Life At The Moment

The well is up and running again. The contractor showed up Monday late afternoon and finished fixing it. When I paid him, I also gave him a big hug and told him he's my hero. He worked on our project on his own time, not company time. You don't find someone that nice very often. It's so good to be able to flush the toilet again. I made it through the whole ordeal. The Porta Potty was picked up today. I'm so glad we were able to rent it. 

It occurred to me that I mentioned in June that my husband was scheduled for heart surgery and then I didn't say anything else. Well, that surgery was cancelled because in preparation for said surgery they did a cat scan and a chest x-ray and thought there was a blood clot in his heart. Surgery was immediately cancelled.

He since then has had some more tests and they found it wasn't a blood clot. Just an anomaly of sorts, so the surgery is rescheduled for July 11th. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will happen.

I have been stitching like crazy on the train. I got all the cross stitches done on the coal car. I've started the front engine now.

In knitting, I've mostly been waiting for yarn I ordered for the socks. 

I ran out of the green yarn just as it was time to start the heel of the second sock and could not find another. I was sure I had two skeins of it, but I was wrong. I couldn't find the ball band either, so I guessed on which green it is (Knit Picks Stroll). I guessed wrong. I searched some more and finally found the ball band and ordered the correct green. It arrived yesterday. The dyelot is different, of course, but not off enough to cause a problem, thankfully.

In the meantime, I've been working on the Snowflake afghan a little bit.

I am enjoying it very much. The stranded squares are just big enough to enjoy but not feel impatient to "get to the end, dammit!"

My African Violet is blooming! A few months ago I divided it and repotted both. I had two plants in the pot and they got way too big for it. Both are blooming. Just a pic of one though.

Weather-wise, the remainder of last week was very comfortable. I enjoyed it very much. It's super hot today. 97F degrees at the moment. I'm staying indoors so as not to set off the asthma. Things are supposed to cool down later this week.

That's the news for now.

Live long and prosper. \\//

WIPs Update

 I'm currently working on the following 3 projects regularly.

The socks. Unfortunately, I have run out of the green yarn just as I'm ready to start the heel on the second sock. I thought I had a second skein, but I don't. I ordered some more, which arrived last week, but I ordered the wrong green! I've ordered the right one this time, and it's just a matter of it getting here.

I started another afghan. I'm hoping I can get it done in time for Christmas. It's knit in panels with fairisle squares and textured squares in 3 different colors. So far, so good.

I have also finished the cross stitching on the passenger car of the Train. Just the back stitching is needed for this one. I started the coal car last night.

I haven't had much time to do more than this. It is helping to keep me sane. Especially the cross stitch. I have to completely concentrate on it so I don't think about other stuff. I've been able to spend time out on my deck too, which makes it all that much better. I love my deck.

Saw my lung doctor last week. I told him about my cough going away after seeing an ear, nose, and throat doctor and why, but about 2 weeks ago it came back. He was surprised that the problem was a mild form of pneumonia and inflamed vocal chords. He ordered an x-ray. No pneumonia but something is definitely going on in there. More tests may be coming. In the meantime, I've been given a prescription for a medication to help with inflammation in the lungs and my vocal chords, which are still very swollen and angry looking. It's already helping.

Live long and prosper. \\//

Water

It's been very stressful around here the last few weeks what with Doug's heart, I've got another horrible cough, etc, but last week tipped me over the edge. I had to start taking my Ativan, half a pill a day, to manage my Panic attacks because, well, here's what happened. 

Our water pipe goes under the road we live on to connect to our well. Last Wednesday the pipe broke under the road. It made a small fountain in the middle of the road and was draining into the ditch. The highway department is not happy. We had to shut our water off. This is a major disaster for us. 

The highway department said we are responsible for fixing it. The break is actually their fault, but when we got our permit in 1992 to put the pipe under there, the contract says we are responsible for any and all repairs to that spot in the road. At the time, the road was just a little dirt one. Hardly anyone drove by, and if it was spring you didn't go past our house because the road turned into a huge mud bog when the frost was coming out. No big deal, right? Now it's wide, paved, and lots of traffic. Husband calls it the Mexican freeway.

Down the road from us, it's not as nice as it is from our property line to the east. From our property line to the west and ending at Hwy 41 the road is narrower and has poor quality paving. We call it pot hole alley.

At the beginning of this month the highway dept started working on that section to widen it and make it match the rest of the road. They've been digging down and large dump trucks have been going by constantly has they haul the top soil away, and the old paving. Our road wasn't designed for dump trucks as big as they're using. That's part of why the pipe broke.

To make things worse, we can't fix it ourselves, even though we have the capability to do so. We have to hire a contractor. Most contractors are booked up until the end of the summer. I was beginning to panic when the highway dept suggested someone and, thankfully, they were able to work on it yesterday. They also are going to repair it for less than $5000. We can afford that.

The repair consists of digging down to the 4 inch pipe on both sides of the road,

This is my husband looking in the new hole, watching the guys cutting the pipe and getting
 ready to slide the 2 inch pipe through to the other side.

cut the pipe at both spots, run a 2 inch pipe through our 4 inch pipe going under the road, connect the two pipes with adapters, bury it all. It's done. They got the digging done and the 2 inch pipe running inside the 4 inch pipe. 

The other side of the cut pipe. The cord you see has been threaded through.
 They tied it to the 2 inch pipe and pulled it through the 4 inch pipe.

Unfortunately, they brought the wrong adapter connecters. They had adapters for sewer pipe. Not water pipe. Those would work, sorta, but we want this repaired right. I want an archeologist 2000 years from now digging it up and being amazed at how well preserved it is.  It will be Monday or Tuesday before they can get them, so we're living without running water for awhile

My biggest worry was the bathroom situation. We can't flush the toilets, and I have IBS-D. I solved it. I rented one of those Porta Potty's. It isn't very expensive at all. I was surprised! It's sitting out by the front steps. We can manage just fine with that.

Another fortunate thing is I'd just finished the laundry for the week literally hours before it broke, so we're okay for now on that.

I am also concerned with all those marigolds I planted on the deck. They need water every other day when it's dry. Our weather has been very dry lately. However, it cooled off and we actually got some rain yesterday afternoon. A good soaking so they are well watered.

We've been pretending we're camping. We filled some water jugs. I went to my brother-in-laws house to shower when needed. Today I'm going to my nieces house for that, and filling up our water jugs cuz they're empty now. We can make it a few more days. This better not happen again ever! It's no fun at all.

Live long and prosper. \\//

WIP Wednesday 6/4/2025

 I'm making good progress on my projects. Today I'm featuring two of them. First is the felt applique stocking I'm making for Zoey.

I'm not happy that that lollipop is crooked. I'm going to be redoing that! I did steam the stocking, though, and got the creases out. I'm still having problems with the brown ink bleeding. It's getting all over my hands too. I hope I can fix that after it's done.

The second thing I'm going to show you is the cross stitch train picture I started in February. I started it, then put it aside to get some birthday projects done. Last weekend I had the thought that I really should get back to working on it because Christmas is not that far away.

The first thing I discovered was that I'd used the wrong color on  the part I'd started. This is one of the train cars. It looks a little easier than the other cars.

Our weather has been really nice the last few days. Before that we got rain. I've spent a few days outside working on the yard and enjoying my deck. I've taken to sitting out there in the morning reading my Kindle and drinking coffee. I'm hoping wildfire season will be delayed, maybe even cancelled this year. Probably a pipe dream, huh? Anyway, I got the deck flower boxes planted with Marigolds. I got them from a local nursery rather than Home Depot or some other box store garden department. This is how they looked after I was finished planting. I think they're going to be beautiful.

Yesterday I installed the drip system. I thought it would take about an hour at the most. Three hours later I was having to quit because I ran out of parts. I need some more of the mini drippers. A few broke during the winter. I've ordered some. I did get it working enough to turn it on. Just need to hand water a couple things until I get them, which should be tomorrow.

Next week my husband is going in for heart surgery. He's got a ton of tests to do beforehand. I am getting anxious. I sure hope this works or I don't know what we'll do. He can't just go on living this way where he has no energy whatsoever to get things done. He can't even ride his bike. I'll be keeping the fingers crossed-figuratively speaking.

One more thing. I made Creme Brulee' last weekend. It's my favorite dessert.

The week before that I made a Coconut cake to take to a meeting. It required 6 egg whites. I didn't want to just throw away the yolks, so I did a search for recipes using 6 yolks and found a Crème Brulee' recipe. It was so easy, and so good. I used to make it before we had kids (using a slightly different recipe, of course). I don't know why I stopped. If you've never had it, give it a try. It's heavenly. It's a creamy silky custard with a sugar crust on top. To die for, I swear!

Live long and prosper. \\//

Feather and Fan Afghan

 I finished this a couple months ago, but it's been difficult finding time to take pictures. I finally got it done.

Pattern: Shaded Ripple Afghan by Melissa Leapman

Made For: Myself

Size: 70 by 65 inches.
Yarn: Mary Maxim Maxium Value
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted Weight
Colors: White, Light Violet, Medium Violet, Dark Violet

Needles: Circular size US 9 (5.5mm)

Started: January 8, 2025
Finished: March 28, 2025

Comment: I love this afghan! I love the colors and the yarn I used for it. I loved working on it, which was a huge surprise because the last time I knit a blanket it was not fun. It's so snuggly wuggly! I used Melissa Leapman's pattern because it was the first one I ran across that was free for me. I can't remember where I found it. Maybe Google? I used 4 colors instead of 3. I just needed to know the basic stitch pattern.

I really like the Mary Maxim Maximum Value yarn. It is very similar to the Big Twist yarn from Joann's. It was my favorite Joann's yarn. I'm hoping another company will take it. In the meantime, Mary Maxim it is.

Feather and Fan has been around forever. It's a well known Shetland pattern. Sometimes it's called the Old Shale pattern. Officially, they are two different patterns. The difference is Old Shale has a 17 stitch repeat. Feather and Fan has a 14 stitch repeat. It is also called the Ripple stitch or Chevron stitch. 

The back is all purl stitches and every bit as pretty.

I have it here on our California King sized bed. I blocked it on my bed.

I'm going to enjoy warming up under this.

In February I mentioned that I thought the horrible chronic cough I have had for at least 8 years might be gone? Well, it is! It wasn't the bronchitis though. The cough came back. A few weeks later I caught a cold that was so bad my doctor asked me to come in. A combination of a sinus infection and very irritated vocal chords turned out to be the problem. Apparently I have had that sinus infection for years. It took catching a cold for my doctor to notice it. A very strong antibiotic was the solution. I haven't coughed like that since. It's so nice to lay down and not start coughing and feeling like I'm going to drown in my own mucus.

Live long and prosper. \\//

An Anniversary

 Today is the 45th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. 45 years! How time has flown by. The event was significant in my life. I wrote about it here: Mount St Helens 

I hope I never have to go through an experience like that again!

Love long and prosper. \\//

!

Current WIPs

My plans to post last Wednesday were overruled by life, so I will do it now. I have two WIPs to present today. First is the sock I'm working on . 

It's been going a little slow, partly because I'm not in a hurry, partly because I'm writing down every step as I go along so it will be easy to write up as a pattern when I'm done. I'm using the Mock Short Row Heel in this pair and found that no one has actually written up instructions on how to do it. Just video tutorials, so that will be part of my pattern. I might publish the heel instructions separately as a tutorial here too. In the meantime, the prototype will be a Christmas present. I'm starting extra early this year.

The second project is a Christmas stocking for Zoey. 

I'm not sure why I chose this one for her. The snowman is just so cute. I am having a problem with it. The ink is bleeding on the white pieces. I've never had that happen before.

 This kit is fairly old and out of print. I found it on Ebay for a very reasonable price. Apparently they used this brown ink way back when and it is known to run. It's all over the thread as well as on the white felt. I've done some Googling and found out this is "normal" and I can easily wash it out when the stocking is done. I found washing instructions on the Bucilla web site too. I'm happy to say they don't use the brown ink anymore.

I did not notice there's a fold in the middle of the stocking until I saw this picture. I will steam it out before going any further.

So that's what I'm working on.

I had an excellent Mothers Day. We went to Giorgi's for lunch, then took a nice drive. Usually we go up into the National forest to see the wild flowers, but I didn't want to do that because it was supposed to be a rainy day. My husband wanted to drive the Prius. I said "No off-roading". We decided to go over Thompson Pass. We took a northern route to highway 202, then east to a small town in Montana, then turned for home and drove over the pass. I've never been on that drive in the spring. It was incredibly beautiful! The fields in Montana were so green. The grass is short too. It looked like all of the state had just been freshly mowed, and the wildflowers! They were fantastic! On our way home, we stopped at a convenience store to use the restroom. When we got back in the car, hubby pushed the Start button and all hell broke loose. Warning bells rang and messages flashed on the screens, accompanied by the Check Engine light. There was a message that told us the hybrid system was malfunctioning and to contact our Toyota dealer immediately. Well, they weren't open at that time, so we chose to go ahead and try driving home, stopping at Applebee's for dinner on the way. We made it just fine with no problems.

This morning I woke up and there was a new text from Toyota on my phone. My car had texted them that something was wrong with the hybrid system and would I like to schedule an appointment? I called them. My appointment is on the 20th. I've been reassured it's okay to drive the car, so it can't be too serious. I am feeling a little bit weirded out that my car is sending texts to Toyota without consulting with me first though.

Live long and prosper. \\//

FO's

 I did quite a bit of crafting during March and April. It helped with the stress and anxiety that's been going on in my life. Today I'm sharing two of them. 

My daughters birthday was near the end of April and I decided to sew her a market bag. 

It's a very large bag. I found the pattern for free on the blog iThinksew. The name of the pattern is Martha's Market Bag. As I've said before, my daughter is a huge My Little Pony fan, even though she's 40. I found the Pinky Pie fabric on Ebay. It was just a yard, but thankfully it was enough. I got the aqua fabric from an online fabric store, whos' name escapes me. The project was challenging because I don't have much experience making bags. I used to sew a lot of clothing when I was younger. Especially after I got married because my husband is very tall (6'5"). Regular pants and long sleeve shirts don't fit him. We had to shop at specialty stores that sold clothing for Big and Tall guys, and they were very expensive. We couldn't afford to shop there. So I sewed his clothing for him. Making bags is a relatively new thing for me.

I used heavy interfacing in the bag so it would stand up on its own. I really wrestled with it too. I was so glad when it was done. Sarah loves the bag and wouldn't be adverse to me making her some more. I call that a win.

I also finished Choo Choo Santa for my daughter-in-law. 

Her birthday was last January, so I sent it to her as a belated birthday gift in the same package the bag went in. I worked on this a lot. It was a very intense project with over 100 pieces to stitch together. 

I've taken close up photos of the stocking from top to bottom starting with the hanger loop, which I modified. It was supposed to be just a piece of red felt but I fancied it up some. 

I recently joined a Facebook group devoted to making Bucilla felt applique kits. I was inspired by photos of some of the members hanging loops they've modified. The group has been great, and I've learned quite a bit that has improved my skills, such as taking a small stitch on the back, after each sequin is done. This helps to keep it firmly sewn to the fabric.

This is the top with my daughter-in-laws name on it. The first train car shows too. 

You may be wondering how I got the name to look so nice. Usually I use my MS Word program to create the name, then print it out, pin it to the stocking, and embroider right through the paper. When I'm done, I carefully tear the paper off, leaving just the stitching. This time I did a little something different. An alphabet comes with the directions on how to make the stocking. I got a piece of tissue paper, traced the required letters, then pinned that to the stocking for embroidery. It worked great. I liked it better than what I usually do. It's a lot easier to stitch through tissue paper than regular printer paper.

Doing it with tissue paper got me to thinking. I wonder if there's tracing paper that can be put through printer. Then I could use my word program like I usually do and print it on the tracing paper. Lo and behold, I found some on Amazon. I'm looking forward to trying it out on the next stocking, which I've already started, by the way.

This is a close up of a couple of the cars. That bear turned out so cute!

This is the engine with Santa. I made a change here. Instead of using the clear beads with the sequins on Santa, and the beads on the Christmas tree, I used some white pearl seed beads from my huge collection of Miyuki size 11 seed beads. The other white pieces have the clear beads that came with the kit.

One of the things I learned from the Facebook Bucilla group is how to mark the stocking with my signature, so to speak. I never thought about doing that on my stockings. I do it to all my Cross Stitch projects! It's a logical thing to do, so I cut out this little blue heart, did some really bad embroidery of my initials and the year I finished it, and sewed it onto the back of the stocking. I wish I'd had more time, I would have redone it until it was decent. It was 1:00 am when I was done with this one. I had to put it in the mail in the morning. I decided it would have to do. I was just too tired. I went to bed.

As usual, I made a lining for the stocking. It turned out so beautiful. The stitching at the top where I sewed it in is so even and neat and the lining fit perfectly. I'm quite proud of it.

Since the theme of the stocking was a train, which is something my daughter-in-law is very enthusiastic about, (She even has an extensive electric train set.) I bought fabric with trains on it. Here is a close up of one of the trains.

I finished my Feather and Fan blanket too but haven't had a chance to photograph it yet. I did take a picture when I was blocking it though. I used my bed because it's so nice and big, being a California King and all.

I'm planning to take pics tomorrow, so stay tuned.

I am also planning to do a WIP post on Wednesday. Until then...

Live long and prosper.\\//

I'm So Behind

 I am so behind on my blogging. I didn't intend this to happen, it just did. Life was pretty difficult all March and April. I got very sick. There was a virus going around and the Parkarosa household got it. It knocked me out for almost 2 weeks, then I got something else making me sick. That turned out to be a serious sinus infection. My doctor got me a prescription for an antibiotic and it killed the infection, but it took awhile. Now I'm feeling a lot better. But what a miserable month that was.

In April I sprained my right knee --- in my sleep! I have no idea how that happened. First I knew about it was when the pain woke me up and my kneecap wasn't in it's right place. I pushed it back into place (OWW!) but the tendons were in agony. It's healing, slowly. I'm glad I own a cane.

Another thing not going well is my husbands heart. He has Afib and they have not been able to get rid of it so far. He's had 2 Cardioversions and 1 Ablation. He left the hospital feeling good all three times, and then his heart returned to the Afib. It's affecting his quality of life badly. His doctor said he's lost 20% of his hearts ability with this. He is running out of breath very easily and just feels so lousy. It makes me want to cry.

I went with him to his last appointment with his cardiologist and we're looking at another surgery. It was suggested and, to my husbands surprise, I went for it. I told the doctor I'm tired of him effin around my husbands heart and lets get this fixed properly. I need my husband back to his old self. We have a meeting with the heart surgeon later this month, but we've had to wait weeks for it. We have too many patients and not enough doctors in our area and it's really affecting all of us in a negative way.

Then there's the awful news. My boy, Merino, started coughing up blood one day in March and was definitely going downhill, fast. In addition he stopped using the litter boxes completely, and was drinking an enormous amount of water. Life became nothing but cleaning up cat messes all day, every day. Not a piece of living room furniture was left un-peed on. He was in a lot of pain too. We could see it in his face and how he moved. Not behavior for a cat that's supposed to be as healthy as a horse. 

We took him to the vet later that day, which was March 17th. We ended up having to put him down. He was dying and in pain. I don't know what it was that made him so sick, but it was definitely good at hiding from the vets. Now we'll never know what it was.

Merino Park

2013 to 2025

He was almost 12 years old. He was an awesome hunter and general trouble maker. I'm missing him so much. I don't have my morning cuddle with him anymore. My other cats, his brother, Cashmere, and grandkitty Boba have handled it well. Cashmere looked for him for about a month and finally stopped. They definitely loved each other. I feel bad that there's no way for me to communicate what happened to his brother. I had him cremated and buried in a group burial. It's the first time I haven't brought a fur kid home for burial. The ground was frozen and we couldn't handle trying to bury him. There's no way sweet hubby could have used a shovel, even if the ground was not frozen.

Well, after all that negativity, how about a positive. When my husband and I discussed when we were going to apply for our Social Security, one of the things my husband said was we could afford to buy me a new Prius if we applied. We did just that. This is my brand new blue Prius.

I am very happy with it. I need to mention, though, that I stalked this car. After we applied for Social Security I started researching for a new Prius. I wanted one that was colored with something other than Black, Grey, Silver, or White. I don't know if you've noticed, but the overwhelming majority of automobiles are those colors. Anyway, about a month before we went to the Parker Toyota dealership in town, I was checking their web site fairly regularly. Nothing but a greyscale selection of cars. Then one day, a Blue one appeared on their web site labelled as ordered from the factory for inventory. I checked that car every day. I saw it loaded in Japan, shipped across the ocean, and arriving in port in Oregon. When it arrived in port, I called Parker Toyota. I told them I wanted that blue Prius. They called us when it arrived at the dealership. They also reserved it for me. I put down a deposit for that. 

I love my blue Prius. It's so cool! It's had a lot of changes made since the last one I owned (which was the 2012 Prius V I bought two years ago). It's been redesigned to be a somewhat larger sports car. It has a lot of power, but still gets the same mileage as the old smaller one did. I'm lovin' the immediate response when I push down the gas pedal. It has a lot of electronic doodads I've never seen in a car before. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, cameras all the way around the car. It tells me when someone is in my blind spot. It beeps if a human is near. The cameras for backing up are so much clearer. It can tell me when I've drifted across the lane edge, and correct it - if I had that turned on. Assisted driving is what they call it. It actually can steer the car all by itself. I haven't tried it yet though. It has cruise control too. In fact, there's so many little doodads I haven't figured them all out yet. I also have a sun roof which I'm enjoying now that spring has arrived. It's really nice to drive, and even better-Sweet Hubby fits in it and can drive it comfortably. Hurray!

There's more news which I will address as the week progresses. I've been finishing projects, and starting new ones. It's kept me sane through all the stress that's been in my life. Until then...

Live long and prosper. \\//

Update on WIPs

 Life has been rather difficult for me of late. I'm struggling but getting through it. My cats have been the worst. Merino is not using the litter box. He's been violating all the furniture. In concern, I've taken him to the vet several times and spent hundreds of dollars on tests only to be told he's healthy as a horse. The consensus is it's Anxiety. He's being bullied by my other two cats quite a bit, plus winter. My cats hate winter. Merino has stopped going outside entirely. So he's been started on Gabapentin. My couch is covered in aluminum foil to keep the cats off. So now he's going all over the floor, his beds, and any box he can get himself into. I'm so glad we got rid of the carpet in this house and installed bamboo.

On one of the trips to the vet, he peed all over my daughter IN THE CAR! It took 2 upholstery cleanings and 2 thorough sprays of Clorox Scentiva (fabric sanitizer), but I was successful in getting the smell out completely. The house, on the other hand...ugh. I am soooooooooo tired of cleaning up cat messes. The Gabapentin better work or I'm going to have to take drastic action because this is not something I can live with.

When we got home from the vet that day, he was soaked in pee. I had to give him a bath. I've never given him a bath. I prepared myself for possible dying by blood loss, filled the kitchen sink, and pushed him in. Oddly, he didn't struggle or scratch me! He succumbed to the attack and let me bath him. However, he made the most horrible sounds I've every heard from a cat. He was very very very pissed off and told me that in no uncertain terms. I told him if he's gonna get himself pee soaked, he's gettin' a bath. It's his own fault. I'm thankful for the lack of blood loss too.

Between that and what's happening in our government, I've found myself fighting off Panic Attacks. I'm pretty scared right now. I never thought I would be on the edge of living in a possible dictatorship ever in my lifetime. Our own government has turned on it's people. It's shocking!

That being said, I'm steadily working on 2 projects right now. They're actually keeping me sane. The feather and fan afghan is over halfway there. I have actually started on the second skeins of yarn for all colors.

I've had to move the project into a large "temporary" bag that I bought from Ikea because it doesn't fit in any of my knitting totes now. I have 3 of these bags. They've come in very handy.

I've also been working on Choo Choo Santa. Man, are there a lot of tiny pieces to deal with! I don't think I've had a kit with this many pieces before.

It's been fun, though. It's going to be so cute when it's done.

We had some pretty cold weather since my last post. The new furnace has turned out to be very good. Our winter power bill is considerably less that last year. Now a warm period is moving in. Since last weekend we've had temps in the upper 40's and lower 50's. The coming Sunday is supposed to be almost 60. I can hardly wait. The snow is completely off the deck, so sitting in the sun is on my mind.

On Saturday, we're going in to our local Toyota dealer to talk about that blue Prius we've been talking about purchasing. They've had one on order for several weeks, but it arrived in the US this week. It's in port on the Oregon coast waiting to get through customs. I'm hoping to put a payment on it so it's mine when it arrives here. I've contacted the dealership and let them know I'm wanting it.

I took this picture this morning.

For the first time, the sunrise was coming in the house through the window. Zoey enjoyed it so much.

Live long and prosper. \\//