60 Inch TV Cover Up!

This is the 60 inch TV that Terry has in our living room.  I know men like these "big ole" TV's but they really are hard to hide in the decor scheme!  I cannot deny him his big screen with all the white and chic he lives with in our home.  So I came up with a way to hide this monster screen in my new living room re do.

Remember this old church alter I got awhile back for the TV to sit on.

Yep even with the pretty altar that screen just grabbed hold of your eye every time.  Even Libby had a hard time looking at it anymore lol!

So to start the transition in the new living room.  We painted the altar white and distressed it.  Then we took this old chippy cabinet door and mounted it to the front for more chippy uniqueness and character.



Terry and I went out to a couple of Antique places on Friday and we found these awesome old shutters.  There were three of them for $18 dollars.  I forgot to take a picture before he cut them down to size.  



So Terry and his trustee tools made these shutters into doors to hide the 60 inch TV.  I am hunting for some cool knobs for these shutter doors.  



Yeah win win!!!! He gets his big screen TV and I get to hide it when we are not watching it.  $18 dollars and some left over wood made for this great cabinet box to cover the TV.





This is how we covered up the 60 inch TV in our house.  You got a few sneak peaks at the living room Re Do.  Just waiting on my white slipcover for the couch.  Lisa actually emailed me today and said the slipcover for the couch is ready and she will ship it this week. I have a few more decor change ups for this room and then I will have the reveal soon.  My chippy white and cream and gray living room is coming together nicely.  So far the only money spent was $18 for the shutters.  Love when I can make a major change to the decor and use what I have.
Hoping these rainy days will end and we will get some sunshine so I can get some better pictures of this room.


Have a great rest of the week.  Thank you always for your visits and sweet comments.
Kris
:)




Parties:
Wow
Amaze Me Monday
Tweak it Tuesday
Inspire Me Tuesday
The Scoop
Mod Mix Monday
Vintage Inspiration Party
What's It Wednesday
Share your Cup Thursday
Thursday's Favorite Things Blog Hop
Share Your Style
Shabbilicious Friday 
Something to Talk About
Get Your DIY On
Sweet and Simple Fridays
Bouquet of Talent


Simple Bathroom Cover Up


I have a double shower in my master bathroom that I love but I hate seeing the double glass sliding doors.  I wanted to soften the doors and seeing into the shower.  Terry and I are the only two that really see the shower but I still wanted to look less at the glass doors and soften the double shower somehow.

Here is my solution

Double slider glass doors.






 So my solution was to use these grommet top sheer panels that I had from the bedroom.  They slide easily on the shower rod and they can be opened from either side of the doors.







They just add some softness and hide the glass doors.  Love this new softer look to the our master bath and I did not have to spend any money just rehung some drapes I already had.  



This is another pretty old vintage church window I hung up in my master bathroom.  Love the unique shape and chippiness to this old window.
Have a great start to the new week ahead.  Thanks for stopping by.
Kris
:)

Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger


Julie from Little Farmstead



 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.


Good Saturday to all of you.  This week in Spotlight I have a super fabulous blogger that shares my love of neutrals, slipcovers and fun architectural pieces with history mixed into her decor.  Sit back and enjoy getting to know Julie from Little Farmstead.





I was so honored when Kris asked me to participate in this series. I adore her style and know that she has an amazing group of readers.

I started blogging a little over a year ago. It has been a meaningful creative outlet for me. What fun to share ideas and perspectives with newfound friends, who enjoy many  similar interests! I have been encouraged and inspired within this blogging community and for that, I am very grateful.



On my blog, Little Farmstead, I write about farmhouse living, decorating, DIY projects, gardening, celebrations and bits and pieces of our family life.


I grew up in Walnut Creek, California (about 30 minutes from San Francisco). My Dad was a pastor and my Mom was a teacher. They are pretty much my heroes. I have a sister who is very creative and has been my decorating partner-in-crime over the years. 

We are blessed to live close by my parents and my sister and her family. The cousins are very close, which makes for a lot of fun times together.


As a child, I loved swimming (I even did synchronized swimming!) and riding my horse. In junior high and high school, I played a lot of sports - volleyball was my favorite. In summers, I worked as a life guard. It was rough, but somehow I managed. ;)

I attended college in Southern California, where I met the love of my life. After graduating, I worked in marketing at a  technology company in Newport Beach. 

Then, two years later, my husband and I got married in the Bay Area and moved up to beautiful (and rainy!) Seattle.


In Seattle, I took a position in an aerospace company. My first week on the job was spent in Paris at the Paris Air Show. I remember people asking me that week how I was liking my new job. "So far, so good!" was my response. ;) As part of my job, I also traveled to Germany, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, as well as many cities in the U.S. This was a real dream come true for me - - I had always wanted to see more of the world! I also enjoyed getting to know people from different countries. Learning more about different cultures has always been very interesting to me.

Then in 2003, my life was forever changed when our first son was born... and then, a couple years later, our second baby boy... and three years later our third son! 


Our home is full of boys and full of life - - lots of activity and noise. We've had our share of trips to the ER and someone is always hungry. Oh the dirt! (I bleach our white slip covers regularly.) But man, oh man... our boys are the best. They are my buddies, my world.

A year-and-a-half ago, our dream of moving just past the city limits, to our own little piece of the country came true!  It is amazing to live here at our little farmstead, enjoying nature and having room for our boys to play and explore. 

One of the main reasons we wanted to move to a country setting was so that we would have more reasons - a dog to walk, eggs to gather, a garden to tend, bonfires to enjoy - to be home together. 


We have a small menagerie of animals, including: a chocolate lab, two cats, a rabbit and chickens. We've enjoyed having a vegetable garden and hope to learn a little bit more about gardening each year. 


I love "nesting" and usually do it on a budget. I recently painted our dark green formica kitchen countertops. Paint can truly work wonders! 


We count our blessings each day. We've experienced difficult times, like everyone. But through it all, we've experienced God's grace, faithfulness, forgiveness and love. 

If you enjoy farmhouse, vintage, prairie, cottage or flea market decor (shall I name more styles just to cover my bases? :), I may have some ideas for you... I'd love it if you'd stop by Little Farmstead

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Xo,

~julie

Thank you Julie for sharing your beautiful home and life with us today.  Please take a few minutes and visit Julie's blog Little Farmstead.

Have a great week end.
Kris
:)

Living Room Re Do's Coming Along


Remember me putting the chippy barn door around the bottom of  the sectional to try and cottage it up.  Still not happy.  Even with leather being very easy to maintain with a dog it just was not my style.  

So my daughter took my leather sectional for her new house and a dear friend is redoing her living room and gave me this couch.  It is a high end couch and very comfy and well built.  So in exchange for my leather sectional my daughter offered to pay for Lisa to make me a slipcover for this wonderful gifted couch from my friend.  So it is all good I am going to get the look I want and it won't cost me anything.  So stay tuned to see what a new custom slipcover can do to this couch.

All the walls are now painted in the Cottage White by Behr.  Just a hint of gray in the color.  Soft and serene.


It is hard to see with the way the light comes in the entry way but the top of the walls in the entry are the Cottage White with a hint of gray and the board and batten are done in white along with the trim all in a flat white.  So even though it is hard to see there is a slight difference in the trim and board and batten from the wall color.

I think the light white with hint of gray makes all the black and natural colors of the baskets and hats pop.  Stay tuned the living room is coming along nicely.  Just waiting on my slipcover to arrive hopefully next week and Terry and I are working on a few more change ups and re loves in this room.

Have a great week.  Come back on Saturday for another wonderful blogger to meet in Spotlight.
Kris
:)

Parties:
Vintage Inspiration Party
Shabbilicious Friday
Make it Pretty Monday

New Change Ups Coming

Happy Sunday and Happy Father's Day. 


Happy Father's Day to my  sweet husband, my best friend and the wonderful father to our two daughters and grandfather to our sweet granddaughter Abby.  I have been with this man for 35 years and loving him is like breathing,  easy and beautiful.

We carved out a beautiful life together and continuing to live out our journey together just makes my heart sing.  Terry I am so blessed to call you hubby, friend and soul mate.  Enjoy this day in honor of the good man, dad and grandfather you are not to mention the handyman you are in my decor crazy world.
Love you to the moon and back.
xxoo
Kris


New Changes 


  I wanted to show a new window header Terry made me for the living room window.


You know how I love to repurpose salvage into new things. 

Ok here is a before picture of my walls and living room colors.  Remember the pottery barn thing I was trying to do to incorporate the leather sectional into the cottage decor.  Well.......


I am on a new course and getting back to the shabby cottage white that I love.  We painted the walls with Behr Cottage White which is one of the million colors of white they have!!!! It is a white with just a hint of gray tone to it.  I love the soft serene feel it gives the room.

Then I had this regular ole basic drapery rod.  Too boring and no character so.....




I had Terry make me a header for this window out of some old chippy porch spindles. Terry attached them together and then added some old chippy wood pieces we had  to make it long enough to fit the window. He went around the pole and attached the wood pieces to the bracket holding the curtain rod.   Kept the rod underneath to hang the white sheers on.







So this is the beginning of the transformation of my living room.  The beauty is I am using paint I had from the hall way so now the hall that leads to the living room will all be the same color.


You can see I get a lot of soft light in this room.  

I am going for a soft and serene shabby cottage chic room.  Stay tuned for more things I am changing up for this room reveal.

Have a great start to the new week.
Kris
:)

parties:
Show and Share 
Tweak it Tuesday
Vintage Inspiration Party
Make it Pretty Monday

Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger







Nellie from Nellie's Cozy Place


 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.




Good Saturday everyone.  I would like to introduce you to Nellie that blogs over at Nellies Cozy Place.  Nellies blog is about her creative talents, decor, she shares recipes and talks about her faith and family.  So after you read Nellie's feature please hop over and say hello.









Hi.....my name is Nellie
 and I blog over at Nellie's Cozy Place.  
Have to say when Kris asked me to do a
 post, it was such a sweet surprise and I was
 just tickled pink, as I have always enjoyed
 her blog and her special flair for decorating,
and the Saturday Spotlight post and too,
 she is such a sweetie.


Where to start...hmmmm

Well, I am a Florida Girl, from the Sunshine
State, born and raised in the panhandle, 
(living with my Mom and half brother, and
 maternal grandmother) but spent summers
 in the Florida Keys (visiting my Dad and step
 families and my paternal grandparents) 
and have lived in 5 Cities in Florida over
 my life time. 





I had a dream as a child to be a stay
at home Mom and to give my children
a stable home environment and all the 
things I missed out on as a child from
 a single parent home who's Mom had
 to work all the time to support us, and
 who only saw her Dad in the summer.
   I know beyond a shadow of a doubt
 that my parents loved me, and did the
best they could, considering what they
 went through as children themselves,
and my Mom did try to spend as much
time with us as she could when she was
off, but she worked shift work which
 further complicated life, so my 
parents were pretty much unavailable
 to me for the most part due to the 
situation, and even tho my maternal
 grandmother lived with us to sort of
 watch over us, she was not a happy 
nor nurturing woman, to put it mildly,
 but the Lord was good to sort of provided
 me a 2nd Mom, by moving us right next to
 a loving and faithful Christian family of five.
Mrs. Thomas was a stay a home Mom and
 I saw a very loving christian life style lived 
out before me daily, as I practically lived at
 their home, and attended church with them
 at the Methodist Church most Sundays.
 My older brother and I were best friends
 with 2 of their children. These dear and
 loving people, had a profound impact on
 my life, emotionally, spiritually, and
 practically, as I watched them navigate
 the loss of their husband and Father, and
 then 5 years later the loss of their Son and
 brother to a car accident, he was our friend,
 and like a brother in many ways. I saw a
real picture of the hope and help that the
 Lord and his people can bring to his people
 at such a heartbreaking time.
I believe the Lord used Mrs. Thomas to
help instill that dream of being a stay
at home Mom in my heart, and that
 family is the #1 reason I am a Christ
 follower today.


When I was a Senior in High School I
 moved to live with my Dad and step
 family, and half way through that year,
right after I had broken up with the
fellow I had been dating at my Dad's
 request...... my step-sister talked me 
into going on a blind date with an old
 friend of her hubbies, who had just 
gotten out of the Air Force and I said 
I would only go if they went too,
so... we went and that is how I met
my sweet hubby Jim, of 44+ years. 
Much to my surprise, we met and
 married in 1970. I was in no way
looking for a husband.........but 
knew a good guy when I saw him,
 as he was different than any guy
I had ever met and our 3rd date
was to church and to meet his
family, and I fell head over heels
in love with him and knew I would
 be a fool to pass him up............
to be an Airline Stewardess.  lol
Which was my original plan!!





About a year after we married my hubby
 got an opportunity to take a job in 
Germany as a civilian, so we went and
 lived there for almost a year, and it was
 a wonderful experience for both of us,
but it was not a new experience for hubby
 as the job was right in the same city, Air
base and shop where he previously had
 served in the Air Force, just about 2 years 
earlier................so that was quite helpful
 in our new adventure as civilians living in
 a foreign country.  We really did enjoy
 living and being a part of the culture there
 so much and got to visit some other 
countries as well.  Luxembourg, France,
Holland, Belgium as well as other
 places in Germany.


About a year or so after we returned
from Germany, hubby got another job
 and we settled  into South Florida
so that we could buy a home so we
could begin thinking about a family.

For our 7th Anniversary we had our 
first child, a son named Scott. He was
 born just 3 days before our Anniversary
 and we actually brought him home on 
Our DAY!
What a wonderful Anniversary Gift!


Hubby and Scott, he was about 5-6 yrs. old


  and this began my career as a stay
 at home MOM.
 I had worked at a Finance Co,
 as a pharmacy Asst., as a keypunch
 operator,  a dental asst,  clerk typist
 and was the first woman administrator
 in the Company I worked for,  before 
retired to be a full time MOM.
 Have to say I liked every job I had, but
being a full time Mom, over time, I came
 to understand it was truly my calling from
 the Lord.  I think there is no greater thing
 than helping to shape the life of a child,
your own or even someone else's.
Over the years, I did take care of other
 children who had working Mom's or who
were from single parent homes for lil or
 no money. Took care of my niece and
 nephew every summer after their parents 
were divorced and they moved away,
and they would come and visit their Dad,
 so they would stay with us in the daytime
 while their Dad was at work. I have always
had a heart for hurting children, so I saw 
all these things as opportunities to do
for them what the Thomas family
did for me................


For about 8 yrs.of the time in South
Florida hubby worked full time and
 went to school part time to become
 an Electrical Engineer. That was not
 too bad until after we had our son, at 
that point for me it was like being a
 single parent, as I had no family around
 and no help at all. So those were some
 tough years for me, but knew it would
 be worth the sacrifice in the long run.
 Two and a half yrs. after our son was 
born hubby finished his degree and
 landed a new job, much to our glee, 
it meant a move to the central Florida
 area, because we did not think south Fl.
was a great place for raising children,
so we sort of moved to the country, not
 really, but to a wooded neighborhood
 but at least it seemed like it was the
country by comparison to where we
lived before.....lol

We moved here to the Central Florida
 area and much to our great surprise
 it was less expensive to build a new
 home rather than a to buy a resale. 
 We never ever dreamed that would be
a possibility, but it was really the best 
option.
So we were both beyond thrilled.


While our house was soon to be under 
construction unbeknowst to us, so was 
our marriage. Some bad patterns had 
been set in those years of being so busy,
 and desperately needed to change as our
 marriage was in trouble, and had been, 
but just thought it was all the busyness
and that it would clear up on it's own,
and when it didn't we came to a crisis
 point. We were now at the 10 yr. mark, 
and we were both already Christians
and knew we would go to heaven but
 as ignorant as a stone as to what being 
a Christian really meant, but we decided
 that day, that we needed to get back in
church and get serious with God or we 
were not gonna make it. Fortunately,
 a lady who was in real estate invited me
 to her church, just a few weeks prior to
our decision, so we decided to visit her
church. We went and have never left,
 and we have been there 35 years now. 
That real estate lady was certainly a
 divine appt, (and later became a friend,
and just a few yrs. ago sold Dee and
Jerry there first home), as she lead us
 to a really great bible believing and
 teaching church.
Everything we know about the Lord 
and his teachings we learned in this
church, and we took marriage classes,
and parenting classes and dug into
God's word, and Jesus totally changed
us, and changed our marriage and
family for the good, and still continues
to this day. In fact, for about the last
 15 yrs or so we have taught marriage 
classes, and it is one of our passions
as the Lord used marriage and family
classes to help us so much.  We are
currently involved with the young 
marrieds of our church along with
another older couple who have been 
married over 30 years. Which has
 worked out beautifully...........


We moved in our new home about 6 
months after we started to attend 
 our new church and I still remember it
 today as if it were yesterday.....we both
 felt overwhelmed by God's goodness to us,
 and we truly felt like we had moved into a
 palace, so it was like a pinch me moment
 for both of us. We actually moved in on
 hubbies 33rd birthday, and we are still
here 35 Years later and still love it....



Just took this recently, originally the cedar (on the top
half of the house) was a dark Walnut brown, with the same
 color garage and front door, both solid wood then, and a 
light brown roof.  I like it so much better with the blue
and almond color, and the red door.


 About 3 years after we moved into our
 new home we decided we wanted to have
 another child, this time it was a lil girl 
named DeeAnna, she arrived just a few
 mos. shy of our 14th Anniversary, and
she too, has been such a wonderful Gift.


 
Hubby and DeeAnna,  she was about 3-4 yrs. old



 I have to say the Lord has blessed me
 immensely with my hubby, children, dear
 friends and our church and church family,
 and by allowing me to achieve that dream 
of being a stay a home MOM, not that my
children were always thrilled about that,
 as so many of their friends had Mom's
 who worked outside the home, and I 
was a bit of an oddity.  lol

But I loved helping to give my children
 a stable home environment and doing
 my best to teach them all sorts of things,
and most importantly to love and serve
 God and their fellow man, as I know first
 hand the value of all that, so I  am
extremely thankful every day for the 
Lord and my hubby giving me
 that opportunity.



Here we are with our Son, Scott, daughter,
DeeAnna and Grandaughter, Brooklyn. Taken
in 2014, Megan (taking pic) and Jerry
 (wasn't here) were missing unfortunately.


Nothing against single parent homes
cause after all I came from one and
 sometimes it just can't be helped and
 most of the time the parents do the best
 they can as in my case, and I think I still
 turned out pretty good, and learned a lot
from the experience, but It does complicate 
your life, especially if your parents were
 married as many times as mine, and
it causes you to feel insecure, and like you 
or your feelings don't really matter, and I 
really wanted to spare my children from 
all that, and I give the Lord every bit of
 the credit, cause we could have never
 done it without HIM in our lives.



This was taken a few years back. 



Hubby and I have been empty nesters
for about 12 yrs. now, other than a few
 times that the kids moved back in just
temporarily. Both of our children got
married in the same year, to spouses
 that we love.



 Scott and Megan - May 2011


DeeAnna and Jerry - Oct. 2014



We have one grand daughter that is just 
over 2 yrs. old,  named Brooklyn, who I
 affectionately refer to as "our lil darling",
because she is... such a lil darling and 
such a Gift as we have so much fun
 with her,and just love her too pieces.


Brooklyn a few months ago
right after she turned 2 yrs.


We also now have not one, but 2 furry
grand daughter dogs as well, Rosie being
 the first...we thought for a long time she
 might possibly be our closest thing to a 
grand child we would ever have........we
practiced our grand parenting skills on 
her. lol.......and Lola is a new comer
 to the family just in the last few months,
 both of these furry girls are so sweet....
and last but not least we also have a very
 sweet kitty of our own named Molly.



Molly




Rosie



Lola


Our son Scott and his wife Megan and
our lil darling live about 20 mins. away
from us, which is really nice, and such a
blessing, as we get to watch Brooklyn
every Wed. while her Mommy works part
time.  Our daughter DeeAnna and her 
hubby Jerry now live in Asheville, N.C., for
close to 2yrs. now, So now hubby and I get 
the chance to adventure there every so often,
 and really love going there, truthfully it isn't
for the sights, not that they aren't great
but it is because mainly we love spending
 time with Dee and Jerry.


About 10 years ago I started designing
and making greeting cards to send to my
 Mother as she had to be in a Nursing home.
Just after we came back from a visit with
 her, and had put up a bulletin board for
her, I thought I should go buy some nice
cards to send her, and this crazy thought
passed thru my mind (and you would know
just how crazy it was if you knew how
afraid of computers I was). The thought
was "what about that Computer card
package, why don't you use that?", and
 all of a sudden I had this crazy, so not
me, desire to do that. (I truly believe that
 thought and desire came from God), as
 my hubby is the computer person in this 
household, and every time he wanted to 
teach me something on it, I was like only
if you tie me to the chair. lol

Thus began my adventure with card
 making.....I made a new card for my Mom
 everyday, in fact, they told me she got 
more mail than anyone in the place. lol
since I made them daily for about a year, 
 and just loved designing the cards,  as I 
have always been artistic and done crafts
(in fact, some of my friends and I use to
do a craft open house in the Fall for a
number of years) and decorating and 
such, but the card designing was so 
different for me........since it was done
on the computer and that I would like
doing this on the computer!! lol
So I just continued on making them 
for family and friends, and I got more
 and more proficient at it, and at a
 certain point began to have thoughts
 about it being a retirement business 
for us. Again thinking these thoughts
 were maybe?? from the Lord. So I 
started collecting my own graphics as 
I knew I would not be able to use the
 card package graphics to sell cards, but
 what I didn't know was that you can't
 use their templates or fonts either. 
So when I found that out I wrote to ask 
their permission and called numerous 
times but never got an answer, so even
 tho, my hubby had built a website for 
me and we were on our way, to starting
 it, we were stopped dead in our tracks.
  So then I was thinking did I miss God
on this thing, and really wanted confirm-
ation, if this was the direction I was to
 go in, So over the next several years
 we started researching to try and find
 out how professional card designers
 make their cards, and it just seemed like
  everything we did just turned up with
 nothing, so I was frustrated and a bit 
heart broken but was also glad if this
 was not the direction God wanted me to
 go, then I didn't want to go there, and
 just needed to accept it, Which I did.
As I didn't want to be trying to knock
 down doors God didn't want me to go
 thru. Yet I was never a woman who 
thought when my kids left home that 
my life was over, and it was also about 
what do I do now that I have worked 
myself out of a job,  Then some years
 later after a lot of physical issues that
 kept me somewhat home bound. 
 and still making cards for others, I
 started blogging due to my hubby and 
my dear friend over at Time washed's 
suggestion. Becky helped me set up my
blog and that was 6 yrs. ago in May and
it has been a great joy and lots of fun for
 me to meet  and share  life with  so
 many talented and amazing ladies,
that supply so much inspiration in so
many ways................


About 2 years or so ago............
With a whole lot more to the story, one
day my hubby came across a professional
card package quite by accident, as he was
 searching for something for work. Of course, 
as a believer in Christ, we don't believe in
 things like that being by accident.  So we
 were able to preview it, it was considerably
 different than the old package I had used,
but we decided to buy it anyway, which
 meant now, I had to relearn a whole new 
way of doing it and also rebuild cards that
I had already made prior too.  An exercise
 in frustration I might add, but at this point
I do feel it is God's direction for me, which
is a great feeling I might add.  So it has
 been a long time in coming but I have been 
busy setting up an Etsy shop,  and hope to
 be opening it around the end of July. I still
have so much to learn, that sometimes it is 
just overwhelming to me. But at the same 
time I am excited as can be................and
 really looking forward to what the Lord
has planned in all of this.



Just a few samples 





Just so you know, I typically blog about,
Pretty tables, decorating, food and recipes,
 and faith and family, and do a Thankful 
Thursday post weekly.  So hope you 
come by and visit soon.


Well, guess that's my story, and believe it
 or not I was as concise as I could be...........
as I am a born talker and detail person!! 
Bet you could never tell.........lol


Thanks again so much Kris,  for inviting me to
post on Saturday Spotlight.


Hugs and Blessings Galore,

Nellie


Thank you Nellie for sharing your self with all of us.  Have a great week end.
Kris
:)

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