revct1

Hi Mark, The Merlot is with the Maker's Mark and in between is the Amaretto. You never know what you may need for medicine! 🤗 Jack

Oops! I forgot to mention. This morning we were allowed to eat breakfast in the restaurant. Tonight it is a different story. Take out only. Regular menu but everything is put in Styrofoam containers. Jack & Sandi

Hi Mike, Her sled is new last year with no miles before this trip. Yes 2021. The conditions aren't the best up here. Sometimes the trails are fine and other times they are bad. She said it feels like it maybe pushing a little in the corners. We have been on some icy places. I haven't made any changes yet. I'll wait until she has a few more miles on it and the suspension breaks in some. I'd like to try it but I think that maybe wishful thinking on my part. Should I say my shoulder is bothering me and maybe the MXZ X would be easier on the shoulder? Jack

This morning we go down to the restaurant for breakfast. Is it open? Yes! Tomorrow I think it is take out only. Sandi and I have a nice breakfast. Maybe the last one in the restaurant. We finish up and get back to the room. My shoulder is feeling better. What a difference a day and a little Tylenol makes. On the sleds and off we go. A little later than usual but heck, we are on vacation. Out to 83 and we turn right. We cross the two bridges and stay to the left on 367 to St Amboise. This showed groomed and it is. Many times this isn't groomed until after the New Year. Today it is fine. The scrubby pines before Le Giant Trailers are getting big now. Oh this is so good. In St Ambroise we turn left to get on 93. This was shown as groomed yesterday. That should be good. About a mile or so in, the trail bears to the left where I can see the old trail going straight. There is a washout there so maybe it just goes around the bad spot. No it is going further away from the trail. The trees have been pushed out of the way. This isn't much of a trail. The groomer did make a pass but I think that was just to knock the trees out of the way. Bump da bump da bump! Should we turn around? No it can't be too much further and we will get back on the old trail. Bump da bump. Well, a few miles in and we start running the side of a road. Must be at least a mile. This is better and I can see the tracks from a groomer. Salvation maybe just ahead. Into a field and it is groomed. Finally. This is more like Quebec. I see a junction coming up with signs. To the right St Nazaire and behind us is St Ambroise. That's correct. What does that other sign say to the left? Riviere Saguenay and St Charles 0.5 KM? We are almost to the old river crossing at St Charles. The old 93 trail is long gone. That section has been bypassed. We turn right which is trail 556. Nicely groomed. This is great but we went thru some horrible stuff to get here. A few miles along and we come up to the little warming hut where we pick up 93 again. We stop for a stretch and head off to St Nazaire and north on 554 to Relais du Lacs. We haven't seen much traffic at all. A few trailers in the parking lot at the relais. It is noon and there are four people in here. This must be so tough on the businesses trying to make ends meet. The sign on the door with hours says the relais is open Tuesday thru Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday for the season. I hope I read that French right. We sit and relax. We do not want to go back the way we came in. I wouldn't recommend that trail until 1-2 feet of snow falls. It needs a lot of snow. How about if we go back thru Begin? That showed groomed last night. We finish up and head out. 328 it is. The first few miles are a little choppy but nothing like what we were just on. I'll take it. Keep going Sandi. We get to Begin and the trail gets better. The big fields are nice. This is more like mid January without the traffic. We get to trail 93 and turn right just above St Ambroise. Running along the edge of the road here. Just before the big potato field the trail is closed and the new trail turns left. OK. This is fine so I don't care where it takes us. A few miles in and we come to a junction. Left is marked towards Mt Valin and right is St Ambroise. Sandi goes right. This is the trail from a few years ago. We end up at the bottom of the potato field and continue on to St Ambroise. All very nice. Good snow cover and good grooming. We cross the two bridges and and at the new junction we decide to bear right to Jonquiere instead of left to Chicoutimi the way we came out this morning. We only go a few hundred yards up the hill and we are at the old junction at the dump. The rest of the trail is the same to the Delta. A few trailers here. Oh look Sandi, the enclosed room for the pool where we used to park the snowmobiles. No pen for the trucks and trailers. I don't know where the sleds are going to be parked. There is an area across the driveway from the main entrance. Maybe there? We continue on 83. The rest of 83 is mostly the same as it was two years ago and we are back at the Sag. A terrible ride for a few miles but the rest of it was very nice. Happy New Year's Eve everyone. We hope that all are safe. Jack & Sandi

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. Northbound, the Tylenol did help last night. I woke up once and took another Tylenol but I did sleep. 12 Hours in bed and it felt so good. Farmerold, I'm so glad you are still planning on coming up. We are looking at RDL for next trip. Maybe Jan 11th we will drive up. And for the vintage thing, I'm not that far behind you. Buttercup? You remember how much I like butter! 😄 MrGutz and Iceman, so far the Tylenol has taken the edge off of the pain. I can move my arm this morning. I was looking for Advil but I'm guessing the grocery stores don't sell that in Canada. The grocery stores in the U.S. sell everything. I will keep the pharmacy at the Jonquiere mall in mind. We went there one year for Sandi. The pharmacist at the store called Sandi's doctor in the U.S. and was very helpful. MrGutz, what are 2-2-2s? I've lead a sheltered life apparently. smclelan, today I feel like a few miles are in my forecast. It is nice to be back in Quebec after no riding last year. Not even in the States for us but that is another story. blackjack1, smclelan likes to put his two cents worth in. It shows that he really does care. MikeRider, I was looking for something other than Tylenol but that has helped. Thanks. Playhard, interesting link. Looks like the procedure is repacking the joint. I had the left shoulder replaced a couple of years ago and that worked out good. I think I'd like to do the same with the right shoulder. We will see what doc says. As a side note, I had both knees replaced a year or so before the shoulder. Those are working great. Before the knee replacements, I could only stand on them for about five minutes and then have to sit because of the pain. SnomoGary, good to hear from you. I'm feeling better now. The weather is looking good today and we are going to ride. Thanks again for all of the responses and comments. Just reading them makes me feel better. A lot of grooming was done last night. The groomers are doing as much as they can with New Year's Day coming up. They probably don't want to be out for the holiday. They deserve a day off. Thanks to all the groomers! I think we will go on the north side and see how that is. We haven't been to the blueberry fields yet and that is always a nice ride. Maybe go up to the old ScoobyRaid. We will post tonight. Jack & Sandi

Not great but the border is still open. Jack & Sandi

I don't like being the weak link in the chain, but I am this trip. My right shoulder has been bothering me for a while now. Doc says its arthritis. Probably. It does run in the family. I had my left shoulder replaced about 2 years ago and that one is fine. The right one doc said isn't bad enough yet. That was a year ago. We drove up Tuesday and the shoulder kept me awake most of Tuesday night. I took an ibuprofen but that didn't do anything. It may have been a little past the expiration date! 🙄 Yesterday we made a short day. Again I didn't sleep much. Today I'm tired. So this morning, breakfast in the restaurant. I look at the grooming map and 83 and 368 were groomed. Good. Lets head towards Mt Apica. On the sleds and as we leave the parking lot, the groomer was here. He made a pass in from 83. The spur is now officially open. Yea! This brings a smile to my face. We get to 83 and turn left. Sandi can go first. A few sleds have been out before us but the trail is nice. A few thin spots in the corners but most of the trail is in good shape. We get to the junction with 368 and turn right. Same thing here. A few thin spots in the turns but very smooth. Not as many tracks on 368. I don't where the sleds went because 83 is still closed at La Baie. All of the traffic would have to come this way. Oh well. Nice ride. My shoulder is letting me know it doesn't like the sled tugging on it. Keep pushing on Jack. You can ignore it. Down 368 and we cross route 175. A really nice ride for December. I remember other years that there was no snow in December and it was trailer to Mt Valin every day. The front desk at the Sag said last year the snow was poor. I'm glad we can ride this year. I hope the border stays open. We continue on 368 but the shoulder is hurting. Before we get to the junction with 23, Sandi pulls over for a break. We chat a little. I tell her I'm just not up to it today. Between the shoulder and lack of sleep, I don't think I want to go to Mt Apica. So we decide to u-turn. A few sleds passed us while we were stopped. On the way back towards route 175, two more sleds hammer down, coming towards us. We continue along. We get back to Chicoutimi and tank up the sleds at the Ultramar. Not many miles today. We stop at the Metro grocery store to get a bottle of Tylenol or Advil. Nothing. The shelf is empty. Only a couple of bottles of aspirin. That isn't going do it. We get back to the Sag. Sandi asks at the front desk and is told they can't hand out any medications. There is a Walmart down the street. Instead I decide to walk across the street to the Super C grocery store. The place is packed. After a little searching, I find the Tylenol. Not much of a selection but Tylenol is worth a try. Back in the hotel I take one Tylenol and lay down for an hour. It seems to have helped. I call my shoulder doctor back in Connecticut and I've got an appointment for Monday Jan 10th. We were going to go to RDL for that week. Maybe we will drive up on the 11th or wait until the following week. Choices but we have to plan ahead for the covid test and ArrivCan. Its not as easy as pre-pandemic. Sandi and I were talking about when we first came to Quebec, you only needed your driver's license. Boy things have changed. Sleds didn't have hot grips back then either. That was a few years ago. ☺️ If I get a good nights sleep, I would like to head across the river and maybe go up to the old Scoobyraid. See what that is like. I think it was Iceman that posted the newspaper write up about the change of ownership. Thanks Iceman. Jack & Sandi

Good morning, I have to get back into snowmobile mentality. I forgot to check the grooming map yesterday and even the weather. I have that bookmarked now on the new laptop. Yesterday by chance we did hit many trails that were groomed within the past 36 hours. There isn't a huge amount of snow to work with but there is enough especially as you get toward Mt Valin. We saw one groomer over by Carcajou / St David with just the blade on the front. He was riding the edge of the trail pulling in the snow from the side of the trail. Thank you Mr. Groomer. We are going to ride out of the Sag again today. The trails around Jonquiere had their nightly grooming. 93 has been groomed from St Honore to La Chappelle. Some f this may have been the groomer with just the blade. Not for us but the Pelchat trail was groomed from the Les Escoumins side half way up. For anyone on the south side, Riviere du Loup is grooming. 5, 35 and 55 saw a groomer last night all the way west to Beauceville. It does show some open water though in places. Keep the skis up and the throttle down. The Sag is no longer giving out drink coupons at the front desk. They said the restaurant stopped the practice last year. That was a nice little bonus. What am I going to do with all the coupons I squirreled away? That's it for now. Jack & Sandi

Wake up Sandi. It's later than we usually sleep. We are on vacation Jack. Remember, vacation. A time to relax. Oh yea. A little breakfast. Get the machines out of the garage. How do I get dressed? Which layer goes on next? Oh, two years is such a long time. Maybe I should put numbers on my clothes so I know which one goes on next. OK. We are good to go. We are dressed and the gear is on the snowmobiles. We head out of the parking lot. The spur from the Sag is not groomed yet. Other sleds have gone in and out from here. Following the sled tracks but some are dead ends at a gulley. We make our way thru the parking lots and the edge of the woods to the Ultramar station. Both sleds are empty. We fill up both sleds and the caddy. $124 Canadian. A Frenchman walks up to me and speaks in French, of course. I don't know what he is saying but with a little sign language and some guessing, he is going to be our caboose. From the Ultramar out to trail 83 is fine. Ahh, the groomer has made a pass on 83. We turn right and we are on our way. To where? I don't know. We are just going to poke along today. Some grass in the corners and some rocks here and there. Early riding is better than no riding. A few changes in trail 83. Its easy enough to follow. We get to the "T" where 83 goes left to Jonquiere and right is 367 to the two dams. The front desk said trail 367 may not be open but it looks like the groomer has made a pass. A couple that we see at the Sag every Christmas trip is stopped at the intersection. I point towards 367. They turn right and now there are five us in our group. This is pretty good. A little ways before we get to the aluminum bridge, there is a "T". Left is marked to Jonquiere and right is marked to Shipshaw. This is before the old junction that was at the top of the hill where the trail crosses the road to the aluminum bridge. Lets go right and about 2 km later we drop down into the little parking lot at the aluminum bridge. This is on the opposite side of the road that we used to come down. This is a nice change. It eliminates that bumpy rock climbing section. Off we go. Good trail. The groomer has made a pass between the bridges. We turn right on 134. A little beat up here. At the water tower. the trail still turns right away from pickle park. There is more snow on this side of the river. Good riding. The fast stretches before St Honore are just as fine as ever. We stop at the gas station in St Honore and the ladies take a break. Back on the sleds and off to the airport. All really good riding for December. We get to the big junction of 83 and 328 at the base of the mountain. We are not going to make this a big day so we turn left on 328. The trail is still pretty good. Thru St David and up to the junction with 134. Turn left here. I really like this section of trail. Nice and flat, pretty straight and not much traffic. It is a good place to let the horses run. The cold air, the snow dust in the air and the smell of gasoline. What could be better! The five of us just cruisin' along. At the junction with 93 and 134 in the field with the big power lines above, a check point is set up. They have ten sleds already pulled over and it looks like they are checking everything. We slow down but the security is busy with what they already have. Security doesn't even look at us. We slow down and look around. Nobody is asking us to stop so we carefully go around and continue on our way. All of us have our trail passes. Back to the two bridges and the trail gets a little rougher. A few more miles and we are at the Ultramar in Chicoutimi tanking up. Not a huge day but it sure did feel good to be back on the sleds. I haven't looked at the groomer site yet or even watched the weather. I have to get back into all this other stuff. Time for supper and some rest. Boy is it good to be back in Quebec! 🤗 Jack & Sandi

Jack the dinosaur doesn't have a smart phone, yet. So I have to use my card. I did get rid of my rotary dial land line and got a push button land line wall phone at home. Boy are the push buttons so much nicer than the rotary dial. I feel like I'm in the 20th century! 😁 We have had two shots of Pfizer and we just recently received the booster. Each time the info is hand written on the card. If we laminated the card, a new record couldn't be written. A snapshot of the card on your phone I think would be acceptable. The phones are used for everything. When Sandi received her first vaccination, the pharmacy had run out of cards and gave her an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper with a copy of the card and then her shot was hand written. They did the same thing for her second shot on the same piece of paper. It didn't look very official. A couple of weeks later Sandi asked the pharmacy if they could give her a regular card. They just transferred the info and gave her a card. I think if a card became mutilated, the pharmacy would issue a new card and destroy the old one. Remember that we have to send a copy of our card to the ArrivCan site before we enter Canada. So the businesses probably just want to see something that covers their responsibility. Jack & Sandi

Sandi has a smart phone so we could use that. She doesn't have Canadian minutes so I don't know if that would work. If I was up here by myself without a smart phone, I have my laptop. The government would have to come up with an option. I have never done facetime. Someone from Canada comes to pick up the swab, maybe they could watch you swab your nose? If I was picked for the random border test, I would ask at the border how to proceed. Jack & Sandi

Another note about border crossing. Last time when I crossed back into the U.S., I asked what happens if the border is closed while we are in Quebec? The U.S. agent said that we are allowed to return to the U.S. because we are U.S. citizens. We won't be denied. No covid testing is required to return to the U.S. I don't know if that is for every circumstance or just short visits to Canada. Our trips are typically one week at a time. Jack & Sandi

Good morning, A few changes at the Sag. Here is the list I was e-mailed before my arrival. Status of facility services Hotel, rooms and reception: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Tropical atrium (pool, sauna and spa): Atrium and pool OPEN with restrictions. Pool: Open, restrictions apply. Spa: Closed Sauna: Closed Restaurant: Dining room open for lunch service only. Evening meals: Takeaway meals, to order. Video-Poker Bar: Closed Room and Mezzanine Areas: Open Training Room: Closed Business Centre: Closed I imagine this is to comply with mandates from the government. There was a questionnaire along with the above info. A few questions regarding covid and our travel. Then a few questions about our info, phone arrival time, etc. Last night the restaurant was open for sit in dining which we did. We had to show our vaccination card from the U.S. I think Canadians have a vaccination "passport". The waiter was going to take a picture of our card but the waitress said he didn't have to. I'm guessing he didn't have to because we weren't Canadians. This maybe for contact tracing if someone does come down with covid. Not many people in the restaurant. While we were there, we noticed that there was very little traffic on the roads. Quebec isn't shut down but people aren't out and about. The e-mail also stated that the restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday evenings. So with that info, Sandi and I have brought along some chili and sausage and peppers. A little home cooking if we can't or decide not to go to the restaurant. Plan ahead. These are the vaccines that Canada accepts. • Pfizer • Moderna • AstraZeneca • Covishield • Janssen (requires only one dose). Housekeeping has changed too. *** 2+ nights stay *** Due to the current COVID situation, to reduce contact, daily housekeeping of occupied rooms is currently not available. Everything you may need during your stay is available 24/7 at the reception of our property. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. The front desk said that since we are staying 6 days, we can ask for housekeeping and someone will clean the room while we are out. The front desk has all the supplies that housekeeping would normally have. Just ask at the front desk. So things have changed but just something to adjust to. It sure feels good to be back in Quebec. We will have breakfast this morning and then go out for a ride. Nothing big planned. It will just be nice to be on a snowmobile again. Last year my only ride was from the dealer's parking lot into the trailer. Ugh! Sandi's one year old sled has no miles. It is time to change that. Jack & Sandi

Hi Yeti, I'm a dinosaur. I don't have a smart phone, yet. So I have to print the confirmation and then hand it to the agent. I think you can scan the QR with your phone. Jack

I forgot to mention. Thanks for the replies above. Time to go have a little Canadian food. Yum! Jack & Sandi

This is good that I'm posting this late. It means we made it thru the border. 😅 We were asked for our passports. The agent scans them and I'm sure all of our history comes up on his screen. It probably includes what we ate at the Brown Cow restaurant in Derby, VT a half hour before. Then we were asked for the ArivCan confirmation sheet. He asked us if we were feeling well, no covid symptoms. He asked where we were going and the purpose of our trip. Remember to answer this according to what you put on the ArrivCan website / app. The agent is looking at it. We first go to Valcourt to pick up the trailer and snowmobiles but I didn't go into to that. I just answered that we were going to Chicoutmi. The rest of the questions were typical from previous years such as, weapons, knives, pepper spray, cannabis. Are we leaving anything in Quebec? It didn't take any longer than before. I'm still a little gun shy from being turned away on my first attempt on Dec 1st. I'm slowly getting over that. A little background on the trip up. No snow on the ground until we got 50 miles or so into VT. Pretty good snow banks above St Johnsbury going over Sheffield Mountain. In Quebec, the Eastern Townships had snow cover but not enough to ride on. After Drummondville the snow got better all the way to Quebec City. Motel Bernieres had snow but only one trailer in the lot. L'Etape had many snowmobiles, cars and trailers. Looked like a typical day at L'Etape. Snow on the ground all the way up to Lac St Jean. It was freezing rain a little overnight in CT. From VT on up we were in and out of the snow. Nothing terrible heavy. Just nice winter snow. Thank you Mother Nature. Gas around Quebec was $1.47. Here in Chicoutimi its around $1.35. There are sleds here at the Sag. Not packed but a dozen or so trailers. I spoke with someone that just came in on their sled and asked them about the spur going out to trail 83. He said it isn't broke but you can get to 83. It goes thru the parking lot behind the stores instead of way back at the edge of the woods. The groomer hasn't come thru yet. I spoke with the lady at the front desk. She said what she has heard from other snowmobilers is trail 368 south is OK. There are a couple of thin spots but it is passable. You can't get thru La Baie on 83. It sounded like there isn't enough snow there yet. There is snow in the forecast though. She said it is better to trailer to St Honore and then ride to Mt Valin if we want to ride on the north side. You have to wear a mask everywhere and also show your vaccination card for entry like at a restaurant. If you are planning on Quebec this year, I would recommend doing a dry run on everything you can. Get a Covid test. I like the NAAT test by Walgreen's Our results came back in two hours this time. I think the test is free everywhere in the U.S. See how far ahead booking an appointment takes. See how long it takes to get the test results back. Get on the ArrivCan website or app. Step 1, create an account for yourself. Step 2, take a look at the itinerary part of ArrivCan. It says not to complete it if you travel isn't within 72 hours. I think you can still go thru it and then delete it at the end. Do as much as you can to get familiar with all the steps. I only had to create an account for myself. Then I could put Sandi on as a traveler in my "group". Ask me any questions you have. I may not have the answers but someone else may or I will try to get an answer for you. So that is what we know so far. Be safe. Jack & Sandi

Hi Everyone, We didn't snowmobile at all last year. We are driving up to the Quebec border this morning via Rt 91 thru VT. I hope it all goes well. I think I have everything we need. I brought the snowmobiles up Dec 8th. The first attempt was Dec 1st and I was turned away because I didn't complete the ArrivCan form. The 2nd attempt on Dec 8th went much smoother. I went up by myself. Sandi couldn't go. Work gets in the way sometimes. With that said, I went back on ArrivCan for this trip. I added Sandi as a "Traveler". When I finished the form, only Sandi printed out on the confirmation. I had to delete that form and do it again. I forgot to put a check mark next to my name so it only printed out Sandi. Everyone has to be listed on the confirmation form. I hope the next post from us is while we are sitting in our hotel room at the Sag! 😊 Be safe. Jack & Sandi

We were tested at Walgreen's. Had the NAAT test. The results were in my e-mail box in 2 hours. Its the way to go if you can get the test. Plan ahead though. Appointments are listed a week in advance in CT and get booked up quick. I scheduled a week in advance and the closest Walgreen's with an appointment was 50 miles away in North Haven, CT. The NAAT test may not be available in all states. A Pharmacy in Springfield, MA said I had to go to CT to get it. MA doesn't offer it. I maybe wrong. This was one worker. I didn't see that printed anywhere yet. Jack & Sandi

Thanks Don. I was really hoping we could ride out of the Sag if there is snow. We have been making our Christmas to New Year journey there for many years. Now lets hope we can cross the border. Our sleds are already in Quebec. Jack & Sandi

Has there been any news on the spur trail into the Sag? Thanks, Jack & Sandi

Hi Everyone, First, thank you Mark. That is very helpful because I know how difficult it is getting the info from the internet. Too many different sites. OK. My experience follows. I did my research back in October. I thought I had everything covered. I bring the snowmobiles to Quebec and leave them at the dealership we have been using for over 40 years the end of November for the season. Yea we are the old ones and have been doing this for 40 years. I thought I had everything done and went up Dec 1st. I got to the border and did not have the confirmation from ArrivCan. I had done the first step and created an account but could not find where to do the second step which is the itinerary. I was politely turned away and could not enter Canada. The agent said that when he swipes the passport all of your info should come up on his screen. Remember, the questions he asks you, he already has the answers in front of him. OK, first step is to create your account on ArrivCan and the second step is your itinerary. Print the confirmation of the itinerary. I like hard copies but you can save it on your phone too. Second attempt was Dec 8th. This time was much better. Like Mark has said, everything from previous years plus your vaccination card and the ArrivCan confirmation. I went thru with no problems. One addition. I spoke to a Canadian at the gas station in Derby VT before I crossed. He said to make sure you are wearing your mask at the border. He said they can turn you away if you are not wearing a mask. The first trip I took the PCR test at CVS. It came back in time. The second trip I took the NAAT test at Walgreens. I took the test in the morning and the results were e-mailed to me late that afternoon. I will be taking the NAAT test from now on. That test is done at the pharmacy and is not sent out to a lab so turn around should be quicker. So far my insurance has covered the Covid tests. Sandi called our insurance company and was told that they do not cover Covid tests for travel but we haven't paid yet. Maybe we will see a bill in the mailbox? I hope not. I think Walgreens is the only source giving the NAAT test. In CT you can book the test up to 7 days in advance. Book an appointment as soon as you can. One more thing about ArrivCan. Like Mark had said, there is a section on how you will quarantine. I was a little stumped on this one. I was only going to be in Quebec for 3 hours. What do I put down? I first checked off "Home" and proceeded to enter my home address in CT. Wrong! The form only accepts Canadian zip codes. So I put in the address of the dealership that I was going to. This went thru OK. Another note. When I was completing ArrivCan, step 3 is where you are going to cross the border. My computer did not display the box to type in the entry point. I gave up and then tried an hour later. When I brought the screen up, viola, the box was there. Maybe just a download glitch when I happened to try. Regular gas in Quebec I saw posted at $1.47 per liter. Looks like it has gone up a little since pre Covid. There was a couple of inches on the ground in Valcourt. It did feel good to be back in Quebec after last year's no entry allowed. Jack & Sandi

Doesn't the PCR test take awhile to get the results? The test needs to be within 72 hours of crossing the border but it may take longer than that to get the results back. Am I missing something? Jack

This is so sad!!

Does anyone remember when part of the hotel was a nursing home? Sandi

Parking is always an issue there. I hope this doesn't cut into it too much. Sandi & Jack