Posted by terrepruitt on November 22, 2019
I was going through some old pictures and found a few of these. This was the ceiling at The Dancing Cat. I think it is a great idea. A nice – inexpensive way to bring color and interest to a space. This was the second rendition of the paper lanterns. I think I liked the first one better, but this one was nice, too.
Colorful paper lantern ceiling decoration is today’s Friday Photo.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Friday Photo, great decorating idea, hot air balloons, paper lanterns, the dancing cat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 29, 2018
Snow, he looks tiny here.
If you want to interact with the cats it might be a good idea to plan a visit before meal time. When you visit a cat after a meal they tend to be sleeping. Not all of them, but most cats like to nap after a meal. I went to The Dancing Cat for another Henna Tattoo Event and most of the cats were asleep. I couldn’t even identify all of the cats because some of them were just passed out. Some cats don’t mind being bothered while they are sleeping but some do . . . and either way it is not very nice to bother them. One was looking around and I tried to get a picture and she turned her head clearly not into it so I left her alone. I managed to get a quick picture of two of the other sleeping felines. There were about four that were walking around. Currently they have nine for adoption. When I visited there were at least 10 with the tenth one on schedule to be delivered to his forever home on Sunday. He was one of the ones walking around and he was a big ol’ sweetie.
Snow, again, he has beautiful markings!
Here is a breakdown of the cats I was able to get pictures of; Snow – the boy off to his forever home (at the time of this posting), Ruby, a tiny little treasure of a black cat, Layla – who never opened her eyes, Monique, who was wandering around, and Penny, who was passed out in the Sanctuary.
I don’t even know the current exact count of how many cats The Dancing Cat has adopted out. I know it is over 300. That is a lot of cats for a thing that started out as a pop-up. It was only going to be opened for about six months. And it closed down temporarily for a few months, but it re-opened and is going strong.
Tiny Ruby.
They have all kinds of events; yoga, Mew-sic, cat photography, birthday parties, henna tattoos, cat education talks, even escape rooms!
The “I Knead My Mommy” book had “The Lap” poem in it. I found both the title of the book and the poem to be very funny!
My henna is the flowery one, I hadn’t even thought about a “Halloween themed” one, but here is one that she did.
I do hope if you are ever in the area and feel the need to visit with cats you will check it out. If you are local and you like cats and want to help support the safe housing and adoption of cats, schedule a visit with the cats or attend one of the many events The Dancing Cat hosts. With that you get the benefit of the event you decide to attend AND a visit with the cats.
Have you made it to The Dancing Cat? Do you have a cat cafe/lounge in your area?
Layla, she has a beautiful face!
Monique, she has great coloring!
Penny was passed out!
I tried to get Cary in the shot of my tattoo.
Cool Halloween Themed Tattoo.
Snow, in the egg.
A couple of the yummy treats you can buy.
Posted in Cats | Tagged: adoption lounge, cat adoption, cat cafe, events at a cat lounge, Henna Tattoos, meet before you adopt, San Jose cat lounge, sleeping cats, the dancing cat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 9, 2018
I can’t remember why exactly . . . I think it was because when we adopted Teagan (Smokey) and Nessa (Esmeralda) The Dancing Cat used pellet litter . . . . so I started researching litter. I liked the litter that we used when we first got Spot, but Costco stopped selling it LONG ago and we had switched to Arm & Hammer. I liked it. It clumped well and it — the unscented kind — did a good job of keeping the smell in check . . . at least with Spot. But I got very tired of the dust. I share a room with the litter box and just regular dust is hard to deal with, but add cat litter dust on top of that and I just was tired of it. My research revealed that Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Litter was pretty much dust free. Of course, that was the old formula . . . according to the reviews. Seems like about the time I was thinking about buying it they switched their formula/litter and loyal customers were upset because the dust free litter now had dust. I decided to try it anyway because there were a few reviews that said it was good. Well, I think it is a lot less dusty than the litter we used to buy. It might be more dusty than it was at one time, but it is still less dusty so we use it. And the cats had no trouble at all adjusting from pellets to one litter the the next. They are such good girls. This story is all leading to #Orangeinside.
The last litter bag we opened had an orange collar inside. (Ha! That is not what #Orangeinside is about. 🙂 ) I picked up the package and read “Share a photo with #Orangeinside on Instagram for a chance to win a year supply of Dr. Elsey’s Ultra cat litter.*” And I said to my husband, “Will you do it for me? I don’t have Instagram?” And then I went on to say what a brilliant way to market. Send out an orange collar with your website on it and have people take pictures of their cats in it and post it on Instagram! I thought that was brilliant. I don’t even HAVE Instagram and I was going to do it — or have it done. I could use a free year of cat litter. Heck yeah!
But then I flipped the bag over 
and read the other side of the enclosed card. It said that less than 5% of missing indoor cats are returned home, that a cat with an orange collar is an indication of an indoor cat, a cat with an orange collar should not be outside. Ha! I hadn’t read past that because I thought that was a great idea. Now that I am reading the entire thing I understand what the white strip on the collar is. It is a space to write your phone number so someone can call you when your cat is found. This is cool. I like this program.
I also noticed once I really looked at the collar that, there is a little kitty face on the breakaway buckle and if that kitty face is facing outward the website does not show, only the spot for the owner’s number.
The thing is . . . my cats are indoor cats and they don’t wear collars. That is one reason I love indoor cats, they are unfettered by collars. I was planning on putting the bright orange collar on our black cat for a photo because I thought the orange and black would really stand out. But when I thought about it I don’t know where she was and her sister was right there. So I tried it on her. Well, I am not posting all the blurry shots I have. She wouldn’t really sit still. She was trying to get it off. I did manage to get one or two, but not of her face.
Today as I was preparing to write this post I put it on the black cat. She was in mellow mode so she just laid there and actually let me get a few photos.
When I googled Orange Collar the result was a lot of sites selling orange collars. The few articles that came up showed a year of 2015 in the summary . . . so I am thinking that this orange collar for indoor cats has been around since at least 2015. I think it is a neat idea.
Have you ever heard of the orange collar thing? Do you have an indoor cat? Does your indoor cat wear a collar? WOULD your indoor cat wear a collar?
Posted in Cats, Misc | Tagged: Arm & Hammer Litter, clay litter, Costco litter, Dr. Elsey's Litter, Dr. Elsey's Orange Inside Collar giveaway, dust free litter, Esmeralda, indoor cat program, Nessa, Nessa with Orange Inside Collar on, orange breakaway collar, orangeinside collar, pellet litter, Smokey, Teagan, Teagan with Orange Inside Collar on, the dancing cat | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 23, 2018
You may know from reading my blog that my husband and I adopted two cats from a place called The Dancing Cat. It is a “cat lounge”. It is not a cat CAFE because they don’t sell food, or coffee, or tea, but it is like one, in that you can visit with cats. You can bring your own food and drink and pay a small fee to visit with the cats for an hour. Also, unlike some cat cafes ALL of the cats are up for adoption. The Dancing Cat also hosts events like Mewsic Nights, Learning How To Paint Your Cat or take pictures of your cat. They also have a Henna Cattoo Night. There is a local artist, Shannon Balco, who comes in and does henna tattoos.
They have been doing it for a while but I was always away when they did it, but this last time I was home. Yipeee! Shannon has a book of pictures of tattoos she can do. Not all of them are cats. She is even so talented as to do one that someone showed her a picture of. The one that looks like Yin and Yang cats! She did that right there after just seeing it. Cool, huh?
Henna is drawn on like a thick paste. The recommendation is for you to leave it on AT LEAST 30 minutes then you can scratch it off (not wash it off). The longer you leave it on the better. When I first got a henna tattoo I was told to leave it on AT LEAST 4 hours and no longer than 12 hours.
The pictures are pictures of the “Cattoos” she did when I was there. The last two show my tattoo. The first one is after I scraped all the dried paste off. Since it is on the back of my hand and very thin delicate lines a large portion of it had just flaked off. I was concerned with it flaking off and me not noticing and then one of my cats eating a henna flake. So I just scratched it all off. It had probably been about five or so hours. I did not wait 24 hours without water because it is on my hands. In the past I had the henna put on my feet. I could easily not wet my feet for 24 hours, but not my hands. I was at a cat place. I had to wash my hands when I came home. I HAVE cats, I am constantly washing my hands. It didn’t seem to affect it adversely.
The very last shot is the next day. Henna darkens at first then it starts to fade. The length of time the tattoo lasts depends on where it is and what it sustains. If it is on your hands and you wash your hands often, it will probably come off sooner. If it is on your leg and doesn’t come into contact with water that much it might last longer. It does help to put oil on it. When I first got a henna tattoo that artist recommended just tiger balm. The second time I put oil on it. I think the oil helps.
I can’t wait for The Dancing Cat to do this again. I am going to go again. I am going to ask her if she will do my foot instead of my hand. Since I dance Nia I like to have my feet decorated.
What do you think? Have you gotten a henna tattoo?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: adopted cats, cat cafe, Cat lounge, henna artist, henna paste, henna tattos, San Jose adoption lounge, Shannon Balco, the dancing cat, Yin and Yang | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 4, 2016
I did say that there would be a lot of cat pictures. I take HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS. I am trying not to make my Friday Photo just a succession of cat photos. I am trying to space them out. It is difficult. This one is from over a year ago. They have actually grown a bit since then. But they still lie around together.
Teagan and Nessa in the window seat.
Posted in Cats, Friday Photo, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: Friday Photo, Nessa, sisters, Teagan, the dancing cat | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 31, 2016
I have some follow up information on some of the posts I have posted:
I made another batch of Sweet and Savory Mixed Nuts, actually I made two. I made one like before actually sweet and savory, and I made a sweet and spicy. I didn’t measure the cayenne pepper, I just sprinkled a lot more in the mixture. I also found a packet of crushed hot red pepper flakes in the refrigerator, ya know the kind you get when you order pizza to be delivered? I used a package of those. So I don’t know how much that is. But last I heard it was a good amount. When I first told John he said, “Is that all?” And I reminded him I am not really trying to make them HOT, just give them a little warmth. But then he ate them and said it was a perfect amount. But ya know, sometimes with things like this it seems like the spices can be all in one spot. But hopefully the batch he took to work this morning for a snack was just as good.
Our cats, formerly known as Smokey and Esmeralda, have adjusted to their new names. They are now Teagan and Nessa. My hubby and I are convinced that Teagan actually likes her name as about the same time we decided to change it she became a little bit more affectionate. I think that Nessa likes her new name too, now, but she was quick to warm up to it. Who knows if cats actually care, but it SEEMS like they do.
When I taught yoga at The Dancing Cat earlier this month, I forgot to mention that they have adopted out eight one cats! That is awesome. I am not sure if that number has gone up, but I am hoping for them to hit at least 100 when they close in November. Again, them closing in November is the last I heard, but perhaps that has changed.
Awhile back I posted about this sugar that I had purchased because it was the only kind in the store. I had posted about it because I thought that maybe since it was less processed it actually “lasted” longer in the hummingbird feeders. By “lasted” longer I meant it didn’t get grungy as fast. Well, I have to take that back as I think it didn’t get grungy because the birds were eating it so fast. We have had a very active hummingbird community this year. It is really cool. Over the many years that we have lived here we have probably had about 10 hummingbirds at a time come into the yard to feed. But there is usually one very possessive bird that thinks he rules the yard and he spends most of his time chasing all the other birds off. This year they all seem to chase each other around, but no one bird stands out as the boss. And we have had more birds than ever. It is really cool. I filled five of our six feeders on Friday, today is Wednesday and I filled three again today. I filled one yesterday. So in about five days I had to refill our feeders.
Speaking of hummingbird feeders, I still maintain that our old hummingbird feeder, the one that is really difficult to clean, is still the favorite amongst the birds. They will always empty that one first. It always has the most birds around it. I really think they can get to the nectar better because of the way it is designed. I can’t get in and clean it better because the way it is designed, but I think they like it best. The birds do eat off the other ones, but they don’t get emptied as fast as the old one. The new ones, though, as so awesome to clean. It literally takes less than five minutes each to soap ’em up, scrub ’em down, and rinse them out. I love it.
We are planning on taking down at least three of the feeders this winter. I will leave up the two large easy to clean ones and the small one that is super easy to clean. The hummingbirds LOVE that one. We take down the oriole feeder, the hard to clean feeder, and the hummingbird bar. Any birds that are still around will still have enough to eat. If as many birds that are around now, stay around, I will keep up all the feeders, but the numbers seem to dwindle in October. We will see.
Well, that is all for the updates for now. I have thought to do a post on some of these things, but then realized none of them really warrant an entire post on its own, so I am lumping it all together!
Posted in Birds, Cats, Misc, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: Cat adoption lounge, cayenne pepper, hummingbird bar, hummingbird feeders, Hummingbirds, Smokey and Esmeralda, Sweet and Savory Mixd Nuts, Sweet and Spicy Nuts, Teagan and Nessa, the dancing cat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 24, 2016
You may have seen somewhere on the internet that I was going to teach yoga at San Jose’s cat adoption lounge, The Dancing Cat. I mentioned it in one of my posts. Well, some of you cat-like people (curious . . . get it?) might want to know how that went. Afterwards, I received a lot of questions from people who didn’t attend asking what it was like. Did the cats walk all over? Was it difficult because there were cats all over? What did the cats do? Well, first of all it was really fun. As you may have experienced, it is nice to gather with people with common interests. So it was nice to gather with people who like cats and who like yoga. We did gentle yoga for an hour and 15 minutes. It was nice.
Now to answer some questions. If you have or if you know cats, you are familiar that they all have routines. While they may vary slightly, I think they are all basically the same. Cats eat in the morning, then they nap the rest of the day. In some cases they might get up to wander or play for a moment, but then they are right back to the napping. It is so very important. While we were all arriving the cats were up and about. I am sure they were curious as to why all the furniture was being moved into a corner. Some of them might have been at The Dancing Cat to have experienced a yoga class there before, but some have not. The adoption lounge seems to have a revolving door when it comes to cats. And that is a good thing! They come, they are not there long, they get adopted, then there are new cats! So, not all of them have seen this before. So they were quiet active as we were arriving and setting up our mats. Many cats, of course, made themselves at home on the rolled out mats. I saw someone – I don’t remember who – chewing on and “back-footing” my mat.
There was time to take pictures and enjoy the cats. We learned who was who and who had got adopted. There were three still in residence that had been adopted and were going to their forever homes that day or the next!
Then just as we were getting ready to start the class, the cats were busy making their way to their napping spots. So most of them were lounging around on the various cushions, chairs, cubbies, and cat trees while we did our yoga. There was one cat who decided to be on my mat when we let out our lion roars. I must do a good lion because he fled in a hurry.
Since we were doing yoga in the presence of cats, I had decided to do all the “cat” poses I know. Of course we did CAT/cow, with the emphasis on CAT. We did lion, as I already mentioned, my roar scared one kitty. We did, Utthita Marjaryasana which is Extended CAT. Then we did CAT Tree, which is Vrksasana, but with your arms making the shape of whatever cat tree your cat has. 
The last cat pose I could think of was Sphinx, so we did that. Even though we did Downward Dog, out of respect for the felines, since we were in their domain, I said, “Downward You-know-what, the animal that should not be named.” Not that the cats were paying any attention at all. I actually think it should be called Waking Cat, because that is what they all do when they wake up.
Then the last pose we did in honor of the special creatures that are cats, was pigeon. I know it is not a “cat” pose as it doesn’t have cat in the name and it not really related to felines, but if you have a cat you may know where I took this pose. Perhaps you are familiar with cats and the noise they make when they are tracking/watching birds. But some people say, “Ick-ick-ick-ick”. So while we were doing pigeon we all sounded “Ick-ick-ick-ick.” This went over well, since all of the participants were cat owners. I think many of them have heard that sound – they did it well.
If you are ever in the area and have an hour to spare, I hope you will visit The Dancing Cat. I believe their plan is to be open through November 2016.
Are there any additional “cat” poses you can think of? What did I leave out?
Posted in Cats, Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: San Jose cat adoption loung, teach yoga, the dancing cat, Yoga, yoga teacher, yoga with cats | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 10, 2016
Sorry, I couldn’t resist (Mews Of Change). One of my most recent posts was an “update” about our cats. It really wasn’t an update because there was nothing new to share. It was more just a report or an excuse to post cat pictures. If you are a pet owner and anything like me, you take hundreds of pictures of your pets. I mean, they are just so cute, right? “Oh, look! She’s upside down.” “Oh, look, she is pawing at the shadow of the bird.” “Oh, look! She is covering her face!” Seriously, basically anything they do, right? So, I do love to share my kitty pictures. But this time I really do have an update. A couple of weeks ago there was a post on my Facebook feed from PureWow. It was 15 Irish Baby Names That We’re Totally Going to Steal. I saw two names that interested me. My hubby has not been fond of the name Smokey for our cat, and I have not been fond of Esmeralda. It is not the names per se; it is those names for our cats. When I saw this list I thought a couple of these names fit the girls better. So John and I had been toying with the idea of changing their names.
I wasn’t sure because I feel as if 
they recognize their names. They are cats, so it is not as if they come when they are called, but they KNOW their names. So I thought it might not be nice to change them. But, they just seem to fit better. And my husband is doing a really good job of calling them by their new names. I was calling them both, trying to get them used to it. I was still unsure.
But then . . . I was put on the schedule to teach yoga at The Dancing Cat and part of the announcement includes information about us living with two cats that we adopted from The Dancing Cat. And it lists the cats’ names. So, I thought, well, if we are going to change them, we might as well do it now. We might as well let The Dancing Cat and the people that worked with Smokey and Esmeralda that we are now calling them something new. Something more fitting – at least to us.
So we are now calling Smokey Teagan, which means beautiful. She is really a beautiful cat and I call her Beautiful half the time anyway. I also like the name Teagan. She could never get a big head because she is the sweetest girl. And we are calling Esmeralda Nessa, which means ambitious and/or fierce. Now that is not a bad thing at all. She is very ambitious and I feel that she can do anything she sets her mind to. She has fierce passion. I have been looking into Nessa a bit more to find information to make me certain of the fit and I found Baby Names of Ireland.com:
“Nessa was the mother of Conchobhar (Conor) Mac Nessa, king of Ulster. A powerful and beautiful woman, ambitious for her son, she tricked her second husband, Fergus, into giving up his kingdom to his stepson, Conchobhar (Conor), for a year, but Conchobhar (Conor) ruled so wisely and so well that the people chose him to be their permanent king.”
I could totally see Esmeralda as powerful and beautiful and SMART.
So, there you have it an ACTUAL update on the cats. Some news, yet also a post where I can post more cat pictures.
If you are local and you want to come take a yoga class in the presence of cats, check out my page where there is a link to register at The Dancing Cat. You will be able to hang out with the cats after the class. So your donation includes yoga AND a cat visit.
What do you think about the new names for our cats?
Posted in Cats, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: ambitious, Beautiful, Cats, donation to help cats, Esmeralda, fierce, Irish names for girls, Nessa, new names, Purr yoga, Smokey, Teagan, the dancing cat, Yoga | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 27, 2016
Ok, so it is not really an “update” because there isn’t really anything to update you all about. They are fine. And I know that my blog is not really a cat blog. But . . . I just think they are so cute and so beautiful. I also think that many animal parents feel the same way so they can relate. With that in mind, I also think that I will be forgiven for posting pictures of my beautiful girls.
They are so sweet. I might have mentioned in the past that Esmeralda seemed a little mean and would beat up on her sister when her sister got attention. Well, either it happens now when I am not looking or she doesn’t do that any longer. And Smokey has been a little (just a teeny tiny bit) more receptive to hugs and kisses. Smokey also isn’t really a fan of getting her picture taken. Plus she is really hard to get a good picture of. Those are two reasons why there are more pictures of Esmeralda.
They are very good girls. They are constantly entertained by what is going on in the yard. I think that is awesome. Since it is so hot here have all the sliders open and the girls spend the evenings running from one door to another to another. They are entertained. They get exercise. Plus it entertains us. It is funny to look up and see a flat cat slinking across the room to a window. Most of the time it is cause for a double take; “Did I just see? Yup. A flat cat.”
The place where we got them, The Dancing Cat, has adopted out 73 cats so far. That is really great. Some, like ours, come in pairs. I am confident that they will reach 100. I am hoping they will PASS 100. Even though it is being called a cat adoption lounge, it is really a cool place to just go and hang out with cats. You don’t even have to be interested in adopting a cat. I am planning on going with a friend this week. I am not in the market for another cat. I just like meeting the cats and supporting the place. I hope that, if you are at all interested in cats and you are in the area, you will visit. I believe the plan is to be open into November (2016). It is a fun place to hang out . . . if you like cats.
Do you like cats? Would you like to hang out with them for an hour? Purrhaps play get the string?
Posted in Cats, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: cat adoption, cat parents, pictures of cats, Teagan and Nessa, the dancing cat | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 30, 2016
Today is Memorial Day here in the United States. I hope that you are able to take time to enjoy your day, celebrating the freedom that has come and continues to come at the cost of so many. Perhaps you even took a moment to reflect and give thanks for the people and sacrifices they have made. I have seen so many things posted on Facebook and I get teary-eyed with each one that I look at. In 2012 I posted Three Day Weekends and Memorial Day’s National Moment Of Remembrance which has a bit of information about Memorial Day. It is past 3:00 pm, but if you didn’t do it then, perhaps you can pause now. Since I wrote that post with information about the day, I just thought I would mention the day and send my thanks out, but then post about something else.
If you are interested in cats or you read my blog you may have seen that my hubby and I adopted cats in July of 2015. Not quite a year ago. It all started after it had been a year that our cat had died. My husband was patiently waiting for me to be “ready” to get another cat. I had always wanted a kitten so I had it in my head that is what we needed to get. But, then the idea of a young cat dawned on me. There are always cats that need adopting. About that same time my husband’s boss mentioned that her friend opened a “cat cafe” in San Jose.
I decided to go check it out. It was opened by two women, who ran it with the help of volunteers. So in addition to booking an hour of visiting, I was inspired to volunteer. As I mentioned in a few post this place was only going to be open for 4 weeks. I am not even sure how they ended up staying open for 6 months. Perhaps it was the begging and pleading of all of us that had visited it and loved it. Ann and Mary, to two women previously mentioned, realized that the community wanted and needed such a place. But really, since they had only planned on being open about a month, they went ahead with closing it down. I believe they were going to take some time to figure out what to do next.
Well, they are still looking for a bigger place, but for now they are open again in the previous location, which is in the Julian-St. James area of San Jose. The first day open was Saturday, May 28, 2016. I had nothing planned this weekend so I volunteered both Saturday and Sunday. They are not normally open on Mondays but they are open Memorial Day this year.
To start, they have ten cats. They range from small to large. Aside from the two who are taking their time adjusting to the new space (they are hiding under the couch) they are all very pet-able. Pretty much very friendly. Some of them seem to get along with other cats and some of them seem like they would be best as the only cat in the household, but that is what is so great about a place like this when looking to adopt.
This type of space helps you get a glimpse into what the individual cat’s true nature will be. Yes, there is always a chance that it might emerge entirely different when you get the cat home, but in general you can see who is bossy and who is timid. Who will let you approach them and who will play with the toys. We love our two cats. I think I saw pretty much their true personalities there. If you are not looking to adopt this is still a great place. You can just go and hang out with cats.It is a nice place to be with cats.
This time around the cats are being obtained from The Silicon Valley Pet Project which is a group of volunteers that save at-risk pets by placing them in foster homes or The Dancing Cat. In addition to saving the pets through rehabilitation and finding them homes, the project also works to educate the community in order to reduce the number of animals that end up in an “at-risk” situation.
If you like cats and you like to help out organizations that are helping the community, then make your reservations and go visit The Dancing Cat. You’ll be able to sit and visit with cats. And more-than-likely other people who like cats. I am hoping that this will be a huge success and a permanent fixture in San Jose.
I am thankful for the people who make the world a better place.
Posted in Cats | Tagged: adopted cats, Adoption help, Cat lounge, helping community, Memorial Day, National Moment Of Remembrance, San Jose cat cafe, Silicon Valley Pet Project, the dancing cat, volunteer | Leave a Comment »
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