For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
We arrived earlier than I thought so we had lots of time to look around outside and make sure everything is okay. The cats wanted to run after being in the car so long, so I said yes, but they had to stay close to each other. Off they went as fast as they could run. The chateau was on top of a high hill so we could see a good long distance in every direction. The tallest tower which was 4 stories would really give a nice view. The other two towers were 3 stories and the chateau itself was just two stories, so it was a bit smaller than Linnea’s chateau. There was a ‘gardeners’ cottage also, fairly small, with 2 bedrooms. It looked to be as old as the chateau, perhaps it was. There was a pool on one side of the chateau and apple trees on the other side. At the back was a beautiful and large garden with stone paths and benches here and there.
This is a very nice place. I notice the cats digging at something so we go over to check. They found a metal door, now covered with grass. “Could be for an old bomb shelter,” I said, “or maybe a secret passage for getting into the chateau.” Meow!=Oh, let’s check, see where it go! “Not right now Mr. Cat,” I said, “we need to check inside the chateau first.” We all go inside the back door. The kitchen was very modern looking but the dining room was still in it’s original glory with a beautiful chandelier and a huge oak table with 20 chairs. Must have had a big family at one time. Most of the main floor had been redone to give it a modern look, unlike Linnea’s cottage. “Too bad they ruined the look of the place,” said Calanthe. “It won’t be hard to fix it up properly,” I said. Then we went to check upstairs.
There was a large old door at the bottom of the stairs and it was locked. “Hmm, none of these keys the lawyer gave me work on this door,” I said, “that’s kind of odd.” However, with Mr. Cat and I working on it we soon had it open. The upstairs was beautifully original and furnished with wonderful antiques. Just like at Linnea’s chateau, the upstairs is beautiful and yet it’s kept locked. There must be a reason for that, but what? Need to find out some history behind this one, there is a large library here just like the other place. We spent the night here and got a good rest and the next morning we were off to Linnea’s chateau. There were no vehicles around so I locked the gate with one of my locks, now no one is getting in without me knowing about it. “There’s actually another road too,” said Calanthe, “but it’s not finished yet so I’m not sure if it’s usable.” We go to take a look. It’s not only usable but it has been used a lot.
“This is how they get in without being noticed,” I said to Calanthe. We go down to the gate and I put one of my locks on it too, with a wire across the top of the gate. “What’s that all about?”,asked Calanthe. “If the open the gate or even move it, or try to climb over it, then an alarm sounds on my wrist band to let me know someone is here. I don’t want to be surprised anymore, I’m kind of tired of that. It’s time for us to do some surprises,” I explained. Calanthe felt better knowing about this. Back inside to the sewing room fireplace which leads to the passages below. “We all need to be very careful,” I said, “remember there are traps in here that are meant to stop us, permanently.” The cats walked first since they are too lightweight to set off the traps and they can find the traps easier, they are just very good at that.
Meow,meow.=Look, in floor here. I shine my flashlight down, looks like a wire of some kind going from wall to wall. That’s interesting. However, it didn’t do anything so we continued exploring different passages and rooms but we didn’t find anything of real interest. “We need to find a passage that isn’t on this map,” I said, “but we will save that for tomorrow.” So we all went back upstairs. Calanthe started making something to eat, I left Mr. Cat with her while Muffin and I went back to the library. Suddenly Muffins ears went straight up! I turned….
To Be Continued.
Β©2021 Steve McLeod.
Wonder what Muffin heard. I am sure you will enjoy your chateau as it is warmer than Ontario! π
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Yes, did she hear a scream from Calanthe?π² Or did she maybe see a ghost?π€ Or did someone get past my alarm system and enter the chateau?π³
I would enjoy it even if it was just a small house! It will give us a nice base to work from whenever we are in Europe though.ππΈπΈπ΅οΈββοΈπ©
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Finally! Your very own castle!
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YESSS!!! Meow!=Yay! Meow,meow!=Ghosts!!
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Now you need a suit of armor and a drawbridge!
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There’s no moat, why the drawbridge? Besides it’s a chateau that kind of looks like a castle. It’s real too, I picked one that really is in that part of France.ππΈπΈπ΅οΈββοΈπ©
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I know you’ve told me this probably. π What’s the difference?π€
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A castle is a big stone place surrounded by a wall, towers and often, but not always, a moat. A chateau is a big stone place with no wall, usually has at least one tower and sometimes, but not always, a moat.π
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So they are kunda the same?π€π€π Except they may or may not have big walls or a moat? Do they both have a dungeon?π€
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A chateau never has big walls, that’s probably the biggest difference. Only castles have dungeons, but the chateau often has passageways.
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Uh boy… I’ll never keep them straight!! Why couldn’t it just be a mansion?? They have lots of rooms and really expensive!!πππ₯΄π€π€
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Yeah, but these places are old, old, old, 13, 14th century stuff, the history, think of the history!π²ππ€ͺπ€―π€―π€―
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Think of the dust! No running water or electricity! Hey wait.. sounds like the house I grew uo in!! Maybe that one was a chateau?π€π€ππ Didn’t feel like though..
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Hey, the chateau has been modernized, except that beautiful crystal chandelier, it’s still candles. Nice stone walls, huge fireplaces, who cares about a little dust? π€π³Think of the history,π€ that dust is probably centuries old,π² it could have been walked on by royalty!π€΄πΈ
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Royalty!!?? That’s some important dust!! Better vacumm it up and put it in a jar or something!!π―π²π³π€―
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I thought about just leaving it lying around and walk through it barefoot.ππ
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But you’ll spoil the petina!ππ Hey, if today is Women’s day? When is it Man’s day?? I’d like to celebrate that!ππ
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Sorry, you’re out of luck, there isn’t one. Why don’t you start one? They have oddity holidays for just about anything.
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You called me odd!!π€¨π€¨π€¨π€¨π€¨π€¨ why would it be odd?? Not fair!! We deserve a day!!
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We do?π€ Why?π Did I miss something?π€ͺπ€―π€―
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Miss what?? You can’t miss it if we haven’t had a day yet!!
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As they say in the old country, “if it isn’t broke you’re doing something wrong.”
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That’s my motto!!π€«π€«
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Good one!
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So nice of you to say that!πππ
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So nice of you to say that!π
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Didn’t I just say that? Are copying me?π€¨π€π€π€π
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Easier than thinking of something myself!πππ
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Do I need to do thinking again?π€ππ
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It really would help.π€―
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Oh okayπππ Don’t want you to over do!ππ
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Thanks, much appreciated. How did your land hunting go?
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Not very well. I didn’t get out on Sat at all except to buy food. The old spine is crabby with me for the last week. Lot’s of bed rest. You know the drill I’m sure. How about you feeling any better?
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No, that fall did me in for awhile, it will be a few days to get this back to normal again. Sorry to hear you are still having problems with your spine too, I certainly know the feeling.
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Yep! One step at a time.ππ
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Might be better to stay away from steps. As they say in the old country, “it’s better to climb a tree on a windy day than to go jogging in a canoe in the middle of the lake.”
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That’s a great way to look at it!!ππππ
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Lots of wisdom in the old country.ππΉ
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I agree!πππ€£π€£π€ͺ
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Thank you, thank you. Have to go for a bit, need to write another post. Talk later.π
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Alrighty, be Goodππ
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The other thing is that the sale of my house up north to my ex-wife fell through. So now I need to do something with it soon before my contract for deed is due in mid April.. So that stress isn’t helping much either. But I have a plan.. I’m going to sell it but it needs to re-built before I can do that.
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Squirrels! That’s too bad. You’re going to rebuild it? Is it worthwhile doing that much work?
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Tear it down and build new! That’s what im checking inti now. It most likely will be as I don’t have much left to pay on it. Then I can sell it and make a reasonable amount back on it.
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Might be expensive rebuilding. A friend and I were talking about it this morning. He has insurance on his house, which he increased after hearing some news. His house is worth 200,000, but to rebuild the same place today would cost double that. A factor most people don’t realize when getting insurance. But he would have trouble selling it at the new price. So check things carefully, it might be better to renovate instead. Something to check into also. Just a thought.
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I have looked into renovating. Ptoblem is, the owner who holds the contract won’t let me update it, because he is afraid if he get’s it back it won’t be usable. It’s in such poor condition foundation wise the bank won’t lend against it to refinance. The way it sit’s no one will want to buy it at a price I can recoup my money. So the only way I can get the bank to lend against it, is to get a construction loan, tear it down, rebuild new then convert to a mortgage. I’ll need to keep the cost’s down, but should be able to get my investment back. Getting bids on it now. So I’ll make a decision after I get those back.
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I see the predicament, then that’s the best way to go. Hope you can get a good estimate that will work out well.
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I hope so too. I think I can get it done inexpensively enough to be able to see a profit on the sale.
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That would definitely be a nice thing.
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Yep it would allow me to then be able to apply it as a down payment to some place down here where it’s warm! Did I say it’s warm down here?πππππ
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Yes, that would be nice, the bigger the down payment the better it is. By the way, is it warm down that way?π€π
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Getting warmer everyday!! I have an area in mind down here where I’d like purchase.
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Right, you’re just saying that.π Well, got to go, time to lie down anyway. Good night, talk tomorrow!πππ΄
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That’s true I am saying that.. but it is true.. technically the sun light gets more direct everyday this time of year so it is true.π Just sayin’π€π€π
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I knew that’s what you were saying.πππ
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But you said just sayin’ and I wasn’t just sayin’ i was really saying!ππππ
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That’s exactly what I wasn’t sayin too.π€ͺπ€―π€―
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Ahahah ππππ Then just say it instead of just sayin’ π€£π€£π€£
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I would, but I forgot what I was sayin’. I’m off again for a little while,πββοΈπββοΈπββοΈ next chapter of my story needs to be written!ππββ
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Alrighty! I’ll be watching and waiting!π
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I finally caught up to where I cut out! Still more to go!πββοΈπββοΈπββοΈ
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I know! I am waiting breathlessly to read more!π€¨
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Read more what?π€ I’m finally caught up! Yip, yip, yip!π€ΈββοΈπ€ΈββοΈπ€ΈββοΈ
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With what? Your tail?π€
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Ha and ha. Oooooh, just wait!π
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That’s what I’ve been doing! π€¨ I thought you could write faster than this!πππ€π€
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I can, but we’re typing.πππ€ͺπ€ͺ
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Is that what you call it? That hammer and chisel and stone must get heavy huh?π€π€π€
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What’s a hammer and chisel?π€
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Oh that’s right! You’re still using just stones!πππ
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Yep, and I keep dropping them on my feet. It will be nice when someone invents steel toed boots. I tried leaf toed boots but they kept blowing awake and my neighbor wanted to rake them up all the time, then the deer tried eating them, then the rabbits did eat them. Sigh. And they didn’t work too well besides.
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I don’t understand why…π€π€ they are definitely eco friendly! Maybe you have sensitive toes??π€π€π€π€
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That’s what I thought too. I tried stone flippers for swimming too, but they gave me a sinking feeling.
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You…. Good Night Steveπππ
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Good Night! Sleep Well! Chat tomorrow?
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Yep, for sure.
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Did you visit it when you were there?π
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Nope, just did some checking on chateaux that were for sale. Quite a lot of them, but then, how many people want a place with 30 or 40 bedrooms?π€π
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Lot’s of dusting and window cleaning!!π²π³
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Possibly why you can get them so cheap. Lots of maintenance to those places.
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Turn it in to a hotel !πππ
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In the middle of nowhere?π² And who wants a bunch of people around spoiling the beautiful quietude of the place??π€π³π
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There’s always another room!
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Who wants a bunch of people around spoiling the quietude of the place?π€π³ππ€―π€―
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You’re making that up!! No such wordπ€π€π€
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That is so a word, look it up, it’s actually a common word.ππ
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Absoposalutely not a word.. I would look it up but I don’t know how to spell it.. and I know how to spell and since I can’t spell it it’s not realπππ
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QUIETUDE. There, look it up.
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Can’t no dictionaryππ
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That’s why they invented giggle.
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Giggle back at you!!ππ
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πππΉπΉ
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π€π€π€
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Even in French!
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It’s a word in French too.ππ
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No way.. I’m not believin it! You can’t make me neitherπ
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Why would I want to make you neither? And neither what? It’s not a word. HA! Time for bed, after what happened today I need to lie down again. If I can walk that far. Good night Dusty,π΄π come back tomorrow for some more moat or maybe remoat conversation!ππ€£π€π€―π€―
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Did you slip again?? Good Nightπ΄π΄π€π€π€
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Nope, fell flat on the ice.
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And why were on the ice??
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The ice was on the path, I tried to stay off it, but in some places it was hard and… good night.
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Wow, hoping you can enjoy that chateau soon. I donβt know, there seems to be so many connected parts to this whole mystery and so many hidden villains. π¬ You may never get a break!
So that wire seems to have done something after all. We shall see what it did…π€
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This is exciting ! Glad the cats have inbred warning signals ! Something is not right…and you still trust Calanthe…next chapter will prove to be very interesting ! βοΈβοΈπ΅οΈββοΈππΌπ©I have accepted Simonβs challenge !
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Yep, you’re giving Simon a good run for sure! Well, I trust the cats and they trust Calanthe, so for now it’s okay. She hasn’t really done anything suspicious lately.π€πππ΅οΈββοΈπ©
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Oh no…who’s there? ππΎ
I think once this mystery is solved, you should think to keep this chateau! Sounds too beautiful to just sell it ππ»
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Yes, what happened? Did Muffin hear something? Or did she see something?π€π³ππ This one is Linnea’s chateau, the one I had described is the one she left me, there are 2 different ones. Both are based on a real chateau in that part of France.ππΈ
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Yes, I was referring to the chateau that Linnea left you! The one that you described! A wonderful place! And big enough for the cats to have some fun ππ»
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That’s true, but who needs 40 bedrooms? The other chateau is smaller with only 24 bedrooms, much better size.ππΉ
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Hmmmm That’s all I have to say for now. But is it possible the two Chateaus are connected underground?
Keep laughing, It don’t cost nothing
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That would be a long tunnel. Driving on the highway the two are about 3 hours apart. Hmm, I’m giving clues now, rats.π€π³
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It didn’t sound like they were that far apart
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That’s because I have kept it a secret so far, you’re the first to know.π
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Nice ππ
You are creative blog writer.. I visit your site..
Beautiful π.
If you like motivation & education story.
Please follow Me.!
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Thank you for stopping by! I will check out your site this morning. Have a great day!ππΊπ
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Thank you so much β€οΈ.
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