----------------------- Page 1----------------------- Entry: Jan 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- Woke at 7:30 at Ted and Lorraines. Packed our things after coffee and left to go home while Ted and Lorraine went to church. We stopped in McDonalds in Port Charlotte for breakfast before heading up Tamiami. Bought papers in both Port Charlotte and Sarasota but there were no real estate ads for the holiday weekend. We talked to my Mom for New Years. She told us how much she hates Florida. I started taking down the other two screens. Got them totally down then we went downtown to look at the sculptures and stop by Home Depot to get two more pieces of screen channel for the Lanai. I'll finish the job tomorrow. Entry: Jan 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- Finished the other 2 screens this morning. Bikini watching at the pool was great. A bevy of young fit mothers at the pool in their little bikinis. Worked on the QYXie stuff - the QYXie receives and responds but the hub is not receiving. Lib watched the Rose Bowl parade while I did screens and she did a quilt. The parade was in a pouring rain. In the PM we went to Lakewood Ranch to look at real estate - prices are way up for not much. Small homes are around $600k. On the way back we stopped at Carabbas and picked up a to go menu. Watched the sunset from our balcony - Lib fixed up wine and cheese. Around 7 we went over to the Italian Grill for a chicken Marsala take out. Entry: Jan 03, 2006 -------------------------------------- We left in the afternoon for Richmond Hill were we have a Hampton Inn reservation almost in Savannah. Saw the sunset from I-75 around Ocala. Entry: Jan 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- Left the Hampton at 8:30 after breakfast. Got gas there in Richmond Hill before heading North. Also got a McDonalds coffee since the Hampton coffee was terrible. Traffic was light. Stopped for a cinnamon roll snack before Florence. Stopped at the rest area in NC before resuming. Took 1010 home of 40 - we got behind a stinky slow moving truck that I ditched around hwy 401. Stopped at Krogers for lunch fixings before coming home. We got in around 2 PM. It was 61 today - not bad but not as nice as Florida. Dinner was bean salad. Entry: Jan 05, 2006 -------------------------------------- First day back. Finished downloading the new Offenbach DVD - Countess Gerolstein. Libbie and I did Krogers together. Dinner was baked potato stuffed with beans topped with salsa and sour cream. Entry: Jan 06, 2006 -------------------------------------- A Busy day - soldered connectors on QYXies and delivered them to Stu. Had to go back at 11 ----------------------- Page 2----------------------- because the hub was transmitting too frequently. Got a circle cut for the birdhouse snake guard. Also ordered W2's online. Dinner was Jennifers barbecue and lima beans and corn. Yogurt for desert. Entry: Jan 07, 2006 -------------------------------------- Changed the highest channel of the QYXie transmitter to get inside spec. Murf and Pat called - they were concerned we didn't test the latest even though they sent the two units to us. It's colder today - supposed to only go to 50 before getting warm again. Entry: Jan 11, 2006 -------------------------------------- Called Mom for her 85th birthday this morning. She seemed to be in good spirits. Entry: Jan 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- Bought a tek scope on Ebay. Hopefully this will help with some of the RF problems we've been having. Jayme and John came over this evneing and fine tuned their album selections. Entry: Jan 24, 2006 -------------------------------------- Murf called today saying he was switching over to the Maxstream Zigbee modules and will scrap the Atmel version. Finished Jayme's print order and sent it out to Zookbinder for an album. Entry: Jan 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- Received the Xbee modules this morning and hooked them up to a hub to start programming them. Jayme's prints came back - sent them off to Zookbinders to make an album. Entry: Jan 31, 2006 -------------------------------------- Ran to the grocery store this morning and then the credit union with bills check and dropped a squirrel off. Dinner was homemade crock pot chili. Libbie ahs a cold. We watched the Vienna Opera version of Trovatore on DVD instead of the State of the Union on TV. Entry: Feb 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- The QYXie RF is going along pretty good. Went outside at noon and moved a few wheelbarrows of logs. In the evening Lib and I watched the MEt version of Trovatore on DVD with Pavarotti and Zajick. Very nice. Dinner was crock pot chili with homemade corn bread. I had to run out before dinner to get eggs for the corn bread. The new Tek scope came today. Entry: Feb 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked some more on getting the IEEE address out of the Xbee chip. Used the new scope to look at timing from the timer. I'm not very familiar the scope operation. Dinner was crock pot chili and ----------------------- Page 3----------------------- cornbread before I had to leave at 6 for sculpting. I'm happy with how the sculpture is coming along. It neds some good feet, hands and head. Got how around 10 and worked a litle more - Linb showed me the female wrestler Stacy's dance on "Dancing with the Stars" before bed. Entry: Feb 03, 2006 -------------------------------------- Today the boards are at Pats. I built some code for the testing. Late in the day Murf and Mark went to Pats. Got a call at around 6 that the LCD display was not working. Later they were able to connect. Built some code for them and stayed around. We skipped first Friday to support this efffort (not sure if this was appreciated enough by QYX). Dinner was the leftover Chili. Entry: Feb 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- The new boards came overnight from Pats. Could not get the hub running. Tried changing the crystal and caps next to it. Mark is sending me his board. For dinner we did a takeout from Carabbas grill which we had with Pinot Noir. The Ricky Nelson DVD arrived - we watched it after dinner. Entry: Feb 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning I worked on the W2, and W3 for bluebird. Also researched some restaurants for Miami. Entry: Mar 09, 2006 -------------------------------------- Our first full day back from vacation. For dinner tonight we got a whole chicken rotissirie from Krogers. Entry: Mar 16, 2006 -------------------------------------- MArk called this afternoon - we chatted about Multi QYXie logins. I finished raking the old pile by the back birdhouse and wheelbarrowing it away. This afternoon Lib put the shades on the greenhosue with Janets son. Watched two more episodes of the Growing Pains DCD this evening. Amazing - it was only back in 1985. Dinner was Libbie sloppy Joe with carrots. Yogurt for desert. I burned a few DVD's on the Gateway today - pretty nice using Nero. Entry: Mar 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Took a trip to Tiger Direct to look at PC's. Doing some research on the various flavors of PEntium chips. The aDobe Encore 2 upgrade needs an SSE2 instruction set which is what the Pentium 4 has. I want a P4 with 2 meg of cache. I dug a dutch in the back to divert the water from flowing around the birdhouse and mnaking a muddy mess gooin g to the board over the creek. Entry: Mar 18, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked outside on the log pile in the orning then listened to the opera in the afternoon while working on the PC CRC program. ----------------------- Page 4----------------------- Entry: Mar 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- Joe usccessfully defended his thesis today and is now done with his Masters degree requirements. He celebrated with an ice cream fruit bowl. Libbie baked a lemon meringue pie which we had to celebrate. Dinner was chicken, lima beans and baked potato with lemon pie for desert. Picked up my pix at Walmart - Libbie's anniversary picture. Met Joel in Walmart. He was buying coffee. I picked up a planter and went home and planted the daisies for the back porch. Entry: Mar 24, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked QYXie stuff most of the day. Entry: Mar 25, 2006 -------------------------------------- Our anniversary - spent a lot of the day working on QYXie problems. Booked my tickets for Sarasota this week. I'm going to look at Real Estate down there. Got a Southwest roundtrip for $253 plus I have a score cord voucher for a free rental car. For our anniversary tonight we went to Lucky32. It was Pacific Northwest night - I had Oakpoint chicken whcih is chicken with bacon and cheese and rice with green beans. We had a bottle of Pinot noir with dinner and got totally drunk. Entry: Mar 26, 2006 -------------------------------------- After reading the paper I started cropping and reducing the pictures for the BB web that we took on Christmas day. Also took another look at Real Estate on the web. Lib and I went to Target for a shelf for her electric toothbrush. She is going to finish the job of entering the data for Great Violet pictures while I work on AVSA stuff. Entry: Apr 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- Woke early and left home at 5:30 for Joe and Christa's 6:40 flight back to LA. We're going to get a pretty big storm today. While tracking their flight we had a lightning hit that took out the cable modem, the ehternet on my laptop and the power supply on my laptop. We drove to Southpoint Mall in Durham and exchanged out modem for another so we could get back on the air. Entry: Apr 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- This afternoon we went to a performance of Filthy Rich. We were both pretty tired after getting up early yesterday. The play was about two sisters hiring a detective t look for themissing mayoral candidate. It was a very complicated plot lien wiuth lots of words - very hard toconecntrate. We enjoyed it anyway. Entry: Apr 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to he greenhouse in the morning because Lib said the phone and monitor were out. It turned out to be a tripped breaker probably from the storm the evening before. Dinner was chicken pieces ----------------------- Page 5----------------------- on a bun. We were out of mayo. Entry: Apr 28, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to the Credit Union to deposit my $100 check from Gateway rebate. Stopped at Target for bagels and a door mat. In the morning I worked on the LCD problem for Murf and also researched 1031X some more as well as alternate web sites. I called Gwen at 1031x to get that process started. Also talked to David Bone in sarasota to see if I could get one stop shopping but no deal. Also talked to Coleman about his Qualified Intemediary. He uses a lady in Chapel Hill that charges $60. This afternoon we made a run to Home Depot because Lib needed tape. I picked up two 10 foot water pipes to start working on an auto flush for the fish pond. This evening we had pork chops for dinner with chardonnay, sweet potato and lima beans. Entry: Apr 29, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning I went to Lowes and picked up another fountian pump to flush the fish pond daily. Also got some electrical stuff to create an extension cord and a perenniel (Scabiosa) for the front garden. At home I studied the Atmega88 spec to learn about how to replace the Maxstream. Entry: Apr 30, 2006 -------------------------------------- Lib made a whole wheat pizza tonight for dinner. It was very different but good. My new Gateway would not start this morning - went to Tiger Direct and picked up a new power supply and SATA hard disk card to possibly offload my hard drive. It turned out to be bad power switch. Entry: May 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- Talked to Murf today about his plans for the QYXie. He's looking to use somebody other than Pat for the pcb. Dinner was chicken tenders on buns. Entry: May 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- Did a Krogers run then looked at Clearwater real estate on zip realty. Bought new gas and a filter for the old mower but the cord broke when I pulled it. Need a new cord. Dinner was turkey burgers with Vidallia onion. Ymmm. Entry: May 03, 2006 -------------------------------------- Replaced the string on the old mower and it started OK! Yeah. I mowed the back with this. Entry: May 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- Looked at model poses and researched real estate most of today. Dinner was turkey burgers. We went over to Logans in the afternoon to get packing peanuts and to go out to lunch. ----------------------- Page 6----------------------- Entry: May 05, 2006 -------------------------------------- I studied model poses this morning - Lib left for work and Duke gardens for her violet show sale today. Went over to Target for bagels and to deliver another squirrel we trapped. This is first friday but it's supposed to rain tonight. Entry: May 11, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up at 5 and left at 6 AM for our 7:25 flight. The flight was a little rough because of a low over the SouthEast but it was not terrible. Arrived on time - Lib got the luggage while I went tot he HErtz counter. Our first car was a smokey Solara which we turned back in and waited 15 minutes for a Corolla to be delivered from the dispatch. This was a much better car. Went touring around Clearwater - met up with a Realtor at Feather Cove and toured the building. I was very positive but Lib was negative about the place. Prices and view were excellent. It had good rental potential because of the golf course. We also went to a few other developments but didn't like them. Toured the beaches in the afternoon on our own after stpoping for a McDonalds salad. For dinner we went over to Turtles. It wasn't very good - poor service, mediocre food. Entry: May 12, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning we met with Karen at 9 and went over to Ashton Lake. Lib found a place she liked - baby owls had fallen out of a palm tree on the lake. Later we had lunch at Ryans near the mall then toured some condos in Palmer Ranch at StoneyBrook. Went back to Island Reef late in the day. I'm going to meet with Murf in the morning at QYX.. We had dinner at Panera. Very nice. I had onion soup and a half sandwich. Entry: May 13, 2006 -------------------------------------- Libbie made arrangements to meet with Karen while I went to St Pete. Stayed there until 1 PM then got back at 2:30. Lib found a place she really liked at Stoneybrook. We went back there in the evening to see the sunset - saw an alligator. For dinner we went to Ryans - I had the ribs. It was pretty good. Entry: May 14, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning we met up with Karen later in the morning and went over to Stoneybrook to show me the condo. We decided to buy it that evening. Will work out the details at closing tomorrow with Karen. Today is Mothers Day - called my Mom and Libbie called her parents from Island Reef. It was a gorgeous day. For dinner Libbie grilled some chicken kabons which we had with Pinot Noir. Sent Karen an eMail with details of our offer. Entry: May 15, 2006 -------------------------------------- Left Island Reef a little after 11 this morning - got to Main St a little late - we were supposed to be there at 11:30 but arrived at 11:45. All went well, while there we did the paperwork with Karen for the offer on 2206 Clubside. Checked into the Holiday Inn after spending some time at Bayfront Park sitting on the bench and watching the bay. For dinner tonight we went over to Panera Bread. ----------------------- Page 7----------------------- Entry: May 16, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning it rained. We went over to Stoneybrook and met with Terri, the management secretary. Went next door to talk to Pat Ford about rentals and while here we heard from Karen that the offer was accepted. Karen met us at Clubside for another walkthrough then she took us out to lunch to Captain Curts. I had the crab sandwich. Very good!!! In the PM we stopped by QYX where I changed into long pants then went over to the St Pete art museum to see the Archipenko sculpture exhibit. There were many nice pieces of his sculpture and lithographs on the walls. Our plane was scheduled to leave Tampa at 8 but we were a little late cause the back toilet wouldn't flush. They left anyway with it broken. Couldn't remember what floor our car was on in the parking garage in Raleigh - 2 or 3. We were lucky we put it in the garage since there was a big hailstorm on sunday. Picked up groceries in Krogers on our way in. Got home around 11. The squirrel trap seems to be missing. Entry: May 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Found the squirrel trap in the azaleas. Set it back up and caught a squirrel. Today was catch up day. Entry: May 20, 2006 -------------------------------------- Cleaned the garage up this morning for Briana who was coming at 1. She got here late at 2 - I had a nice time photographing her in varous outfits including an unbuttoned blouse on our deck. Lib went to Target and got some ribs which we had with Sweet Potato and Ravenwood Zinfindel. Entry: May 21, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked on organizing pictures this monring - I had fallen way behind. At noon we went to Artsplosure and walked aorund Moore Square. Almost bought a print of a painting of a Paris Cafe from Gail somebody? We liked the scene but decided it would be an impulse. Stopped by the Farmers Market on the way home. Lib made traditional pizza with wheat flour then we had strawberries and bananas over sherbet. Very nice. Entry: May 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning I sold APU and AES and requested a check for 28,800 from Scottrade. This will be for closing. I also filled out hte forms and mailed them to liquidate the Duke account. This will be another 10k towards closing. Entry: May 26, 2006 -------------------------------------- Started the new intros presentation today. Also did an abbreviated Lake walk - it was threatening rain so I only went down the apt side of the lake - 3 miles approx. Dinner was pasta. Entry: May 27, 2006 ----------------------- Page 8----------------------- -------------------------------------- Worked on New Intros most of the day. In the PM Lib and I listened to the Met tribute to Jos Volpe. Went for a 4 mile walk at 3 PM - Lib joined me at Krogers. I did the whole 4 miles. Came back and finished up the new intros presentation. Dinner was pork chops, sweet potato and Pinot Noir. Entry: May 28, 2006 -------------------------------------- Organized some computer files this morning then started thinking about the Who Let the Dogs out Presentation for AVSA. Entry: May 30, 2006 -------------------------------------- We got up at 5 AM and were out the door by 6. We watched the sunrise over Jordan Lake as we left town. Had a little rain in Illiniois - the sky was pretty threatening. The sprinkles continued into Janesville. Approaching the WI border in the rain we could see the sun setting. Very bizarre. We had lunch and dinner in the car thanks to sandwiches that Lib made so we made good time. Entry: May 31, 2006 -------------------------------------- After a Hampton breakfast we headed North to Minneapolis. George called on the cell just as we hit the highway. Had a beautiful drive through Northern Wisconsin into Minnesota. Arrived around noon. Met Paul, Marie and George and headed next door with them to DQ for lunch. After our check in and unloading of everything I had to photograph Georges new intros then re-created the script which I had left home. The new intro program went smoothly after some initial fiddling with the projector then we went next door to DQ and had a sandwich. Went to bed very tired. Entry: Jun 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning we had breakfast at DQ - I had the hotcakes and sausage. Got everything ready for "Who Let the Dogs Out" which I gave at 10:00. Libbie introduced me and the talk went very well. For lunch I had a sandwich from the grocery store where I picked up some candy for the photography session. We started very early - around 1:30 instead of 3 so we finished up early before the evening banquet. All went very well. That evening Lib and I went to the Mall of America where we walked a few levels then had dinner at Famous Daves. We each had the 4 rib platter. Entry: Jun 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- Commercial dinner tonight at the hotel - expensive chicken. I only ate half. $34 each. uggh. In the morning I got involved with barb PErshing - she was to meet me at hospitality at 11 - she never showed. I waited until 11:20. Had to leave an Optimara presentation early to make it there by 11. What an asshole. Entry: Jun 03, 2006 ----------------------- Page 9----------------------- -------------------------------------- This morning while Libbie ran the booth, I loaded the suitcases into the car and checked out of the hotel. We skipped lunch and loaded the plants into the car after the show then headed south. From Osseo, WI I called the Hampton in Janesville and got a reservation for that night. Had a Walleye filet at the crackerbarrel in Janesville then checked into our room. The hotel was full - good thing we had a reservation. Entry: Jun 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- I was too tired to get up in Janesville but Libbie jumped out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed. We had breakfast then headed for Brodhead around 8 AM. Walked downtown, tokk photos of the train station, her grandfathers house and the park next to the train station. We next headed to the Stauffacher farm in Monroe where we called Don and Betty then Margaret. Picked up Margaret at the apartments near the hospital and went to Brodhead. Had a nice chat then went to lunch at the country club. Afterwards, Don drove us around to the cemetery and the farms. Left Wisconsin around 4 to our hotel reservation in Indianapolis. HAd dinner at Wendys after a bad experience at the Subway. Entry: Jun 05, 2006 -------------------------------------- We got up early, had breakfast at the Hampton in Indianapolis then hit the road by 8 AM. Had a little rush hour traffic in Louisville but nothing major. Got gas and food at a Krogers just outside of Huntington WVA. Lib got triskets to go with our wisconsin cheese. Stopped at the Tamarack in WVA, a West Virginia art center featuring crafts and arts from W VA artists. Libbie took over driving at the NC visitors center - hit a few rain sprinkles while I dozed for an hour or so. We got in around 7 PM. Not a bad trip. Murf called as we got in. Entry: Jun 06, 2006 -------------------------------------- Spoke with Murf today about progress of everything. Worked with Pat on the schematic. Entry: Jun 14, 2006 -------------------------------------- TS Alberto rained down on us this mroning. We had a constant downpour for 5 hours resulting in 7 1/2 inches in Raleigh. The backyard creek was over 100 feet wide and running with white water rapids. This is the worst it has evr been. The sun tried breaking this afternoon a few times. I did not walk. Lib and I went to Lowes for a drill then Target for a gift card and Petsmart for goldfish for the outside pond. Also tried a 7 day feeder for the indoor pond. Entry: Jun 15, 2006 -------------------------------------- The sun is finally back pout today after the tropical storm. I walked the 4 mile loop around the lake again. Entry: Jun 16, 2006 -------------------------------------- ----------------------- Page 10----------------------- Had a teleconference today with Susan - a girl Murf hired to help with firmware. I think it's a waste of money. They promised to wire my 27k to the attorney escrow account this afternoon. This will help with finances. Dinner was pasta and sockarooni sauce. Very nice. Entry: Jun 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Mowed the lawn in the woods in the morning then went for a 4mile walk at 2 but had lots of troble. Lib was dropping off a swuirrel and walked the lake portion with me. A oung lady in a bikini was biking down the apartment path as we were leaving the lake. I could hardly make it - Lib gave me a ride home. Should not have mowed then had cottage cheese for lunch then walked the lake. We left at 5 for local performances at ADF in Baldwin. It was a very enjoyable free program. Stopped in Paneras afterwards for French Onion soup and a hald Tuscan Chicken sandwich. Very good. Finished the sherbet for desert with blueberries. The dances: Assembling the Remains by ShaLeigh Dance Works devoted to domestic violence victims. 3 Dancers in black tights and white tee shirts performed with 3 metal chairs. Its been one Week - Caroline Calouche. She and a male dancer perform being together - driving, arguing, loving.. Clips form Amerian Idol, some songs and various sounds are used for the music. Beauty 3 - K Rain Leander. A woman slowly walks the length of the main aisle, crawls on stage and disappears under the backdrop while portraying a series of writhing twisitng slow movements. Return - Even Exchange, a large group of woman of all ages dance together in a nicely choreographed, nicely costumed piece. Afterwards we stayed for the interesting discussion of the dance. A worthwhile performance. Entry: Jun 18, 2006 -------------------------------------- Read the Sunday paper as usual then put a little time into QYX SPI driver. Walked the hill and took an update of pictures of the construction. With Lib's help I scanned the pix for Joe's birthday party. She selected, I scanned then uploaded the whole thing to Walmart for printing. Had some upload trouble which delayed my walk till 1 - not enough time for a full 4miles. Walked only the lake instead then cleaned up for Candide. Walked and smelled the roses for 15 minutes or so before going into the theater. There was an orange bikini laying on the amphitheater stage getting a suntan. The performance was ver very good but long. 2 hours without an intermission - we had a giggler and a chair kicker behind us. Picked up the pix on the way home. Entry: Jun 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- Converence this afternoon with ember. The 260 kit arrived. I was not having any luck with the 250 kit so I spent the evening wiring up the 260 to a hub. Dinner was chicken on Jambalaya mix. Entry: Jun 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- Played with the Panasonic cam today - still couldn't get it to do wireless. Ember supplied an FTP address and new docs for the 260. Still can't talk to the thing. Did the 4 miles in the heat - Lib met me on the last mile and said her window wouldn't go up. Jiggled it when I got home and got it working. It rained very heavily from a thunderstorm. Dinner was a tuna sandwich. We went in rain and lightning to Pilobolus tonight. Very enjoyable. First piece was Prism in bright zebra striped colors it seemed like ----------------------- Page 11----------------------- a dreamy underwater sequence to me. Next was Solo from Empty suitor which is the vaudeville piece on rolling pins and a hat and bench. Well done but not my cup of tea. Next was Gnomen in which the men wearing black shorts show their physicality doing seemingly impossible lifts of each other. Shizen was a 1978 number in which Renee and one of the men attempt a series of couplings nude. It was very erotic and sensual. The male dancer gets to know Renee very well Whiile wrapped around him she stands on his thighs while he's standing I noticed his hands are on her pelvis to hold her up. Renee is the blond dance captain with tiny but nice breasts. The final piece was Day Two which is one of my favorite. The entire company dances nude except for flesh colored thongs. They become microbes and crabs, protocroms and lots of other lifeforms with many arms and legs. The second female, Jenny, has tiny breasts and a very tiny but athletic body. We stayed for the discussion afterwards then drove home in the rain. Stopped at Goodberrys for desert. Entry: Jun 24, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to ADF this evening - Acts to Follow. Enjoyed it very much. It was off the wall involving mustard dancing and fighting over a piece of cake. The audience was served cake. Afterwards we had dinner at Panera. I had a veggie sandwich and Boston Clam Chowder. Entry: Jun 25, 2006 -------------------------------------- Read the paper, worked on the QYXie stuff then tried to take a walk. Got soaking wet - Lib picked me up at the pool at the apartments. We had record rainfall all day. Dinner was another great Libbie pizza. I spent the rainy afternoon catching up on the web archive of programs and journals. Entry: Jun 26, 2006 -------------------------------------- Didn't do much ember stuff today. Went to Best Buy in garner and got a camera for the web at Stoneybrook. Went to the Credit Union and had a wire transfer done - it cost $10 but worth it since the money got there right away. The 1031 money also got there. Dinner was Pasta. Entry: Jun 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- Spoke with Murf at 8 this morning. He doesn't want to get Mark involved with CVS. Spoke with Pat at noon - I'll send him an RCM module, he'll add it to a PCB with the other components and we'll have a hacked together system. Started packing today - we leave in the morning. Bought socks in Target - it's another rainy day. Dinner was French Market Zatarains mix. Entry: Jun 28, 2006 -------------------------------------- We left promptly at 7:09. We saw a lot of traffic in Apex on 1010 because Holly Springs Road was closed due to a sewer line break from the storm. Weather was excellent - we had our first stop in Florence SC where we got 2 bacon egg and cheese biscuits to go plus we got gas at the Hess. I still had coffee in my thermos so didn't purchase any. Our bnext stop was at a 2.68 per gallon gas station 18 miles before the border of Florida. Karen ----------------------- Page 12----------------------- Swanson called and asked if we wanted to do a walkthrough which we agreed to tomorrow morning at 8:15 AM. Didn't do a restroom there because we wanted to stop at the Fl visitors center for Oj and bathroom which we did. I continued driving - we had tuna sandwiches in the car which Lib prepared yesterday and froze. We had some light rain on I-10 in Jax and also down 301 at times. The lawyers office called around Ocala saying they got our condo association approval. Pat also called saying the card won't be ready for pickup. That was good since it allowed us to keep driving past Brooksville. Made it to the Holiday Inn on Tamiami and Clark around 6:15 which was good timing. Took a walk on Stickney Point Rd over the bridge to Capt Curts for dinner. We each had the crab cake dinner - I had a red crab beer which is a dark beer like Killians. Walked back to the Holiday Inn where we had chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Entry: Jun 29, 2006 -------------------------------------- After a Holiday Inn breakfast we went to Stoneybrook for the walkthrough. Karen was arriving as we arrived - the condo looked in the same condition as we saw it last month except the gin in the pantry was gone. Got to the lawyers office at 9 for the 9:30 closing. We started early and started signing papers. Karen arrived around 9:30 - we chatted a little then parted and headed down Tamiami to the condo. Stopped at the Stoneybrook office to get gate passes and sign up for everything - ID cards, rules, etc. Got to the condo around 10:30 and started going through things. Had a 1.5 mile walk around after which Lib swam. Walked to dinner - it was rib night. We didn't have reservations - Rebecca set up a table for us. We were also pretty late at 8 PM when they close. Had Pinot Noir with dinner which was very nice. Late in the day the Comcast guy came and hooked up everything. I got the router hooked to it when he left and got onto the Internet. I also participated in the ember status call at 3 PM but had to use the cell phone since the real phone was not hooked up yet. Entry: Jun 30, 2006 -------------------------------------- Tried breakfast in the condo - did not like the toaster for my bagels. Lib said we need a toaster oven - I agreed. We need to replace the TV. Also, moved the metal bread rack out of the living room and put it into the hallway to see if we could do without it. I tried removing the kitchen cabinet with no success. Replaced both toilet handles - they were rusted and the master bath one was broken. I installed a clock on the refrigerator and also a thermometer outside on the lanai. Walked the 1.5 miles again and did the old routine of Libbie swimming while I read in the lounge chair at the pool. Picked up a dress shirt in Sears for Saturday night dinner at the country club. ----------------------- Page 13----------------------- Entry: Jul 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- We found the Super Walmart in Ospry and picked up a VCR/DVD player and toaster oven. Tried an opera DVD but it was terrible - the sound was distorted. While away, the package from Pat arrived UPS overnight. Couldn't program the JTAG because the fuse was not Went to dinner this evening at Stoneybrook. I had the meatloaf in pastry. Our wine was a Mondavi Chardonnay. We had a 7 PM reservation - our table was waiting. Talked Entry: Jul 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- Had to drive to Publix to get a newspaper. CVS wasn't open yet, Publix opened at 7. Need a better place to get a Sunday paper. Lib and I went to Selby then stopped at Ace on the way home for a doorstop on the Lanai. The door swings open and put a hole in the screen. Entry: Jul 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- We were able to see the fireworks on the beaches from our Lanai. Fireworks were in Sarasota, Siesta Key and Venice. Entry: Jul 06, 2006 -------------------------------------- We had dinner reservations for 7 tonight. Lib ordered the Prime Rib and I had the ribs. We had Pinot Noir with dinner. Didn't walk over this time because of the threat of rain. Entry: Jul 07, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up early and left for the airport at 6:45. Stopped at McDonalds on Clark for a bacon egg and cheese biscuit and coffee. We got to the airport in about 45 minutes - no traffic and it's easier getting around when we live so close to I-75. We clocked it from Stoneybrook to Clark - it's 4 miles up Honore. Lib called when she got in early at LAX at 3:25. Her flight left Tampa at 9:50. I parked at the terminal and walked her to the shuttle. First hour of parking is free. Hit some rain on the way back. The new wipers work great. I worked on QYXie sotware his afternoon. Watched the Patrick Swazie dance movie in the evenig ----------------------- Page 14----------------------- but fell asleep part way through it. Went back and watched the part I slept through. Entry: Jul 08, 2006 -------------------------------------- Looked at the Soundbridge at BestBuy but it was $199. Looked online for better deals. While online bought a copy of Audubons Florida guide. Saw it in Barnes and Noble for $20. It was half that used from Amazon. It rained in the morning today but cleared a little by noon so I was able to get out for a walk. Also went to Lowes in Bradenon to look at unpainted desks. They didn't have any. The store is crappy in general. It was brand new a few years ago but has gone downhill. Lowes has gotten rid of all their unpainted furniture. Worked on QYXie in the evening. Around 10 Lib called from Joes party. Spoke with Joe and congratulated him as well as wished him Happy Birthday. Entry: Jul 09, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up early and had breakfast then went to Publix and picked up a newspaper and some donuts. Found that the Roku Soundbridge is on sale at Best Buy. They open at 11. Picked one up as well as a Sharp stereo system that has aux inputs. Got it hooked up and working almost right away at home. Talked to joe and Lib - joe was making Blueberry pancakes for breakfast. The party last night went till 10. Joe came home with Lib but his friend Pat went out dancing with 5 of Christa's friends. Entry: Jul 10, 2006 -------------------------------------- Murf called this morning on his way to Fort Meyers. He wanted to know how it was going. Put a significant number of cutouts in the ceiling. Now I know how the pipes are laid. Will tie the new kitchen plastic plumbing into the copper in the ceiling over the linen closet. Entry: Jul 11, 2006 -------------------------------------- Pulled some more wire then went for a walk. Talked to Elizabeth when I returned. She had success with the code I sent her yesterday. Went to Blockbuster, Publix and Ace Hardware. When I got back it was raining ----------------------- Page 15----------------------- and I couldn't get in - lost the front door key. Retraced my steps and someone found it in Blockbuster. Lucky. Got the wiring done for the cable modem and router then tried it out - everything works!!!! This is at least one task complete in the house. Next I tried hooking up the speakers to the stereo and hanging them on the wall. No luck - the exterior wall has blocks behind it. Need shorter mollies. Watched Hollow Man 2 - not a very good movie. Entry: Jul 15, 2006 -------------------------------------- Finished up at Stoneybrook in the monring. Checked on hotels up in SC, put the plate on the bottom of the dishwasher, put the hall light back together and did dishes and the sheets. Left at noon. Got gas for 2.95 in Palmer Ranch Market thenheaded out of town. Took I-4 to be different. Traffic was heavier than I would expect, especially around Orlando. As I approached JAX, the skies were threatening rain but didn't rain. In Georgia the temps were over 100, a max of 104. Got off for gas at exit 29 because traffic was stopped for a firetruck on the overpass. This was a good gas stop - 2.82. Clear sailing up I-95 - had a little light rain around Florence then again in NC. Stopped to top off the gas tank South of Benson under flashing skies but no rain. Got home at 10:45 and ate a bagel with orange marmalade. Entry: Jul 16, 2006 -------------------------------------- Was a little groggy today - finally snapped out of it by evening. Libbie made her good pizza. Worked on pictures for her and also started the flush album for Matt and Sarah. Entry: Jul 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Libbie wanted me to sort the Stoneybrook pix today - I wanted to order pix for Stephanie and also work on Sarahs book. Entry: Jul 18, 2006 -------------------------------------- Today was a day of catch up. Did a minimalist grocery run. Lib cooked sirloin burgers with vidalia and tomato for dinner. We had a side of eggplant which was delicious. Entry: Jul 19, 2006 -------------------------------------- Took Lib to the airport this morning. It rained in the PM then I went to the ICCP program at ADF in Reynolds. It wasn't as good this year. First piece was "12" in which 10 dancers danced with potted plants which they shredded in the end. The second piece was Butoh dancing where the dancers are in white paint from head to toe. The choreographer was nude with a boot hanging over his thong covered penis carrying a torn umbrella in his teeth. 4 male dancers arrive down the aisle wearing only ----------------------- Page 16----------------------- things and white paint. They had an incredible ability to shake every inch of their bodies. The last peice was the most weird - Tatania Bagdonova, the Russian choreograoher, had dancers use a red wall to dance off. It was incredibly effective. I don't understand the dancers getting a shower of sifted flour and large weather balloons used to blow the dust out of their hair into the air. Very weird indeed. The Taurus on the way home has a bad vibration and pulls hard to the right. In addition to alignment problems, I think it has a CV joint problem and of course out of balance tires. Entry: Jul 20, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to Leith today with the Taurus and bought a Corolla. They matched the Carmax price but I probably got taken on the Taurus Trade-in. I, however was glad to dispose of it. It had half a tank of gas and a brand new registration. Not good. Drove the Corolla to ADF tonight but found out the perfomrance was tomorrow night. Not very smart. Entry: Jul 21, 2006 -------------------------------------- Spoke with Lib this morning and wished her a happy birthday. Finished putting together Stephanies album - one pic was missing so I tried printing it at Walmart. The first time they had no record of it - went home and resubmitted. Had to drop off the check to Leith this morning for the downpayment and also sent the title to Lib priority mail from Leith. Had a hamburger with Vidalia Onion and tomato for lunch. Went to the ADF MFA rpogram at Reynolds. Got on street parking OK. The first piece was titled Speaking Body. A Chinese girl wiggled her fingers while the camera picked up her motions and played them on a scren behind her. This was pretty poor - I could choreograph and present this in 15 minutes. Supposedly these are thesis projects that took one year to construct. :In the Folds" involved a large group of dancers doing spasmotic movements. One dancer falls and lies prone while the others gather round and "resusicate" her. There again and then had two dancers in Risky Business outfits. white button down shirt over a dance costume. It started with a well made up woman in business skirt and top reciting poetry and doing poses. Then she gets rid of the business suit and puts on a white shirt to match the other girl. They do dance together from rock to modern. "Fraud is the New Black" started with a war protest poster then was a hip hop piece. Both girls wore red nighties as short dresses to dance. I liked it. Invisible Threads was a large group well choreographed that did actuall dance and wore colorful costumes. The group dances ensemble then in twos, threes and fours. This was good dancing. The final piece was "Gotta Go", a well done number danced in hospital gowns. The girls started carrying butterflies and daisies, enjoying life. They next sat in chairs feigning to smoke and cough. In the end they die - I liked the crawling and shaking worrying about going to the grave. The choreographer wore a long mans coat and cane and challenged the audience if they knew when their time was up. For the ending she put down the flowers, the cane and removed the coat wearing nothing at all and layed down curled up on the stage floor. Entry: Aug 09, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got a panic call from Murf this morning about needing this to work. I'm working my tail off to get this going. Still no login. Everything is very slow using broadcast mode to a router. Around 6 PM I got it ----------------------- Page 17----------------------- working and send an eMail to Murf. He called shortly later and said he's going to Pat's. HEard from Pat then later Murf at 10 PM as they tried programming the hardware. Finally at 11 PM all was well and he was taking the stuff to Mark for getting Magic ready. Entry: Aug 12, 2006 -------------------------------------- An easy day. The FedEx hub and qyxie came from Murf. He called when I was out walking. Lib talked to him. Took a walk, went to Home Depot for Orthene and to look at aluminum foil for the crawl space. Made a dinner reservation for Lucky 32 to celebrate Libs birthday belatedly. Had a bottle of Chardonnay with blackened red snapper. It was a slow leisureley meal since they were understaffed and had trouble handling the crowd. Came home and had chocolate yogurt ice cream for desert. Entry: Aug 13, 2006 -------------------------------------- Read the paper this morning. t's slightly chilly outside - around 70 this morning. Brrrr. Got a note from Murf about doing an important demo in West Palm Aug 26. Entry: Aug 21, 2006 -------------------------------------- I have realized how spotty my writing has become. Wow. Need to get back into the groove. Late tonight, around 9:30 PM, I got the basic functionality working on the QYX system. Entry: Aug 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- This monring Comcast called. Was glad to get my billing straightened out. Cut some branches in the front yard off the holly tree overhanging the driveway then went out for a grocery run. Instead of walking today I mowed the lawn by the road. Janet stopped by with veggies today and mentioned about the barnstormer photo. They want pix. Entry: Aug 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- Did the papers this morning then tried to do the TinyTrack tracker. No luck - RF is getting into the unit. Dinner was traditional pizza. Skipped the walk today - too much to do. Libbie changed the fish water this afternoon. I used the water to do some of the plants which look pretty bad they're so dry. Entry: Aug 28, 2006 -------------------------------------- Did a 4 mile walk today in the warm air. It's really dry today. Murf called wanting a better cycle time on packets for testing. He also called at 9 AM when he first got to Timco. This afternoon we went to the Farmrs Market and got a watermelon as well as peaches. The Kudzu is blooming over at the lake ----------------------- Page 18----------------------- - it smells heavenly. Also met Agnieska at the lake - whe ws pushing a baby stroller - not her baby. Entry: Aug 29, 2006 -------------------------------------- Wrote the November update for the AVM magazine but Ruth is badgering me about putting together a new intro slide show. Murf called late today, confused as usual. He didn't know he had the code for shorter packet cycle time with longer packets. Went to Target for Bagels then did the Krogers run. Dinner tonight was Pasta. I did the 4 mile walk today on the hottest day of the year - 99 today. The hurricane is between Cuba and Florida today. should be here Friday with lots of rain which we need badly. Entry: Aug 31, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to Lowes this morning to look at flooring and purchase ceiling paint. Later in the day went to both Home Depot and Lowes with Libbie to look at flooring. Tore all the shelves out of the walk in closet - we're going to replace them with California shelving. Dinner was Carolina barbecue - shredded pork in a vinegar base sauce. After dinner we both went upstairs to work. Libbie scrubbed the mouldings and I spackled the closet holes where the shelves used to be. Entry: Sep 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Drove to Publix early and picked up the Sunday paper while my coffee was brewing. In the PM I went to an open house in Stoneybrook. Entry: Sep 18, 2006 -------------------------------------- Pat called - he got a letter saying that QYX is going to file chapter 7 bankruptcy. This is not good. Got the bathroom sink and toilet running today. Spent a long time trying to get the shower control working properly. Went to home depot for wiring supplies. Put an outlet in the heater room so I can power up an outdoor web cam. Also put some mounts above the slider for the web cam. Entry: Sep 19, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up today and had my bagel while researching http web servers. Almost ordered a TCP/IP lean book but in an effort to be frugal, canceled the order at the last minute. Plumbed the toilet and the bathroom sink. Also took a shower for the frist time using the new shower control. It neds work - the shower head leaks ----------------------- Page 19----------------------- and the water is swapped. The golf course is closed today. Entry: Sep 20, 2006 -------------------------------------- Spent the whole day on one plumbing fixture - the bathroom tub control. Took 3 trips to Ace and 2 to Home Depot. Returned the leftover plumbing parts to Home Depot for credit. Also instalkled the outdoor webcam over the bedroom slider. Vacuumed up the sheetrock sawings and got everything ready to leave early tomorrow morning. For dinner I had some frozen blackedned salmon from Groton with some mixed veggies and hot sauce. Entry: Sep 21, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up this morning at 5:30 - cleaned the floors, vacuumed and did the sheets and dishes. Had the remaining bagel, filled my thermos with coffee and left Stoneybrook at 7:20. Took -4 through Orlando - traffic was very heavy through the construction of I-4 widening. There was an accident North of Orlando on I-95. Traffic was stopped for about 20 minutes. The rest of the way was uneventful. Got gas in Richmond Hill for 2.29. Saw it for 2.19 in south Carolina shortly after htat. I had apples, pears, bananas and sesame sticks in the car for munchies along the way. Also had a bottle of water for after the thermos but I didn't drink too much of it. Listened to 8 chapters of Kafka on the Shore before the MP3 player quit. Found out later it was low batteries. I thought they were being charged, but apparently not.Spoke with Libbie around Fayetteville. Arrived home at 6:15. Libbie made chicken on buns for dinner. Very good. Entry: Sep 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- Tore up the floor upstairs and decided not to do the rest of the upstairs - too much work. Removed the family room carpet and ripped up 4 sheets of particle board. Two of them were severely warped from water spills on the carpet. Went to Home Depot then Lowes to measure plywood. Bought one piece at Lowes to try. If it is OK, we'll buy the rest. Also picked up some new grills for the fireplace. The old ones were all rusty. the 2 inch grills we boiught are longer so they will cover the openings a little better. The others barely fit. Entry: Sep 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went first thing to Lowes and bought 4 more sheets of plywood. Cut them all and got them down in the playroom. Did not get the piece down upstairs. It was a very tiring day - we could hardly move. Dinner was takeout from Carrabas Grill. Very tasty and complete dinner with mushrooms, chicken, salad, bread, veggies and olive oil. ----------------------- Page 20----------------------- Entry: Sep 25, 2006 -------------------------------------- I packaged up the Atkins album and then went over to the shipping store and sent it via UPS to Birmingham. When I got back Libbie was here and the carpet installers were also here. I parked in the woods and went inside. Four Hispanics worked pretty quickly at moving furniture, tearing out old carpet and installing pad and carpeting. They finished up around 3 PM. Lib and I sat in the kitchen a little and watched. For dinner we had pork chops and broccolli. She had to go to a Curves class in the evening. Entry: Sep 26, 2006 -------------------------------------- The new carpet is nice. Communicated with Mark Polholmus about the zipit. He wants me to modify two of them - he will let me keep one to play with. I researched chips online - the Max233 chips cost $10 each at Digikey. He said he will order some and send the zipits to me for delivery after next Tuesday. We're going to NJ and RI this weekend - a hateful trip. I would rather go to Florida. All afternoon and all evening we kept getting a crank call from a drunk - I finally ran 4 traces using *57 and also got the number using *69. When he called I told him his name and address and told him I was coming over. That ended the crank calls. For dinner we had wheat pasta whcih I picked up in krogers earlier in the day. The router at Stoneybrook has apparently crashed. Entry: Sep 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- I researched Linksys routers online this morning. Crashing seems to be common across several brands. I'm going to build a router reset into my web server. Entry: Sep 30, 2006 -------------------------------------- We got up early at arrived at the airport at 5:30. Parked in the garage in front of Terminal B after dropping Libbie and the suitcases off in front of the building. Took my laptop and big camera - a mistake since Lib had her little camera and nobody has wifi access. The plane arrived around 8 in light rain. We ended up not going to the art museum - had breakfast in McDonalds at Levittown and arrived at mom's house around 10:30 am. Lib fixed porkchops smothered in mushroom soup and onions. Arlene brought a salad and apple crisp desert. For dinner we had Mom, Helen, Lib, me, Arlene and Rich. Vicki, Bob, Nancy, Barb, Rob, Jack and the two babeis came during dinner and stayed for a short visit. Lib gave the baby quilt to Nancy that she finished today. ----------------------- Page 21----------------------- Entry: Oct 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- Stayed inside and played with the stand for the chair. Figured out how to hook it up but later when Helen rode the chair down it hung up on the carpeted edge. Removed the railing and put it back in the box. Ordered a pizza from Dominic's - it was not cooked in the center but was pretty good. Arlene and Rich came over later after they gave pre Cana instructionall day to engaged couples at the old Pius High School. Entry: Oct 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- We got up at 5:30 and left Piscataway in a light rain at 6:11 AM. Took 287 up to the TappanZee. The weather was really nasty - ominous looking clouds, heavy rain as the sun rose and it got lighter out. Traffic was light - the bridge was clear and the construction seems to be complete. We stopped at McDonalds in Greenwich, CT for breakfast but didn't get gas. Bought gas at the CT-RI border for 2.56 a gallon. When we turned off on 138 we saw it for 2.36. Too bad. Got to Portsmouth at 10:40 which was surprising. The google estimator was wrong. Went over to Bill's for the party at 1 and stayed till around 3:30. Went back at 6:00 for dinner - Barb made Lasagna and salad with bread then we celebrated Katie's 21st birthday. Entry: Oct 06, 2006 -------------------------------------- Jennifer called at 6:00 this morning telling us we had to evacuate because of a toxic fire. Turned the TV on and saw the chimical plant that exploded. It started raining so Lib and I chose to stay. Had many calls and eMails during the day asking if we were OK. In the evening Lib went out and grilled hamburgers - everything outdoors seemed to be OK. Our neighborhood is a ghost town. Entry: Oct 07, 2006 -------------------------------------- Talked with Fay today about the booklet. Boy is she flakey. This is a disorganized mess. Tried to round up awards info, NYS officers and other stuff. It's all coming together. Did not touch the AVSA stuff at all. Need to get to that as well. Maybe I'll do it in Sarasota. Dinner was steak, baked potao and brocolli. Lib is doing a great job keeping us on track for a diet. ----------------------- Page 22----------------------- Entry: Oct 08, 2006 -------------------------------------- Started early on the booklet for MAAVS. Got some stuff from Kathy and a welcome letter from Fay. Lib and I did a Sams trip then we went to Krogers to get coffee and Lean Cuisine dinners which were on sale 5/$10. I continued working on the booklet in the PM. Entry: Oct 10, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up normally and left after having a bagel - poured Libbies coffee into the thermos. Crossing into SC I had to pee real bad so I stopped at Florence McDonalds. Got an egg McMuffin and drank my own coffee, topped off at Hess for 2.04. Stopped again 10 miles before the Fl border and got gas. Hit the first traffic in Sarasota - accident tied up traffic from Clark Northwards. Got in about 6 PM. Not too bad. Did a Publix run and got a Lean Cuisine for dinner - they only had one bagel left. Entry: Oct 11, 2006 -------------------------------------- Did a walk around before getting keys made at one minute key on Gulf Gate Dr. Came home and patched some sheetrock before finding the foundry off Honore. Interesting place - lots of large bronze pieces in process. Got gas at Palmer Ranch for 2.23. Wanted the 7-11 for 2.19 but their pumps were being repaired. Also went to Walmart today and got some frozen foods and frozen yogurt. Had veggie burger riblets for dinner. Very tasty. At sunset took a walk to the front nature preserve and returned on the other side of the parkway. Called Lib just before dancing with the stars tonight. Another elimination but Jerry and Emmitt are still in it. Entry: Oct 15, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up a little late - almost 8 oclock. Went to Publix for the paper and some donuts. Read the paper with coffee and donuts when I got back. Entry: Oct 16, 2006 ----------------------- Page 23----------------------- -------------------------------------- Went downtown looking for the clowns but didn't find them. Went over to the Ringling art museum. Very nice - they have a new entrance that serves the three buildings. The art museum is free on Mondays. Entry: Oct 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Closed up quite a few of the holes in the sheetrock. Found a problem with the light in the bathroom - it goes on or off when you whack on the ceiling. Finished plumbing the bathroom bath control. This completes the plumbing. Libbie reported some errors in the convention book proof. I fixed the copy then sent it to them again. All is on target!!! Watched dancing with the stars this evening. I think Jerry Springer will be eliminated. I voted for him online tonight. His performance was a massacre of the Pose Doble. Entry: Oct 18, 2006 -------------------------------------- Seriously tackled the sheetrock. Fixed the bathroom light that was flakey - one wire was cut short and barely touching the longer wire. I thought this was going to delay closing up the bathroom ceiling. Had to do a Home Depot run for a ground clamp for the electrical wire in the second bath and also more 1x4 - bought two more 8 foot pieces. Walked at 9 around the 1.5 mile run. Will do a longer run in the PM. It's much warmer today. Entry: Oct 20, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning I plastered and stopped around noon. The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning up the place. I got the vacuum working so I used it on the carpets. Used the shop vac on the bare floors followed by the swiffer then used windex on the dining room table. Could not find a pail to wash the floors - they need it. Returned the mildew remover to PEter next door - he showed me his router and pc card that he bough in Best Buy. I also went to BEst Buy and picked up a hard drive while I was downtown photographing clowns that are everywhere as an art project fund raiser. Left for the ballet at 6:45. Arrived at the theater around 7:20 whcih was good for an 8 performance. They couldn't find my tix in Willcall but after a lot of searching they came up with it. The theater was magnificent - my seat in the front row of the mezzanine was excelent. I liked the ballet, Othello, a lot. The choreography was excellent and so was the scenery. There was one intermission. It was over by 10:30 - I had an easy ride back. I was originally worried about my eyes driving at night but Tamiami was lit up enough to not be a problem. I came home and had fruit and assorted items for a makeshift dinner. I did not have dinner before going to a performance. ----------------------- Page 24----------------------- Entry: Oct 21, 2006 -------------------------------------- Left Sarasota at 6:30 AM. Made it to the Disney exit at 8 AM and called Lib. Traffic in Bradenton was a little heavy whcih was surprising for a Saturday but traffic kept moving. Stopped for gas in Dayton then again in Florence. I had pistachios and an apple with me for the trip. At the Daytonna stop I got a McDonalds McMuffin and small coffee. For most of the trip I had my thermos filled with coffee which I made before leaving. I also had a bagel with cream cheese before leaving. Arrived in our Apex at 5:30 which was exactly 11 hours later. It was a pretty good trip overall. Entry: Oct 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- Read the paper this morning and sorted through some of my stuff from Stoneybrook. The camera is working thank goodness. The problem in Sarasota turned out to be a crashed router. BEcause it fell off the shelf I'm wondering if that was part of the problem. Got cleaned up and went to the Little Theater Mousetrap. It's a cold rainy day today. When we got back, Lib made her excellent pizza with a thin crust. It was also a little smaller than usual. Entry: Oct 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- Today was mostly a do nothing day. Went to the greenhouse to deliver two mats that I cut. Went to the new Brueggers in Apex and picked up some bagels. Got the TIVO ISO made into a CD and programmed the new 120 gb drive for a series 2 tivo. Got everything working but couldn't get a network connection with the Linksys USB12 adapter so I went to tcircuit city and got an official TIVO adapter as well as a Linksys USB wired adapter. Neither seemed to connect to the home network. Dinner wass leftover chili from Saturday with corn bread. I napped downstairs in the evening. Entry: Oct 24, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning I scanned some docs collecting then updated some of the performances from the past year. Much is missing. Entry: Oct 26, 2006 -------------------------------------- We wanted to leave around 7 but didn't get going until 7:30. Talked to Sue around Fredicksburg when the car started blowing fuses with our old charger. The center pin kept shorting to ground. A little up Rt 17 we saw a Radio shack and stopped in for a new charger. Stopped in a subway around Winchester for lunch- made it in Owego about 6:30. Sue came roughly 30 minutes afterwards. We had dinner in the Treadway - I had the crb stuffed flounder with potatoes and veggies. No Alcohol. It ----------------------- Page 25----------------------- was cold - got the boxes of plants unloaded into the showroom. Entry: Oct 27, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning Libbie and Sue set up the sales table. I went to the Marie Burns presentation before lunch. Lunchtime, Lib and I drove up to BEecher Hill and took pics of our old house. Also went to the Evergreen cemetery and also Washington Gladden School. Bought a sub at subway on 17c in Owego and brought one back for Sue. In the afternoon I went tot he the Bill Price Sinningia presentationw hcih was excellent. Entry: Oct 29, 2006 -------------------------------------- We left Owego after a 7:30 breakfast in McDonalds. Took a run to Apalachin to warm the car - checked out our house on Main Street then loaded up the plants and left. Did a drive aorund Mansfield and arrived at Stephens at around 1 PM. Stephen took us on a very nice tour of Bellefonte - we stopped for subs at a nice restaurant. We saw his old house which is for sale. Dinner was pizza after Leslie came home from work. Entry: Oct 30, 2006 -------------------------------------- We got up early and took the car down the road to warm it up - it was 36 degrees outside. Loaded the car with violets and started the trip at 7:30. In Lewiston PA we tried looking for a McDonalds for breakfast. Drove over a mile in the wrong direction before coming back and finding McDonalds at the exit. Had another stop for gas and coffee just before the Md line. The gas light came on as we approached Wake Forest. Got gas near I-540 for 1.17. Got home at 5:30. Libbie went to Curves for the end of her diet program. Dinner was Lean Cuisine. Entry: Oct 31, 2006 -------------------------------------- Updated MAAVS this morning then organized files on my PC. Did the Krogers run at noon then spent the afternoon playing with the new USB to ehternet adapter for the TIVO that came. It works fine, I could telnet and also use http on the new tivo. Dinner was pasta and choclate yogurt. Entry: Nov 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- I went to the DMV this morning and got my drivers license renewed. The whole hting took about an hour. I passed the vision test with my monovision. ----------------------- Page 26----------------------- Entry: Nov 03, 2006 -------------------------------------- This evneing we went to First Friday then had dinner afterwards at Cafe Luna. I had the seafood over pasta whcih was shrimp, clams, crab, scallops, squid and oysters over a bed of linguine. We had wine at ArtSpace but not with dinner. Libbie is trying to be good for her diet. We got home around 9 after having an 8:00 dinner reservation. Entry: Nov 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- I finished the AVSA convention CD today. This is a big achievment. I'll build the CD tomorrow and make dups for mailing tomorrow. Entry: Nov 05, 2006 -------------------------------------- I made dups of the AVSA CD after Libbie verified the master was OK. I packaged up a large number for BEaumont then sent some to Joyce and Linda Owens. We took a walk around the lake then had Libbies nice pizza - she ran out of wheat flour but we had white thin crust which was very good. Entry: Nov 06, 2006 -------------------------------------- Nice day for my birthday. Libbie came home early and made a turkey. I was suffering with a tooth problem. Received a nice edible bouquet of fruit from Arlene and Vicki. Talked for a long time this mroning to Arlene them=n Mom called in the afternoon wondering why the phone was busy for an hour this morning. She even called the greenhouse to find out why. A nice day. Entry: Nov 07, 2006 -------------------------------------- This morning we left in the rain at 9:00 for the art museum. We had to vote first at St Andrews - we were lucky that the poll was pretty empty - we got in right away. The Monet exhibit was very very good. The wait for lunch was over an hour so we didn't go. Stopped by the greenhouse on the way back so Lib could pick up two packages. IT was still raining pretty hard. My tooth is in misery. I had some turkey this evening but swallowing is very hard - my gums are infected and sore. Entry: Nov 08, 2006 -------------------------------------- ----------------------- Page 27----------------------- Went to Dr Beavers at 8:50. He was pretty unbusy this monring. They took an xray, probed around and determined the tooth must go. I got a prescription for antibiotics which I iflled at Krogers on the way home. They gave me a $30 gift card for pening an account there. The antibiotics only cost $2.49. I was much better in the evening. A Tee shirt came via Fedex from Christa and Joe. Christa has some humour - she said she was going to get baseball tickets but the season was over. Talked a long time with Joyce about AVSA library chair. She wants Anne as chairperson but only if I stay on the committee. Dinner tonight was turkey on white bread with gravy. My new contact came in - I had a 6:50 PM with Ira to check it out. He also took a look at my eye again with his camera because I had floaters and flashing in my right eye. All is OK so that's reassuring. Entry: Nov 09, 2006 -------------------------------------- It finally stopped raining. I vacuumed and cleaned the car inside then washed the otuside in preparation for my Florida trip. I found that the car needs a 5000 mile oil change before I go. I also need to rotate the tires. Entry: Nov 11, 2006 -------------------------------------- Left this morning at 7:24 after coffee and a bagel at home. Got stuck behind a house being moved on 1010. Lost about 30 mionutes - finally got ridof it by going down Rhodes to Optimist Farm to Lake Wheeler. Stopped in Florence for an egg McMuffin, bathroom break and gas. Next gas stop was St Augustine and next bathroom break was the FL visitors center where I bought a water and had my pill with the water. Two slowdowns in Orlando - both were accidents and heavy traffic. There was also a slowdown in JAX where a truck broke down blocking one of the two lanes. Got to Stoneybrook around 6:30. Went out to Publix for groceries and also picked up a sub at subway. Had some frozen fruit and chips to go with it. Entry: Nov 12, 2006 -------------------------------------- Got up a little too early because all the clocks were still on Daylight time. Corrected the clocks then had my bagel and coffee. Picked up a Sunday paper at Publix along with some donuts and went back and read the paper. Did a walk around the block, 1.5 miles, and came back and changed shirts. Lunch was some fruit then later in the afternoon I went to the Selby ----------------------- Page 28----------------------- library downtown. There was a Soprano singing. I wanted to check out Hiaasen's Basket Case but it wasn't on the shelf. Got my card re-authorized with the Stoneybrook address. Next I walked on the public beach at Siesta Key and stayed for the drumming at sunset. The sun sets at 5:30 - the drumming starts before then and continued for another hour while people danced in the circle and generally made fools of themselves in funny costumes. Entry: Nov 13, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went out looking for a dishwasher. Visited Best Buy, Sears and Home Depot. Went to Lowes in Venice and bought a Whirlpool which would not fit into my Toyota. Rented a Lowes truck and brought the dishwasher and also a water heater to the condo. This took several hours but the job is done. Entry: Nov 14, 2006 -------------------------------------- In the morning we assembled in the parking lot and car pooled to the management company office for a board meeting. I went over with Peter in his car and Ed from the third floor. Two other people, Mike and Jeannie went to the meeting. Debbie of PCM was proficient with facts and figures but was not hands on. The building is dirty and repairs are not being properly done. For instance, the guy repairing the rails was using the wrong stuff to anchor the railings. In the PM I went to the library and took out the Opera DVd of Ruslaka as well as Basket Case by Hiaasen. I started this book as an audio book in the car but need another 100 plus pages to complete it. Entry: Nov 15, 2006 -------------------------------------- Picked up a few plumbing parts at Home Depot for the water heater. Went to the Watercolor group on Wednesday morning. Picked up a sample drawing then afterwards went looking for Michaels. Went all the way to North Port on Tamiami but came back on 75. Michaels is in the Gulf Gate Publix. Got some ----------------------- Page 29----------------------- paints, paper and brushes to try it out. This should be fun. Took an afternoon nap then watched dancing with the stars in the evening. It was the results show - Emmett won which was surprising. Finished reading Basket Case later in the evening. Entry: Nov 22, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to watercolor after a walk around Stoneybrook. My first attempt was a disaster - colors ran everywhere. But I'm learning about how watercolor reacts with paper. Will draw this door out again in pencil and try again. Borrowed a sponge and liked the technique. Late in the PM I braved the Pblix parking lot and went to Michaels for a flat brush and also some sponges. Dinner was a veggie rib with Santa Fe rice and beans. Entry: Nov 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went out early and got a paper in the machine. Lots of specials for tomorrow. I treated today like a holiday. Walked around the country club then had frozen turkey lean cuisine for my thanksgiving dinner. Had WCPE running all day with beautiful music. Entry: Nov 24, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went out on Black Friday to Ace and got sandpaper and floor cleaner. Also got a magnetic screwdriver set which was free after rebate. Sanded and plastered then c cleaned the floors and outdoor lanai furniture with a pail of water and Mr clean. For dinner I had a frozen turkey Lean cuisine. Getting ready for Libbie to come tomorrow. Entry: Nov 25, 2006 -------------------------------------- Had my bagel and coffee then couldn't find the charger for my cell phone - spent some time looking for it which delayed my takeoff for the airport until 8:00. At 8:52 Lib called to say whe was walking off the plane. I was just crossing Tampa Bay ----------------------- Page 30----------------------- about 7 miles froom the airport. Lib was waiting outside when I got there. We went to Jerry and Nancy Kasts house at the Tampa Country Club - they have antiques, clocks and many many stands with violets. We agreed to stop on the way back home next week for leaves. Awe left their house around noon after arriving at 10. Stopped at Wendy's for a turkey sandwich on the way back. Went straight to the condo. After a rest we went to Pblix for groceries, took a walk around the Stoneybrook loop then read the paper. Had wine and cheese on the Lanai before dinner then had a nice dinner at the clubhouse. We both ordered almond crusted sea Bass with veggies and salad. Skipped the desert. Entry: Nov 26, 2006 -------------------------------------- After breakast and the newspaper we went to downtown to see the clowns. Walked Pineapple square then went over to Selby and enjoyed the gardens and grounds. There is quite a bit of new construction - a new entrance, a re-arranged sales area and the old fern house is gone. There are more benches on the point - we toured an art exhibit in the Main house of silk paintings of orchids. They almost looked like watercolors. Had lunch downtown at the Whole Foods grocery store. Came back and sanded the plaster then put the third coat on. A light sanding tomorrow and we'll be ready for paint. Also stopped in Staples on the way home and bought a desk. It wasn't in stock but they would deliver it free in a few days. We left around 4:19 for Siesta Beach and got there at 4:35. Sat on a bench for a while disappointed that it was so overcast. Towards sunset the clouds broke and sunlight streamed onto the water. Aout this time the drummers started playing - initially there were 15 drummers but later I counted over 30. We first stood near an electric guitar but later moved closer to the drums since we felt the guitar took away from the drumming. Stayed till after dark - the drumming was going strong. Had soup and a sandwich for dinner at Paneras on the way home. Entry: Nov 27, 2006 ----------------------- Page 31----------------------- -------------------------------------- Lib went to swimming fitness at the Stoneybrook Club but came back because it's canceled until March. I did the final sanding on the plaster and tried the Orange Peel in a Can but didn't like it. Will visit Home Depot for Textured paint. The carpet people fit us in this afternoon and steam cleaned the carpet. It looks much nicer and for only $75. We moved all the small furniture pieces out onto the Lanai including lamps and LaZboy. We put the chairs in the kitchen. Went to Home Depot and bought texture paint and ceiling paint. Also looked at closet locking mechanisms and cabinets for the laundry room. Tried the texture spray on different spots and found that if I go over it with a sponge roller lightly it comes out pretty good. Still need to paint the spots when they dry. This evening we sat out on the Lanai and had Chardonnay and cheese while watching the sunset. Couldn't use the carpet because it was wet so after dark we had dinner on the Lanai. Dinner was shrimp, veggies and Chardonnay. Very nice. Entry: Nov 28, 2006 -------------------------------------- Started painting this morning. Ended up painting the entire closets instead of just a wall. Waited for the Staples truck - they called at 8 saying he was leaving Tampa but had a few other deliveries. He finally showed around 1 when the crew was tearing up the carpet. After this we went on a shopping spree - I had to return videos to Gulf Gate Library. We went to Goodwill, Home Depot and Walmart. Bought a towel bar, light bulbs and shelving material at Home Depot. Wehn I got home we had Santa Fe Rice and Beans Lean Cuisine after which I put up the towel bar then fell asleep while Lib was watching TV. Entry: Nov 29, 2006 -------------------------------------- Took the desk out of the box and started going through all the pieces. We left at 8:45 for Philllipi in a very light rain under dark skies. It didn't look very nice outside - I wondered whether the class would be held. We got there on time and saw a demo of using old watercolor paintings for greeting cards. I was mildly interested - the sun came out shortly during the demo so it was nice afterall. Worked some more on putting the desk ----------------------- Page 32----------------------- together until it was time for watercolor. Libbie went to curves but returned with the car. I left a little late because I couldn't find my painting I wanted to finish at class. It turns out we had a lesson by Ann, one of the Brits. I learned a lot about doing a wash. When I returned I resumed assembling the desk. Finished that job up then went to thegrocery store ofr dinner. Got a Kashi rice, beans and Mango dinner which was very yummy. We have Ballet this evening. The carpet looks nice on our floor. It's glued down outside our apartment. Entry: Dec 01, 2006 -------------------------------------- We're going home tomorrow so this is our last chance to take care of repairs. I painted the spackle inside the lockup closet and worked on installing the lock on the top of the bifold doors. All went well. Put away the tools in there. We took a walk around Stoneyrook then went to Publix for Pinot Noir and fruit for the trip. Had the Pinot Noirt with dinner which was leftover Prime Rib from last night. I was going to load the car tonight but did not. This is probably not good for getting off early. Entry: Dec 02, 2006 -------------------------------------- We got up at 6:15 then started a scramble to pack the car, clean the place, shut the water off and pack the ice chest. We finally got going around 7:15. Libbie was able to get Nancy Kast on the phone around 8 when we were a little North of Tampa at mile marker 270. They are at 285. We spent some time there - I hooked up Nancy's printer on her new laptop. We left there after spending around 45 minutes then went North on I-75. Stopped at Brooksville at 10 AM for a McMuffin because they stop serving breakfast at 10 at McDonalds. Topped off the tank for 2.19 at Raceway while there. We encountered fog a little South of Gainesville. We also ran into some misty rain which stayed with us all the way to the Georgia border. From there on it was blue skies and sunshine but temps in the sixties. We stopped at a Subway in Brunswick for lunch then stopped again in South Carolina in Harleyville when the gas light came on. Filled up at 2.06 per gallon and drove the rest of the way in light traffic. One mile south of the Coosawatchie exit our car was struck by a rock from a mower. We were in the fast lane when struck - the rock hit the mirror and took out the internal glass supporting mechanism. On the trip we listened to the Nicholas Sparks novel, Dear John. Stopped at smithfield Barbecue on 401 and 1010 for dinner. I had the barbecue platter with potato salad, hush puppies, baked beans and pulled pork. Libbie had a barbecue sandwich. Got into our driveway around 8 but after unloading the car we hooked the MP3 player to our stereo and resumed listening to the conclusion which was about 10 PM. ----------------------- Page 33----------------------- Entry: Dec 03, 2006 -------------------------------------- Today was recovery day from our trip yesterday. Moped around and didn't do much for most of the day. Entry: Dec 04, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to my dental appointment for an extraction - happily the tooth is doing so well that it wasn't necessary to yank it out. I left a happy person. In the afternoon, Libbie and I went to Trader Joes to check out what that was all about. I liked the store but the shelves were getting sold out quickly. Entry: Dec 06, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked this morning on Sarahs pictures - uploaded them to WHCC for drop shipping directly to them in Alabama. Entry: Dec 07, 2006 -------------------------------------- Picked up a Christmas tree in Lowes today. They had a nice Fraser Fir selection for 29.95. Also got a small herb tree which we traditionally get. Entry: Dec 11, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went up the hill and did some serious digging for the fence. Libbie had a busy day mailing at the post office this afternoon. Dinner was a rotissirie chicken and potato salad. Entry: Dec 12, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked on the DVD this morning then went in the back and dug a few more fence posts. Did the Krogers thing - met a News and Observer guy who was offering a 7 day N&O subscription for less money than a weekend sub. Bought gas in front of Krogers and paid for a car wash since my car was so dirty. Missed the garbage man this morning. Went back with Libbie and signed up then went to Home Depot and bougjht 8 landscaping timbers for the fence. They seem to be putting rcoks on the road. Finished my Linda Howard book this evening. Dinner was leftover rotissirie chicken and potato salad. ----------------------- Page 34----------------------- Entry: Dec 13, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to the library and took out a Karen Robards book - hard cover large print "Vanished". It seems to be pretty good. Entry: Dec 15, 2006 -------------------------------------- Another warm day!!! Ken sent the eMemo for mailing - had lots of trouble getting it mailed because it was 3.3 megs. Entry: Dec 16, 2006 -------------------------------------- Lost of activity today at Seagroves as they continued pouring curbs all day. I put a few more poles in the ground at the other end by the dish. The ground there was pretty mucky. Listened to Rigoletto from the Met in the PM. Got the ememo mailed using my avsa address on Yahoo. It was a simple cut and paste of the addresses. Dinner tonight was barbecue chicken with steam veggies and Chardonnay - it was our first trial of white 2 buck chuck. Entry: Dec 17, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked on poles after reading the paper. Put the electric fence around the azaleas. Ended up going to Home Depot for fence wire. Libbie was away picking up a light stand from roger. When she came back she made her traditional pizza whcih was pretty thin and very good. I researched modems on the web for use as a telephone device in our condo. Afterwards Lib and I photographed a batch of violets. Got a nice haircut from Lib today. I'm out of hair shampoo. Entry: Dec 18, 2006 -------------------------------------- Worked on editing the violet pictures from yesterday. Thanks to my nice collection of homebrew tools a lot of the job was easy. Finished the job today. Went outside and dug two more holes for fence posts and put them in. Can't find the stake for the lowest property corner. There was no activity on the Seagroves property today. This is a surprise after the big push of the past few days. Mailed the last of the xmas cards and sent George and Mary some CD's I burned of xmas music.The temp today got up to 74. Dinner this evening was a Lean Cuisine - peanut chicken which I really liked. ----------------------- Page 35----------------------- Requested TDSP money today for the taxes. Entry: Dec 23, 2006 -------------------------------------- This afternoon was a nice day but we stayed indoors and listened to Don Carlo while I read investment advice. I paid the taxes today with the IRA money I deposited yesterday. At the end we went to the Cary Mall to JC Penney to use a $10 coupon Libbie had. We looked at Lamps but bought jeans and a flannel shirt for me. Afterwards we went to Trader Joe's to stock up on wine. Had a nice ham idnner with Chardonnay. Entry: Dec 24, 2006 -------------------------------------- I went outside to put the extra fence pole in for our electric fence and also took a chain saw to the extra length on each pole. Spent a quiet afternoon reading and listening to music. Dinner was our Christmas ham wth yams, steamed veggies and Two Buck Chuck "Shiraz". Entry: Dec 25, 2006 -------------------------------------- A quiet peaceful Christmas. I read the paper which I went out into the rain to get. We had lots of rain today - around 2 inches but it was warm. We opened presents then talked to my Mom for a while - mostly about genealogy. Later in the day we talked to Sue and Bruce and Stephen then Joe and Christa. Dinner was our Christmas Ham with Yam and apple sauce but no alcohol!!! I finished reading the Karen Robards book, Vanished this evening. Also hooked up the digitizer in preparation for finding Christmas movies to digitize for Stephen. Entry: Dec 29, 2006 -------------------------------------- Went to TigerDirect this morning and picked up a Linksys Slug and also a USB enclosure for a disk drive. Returned in the afternoon with Libbie to exchange the enclosure for one that had a rebate. Entry: Dec 30, 2006 -------------------------------------- It was a nice warm day today. We bought paint for the laundry room at Lowes today. I wanted to go outside but the Met had a great opera on. Libbie painted the laundry room trim this afternoon. In the monring I put down the shoe moulding except for around the dryer vent. Need the ladder to install ----------------------- Page 36----------------------- that. I was too tired to paint. Entry: Dec 31, 2006 -------------------------------------- Drove to Krogers for the paper in the morning. I rollered the laundry room today. In the PM I went to Ace and purchased a dryer vent hookup hose to attach the solid pipe to the dryer. Had to run out at 5 PM to get a clamp from Lowes. They were open until 6 PM. We stayed up New Years eve - I finished the Hiaasen "Hoot" book which I enjoyed. Dick Clark isn;t doing so well at New YEars hosting - his speech is slurred aand his countowdon to miodnight was off by a few seconds. They need someone else to do this job.