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b8c28ff
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The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." --Buddha"
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Susan Wiggs |
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a23c1b4
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The list of side effects was lengthy and horrible. Sonnet had pored over it, along with all the other literature she'd hastily devoured, searching for grains of hope. The worst part of chemo started after the drugs were administered.
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Susan Wiggs |
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f1a69d0
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To Sonnet, wearing castoff clothing was just another way to make her different from the other kids at school. As if she needed one more thing to make her different.
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Susan Wiggs |
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5368986
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Having a Mac all to himself was pretty amazing.
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Susan Wiggs |
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aa0c2bb
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Methylprednisolone?
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Susan Wiggs |
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4b7c6d4
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Another thing Gran would say was imprinted on Annie's heart--remember the love. When times get hard and you start wondering why you got married in the first place, remember the love.
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Susan Wiggs |
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13e8065
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There were only a few things that truly mattered. Family and friends and connection. Understanding and selfless love.
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Susan Wiggs |
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e2c6799
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This was the House that Jack Built, she thought, hearing the singsong rhythm of the old children's story in her head. And this was the wife who lived in the house that Jack built. And there was the mistress that screwed the husband that ignored the wife who lived in the house that Jack built....
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Susan Wiggs |
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86da085
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there are some things you don't have a choice about, but there's plenty you can choose. Like happiness. Like focusing on the positive.
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Susan Wiggs |
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3d45426
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What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?" --E. M. Forster"
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Susan Wiggs |
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e2506ac
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Being paralyzed is a condition. Being angry is a choice,
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Susan Wiggs |
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1b7a62e
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life was beautiful, that love and adventure were possible even when times were hard or frightening.
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Susan Wiggs |
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ca79101
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As a child, she'd been a great reader, finding the ultimate escape within the pages of a story. She learned that opening a book was like opening a set of double doors--the next step would take her inside to Neverland or Nod, Sunnybrook Farm or Mulberry Street.
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Susan Wiggs |
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6b44c83
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One afternoon, she went to Washington Square
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Susan Wiggs |
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2da448a
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A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open. --Sir Francis Bacon, 1561-1626
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Susan Wiggs |
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d2134b6
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The best honey comes from a source you know, and is processed without heat. Raw, unfiltered honey retains its royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis--three major sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. 1 cup of locally produced, raw organic honey 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice Additional water, about 2 cups 2- 1/2 cups water Ice cubes or crushed ice 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender Combine honey and 2- 1/2 cups of water in a sau..
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Susan Wiggs |
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e2ae7fc
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Oh, aye. A bit of mist in the air might bring the selkies out to play. The selkies are seal people, you know.
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Susan Wiggs |
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527addb
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Time for lunch. Take me somewhere good. Somewhere Italian." She chose Vine, one of the cafes on the main plaza, and ordered a burrata and squash blossom pizza. The fluffy soft cheese, drizzled with fruity olive oil, paired beautifully with the crisp blossoms and homemade crust. Eaten with chilled elderflower soda, it was exactly what she'd been craving."
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isabel-and-cormac
ingredients
pizza
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Susan Wiggs |
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095436e
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I read sixty books last year." "Geez," he said. "Why?" "'Cause there wasn't time to read more,"
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Susan Wiggs |
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d64a255
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3 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon bananas (about 3) 2 cups diced overripe bananas 3 beaten eggs 1 cup chopped toasted pecans 1 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons honey 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained Preheat oven to 350deg. Sift together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add the remainder of the ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batte..
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Susan Wiggs |
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ecc490f
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life had grace notes. These were moments so sweet that they could be tucked like the smallest of keepsakes, never to be forgotten. She
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Susan Wiggs |
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0fc0117
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There was something elemental and, all right, fundamentally sexy, about a guy building a fire for a woman. Maybe it went back to caveman times. She felt a natural attraction to a man with the instinct to make a fire for her.
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Susan Wiggs |
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773511b
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Vincotto (Italian for cooked wine) is a tradition dating back to Roman times as a way to preserve wine. Its complex, sweet properties have recently attracted culinary interest as a condiment with many uses. 4-5 cups red wine--Primitivo is a good choice 2/3 cup honey 3 cinnamon sticks 3 whole cloves Combine everything in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Then simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, until the liqui..
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Susan Wiggs |
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12a7e34
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There was something in the way a man held a woman when he was about to let her go.
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Susan Wiggs |
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2b6a796
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The term honeymoon was coined to refer to the sweetness of a new marriage. But according to Norse legend, a man abducted his bride from a neighboring village. He was then required to take her into hiding until the bride's family abandoned their search. His whereabouts were known only to his best man. While in seclusion, the couple drank mead, a honeyed wine. 1 1/2 oz. good quality bourbon 1 oz. apple cider 1/2 oz. Calvados 1/2 oz. honey ..
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Susan Wiggs |
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a3515dd
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The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss?
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Susan Wiggs |
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b0af773
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she opened the lid and was hit with a musty smell she could immediately put a name to: camp. It was an unforgettable combination of mildew, wood smoke and outdoors, an essence that resisted laundering and airing out.
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Susan Wiggs |
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e54c486
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Her whole body flared to life with a fiery blush. Maybe that was why the term "old flame" had been invented. Somebody always got burned."
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Susan Wiggs |
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eac04ca
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I trust.
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Susan Wiggs |
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cd26f4e
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When something is hard, but you do it anyway and get stronger because you did it, that's building character.
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Susan Wiggs |
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fcb3479
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heart--life had grace notes. These were moments so sweet that they could be tucked like the smallest of keepsakes, never to be forgotten. She
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Susan Wiggs |
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6a47cb8
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Wake up & Smell The Hot Chocolate ! ~ Eddie Havens
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Susan Wiggs |
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a331e99
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If possible, get the ingredients at your local farmer's market. Food tastes better when you know where it comes from. 1/3 cup honey 2 cups melon cubes 1/3 cup lemon or lime juice 2 cups green seedless grapes 6 fresh mint leaves, 1 cup fresh blueberries finely snipped 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks Use a whisk or hand mixer to whip the honey until it turns thick and opaque. Add the lemon or lime, then stir in the mint leaves. Combine the f..
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Susan Wiggs |
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269793d
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When she returned to Bella Vista, she discovered Isabel in her manic-baking mode. The kitchen was filled with the aromas of butter, vanilla and cinnamon. She'd created Danishes and rugelach and crispy twisty things that promised to glue themselves promptly to Tess's hips.
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baked-goods
isabel-johansen
baking
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Susan Wiggs |
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334f5ea
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To tell you the truth, I'm curious about this place now. I wouldn't mind exploring. What do you know about it?" "I haven't been in here in years," he said. "I liked coming here as a kid. There was always something to eat, always something interesting to look at, like a puzzle of bent nails or one of Magnus's boxes, things made of beeswax from the local hives." "Isabel said her grandmother used to be in charge of the shop." Gratefully she bu..
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fruit-store
tess-and-dominic
inventory
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Susan Wiggs |
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2f8eecf
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In the wake of the storm, sunset lay in a pink-and-amber swath over the rolling landscape, the trees in the orchard casting elongated shadows on the hillside. To the other side of the slope were Dominic's vineyards. The vines were heavy with fruit, the dense bunches of grapes nearly black in the deepening light. They held hands like a couple of teenagers. It felt ridiculously good to hold hands with this man. His touch was both safe and sex..
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vineyards
tess-and-dominic
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Susan Wiggs |
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bf71c88
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The woman at the other end of the room stood unmoving, her posture a slender question mark, silhouetted against the light from the window. She had large dark eyes surrounded by thick lashes that appeared damp from crying. Her sable-brown hair was looped into a careless braid down her back, and she wore a gauzy skirt and blouse, an apron, a pair of oven mitts and espadrilles tied at the ankles. The two of them stared at one another. The stra..
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isabel-johansen
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Susan Wiggs |
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43a60df
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Isabel felt soft and yielding; her blouse felt soft. Everything about her seemed soft, and she smelled of dried flowers, rosemary, fresh baked bread. This whole kitchen seemed alive with a peculiar energy; in the old fixtures and furniture, Tess sensed a place where cooking and eating had happened for decades, where people gathered to sample life's sweetest pleasures.
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tess-and-isabel
soft
scents
kitchen
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Susan Wiggs |
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e87a8f4
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The last dress in the wardrobe was loosely wrapped in thin tissue paper that tore away at the slightest touch. Isabel was intrigued by this one, a cocktail dress in peach-colored silk, embellished with a line of crystal bugle beads around the neckline, a fitted bodice and flaring skirt. In the glow of the bedside lamp, the dress was luminous and shimmering with a life of its own.
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francesca-cioffi
peach-color
isabel-johansen
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Susan Wiggs |
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c3ff0ab
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Servers moved among the guests with trays of hors d'oeuvres and the signature cocktail, champagne with a honey infused liqueur and a delicate spiral twist of lemon. The banquet was bursting with color and flavor- flower-sprinkled salads, savory chili roasted salmon, honey glazed ribs, just-harvested sweet corn, lush tomatoes and berries, artisan cheeses. Everything had been harvested within a fifty-mile radius of Bella Vista. The cake was e..
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champagne
wedding-banquet
wedding-cake
cocktail
tess-and-dominic
honey
speech
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Susan Wiggs |
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9378747
|
They shared a look, and Tess felt a wave of emotion. How quickly she'd found an affinity with Isabel, a woman so unlike her, they might have been from different species. Only a short time ago they had been strangers. Now she couldn't imagine not knowing Isabel, her guileless and fragile sister. They shared a birthday, they shared their father's DNA, but the bond now ran deeper than that; it ran as deep as blood and secrets.
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tess-and-isabel
sisters
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Susan Wiggs |
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85846ca
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Isabel was a surprise. There were depths to her he wanted to understand, and maybe, just maybe, she would let him. She was skittish, though, not exactly distrustful, but protective of herself. At the mountaintop, she'd given him a glimpse of that girl she'd been, growing up in a lush and sheltered place. At the hot springs, he'd had a glimpse of her that was going to haunt his dreams. Yes, he'd looked. Of course he'd looked. He was only hum..
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isabel-johansen
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Susan Wiggs |
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72173c9
|
In this life, I had all I ever wanted. Losing Erik was a sadness that knit itself into my soul, but that sadness was balanced out by all that came after. The years with you, my little girl, and with your grandfather and all the people of Bella Vista. It has been a life of abundance, and I will always be grateful for that.
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gratefulness
last-words
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Susan Wiggs |
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456557a
|
They each took a plate and helped themselves to a feast that looked as if it had been prepared for a magazine layout. There was a salad sprinkled with fresh flowers- Isabel said they were baby pansies, nasturtium and angelica. The spread included plates of artisan cheeses and raw and grilled vegetables, big chafing dishes of fragrant casseroles, berries and apples with a variety of sauces, an array of local wines and water from Calistoga. T..
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spread
tess-and-isabel
isabel-johansen
feast
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Susan Wiggs |