Every Time a Bell Rings . . .

By now you will all have noticed my surprise! Yes, I had the look of my blog re-done. I wanted something fresh and new and I am ever so pleased with the results! It looks a lot less cluttered and I'm very happy with it. Thanks so much Hannah!

Okay, you're really in for it this morning!!! Grab your popcorn and pull up a chair. You are now going to get the list of my all time favourite Christmas Movies! Movies that I just can't get through the holidays without seeing, and movies I highly recommend. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen these films, I love to watch them over and over again, and it just wouldn't be Christmas without seeing them at least once during the holidays. I'm afraid Todd is tortured with seeing these films year after year . . . but he doesn't really mind . . . a lot of them are his favourites too!!!



1. It's a Wonderful Life ~ George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas ! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget about suicide ? It just wouldn't be Christmas without watching this film at least once. I love it from beginning to end and it doesn't matter how many times I have seen it, I never tire of it.



2. A Christmas Story ~ This movie remains so fresh with each viewing, it is easy to forget that it was 25 years old this year. Told from Ralphie's viewpoint, these are the Christmas reminiscences of an adult whose pre-teen Christmas wish is a BB-gun that adults discouraged with the phrase "You'll shoot your eye out." In his quest to convince his parents that he is old enough to have a BB-gun, young Ralphie hatches several plots, including writing the best "What I Want for Christmas" essay in his class, also leaving BB-gun ads in conspicuous places, and, as a last resort, asking Santa Claus. (Parents with young sons, beware: you may want to delay purchasing this film until you are ready to deal with a similar request.) I absolutely love this film. Todd had never seen it until I introduced him to it and now it is a firm favourite with him as well. I highly recommend this film. Watch it and you'll be hooked! I double dog dare ya!




3. Miracle on 34th Street ~ The original one with Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood. I absolutely love this film. (I know, I know, I say it about them all! But it's true!) Christmas is not Christmas to me without this film. Edmund Gwenn must come close to every body's ideal of Santa Claus/Father Christmas, the kindly, good humored grandfather. The warmth of the story is the restoration of belief in all things Christmas came to represent,and we soon see that in the presence of Kris Kringle even the most cynical opportunism and expediency is doomed. If you've never seen it, you've never had Christmas at your house!



4. A Christmas Carol ~ the original version with Alistair Sim. This is the "desert-island" choice of the many versions of "A Christmas Carol", with a magnificent, full-bodied portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge by Alastair Sim that leaves everyone else in the dust. NO other version seems to quite cut it with me. It HAS to be this original one, in all it's crackly, grainy, black and white goodness . . .



5. The Homecoming ~ This was the movie that predicated the popular television series "The Waltons". A homespun tale, the movie focuses on rural life during the Great Depression and the anxiety a family feels one Christmas when their beloved Father is overdue after being forced to travel to the city to find work and earn money for his family's survival. Each of the characters reacts to his departure in different ways. Ultimately, the oldest son, John-Boy, portrayed by Richard Thomas, takes important steps to manhood and toward his ultimate career as a writer. If you've never seen this movie, you owe it to yourself to view a more unvarnished, less "suburban" rendition of life in this beloved family. A scene in which little Elizabeth, who desperately wants a doll for Christmas, receives one . . . with a cracked and broken face . . . from a "charity" Missionary, only after having to "perform" scriptures, is so raw that it hurts. "It's dead," the little girl sobs into her brother's comforting arms. This film is anything but dead. There is real life in every panel that reaffirms true family relationships and the Christmas spirit without being heavy-handed.



6. Home Alone ~ This is a classic Christmas movie. The plot, cast, and the acting are all top notch. The story is about young boy named Kevin who gets left behind when his family leaves for Paris. While alone, he must fend off two bumbling burglars while at the same time, his family is on a desperate race against time to return home. I fell in love with this film the first time I saw it and I have many happy memories of watching it with my kids. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas for me without watching it at least once during the holidays. It doesn't matter how many times I see those robbers get hit in the face with paint tins, or walking on broken ornaments in their bare feet, I laugh my head off every time!



7. Meet Me In St Louis ~ One of the finest American musicals, this 1944 film by Vincente Minnelli is an intentionally self-contained story set in 1903, in which a happy St. Louis family is shaken to their roots by the prospect of moving to New York, where the father has a better job pending. Judy Garland heads the cast in what amounts to a splendid, end-of-an-era story that nicely rhymes with the onset of the 20th century. The film is extraordinarily alive, the characters strong, and the musical numbers are a splendid part of the storytelling. I love Margaret O'Brien in this, but then I love her in all her films, and the singing of Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland is a classic, not to be missed, moment.



8. The Family Man ~ In the tradition of the best films that Hollywood ever had to offer comes this refreshingly honest movie that isn't afraid to say that you don't have to be rich, hip and cynical to be successful and happy with your life. "The Family Man," stars Nicolas Cage as Jack Campbell, a man who took the "road less traveled," and turned his back on love for a career on Wall Street, and thirteen years later still doesn't realize how empty and shallow his life has become. Then something happens; on Christmas Eve, Jack does a good turn to the right person at the right time. His name is Cash , and he just happens to be a guy with . . . well . . . connections. The next thing Jack knows, he's getting a "glimpse" of what his life would have been had he made a different choice all those many years ago. When he wakes up on Christmas morning, he's not in his bed in his penthouse apartment, but in a house in the suburbs, sleeping next to Kate Reynolds, the woman he once loved, but abandoned. Wall Street is history; he's now a crackerjack tire salesman at "Big Ed's," and he and Kate have two kids, Annie and Josh. I won't tell you how it turns out as I don't want to spoil it for anyone. Let's just say this is a fabulous feel good movie, an honest, heart-felt film with an important message about life in today's world.



9. The Dollmaker ~ This was a made for TV movie that was produced in 1984. Starring Jane Fonda, it is the story of an Appalachian woman and her family that are forced to move from the comfort of their hills to the big city of Detroit during the big depression of the 1930's. In the movie we see the love and the struggles of an Appalachian Kentucky family. The Nevel family may lack in money and materialistic "things" but the family is rich with tradition, family, love and faith in God. From the outside they had little but really they had it all. It is a bittersweet struggle of survival for one woman, to beat all the odds stacked against her and her family and to follow that dream in life . . . "HOME". It proves one CAN go home again if they only have the dream and desire. It might not be a "Christmas" movie in the strictest sense of the word, but I love the way it makes me feel.



10. Holiday Affair ~ I love this Christmas gem from 1949. It has all the ingredients necessary to earn a place in my Christmas movies Hall of Fame . . . an adorable little boy who wants a train set his widowed mom can't afford. Janet Leigh plays a WWII widow struggling to provide for her son. Wendell Corey is the kind and decent man who wants to marry her. Robert Mitchum, (hubba hubba) is the drifter on his way to California who changes everything. It has charm without being schmaltzy, humor without being too cutsie, and an ending that has you standing up to cheer. Start stringing the popcorn and plan to watch this every Christmas season.


So there you have it . . . my top ten Christmas movies to watch! Oh, I know there are a lot more than these ten films that I just HAVE to watch every Christmas, but this is a good starting point. Tell me what is your MUST WATCH Christmas film? I'd love to hear all about it!



Oh, I was so thrilled to see that in my cookbook challenge this week, you all picked the Mushroom Bisque! This soup was delicious and quite easy to make. It would make a perfect first course for your Christmas Dinner actually and I can see myself making this again for Christmas day! You can actually make this a couple days ahead and re-heat, adding the cream and the sherry just before you are ready to serve. Yummo!! Thanks so much for picking this!



*Mushroom and Potato Bisque with Pancetta Croutons*
Serves 6 to 8

This makes a lot but I was able to cut the recipe in half quite successfully. Made with a combination of dried and fresh mushrooms, it had a lovely rich flavour. Deliciously creamy with a wonderful topping of crisp pancetta bits, this was a real winner. I added an additional garnish of some extra fried mushrooms and it went down a real treat!

2 ounces dried wild mushrooms, shitake or porcini
6 cups of either chicken or vegetable broth
3 TBS butter
1/4 pound of thick cut pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and finely chopped
1 pound of fresh cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
one 8 ounce baking potato, peeled and cut into 2 inch dice
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and minced
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 TBS plus 1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup single cream (or half and half)
1/3 cup dry sherry, or to taste
chopped fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish (I forgot all about this!)




Bring the chicken or vegetable stock to a boil. Add the dried mushrooms and then set aside for 5 minutes to infuse.

Melt 1 TBS of the butter in a large soup pot. Add the pancetta and fry, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on some paper kitchen towelling. Discard any fat left in the pot and wipe clean.

Melt the remaining 2 TBS of butter over medium high heat and add the chopped leek. Cook and stir for several minutes, until softened. Add the fresh mushrooms (if you are doing my optional mushroom garnish, save a small handful out), potato and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until the potato begins to soften.

Scoop the dried mushrooms out of the broth and add them to the pot. Strain the broth into the pot through a finely meshed strainer. Season to taste with some salt and pepper and add the soy sauce. Top with a lid, leaving it slightly ajar and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes.

Using a hand blender or a stand blender (with caution) blend the soup until it is roughly pureed with a bit of texture remaining. Stir in the cream and the sherry, if using. Simmer for another two minutes to heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Ladle into hot soup bowls and garnish each with some of the pancetta, the parsley and some of the extra fried mushrooms, if desired. Serve right away to your lucky family and guests!

*Note - This does not freeze well because of the cream. You could make it ahead up to the point where you have to add the cream and sherry, and then freeze, adding them once you have reheated it.

If you choose to use vegetable broth this becomes vegetarian.

Craving . . . Delicious roasted vegetables!

"When it's Christmas man is bigger
and is better in his part;
He is keener for the service
that is prompted by the heart.
All the petty thoughts and narrow
seem to vanish for a while,
and the true reward he's seeking
is the glory of a smile.
Then for others he is toiling
and somehow it seems to me,
that at Christmas, he is almost
what God wanted him to be."
~Edgar A Guest

Wouldn't it be wonderful if people wore their Christmas cheer, and practiced their Christmas love for the other 364 days of the year? I think it would be great!!!



As you may or may not know I joined another cooking group several weeks ago, called Craving Ellie in my Bellie. We're a relatively small group so far. Once a week we each cook a delicious recipe from the cookbook, The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger. This is a lovely book, jam packed with delicious recipes for the types of food that most people really enjoy, but done in a much healthier way. As the book says, "good health isn't about deprivation, it's about good choices."

We're a very small group right now, so that makes visiting each blog and the blog roll quite manageable. Not only that, but this week it was my turn to choose the recipe, and I was delighted. The recipe I chose for this week was "Jewel Roasted Vegetables" on page 244 of the book. It makes a change to be cooking something relatively healthy to share on this blog, not to mention, I think it would make a wonderful side dish for your Holiday Dinners! Last week macaroni and cheese, this week . . . these luscious vegetables . . . who knew eating healthy could be so delicious?????



*Jewel Roasted Vegetables*
Serves 6

This recipe calls for a delicious mixture of roasted carrots, sprouts, beets and garlic. I didn't have any sprouts in my fridge when I went to make it and to be perfectly honest Todd is not overly fond of them in large doses. (Or as he puts it, they disagree with him and we all know what that means!) In any case I substituted the sprouts with some cubes of butternut squash and sweet potato, which went really well!

4 medium beets
3 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 pounds carrots
1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
8 large cloves of garlic, left unpeeled
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 TBS chopped fresh thyme

Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Put the beets into a small baking dish and rub them with 1 TBS of the oil. Cover with aluminum foil and then roast for 30 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, peel the carrots and cut them into 1 inch thick rounds. Trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. Put the carrots, sprouts and garlic cloves into a large baking dish. Toss with the remaining 2 TBS of the oil. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

After the beets have been cooking for 30 minutes, add the large pan of vegetables to the oven, separately, and cook everything for one hour longer, giving them a good stir once or twice.

Remove the beets from the oven and transfer them to a cutting board to cool. Stir the thyme into the other vegetables and let it continue to cook for another 10 minutes while the beets are cooled and cut.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, after about 5 minutes, peel, then cut them into 1 inch chunks. Remove the other vegetables from the oven, toss with the beets, season with some more salt and pepper as needed, and then serve.



(Psst . . . I'll share the recipe for that delicious looking chicken tomorrow!)


Next week's recipe will be Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart, Page 98-99, as chosen by The Wiivers.



If you would like in on the fun and would like to cook some healthy, yet tasty recipes all you need to do is to get the book, "The Food You Crave, Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, by Ellie Krieger, and then send an e-mail to cravingellieinmybelly@gmail.com . In the meantime be sure to hop on over and check out the blog roll so that you can see some of the other delicious versions of this lovely recipe. (It really was quite, quite tasty!!)

We Have A Winner!

Sorry to be a day late posting the winner of my Christmas Giveaway, but they do say better late than never! Using a random numbers generator the winner has come up as Back Porch Blessings! Congratulations!!! Make sure you e-mail me with your address, not to mention your name, and whether you want your choice of Christmas Cards or everyday cards!

I wish I could send you all a little something as you are all so very special to me, but nevermind . . . knowing me theres sure to be another giveaway soon! Probably Valentines. Many thanks to all of you who so graciously signed up for it!

Easy Peasy Linzer Squeasy . . .

When I was a little girl we lived in Germany for about 4 years. My dad was stationed in Baden Baden, in the Black Forest with the Canadian Air force. From that experience I gained a great love for the country, the people and, most notably, the food! So I was really excited to find out what the recipe was for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie!



Yes, folks, it's Tuesdays With Dorie time again here at Oak Cottage and you all know what that means . . . I have baked yet another delicious recipe from that wonderful baking book, Baking, From My Home to Yours, by the equally delicious Dorie Greenspan! The recipe this week was Linzer Sables on pages 134-135, as chosen by noskos of Living the Life.



I had a German friend some years back, named Karin, and every Christmas she would make the most wonderful Linzer biscuits! Dark and spicy and full of raspberry preserves, they were lovely. Dorie's version is not as dark as Karin's were, and not quite as spicy but quite lovely all the same.



I am a Linzer Sable purist, and so I did everything exactly as the recipe requested without fooling around with any of the ingredients, my only problem being that I didn't have anything quite the correct size to cut the hole in the centre, so my holes are a bit on the small side. These cookies are quite delicious though, despite the smaller holes in the centre. Buttery, spicy, full of just the right amount of raspberry preserves and uber dusted with icing sugar, these are absolutely lovely!



The dough is very easy to make and goes together as quick as a wink. It's also very easy to roll out! (This is done between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper) A quick visit to the refrigerator or freezer, and you are ready to stamp them out. I covered some flat cookie trays without sides with some cling film, plopped the dough onto them, covered them with some more cling film and then rolled them out easy peasy lemon squeasy. It was then really easy to slide them into my freezer and wait the appropriate time.



My first tray got a little dark because my timer didn't go off for some reason, but the second tray of them was picture perfect I think! They look so pretty sitting there all dusted in the icing sugar, as if they are wearing their best big and tucker for a special occasion!

These are not cookies that you can sneak though . . . the white powder around the lips gives you away every time . . .

I used ground almonds as that's what I had and I also added a bit more spice to the dough with some ground cardamon. Mmmm . . . buttery, crisp, spicy and full of lovely raspberry preserves, these are real W-I-N-N-E-R-S! Todd just loved them!



If you would like the recipe make sure you check out Noskos Page . DO check out the Dorie Blog Roll as well, so that you can see what some of the other ladies have come up with!

Next week Ulrike of Küchenlatein has chosen Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies on pages 146-147 YUMMO!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

The Simple Woman's Day Book . . .

FOR TODAY, December 1, 2008 ...

Outside My Window...
It is pitch black. It gets dark so early these days, around 4 pm, and stays dark most mornings until almost 7 am. So it will be for at least a few more weeks until the Winter Solstice. I wonder how people cope up in the Artic Circle with six months of daylight and six months of darkness? That would seem very strange to me. I'm not sure that I could handle it either way! I don't mind the days getting shorter as long as we have at least some of each the day and the night!


I am thinking...
I was wondering yesterday how you could classify my blog here on Oak Cottage. Is it a food blog? I don't think so . . . although to be sure there is plenty of food here to look at. I have friends that have strictly food blogs and they are wonderful. I love to visit and see what they have been cooking. I have other's that are a happy mix of a lot of things, and still others that are only writings and feelings. I love them all. I guess I am a mixture of lots of things, a bit of food for the eyes, the soul and the tummy!

I am thankful for...
I am very thankful that Kayla is home from the hospital and doing well. I got to talk to my son for a bit yesterday, and whilst she is still on bed rest, things seem to be going very well. He sent me some lovely video's of their son Jonathan. He is such a sweet little boy. I have never gotten to hold him yet. The last time we were back to Canada, we didn't have enough money to be able to rent a car to go over to New Brunswick to see them, nor did they have enough pennies in their coffers to be able to come over to Nova Scotia to see us. It broke my heart to be so close and yet so far . . . but still, I am thankful for the love that we share with each other, however near or far . . .

From the kitchen...
I've got some lovely bikkies sitting on the counter and my White fruitcakes that I made yesterday. It smelt just like a bakery in here late yesterday afternoon! Its hard to believe that there is only about 3 weeks to Christmas! The time is creeping up rather quickly and I have so much to do still!

I am wearing...
Yep, you guessed it, pajamas!!! I do my writing on here early in the morning, not long after I get up, so I will always be in pajamas. I'd live in them if I could, I really would, but alas . . . it's not socially acceptable! I'd be known as that nutter down the lane who always wears pajamas!

I am creating...
I have some little felt ornaments that I have been working on for a couple of years now that I have been trying to finish. I know, I know . . . I must be the biggest procrastinator on the earth!!! I must have a hundred UFO's sitting in boxes up in the spare room. There just isn't enough hours in the day!!! If I ever become Prime Minister, I'm going to ask for more hours in the day!

I am going...
Hopefully I am going to be able to go to our Relief Society Christmas Party on Wednesday night. I very rarely get to go to any of the enrichment evenings or anything. They always hold them on Wednesday nights and I have to work Wednesday nights until 8, so by the time I get home it's far too late to hop in the car and toddle on up to the chapel. I'd just be getting there when they were finishing up . . . I haven't been to one of the Christmas Parties yet, but am hoping that I may be able to finish work a bit early this Wednesday! Hope springs eternal . . . you just never know . . .

I am reading...
I am still working on "The Almost Moon", by Alice Sebold. I'm about 3/4 of the way through. I have another book waiting in the wings though, called The Heretics Daughter, by Kathleen Kent. It looks very good and is a true story I believe, or at least based on one. It involves the Salem Witch Trials, a period of history that I am quite interested in.

I am hoping...
Well, I got not one, but two rejection letters last week, saying that my artwork did not fit their company image. I still have one out there and am preparing a portfolio to send out to another. I shan't give up. I know that they will fit some body's image sooner or later! (Or at least I hope they will, and where would we be without hope!) There has to be someone with vision out there, lol!

I am hearing...
All is quiet in here this morning except for the ticking of the clock and Jess's breathing. Some mornings that is enough, and yet others I want to listen to music. I expect it all depends on my mood. Some days are just quiet days when you want to be alone with your thoughts.

Around the house...
Amazingly enough things are still pretty tidy in this kitchen!! Having more cupboards is sure making a difference and if you can believe it I still haven't managed to fill them all!!! I KNOW!!! That's amazing!

One of my favorite things...
Is praying. I am not one much for making oral prayers in front of other people, like at church and stuff. I always feel so self conscious when I am asked to do one of those. I just am not that comfortable with praying out loud. I do love to pray when I am by myself though and I often have a monologue with God going through my head. We are told to pray unceasingly and I expect that's what I do. I always get answers as well, and often answers that I don't recognize right away. I used to write out all my prayers and kept prayer journals. It's interesting to go back and read what I have in them and see the prayers that were answered and the different ways that they were answered.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
There is the RS Christmas Party on Wednesday night and then on Saturday there is the Ward Christmas Party. That's something else we rarely have a chance to attend. I think we have been to one in all the time we've been down here living and working. December is a very busy month at work with lots of dinner parties and such so, well . . . you know how it goes! I love working the dinner parties though. It gives me an opportunity to stretch beyond the every day and really do some interesting cooking. Normally there are 6 courses, counting the appetizers, starter, main, dessert, cheese and coffee/chocolate at the end of the evening. It's always very interesting and exciting to me to see if I can pull it off without a hitch.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



This is one of my dolls that I used to make and sell. She's a gingerbread doll, done in the primitive style. I used to sell a lot of these and I really loved making them. I also used to sell bunny dolls, sheep dolls, angels, teddy bears and a whole lot of other things. I really enjoyed the creation process of making them and I like to think that I sewed a little piece of my heart into each one. I also used to make oodles and oodles of Christmas ornaments every year to take to the Christmas Craft sales. I really enjoyed doing that. It was fun seeing all the things that other people had created and also meeting new people. There was always a lovely festive feeling in the air! Some of my favourite sales were the ones I did with my sister. She is a wonderful crafting artist as well, although . . . like me, she rarely has the time to do any of it these days. I am so grateful for the happy memories I have of those times we had to spend together.


Make sure you check out some of the other Day Book entries on The Simple Woman . I reckon it's a good way to bless your day and touch your heart in a very good way!!!



Like I said I was baking Christmas Fruit Cakes yesterday, not the dark ones, but light ones this time. I will be doing the dark ones soon as well. (fingers crossed I have the time!) That's not something you see a lot of over here, the light fruitcakes. I actually prefer light fruitcakes over dark, but I love fruitcake anyways. I know it's not every one's cup of tea, but I guess you just can't please everyone can you!!!



*Kresge's Fruitcake*
Makes 2 cakes

This is the recipe for the fruitcake that used to be sold by Kresge's (K-Mart) every Christmas Season. At one time they used to hand out the recipe to lucky shoppers. This is one of my absolute favourite seasonal cakes! If you are not fond of dark fruitcake, perhaps you will like this version.

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 cup milk
3/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup mixed peel, diced
1 1/4 cups glace cherries
3 cups white raisins
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp lemon extract

Pre-heat the oven to 150*C/300*F. Line two 9X5X3 inch loaf tins with well greased brown paper or foil. (Shiny side down) Set aside.

Cream the butter and the sugar together in a large bowl for 5 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the beaten egg yolks and milk, mixing all in well.

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Combine the chopped fruit and nuts in a bowl. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and then stir it all into the creamed mixture, combining well. Stir in the remaining flour mixture. The batter will be quite thick.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold them into the cake batter with a large metal spoon, along with the lemon extract. Divide and spread the batter into the two loaf tins. Smooth the tops.

Bake until the cake tests done by inserting a skewer. (Insert the skewer and pull it out again. If there is no moist batter clinging to the skewer the cake is finished) This can take anywheres from an hour to an hour and a half. Sometimes even longer. Start testing at one hour.

Allow to rest on a rack and cool to warm before removing from pans. Wrap well to store. This keeps for several weeks.



PS - I'll be back later today with the winner of my Christmas Giveaway!!!