Who is new among the Gnomes & Friends?

Hello everyone. I have listed the house again and you can see the information here. It has been on the market for 3 weeks now, hopefully it will move quickly. I am more than ready to move forward. I have been struggling to create because of needing to keep the house showable all the time. Clean-up takes away from creative time... But, as I may have mentioned before, a friend asked if I could make her a Highland Cow (Coo). I told her I could only promise that I would try. After a few unsuccessful attempts, and lots of thinking about how to create one, I finally had success last weekend.

I ended up making 4 last week, and they are currently cooling from their bisque firing. I made 6 more this morning. Keep in mind that this is the very same friend who asked me if I could make her a gnome, and we know how that went! Also in the kiln are some more snowmen with hats and an owl with a book (another request attempt). I hope everyone is enjoying Spring.

A Busy Fall

So, I have been busy. 

At the end of September Hurricane Helene came through our area and left her mark. 

Fortunately, the tree uprooted in my yard (that fell over the street) did not hit the houses on the other side of the street. And, neither my house, Terri's house, nor the store had any damage. 

There were trees down all over town, most of them uprooted. BIG oak trees, and at one time there was no way to get in or out of town. We all were blessed that as bad as it was, it was nowhere near as bad as the mountains of North Carolina. And there were places in South Carolina that were hit worse than we were as well. We knew we would have wind and rains, 

but never expected to have such strong winds for so many hours.

We lost two days of business because there was no power at the store. 

Terri and the store were without power for 2 1/2-3 days. 

I lost almost a week of production time due to having no power at my house for 6 days.

However, I was able to continue to create enough Gnomes and Friends to stock my booth at Mistletoe Market at the Anderson County Museum the beginning of November. 

I had a great show and have brought most of the remaining angel & gnome stock to the store. 

My booth at Mistletoe Market.

Limited Edition Christmas Gnomes in the background.
Penguin and Polar Bear ornaments, and Black Bears.

In between, I had house guests (my sister Regina & her husband Matt, as well as my brother Bill) who were in town for a surprise 70th Birthday celebration for my sister Sue. 

(Brother Rick also came to town but stayed at my nephew's house.) 

Sue's comment when she saw Bill & Regina the first time was "It's not nice to surprise old people!"

The whole family that was here including Sue's children (Bobby & Karen), son & daughter-in-law (Matthew & Shelly), grandchildren (Blake, Logan, Cara, and Sawyer), and grand dog Tic, Terri's husband (Rodney) and son (Ben), Rick's wife (Alice), his dog Wrigley, Regina's husband  (Matt), Aunt Celeste, and Betty (Dad's friend in his later years).

While everyone was here we took to opportunity to place Dad's ashes in the columbarium with Mom's. This was something that Terri and I did not want to do with just the two of us, 

we wanted as many of our siblings to be there as possible. 

Dad in the car on the way to the church's columbarium.

Dad on the kitchen counter wearing his Elon cap that Rick gave him and Mom's crab hat giving him a hug. The urn was designed by my father-in-law Wally Higgins and made by my sister-in-law Laurie Higgins Lang.

At the beginning of October Terri created a scarecrow display for Scarecrow Season in Pendleton. Those scarecrows are only 12" tall! The title of her display was "Fairies of the Garden".

Faeries of the Garden

Now we are prepared for Christmas at the store. And, I need to get my house listed for sale again...

 

Busy Summer

 I didn't realize just how long it has been since I last posted. My apologies to anyone who may have been looking for any kind of update.

The painting is complete, and the house has been back on the market for 3 months now. 

I decided to introduce a new friend to my collection, as well as a new Limited Edition Christmas Gnome.

Black Bears (Brown/Grizzly/Polar to come soon)

A Black bear came to mind, inspired by a couple of my favorite clay artisans. Theirs are SO very different yet very inspiring. I have made 17 so far, and only have 2 or 3 remaining finished ones. I am making more for Mistletoe Market!

In addition to the Black Bears, I will make some Brown/Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears, and more Gnomes, Cats, Fox, Owls, Ghosts, Snowpeople, Pumpkins, Angels, Santa Hats, Mushrooms, Penguins, Bluebirds, Cardinals, Hedgehogs, Mice, Bunnies, and maybe more... Ideas keep percolating in my head.

2024 Limited Edition Christmas Gnome

As I was making some Polka Dot hat gnomes, I decided that I would make the dots multi-colored, like the Christmas Trees I started making. The background colors so far have been black, purple, and yellow. Anyway, that inspired me to create the Limited Edition Christmas Gnome for this year with a Christmas tree for it's hat. I have pre-orders for 40 of them! I will make plenty extra to bring with me to Mistletoe Market.

In other news... I am frustrated with the fact that nobody has come to look at the house in 2 months! I had both bathrooms worked on (as per my previous post) as well as painting the one bathroom, and painting the large kitchen wall. I then hired a crew to trim the greatly neglected trees and shrubs. We lowered the price. We would rather not lower the price too much more. The house is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,300+ square feet of living space with an out building and 1.55 acres. Our agent grew up on this street and her dad still lives in the neighborhood. Any pointers on getting people to at least come and take a look?

I know it will sell when the time is right. I just am stressing about how long it is taking to get to the right time.

I will do my best to update things before Mistletoe Market (which is November 1 & 2 this year!)

Back in the saddle

 This year has been crazy, although I don't need to tell anyone else that. 

I have been keeping busy making #boredombuster kits for work, but my personal creative mojo has been lacking. The only show I participate in as an artist has been cancelled. That leaves me without my largest outlet for my angels and other pottery. I understand completely and respect their decision for the health and safety of everyone. As a result, my drive to create was lost for months.

That being said, I started creating angels yesterday!  It felt soooooooo good to get my hands back into the clay. (Both physically AND mentally!)

Today, some friends gifted me with some extra money for my birthday & Christmas to buy some new glazes. Some I am re-stocking what I have used lots of, but there are some new ones in the order that I am excited to try!

Here is a blurry photo of the first few angels from yesterday. More will be made today. I have challenged myself to make several dozen before Thanksgiving.

May you all remain healthy.

I will be selling these angels at our store as well as through personal contact.

Where is the time going?

What a crazy time we are living in right now!

So much has happened since I was last here to share. States all over the country shut down just about everything in hopes of keeping the COVID-19 virus from spreading too fast to too many people.
Our schools here in SC were closed the week of St. Patrick's Day. The restaurants, gyms, hair salons and other "close contact" businesses were not too far behind. They closed retail businesses on April 7th. We worked in the store, with appointments for curbside pick-up as well as shipping that week. We then took Good Friday and Saturday off before Easter. Starting that Monday, we spent a week working from home, filling orders and meeting customers as needed. The state allowed us to re-open on April 21, but we decided that we would limit our days and hours to 4 hours a day for 3 days a week. The numbers are still too high for comfort. Yes, they are probably not accurate, but still, neither of us wishes to be responsible for one of our high-risk family members contracting the virus because we did not follow our instincts.
Just this week, we decided to add one day (still 4 hours only). Restaurants, gyms... are all open again, and attractions were able to open this past Friday.

What we did to help with people who suddenly were needing to find things to do at home was to make up kits for creative things. Most have been greeting card kits, but we have done a simple beading kit as well as face painting on a cloth mask. Each are only $3.00! check them out on our Facebook page or our website.
As of yesterday, we had sold over 575 in 2 months! I spend my working at home time cutting the parts and assembling these kits. The living room has been taken over!

Other than purchasing a much needed new tablet on amazon, most of the stimulus money that I have spent (which is only about half) has been spent with independent businesses. I purchased masks from two friends who have Etsy shops. I purchased beads from an independent bead shop. I buy takeout meals from independent restaurants. I was a strong supporter of the Shop Local/Shop Independent movement for a long time before all of this hit the fan.

I hope whomever happens upon this post is doing well. I am grateful that at this point, I do not know anyone personally that has been diagnosed with the virus. I do know people who have had friends or family members that have.

Be safe. Be well. Be respectful of others who may deal with all of this differently than you do.

Keeping Busy in Uncertain Times

Here we all are, in the midst of a viral pandemic COVID-19. Our schools (including colleges and universities) here have been closed for 2 weeks and are closed at least until the end of April. All bars are closed, restaurants can only do take-out, curbside, or delivery. (It has forced some to temporarily close.)  People are encouraged to self-isolate, keep a minimum of 6' between, wash their hands, don't touch their face... stay home as much as possible. The big art festival (43rd Annual Spring Jubilee) has been cancelled. Parks are closed. The governor has said no social gatherings over 3 people. Things that are unheard of in my lifetime.

We have not been mandated to close our store. We try our best to practice social distancing while in the store.

We decided to offer some creative outlet for families suddenly forced to be at home. And we made up a few varieties of greeting card kits. We sell them for $3 each and they have been a big hit! Right now, we have Easter cards in the mix, but we will be adding Mother's Day cards next. There are also some all-occasion types.

They have been extremely popular and I spent a few hours this morning, here at home, cutting parts for more kits.

We have shortened our hours at the store starting tomorrow, but we have had very good business, thanks in part to the card kits (Boredom Busters AKA Virus Card Kits) and to virtual shopping for customers and either curbside pick-up or shipping.

I also took the hose and rinsed the pollen off the Equinox. I know more will be more there when I get ready to go to work tomorrow, but I got a lot off today.

May you and yours remain well.

A photo for inspiration

These are two angels I made last year for a special order.  I plan to glaze more of them white this year, as well as the other colors I have on hand. No more sticking to a set color palette.  Whatever color I feel like glazing is what color they will be.  I will still make some for special requests, within my reasonable capability.

I did have a productive day "off" yesterday, making 16 more angels before having to stop due to my fingers getting all wrinkly.

Up and running!

Thank you to my brother Rick for checking out the wiring diagram and the kiln and fixing the mistake I made. I am now able to fire the large kiln with no problem.

The small kiln I have not given a test firing yet.  It seems possibly the tube of the kiln sitter was out of alignment and the sensing rod was getting hung up thus keeping it from tripping the power off. I do not have anything of my own to test fire it with at the moment, so it will have to wait until I can get some things made. (* EDIT - still not working correctly.  Will just have to use the large one for the time being.)

In the meantime, my car went into the mechanic last week.  I have had a whining noise from under the hood for a few months, but the most disconcerting was the new grinding noise coming from the rear axel area.  It sounded like I was dragging a branch.  I did not see anything, but thought it could possibly be the wheel bearing go bad.  I needed the car for a house/pet sitting a half hour drive away.

I dropped it off on a Thursday morning.  Their schedule was packed with appointments and they had to work me in around them. To get an appointment otherwise was at least a two week wait. I waited patiently to hear back.  They called at about 4:45 on Friday afternoon for me to come by to pick it up (they close ot 5:00).

It was not the wheel bearing (YES!!!), it was indeed a branch caught up in the undercarriage that was causing that noise.

The whining noise under the hood was the alternator and pulley that needed replacing, the alternator was nearing it's end of life. Thankful for the branch making me think it was a bad bearing for getting me to the mechanic sooner than later.

After a brief case of it overheating (a connector to the cooling fan knocked loose) that was corrected on Monday, all is running smoothly.

I am needing to get my hands back into the clay to create! It is my calming and rejeuvenating activity. And, I also need to get product for the store as well as Mistletoe Market.

The glazed bowls from A MUSE

Really quickly, here are the results of the bowls that were glazed (as well as a soap dish prototype).

Wishing all that celebrate, a very joyous Easter tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday!

I am getting into a creative groove and was excited to have a customer/student ask if they could make a dimensional porcelain (or other ceramic clay) heart wall hanging.  She showed me photos of what she had seen another artist do.

Well, not wanting to copy, and not having the photo in front of me (just my memory of what was in it), I proceeded to try to fabricate a hump mold to create them on top of... that failed me... so, instead I just used a curved piece of lightweight chip board, like gift boxes are made from.  In fact, I used some shirt boxes I purchased at the dollar store.

This was my prototype.  It is still un-fired in this photo.  It is difficult to see that it is a convex curve.  The ones in class are much more pronounced.

The glazes I ordered on the 4th didn't arrive until the Monday after the Saturday class... frustrating!  But, they couldn't have used them that day anyway.

I have made multiple test tiles to sample a variety of glazes and their compatibility with one another.  When those are done, the ladies can glaze!

Thankful

I have not had the time to post this last month as I was feverishly producing for the Mistletoe Market.  I can report that the show was a great success again this year with a lot of Angel & Santa Hat ornaments finding new homes.

The ornament display when I had forgotten to bring the Christmas tree...

The rest of the booth.

I brought the tree the second day and placed it on the other table.

I had some great feedback about the ornaments.  Some thought the angels should have bells inside to go with the famous quote from It's A Wonderful Life.  Some thought the Santa Hats should also have bells, jingle bells.  I am not sure if I will do either, but they are not bad ideas.

Here is a close-up of the Santa Hats.

Santa Hat ornaments, introduced 11/18/2016

Thanksgiving was a fabulous day filled with my family and delicious foods.  This evening I am house-sitting & cat-sitting for a friend.  Tomorrow is a long day at work.  Black Friday and we will also be staying open late during the Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Village Green just out in front of our store. 

With all of that going on, the return of kidney stones is not a good thing.  Hopefully they will sit in one spot and not move. 

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving (what is left of it) and a Merry Christmas.  May the New Year bring you peace and happiness.  (I do hope to check in with you before then.)

Happy Halloween!

Here are the finished pumpkins!  Only 4 of them are ones I made, the rest were made by my students!

Progress!

I have been busy with a lot of house & pet-sitting jobs lately, but I am trying to squeeze in some creative time in between to build stock for the Mistletoe Market.

I have a kiln load of angels bisque firing at the moment, and included in that firing are some pumpkins!

The pumpkins second from the left in both rows are mine, the others were made by 3 of my students.  I have since made more and will have some available at Mistletoe Market.

A customer came in The Mercantile yesterday and asked if I had a new design for ornaments this year (in addition to the angels), so I am working on a couple of ideas there.  I am also working on some leaf ornament samples for a class I will be offering in a couple of weeks.

I had a scare today while Dad was out, I looked out the front window as a Pendleton Police car pulled into our driveway.  P A N I C!!  It turns out that some kids called 9-1-1 and would not let the operator speak to an adult.  And it was from a cell phone that showed it was about where our house is.  I sent him to a house a couple of doors down where I know they have children.  There aren't many on our street.

So, that is about all I can report on today.

Christmas in July Iris Folding

I said that I would show the completed samples of the Iris Folding cards I designed for the Christmas in July class.  Well, here they are!

Well, after seeing the patterns I drew, did you think the cards would look anything like this?  It was so much fun creating these for my students.  I love how they all turned out but, I do have my favorites, which one(s) are yours?

Has it really been THAT long???

I guess I have been sucked into the easiness that is facebook and not taken the time to come over here and blog...  that is not good.

In the year and a half that I have been absent from here, I have been still creating my pottery, the most recent addition has been the Crimson Velvet Porcelain.

Crimson Velvet Sake Bottle $85.00

This extraordinary color is quite expensive and I will only do small pieces.  The Sake Bottle pictured here has just a clear glaze inside and on the top portion of the bottle, ending just below the shoulder.

I am still teaching a variety of classes at our store along with my sister and a few talented friends.

We painted the inside of the store this summer...

As well as re-arranging the floor plan a bit.  We are quite pleased with the results, it gives us a more open space and more flexibility.

My ex-husband passed away unexpectedly this past summer and I made a quick trip to Alfred, NY for the funeral and to visit with the Higgins side of my family.  Yes, a divorce severs legal relationships, but it cannot sever the feelings of family.  I wish I could afford the time and money to visit them more often.  I just do not want it to be for such a solemn occasion and I definitely do not want the flight headaches I endured on this trip.  (Another story for another time... maybe.)

Dad retired from the store this past Spring, leaving Terri & I both working 6 days a week.  I am glad he has the time to do the things he wants to do.  It does, however, make it a little harder to get work done on projects that require longer amounts of time than an early morning or an evening.  Our friend Phyllis was so kind to come in and work on Mondays through the Christmas & Holiday shopping season so Terri & I could alternate Mondays off and get some things done.  We are ever so grateful!

Speaking of friends helping out.  We have the most wonderful group of customer/friends who come to our aid when one of us is sick (Terri got hit hard with a stomach bug during the holidays) or needs to be someplace (for me, one of the 2 shows I do each year, or this weekend, Terri was at a retreat.)  Our friends who are like family step in to help man the store.  We can only say that we are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.  And to all of you, thank you for all you do!

I designed some beaded pieces for classes...

Abstract Narcissus Square Stitch Pendant

Ornament Cover 2013

All in all, It has been a busy year and a half.

I am not going to make any promises about blogging more often.  Let me just say that I will try.

May 2014 be off to a positive start for you and may it continue to the end.

Life's surprises

Just as life seemed to begin to find some element of normalcy, something happens to cause turmoil.

A wonderful Christmas with Mom & Terri

As I posted before, my Mom passed away last July.  I have been having troubles getting my creative muse motivated & I am missing her so much.

My sister Terri did a lot in the last 5 years of Mom's life in taking her to appointments as I had previously.  Terri had a better mind for comprehending and retaining the medical information.  I would understand as they told me, but then it wouldn't make sense later.

Now, Terri is facing her own diagnosis of a Cystic Tumor on the surface of her brain.  And, like Mom, she is facing it head on with a great attitude and complete trust in her Neurosurgeon (one of the best in his field).

Terri is the closet to me in age of all my siblings.  We shared a room growing up, and now we share the responsibilities at the store.  Although our teen years we rough (whose aren't? that surge of hormones & trying to determine boundaries with the world is not easy for anyone)  we are very close now (as we are with the rest of the family - we are blessed that way!).  I know this is difficult for the rest of the family, especially those who are not nearby.  I remember from the years I lived so far away from most of the family. 

I am trying my best to be strong & to keep an even keel at the store & home.  Terri's surgery is tomorrow morning at 11.  We are keeping the store open.  Terri's husband will be at the hospital with her.  The procedure should take nearly 3 hours.  Dad & I will keep ourselves busy & act as the information hub for all of our family & friends.

This is the time I really wish Mom were here to talk to & hug & cry with.  I know the tears don't help Terri, but they are cleansing for me.

If anyone reads this, thank you for reading it all as it rambled on.

Goodbye to 2010

As I look back at this past year, it has been filled with so many things.

There have been ups and downs with Mom's cancer journey, and the year ends on an up note.  They have reduced the dosage of her chemo treatments and taken out the PICC line (to be replaced on Monday with a 'permanent' port.)  There seem to be no signs of the nodules at this time.  Her blood work was good before her chemo on Wednesday, so she did not need a Neulasta shot on Thursday.  She continues to gain her strength and be able to do more.  We can only hope that the new year will continue to bring good news.

I have had my ups and downs with my creative muse this past year.  I started off the year with winning an award for the best of show in pottery at the Spring show I do in Clayton, GA.  I wanted to use my prize money to take a wheel throwing class, but my teacher got some sort of stomach bug and had to cancel.  Then, I needed my prize money to pay some bills... My brother in MA was down for a visit, and took one of my drawings home with him to turn on the lathe.  I now have my larger mug... if I can get past the handles breaking off before they are finished... That itself has gotten me in another creative slump... I need to take the time to work on the handle a bit more so it will cooperate...  And my brother has given me the gift of making 3 additional models for me.  I just have to decide which ones other than a tea pot that I would like made...

Work has been rewarding.  I love working with the public, and teaching creative classes.  My sister Terri & I have had to take on more responsibilities at the store because Mom is not able to come in often.  And Dad is taking more time to help Mom as needed.  We have a wonderful clientele.

My health has been generally good.  

My family is wonderful!  We have had visits from all of the siblings this past year... wish we all lived a bit closer to one another!  We plan to have a family reunion in 2011, I am looking forward to that!

I don't like to make resolutions, I know I cannot keep them.  I just want to strive to be a better person and to grow creatively.  

Thank you all for following my blog.  I hope to get a bit more organized in the future.

I wish you all a wonderful New Year!

I'm here!

I've been busy working with my sister and our friend Phyllis to prepare for a big card making class we are putting on this Friday evening in conjunction with the Heirloom Anderson Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival being held at the Anderson Civic Center this weekend.  We have 20 people signed up!  It should be LOTS of fun.  We are having it at New York Pizza (can't seem to add another link - grrrr) on Civic Center Blvd..  The students get pizza & salad with their class as well!
I WILL post photos! (Both here and on the store's blog TheMercantileStore.blogspot.com)
Today, my favorite traveling bead wholesaler comes to town for me to pick beads for our next trunk show!  MMMMMMMMMMM - BEADS!  It should be an all day event.  Then our local rubber stamp club (The Crafty Crew) has it's monthly gathering at the store.  It will be a LONG day, but a VERY enjoyable one!

This is not one of the cards we are making, just one I made in a class last week

An eventful time...

Mom & Dad spent 10 days on a much deserved and much anticipated cruise to the Panama Canal with her sister Celeste and their friends Joan & Brad from back 'home' in Alfred, NY. While on the cruise, Mom had a UTI and then they called from Customs to have us schedule a Dr's appt. because her cough had gotten worse. Mind you, they still had a FABULOUS time!
Upon their return Tuesday evening, they were greeted by my brother Bill, his wife Miwa & their 2 boys David & Chris who were visiting on Spring Break. Mom's appointment led to having another chest x-ray, which determined that there was no infection in her lungs, hence supporting the diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure.

Wednesday, sister Sue arrived to visit with Bill & family, and to assist with the fabrication of the Connie-Tron and the Earl Arm Support Equipment. Meanwhile, Miwa & the boys came to the store to learn some beading techniques.

All the while, I am in final show prep mode, trying to get all the last minute glazing & firing completed to pack up on Friday afternoon. This, in addition to working in the store all day and helping to teach the final sections of the OLLI classes Terri and I teach at the store.
Thursday, Mom had a wonderful day visiting with family, and then Jeanne, her Lymphedema Therapist and friend came over for dinner and to consult with Bill on the new apparatus he and brother Rick have been working on since Christmas.

Friday afternoon, Mom needed to take a rest. Having half of her diaphragm paralyzed due to radiation damage from 10 years ago, tires her easily. I left about 2 PM, but did not want to wake her. When she awoke from her nap, she was not feeling well and had a fever. After discussing it, they decided it was best the sister Terri take her to the Dr. (Terri is our designated medical escort for Mom... she has a good head for the medical stuff...) Long story shorter, she needed to go to the hospital for IV antibiotics for Cellulitis in her bad arm.
Meanwhile, I got to Clayton, GA, set up the canopy and tables, put the sides down and called home to find out about Mom being sent to the hospital. I stayed in Clayton because there was nothing I could do for her anyway, she was in the best of hands and getting the care she needed. I kept my cell phone with me in case they needed to contact me.
Saturday I awoke to rain... what a way to start a weekend outdoor show! The rain subsided enough for most of the artisans to get their vehicles unloaded and booths set up. Then it was off and on sprinkles for a bit. About 1:30 or so, the RAIN came... and it came some more, and then it was torrential! The event chair came around and said that I had been chosen to win the Best in Show for Pottery & Ceramics but that the awards ceremony for 3:30 was postponed until Sunday because of the rain. They told us we could close up for the day whenever we wanted to.
We went to Dillard House in Dillard, GA for dinner... it was delicious!
The rains continued throughout the night, one customer from Clayton said there was 4" of rainfall at her house.

Sunday morning early (5:30 or so), it POURED!!! But by 7 it was sun-shiny and I went back to the venue to see that my canopy had survived the rains, although some people lost theirs over night. I re-set all my product and then the winds came. I didn't lose any pottery though! I tried to make sure I had things relatively low-profile.
At times I had to hang on to the canopy to make sure it didn't blow away... even with weights on it! The wind gusts were pretty powerful. More vendors lost their canopies or displays to the gusts, we could hear crashing and shattering glass sounds.

I received my blue ribbon and cash prize, and sold a decent amount of product.
And... I got a copy of the Clayton paper which had excerpts from a phone interview I had on Tuesday evening with one of the reporters about the show.
When I got home, I was checking my email and discovered I had won a custom made worry stone from Kelley's Bead Studio.
Mom may be released today, if they feel that her arm looks enough improved. Her fever has been gone, which is good. She is in good spirits and feeling much better.
Thank you to my family for being the wonderful people they are and taking care of Mom. Also, thank you to Phyllis & Renee (friends-who-are-like-family) for helping Terri at the store while Dad recuperated from being at the hospital with Mom til early morning hours. And thank you to Cissy, Marsha & Peggy (more friends-who-are-like-family) who spent the day at the store Saturday having a wonderful time. I love each and every one of you!
And now... as soon as I get my laundry finished... it is off to start the work week.