Mood:  energetic

Still on a doll spending spree. Bought four 'Summer Cruzin 66' dolls at Dollar Tree today, among other things. The dolls...well, the best thing I can say about 'em is that at least they're not blow-molded. But they are absolute crap. One I bought has a foot a full 1/4" lower than the other. Somehow, they managed to attach the leg that way.  Another has an eye decal that missed the eye blank by about a half inch. Unique look that doll has.

Their clothes, however, were mostly nice. Of the set of twelve, conveniently pictured on the back of the box - wish Mattel still did that on their clothes - most were nice, summer shorts outfits that were pretty enough to be worth the buck. The remainder were clearly 'kid fantasy' dresses. So, there's something for everyone. The blue floral-print dress was nowhere to be seen, but the same style was there as a white knit with colorful stars - I liked that better ! A white blouse sporting a red print was teamed with a fluttery black asymetrical skirt - it would have been nice, but the skirt was made from the world's cheapest nylon knit. It was fraying in two places before I even finished taking the doll out of the box. I'll probably take it apart to use as a pattern, I can't salvage it.

The other two were blouses with knee shorts. The blouses both had iridescent circles of hologram bits on them, a frequent feature in this line. On Aylene, the shorts fit fine - but had to be undone for her to sit - and the shirt was big. Aylene's chest isn't as...enthusiastic as a Barbie's. Fake fly and pockets were stitched in, fairly well. Maybe two outfits - a denim-look dress and an orange blouse - were too badly sewn to fit well. I could tell from the way the clothes hung in the packaging, and so would you. Check hems and stitches if you decide to buy ! And be prepared to write off the shoes - the're tiny ! I got one pair to fit a standard-body Barbie, but there wasn't enough shoe heel to come over Barbie's heel !

Also scored a three-pack of self-adhesive linoleum, in a small wood-texture print. I'll attach it to a piece of foam core, for a floor. Also found a bamboo placemat that'll also make good flooring. Now that I have plenty of backdrops, I'm working on floors ! Oh, and those chairs I bought three sets of ? I rejected the remaining three, for being scratched and dented. They're gone now ! Somebody bought 'em !

Nothing at the local thrifts. Every year I hear how right after Christmas is a great thrift time, people are looking to clean out space for all the new aquisitions. I haven't seen a doll at the thrifts since I bought Christie, and she'd been there for nearly a month. I actually do better at Dollar Tree and yard sales.

I guess it's funny that my 'big doll spending' yesterday came to $7. and some change ! I just feel wealthy. Last week, at a yard sale, I found a large, pretty clock for $2. Works great, and I removed the drug ad text with nail polish remover today. Drug companies put out some nice stuff. It even has a 'sweep' second hand.  Looks great in the studio, too.

Not a lot else going on. I got a good night's sleep last night - thank you ! - but I could really use a nap !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  amorous

Happy 'Gateway to the Weekend' Friday ! As promised, this is 'Aylene', the R & D Susie doll I won on Eclectic Blender last weekend. She arrived yesterday, but after several computer mishaps and errors, I wisely decided to go to bed and leave posting her photo 'til later.

And it's later ! My gosh, she's an incredible doll ! When I went to try new clothes on her - I bought that Fashion Fever Asian cherry-blossom print cream dress for her today - I noticed that she'd split one shoe from the vamp to below her toes. I kinda thought those shoes were tight on her.

Went through the entire shoe collection and found some flats that fit better. She now has about five pairs of sneakers and six pair of various shades of blue flats. Along with two pair of pink ones and several pairs of 'flip flop' type sandals in pinks and reds and yellow. She fit the shoes that came on my long-gone Amidala doll, if a bit loosely, and a few Teen Skipper shoes fit the same way. A bit of cotton in the toes or heels help. At least they're wide enough.

But no 'basics' - black and white flats. So I'll start savin' my pennies for the shoe pack expressly for her, which'll be around $20. for eight pairs. I can't really whine about it, after all, there's only 300 of this doll in the world, and I didn't pay $80. for her. Least I can do is get classic basics that fit. Or find lots of blue outfits for her to wear !

While most Barbie clothes are rather large, some of the smaller stuff - like the Fashion Fever pieces - fit just fine. Which kinda tanks, because with all the 99c and $1.99 FF stuff at Mal-Wart, I'll probably just buy, rather than sew. And I really need to start sewing again. But it is nice to be able to buy a new doll outfit for a buck or two every so often.

Kinda went on a doll spending spree today. In addition to the dress, I bought the backdrop I've wanted. It was marked $2.96, but it rang up as $1. ! Not bad at all for a 16" x 20" print ! Went back and got the other two I'd debated and rejected. I'll post an image of them soon. Weather outside, as I said on the group earlier, is bad enough to make Winnie the Pooh kick hell outta Eeyore !

Took Dearest Son to the library after school. He got bored pretty quickly - lots of wailing infants and pushy older kids. No one really his age there. We did get William Steig's Shrek book, which I understand is nothing like the movie. Haven't read it yet, waiting to read it to him when he's home again Sunday.

Tomorow's a busy one. Got banking to do, stuff to return to Dollar Tree. Yes, they do accept returns, you just don't get cash back. But you do get to pick out something else. I'm thinking of getting some self-adhesive floor tiles (they sell 'em in single 3/$1. packs or entire cases) and a piece of foam core to mount 'em on. Sometimes I like to have a floor besides carpet or table for photos !

But for now, it's raining and still miserable outside. Beloved Hubby's cued up a favorite episode from our Remington Steele DVDs, so I'm gonna join him for some quiet time. Hope your night is filled with quiet and love.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 9:58 AM CDT

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Mood:  a-ok

I had a lot of doll time today, although, really, I didn't do much. Went to a yard sale this morning, got Dearest Son two boxes of Lego - one Duplo, one of the tiny jumble of expert pieces - for $2.50. Thus wiped out of cash, I went home, ate, and took a nap. I've been tired again, and waking up with a tight chest. If I want to go back to sleep eventually, I have to take a hit (sometimes two) from an inhaler. (sigh)

Because I've seen Shrek so often of late, mostly due to Son's preferences, I can almost understand the 'by day one way, by night another' curse. I hate to rest at night lately, because I have to sleep elevated, and sooner or later, I'll wake up gasping. After a pulse of steroids down into my lungs, I can breathe, but I'm restless. I end up falling asleep, but it's so sudden, I barely remember anything besides using the inhaler at (1:30, 2:47, 3 am, take your pick) some point in the night. It's kind of scary.

But I also know that once the sun is up, pretty much all my symptoms will vanish. It's like I have twelve hours of activity, and twelve of misery. Day can't break soon enough for me ! I can sleep peacefully during the day, which rather tanks. Too much to do in the day to sleep ! But if I don't, I'm exhausted and prone to impatience and bad judgement. Put that way, it sounds like a 24-7 curse !

Still, life goes on. Took Baby Chrissy out for a photo today, and it came out nicely. The beautiful Susie doll I won from Aylene's Eclectic Blender contest arrived, and she is even more delicate and lovely than her photos. I'll post one of her tomorrow - I dropped the camera's XD card in the wrong slot, and Beloved Hubby had to fish it out with tweezers, so I think I'll wait 'til tomorrow to do anything else with images !

Read Beth Gunter's (now Beth Colvin, btw) Crissy book again while waiting for Dearest Son. And found shoes and clothes that mostly fit Susie. She's so tiny ! Almost all the sixth scale stuff I have hangs off her ! Amazingly, though, I found shoes that fit. Well, maybe that shouldn't be 'amazingly'. I have two big divider cases fulla nothin' but sixth-scale shoes. With that many, I guess it isn't amazing that I found something. Maybe 'luckily that I was able to find anything in the millions of plastic bits' is more accurate !

So tomorrow, I hope to update the site with Baby Chrissy's photo and show you Susie - I think I'll rename her 'Aylene' ! - here. Much as I hate it and keep putting it off, it's bedtime.

Wish me rest, wouldja ? (sigh)

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:40 PM CDT

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Mood:  celebratory

Every time I miss a day or week, I have to read back for at least the previous week, so I won't repeat stuff. I couldn't remember what I last wrote about...'cause it probably wasn't much.

Well, we've had some problems with the new computer. Video card is...not what we need. So we upgraded it tonight. Much better ! And we backed up the operating system. Now I can start reinstalling stuff, like printer drivers and patterns and phots. I'm so glad my site has most of my favorite photos...most were lost when the old computer got fried.

This is about the only doll-related thing I've done all week. These are photo frames from Dollar Tree - and as you can see, they fit sixth-scale dolls pretty well. Maybe just a bit low. That's Janice enjoying her new patio furniture. I also sprayed the posters with the Krylon Matte Finish, and it really cut down on the glare. Only problem is, I sprayed it too heavily, and the posters rippled from the fluid weight. It's not too bad, I just shoot around it, but I really could boot myself sometimes.

I don't have this set of chairs anymore. Eclectic Blender had contests this weekend, so I offered them as a prize after winning a cute set of Barbie-size shoes. I soon had a happy winner, and trundled back to DTree after mailing them to her to get another set. I won a magnificent Susie doll - a sixth-scale brunette beauty - the next day, and offered the second set to the donor. She just loved 'em, but her DTree didn't have any at all. Got those mailed Monday, and got my third and final set afterwards. I got two blue, two yellow. The only ones left there are so badly scratched and dented that there was no way I could offer anyone a third set. Or I would have. Like I said yesterday, EB is a nice group of people !

Found a gorgeous poster at Mal-Wart today that would be perfect for photo backgrounds, but decided to hold off on more spending. Not only because of all the chairs, but because earlier this week, I won a Midge case ! It's not perfect, but it's fine for my needs, and the price was just what I wanted.

The project I mentioned last week was to *make* a Midge case, using a cardboard suitcase from  Hobby Lobby and some decoupaged Midge images. But...our color inkjet's shot and getting copyrighted images color copied could get difficult. I haven't completely given up on the idea of making my own case, but I need to use my own graphics and images for it.

Besides, thanks to an image on Eclectic, I already have my next project in mind. I'm gonna reroot a Malibu ! Growing up in the blonde-only Barbie years, I longed for brunettes. My Kenner Princess Leia came just a bit too late into my life for much play, and Malibu was my first Barbie. Christmas '72, I think. Gift from the Bragg family. So having a brunette Malibu would be so fantastic ! And she looks good with darker hair ! So my eyes are on the alert for a doll to reroot.

Also a Midge case, Barbie shoes, and that magnificent Susie doll  to arrive in the mail ! While mine is nude, I deduced that she's a Hong Kong In The Mood Susie (photo here !) and she's gonna be fun to sew for. She has a slightly smaller-than-Barbie body, something I've needed to sew for, too.  Yeah, I haven't even reinstalled Doll Shop Deluxe yet - thank Everything I printed out all the doll measurements a week or two before we moved !

Hmm. Guess I have been busy with my dolls, after all !

Posted by dorriebelle at 8:21 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 9:57 AM CDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Sad thing is, I'm still tired as anything, and I didn't do much doll-related during my 'break', but I feel up to blogging again. I'm starting to understand Windows Vista, and tonight's thunderstorm didn't freak me out. I just wanted to make sure precautions were taken this time.

Reinstalled PaintShopPro - it's funny, but Vista makes it look different. More...sleek, somehow. I love how the 'close', 'expand/contract' and 'minimize' buttons now glow when you hover over them with the mouse.

Snagged some fabric remnants from Hancock Fabrics - an adorable wine-colored Valentine's Day print and a crinkly eyelet lace piece. Our store isn't one of those scheduled to close, which is a relief, since our Mal-Wart's fabric section is. Actually, it's not that big a deal either way to me. I have enough of a backlog to keep me sewing for the rest of my days without ever buying another inch of fabric, and while Hancock's has sewing feet now, they're ridiculously expensive. The ruffler foot I bought off eBay for $12. shipped was $29.95 there. For-get-it !

Other than that, I spent most of the week catching up on housework - endless laundry and doing the Cinderella act (hand scrubbing) on the floors, and some volunteer work at Dearest Son's school.

I've also visited a new doll board, Eclectic Blender. It's for all dolls, not just Fashion Royalty, Tonners, or Barbies. I've posted images of various favorite dolls, and there's already a Crissy fan there. It's very nice, and so far, it's been polite and friendly to a fault. Maybe this time, since I'm coming in to it just as it begins, I can feel like I belong there. Come visit, everyone's been so nice !

Well, I'm trying to get to bed earlier - like 10pm, believe it or not - so I'm not so wiped out that I'm nodding off during any unoccupied ten minutes. So I'm gonna hit it. Hope your day went well, and I'll be back tomorrow !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  down

...and with lightning strikes, a new computer, a still-barely-cleaned new home, and various other volunteer and special projects, I'm gonna take a week or so off. I'm exhausted, and even a half-hour could make a difference between being alert and hitting that darn bicyclist who jumped in front of my car when the light turned green this morning.

Back soon - and hopefully then, I'll even update the site !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  chillin'

Today was kinda boring considering the high drama of Friday. Beloved Hubby was everywhere today, and I wasted a good chunk of mine waiting for the heater repair folk to show. They never did. Maybe tomorrow...

Well, not really 'wasted'. Got the living room, dining area, and the office cleaned up and started on the kitchen. Got some laundry done, too. Well, by 'wasted the day' I mean, it was more along the lines of 'didn't do any fun, challenging sewing or doll stuff'. While it doesn't seem like much, adding my own touches to the studio was quite exciting for me. I don't decorate, really. By the time the walls are painted, furniture's in place and the photos and family stuff's on the walls, there isn't much space left for decor. Hubby fully intends to do all the things he's created in his mind, but his work keeps him hopping, so I don't hold him to much. So having my own space, that I could do my way without considering anyone else but me - well, it kind of locked me up for a while. But I've been restarted, and there's more to come !

One of the files lost was a running tally of what I'd made and spent during the year. I've done it since 2002. But now that it's gone, I don't think I'll restart it. It was more limiting than anything else, because I always wanted the current year to top the year prior. So I'd do lots of small things and shy away from more involved projects - that made it tally up that I'd done more. Silly, isn't it ? Now, the spending one was probably helpful, but heck. I know I need to spend less, but I also need to cut the guilt about buying stuff. These days, if I want it for more than two weeks, it isn't a passing fancy.

Our music files were lost, too, but that's for the best. We (ahem) had some that we might not should have had. Hubby and I are now going through our CDs and ripping (copying into computer files) the ones we like best. Before, it was easier and faster to just grab what we wanted, even when we did own it. Well, from now on, if it's on the computer, we paid for it and 'own' the right to play and use it. We're also rediscovering what we have, which is always fun. Only problem I'm having is that occasionally, Vista completely deletes the artist or song title I type in. 'Mask' soundtrack, I had to type in three times before it 'stuck'.

Well, as you can see, Beloved Hubby came home bearing a modem and a new DSL filter. So I'm back ! Wheeee ! Still cleaning up from the storm, but I'm happy and hope to clean up the studio so I can try taking a better photo. The ones I've taken reek. Hope your week will be uneventful - unless it's all good stuff ! :)

Posted by dorriebelle at 11:23 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 April 2007 11:25 PM CDT

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Mood:  celebratory

I made the curtain swag for over the door to my studio today ! Found two yards of a blue sky/white star fabric I'd intended to make a shirt from, but its destiny just got changed. Two yards was both too thick and too short to make what I wanted, so I cut it lengthwise and sewed the halves together. Four narrower yards ! Put in hems and ironed it and, poof, swag !

It doesn't drape to the floor, but I like the look it has. Mental note - if I want it floor-length, I need three yards with a middle seam, six without the seam. Eight if I want a matching valence for the window. Bunched it together over the pegs a bit,  leaving the ends free to drape, and tied a wide white satin ribbon over the seam, to both hide it and gather the fabric. I've tried to take photos, but I haven't quite 'got' it yet.

In the midst of this project, I had to answer the door. Amazingly, the phone company sent someone over, to fix our lines. Wow. Who'd have thought they'd do that on a Sunday ? Well, we have phone service again, and we should have internet tomorrow - we'd planned on the modem and filter purchase after the repair, which wasn't expected until Monday or Tuesday. And we can get along without internet for another day or three.

At least now some of Beloved Hubby's more advanced graphics programs work. Even though the image software seems buggy, the Pinnacle image capture device is working much better than it did. I'm actually kind of worried about going online. I have no idea if the modem will be Vista compatible or not. And I hate to shell $70. (modem) and $15. (DSL filter) only to find out it doesn't work. But, heck, if someone besides me is reading this, well, it worked ! :)

Now that the projects I bought supplies for are being used, I can go get stuff for the next project ! Actually, that'll have to wait a bit - we just blew major money on replacing stuff we bought less than six months ago, darn lightning. I think I'll again focus on using what I have for a while - until I find a coupon or cheap supplies !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  a-ok

It's Life Goes On at Chez Insanity (now with More Power !) today. Phone lines are still out, but we have Beloved Hubby's cell phone. I still feel a bit...apprehensive, maybe, but it's not like I could have stopped yesterday's events from happening.

Since it's the first day in a week it hasn't been raining, I got my star pegs and paper mache star box spray-painted. Not sure what fabric I'm going to use for the swag, but I'm sure I'll find something in all this material wealth ! Went with Hubby to get a specialty tool he needs for next week, and it was nice to get out for a bit while the weather was sunny. With rain all week, I'd been cooped up inside. We even had a bit of a picnic lunch with some fast food at one of their cafe tables. It's been a while since we talked about nothing and everything.

Told the tool store cashier about our lightning strike, and we were her *second* customers who'd been hit. She'd met someone yesterday who lost part of his roof to a bolt. He came in for repair supplies - it was still raining at the time. Wow. Ya always got it better than someone else, ya know ?

After that, Dearest Son came home from his grandparents', and we assembled Hubby's new tools and puttered. I got the star pegs and sign hung, but I mostly had a nap. Didn't sleep well last night.

Oh, and I made a simple felt dress for Dottie and Timey from that Simplicity pattern. Kinda growly about it, I figured the Disney Princesses and Mia would fit the 'Small' and Dottie and Timey would be 'Medium'. Nope. Small hung on the DPs worse than a cinched bag, and was even a bit wide on Dottie and Timey. It looked rather plain, so I sewed on some trim. For such a simple design with minimal sewing - ya don't hafta hem felt ! - it looks pretty nice.

A nice feature on the new computer is a built-in card reader. I don't have to turn on the cameras to download photos anymore. I just remove the capture card, apply it to the correct slot, and the computer reads it. Let's hear it for saving batteries ! Our camera came with a 16mb card, and we found a second one - now we can use them when we need to take only a few photos. Good thing I didn't toss 'em or donate 'em. It also has a total of six (!) USB ports.

It's funny, though, what the new computer doesn't have. No floppy drive, or modem. Yet it expects online connectivity. Keeps asking for connections to download and register things. Woe betides anyone who buys a computer but doesn't want to go online ! Today's computers can drive anyone insane with the constant nagging.

There's apparently a problem with the graphics drivers. Try to see a large image and the image viewer shuts down with a 'driver error' message. Bear in mind, we haven't installed anything at all yet. It's having issues with the stuff it came with. (sigh) This is why I hate getting brand-new Microsoft...you've gotta be online to get all the %$#* updates to fix all the %#@*& problems !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 April 2007 11:15 PM CDT

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Mood:  incredulous

You know how, lots of weekends, I catch up the last two or three days on Monday ? It always gets busy on weekends, so much to do, especially now that the weather's not so blasted miserable. But this week, I had an exceptional reason for not writing the Doll Diaries the days they're due - our new place got hit by lightning !

No joke. While I was waiting for Dearest Son in his school's pick-up area, a bolt hit a tree in the backyard. It went to ground, which was more of a lake than anything else, due to a solid week of intermittent rain. Power has to go somewhere, and it found a path of low resistance via phone lines. Blew the DSL filter apart, pieces landing eight feet from the socket. From there, it caught the DSL modem on fire, scorching the desk and propelling it off the surface and onto the floor, where it smashed and smouldered. The new monitor bascially became a high-tech Pop-Tart, and the less-than-one-month-old fax was similarly toasted. My cell phone was charging when it got a good dose of more power than it was supposed to ever have, all at once, and it's now a higher-quality toy cell phone for Son. Somehow, it also messed up the heat/air unit, so that hasn't been working either. Luckily, another blanket on the beds and we didn't care.

Of course, I knew nothing of this when we got back. I just heard a high-pitched 'eeeeee' noise and thought I smelled smoke. Tracked the sound to the upside down modem and its ominous single red light. Picked it up and almost dropped it, it was still so hot. I noticed the front diode plate was missing and saw the scorch marks. Hastily put it down, and several capacitors and resistors, black with carbon and still lightly smoking, fell out. The wall plate now had black streamers of scorch, too.

Phone lines were completely out. Visited the Day Care center next door, they saw a bolt of lightning, but didn't know where it hit. Felt the ground move from the force of the strike, though. Still bloody raining, too. Hoofed it across the street to the 7-11 and its pay phones. Called Beloved Hubby with the exceptional news, so he wouldn't worry when not one communications method worked, and then called the phone company.

Two hours later, I was back home. Now, I don't mean to suggest that the phone part took that long. No, reporting fried lines for repair service took about 15 minutes. Dealing with the DSL people...that took most of my out-in-the-rain-on-a-pay-phone time. Bascially, since the modem's more than a year old, it's ours, and they're not gonna replace it. I could either pay $70. (plus $12.95 s/h) for a new modem like the Krispy Krittered one, or upgrade to $35./month service and get a $50. rebate on an $89. wireless router modem (plus $12.95 s/h). Or I could cancel our service for a $99. early-termination fee. At least that one didn't have a shipping/handling fee...and I was seriously considering it.

Then the tornado alarms went off. Geez, how much can I deal with in a single afternon ? Evidently more, because I just laughed. The tornado warning was about 15 minutes long, so we flipped the XM radio to a local station (heavy rains and clouds eliminated our semi-crappy TV reception) and heard the forecaster ride out the last few minutes. He even said, "Let's see what's gonna happen during the last minute of this warning !", which would make a cat laugh, it was so serious and silly at once. I heard there were funnel-cloud sightings, but we were fine, luckily. Talk about a day of fire and rain...we had one !

So we spent our 'rainy day fund' (Ha !) on a new computer tonight. Not something we were looking to do, but Hubby's business and most of the family's recreation and news run online so... And, as it turned out, where we bought it sells the exact same modem in their stores. Sure, we gotta pony up tax, but we'll have it in hand without waiting for shipping. Plus tax is cheaper than s/h. Not that the phone company told me this. I honestly thought, from their words, they were the only source of modems that work with their system. Bastids.

We have Windows Vista, which seems nice so far. Luckily I backed up my patterns a few months ago, so those aren't lost - just the three I scanned this week are. Can always scan 'em again. Someday. Lost about four months of Musings - my personal journals - and about a year's worth of photos. Gosh only knows what Hubby lost.

So while I'm a bit upset, I know how lucky we were. That modem could have caught the house on fire. And while I'd have liked to watch about $2k worth of equipment go up in metaphorical flames, it's probably best nobody was home when it happened. Nobody got hurt, repairs have either been affected or professionals called, and we still have power, the fridge didn't get hit, and there wasn't a tornado down Main Street. Beloved Hubby knew I'd be feeling morose, so he ordered Chinese food for us tonight. He's so sweet. So, on the whole, it wasn't that bad.

But I'm kind of mourning anyway.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 April 2007 11:14 PM CDT

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