart for Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow where I will be stopping to see the Biltmore estate and gardens. Wendy and Jerri urged me to go because it's beautiful, so I made a reservation with a KOA and will spend part of tomorrow wandering around shooting terrible pictures of lots of flowers. Yeah! The inside of the mansion will be available for touring also - should be fun!
Early to bed tonight. I'm pooped, the kitties are pooped, and I'm leaving when I get up, probably around 7:00 am or so.
Lessons learned:
The holding tank for the water isn't always as truthful as it should be.
I think I have way too many clothes now even after packing as much as possible in the storage areas. And I doubt I'll wear half of it on this trip. You'd think I'd learn by now.
Observations:
Nothing fell when I drove the van to the grocery store to stock up on edibles. Let us pray that this continues and that I've truly secured for sea.
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