nanke's stuff

Yesterday we had our first snow fall of the season.  Our entire lawn was covered with snow .... all the steps to the house were snowy, and there were ice droplets on all the branches.  It was really quite beautiful.  Mercifully, the sidewalk and driveway didn't hold the snow so there was no shoveling to do.  Oh how I wish it would be like that during the winter.   This is supposed to be a snowy winter.  I don't know if it will be more than last year or not (last winter we had 20 inches above the normal snow fall!).  Even though we had a lot last year, the good thing about it was that it was never really a ton of it all at once, so we were able to keep up with the plowing and shoveling.  I'm trusting that the same will be true this year!

I had a busy day today, but after dinner I sat down with my little sketchbook and did another portrait.  I found this face in a catalog.  Once again, I decided to stick with ink.  I doubt I'll do all of them in ink, but for these first 2 it seemed right.  For one thing, ink is a lot tidier than graphite, so it's easier to use while sitting in the living room with the TV on.  I'm not thrilled with her.  Her right eye creeps me out, among other things, but hey, it's progress, not perfection, right?

Well, I actually added some dots to the drawing I now call "Dotman".  It's a start, and you know what?  It really felt good!  Probably like most of the rest of you, I have a fairly busy weekend coming up, so I don't know how much I'll do on him until next week, but just the wee bit I got done has given me a boost of confidence.  Now I just have to make sure I keep moving forward.  I'm thinking that even if I don't put even a single dot on him, I can do some wee thing for five minutes or so.  Every little bit helps, right? 

So without further ado, here are my most recent dots!

I've read many times that if you want to develop a new habit, doing it for 21 days in a row will cause the behavior to become habitual.  I believe that's true for most of us most of the time.  I've tried it and, indeed, I did turn something into a habit.  After looking up the word "habit" in my trusty (albeit old) Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, I was surprised to find that the definition I had in mind was the 7th in a list of 9!  It was preceded by:   clothing;  a costume characteristic  of a calling;  bearing;  bodily appearance or make-up;  the prevailing disposition of a person's thoughts or feelings;  a settled tendency or usual pattern of behavior; and finally, the one I had in mind - a behavior pattern acquired by  frequent repetition that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance.  OK, that was more than you wanted to know.

Anyhow, thinking of building new habits led me to wonder about how long it takes to lose a desired habit if the behavior is interrupted for one reason or another.   I've never seen any research about this, but I'm guessing it takes a lot less time than 21 days!   I've talked about this general topic before, but here I am again struggling with the same issue.   Some of you know I was quite sick for about 6 weeks plus more time to reach a full recovery.  During much of that time I was literally unable to pick up a pencil to draw (not to mention use my treadmill).  That said, I've been physically healthy enough to do both for at least 3 weeks now, but have done neither.

Every day I tell myself that I'm going to start drawing again.  Every day I don't do it (never mind the treadmill - that's another matter completely!).  The supplies are all out on my drawing table, and I often hear them softly calling to me .  I feel guilty and uncertain of my ability to draw anything.  And because I've not been drawing or painting, I've also not been posting to my blog.

So, here's what I'm going to do.  I remembered an ink drawing I started years ago  of a wonderful face.  I was trying out a method new to me - using nothing but tiny dots.  Yesterday I looked for that drawing and found it after a relatively short search.  I'm hoping that by only making dots (what's so hard about putting a dot on a piece of paper?) I might get back in the saddle.   (It just occurred to me that here I am posting without drawing one thing, not even a dot .... what a chicken!)   Wish me luck, please.

Here is the drawing I started all those years ago (it's probably been at least 12!), and I'll post more as I go along.  My goal isn't necessarily to finish it, but rather to just start drawing.   Besides, I may need him again sometime in the future to lead me back to the drawing board!

I wish you could see what it's like outside here today.  Besides the lovely snow, there's a beautiful coating of hoarfrost on everything.  It looks like every twig, berry, needle and leaf was magically crystallized during the night.  When the sun hits it, it's just dazzling.  It's like being in fairyland.  I'm not really sure what makes it happen, but my guess is that there was fog in the night and the cold temperature made it freeze.  However, what I really think happens is that the Queen of the Fairies passed thru and waved her magic wand, and voila - a magical, crystal, garden!

Yesterday, being Sunday, meant football games on television.  I'm not very interested in it (although, I must admit the game between Green Bay and Philadelphia was pretty exciting at times, even to someone like me who knows almost nothing about sports).  So, while my sweetie and Abby, our dog, watched the game, I did a couple of sketches during the short time I was there with them.  They're nothing special, but I'm pleased that I spent some time, however briefly, doing a bit of sketching.



The angel on the left is quite folksy with her mismatched wings and ropey hair.   We got her years ago as a replacement for the rickety silver Christmas tree star, but our sons, who were boys at the time, complained loudly and wanted the star back.  They are now grown men, and we're still using that tired, falling-apart star on the tree.   The one on the right is kind of elegant.  She is made of quite fancy material - the stripes are metallic, and her face is a piece of ultra-suede  with the features drawn on with ink.  She used to belong to my sweetie's mother, and I love her.

I hope your day is filled with beauty and magic!

Today my friend Vicki and I went out drawing sketching together.  It's very hot here (in the 90s today), so we sanely decided to do our sketching indoors.  First we went to a mall and sat on a sofa near a coffee kiosk.  In spite of my love of the pencil, I used a Micron pen to do my sketching as I almost always do for this kind of playing.  Here's why (just in case anyone is wondering).  When I use a pencil, I tend to want to keep refining and refining my drawing.  This is all well and good when the subject is staying in one place,  but when everyone is moving, it doesn't work very well.  So I've learned that for me, using a pen is better.  There's no real going back to correct things - it just is what it is.  It forces me to move faster, and even though the drawings aren't very good, oddly it seems to put a sock in the mouth of my inner critic.  I think it's because my expectations are lower - I already know the sketches will be rough and may not look anything like the person I'm trying to secretly capture.  So, here are the sketches done at the Cool Beans Coffee Kiosk.

Across from the sofa where we were sitting was a jewelry counter.  There was a young man looking at the jewelry - I imagined he was looking for a special ring .... maybe so, but he was only there for a couple of minutes before moving on.



After lunch we left that mall and went to another one.  There was a Secretary of State office there with lots of people patiently waiting their turn.  Happily, the front of the office was all glass, so we were able to sit outside of it and do our sketching.   I sat on top of a counter that probably used to be a business of some sort, but now is empty.  That way I could see their faces. 





I had a really good time (as I always do with Vicki), and I hope we can do it again.  Even if I go by myself, the practice is good for me and I always feel so much better after having done something like this!  Have a great weekend, my friends!! 

One of the groups I belong to and am active in is Every Day Matters http://tinyurl.com/yjv2mma  They have a long list of "challenges" designed to help get past the "I don't know what to draw" days.  The prompts also act (for me, at least) as encouragement to just keep in there working playing at making art.   (I just remembered about that crossing-out-a-word thing that my computer can do!).  So, today I'm sharing one of my drawings based on EDM number 8, "draw your watch or a piece of jewelry".  As you can tell, I'm not that good at following directions, so here are a few of my "jewels", rather than just one.



Oh, and Alex, I almost forgot ... the new giveaway winner is YOU!!    ..... I didn't really almost forget, I just wanted to tease you a little bit.

I think I'm declaring this drawing finished.  I'm reasonably satisfied with it, although there is one thing I wish I hadn't done.  On the left side I blackened the spaces around 2 of the items which throw the whole drawing off.  When I did it I was planning on completely filling in all of the white space.  But then as I worked on it, I decided I liked it better with the white space left in.  Rather than go ahead and fill it all, I decided I would just live with the part I didn't like and not risk ruining the entire thing.  ...."It's just paper, it's just paper", chanted the voice inside my head.  Considering what Some Of the Things that voice chants, "it's just paper" is something I can live with!

I must confess, now that this drawing is finished, I'm feeling a tad anxious because I haven't the faintest idea what I'm going to do next.  I'm trying not to stress about it.  I think I'll just take the dog for a walk (in the miserably cold outside with it's howling wind) and see if I can come up with anything.

My sweetie and I were gone for most of the day yesterday.  We went to Ann Arbor for breakfast and to do a bit of shopping.  Yes, I know, Christmas was just here, and what could we possibly be shopping for?  But, a friend has a birthday very soon, so we wanted to to do a little something for him, and of course, we needed to check out a couple of book stores just in case there was something we  had to have (there was - fancy that!).  Anyway, my drawing time was a bit limited (so what's new about that?) and I didn't get my ink drawing finished.  I'm OK with that - I feel good that I spent time on it, finished or not.  The drawing is nearing a point where I'm not sure where to take it next, but for some strange reason, I'm not worried about it.  Maybe because I keep reminding myself, "it's just paper, nancy, just paper".

One of the books I bought is called "On Becoming an Artist, Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity" by Ellen J. Langer.  One of the comments on the back cover is written by Roger Mandle, president, Rhode Island School of Design.  He wrote, "A profound book, clearly and simply written, that presents scientific evidence as good advice to everyone who wishes to lead a creative life.  I thoroughly enjoyed and was inspired by Langer's work."  It sounds like it's right up my alley.  I haven't started it yet, but I'll try to post something about what I find.

So, anyway, here's the Second Step. .... By the way - I just found out that Potpourri is one word, not two.  Oh well, live and learn

Yesterday I started another ink drawing.  This one is a drawing of pot pourri - something I've drawn before and which I find very interesting when I look at it closely.  I love the shapes, textures, and of course the lovely scent of it.  In finding my way back to .... I don't really know what to call it ... my art life?  my artistic side?  my muse?  Anyway, I think baby steps are in order.  I have sheets of watercolor paper stretched and ready to go (prepared a long time ago), but I find them too daunting right now.  Even collage, something I've found quite enjoyable in the past, seems like too much.  So, ink it is.  I'll finish this drawing - maybe not today, although I'll do more on it today and post it here, and then see where I am.

Thanks again to everyone for your kind, generous, and supportive comments.  It means a lot to me and is very helpful.

Well, this is embarrassing, but here I am.   I started this blog for several reasons, but one of the main ones was that I was hoping that it would help prevent the periodic episodes of artistic paralysis.  I have experienced this a number of times and when it happens, it is a source of many emotions - all of them negative.  I feel anxious, pressured, inadequate, and clueless, just for openers.   In the past I have stayed in that terrible place for over a year at a time.   I don't think what I'm describing is "artist's block" - at least not my understanding of what being blocked means.  I think of being blocked as having a sheet of white paper in front of you and being unable to make a mark on it.  It's not knowing where to start and it's being filled with self-doubt. 

I haven't posted since Nov. 11, and the more time went by, the more impossible it seemed to ever write here again.  I haven't drawn anything and I haven't kept up with the Creative Lettering Class I joined.  I haven't made an ATC, knitted the sweater I started last winter (and am almost finished with), ..... well, you get the idea.  I did make the elephant Christmas ornament for my niece, but it took me forever because .... I don't really know why.

So, anyhow, I decided that it just had to stop and that I'm the only one who can fix this.  Pretty obvious, isn't it!  Yesterday I posted messages on a couple of the art group websites that I belong to (another thing that I haven't been doing - not even reading the postings), then I spent quite a bit of time working on a Zentangle.   It seemed like it was something I could do and that it might help set me straight.  I feel good that I was finally able to start And finish something, even as humble as a doodle.  I'm optimistic that I can sustain this and that I'm back, and most of all, I'm grateful and thankful for all of you who have been supportive of me during my fumbling along on this blog.  




So, Happy New Year everyone, and may we all continue making art, growing, exploring, and daring to try new things!

Today I had to go  have some blood drawn for a physical I'm having next month.  I went early since it was a fasting draw and I was pretty hungry.  As some of you know, I live in the country, and my entire drive (except for the last couple of miles)is on 2 lane roads to get to the lab.  As I was motoring along, I had to stop for a number of school buses while they loaded up.  I never mind doing that because I love to see the children as they wait and then march themselves into the big bus.  My favorite is when there's a parent or two to see them off.  I got to see that little exchange on my way .. the quick little hug, then the little waves as the bus drives off.  It brings back many fond memories for me.
Anyhow, I found myself directly behind 2 school buses at one point, and after the children were on the bus, both of them pulled into the left lane and drove around something which I couldn't see.  After the second one got in the other lane, I could see about 7 or 8 wild turkeys standing in my lane, right in front of my car.  Usually they stand for a moment before they continue on across the road...... not this time!  The one Tom in the group (with his tail feathers all spread out and his chest all puffed up) kept all the ladies waiting.  When I tooted my horn gently to urge them in one direction or another, the whole group just turned and faced my car, staring at me for a moment or two before Tom herded them safely across the road to the other side.  By the time I could go again, there were 11 cars patiently waiting behind me.  The funny thing is that when I came back home a couple of hours later, they were all still in the driveway of the house where I last saw them!
The clinic was crowded (as usual on a Monday AM) and I had to wait quite awhile before it was my turn.  I always have a little sketch book with me that I use almost exclusively in waiting rooms.  The only problem with it is that the paper is thin so you can see the shadow of the drawing on the back of the page peeking through.  I don't mind it, but it does sort of mess up the scans.  Oh well, c'est la vie!

Today I finished painting my friend's apartment. Well, she refers to it as "painting her apartment", but what I really did was paint 2 bedrooms and was very happy to be able to help her with her move. I'll go back Wednesday to do some touch-up, but for the most part, it's done.

I also finished baking all the cookies for the party that my son and daughter-in-law gave for her sister. It was a surprise party on Saturday, the weather was wonderful (even tho rain and thunderstorms were predicted), and we had a really good time. I made Spritz cookies, oatmeal/date cookies, brownies, chocolate chip, lemon bars, Norwegian almond bars, "no-fuss" bars (graham cracker crumbs, coconut, mini choc. chips, nuts, and sweetened condensed milk) and peach bars that had coconut in them. There were some left over - enough for Carrie's (my dil) sister-in-law who is due any day now with their second baby, to take home and enjoy, which made me very happy. There was a bonfire, great food, fun and interesting people, and best of all, Carrie's sister Lauren, whom the surprise party was for, was totally unsuspecting and surprised.

I have a new computer (which I'm using as I speak), but it doesn't have everything installed yet (including my email add. book, which is Most Inconvenient), but I love it. It's a Mac (so was my old one), and has a giant screen, no hard drive box, wireless mouse and wireless keyboard! I'm really excited about it.

Since I've been sort of busy lately with non-art things, I'm posting a Zentangle that I did in my last-year's journal. ...... I have to save this post and try to do the download using my sweetie's scanner and computer because we haven't figured out yet how to get my scanner to work with this new baby. He's been really busy, too (right now he's trying to balance the checkbook which I've screwed up yet again .... I try really hard, but every month there are several (or 1 big one) deductions that aren't recorded. He's so sweet about it - never gets mad or anything - I don't know how he does it month after month. I can't tell you how lucky I am. .... This month I made about $1,000 worth of mistakes. Not my all-time high, but getting close.

So, anyhow, assuming I'll be able to use his equipment (with his help), here's the Zentangle. Until next time!

We've been to Nashville to see little Clyde, our grandson. He gives me such joy just to watch him toddle about. I love how he swings his left arm when he's on a mission - he's all business then, and knows just what he wants to do. He makes me smile and laugh like no one else can. Here's a picture of him in his brand-new boots (which he loves!).


While there, we took him on a couple of little outings. One of them was to the Opry Mills shopping center to see the fish and ride the merry-go-round. There is a large, shallow pool there filled with stingrays, and for $2.00 you can get a little plastic container of shrimp to use to hand feed them! Of course, I couldn't wait to do it, and since the walls of the tank are clear, the baby could watch from his stroller. The stingrays are very gentle, and most amazing to me is that they like to be petted! I'd never seen them "in the flesh" before, only in pictures and on TV. For the first time I saw their underside, and they have very sweet little faces under there! They are gentle and take the food carefully from your hand. They are very smooth and sort of velvety to the touch. Sadly, we didn't get any pictures of them - we left our cameras in the car, and I didn't think to use my cell phone. ...... I guess I'll just have to go back soon, don't you think?

I took some art supplies with me, but I was busy the whole time doing fun things, and didn't do a single drawing. Also, I put all of my art groups on "no mail", so as not to have so much in my inbox when I got back (there were still 154 of them) and now I feel like I have no idea what's going on. It's sort of like starting out new again. My computer is very slow, both because it's old and because we can't get a very fast connection here in Hooterville, so trying to go back and look at every ones postings and blogs just takes me way too long. I'm waiting for a new Mac computer to arrive any day now (hooray!!!), and I'm very excited to start using it. My sweetie will help me get it all settled in, and I can't wait!

So, in lieu of new work to post, I'm posting an ink drawing from my journal. It was a rather quick sketch on paper that has texture to it - not the best choice for the medium I used, but it was what I had available at the time. After I got home, I trimmed it and pasted it in my journal. I'm hoping to have more time now to get back to my art!

See you soon~

Well, this drawing started out to be a quick ink sketch in my art journal. She became really cantankerous and just wouldn't cooperate. So, I decided I'd show her who was boss, and I switched to acrylic paint. "I'll show you!", I thought, laughing to myself. Well, she became even more defiant - nothing I did could tame her. "Aha!", I thought ... "colored pencil will give me more control than a paintbrush", so I brought out all my Prismacolor colored pencils. I tried various hardnesses and a variety of colors - I even used metallic colors on her lips. She laughed at me, dug in her heels, and became even more stubborn. So, I told her I was going to post her overworked, unfinished, self on my blog for all the world to see and threatened her with my pastels! She stuck out her tongue, showing her true, bratty nature.
So, true to my word, here she is. If the pastels don't work, I have one more trick up my sleeve - it's called "GESSO" ...... don't tell her.

In doing a wee bit of wall decor rearranging, I took down this drawing I did awhile ago and replaced it with a much larger watercolor. It's been hanging above the mantle since before Christmas, and I just didn't see it anymore - it just blended in with everything else. When I took it down I took a good, long look at it again, and thought about all the things I love about drawing with ink.

When I draw with ink, I tend to go a bit slower than I do with pencil. I think it's because the ink is so permanent - no erasing it. Once it's down, it's down. With drawings like this one, I quickly get lost in it. The pen almost seems to go where ever it wants, and I'm just there to observe. I love all the little details the .oo5 Micron pen can make (my favorite sizes of Micro are .005, .01, and .02). Teensy little dots, squiggles, and lines seem to magically appear on the paper right before my eyes, and as images emerge I'm both mesmerized and amazed. I love the clean lines and the versatility of ink - things can be light and airy or really dark and heavy. And, I love that I can use color or not - the drawings can stand on their own.

This drawing is called, "An Unexpected Turn of Events", and hung in the Power Center Auditorium in Ann Arbor for several weeks.

I have two children .... they are both grown men now. When I became pregnant with our first son, I couldn't believe the joy and excitement I felt. When he was born, it was like a miracle .. he was born 3 weeks early and weighed less than 5 pounds. We named him Andrew, and he was beautiful and amazing. Every single day with him was like a wonderful gift. I was enthralled with everything he did and I was certain I could never love another child like I loved him. Less than 3 years later, I became pregnant again. Once again I felt full of joy and excited anticipation. My husband and I were thrilled, but I must confess, I had just a wee voice in the background that spoke up every now and again saying things like, "this poor child will never be loved as much as Andrew is .... it's just not possible .... you aren't capable of that much love".
Then Ben was born. He was a week early (he was in such a hurry to get here, he was almost born in the car), and while he weighed more than Andrew did at birth, he wasn't very big either - less than 7 pounds. I was knocked over by the wave of love I felt for him from the moment I laid eyes on him. All doubts I had about being able to love another child vanished completely. Three days later he was dying. For two weeks he lay in intensive care at the hospital fighting for his life, but he was a strong little bugger and he recovered fully.
Now we are grandparents. Our little grandson is just over one year old. The love in my heart for that child is every bit as intense and deep as the love I feel for his father and uncle. Every day I think of the three of them - two sons and a grandson, and I know they are the best gifts a person could ever have in an entire lifetime. I am a grateful person, indeed.p.s. Don't forget to leave a comment on the Free Give-away posting for a chance to win the bag of goodies!

Friday morning we are leaving for Nashville to visit our son Ben, our dil Sarah, and Clyde, our wonderful grandson who is 1. Clyde is our only grandchild, and of course, we think he's just the best! We think that because He Is the best!!! We drive (about 9.5 hours), stay for the weekend, and then drive back on Monday. It's an easy and pretty drive, and pit stops and gas are the only reasons we stop. We take food (always the same - sliced apples, peanut butter, sliced cheddar cheese, crackers, chocolate, cookies and water) and eat while we drive. We usually listen to an audio book (this trip will be "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle", by David Wroblewski). I'm very excited about going, as you can imagine, but there is just one wee thing that gives me a slight pang. Her name is Abby.

Abby is our old Springer Spaniel. We don't know how old she is since she is a rescue dog, but the vet thinks she's probably around 13. She's very active, curious, and busy when she's outside. Inside the house all she really wants to do is be adored - she wants to sit on your lap (she doesn't know she isn't really lap dog sized), be petted, and be fed dog cookies at every opportunity. We don't take her with us to Nashville for several reasons, so that means we put her in a kennel while we're gone. The one she goes to (Brady Kennel in Fowlerville, Michigan) is wonderful. The people are really nice, the facility is very nice, and they clearly love dogs. We tell Abby she's going to camp and that we'll miss her, but I don't think she really buys the story. Her things are all packed in the trunk of the car, and I'll take her tomorrow morning. She'll probably throw up in the car. We finally got her accustomed to the car and she stopped doing that for years, but for some reason she started doing it again about 2 months ago. ..... that's probably a part of the story you didn't need to hear, right? So, I'll drop her off, then I'll go on about my business, and when I come back home the house will feel entirely different. It won't even look the same to me - it's so strange how that works! Fortunately my son has a really cute little dog (Monkey) that I keep threatening to kidnap - I love that girl, that's for sure! Here's a drawing of Abby sleeping in my studio without a wee clue that she's about to be taken to camp .... poor baby!

I've talked about being blocked before (what artist hasn't?), and one of the ways I use to get myself going is to doodle. I really try to complete a drawing every day. Some days are much easier than others - both in the matter of time and in coming up with an idea. I joined the Everyday Matters online group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/everydaymatters/ ) in part because there is a list of suggestions of different things to draw each day. It's a wonderful group that was started by Danny Gregory, author of several books, including "Everyday Matters" and "An Illustrated Life". I highly recommend his books, and his website www.dannygregory.com is a great source of inspiration. But even with these helpful prompts, I just can't always put myself where I need to be in order to draw.

So, out of mild desperation, I've given myself permission to let doodling count as a drawing. At first this seemed sort of like cheating on my commitment to myself, but then I realized that the door to the right side of my brain doesn't always open easily without a bit of oil on the hinges. For me, doodling allows me to ignore my inner critic and not worry about the outcome. Since it isn't supposed to look like anything, there is no chance for failure. It has the added advantage of being able to stop at any point - it can't be unfinished .... it just is! The last thing I like about it is that because it's so mindless, it's easy to get lost in it, and voila - the right brain door swings open!

So, there's often talk among artists about our insecurities. Sometimes it's referred to as our muse abandoning us, or our inner critic is coming through loud and clear rendering us paralyzed. It can be a crisis of confidence that we'll never be able to create any art again. Anything we ever did in the past was a fluke, never to be repeated. There's the voice that says, "what makes you think you're an artist, anyway?", - that's always good for some time in the wilderness.

There's another stumbling block that doesn't just relate to art. It can affect almost any area of life. We know it's important to keep our word, and we really try to do that all the time. Except that we don't. All too often we don't keep the commitments we make to ourselves. I can't tell you how many times I've fallen off the exercise wagon (as in, right now I'm laying on the ground with the wagon continuing to move on down the highway without me). There's the intention to do our art every day, and sometimes we keep it, and sometimes we don't. The thing is, usually these intentions are very important to us - they're not something trivial. So for me, the mystery remains unsolved as to why I find myself in that place of not doing those things that I believe are important to me and feeling really crummy about it! This is today's journal page that I did while pondering that very question.

Well, I'm still working on rearranging the studio and I can finally begin to see the possibility of actually finishing the job someday. In going through literally everything, I've run across lots of things I forgot I had. That part of it has been fun. At times I felt like an archaeologist digging through layer after layer of history. So, I thought I'd share 2 of the ink drawings I did a few years ago since I haven't been able to do anything new for awhile. One of the things I love to draw is pot pourri. There are so many interesting shapes and textures in those bags. Sometimes I buy a bag that really stinks just because it has stuff in it I want to draw. The other drawing is buttons that used to belong to my husband's mother. She really had a batch of different ones, and it was great fun to draw them. I think I'll spend some time with the ink pens again soon, but in the meantime, I'd better get back to the pit and start working again!