MOO cards and MOOPocket

I have a couple of quick things to tell you about today.

First, I’ve been an admirer of those bloggers organized enough to actually have cards with their blog address, etc., to hand out at functions. It’s been a big help to me more than once because I’m truly name-challenged. I know that’s my issue, and not that of the lovely people who I meet, but try as I might I can’t seem to find the technique that will help me remember their names. 😥 So cards are such a great idea!

I finally have my own.

Here are the PI MOO cards. If you haven’t seen MOO cards before, this is such a cool idea. They are smaller than a standard business card, so you can carry a bunch of them. And you can put your own pictures on the backs. The pictures can be anything you want. I went with mostly fibery goodness. But I do have one of the beach at Lincoln City, because it’s so pretty, and one of Moo Cow, because she should be on a MOO card.

Although the cards are printed in London, they arrived safe and sound all the way here in the Pacific Northwest in only about 10 days after I ordered them. So now when I go to functions, I can hand them out. And because I have 100 of them, I can hand them out willy-nilly without having to conserve.

So I needed something to keep them in, I think you will agree?

The Clip-on MOOPocket is from Splatgirl’s etsy shop. She has tons of cool fabrics (or leather), and several different styles. Mine is not only clip-on, but has a little window in the front so I can display one of my MOO Cards, as the mood strikes me (currently it’s one of all my little sock bookmarks). Splatgirl had my special-ordered MOOPocket to me in just a few days. I wanted to show it to you last week, because it’s so cute. But I had to wait for the cards to get here, too.

Now, the second thing I wanted to talk to you about, gentle reader, is retirement. If you are in your 20’s or 30’s, please start saving for retirement now, because it will come a lot faster than you think. And remember that many people have to live on quite fixed incomes during their retired years.

Yarn doesn’t spoil. So go ahead and stash. It’s saving for retirement. 😆 In honor of this thought, Knitnana and I have created a new button: 401(k)nit. It’s over on the left-hand side-bar, right above the Yarn Collectors button. If you, too, are saving for your retirement, feel free to proudly display this button on your blog or website. But please don’t link to my image. Download the button and upload it to your own server, thankyouverymuch.

Same goes for the Yarn Collectors button, also. If you are a yarn collector, don’t be afraid to shout that out! We collectors and savers must stick together.

Bo Diddley socks

Who do you love?

I’m lovin’ my socks, oh yeah! I think I could walk 47 miles in them. But I will skip the barbed wire, the cobra snake necktie, and snakeskin houses with skull chimneys. (That should guarantee that Bo Diddley fans will get here and wonder how the heck they ended up on a knitting blog. They have good company in all of the Bob Dylan fans that get here searching for Tangled Up In Blue.)

But I digress.

I’m lovin’ my new socks. And because Who Do You Love kept going through my head every time I knit on them, I am hereby dubbing these the Bo Diddley Socks.

I really wanted to get a pic of them slithering through the grass or posed along a tree limb, but yesterday when I took these pictures it was raining cats and dogs. So instead they are tip-toe on a chair next to the window – the only light that was available. The color is pretty true on my monitor.

Notice how the first scale starts on the toe near the end and follows the line of the toe increases. Sort of. That was the plan, anyway. Go ahead and click on the picture to biggy-size it. I’ll wait.

dragon scale pattern

This picture shows the Dragon Scale pattern up the leg. Pretty, isn’t it? I love the way the pattern plays with the little short blings of color in this yarn.

I think the pattern sort of resembles the up-and-down action that occurs in other chevron-style stitch patterns, like what is found on the Jaywalker socks. But this pattern is much stretchier than Jaywalkers are.

I used a picot bind-off because I thought the little points would look cool and snake-ish with the scales. I didn’t bind off in the traditional sense. I just tacked the live stitches down inside using a sort of duplicate stitch, so the cuffs are really stretchy. Note that the cuff is vaguely wavy on top, still following the scale pattern.

The other choice for a cuff would have been to replace the last row of scales with ribbing. The bottom of the ribbing would have followed the line of the scales, allowing the previous row of scales to complete. I think that would have looked cool also. Maybe next time (if there is a next time). I’ll see how well these stay up with no ribbing.

Bo Diddley heel

That was what I did here on the heel: The heel stitch ends when the scale starts, so it follows the line of the scales up into the leg. You will recall, gentle reader, that this is the second attempt at a heel. The first attempt was not so happy.

I really do like this heel, though. I’ve been known to stop perfectly nice people in their tracks and demand they look at it because it’s just so pretty.

I love the way that the scale curves down into the heel.

The heel, apart from the scale, is worked in standard heel stitch, with one exception: There is a double-slip-stitch in the middle to match the center two stitches of the scale.

Oh, yeah… and they fit really, really well, too. I can’t wait until it’s cold enough to wear them!

There is a new pair of socks on my needles (like you couldn’t have guessed that). They are one of Cat’s new sockitectures. I will have more info and pics tomorrow or the next day.

Bo Diddley heel

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (100% Superwash merino/ 50gr, 160m per skein) in colorway P342 (multi-grays with little blings of rainbow colors) — most of two skeins.
• Needles: two 24″ Addi Lace circulars, US#1 (2.5mm).
• Pattern: modified Dragon Scales from Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury Of Knitting Patterns, used with my own standard sock pattern, more or less.
• Techniques used:
  • Knit toe-up, two at a time, on double circulars.
  • I used the Magic Cast On.
  • The heel flap is worked in heel stitch, with two slipped stitches in the center to flow into the scale on the back of the leg.
  • Picot cuff, live stitches sewn down inside (stretchier than first binding off).

My day started early, because the fur kids wanted their breakfast. Cats, as the saying goes, do not have snooze alarms. It is impossible to sleep through three cats who are alarming rather than snoozing.

After silencing the kitty alarms with nice full bowls of kibble and getting the coffee perking, I started to get ready to head off to work. I opened the drawer where I keep my unmentionables.

My still-foggy brain slowly grasped the fact that, no matter how late I got home last night, I really should have done that load of laundry. Because there was no way that I would be getting dressed until at least some laundry was done. I glanced at the clock. I checked my calendar.

I have an old Palm Pilot. The orderliness of reality depends on my Palm Pilot. It contains my brain. You think I jest, gentle reader, but I am serious. Were anything to happen to my Palm, the universe would implode because all known laws of physics would cease to exist. And I would be even later to appointments than I already am. And my hair would turn grayer faster out of sheer panic.

Oh, wait. That last has already happened. But, thanks to Carla the wonder-stylist, I can exist in blissful denial. Actually, Carla says that I have hardly any gray. It’s all white. Since I would look like a ghost with white hair, Carla takes care of that. And I have beautiful, magical, color. (I feel a Disney song coming on…)

But I digress.

I checked my calendar and determined that I could handle the morning meeting from home, show up in person at noon, and take care of the stuff that really required my actual bodily presence after lunch. That would give me time to take care of the aforementioned laundry issue, thus allowing me to actually get dressed some time before noon, etc. I could pick up lunch from the burrito cart near work, and I’d be all set.

Doesn’t that sound like a simple and elegant plan?

I thought so. But that was before the battery died on my speakerphone, forcing me to balance a phone on my shoulder while typing and guaranteeing that I would have a stiff neck. And I blame the neck stiffness for the clumsy little stumble I took on the front steps at work. It would have been little, that is, except that, in trying to save my burrito (I was hungry!), I did fall over a bit more than I had really thought I was going to, and sort of jammed one finger against the concrete step so now I have a bruised, blue fingernail. And of course it’s my middle finger. So people may have thought I was not a happy camper, what with that blue finger flashing around and all, even though I wasn’t really trying to flip anyone off.

Although there was a bit of blue language, and probably some flipping off, that was directed at my computer when I turned it on, expecting to continue working on the document that I had spent four hours on yesterday, only to find it gone. Gone. G.O.N.E. Nowhere. Gone. That’s four hours, vanished into the aether. Four. Hours.

I’m a pretty smart cookie, I’d like to think. I can usually ferret out any hiding place a document tries to wiggle into. It was not there. I have no idea what happened to it.

Except that’s just the kind of day it was. The kind of day when your work goes poooofft for no reason and everything and everyone around you is in total panic mode.

Did someone ask for a do-over on Monday? Was one Monday not enough? Is the moon full or Mercury in retrograde or something?

The fax machine wouldn’t even work and it was 1:30 before I finally got to eat my (cold, slightly squished) burrito while I tried valiantly to concentrate on yet another teleconference while still trying vainly to find my document.

One of my colleagues who recognized I was having a day — probably because my hair, which had been perfectly behaving when I left the house — began to expand as I ran my (bruised, blue) fingers through it in frustration — brought me a Dove chocolate. You know how Dove chocolates have little sayings on the insides of the wrappers? This one said (I am not making this up), Get your feet massaged.

How would I have time to do that, seeing as how I lost 4 hours worth of work on a document I’m only half finished with, I’m having to deal with multiple crises and I can’t find a working fax machine? Unless a foot-masseuse shows up under my desk, it’s not going to happen.

water and bubbles

I was so glad to come home.

Because I knew that I was coming home to Scharffen Berger chocolate (dinner of stressed-out champions everywhere), courtesy of Marie. And the Great Green Glob was there to be knit on for a few mindless garter-stitch only rows (carefully, with one finger sort of sticking out).

Ahhhhh…. better.

You can see from the picture that the Great Green Glob has progressed. In the semi-stretched-out part you can see the waves, and below the waves are bubbles. Next come the fish. I am getting there, slowly but surely.

And I’m glad, because today I found this pattern and totally and completely fell in love. I have the pattern in hand, and I’m now looking for just the perfect yarn. Silky, I think. And honey-colored. And slightly variegated or hand-painted. But just slightly. I’m thinking I might find the perfect thing at Oregon Flock & Fiber. We shall see.

And tomorrow?

Tomorrow, gentle reader, is another day!

a rainbow of yarn

Thanks to everyone who posted great places (i.e. yarn shops) to visit in the Boston area. I will try to hit at least a couple.

I have just a tiny bit more yarn pr0n to show you before I go.

I didn’t actually possess this yarn the last time we spoke, but it had been calling to me for months. Every time I went to Tangle I visited it, and petted it, and it talked to me and said take me home, Judy. But I had no project in mind for it, so I was strong and resolute and I put in my earplugs and didn’t listen.

It was hanging on a wall rack with the other lovely, wonderful Blue Heron yarns. Always it hung towards the back of the rack, like a slightly naughty child. But I could always pick it out from across the room. And I would eventually wander over and give it a little pat and say not yet… (You talk to your yarn, don’t you?)

Yesterday, as I plopped down in my favorite Tangle chair and started knitting, I glanced over to the Blue Heron rack.

It wasn’t there!

I felt a momentary twinge of panic. Did someone buy it? Alice had said that many people looked at it and commented about it, but then left it. Maybe it talked loudly enough and went home with someone else! Ack!

Then I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized it was still there. But it was an omen, I decided. So it came home with me.

I don’t know yet what it wants to be. But eventually I will see just the right pattern for it, and then it will be there ready to go. It’s a cotton/rayon/metallic in a colorway called Shadow. I have 425 yard of it, which is enough to do something nice with it. Or it may become a striking edging. We shall see.

Moo Cow the fiber junky
(gratuitous cat picture)

Someone else at my house was interested in it too.

Today the kitties headed over to the Cat Bed & Breakfast for a little fun whilst I trek across the country. I’m not sure how pleased they were. I take that back. I do know. They were not pleased.

Usually I either leave them with tons of food and water, if I’m not going to be gone very long, or I have #1 Son come over and take care of the kitties while the neighbors water the lawn if it needs it and pick up the mail. But #1 Son is on tour and if he is delayed getting home the kitties would be in dire straights. And the Cat B & B is a nice place, as such places go. The only really tough part is rounding them up to get them over there.

It was a hectic day. I first had to pick my friend M up at the airport. She was flying in from a visit with her out-of-town family. Being the geek that I am, I had gone online and set up an email alert to my cell phone for her flight arrival. When it came, it said her flight was early. The airport was a zoo. I fought my way around to the pick-up point through a crowd of insane drivers (is it the full moon?). M wasn’t there. I went around again. No M. I went around a third time. Still no M. (Early flight?)

I drank a big cup of coffee on the way to the airport. By the third time around, I was really hoping to see M. Nature was calling louder than that yarn had. When M wasn’t there, I gritted my teeth and went around again. She was there! Yea! She stuck her head in the window and said her bag still hadn’t shown up and so I should go around again (it’s pick-up only, no parking). I said OK. And as I started off again, I said a few other things under my breath, but gently because my teeth were starting to float if you know what I mean. So instead of going around one more time, I drove away from the airport and far enough down the road that I found a fast-food restaurant where I ran from my car double-quick and ran inside to take advantage of their facilities. With my mind, and other parts of my anatomy, eased, I drove back around the airport, where M was waiting with bag in hand. But I felt a whole lot more relaxed about the whole pick-up thing, and didn’t mind at all driving over to SE Portland to this great little vegetarian Oriental restaurant that #1 Son had turned me on to.

On the way to M’s house after lunch, I mentioned that the kitties were going to the Cat B & B, and how hard they are to catch sometimes when they don’t want to be caught. Be careful not to think about your vacation, M said. Cats pick up on those things and you’ll never find them because they’ll go hide.

So all the way from M’s house to mine, I tried to not think about my vacation.

Do you have vacation coming up? Or maybe dinner? Or a good night’s sleep? Or that project you really need to get to? Try not thinking about it. Go ahead. I’ll wait right here while you give it a go.

What luck did you have not thinking about it?

Yeah.

I pulled into the garage trying to think of other things and mostly not succeeding.

Cat rounding up must be done carefully. Phoebe and Kidd both have a place they can hide where it’s not easy for me to get to them. Once I’ve grabbed one, the jig is up and the other heads for cover. Kidd, once he sees that you’re heading for the garage and so he is destined for a journey, lets go in the same way that I almost did circling the airport to pick up M. So it’s important to keep him… aimed the other direction, if you catch my drift. And all three are big cats. I only have two carriers — a big one that can hold two cats and a smaller one. It can be interesting to stuff a second cat into the big carrier while keeping the first cat still in residence.

So I pulled into the garage trying to think happy catnip, mouse-chasing, kibble-munching thoughts. And not thoughts of vacation and Cat B & B and such.

All three of the kitties were there when I walked in the door. Hmm… I carefully didn’t think… just maybe I could get at least one of them.

I bent down and scratched Phoebe’s head and told her hello, and then just picked her up. She was surprised because she doesn’t like to be held, but she didn’t argue much. It was almost too easy.

Kidd was yawning and stretching on the sofa, only half awake. I carefully didn’t think that I could maybe grab him as well and have the two hard cases wrapped up. I nonchalantly wandered towards the sofa, Phoebe in my arms. Before Kidd knew what had happened, I’d scooped him up, too. I headed towards the garage, only a few feet away.

Now they both knew I was up to something nefarious. Picture this intrepid reporter, arms full of 25 lbs of angry cats, trying to hang on to Phoebe and keep Kidd pointed the other direction while still having one hand free to open the door. If I were an octopus, it might have been easier. Only having two hands made the journey, as short as it was, interesting. I made it to the garage and tipped the big carrier up on end. I put Kidd in and Phoebe right behind him. Whew. Two down.

I cleaned up Kidd’s mess. Missed me, fortunately. And then left Phoebe and Kidd to complain bitterly (and at the top of their lungs) in the garage while I went in search of Moo Cow, The Queen Of The House. She was no longer hanging around the living room. I found her back in my bedroom with a puzzled look on her face. She wasn’t running or hiding because that would not befit her royal station. But she did seem a little miffed that I was doing something not OK with two of her minions. I gave her a reassuring pat while I walked with her to the garage and told her that everything would be just fine, appearances notwithstanding. I’m glad that the small carrier can be opened from the top as well as the side, because Moo can make herself really, really big and plant all of her paws firmly on the sides of the carrier so it’s as difficult as possible to get her inside, and once in she arches her back so you can’t close the top. Tricky is Moo.

I delivered the kitties to the Cat B & B, and gave the staff all my kitty-mom advice: Don’t give Moo anything string-like because she’ll eat it but balls are OK. Don’t give Kidd anything but his regular food because it will make him sick. Phoebe likes her head scratched and sheds when stressed. I almost added wear a sweater if you’re cold, but decided they probably didn’t need that advice.

Margaret just called. Can’t wait to see her. I promised not to drag her around to every yarn store in Massachusetts. She replied You know me. I’ll shop for anything. heh heh She might not know what she’s saying… 😆

[ed. 11:56 pm] P.S. Speaking of lovely things, you must check out Fibergal’s herringbone lace socks. That stitch pattern will need to see my needles soon, I think..

How can I begin to describe the 3rd annual Magical Moebius Festival?

It was perfect. Cat Bordhi is a wonderful teacher, and the nicest person imaginable. Nancy and Bob of Colorsong Yarn did a marvelous job organizing the event. There was really cool learning experiences, followed by lots of time to knit and try stuff out. And yarn. Luscious, incredible yarns piled high and just waiting for knitters to take them home.

The picture shows Cat demonstrating — with Nancy playing the part of stitch — how to tell which direction a stitch is mounted on the needle, and how to knit it in either case.

Be sure to click on the pictures to biggy-size them.

Cat kept trying to knit Nancy all weekend. Fortunately Nancy seemed none the worse for wear.

I may as well flash a little yarn pr0n while I’m at it. See all of the yarn? This wasn’t even all of it. There was more. And every time I wandered out into this room, there was new yarn, and yarn I hadn’t seen before, and yarn I just had to have. Nancy and Bob brought many wonderful yarns. And Michele from Fiber Nooks & Crannys also brought wonderful and tempting things.

There were books, too! All of Cat’s books (although not the new one that isn’t published yet – go figure) and Ann & Kay’s book, and other cool books.

Nancy helpfully ran a tab for me. (yeah… big help… I started calling Nancy my pusher)

And there was also Addi Lace needles — Skacel gave everyone at the workshop one US#2 Addi Lace needle, and I won another US#2 as a door prize. And maybe I acquired a couple more in other sizes in a more mundane way through my pusher.

Also note the corner of the table in the lower left of the picture. See how it’s nicely set for some meal or another? It was always set for a meal, and it seemed like we were always eating. Three really good meals, plus two big snacks lest we become faint from hunger.

This was our classroom. It was right next to the yarn & food room. See the big windows? They looked right out over the ocean. The Shilo Inn is on a bluff over the beach, so the view was wonderful. One morning I saw a whale.

We had a lot of fun in this room, knitting and learning and knitting and learning and knitting some more. And maybe just a touch of wine drinking. But just a touch, because there was so much knitting going on. I knit the moebius-from-hell, which I will tell you about later.

We were not the only event at the Shilo last weekend. There was also a wedding reception. A very loud wedding reception, with many guests who looked to be having a great time. I could tell there were many muggles amongst them by the strange looks they gave us as they filed past the room where we ate dinner surrounded by yarn. But one of the wedding guests came in and asked what we were doing and said she’d rather be with us. She had taken a class from Cat some time ago, and wanted to knit. But her husband insisted she stick with the wedding reception. So some of the knitters visited her later. Knitters crashing a wedding reception. I think the muggles were not amused. 😆

We not only knit moebii, we also knit socks. Lots of little socks knit in many mysterious but very, very cool ways. This is the best picture I can show you of the socks because I am sworn to secrecy. But Cat has a strange and devious mind and many cool and wonderful things come pouring out of it. And I was totally blown away and would still be knitting socks had I not become enmeshed in the before-mentioned moebius-from-hell.

Cat’s new book: New Pathways For Sock Knitters will be out soon. You can preorder it now from Bob and Nancy at Knitters Bookshelf. Check out all of the other great books they have while you’re browsing!

I left my window open Saturday night. The sound of the surf drowned out the sound of the wedding reception, which went into the wee hours of the morning, I think. I’m getting too old to last that long.

It was really hard to tear myself away on Sunday.

I loved all of the knitters that were there, and Cat, and Nancy & Bob, and Michelle, and the staff of the Shilo who made sure that we had all we needed.

The weather on Sunday was just glorious, as it had been on Thursday. It made for a very pleasant drive home.

I stopped in Lincoln City and snapped this picture on Siletz Bay. I love how the rocks look like a dragon sleeping in the water. There were tons of people out on the beach because it was the last day of spring break for Oregon schools and the first weekend of spring break for Washington schools.

Strangely enough the traffic wasn’t all that bad, and I arrived home safe and sound after an uneventful journey. The fur kids were glad to have me home, and I was glad to be home.

Sleeping to surf is very nice, but there’s something about having a couple of purring cats curled up next to you that makes for some very fine sleeping.

Next: Why gauge is important, or how I learned to love swatching.

That describes my mind as I try to come up with a witty title for today’s post. I’m not sure why the switch to DST should wipe me out this much. But it does.

Gentle reader, I am thinking that you may be growing somewhat weary of the somewhat obligatory UFO draped across a chair in a vain attempt to catch a little bit of natural light photos that have graced PI lately. Especially since most of those have been socks in progress, and how many ways can one display a sock?

And we all know, don’t we, how well I’ve been doing on my knit no socks resolution. Two finished objects this year. Both socks. One unfinished object holding all my attention. It’s socks. Yeah. What can I say.

At any rate, I don’t want to turn this into a look where my sock is today a la the Yarn Harlot. I could never do anything more than a poor imitation of Stephanie’s wit and humor with her traveling socks. For me to attempt it would just be lame.

But let’s face it, boys and girls… even I’m bored with my photography.

And it’s not like the weather is decent and I can run around outside and take pictures. Taking pictures outside is a serious risk to my camera. Camera + water = bad idea. This is Oregon. The rain will stop some time in late June. Until then there will be only brief, shining moments..

This is Captain Kidd. He’s a rather wonky sort of cat. He always has been. I think it’s safe to say that his parents were very carefully inbred, resulting in what we at chez PI like to refer to as a cat of very little brain. We love him anyway. But he’s a little strange. He has fortunately completely recovered from his illness last year. Physically. Mentally… I think he’s become even a little stranger.

His illness may be a good example of his interesting personality. My vet stopped carrying the oh-so-special kibble that Kidd needed to have and that was worth it’s weight in gold (or that is what they charged me). Instead they offered a perfectly reasonable substitute. It cost me a large sum of money to find out that Kidd wanted his prior brand of kibbles back and if he couldn’t get it he was quite willing to starve himself to death while tearing out his fur and eating it. The other two cats in the house loved the new kibble and grew quite fluffy while eating their share and Kidd’s.

I now travel 1/2 way across town simply to buy his special brand. Other cat parents will, no doubt, understand. The rest of you probably think I’m nuts. (probably did anyway) But he’s now a (fairly) reasonable weight, although still very slim, and all the fur he pulled out (or the vet shaved because he had to have a feeding tube for awhile) has grown back.

Kidd likes to sit on the bookshelf by my desk while I work at my computer. I have no idea why. It’s his spot. He sleeps there, sitting up. If I have placed another object there, he scolds me until I move it — note the stacks of CDs pushed carefully out of the way. When he gets tired of sitting on the shelf, he goes under the desk and curls up in the corner.

I don’t think he was very happy wearing the socks. But, if you hang around while I’m looking for something to amuse myself with… well… don’t be surprised at what happens. 😀

The socks are up to the gussets and proceeding nicely. I like Dave’s Sea-Camo-Weedy remark, and I think I will name them that.

I had lunch yesterday with #1 Son at Nicholas’. It’s a tiny little hole in the wall in an unattractive area of Portland. It’s so tiny that, after your name is added to the always-present list, you have to wait outside. There’s no room for people to wait inside. No room even to knit at the table. The proprietors have thoughtfully provided space heaters under the roof overhang, so although I had to stand on the sidewalk looking like I was maybe lookin’ for a good time (hey, sailor… wanna party?), at least I was dry (mostly) and warm (sort of) and had plenty of company. Seating is at such a premium that, although my name came up on the list, I was not actually given a table until #1 Son finally arrived. Trust me on this — it’s well worth the wait. Every time the door opened the scent of wonderful Middle Eastern cuisine wafted out. I have 1/2 of a falafel sandwich left over for dinner, along with a very creamy hummus and pita that was so fresh when served that it was too hot to pick up.

The Tangled socks still have not shown up. #1 Son professes innocence (but has yet to prove it). I did not take them anywhere out of the house unless they were on my feet. (Good thought, ~Kristie, but I have a sample sock named Bob that I use when I need to demo.) I have checked the legs of pants and sleeves of shirts, just in case. I am afraid this mystery will not be solved. I am bereft.

On a techie note, a week or so ago I completely rewrote the PI theme from the ground up. I was pretty careful to make it look the same, so you may not have noticed. I tested it in as many browsers as I could to make sure it looked reasonably OK and was stable. But I have no access to either Linux or a Mac. If you see something that looks weirder than usual or really doesn’t work, please let me know.