31: A ta-da moment and bargains...........

Ta-da! Here is the ocean ripple looking rather odd hanging from the back of the chair. It is wide. And I think it looks like the sea, and it is lovely. Well I think so, anyway!

I have been sitting sewing in all the ends this evening. When it gets dark, I leave the sewing room and sit in the rocker and watch some TV , or rather listen to some TV while I do hand work - you know, the pinking shears, the crochet hook, the sewing needle sort of stuff. 

And I end up with a whole lot of this. Ends. 

Today, I have made some bunting for a friend - miles of it. 

And then I started on this............

Cutting out the 8 inch strips to start more Christmas bunting - on tomorrow's "to do " list.......

And cutting the triangles of autumnal fabric to make some autumn bunting too. 

So there has been a lot of activity in the sewing room. It has been bright and sunny today, and it is so nice to sit in a room flooded with the sunlight. It makes everything seem special. Do I sound demented? Probably. The brightness makes the ordinary extraordinary the same way as the dullness or greyness makes the ordinary dreary. 

Anyway. 

I like the sun shining. 

Jean and I popped along to Tesco at an early hour because she has visitors for the next week and needed to acquire food, and I went along for the ride - I needed bread, and I like wandering about now and then to see all the new things they are unpacking for Christmas already. On the way there, we stopped at a DIY store because Jean also has plans to paint her bathroom. And I found the reduced section. .......

Now how COULD I have walked past this?? That is a 90% discount by my reckoning. So I felt quite pleased with myself. I do like reduced sections/bargain basements/ cheapy shops (what we call the 99p store etc).  LOVE them. It is all about finding a couple of really reasonable things, and using them to make your home beautiful. Imagination. That is what is needed. I have imagination. Add Pinterest to the mix and ideas will pop into your mind as you walk around them. 

There was a time when I didn't enter the really cheap shops. I just assumed I wouldn't like what they stocked. (This was a looooooooong time ago.) And then my sister zapped into one of our local ones on a visit, and life changed forever. I was hooked on bargains and potential. And now, while others may list designer stores as their favourites, so help me, for the rest of my life, I will love the cheapy shops, marked down sections, bargain basements, and all the possibilities I can think of to make something special without breaking the bank. And if you love gardening, they are perfect. I buy covers for my garden furniture for 99p. They work. Why should I pay £20 or £30 for the same thing? The wind and rain and snow will damage any kind of cover, no matter how much you pay for them. 

And they are really good at seasonal stock, like Christmas, Easter etc. You just have to think how differently you could use a simple item. Paint photo frames. Add a hessian or raffia bow to a plain glass vase and fill with acorns and a candle. Make up play bags with card and crayons. It is all about engaging the brain together with the eyes and wallet, in a way. Thinking what else an item could be used for. 

Ah well. I love my bargain of the day - and yes, I did need a new single duvet cover!

31 Days of Creativity - a highly unsatisfactory post......

A little sunshine makes a huge difference to my lounge - I love the way the autumn colours seem to glow. I snapped this en route to the sewing room after my aquarobics debacle this morning. Our normal (wonderful) teacher, Debbie, is on her honeymoon at the moment, and she needs to come back asap. The gym was supposed to sort cover for the class today. They failed to do this, and after 15 minutes of a pool full of women jogging on the spot to keep warm in the water, they finally got someone from the gym floor to come and take the class. The poor child (she was very young), had no chance to prepare or work things out. So it was a disaster. The lifeguard was demonstrating steps we usually do at the other end of the pool behind out backs to give her some sort of idea. But there were many very unhappy people about. And I really feel so sorry for those who were new. Heaven knows if they will ever try an aqua class again.

So I came home, and headed for the sewing room, to work on some Christmas projects. I can't show you yet, because they are gifts. So a fat lot of good it is to post for 31 days on creativity and then say, hey, I am being creative, but I can't show you.

Sigh.

I will have to endeavour to improve the quality of these posts. Maybe tomorrow. I have just been sewing in all the ends of the latest ripple this evening, in front of the TV. See? More creativity of sorts.

I had to take this photo to show you the wonderful scissors I use for the embroidery machine. Actually, I use them for sewing at all the machines. Any machine. Yes, they are shaped in an arc, and it is superb, because it means I can slide them under the foot and cut thread close to the stitches. This is especially important with the embroidery, where I have to get short linking threads cut, and ordinary scissors are just too bulky. I got these a good few years ago from the sewing machine shop in our town. Genius. I love them.

And on that highly fascinating note, I am off to replenish the coffee and finish the sewing in of ends. I will be back tomorrow...........

31 Days of Creativity - the Monday report.........

Cold. Damp. COLD. Hello, Autumn, you are definitely here.

The garden is full of spider's webs and apparently we are no further than 3ft from spiders in the house too right now. According to reports. Just peachy. I don't really mind spiders. I do, however, hate walking into a web at head height. I swear I can feel spiders crawling around my hair for hours afterwards. {{Shudder.}}

I have been to aquarobics, done my bit bouncing about in the water, and my leg and I are having a rest for a little while. The bouncing about is good for me. The leg takes a little convincing. The doctors - the consultant ones - say don't stop. So they must know what they are talking about. Right? Right.

Last spring, when the dahlia bulbs went on sale, I decided that, as they flower right through autumn, I wanted some autumn coloured ones, and I am so thrilled with the mixed bargain bag I got. I really love these curly orange ones. And there were 2 in the bag, which is even better. I already had pink ones, which I love, and which are unbelievably prolific, but PINK??? In Autumn?? So, I removed some aged shrubs and popped these ones in the ground in the bed outside the doors, so I could see them from indoors. It worked. And I remember my uncle bringing me bunches of dahlias when I lived in Cape Town, so I have been cutting some and putting them in my orange metal jug on the table. Yellow. Orange. Red. Perfect. They don't last very long, however. Still, they make me smile. And also they make me remember my uncle. He died when he was just 55. I am older than that now and it feels strange to think I have lived longer than he did.

The garden bunting is still up on the fence, as you can see behind the flower. It is faded, but it has been so pretty - all multi-coloured and bright, especially on dull damp days.  I may take it down when the dahlias are over, but then, maybe it can stay till spring......

So, I am about to cut more bunting. And I have some Christmas projects in the pipeline. Remember all the embroidery I did last week? I need to get a move on. The latest ripple has one row to go. It was so frustrating last night - I was watching the Classic Brit Awards after the party, and Andre Rieu and his orchestra were playing - I love waltz music - and then the military wives were singing, and I tried so hard to stay awake to do one last row, but the eyes kept shutting. I gave up and went to bed. So that is on the list for today.

The Internet is going haywire today. One minute all is well and the next we get that grey box thing saying that there is a problem. However, I am slightly mollified, because a friend in a neighbouring village is having the same problem.  So I will go back to my pile of Christmas fabric and triangles instead for now. I am being creative, even if it doesn't look like it here!

31 Days of Creativity - wiping a slate clean...........

Sometimes, creativity means scrapping what was done and starting over, and the garden is a lot like that. Seasons change. Moods change. Visions change. So yesterday, as the sun was shining, I spent some time armed with the loppers, secateurs and other assorted hacking objects, and demolished a corner of my garden. There is something satisfying about stripping out the old, and dreaming/plotting/planning what will be planted next spring. Rebirth. Wiping the slate clean.

Of course, actually having a summer would help enormously. We had no summer. One or two weeks doesn't count. Just ask our farmers. But then, too much summer doesn't count either. Ask the American farmers.

However, the tomatoes finally made an effort and produced the goods, and I have loads to still cook and freeze. And I now know that the place to grow my squash is down at the allotment. They LOVE to ramble all over the place and I have never had so many before. They keep as they are, so no need to ponder storage at least. Storage. Always an issue.

I am like a mother hen, you see. My family will all be here for Christmas this year, and I keep seeing things to feed them on offer, and I keep thinking - just make and freeze a, b, c, and then I realise storage is the constant roadblock in my plans to creatively feather the nest, so to speak. Mums need to be prepared. Well, this Mum does. I want to be able to spend time playing, chatting and baking with them all, instead of masterminding menus. Having some meals in the freezer will be hugely helpful. I will Make A Plan.

And now I am off to a party - My dear friend, Julia and her husband are off to live in France soon.

"How to" Corner: Changing a machine needle.
Before I forget, Bookworm, just beside the needle on your machine, there will be a little wheel to the right of the needle as you look at it. Hold on to the broken needle with your left hand and turn the the little wheel towards you - anti-clockwise. The needle will drop out. Try not to let it drop into the machine! Then take a new needle size 80 or 90 is fine for ordinary sewing, and pop it up the hole with your left hand with the FLAT side at the back. Then fasten it in place by turning the little wheel the other way till tight. Righty tighty lefty loosey, as Geoff used to say.


I break needles all the time. Another excellent thing to remember is to change the needle when ever you start a new project. I am appalling at this. I keep meaning to change, but you will notice a huge difference if you do change it. I have written myself a reminder.

31 Days of Creativity - Bunting Tutorial...........

Well, we are about to embark on my very first tutorial. Bunting. It is very easy to make, and even though I have tools to make it super easy, all you really need is fabric, scissors, pinking shears, bias binding and a piece of cardboard. A sewing machine helps, of course.

I cannot do without my cutting board, ruler and rotary cutter, I have to say, and they are what makes this so simple. The bunting I make is 6 inches across the top and 8 inches long. The cutting board is in inches, so that is why I don't use metric measurements all the time. (15cm across and 20cm down)

If you don't have the cutting board and bits, make a template from some card and cut out the shapes with scissors. 6 inches across and 8 inches down.

Fold the fabric and trim edges to get a straight line, and then cut an 8 inch strip

Keep the fabric doubled, and line it up, trim the ends

Count 3 inches across the bottom, and swivel the ruler to give you an accurate cutting line. Cut the first side of your triangle.

Now swivel the ruler around and count six across the top and cut the rest of the triangle. Carry on doing this across the width of fabric. Then repeat with other fabric until you have enough triangles. And don't worry if some of the pattern ends up upside down. Bunting is up in the air, people will not notice!

Take your pile of triangles - you see you cut the front and back at the same time so there is no messing about  - to the sewing machine. Now you will sew around the 2 sides down one side and up the other. Pop them onto another pile of finished triangles. You can make hundreds in a very short time, believe me. 

Sewn triangle. You don't do the top. 

Get out the pinking shears, and cut up and down the 2 sides of the triangle. 

See? Easy. That part is now done.

And you have a nice pile (well you will if you take a photo of the finished pile, which I clearly did not do. Use your imagination.) They are all zigzagged. 

Now we move on to the bias binding. Oh, how I love big rolls of it which do not need joining. I use 1 inch cotton binding.

The secret is to iron it in half, leaving a little of the underside showing, because that way, you always know you are catching the back as you sew. 

So grab the pile of ironed triangles and the ironed binding and head for the sewing machine,. I have used 12 triangles here, and the binding is just over 3 metres - 10 feet long. 

Measure about 10 inches (25cm) and stitch the binding together. Just before you get to the finger marking the 10 inches, make sure your needle is down, holding the binding in place, then open it up and pop the first triangle between the binding. 

Make a few stitches, and needle down, open the binding and smooth out the top of the triangle.

Hold it in place and sew across the top until you are almost at the end.

Needle down, use some measuring thing - I love my little hem measuring whatsit - and measure 4 inches (10cm) roughly from the end of the last triangle. Sew that down, and just before you get to the 4 inch mark, pop in the next triangle. Rinse and repeat. Keep going until you have stitched it all together.

And VOILA!!!!!! You will have made the bunting. You can, of course, make it any length you like, and most of the bunting I have made so far(except the wedding and garden ones) I have used a solid run of triangles with no gaps. Just remember to set your machine to needle down all the time, because otherwise it sort of tries to escape, the longer it gets. 

The fold it up, and grin, because it is pretty. And you made it. 

Of course, if you want to, you can sew the flags together with the right side inside, and then turn them and iron so they will look neat and tidy and stitch on the binding. I have made some like that, but you know, I prefer my normal way. 

I hope you make some and get to grin too. And, although I know many of you are experts when it comes to sewing, there are others who are still novices, and that is why I have made this very simple. Just picture me standing next to you, guiding you through the first triangle or two. With the coffee at hand. 

Last year, I made bunting for most of my friends, and I spent a couple of hours cutting, then stitching together. In the evenings, I sat in the rocking chair with the pinking shears at hand and trimmed the lot. And then I sorted them into piles in the order I wanted them to be. Then the next day, I measured and cut the binding, then ironed it, and then off I went. 

Using up scraps is great too. I made mini bunting for Missy's play house 

Let me know if you have made some bunting - I would love to see it! And also, shout if I haven't been clear enough with the instructions. 

Have fun!!

Apfelkuchen

Here is the recipe for the Apfelkuchen. I will write it in Imperial measurements with a rough metric conversion in brackets.

2lbs (1kg) cooking apples
1/2lb (250g) marge (or butter)
1/2lb (250g) sugar
2 eggs
3/4 lb (375g) self raising flour
dash of vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Cream marge with 1/4lb (125g) sugar
2. Add beaten eggs
3. Add flour and essence
4. Line two 8 inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper and spread the mixture about half an inch thick
5. Peel core and slice the apples thinly and press down into the mixture rounded side up (I find it easiest to do 4 at 12 o' clock, 3, 6 and 9 o' clock and then fill in the quarters. Then do the middle. )
6. Dredge with the remaining 1/4lb  (125g) sugar and cinnamon mixed together
7. Bake at 390F (200C) for 30 minutes, until the apples are cooked.
8. Serve with whipped cream
9. This recipe freezes beautifully. I pop the cake into a plastic bag. Thaw at room temperature for 5-6 hours. 
10. Enjoy!

31 Days or Creativity - some fails and some triumphs.....

And if this posts with 2 real photos, it will be a mega triumph for me.

I am working on a tutorial which will be up tomorrow, I hope. Who knew so many photos would be needed????

My creativity for the day has not been wildly successful. It is a grey and cold day, so I decided to make scones, using my mother's age old recipe.

They look like flying saucers.


 So, nothing daunted, and spurred on by the thought that they may start rotting, I hauled out the gigantic bag of apples, and made two apfelkuchen. Apple cakes.

They worked perfectly. In a moment of triumph, I made a cup of coffee and sat down to drink it and discovered the water had not been boiled. That rather took the shine off that moment of self-congratulation.

So, while I was making another fresh mug, I peeled and chopped a little more of the apple mountain, and now have a huge pot of stewed apples to freeze, only the freezer is full. I am anticipating that they will live in the fridge quite happily until I can eat my way through something to create space in the minuscule freezer. They will be joining the most recent pot of tomato and onion also awaiting space.

This creative lark has some drawbacks.

I would really like to freeze the cakes too.

So where could I put another freezer............

Forget all that - I have been playing with Flickr for the past hour trying to see how to upload photos to avoid paying Blogger MONTHLY fees. The old annual one is no longer available. Playing with HTML codes -that is being creative, isn't it???? So here endeth today's post - I have a zillion photos to sort for tomorrow. I will be back. Have your rotary cutters ready.............

31 Days of creativity - easy things......

It is approaching late afternoon, and I am a little puzzled as to why I am getting emails of some of your comments but they are not appearing on the blog. Weird. But never fear, if you have left a comment, the likelihood is that I have read them. Hooray for smart phones! At least I know you are there, and that is wonderful.

Sleep and I were not on speaking terms last night, so I was still awake at 4am. This is not convenient at all. I am the one in the corner looking like a zombie. And yes, I remembered all the meds too. (Actually, as I wrote that I remembered that I had not taken the lunch time lot and it is now 4pm, so I made a hasty dash to the pile of boxes. My life is ruled by the boxes. But if they work then that is OK.)

So, Linds in dopey mode is the order of the day.

I was thinking earlier of some of the simple things I have made in the past. You know, you can get plain fleece blankets at Ikea for very little money. One year I either appliqued something on the corner of a fleece or embroidered something for Christmas, like a Christmas tree, or a candy cane, or a heart - anything in bright Christmassy fabric, and then gave them as gifts. Ikea also came to the fore another year, when I bought a pile of plain white hand towels - again, very reasonable - and did the same on them. Lovely seasonal guest towels!  Either applique or embroider, add a bottle of hand soap, and you have a lovely gift.

I absolutely refuse to spend a fortune which I do not have. But a few simple ideas and anything is possible. If you haven't done much sewing, you may not have discovered the delights of Wonder Under. A very descriptive name for double sided iron on vilene. You iron a piece of it, rough side down, onto the back of the fabric you will be using for your applique, and then trace your pattern onto it, and cut it out, peel off the backing and iron it in place. Just remember that if you are using letters, to trace them back to front, so when it is cut out, the letters make sense and are not all backwards.

And then you can either straight stitch by hand or machine, zigzag, or do blanket stitch around the applique. A little time, and it looks lovely and different.

Red fleece blankets cost about £3. Cream, purple, black, turquoise - loads of colours. And you can personalise them so easily. By the way, if you are making a template of something like a heart, the best way to do it freehand is to do one side and cut the one side out. Then fold the paper and draw round the edge. At least it won't look wonky. Or it will be symmetrically wonky.

Recession heaters, hand warmers. Bunting. Aprons. Table runners (and do not for ONE SECOND believe that the quilt as you go method is easy - I have unmitigated disasters trying that one. I do mine the old fashioned way now after a thousand miles of unpicking.

At least it didn't put me off!

You can see last year's sewing efforts here - there are loads of photos of some of the things i made. But right now, I need either a huge cup of coffee or some matchsticks to keep the eyes open!

31 Days of being Creative - inspiration strikes.......

Hello people - in the spirit of creativity, I inspired myself and have been in the sewing room all day. Well, actually, Margaret popped by yesterday to use my embroidery machine, and it was still out, and I started thinking and, hello, the day is gone. I have a pile of embroidery done for Christmas ideas, and eureka, I have 11 bobbins full of white cotton all neatly in a line for more efforts, should the creative muse strike again in the near future. There is nothing that irritates me more when I am sewing than having the bobbin run out mid creative spurt. And when I do machine embroidery, they run out often, and it is easy to slot in a full bobbin. That is, providing one has full bobbins. We do now. Insert cheesy grin. This is particularly appropriate as I have cauliflower cheese bubbling away in the oven for supper as I speak, courtesy of Jean's impulse buy of an enormous cauliflower, which she felt moved to share. Perfect.

I digress.

Food makes me digress.

Especially when cheese is involved.

Margaret is mid Advent Calendar creation. She is making them for her grandchildren, and had to number the pockets. Of course, she did. Advent calendars without numbers would be pointless. So, while I oversaw (that sounds weird) the process, I also hopped back and forth to the computer to check for embroidery machines. I cannot BELIEVE how pricey they are! Mine was a real bargain long ago, and it is going to keep going forever. It has to. I absolutely love it. It is not fancy, and doesn't come with USB ports and the ability to convert one's own designs, but I use the cards Marge and I have between us, and we manage to cope perfectly.

I did suggest that maybe Margaret may think about one, because she has 4 young grandchildren (so far) and who knows how many exciting sewing projects she may embark on in the coming years.

And before I forget, Bookworm, if you want a sewing lesson or 2, I am happy to oblige. It is a great deal easier than it seems! And just treat the pedal as an accelerator. After you set the machine on the snail speed, of course.

So, today, out came the Christmas fabric. I have many ideas, and many half ideas, and I need to play a bit to see what works best for what I am wanting to make. If you have been here a while, you will know that I love making my presents, and I particularly love making Christmas things for Christmas. Home to home, remembering what Christmas is all about. Some years I veer towards the wood supply and my scroll saw, and the kitchen gets covered in dust, but I have such fun. Other years, the sewing room wins. And then every year, there are the baked goodies I give away as well. I do love making things to give away......

Being creative doesn't have to be complicated, does it. It is just that there is something special giving away gifts made using your time and your hands. Not to mention your imagination.

So I play with ideas, and then see how they work in reality. Some do, and some do not. I have seen my fair share of disasters over the years, but I usually hide them and Never Speak Thereof.

One thing I wanted to say about creativity - just arranging things in our homes requires creativity. I change for the seasons here, and that is such fun. However, this year I had to find last years's Autumn photos to see how I made it work. The muse had vacated the premises that day. Choosing cushions for the sofa is being creative. Laying a pretty table is being creative. Arranging (or plonking) flowers in a vase is being creative. Good grief, choosing an outfit that works is creative. Everyone of us makes creative decisions every single day. Today is not one of those - sigh -  if we take a look at the outfit I am wearing. I threw on whatever was on the end of the bed this morning, not intending to leave the house. Nothing creative there. But that is just fine too. I used the creative bit in the sewing room.

Stick around, people, I will get to the part where we actually make things soon, I promise..............

31 Days of Creativity - my version..........

I was talking about being a Jack of all trades yesterday. It isn't just the quilting, you know. I love woodwork - I like the simple things I make. I love scrapbooking, but I use my basic skills. I love(d) knitting but hated patterns, so would wing it, and wear it and then unravel it. I have made tapestries, done embroidery and cross stitch. I have made cards. I have sewn no end of things. And I have a head full of ideas popping out all over the place. That never stops.

Little bits of things.

Is this a failing? I prefer to see it as a blessing.

No project, even though I amass the skills and make loads of things, has ever raised in me the need to be the best in the world. I just want to learn how - to make everything I try to the best of my ability. I opened a box in the attic a while back and out came some rucksacks I made, from my own pattern, complete with matching piping, toggles and straps, and I looked at them and grinned. They were good. Very good. I made dozens one year, and then I stopped. It is the same with other ideas.

You see, to me, being creative does not mean you have to be exceptionally gifted. It means that you are willing to explore a little. Play around with fabric. Paint. Paper. Cameras. Whatever. Have fun. As a Mum, one of my roles is to be the Keeper of Memories, and there are no memory police about to see what I do, how good it is or why. It is something inside me that I need to satisfy.

Creativity is a part of who I am, and who everyone is in a sense. It doesn't matter which way it is expressed, whether your hands make something or whether your hands guide machines to make something. Good grief. I shudder to think what my woodwork would look like without my trusty scroll saw. I would still be sawing out the first attempts. Gardening. That is being creative. Drawing.

I once enthusiastically bought a box of charcoals. I had this vision of me on a rock sketching beautiful black seascapes in my new sketch pad. I tried. Believe me, I kept trying, and in the end the entire book was tossed in the bin. There are something which are clearly never meant to be and charcoal drawings were my nemesis. I can draw plans. 3D plans. I have drawn house plans since I was a teenager. I love that. But do not ask me to draw a picture. I can cut outlines better than I can draw them. Weird. But at least I know that they are beyond me!

And then there are the words. Words are an immensely powerful form of creativity, aren't they?

Sometimes, I look at the blogging pages of the experts who now run businesses teaching bloggers how to maximise their potential, and a whole host of techy details, and I smile, because that is not what I want. I love the freedom of being able to chat. To let my fingers run away with my brain. Or vice versa. I write the way I speak. I write as if we were sitting round the kitchen table chatting over coffee. Some of you have done just that already. Sat round the table chatting. You will hear me through the posts here.

I love the idea that I have taught so many how to do the basics when it comes to sewing. Some of them will take those skills to a level way more accomplished than mine, and that is wonderful. All you need are the basics and then, if it fires your imagination, off you will go. I saw the glimpses of that in my classroom, and I will always wonder how many remembered anything, and where it took them.

It is a great tragedy of our times here in the UK, that all subjects have become examination orientated. Art. Sport. Sewing (Textiles), Cooking (Food Technology), Woodwork (Resistant Materials) and on it goes. Basic skills are not the focus of the lesson plans or syllabus. No. It is all about marketing and design plans and cost estimates and distribution, and profit margins, and there I am screeching that before anything like that can be attempted, let me teach the children HOW to sew. HOW to create. Even the world's greatest designers learnt how things were made. Examinations can and most often do stifle creativity. It has to be done right or you fail. And right is what is in the eye of the examiner, not in the mind of the child.

And continuing the rant, once upon a time, these more practical lessons in the classroom gave some children a place to shine. Academic education is not for everyone. Those with more practical  abilities had a place to outshine their academic contemporaries. Once upon a time. Now, there is no place in the educational system for those less able to shine, and that is a disaster. No wonder children are discouraged. Everyone needs to have one area where they are allowed to discover and hone their skills. There is time enough in later education for all the business plans.

Creativity is not measurable.

It is as large or as small as each individual makes it. It is not right or wrong. If you want to become an architect you will learn all the laws and rules which go alongside your creativity, but you still need the confidence to believe in your innovative ideas. And that comes from having the opportunity to shine when you experiment. Oy, get me started on the educational fiasco and I could go on for decades.

Sigh.

I got a little side tracked there. Maybe I should make a plan of what I will say every day. NO!!! That will stifle the creativity! I excel at winging it. So that is what we will be doing. Maybe tomorrow we will get onto more creative stuff. We will see...............