Friday, May 31, 2013

Goodbye May, Hello June!

They say a sure sign of aging is the pervasive feeling that time is flying by. One minute merrie May is beginning, and before you have truly gotten used to the last full month of Spring, along comes June...elbowing into the party. Oh bother, what do "they" know anyway?

Of course, May is a very special month indeed in our house as it is our anniversary month. And this week, we celebrated No. 37. Huzzah! We toasted the end of one year and the beginning of another one in The Adsit Adventure, enjoying a lovely meal at The Tavern at Old Salem, where we celebrated No. 12, twenty-five years ago. We had just moved from Tennessee to North Carolina (the first time...of the three times we have lived here...:-), and Old Salem had quickly become one of our favorite places. Still good after all these years...The Adventure as well as the restaurant...;-)

37. Seems like an extraordinarily big number, especially when connected with wedding anniversaries, right? Well, it certainly is something to celebrate by contemporary standards, but we are such babes-in-the-woods compared to some friends and family members. Still, we revel in the memories each year represents, not necessarily in the accumulation of digits.

Speaking of representing...

I googled Wedding Anniversary 37 to find out what was its representative element. You know, like silver was 25, jade was 35, ruby will be 40 (ooh goody, my birthstone!), gold will be 50, and diamond will be 60 (hey, a girl should have goals, right?). Any guesses on 37? 

Alabaster. Say what?! Ever tried to find a gift for a special guy made out of alabaster? Mr. T isn't a sculpture or paperweight kinda fellow, don't you know.

Ta da! Please be impressed with my choice.


I noticed he was squinting while reading in his favorite chair the other day, so I found a reading lamp that will shed more light on the subject...and its shade is made of alabaster! Score!! Oh, and I got him Dan Brown's latest...and tried not to drool when he unwrapped Inferno. Tick, tick, tick, dear hubby of mine....time's a-wastin', you know...line is forming to read that one...:-)

So, Mr. T is doing pretty well following his arthroscopic knee surgery a couple of weeks ago. His range of motion is returning, especially the front-to-back variety. He went back to work this week, even driving to Charlotte on Tuesday. He downsized his luggage and took some weight out of his briefcase, so that made things a bit easier on him. Still, trying to return to normal while using crutches is awkward at best...downright cumbersome the majority of the time. He's just returned from his postoperative visit to the Dr., who removed the bandages and stitches...and who said he was pleased with Mr. T's progress...but concerned about arthritis moving into the knee joint. Wants him to wear wedge orthotics to help take pressure off the joint. Two more weeks on the crutches. Will reevaluate in three more weeks. 

Apparently, Dr. L, whose office is on Lindsay Street in High Point, also "prescribed" another curative. (Anyone familiar with HPNC, knows what sits at the corner of Main and Parkway/Lindsay...:-)  Mr. T came back home bearing a bag of sweet elixirs, saying he was supposed to "take two of these..."


Ahem.

OK, I'll leave you with a picture I took of Abbie, following HER spaying surgery last Friday. She was supposed to be kept calm and quiet for 7-10 days...no running, jumping on furniture, climbing steps, etc. Right. That lasted less than 72 hours, until the anesthesia wore off completely. As you can see, she jumped up into Mr. T's chair while he was away...no problem. Looks like she's doing just fine...


Well. Just a few more hours until the new month arrives. I think I'll take my coffee on a walk and enjoy this beautiful May morning we are having. Won't be able to say that tomorrow!





Saturday, May 25, 2013

A Day Late...

Uh-oh. I let Friday turn into Saturday without posting to my blog. Shame, shame. Want to hear my excuses?

Excuse #1: Abbie. How could such a cute, little sweetie-pie be an excuse for anything, you ask? Ah, well. After three postponements (one due to her age...too young; one due to a change in vets; and one per our own vet's advice), we finally got the go-ahead during Monday's puppy appointment with Dr. K (for her parvo and bordetella boosters) for Abbie to be spayed. Her surgery took place yesterday...in Winston-Salem...and we had to check her in at "their" vet's on S. Stratford Road (23 miles away) between 7:30 and 8:30. Yawn.  Why didn't we just have Dr. K perform the surgery? Well, the contract we signed when we adopted Abbie from Forsyth Animal Control Shelter in February states quite clearly that we use "their" vet. They changed vets between Abbie's first and second postponements, which actually turned out to be a good thing, since I really liked the folks at Forsyth Veterinary Hospital...probably because they seemed to really care about Abbie, who was TERRIFIED when we took her in. We were told they would call us with a surgery update (which they did at 11:00), and that we could pick her up between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. Bottom line: she's fine...moving a little slowly, as you would expect. And we put over 100 miles on Mr. T's car in the there-and-back-and-there-and-back process. Bottom-bottom line? She is now officially and forevermore OURS! A bona fido member of The Drool Gang!!

Dogs lining up to get in the garden:
Duche$$, Elmo, and Abbie


Excuse #2: Making hay. You know that saying: make hay while the sun shines, right? Well, I decided we needed to GET some 'hay' while the sun was (finally) shining...and before Mr. T traded this co. car in for the next one (probably on Monday). They loaded us up with 8 bales of wheat straw at Tri-County Garden Center, and I used my small wheelbarrow to move them from the driveway to the staging area (a holding place in our back yard, for stuff that will eventually need to be moved into the Way Back), one bale at a time. Of course, when I put that first bale on the wheelbarrow, wouldn't you know that the tire was flat? So, Mr. T joined in the fun by firing up the air compressor, filling the tire with air, and then whooshing out the excess straw in his car with blasts of air.

Isn't Mr. T recovering from knee surgery...and on crutches...you ask? Yep! He sure is. He has really been a great patient this week: keeping that left knee elevated and iced; using the crutches almost every time he walks, even in the house; and not trying to drive here-there-and-yon...but I think he was getting a bit house-bound, if you know what I mean. So, he has eagerly been a passenger wherever I've driven his car in the past couple of days, and if he can get involved in one of my "projects," he's all-hands-on-deck...if not "all-feet..."

While at Tri-County, I also got some Sugar Baby watermelon replacement transplants (my seeds germinated, but the baby plants succumbed to the cutworms) and some seeds for lima beans and pink-eye purple hull peas. Which leads me to...

Excuse #3: The gardens. I cannot seem to stay out of them! Even when it's raining...which it has been doing A LOT lately...I find myself wandering around, looking at all the green and growing things, taking scores of pictures to document colors and growth rates. Amazing what a few days of rain and warm temps will do! The roses went from bare bushes to first flush of blooms to first petal drop almost overnight. The summer/warm season plantings are jumping out of the ground, and it will soon be time to begin removing cool season crops like broccoli and beets. But first, our lettuces and spinach were so lush and plentiful that I cut a tubtrug-full on Thursday, washed and spun it, and we delivered it to Open Door Ministries/Father's Table soup kitchen in High Point. Yes, I do love SEEING the stuff growing in the gardens...but I love SHARING the stuff even more.

Way Back Gardens in Mid-May
From Raised Beds looking toward Rose Garden

Excuse #4: Housework. Ugh. You may quote me on this. I hate housework...and it shows. But, while we were one dog down (with Abbie at the vet for the day), I thought it would be prime time to get some much-needed cleaning done. This 12-year old house has a central vac (fantastic!), which makes the pounds of dog hair history in no time flat...but the ancient, clunky floor wand and furniture tools combined with the heavy hose mean it doesn't get used nearly as much as if Mrs. Clean lived here. After yesterday's suck-a-lux-a-thon, the house just feels better...even if this illusion of clean is short-lived. The Drool Gang does still live here, after all.

Anyway, Abbie's home and recuperating. Mr. T is mending well. And, we head into this Memorial Day Holiday with happy hearts, a garden-grown salad for our cook-out, and a fresh, clean house.

And, although the sentiment comes a day late, I wish the same for you!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Let the Healing Begin

Just in case you, my dear reader, didn't get the word via email or Facebook, I wanted to post an update on Mr. T's knee surgery this morning on my blog. That should cover ALL bases, I think.

From Facebook:


From my email:

'The patient is home, resting comfortably, and enjoying those final effects of anesthesia. He has three dogs providing complete bed-top protection. On our way home, we made swing-by stops at the drug store (pain meds), medical equipment store (crutches), and Jimmy John's (lunch!)...so we are settling in for our siesta.

Several asked about the impacted bone. As I understand the situation, the dr believes the original "trauma" (unknown) that caused the torn medial meniscus (left knee) also caused a stress-like fracture of the tibia where fragments of bone were driven into each other (impacted). Clear as mud. Anyway, the treatment is a form of decompression (keeping as much weight off the bone/knee as possible) for an extended period...hence the 4 weeks on crutches.  I hope I didn't butcher that explanation too badly.

Thanks for all the prayers, well-wishes, and glad tidings. Hugs!'

And now, since I've been up-and-at-'em since 4:30 a.m., I think I'm going to take a look at the back of my eyelids for the next hour or so. Sleep while the baby...or in this case, the patient...sleeps, as our wise pediatrician once told me. 

No truer words...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Rose is a Rose...

What a great feeling it is to have one big thing behind me! I gave my "Earth-Kind(r) Roses" presentation at the Extension yesterday, and by all accounts it was well-received. Hooray and hallelujah! Over and done!!

Moving on...checking off the items on this week's To Dos.

Mr. T is making his way through the maze of medicos, getting all the prep-work done for his knee surgery tomorrow. So far, so good. EKG was normal. Blood pressure was excellent. And the insurance coverage has been confirmed. Looks like we are go for the launch! Counting down 'til Friday morning at 11:00.

Meanwhile, the gardens are beginning to give. While cutting roses for several arrangements to use for door prizes at the workshop yesterday, I noticed a ripe, red strawberry peeping out from the protective bird netting. And then another...and another! All that rain we had, followed by temps in the 80s, yielded rewards! 


Looks like I'll have enough for my cereal after all...:-)

So, today I'm headed for a long overdue catchup lunch with Momma's BFF AW. She's such a sweetie-pie, and I feel like I have neglected our friendship too long. That changes in about 15 minutes!

I'll let you know how things go...

Cheers!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Stunned

I was already having a bad day. You know the kind...anything that can go wrong, does so in spades. How could that be? I had found a four-leaf clover just the day before.
 

(Please be impressed with that photo. I have taken a couple of photography-in-the-garden classes recently, and putting the brown leaf behind the green clover for emphasis was something I learned.)

Anyway, I knew if I just kept plugging along, I'd make it through the quicksand that was my Wednesday...eventually. Hang in there. One foot in front of the other. Eyes on the prize. You know the drill.

Only, that's not how it worked out. It got worse...much, much worse. I learned that my college suite-mate had died quite suddenly and unexpectedly that day. She was a seemingly healthy Mom and grandmom, who had just returned from the gym when she collapsed in her kitchen. The paramedics couldn't revive her. And, as of today, there is no news on what happened. How? Why? So many questions...absolutely no answers.

I can only describe how I feel as stunned. LFC was a month younger than I am, and by all appearances, in much better condition. It hurts...mentally as well as physically...to think about it. 

F was a friend from my freshman year at (then) Mississippi University of Women. Born in Las Vegas, she hailed from Gulfport. She was adopted...and fortunate to have two extremely loving and caring parents. She was tall, thin, athletic, and pale blonde. And the first person I had known personally who could sing and play guitar. Not a star-type person...just a regular person, who was as talented as they come. 

The year we met was the year Carole King's Tapestry was released. There was a copy...or two...in every room on the second floor of Callaway Hall. Vinyl...cassettes...8-track. You name it, we played it...day and night. I know Aretha had made "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" a huge hit in the 60's after King wrote the song...but, when I hear the tune playing in my head, it's Carole King singing it.

And when I think of F, she's singing and playing "You've Got a Friend," an all-time favorite song from Tapestry, where James Taylor joins King for that track. Special request for that song, probably by me. Love(d) that song. Loved hearing F singing it. Love, love, love the memories.

We went through pledging and Hell Night together. We sang "Bond Eternal" ("Bonnie Turtle") together, wore ugly pink-and-silver dresses together, and became Rosettte sisters forever together. And through it all, she sang and played her guitar.

F asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and she served in ours. She even tried her hand at matchmaking, but that didn't work out quite as she'd anticipated. Thank goodness, as it happened, since my life turned out better than I could have known at the time. 

After she married, F went in one direction with her education and her life, and I headed off to the University of Southern Miss to finish one of those and begin the other. We parted ways.

As so often happens, we lost contact over the years. Mr. T and I made a happy life that included one daughter and moves to seven states. She and her husband had three children...and, by all accounts, a very fulfilling life, living out their strong faith. I believe they lived outside the USA for several years...and she became fluent in Spanish.

Then...through the miracle of Facebook, we reconnected. As our posts criss-crossed our timelines, we got caught up with each other's lives. I took great joy in reading about...and seeing pictures of her first grandchild...a little boy, and about her son's wedding. She probably got more than a few chuckles out of my gardening obsession. Sadly, due to the distance between our current homes, we never got to get together for a burger again. But it sure felt like we did. 

And, it felt like we could pick up our last conversation at the next W reunion...the big 4-0 in 2015. But that won't happen. And I'm stunned all over again. 

I'm guessing this wounded feeling will subside. And life will continue. I'll dig up some old photos and bring back some more good memories. But it will take more than a little time to get over the slightly off-center sensation that it can happen again...at a moment's notice.

Stunned, I tell you. Stunned.



Friday, May 3, 2013

A Carolinian on The Carolinian

[Updated on Saturday, May 4, 2013]

I'm onboard, on time, and online. All aboard The (northbound) Carolinian! It's 8:20 a.m., and I'm headed from HPNC to Raleigh for a day of fun (my personal definition): NC Symphony concert lecture and matinee performance, followed by a late lunch at fav bu*ku, with about an hour left to see some more of the NC History Museum (which I am seeing one exhibit space at a time...:-). There's all the free WiFi I can use on The Carolinian (although not on all lines, I understand), so I'm going to sit back, relax, listen to some tunes or a book; read, blog or knit as the mood strikes; and enjoy my Fun Friday. Loving that I don't have to drive there...or find a place to park...or drive back home. Ahhhhhh...

Yes, I'd love another Diet Pepsi, thank you!
I learned my lesson in this same journey last May: do NOT go coach. It's May. Early May. I live in a college town, on the train route with a bazillion other college towns. What happens in early May, in college towns, that usually includes trains? Yeah, yeah, it's National Train Day, but that isn't until next week. No, I'm talking about end of the semester...when college students find their way back home in the least expensive manner possible. Those without cars...or friends with cars...or funds to fly...ride the rails, usually in coach. So, today...I'm riding Business Class. Costs more, yes (about $8 more, each way), but well worth it this time of the year. And, as the pleasant attendant just brought me a pillow (!) and a Diet Pepsi (not a Coke product mentioned, thank goodness...we are in Carolina, birthplace of Pepsi, after all...:-)...over ice...to my seat...I think I may be addicted. She even offered me a free USA Today, but I told her I brought my own...on my iPad.

Heheheheh. We pulled into Burlington, and a gaggle of little school children are lined up on the platform to board. Looks a field trip to me! Let me take a sip of my DPepsi, and raise my glass in a silent toast: to Business Class! Thank goodness.

Actually, I'm glad to see little kids still get an early introduction to trains. That's how it started with me. I think I've told you about my kindergarten trip from Covington to Atoka, TN. That would be 55 years ago, probably this month, come to think of it. And I've loved trains ever since. That love was probably reinforced by living in a town that was on the Illinois Central line, and hearing about "waiting for the Mail Sack" from my Daddy.

No, not the Pony Express...I'm not THAT old...:-). But, the train brought the mail to Henning, and the delivery method (once there were no longer passenger train-stops in town) was this long metal hook on a longer arm that snatched the bag off the train as it sped past one end of town. I well remember one time when the exchange didn't go quite as planned, the hook caught the bag wrong, the bag ripped, and the mail got "delivered" willy-nilly at the drop spot. What a mess!

The other reinforcement came almost in my DNA. Daddy used to say "the Lunns were all train people," and that was true for a couple of generations after the Civil War. He even lived with his Uncle Herndon Lunn, who was a conductor on the IC based in East St. Louis, for a brief period after my grandfather Sidney Lunn, Sr. (who was a street car...not train...conductor in Nashville) died in the '20's. What Daddy remembered about that time with Uncle Herndon and Aunt Bessie (who was also Daddy's mother, Lillie Pearl's sister...so their son, Percy, was Daddy's double-first cousin...how's that for genealogy-on-the-go?!) was the free train rides...and eating well in the dining car. (Daddy ALWAYS remembered the food on any trip he ever took...for his whole life...:-)


All Aboard #80 in Durham!
Coming into Durham. Time for a break. It's a beaUtiful day, and I want to enjoy the passing scenery for a bit. See you later.

Back again...much later. Something happened with Blogger...wouldn't let me Save my update(s) for some reason. Mr. T is right: technology WILL bite you in the butt every time...:-)

Anyway...I'll switch to past tense now, since its Saturday morning when I'm finishing this post.

I had a fantastic time! It was cool and overcast for most of the day, but that was OK by me...made walking around Raleigh easier than if it had been hot and muggy. I carried my teeny-tiny purse-sized umbrella just in case, but I didn't need it.

The concert? Well. Let me say that the NC Symphony did their usual flawless (to this tin ear, at least) job. However...whoever is doing the programming selections needs his/her head examined. They played, as the final piece, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, subtitled Pathétique, a French word that suggests passionate or emotional suffering. Tchaikovsky himself wanted to call it "Tragic," and it has been suggested that it is "symphony as suicide note," since the composer died (of cholera) nine days after its premiere. Whatever. The fourth and final movement are so dirge-like that one cannot help but feel depressed. Is that any way to end a concert...or a season? Puh-lease. See what you think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_(Tchaikovsky)

Feeling the weight of nineteenth century Russia on my shoulders, I welcomed the walk in the fresh air to my favorite downtown Raleigh restaurant, bu*ku (subtitled: Global Street Food...:-). And that glass of German Riesling went a long way to easing any remaining angst. By the time my Asian Pear Salad with grilled Pacific-coast salmon and an order of German pretzel knots and spicy mustard arrived, I was in a good mood again. As I finished up with the Flight of Crème Brûlées (3 tiny filled egg-cups...one, chocolate; one vanilla; and one, ginger-vanilla...surrounded with piles of fresh fruit), I was positively giddy.

bu*ku...a picture IS worth a thousand words!
Time to walk off all that yummyness! I had an hour and fifty minutes before my train, and the NC History Museum was calling to me. As I entered the Capitol grounds (short-cut!), I realized where every middle-schooler in central NC was: end-of-school field trip to Raleigh! Lord have mercy.

I managed to bob and weave my way through the packs of pre-teens milling in front of the Museum and make my way inside. I had wanted to go through a special exhibit called Art in Clay, but one look at the line for tickets nixed that idea. I took a pass on that until school is out. Here's more info for you, though: http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/art_in_clay/index.html

Instead, I headed into The Story of North Carolina. I got from The Stone Age to the beginning of The Civil War years. Not bad for an afternoon, eh? I'll know where to pick up next time. You can read more about it here: http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/wgo/press_09262011a.html

Midway through the movie on the decision about secession, I realized I'd overstayed my welcome. Yikes! Needed to haul buns to make it back to the station to catch my train...which wasn't going to wait for me, right?

Only...when I got to the station, with several whole minutes to spare, I found that ol' No.79 was running behind...45 minutes more or less. And, that tardiness caused problems on down the line, making us nearly two hours late pulling into High Point. We sat on the sidetrack for more than 30 minutes outside of Burlington, waiting for two freight trains to pass. Passenger yields to freight...law of rail transportation. You can't go by train unless you are wiling to be flexible! Amtrak should use Gumby as their mascot.

No matter. I had my WiFi, my iPad, my knitting, and my tunes. Books, movies, and magazines at my fingertips. The attendant kept bringing me cups of ice and cans of Diet Pepsi. She even started handing out the New York Times...a paper I haven't read (except online) in years. I wasn't paying for that convenient (free) parking space at the HPNC station, so what's a couple hours extra? Mr. T had made it home, the dogs were well-fed, watered, and in good hands. I was still full from my lovely, late lunch, so hunger wasn't an issue (although there is a Snack Car on The Carolinian). I got up periodically and walked back and forth through 3 cars to keep from getting to seat-bound.

Still I was happy to hop off at High Point! Lillie Pearl PTC was waiting in her parking space, right where I'd left her this morning. And hearth and home were just a short drive away. Another Fun Friday came to a close.

Let me leave you with a couple of pictures I took...the first in the morning as I walked past the Convention Center; the second as I hustled my bustle to catch my train home. Notice anything different?

Yep. Sir Walter Raleigh got yarn-bombed yesterday! Heheheh!

Perfect!








Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I don't know about you, but I'm always thankful when I start a new month off right. Makes me feel like the next four weeks or so are headed in the right direction, don't you know?

Of course, it's good to close a month on a good note, too. April has certainly lived up to the reputation of being the Month of Showers.  And thankfully, we are now getting our share of flowers all around Casa 3917.




Dutch Iris in the Back Yard
Ducky and the Iris in the Way Back




















Azaleas at the Piano Bar Deck
Betty Jean's iris in the Way Back




















As you can see from a couple of those shots, the iris we received several years ago from my late cousins, Betty Jean and Wendell Gore, are making their annual appearance. We've moved these iris...or, at least offspring of the originals...from house to house, state to state, and we now have a lovely stand of them in the Rondell (Center "Circle" of the Way Back). Some yellow ones I added two years ago as a contrast color, will be making an appearance in a day or two. I so love it when they begin to open! Reminds of two wonderful people who enriched my life.  Remember...Betty Jean was my Lunn cousin who taught me to knit, 51 years ago...a priceless gift.

So, goodbye April.  Let's get the month of May rolling!

EMG mentor and friend, JA picked me up this morning, and off to the west side of Winston we went. We were registered for a Photography in the Garden class at Tanglewood. Since we have plans to add a similar offering to our Speakers Bureau lineup, we both had a particular interest in the subject.

Good class...learned some good tips...got some ideas about how to design "our" version and got to meet some Forsyth County Master Gardeners...and what a treat to see the Tanglewood grounds again! Used to take Missy M to the stables there to ride horses, and always love the lights at Christmas. After the class, we strolled through the gardens, enjoying the evidence of Spring all around us...despite how chilly the temps were.

Then we had a lovely lunch highlighted with great conversation at New Town Bistro. Ever had fried green tomatoes on a grilled pimento cheese sandwich? OK, that's a tad odd, but tasty...just the same! And no doubt, Master Gardening stuff forms the foundation of the many threads of our chatting, but JA and I share many things in common...and have enough differences to make things interesting...and I think we could find something to say about almost any subject.

Home again, home again to find that Abbie must have had strong feelings about my absence 'cause she ripped the backside of her little bed to shreds. To absolute shreds! It's not like she doesn't have a bazillion or so toys to occupy her time and boundless energy. Sigh. Training class, you say? Yeah...I think it's time. Oh well...

Not only did I have a super day, but I also heard from Missy M that she had a fun one, too. It's Derby Week in Louisville, and today was the day that sponsors and their employees got invited to Churchill Downs. What fun! She called to say she left the track a winner...a good $2.00 ahead of what she went in with. Woo hoo! Better than I usually do with the horses...

On to Mr. T. He's been in the-backside-of-nowhere-Illinois this week, and he called to say he's probably flying home a day early tomorrow. Yea! Music to my ears. He has been doing his best to protect his left knee from further damage. Although he hasn't received an official diagnosis yet, he did have a conversation with the tech who did his MRI last Friday...and confirmed a torn medial meniscus. So, he knows at least part of what his problem is. While there could be more going on in there, we know that arthroscopic surgery is in his future. Doctor appointment next week...stay tuned.

Meanwhile, tomorrow I'll finish up working on an upcoming MG presentation I'm doing on roses. Then, Friday I'll board an eastbound train and head to Raleigh for one of my fun days at the NC Symphony and then the NC History Museum.

And then Saturday night, we'll enjoy a fun night with the Greensboro Symphony playing John Williams favorites. They say we will be joined by members of the Fighting 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion, both international Star Wars Costuming Groups, appearing as characters of the Star Wars saga. Sounds exciting!

Perfect end to a fine week.

So to answer my own question about fun...except for the whole Mr. Ts knee thing...yes, yes we are!

Abbie enjoys a yoghurt (cup)...yummy!

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