I received a lot of feedback from my “U is for Uff da” post, where I created a dictionary of words, phrases and foods that I have come in contact with since I have lived in Fargo. Many people offered additional items that they thought should be added to the list. With that in mind, I decided to create a page devoted solely to my Midwestern Dictionary.
If you have suggestions for items that you think should be added, feel free to send me a message and I’ll add it to the list.
- Barbecue: The Midwest equivalent to Sloppy Joes, which are served at most picnics and usually in large quantities. Example: “Why don’t I throw together a little barbecue before the picnic this afternoon?”
- Bison: (pronounced “Bi-zen”) A large and delicious animal and the mascot for NDSU. Example: “Let’s go watch the Bison play at the Fargodome.”
- Bars: The name for any type of dessert that is not in cookie, pie, icecream or cake form that is often brought to potlucks. Many bars involve Special K cereal, Rice Krispies, chocolate and peanut butter.
- Cheese curds: Fried cheese curds. Delicious and fattening. God’s little golden gifts to midwesterners.
- “Feels like” Temperature: Take a cold temperature, add some windchill, and you will get the “feels-like” temperature. Example: “The high today is -30 but when you step outside it feels like -50 with windchill.”
- Glare Ice: The equivalent to black ice except for some reason it is called glare ice.
- Hotdish: (pronounced “hawt dish”) A baked item, usually served at potlucks, that is similar to a casserole in other parts of the country. Most hotdishes usually contain a starch, a meat and vegetables (canned or frozen) with the most popular being a Tater-tot hotdish. Example: “I’ll bring some Special K Bars to the potluck, why don’t you bring a hotdish?”
- Lefse: (pronounced “lef suh”) A flat tortilla-like treat, with Norwegian roots (as most things are in the upper Midwest), served usually with butter and sugar on top. Delicious!
- Lutefisk: (pronounced “loo tu fisk”) Scandinavian dish made from aged whitefish or dried/salted whitefish and lye. It is gelatinous in texture and has an extremely strong odor. It literally means “lye fish”. Example: Person #1: “Hailey, would you like some lutefisk?” Person #2: “No thank you, I would not like some lutefisk.”
- North Dakota: (pronounced “Nort Da-koe-tuh) The coldest state in the continental United States.
- Oh: (pronounced “oooooo”) A word used in the majority of conversations in the upper Midwest.
- Oh, I suppose: The phrase used in a conversation instead of nodding your head or saying “uh-huh” when someone is speaking to you. Can be shortened to simply, I s’pose. Example: Person #1: “I was driving down the road and I saw a deer.” Person #2: “Oh, I suppose!”
- Oh, for cute: The phrase used to express how cute something/someone is. Example: (A small kitten emerges from around the corner) “Oh, for cute!”
- Oh, for fun: The phrase used to express how enjoyable something is or sounds. Example: Person #1- “I went to the state fair this past weekend.” Person #2- “Oh, for fun!”
- Plug In: The action required so that your car is able to start when the temperature is below zero. Plug ins can be found in most large parking lots and residential areas. When you install a plug in on your car, the cord hangs out resembling a small booger hanging out of your cars nose. (Sorry if that was graphic, I just can’t help thinking that every time I see one.)
- Snow Birds: Upper Midwest residents, usually retired, that head south for the winter. Most Snow Birds head to Phoenix or another location throughout Arizona.
- The Cities: The shortened name given to Minneapolis and St. Paul. Example: “I’m heading to The Cities this weekend.”
- The Lake: The location everyone escapes to when the temperature reaches above 32 degrees F. “The Lake” is not a singular location. In fact, going to “The Lake” could be one of the 10,000 lakes throughout Minnesota or one of the many across North Dakota. Example: “Oh, I think I might just head out to The Lake this weekend.”
- Then: A word used to signify a question is being asked. Example: “Are you headed to Fargo then?”
- Thunder Snow: The weather phenomenon that occurs when it is snowing with thunder and lightening at the same time.
- Uff da: (pronounced “oof duh”) An expression of Norwegian origin used in the upper Midwest as a term for sensory overload. It can be used to express astonishment, surprise, exhaustion, frustration or relief. It can also be used as an alternate for most swear words (though of course I never use it this way). Example: “Uff da, look at all that snow outside that I now must shovel.”
- You Betcha: The phrase used to mean: Absolutely, uh-huh, yes, certainly, or anything of that nature. Example: Person #1- “Do you want to head to the movies, then?” Person #2- “Oh, you betcha!”
- 20-32 degrees above zero: This temperature marks the beginning of Spring and signals that it is now appropriate to put away your coat and walk around in a t-shirt.
I care for such information much. A Timeless Piece of Art A Timeless Piece of Art http://washingtoncannabiscouncil.com/node/6#comment-590905
What fun! I was trying to remember the funny explanation I had seen of the difference between Uff da and Fee da so I could educate my 12-year-old grandson. So I googled it and found your site, and I had to read every one. Moved to L.A. in 1955 (I was 11) and still feel the tug of my Minn. roots. Out here that rhymes with boots, but I remember the “right” way, also cay-oats come to mind. I enjoy the blog. Maybe we need a facebook page or is there one?
Mange takk
I can honestly say in all my 52 years I have never heard any original North Dakotan pronounce it Nort Da-Koe-tah.
My son is heading to Grand Forks for university. You betcha I’m going to have him read this before heading out. Thanks.
I’m looking forward to visiting Nort-Da-Koe-Ta
‘It’s the pits’
I can’t believe I have to wake up early every morning to deal with this over and over again!… ‘It’s the pits’
Just moved to ND from CA. My son said, “I didn’t want the boy to budge.” Budge= cut (as in get in front of without permission). At school, on the west coast, students would complain when someone “cut in front of them” in line, not budge.
I love your blog! I found it by accident. I’m a native North Dakotan, now living in Minnesota, and I found myself nodding my head in recognition to so many things you’ve written. Just added your link to my blog. Great work!
Pronounce wash with an r as in “go warsh your hands. My students would catch me saying Warshington and I found that I had to over enunciate to remove it.
“Ya sure, you betcha” is often used together. And when you say Ya it is more like Yaaaaah. And my daughters tell me that we also say “out n aboot” (about). Love this blog and will be sharing it.
These bring back so many memories! Thanks for the great thread. Here are some other fun Midwesternisms I remember my (ND to SD)family using (some of which I still do, as a MN’tan now):
Madder than a wet hen
Rare as hen’s teeth
Lower than a snake’s belly (dishonorable person)
Uglier than a mud fence in the rain
Chewing gum and baling wire = a quick and dirty fix, usually mechanical, or my brother’s car in its entirety: “That old crate’s held together with chewing gum and baling wire.” Similar expressions were jury-rigged or n-rigged (I’ll refrain from typing out the “N” word, but that’s what my grandpa and his brothers used to say).
For Pete’s sake, For the love of Pete, Oh, my achin’ back and Oh, fer cryin’ out loud (meaning, give me a break, or expressing frustration)
Quit your bellyaching (Kwit’cher bellyachin’ = stop complaining.)
(A) bird’s gonna poop on your lip (told to a pouting child)
Once, or one time, as in “Pass me that hammer one time, will you?”
How ya fixed for underwear? = gentle mockery when someone is unprepared or has forgotten something critical, like the hotdish for the church supper.
Now then, as in “Now then, what was that you were going to say?”
Purt near (part near), as in “The bank account’s purt near empty.”
“Knee high by the 4th of July” was (still is) the barometer for the mid-season health of the corn crop.
“Walking beans” – a hard-labor summer job for teenagers, especially townies, picking weeds between rows of beans…bent over at the waist…in blazing sun…for acres and acres…(not that I’m bitter or anything)
Detasseling corn” was a similar job; shadier than walking beans but the corn leaves would cover your face, arms and hands with a billion tiny cuts, and your eyes and nose would fill with dust and corn pollen.
A few years ago I was helping out some corporate students who were visiting from Holland. They wanted to know how far it was to drive from the Twin Cities to Duluth. When I answered “About four hours,” they stared at me like I’d grown another head. You can take the girl out of the country…
Thanks for sharing!!
In California, people think it is typical of out here to measure distance in time because of the difference depending on whether you can take a freeway or not. And now they generally end it with, if there isn’t a lot of traffic, but in LA, that is becoming an unnecessary caveat!
[...] Midwestern Dictionary [...]
Just noticed the recipe section and found funeral sandwiches! thank you, Joy!
Am curious how widespread are these:
Egg coffee, generally prepared for large church gathering by mixing an egg into grounds and pouring into boiling water. The egg makes the grounds clump and rise to top tobe skimmed off. Older members prefer it to the alternative which is a massive percolator, so they are probably right.
Also, what I term ” funeral sandwiches”, whole wheat bread with Cheeze Whiz six slices of green olive,open face and sliced diagonally into triangles.
Love the blog!
I know the egg coffee from camping and using just a pot over the campfire.
I was only 11 when we moved to Calif., so maybe I hadn’t been to enough funerals to learn about those sandwiches!
Oof da, this is hilarious! I am a native MN/ND, currently residing in Moorhead. I just discovered your blog and have been laughing out loud all morning.
Your observations are so clear, but the rest of us are oblivious. For instance, I didn’t realize that people in other parts of the country don’t say, “Oh, for cute” or “Oh, for fun”. Hilarious! And, you’re spot on with “The Cities” and “The Lake”. In fact, having a lake place of our own, it drives me bonkers when someone says “The Lakes”.
I love, love love your blog.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed reading my blog! It is funny how people who are from here don’t realize it is any different elsewhere. I love it though!
My father-in-law always talked about sheedamachers sp.? Can’t find out what that really is. He was from South Dakota. It’s probably derogatory but none of us seem to know what it is.
That reminded me of my grandparents’ farm where when they called the cows, it was (phonetically)cheeda, cheeda, cheedabegen. Have no idea how that translates, but they were Norwegian. Curious if anyone else remembers that.
When one lives in Moorhead, the expression “the lakes” comes from the town, “Detroit Lakes” about 45 min. from Moorhead. That’s the closest spot where a lake could be so that’s where most people go or thereabouts.
Have you found that Norwegians have a built in ability to laugh at the Ole and Lena jokes, which supposedly poke fun at Norwegians? It is a sign of good mental health to laugh at oneself. Not all cultures do this, sad to say. My wife and I do Ole and Lena routines for churches and service clubs,including dressing for the parts.
Oh my gosh! That I would love to see! Thanks for reading!
we tend to say “So” when there is nothing more to say.
We went to the lake and had a good time…so…
My mother will always tell you the temperature as above or below zero. Ror example, ” oh it was 65 above today”. This is necessary, of course, because it may have been 65 below!
I love the dictionary, I love reading things like this where I have to take a second to think that other people who aren’t from the Midwest consider things like “Uff dah” and “Hotdish” a very odd thing.
The supper/dinner thing has much to do with farm life in ND where the order of meals goes like this. Breakfast, Lunch (mid-morning in the field), Dinner at noon, Lunch (mid-afternoon in the field), and Supper. For people who don’t work in the field (have moved to town), just drop the whole lunch thing because town people don’t need to eat 5 times a day.
Now, if you go visiting in the evening, the host will surely say, “OK den, let’s haf a little lunch.”
Not sure if this is just a Wisconsin thing or allof the midwest, but a drinking fountain is often referred to as a “Bubbler.”
I was born and raised in the Mother Land of Wisconsin.
It is the only state that I’ve come across that calls drinking fountains ‘bubblers’
This is a hilarious blog. This is the closest I’ve been to home in years.
As I recall, in the first drinking fountains water came up through the center of a white porcelain? knob. Hence it bubbled up.
I was born and raised in Massachusetts and we called water fountains ‘bubblers’ too.
I love your blog! I read the “Midwestern Dictionary” to my wife, as tears of laughter were running down my face. I grew up in Jamestown, went to collge at NDSU and UND. Left Nor’ Dakota in 1975.
I only lived in Minnesota for 2 years but picked up the lingo quickly! It was always soda for us but the thing that I found funny was they never finished the sentence when they were going somewhere. “I’m going to the store. Wanna go with?” The first time I heard that I asked “with what?” They laughed at me for weeks over that. When I came back to my hometown of Ohio, my dad said it took 3 years to get rid of the 2 year accent!
I have a question-why is the speed limit on the freeways (ok-interstate) in Fargo set at 55mph? I was up there in October and found that the speed was too slow.
The speed limit in Fargo is only 55 mph right within town, otherwise it is 75 mph on both I-94 and I-29. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to slow it down once you get into more traffic.
Please let me make a statement regarding lutefisk.. if you get a piece of lutefisk that is jelly-like–that’s not good fish!! My family grew up with GOOD lutefisk.. which is flaky and white and holds the melted butter very well!! More like cod or crab meat, not overcooked… it’s just very good to those who know good fish… and it does go well with lefse.. buttered. Save the sugar, white or brown, to go on lefse, warm, with butter and hot black coffee for dessert!!
Your description of GOOD lutefisk sounds like it could be torsk or buttered torsk and my Norwegian mother used to make it also. Basically, it is cod. And lutefisk starts out as cod but through the process of turning it into lutefisk it is made into a gelatinous blob that resembles warm vasoline and smells like dirty mens socks. There is no such thing as good lutefisk. As Garrison Keillor wrote, “Every Advent we entered the purgatory of lutefisk, a repulsive gelatinous fishlike dish that tasted of soap and gave off an odor that would gag a goat. We did this in honor of Norwegian ancestors, much as if survivors of a famine might celebrate their deliverance by feasting on elm bark. I always felt the cold creeps as Advent approached, knowing that this dread delicacy would be put before me and I’d be told, “Just have a little.” Eating a little was like vomiting a little, just as bad as a lot.” The tradition of eating lutefisk is about the same as the Jewish tradition of eating Gefilte fish – not for the faint of heart.
This is an exact description!
LOVE the lutefisk. I grew up eating it every Christmas. My nieces and nephew started eating it when they were young and still eat it to this day. I totally agree there is good and bad lutefisk and you have to know how to cook it correctly.
don’t cha know: stating something somewhat obvious, but checking just in case
chriiiiiiiist (really drawn out): amazed by something
Anyone for a bismark? I was informed by someone from the east coast that worked for Dunkin Donuts that what we call a bismark is really a jelly filled donut, she had never heard it called a bismark until they got to the Air Base by Grand Forks. And I thought all donuts had a hole in the middle, foolish me.
Sorry, didn’t see that the other went through.
Anyone like a bismark? I have been informed by someone from the Air Force base that it is a “jelly filled donut”. Being she had worked at a Dunkin Donut shop out east, she spoke with some authority.
My grandmother taught me that there is uff-da and there is fida (fee’duh). The difference is uff-da is when when you drop your gum in the chicken coop. Fida is when you pick it up and put it back in your mouth.
My mom’s family taught me that fy-da (fee duh) is more like “for shame”. “Ish-da” (pronounced as it looks) is more used when someone puts the gum back in their mouth.
I’m not Nor’ Dakoetun, but a Sou’ Dakoetun, and much of what you write about is absolutely true of the twin states (maybe not “cosmopolitan” Sioux Falls, though).
You forgot…”oh jeez”
That’s a bit of a middle road term for responding to a situation, usually a negative reponse but not as bad as “oh sh!t” or something like that.
One thing I remember after first moving to western North Dakota was hearing phrases such as “ride bike” or “drive truck.” Growing up in Colorado and now living in Wyoming, I have only heard “ride a bike” or “drive a truck,” always with the article in front or the noun. [Just a
side note: In Scotland I heard people say, "Then I went home to my bed" when we would say, "Then I went home to bed." Or: "Then I went home to my supper" vs. "Then I went home to supper." And throughout the UK people say, "She is in hospital" when we would say, "She is in the hospital."]
Im from more up north and we have something called “bad larry” meaning something really awesome and cool. Example “Check out that bad Larry.”
I love this list. As someone who spent my first 12 years on the planet in the heart of North Dakota, I miss a lot of the cultural differences that we don’t get down in Texas. And…if you feel like sending me some lefse and chokecherry jelly/jam, email me and I’ll send you my address.
I think we are the only people that measure distance in time too. For example “How far is it?” “Oh about an hour”.
I grew up in MN, went to university in SD and now live in WY. I’ve found that most people living in the Rocky Mountain states also judge distance by how long it takes to get somewhere.
I’m from Chicago and we also measure distance in travel time.
Oregonians measure in time as well. Five hours from the ocean to high desert. I’ve lived here all my life and I can’t tell you how many miles it is
How about “Specials”? Specials are the additional amount of money you have to pay for most properties, in addition to actual purchase price of a home. Used in a sentence: So, I see the house is listed for $200,000, how much are the specials?
I believe the reason “then” has found a way into almost any sentence with a question is that in Norwegian language, it is common to end a sentence either asking or declaring with the word “da.” Da in Norwegian literally means “then.” As new immigrants were learning our language in the upper midwest, a literal translation influences us to this day. “What is the word in English for Da?” “Then.” “Should we have some hotdish, then?” That’s my theory at least.
Also, bag DOES rhyme with Vague.
My dad joined the Air Force when I was young and we left ND for Oklahoma. My little sister was just 3 and was devastated that my parents were depriving her of a meal everyday. They were only feeding her breakfast, lunch and dinner. She was missing out on “supper”!!!!!!
My dad joined the Air Force and our family left North Dakota when I was 9 and my sister was 3. After moving to Oklahoma, my little sister was very upset with my parents, as they were depriving her of a meal everyday. Down there she was getting breakfast, lunch and dinner, whereas she felt they were withholding “supper”!!!!
Sorry, didn’t think this posted and rewrote it a little later!!!!
Love your blog. Grew up not far from Fargo, school at MSUM, moved away, moved back and moved away again and now in WA. I tell people you’ll never find more trusting people than those from the Dakotas.
Can you please remove the offensive post 09/14/2011 as that doesn’t reflect the people of that area nor your values. Thanks!!
I was unaware that comment was there. I apologize! It should be removed as of now. Thank you for pointing that out.
I have a question. Have you been to South Dakota yet? I always feel bad for SD because out of the two Dakotas, people always think of North Dakota first. I’m asking because I think I’m going to college there soon and wanted to know what you thought of it, and if it compares to North Dakota.
Nope, I’ve actually not been to South Dakota yet though I’d like to go visit.
This sort of thing must depend on what region one is from. About 26 years ago, I was living in the Denver area and got a job in North Dakota. When I would tell people about, and they would tell someone else, NOT ONCE did they say NORTH Dakota, but always SOUTH Dakota. I do not know whether this was because of Mt. Rushmore or what, but North Dakota was not a part of anyone in Colorado’s consciousness.
I concur. Not a lot of people down here realize that ND even exits! Or, that 32 below exisits.
-Broomfield, CO
I used to live in South Dakota…most of my life actually and yes we said supper instead of dinner and hotdish instead of casserole. Same kind of weather as north dakota though!
Hilarious post!
I just found your blog today and think its pretty awesome. Its hard to find a good blog from Fargo. Well anyways I just turned 18 last month and I live in Colorado. I am thinking about going to college at NDSU. Is it a pretty fun place to live? Most people tell me Fargo is boring so I shouldn’t waste my time there.
Fargo is all but boring. There are three college campuses within a few mile radius and there are always things going on, even in the winter.
Thanks for replying. I am kind of exciting about living there. I read in the Forum you guys are getting a Costco by next fall and other new stores so I know I won’t run out of places to shop at. Also I like the thing you wrote about the words and phrases people in the Midwest use. My grandma is from Iowa and she always calls lunch supper.
You shouldn’t run out of places to shop, and if you somehow do, you definitely won’t run out of restaurants. They’re putting up new ones all the time here. Number one piece of advice for winter – make sure your car either has an auto-start or a block heater.
There are at least 5 college campus’s withing a few mile radius, if you include community colleges.
The trick to lefse is butter & sugar. Have you tried fleischkuechle yet?
love fleischkuechle. we have a family reunion each year and make them, some years as many as a hundred or more. It is not the best for you but sure is good. Growing up my mom used to fry the strips she cut off from around the crescent shaped fleischkuechle and fry them as well. We called them pretzels… There is a fair amount of German food in the upper midwest as well. Knoephla, in soup or cooked separate with sauerkraut, kuechen, kase knoephla, struedel, ( sweet or more like a rolled dumpling) just to name a couple things. Iv’e fouund that Norwegian and German foods will sometimes overlap. Both cultures tend to use lots of flour/ dough based recipes, potatoes, butter and cream with salt, and or sugar for flavoring of things. Germans are big on sausages as we all know as well. You can still find some small town meat markets that make exceptional country style sausages etc.
Allow me to offer a scientific fact — Upper Midwestern style: Black Ice is the result of temperatures so cold that car exhaust freezes to the road surface. It can happen even when there is no precipitation, just below zero temperatures. Bridge decks are the worst…
this comment is off subject but in looking at your recipe for special K Bars, if you add 1 tsp of honey to the syrup your bars will never get hard. Tried and true.
My wife and I are from Minnesota and we were married in Fargo when we both worked in TV there. This JMU professor is enjoying how fast you’re picking up the culture. I’ve spent years unlearning “pop” and “hotdish,” so it’s great to see you tip the scale back in the other direction. Did I ever show this in class? http://www.popvssoda.com/
I would say glare ice and black ice are not equivalent. Black ice is when the road doesn’t look icy at all, but actually is icy. For example, if it rains and it’s also around freezing (temp), then you can get black ice. Glare ice would be used to describe a road that you can see is icy and covered in ice.
Exactly – black ice is frozen exhaust on a road and is virtually invisible. Glare ice is a thick layer of ice that’s highly reflective on those cloudless, freezing, bright winter days. It gives off a blinding glare from the road or field.
Yes, this is 100% accurate.
Breakfast, “dinner”, “supper.” Really confused me when I first moved here when people would ask me to dinner and they meant the noon meal.
Also, I’ve heard the radio DJ use this one–”bagel” or “bag” but pronounced as “beg.” My Moorhead-bred hubby still says “begel” with cream cheese. Drives me crazy!
And my favorites…”Oh, for fun!” and “Oh, for sure!
While it’s fun to read an individual’s stories, this whole blog was done a long time ago in the format of a book ‘How to Talk Minnesotan’ by Howard Mohr. It goes over everything from foods, to church functions, to what to say in conversation. Definitely a good, and funny, read!
This is a great blog that I just found today for the first time! I am going to continue to follow as I often take being a mid-westerner for granted. I saw your comment regarding Howard Mohr “How to Talk Minnesotan” and was reminded of a time over 20 years ago. I haven’t talked to Howard in several years.
I grew up 3 miles from Howard and was best friends with his daughter Susan until I graduated. I love the book and treasure my autographed copy from Howard. Nice to see people still appreciate and refer to Howard’s work! He is a brilliant and genuine man. Thanks for remembering him!
You need to add “nu-ooon” Ask someone what time 12:00pm is!
Spendy! I have discovered this word seems to be unique to our area. EX: It’s a nice store but it’s a little spendy! I catch myself saying it a lot! It makes me giggle when I catch myself.
I would add ‘You Betcha.’ “You Betcha” is a very versatile, reply phrase meaning everything from ‘Certianly’, to ‘I Know’ or ‘You’re correct’, to ‘You’re Welcome.’
I would also suggest ‘Got Good’ as in – “Oh Linda, you’re hotdish and bars at the potluck really ‘got good’, didn’t they?” I always love that one.
I have learned that everything is ‘clear’ in North Dakota. Things are clear full, clear empty, clear over there or clear up to here. I also learned that a maintainer is a road grader. (after a very long while of not asking and seeming ignorant)
[b]Frizzle:[/b] Freezing drizzle
[b]How’s it tastin’?[/b] What every server in town says when checking on your table.
[b]Oh for cute!:[/b] Isn’t that cute?
[b]Twinhome:[/b] A two-unit dwelling; duplex.
A couple of people have mentioned the, “Oh for cute!” I’ll definitely need to add that one. Thanks!
“Pop” is the Midwestern word for a soft drink, while southern states use the word “Soda.”
When I was growing up in the ’50s, I learned this: “pop” was what we said in the West, in Colorado and anywhere else I ever was in the West, although some people used the full phrase “soda pop.” “Soda” was an Eastern word. I was taught not to order a “soda” when I wanted an ice-cream soda (a kind of float, such as a root-beer float, but different). “Coke” was what people in the South or Southwest (i.e., Texas) used for any brand of pop. A girl once asked me to get her a Coke, then added, make sure it’s Dr. Pepper.
I just moved to Tennessee, after being brought up in Illinois. Imagine my surprize when I heard they used to call Coke DOPE!
“THEN”, AS IN “OK THEN” — ” ARE YOU GOING TO FARGO THEN?”
Near Bismarck they say “there then” (pronounded der den)at the end of a lot of phrases. “I gotta get out to the swatter der den”
All dem der Chermans (Germans) wearing ornch (orange) chackets (jackets). I can’t seem to get rid of the orange pronunciation after all these years away from ND! LOL