The Difference is Huge

I mentioned in the last post that Pat had been working on trim.  Well he has been a busy man.  We increased the support to the second floor of the old part of the house.  The way we decided to do it left us with exposed 2x6's all around the top of the walls. None of them straight or the same thickness.  Our plan was to cover them with MDF and paint them the same colour as the walls so they would blend in.  We needed to use sheets of MDF because of the cost and the width could be customized.  The sheets are only 8 ft. long and we needed to span 15ft in one room.  The joint in the middle is disguised with a keystone-shaped medallion.  A few obstacles to overcome but we are happy with the finished look.

Shadows are misleading.  The walls, ceiling and trim are all the same colour.
We also wanted the doorways in something other than drywall.  So again we turned to MDF.  I have a before picture but there is some painting to do before there is a true after shot.

This ugliness is all covered now.  Mostly finished but still needs the last coat of paint.  We plan to do the baseboards the same colour as the walls so will paint the doorways with the baseboards.
Pat was so happy to see these jobs finished but the task that took me from camping in a construction zone to almost finished was trim on the windows and doors.  About three quarters of the main floor is done and the difference is huge.  

A window without trim and with trim picture for you.  You get the added bonus of a ravine view through the blinds.  Looking at trimmed windows makes me so happy. The windows and doors are finished looking and you don't get drywall dust on your cloths when you brush past and touch the door frame.  I think I have gone on and on enough about trim for now.    
If you recall just getting the trim was a huge effort so to see it around the windows makes me want to go on and on.

It is windy and nasty here today.  We were to town and there was a fair bit of ground drifting. Thankfully we got out for a snowshoe yesterday.  It was about -25 but still a glorious day when you were out of the wind.  We are quite interested in all the tracks we see.  We know there is wildlife but winter has made it much more apparent.  There is a lot of traffic around the quarter.

I may get another post in before Christmas but just in case I don't have a wonderful time with family and friends.  Merry Christmas 

Sunrise, I remain in awe of these prairie skies.

I've Been Sewing

I have been procrastinating, sewing for the last week and it didn't seem like I had much to talk about. Now that I have decided I should do a post even if it is short it seems that I have more to say than I thought.

Ian came back with his moose tag and with the help of his Dad and Uncle Tom managed to take a moose home this trip.  They were out Thursday, Friday and finally midday Saturday were successful.Ian stayed until Monday meeting with a fellow at the Mosaic mine as a part of his new job.

Wednesday Lynn arrived for a few days of sewing.  It was fantastic.  She worked on quilt tops.

I worked on tea cosies.  I had delivered mitts to HMH the last time I was in the city but hadn't made any cosies for the Christmas season. I spent the better part three days making cosies to send with Lynn.  After Lynn left with the tea cosies I had a pent up need to work on quilts.  I pulled out some squares I had cut out about last Feb. before I had to pack for the move.  I now have a toddler quilt in size and colour ready for quilting.  I am also in the process of machine quilting a couple of scrap tops that I pieced when I first got my sewing space set up.  All is good.

When Lynn was here there was a fund raiser for the community centre, Girls Night Out.  We had been invited by Maureen. The roads were a bit hazardous for a couple of city girls, but into town we went. The theme was a fashion show of wedding dresses through the ages.  They had 42 dresses from the 1930's to present day.  They finished the show with a traditional wedding outfit worn by women in India and the outfit Pat's great-grandmother Inga wore for her wedding in Sweden in the late 1800's.  A very nice evening.

As I mentioned it snowed while Lynn was here.  We went out for a walk and it was glorious.  Pat carried the camera and takes credit for these photos.

Renovations continue to progress.  A couple more light fixtures up and Pat is working on some trim today. The trim will make a huge difference, it will cover up the raw edges of the drywall and the rooms will lose their unfinished look.

I don't think I will ever tire of the sunsets that we see out the kitchen window.  Such incredible beauty.

I hope you don't either as there seems to be a photo that I have to include every other post.  This was last evening.

  

 We really do live in The Land of Living Skies. 

Winter Has Arrived

When you are in a new rural location there is a lot to do. (what an understatement).       I posted a picture of our new and improved driveway last time and we now have 200 feet of snow fence on the hill west of us. Yes it is quite ugly and does change the view of the sunsets.  But it is important. The idea is the snow will collect just the other side of the fence instead of in our driveway.  I have every confidence in my engineer and the website he checked before we installed it.

It is snowing today and I think this is it.  Winter that is .  We didn't quite finish the to do list.  The heat tape for the roof is still in the front entrance.  With the addition to the existing house and the chimney the roof has a funny little protected angle where the snow collected last winter.  We are not sure if this is because there was so much snow last winter or is always going to be a spot to watch.  We decided to ere on the side of caution and Pat is going to install heat tape. It was dark before he was able to get it on the roof yesterday.  I am not sure what will happen now.  We have a metal roof which is quite slippery with snow on it.  The high for today is +2 so maybe the snow will melt enough to get the job done.

 

At this point I think you might be asking, why didn't he do it sooner?

Last Saturday we drove to Regina, Pat was off to Banff via Calgary for a tailings and mine waste conference. He was gone until Wednesday.  We arrived home just before midnight.  Yesterday was the first day that he was home and had heat tape.

 

Some of you may remember that I promised myself that if I missed the city at any point I would drive in and get my city fix.  It has not been a problem.  We have been in Saskatoon regularly and Regina too much.  While Pat was away I was happily home.          I returned Saturday evening put the car in the garage and there it stayed until I went to get him Wednesday.  A two hour drive to the closet airport is going to be on the con side of the list.

The photos are from just before I started this post.  I should have waited a bit it is  snowing quite hard now and is very pretty from my vantage point.  I have a chair upstairs. Picture a large chair with quilts and cushions beside windows that allows me a view to the north and west.  The one window ledge is right beside my chair and is just a little higher than my chair. The perfect height to set a mug. It is wonderful and I could spend the whole day here watching it snow. 

Ian will be happy with this snow.  He will be here later today with the hope of attaching a tag to a moose.  He is hoping with the leaves gone and snow to show hoof prints he will be successful.

A sunset picture for you.  The sky was incredible.  The clouds were moving quite quickly so I sat on the front step watching those periwinkle and pink clouds move across the sky.

 

I Like Grey

A bit of an odd statement for me right.  Because I like colour, a fair bit of colour.  But there is just something about grey autumn days that I love.  We have had a few lately.  I love a walk on those grey days, hopefully out of the wind so the ravine is a great place. Then home for something hot and a little chocolate.  

This was the view from the veranda early one morning last week.  You will hear me say it many times.  I love the architecture of the oaks.

We have seen Blue Jays here before but saw something quite interesting in the last few days.  There would be 5 or 6 that would swoop in and busy themselves finding acorns.

If you look carefully you can see the acorn in his beak.  We watched, trying to figure out whether they ate them whole, were carrying them away or were stashing them.  They moved so quickly twisting and turning so we couldn't see the whole procedure.  The most likely seems that they would take the acorn somewhere where they felt safe and proceed to crack it open and eat it.  

Pat has been very busy outside.  He and his bobcat have become one.  Our driveway sits low so he has been busy moving earth. He has built up the driveway to the garage, lowered others spots and added berms to reroute some of the runoff that will come next spring.  He has a number of piles of beautiful topsoil that we will use for gardening areas and he has prepped some of the areas where we will hopefully plant into next spring.

He has also spread a fairly large load of gravel and will spread another large load this week.

We have been in Saskatoon the last few days, a whirlwind as usual dividing our time between kids, grandkids, appointments and shopping. We are coming to recognize this routine as a part of our new life.  I spent the better part of Friday at the quilt show.   Brooke and I had a great time Saturday afternoon going for tea and doing errands. The roof on the playhouse is shingled, Ian's gate is fixed and the leaves in his yard are raked. I have new jeans and am still on the hunt for shoes. I think we have purchased the last of the light fixtures and that has not been an easy task. 

We finally made time for the Farmer's Market Saturday morning, the first time since we moved and we have just passed the six month mark.  

I usually try and finish with a great photo this time you get mundane. 

Giving Thanks

I thought I would start this post with a comment or two about city versus country since this blog is partly about that transition.  I mentioned in the last post that we have a family member in hospital.  She has now been moved to Regina which is a two hour drive each way.  No hope of dropping in for a  quick visit and if you think parking is miserable at Saskatoon's hospitals you should check out the General in Regina.  Thankfully she has family in Regina and it is easy for them to visit.  Give thanks for the hospital down the street.  

The other comment is about something annoying. I had started this post and had 8 pictures almost uploaded and the power flickered off.  That is what is does, it only lasts long enough to break the internet connection and necessitate clock resetting.  I have given up on some of our clocks.  But the internet connection takes a few minutes to come back and since the upload wasn't quite finished I had to start over. Ten minutes later I am back where I started. Give thanks for high speed internet and power that doesn't flicker.

Ian was down for a visit, the main purpose was to use his moose tag.

   

He saw this girl his very first morning, decided she was small and besides it was only his first day.  He went home with his tag in his pocket.  Some days not spotting anything and others only cows with calves.  He was a little disappointed but we are looking forward to another visit in November.

We had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend.  Zachary, Heather and the girls were here.  They arrived late Thursday evening.  Friday it rained so we stayed in entertaining ourselves in a variety of ways.

 Jumping on the dog bed was one of Norah's.

 Saturday we were able to get out.  It was very windy but fairly pleasant down in the ravine.

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday and had a wonderful time with family members that were here.  We managed to fit 16 into the dining room with actually room for a couple more.  I had hoped to have dinner in the veranda but it was just a little too chilly.  My first time with a large crowd and a dishwasher, a dishwasher is a wonderful thing.
Brooke and Norah had a chance to meet their new cousin Abby ( 7 weeks old).  Brooke was quite taken with her and kept Kate company when she was nursing.

As I have mentioned we had a fairly decent garden.  The carrots included some prize winners in the size category and were still tender and sweet.  Pat dug one that was about a foot long and 4 inches across.  No splits or cracks.  We wish we had planted more.  I am guessing the loose soil is what allowed them to grow so big.  The girls have an opportunity to garden in Saskatoon but were eager to help Pat dig our carrots and parsnips.

Once the digging was done it was time for a walk.

It is difficult to see the back of the house but Pat managed to catch this shot with the telephoto from the other side of the ravine. Glorious autumn colours for Saskatchewan with the harvested field in the background.

I would like to give thanks. Fifty plus years enjoying the benefits of city life. Then the chance to live in a very beautiful corner of our country.  I have just returned from a walk in the ravine.  I stopped and sat on our log bench by the beaver dam.  A fresh breeze rustling the dry leaves in the aspen, steel grey clouds silently sliding over my head.  This mornings minor annoyances vanish.

Harvest Moon

In previous years we have been have been awe struck watching the full moon rise over our ravine. Last spring before we moved we invited our book club to come for a visit, timing their visit with the full moon.  As it turns out this year the full moon and the autumnal equinox were a day or two apart.  When this happens you get a Harvest Moon.

Half the book club was able to come.  They arrived Thursday the 19th.  We missed the moonrise that evening due to clouds.  Our timing was off the next evening.  But, by Saturday we were ready sitting outside with beverages and a fire waiting for the moon to rise and it was worth the wait.  It was spectacular.

  
The photo is a little grainy because of the zoom but this gives you an idea of what we saw.

While the Slow Book Club was here we did a little hiking on the trails the Esterhazy bike club has developed

But they were also eager participants in Pat's work crew.  We have a pond at the bottom of the ravine that is fed by a creek that runs in a torrent in the spring and then diminishes considerably through the summer. Beavers had built a large dam and we built a bridge over a portion of it to make crossing easier. The beavers are gone now, so there is no one to do the maintenance on the dam for us.   The opening in the dam has become bigger and is now in a different spot.  I tell you all this because Pat led the work detail which moved and refurbished the bridge.  A bridge is much better than a couple of slippery logs.

This post has taken me a while to get to.  I intended to post Monday the 23rd, but another side of rural life interfered.  In one week I was in Yorkton 3 times ( a family member in the hospital) Moosomin once ( quilt store open house), Regina once ( to pick up Pat's mom at the airport) and Winnipeg once (Ikea).  I swear after I take Maureen's van back today ( we traded vehicles for the trip to Winnipeg) I am not getting in a vehicle for days.  I am still not used to spending so much time in a vehicle.  In Saskatoon we walked or biked using the car very little.  Once we are settled with most of the renovating done I am hoping a weekly trip to Esterhazy will suffice. 

It has been a glorious autumn and I thought I would share a couple of photos of ravine.

The last one is sunrise Sunday.  Moments like this make up for the hundreds of kilometres I travelled last week.

Away

  I seem to lose momentum when we have been away.   We were in Saskatoon from the 4th till the 9th of September. Our kids with Heather as the driving force organized an anniversary celebration for us.  We spent a wonderful evening at Zachary and Heather's with family and friends enjoying their company, a beautiful evening and fantastic food.  Carmen and Heather even had peach roses for us, both a bouquet and on the cake.  To be politically correct I use us, but I am sure if Pat ever knew the significance he wouldn't have remembered. They were my choice for my bridal bouquet, but due to an airline strike they didn't arrive, I was lucky to even have flowers. 

 Their gift to us was a family photo shoot. A party and family photos what a fantastic memory of our 35th anniversary, what fantastic adults our kids have become.

  We spent Saturday morning with the girls at the Broadway Street Fair, what fun.  By 10:00 we were eating ice-cream and the girls were having their faces painted by a very talented young women.
  Sunday Pat helped Ian with a couple of house owner projects and Carmen and I did one of our favourite activities - Lunch and browsing at McNally's.  We also took the girls to a park on Sunday.  There is a play space by Lathey Pool.  Wow have they changed from our kids day.  Climbing, running and swinging seems to be the focus. Plus, this whole play structure is on a spongy rubbery kind of base.  Much softer and safer than sand and  perhaps more important unsuitable for animals.

  I must bring you up to date on the baseboards/trim.  They are in our garage.  Delivered two weeks plus a day from the day they were ordered.  The problem now is that we have moved into the rooms, we are not in a rush to get the trim on and have decided that there is outside work that needs doing and will do the trim work when the ground is frozen. So now, after waiting so long for them to come, we have to store them.  Each time we clear floor space in the garage with the idea that we will park both the car and the skid steer in there; something interferes. 

I am including a couple of photos of my studio.  It still needs some more storage and I need a more sturdy table for my machine, which a trip to Ikea should take care of.  We received an Ikea gift certificate because we ordered our cabinets during their kitchen event.  It is burning a hole in my pocket.

Today is the full moon and the autumn solstice is Saturday. When the equinox and the full moon are close together you get a harvest moon.  That means there will be a huge golden orange orb rising over our ravine tonight. That is if the clouds clear off.  The forecast is for clearing and of course low temperature's.  We can deal with the cold I just hope it clears.  We have half of our Slow Book Club arriving this afternoon to spend the weekend and watch the moon rise with us.  We also have a little work lined up for them, because as you know, why just visit, when you can work and visit.  They did offer, although perhaps we should make work bees a part of the Twin Oaks experience.
  
  

Watershed Weekend

  I couldn't decide whether to call this post A Long Weekend 4 or Watershed.  I decided on watershed because we have had a number of trickle down events.

First the bathroom counter top that has been in the works since mid July.  It came, with a backsplash.  My order specified no backsplash.  The vanity is an old organ that Tom and Val refurbished and is narrower than a standard counter.  A back splash makes it tight for the sink. Another 4-6 weeks, I'll let you know when the next and hopefully final new one comes.

  Our contractor measured the house for baseboards sometime in June and placed the order.  Once the mudder started his work we started to think about them again. We wanted to install the baseboards upstairs before we moved everything in. Pat called the local lumber yard to see where we were at with them.  The baseboards/trim would be delivered the next day.  He phoned on a Monday, they would be delivered the next day.  They didn't come. They were supposed to come everyday that week.   When he phoned on the Friday of that week he found out that they hadn't actually placed the order, which they would do and they would come on the truck the next Friday. ( It only comes once a week).  He called the next Friday, the truck hadn't come.  (Yes, I do have bald patches on my head). Monday still no truck, we asked would they please try and find out when the truck was coming, they assured us it would come.  We have now been waiting three weeks. To sum up this dismal tale,  Pat went into Esterhazy on Thursday the 28th of August.  THE BASEBOARDS HAD NEVER EVER BEEN ORDERED!  We told them not to bother.   By now I am sure you are asking yourself why they let this go on so long.  We wanted 14 foot lengths, it makes installation quicker and looks better.  Fourteen foot lengths are hard to haul in a little utility trailer.  So going to a larger centre and bringing them home ourselves didn't seem like a reasonable option.  Esterhazy only has the one lumber yard and we are told the other close one (Whitewood) is just as slow or worse.  Maybe they would have at least placed the order.  There is a light in this window.  I was in Big Lou's to see if they could order sheets of laminate to make the kitchen counters.  While I was there I found out they could order baseboards.  They are not really a lumber yard but will order most items.  They gave us the websites of the two places they order from.  We chose a profile and have sent a email about placing the order.  We will followup with a phone call Tuesday!  We plan to use the same material to trim the doors and windows so we are talking about an order of about 2000 board feet.  I am hoping Big Lou's will be interested in making some money.  We have successfully ordered material from them in the past so I am hopeful. This is a first world struggle but I am used to being able to look at my options in person and if the service is not reasonable at one location you can just go down the street to the next.  I am starting to understand why people just go to Regina.  A conundrum for people who try to support local business.  I will end with the paragraph with the thought that if you are here visiting sometime in the future and there is no trim you will know we have been beaten.

  There is always an upside.  Knowing that your baseboards are in fact not coming tomorrow can be liberating.  You might as well start the moving process. I had started filling my studio a good week ago deciding that I didn't really care when the trim went in.  By  Wednesday the 27th I was humming in tune with my sewing machine.  I was so happy!  It was a bit of a revelation for me. I know creating with fibre is important to me but I hadn't realized how much I was missing it and how important it is.  I have a beautiful spot and it makes me so happy.
  
This is going to be a pictureless post (almost).  The whole house is turned upside down while we move and reorganize so I will include pictures later.

  We moved ourselves into the bedroom upstairs Friday. We now have a closet, such luxury.  We spent yesterday setting up the guest room. We also pulled many boxes out of their resting place and unpacked them.  That gave us a place to store an extra bed.  By the end of today there will not be any beds in the veranda.

  Both the electrician and the plumber came last week so there is electricity and water upstairs.  Water upstairs means we have a bathtub.  I had a bath last evening for the first time in 4 months too tired to really appreciate it but come winter it will be wonderful.  I must say I have been enjoying the shower on the main floor but options are nice.

Pat started his day with the brush cutter on one of our trails below the house and encountered wasps.  Ten stings later he was unhappy for awhile.  Hot cloths, antihistamines, Advil and topical corticosteroids have done their bit.  He is feeling pretty good now, thank goodness,  Long Weekend 4 is not over yet, more shifting of goods and a range hood to install.

Thirty-five years ago today Pat and I were married, those years that have gone by in the blink of an eye.  

A Boy and His Toy

I thought I would start this post with our equipment purchase.  We went back and forth in the decision making process as to whether we should buy a skid steer or a tractor.  We decided on a skid steer for a couple of reasons.  There is a second hand market in skid steers and there isn't much of one in compact tractors and Pat's brother Bruce has tractors, but no skid steer.  Also we decided it would handier for landscaping than a tractor.  We have had it about a week and Pat has been doing a little driving.  I will take the sticks (there are two I'm told) at some point but for now we need to get one of us reasonably competent.  For those who don't know, you drive with the lever and operate the bucket/snowblower with your feet.  It has a cab, heat for winter and air conditioning for summer so we will be in the lap of luxury.  
I must note how naive I was.  I had no concept of some of the uses for a bobcat.  We were getting organized to take the old cupboards to the dump, when Pat informed me that he was going to break them up to make it easier to transport them.  Silly me I thought he was going to use a hammer and elbow grease.

I did tell him to smile and wave for the camera.

Remember the tomato plant or two.  Planting the garden was one of our better ideas.  I know sunshine is important for growing most vegetables but with a lifetime of gardening around big trees I didn't really realize how important it is.  With lots of sunshine you get studier, bigger vegetables with not much effort.  

The beans are a type of pole bean that did get fairly big at 213 but not 10".  We grew carrots but never had any this long and there is still a couple of weeks at least of growing time.  No picture but we had a beet that weighed in at a pound.  Cucumbers not so successful and I am still waiting on the Roma tomatoes

The kitchen is in pretty good shape.  The kitchen faucet arrived Monday so I was happy to have Pat replace the bathroom one he had installed temporally.  Although, it doesn't matter as much now because there is a dishwasher!  We seemed to have adapted to the induction range without any mishap.  Pat still has to do the counter plugs so we are running extension cords for now.  I will include a picture when we have that done.  This whole process has taught me how much of our modern world I take for granted and how much I do like those conveniences.

As I said the mudder came and did his thing. We spent last weekend painting and had the floor installed Monday/Tuesday.  We are waiting for electricity and bathroom fixtures to be installed.  But, it seems to me that I can unpack my studio stuff. A bathroom doesn't matter for that and as for electricity well if I do it during the day there is lots of light and if I get totally desperate there are power bars and extension cords.  I can hardly believe it, some of my fabric/yarn etc has been in boxes since February. 

Evidence that I do paint. If you don't want to do the top(ceiling) you get to do the bottom.  Again I will include a picture when there is a little more to see.

The 50's has brought insomnia issues for both Pat and I.  Sunday we were both awake about 4am at 5:00 we gave up and decided to go for a walk.  The upside of insomnia is sunrise. 

The first two photos you will recognize as the ravine, the last two are from the pasture as we returned home after the walk.
As I do the blog entries I have wondered what I will do when I have shown you all the nature there is to see here.  But, I have a feeling that Mother Nature will continue to put on a varied show for us for as long as we are interested

You might need a latte/tea/coffee/beer

It has been a while, so I thought you might want a coffee and a little cookie.  We were in Saskatoon for nearly a week and there has been kitchen reno frenzy since we got back.
So maybe I'll start where I left off.  The extra laminate samples proved to be a disappointment, more of the same.  The bathroom vanity top is ordered and the kitchen counters are in a holding pattern.  That is my catch phrase for now.

One lovely summer day prior to our Saskatoon trip and we were sick of being inside. We (Pat) decided to work on water management and our road.  We shaved off the turf, dug the ditch and put the turf back down.   I was part of the "we" but someone has to take photos. 

We need to extend the trench a little farther and then plan to build a rock lined culvert affair that will carry the water to the other side of the road then down into the ravine.   There is another place we plan to do this but who knows when.  We do try not to have too many projects going at the same time but a person does need some variety.

We had a great hectic visit in Saskatoon. We took the girls to supper one evening while Zachary and Heather had a free evening.  I had forgotten what a meal in a restaurant with a 3 and a 1 year old is like.  I knew I had eaten as my plate was empty but it is a little harrying.  A one year old with a very tight grip on a "dilly bar" bears watching.  I know if it falls off the stick there will be a lot of tears. We also had a barbecue with longtime friends and dinner with friends in a nice restaurant courtesy of our real estate agent. Pat spent three days in the office, I did some reno shopping and another day Edna, Brooke and I had did a little shopping and lunching, we had such fun.  We rounded the week out by helping Carmen move.  We arrived Sunday and left Friday of the long weekend. 

No time to rest, the land of renovating awaits.  Carmen and her pooch Teddy arrived Friday evening for a bit of a rest and to help.  As all of you know Pat can't imagine why you would want to sit and visit when you can work and visit.  As it turns out Carmen takes after her Dad and was a godsend when it came to assembling Ikea cupboards.  She figured out the drawing and directed me, we were a great team and it left Pat free to work on other tasks.  

  

The photos in order of appearance. Teddy making sure no mice or squirrels came near the garage.  2x4"s added to the existing beams for extra support. Dry walling done, Pat did the plastering (and did a very nice job), walls painted.  I must digress here for a moment.  As I was painting I recalled a chat with a friend who through the course of the conversation stated "we don't paint".   I am so envious of her, I really don't like painting.  I have had quite a few opportunities ( while painting) to contemplate why.  I think it comes down to no matter how careful I am I am a messy painter, it gets everywhere and I hate that.  Back to the photos, floor installed, Carmen assembling and Pat installing rails.  Last photo, our kitchen as of last evening about 8:30 when we discovered how much our floor slopes and we would probably have to take all the cupboards out and start again.  We decided tomorrow is another day and we would start fresh in the morning. The morning has come and gone as I write and I will tell you that the cupboards are back in,  are level and there were neither tears nor angry words.  Not bad.  I may wash dishes in a kitchen sink tonight.  I will have more photos of the kitchen next time.  To tantalize you for next time I will tell you  " the mudder hath cometh"  and we have purchased   "equipment".  

The mist in the ravine in the morning is beautiful and the wild flowers are glorious.