Today was MAAVS day. I spent the time updating the web site and communicating with people. The event schedule is finally on the web site along with the hotel info. Still don't have speaker info and we're missing a third speaker. I also wrote the convention article for Vladimir and sent him half a dozen pictures to use with the article. It was a full day and hard to believe so little can require so much. Dinner was TJ's frozen eggplant Parmesan. Libbie cleaned the house today because violet club is meeting here tomorrow.

Went into Kroger's for milk and a newspaper early this morning. The nice girl in tight jeans was not working today. After the paper I did some MAAVS convention stuff then went out to cut up more of the felled tree. Hauled all the logs and a few of the bayberry bush branches down to the pile. This completes the side yard tree. Still have a big tree laying down in the front yard that needs clean up. After taking a shower, Libbie and I went to an open house downtown at the RBC tower. The condos are beautiful but no birds and yard. The floor to ceiling glass and decorator furnishings look like something out of a magazine or movie. We met an old gentleman who was from Manhattan and has lived here for 4 months. Libbie made her outstanding pizza again. She also photographed my portrait in the front yard for the AVM. After dinner I completed a bio for the board of directors listing in the AVM.

Another nice day. It's getting a little warmer. I spent some time this morning organizing music and magazines on Traviata. Went outside and dropped the dead pine next to the driveway turnaround. I let it fall with the help of the come along next to the row of bayberry bushes, half of which are dead anyway. Did a few wheelbarrows of logs moving them to the pile in the back on the other side of the creek. Kept working until exhausted then I took a shower and got dressed for dinner. Tonight we had salmon and veggies with a single glass of Shiraz. We're getting better.

A nice day. I have a lot to do today so skipped the walk temporarily today only. Worked on the MAAVS schedule and put it on Google docs for review by the group. This was a big deal since I had to call the Woodlands to get details on the banquet and cash bars. I also transferred a lot more of my files off the old Manon. I believe I'm done transferring files and data. I worked on organizing the playboy centerfold collection using LinPha on the server. This program works better than expected for displaying art or playboy. We left at 6 for First Friday. It was also Friday night of Labor Day weekend. I-40 on the way downtown was stopped in several places. We got off at Saunders instead of Gorman because of the congestion. Parked in the Public garage near Caffe Luna then walked to first Visual Arts where we had wine and crackers with crab dip then toured some of Artspace. Voted for a Rocky Alexander painting as our favorite then worked our way over to the restaurant. We had a nice table in the corner in the window. Libbie had just remarked that we never sat in the corner by the window. I had grilled tuna with veggies. We shared an Irish Bash desert which was chocolate encrusted cheesecake with chocolate syrup drizzled on. Afterwards we walked back to City Market to listen to the band but they were on break. Got home at 9:40.

Weight is at 224 this morning. I'm going to work on getting rid of the extra pound or two today. Started my day by researching using a PHP function to compile my musings blog. I want a PHP script to collect all the individual daily entries into a single text file for each year. I'm going to move on from Joyce starting today. There's no looking back. I'm looking forward to weighing less than 200 by the end of the year but doing the Math, I realistically will be 210. It would be 24 pounds in 17 weeks or 1.4 pounds a week to reach 200. Less than a pound a week will be 210 in 17 weeks or 3/4 pounds a week. I'll keep what I'm doing and see where it leads. Exercise along with reduced intake should help.

Finished scanning the army books and one family book today. Good deal. I'm rolling along on this stuff. Tried more Google searches for Joyce but no luck. Researched picture frames today. I would like a frame tethered to my computer that I can update over USB or Ethernet. This evening I ordered a new Timex watch from Amazon along with the eat this not that book. Dinner was salmon and broccoli.

Did the grocery runs today - went to Trader joes then Winn Dixie. Afterward I walked the full 4 miles. Need to keep working on the weight. Finished a story for Ruth for the AVM. I was going to work on the MAAVS web site and convention but got derailed. Joyce is still very much on my mind - it's so sad. I fully expected to see her again some day and now I never will. Dinner was the pasta I picked up in Trader Joes today.

Where does time go. It flies by too fast. Received my Schwab card so I started transferring all my online bill accounts to the Schwab card. It pays 2% cash back so I'll use this one and see how it goes. Did more research on Joyce today. Did not uncover too much additional info about her. She doesn't have much of an online presence. Dinner tonight was leftover pork chops, apple sauce and more broccoli. I'm glad to see that we're getting more greens into our diet. I could do without the meat and just have the vegies.

Went into Krogers today for bread, cheese and the paper. The cashier helping me was very pretty. I liked her tight white jeans. I'm still a little listless over Joyce, Scanned a few yearbook pics of her and then found her partners name, address and phone number. Need to get over this because she was just 3-4 years of my life and it was 45 years ago!!!!! She and I have had so much more of a life since then. Wow, it's amazing when I think of all that happened in the past 45 years. Moving to Ninth St, going to FIT in Melbourne, summers on the railroad and the plastics factory, deaths of grandparent, parents, aunts and uncles, graduation, sisters weddings, Libbie coming into my life, 38 wonderful years of marriage, Owego house building and farming, Rosecommon in Cary then Downing Place, my IBM career, retirement, consulting. So much and more. My weight today was 222.5, a new record. Even WII agreed when I stepped on. It said I lost 5.5 pounds since 11 days ago. Tried walking today but got a ride back with Libbie so I only did 3 miles.
Updated the MAAVS History on the web site. Libbie made her excellent pizza as is usual on Sunday night. Still in a Joyce funk. If she were alive she wouldn't even know who I was. Got to stop this.

While reading the email this morning I clicked on a Classmates email I regularly get. Randomly I read a story about William Barry retiring as an accountant then opened my eyes when he stated he was married to Joyce Morrissey who passed away. They divorced in 1985. I did some online searching and found her obit where I was even further shocked. Her spouse is a woman!!!!! Whoaa.
I spent the rest of the day moping about. Even though I haven't seen Joyce in 45 years, there was always this hope that I would run into her again someday. Now she's dead. So sad.
Dinner tonight was salmon with Broccoli and Shiraz. Very very nice but the sadness over Joyce remains.

Did some reading about the Denise Lee trial, heard the verdict at 2 PM before going on my walk. He was guilty of killing her. Good, I hoped he didn't get off the hook. After my 4 mile walk I went to BJ's with Libbie. Picked up some frozen fruit and salmon for dinner. The Salmon was excellent, we had it with Broccoli from Krogers I picked up the other day. Weight has been stuck at 225 but after todays walk I saw 223.5. This is good news. Today is Mom and Dad's anniversary. I never really celebrated the day in the past but I thought about it today because of research I did on Dad for Jessica's sake.

Did some scanning today of Dad's Army book, book 2. I decided to scan the whole page intact at high resolution. It seems to work OK. Weight is still flat. Did the 4 mile walk today, also picked up lettuce and Broccoli on sale at Krogers. I also got some AAA batteries for my recorder to record the coroners testimony in the Denise Lee trial. I tried doing this via the computer but no luck so I hooked up the recorder in front of the speakers. This worked OK. Dinner was pork chops, apple sauce and Broccoli.

Weight is still flat at 225 to 226. This is disappointing. I had a BLT for lunch today then Libbie made scallops and pasta for dinner. Very very nice.

Went over to BJ's in Cary and joined since I needed dishwasher soap and laundry soap. On the way home stopped at Trader Joe's and Krogers for the normal Tuesday groceries. Walked 4 miles but it seemed a little cool today. Dinner was bean burger with Vidalia onion. Today I put together a timeline of Dad's military service in table form on Tom's Life bits. I retraced some official documents as well as the dated army pics and created the timeline.

Went over to the greenhouse in mid-morning to repair the shelves. Took the two lower shelves down and got them level then extended the lower shelf with a double wide for dandy boxes. I used the old sewing room closet shelves to make the new shelves. Did not need any new materials which was good. Heard from Joe last night - they are looking at a house that is priced at $700k. He said they need another $15k to avoid PMI. We can lend them that from either interest earnings or a line of credit. Not sure which is more advantageous. Went home for more materials and had lunch then worked some more on the shelves. Finished up at around 4 PM. Went home to take a shower and had a nap. Very relaxing! Dinner was my favorite bean burger with Vidalia. I put the new 65 gallon recycle can at the street today. We filled it with lots of stuff from the greenhouse - cardboard, papers and bottles. It was overflowing out at the street. Also did a greenhouse garage cleanup to fill up th regular trash to overflowing but at least the greenhouse garage is nice and clean and now needs organizing.

I weighed 225 this morning which was good. A nice solid number despite the wine for dinner last night. Finished up the DVD project. Marjorie looked at it and didn't like the zooming in designs but it's too late to fix, my opinion. I did my 4 mile walk and got back in time to get cleaned up for RLT. It was a relatively cool 77 degrees. This is unusual for this late in August. We saw "Lost in Yonkers" which was a nice play about 2 young boys having to live with their strict grandmother and wacky aunt Belle. So sad and such a nice characterization of a family. Dinner was Libbie's outstanding pizza. After dinner I packed up the DVD and Cd and dropped them into the self serve kiosk priority mail to Denton.

Worked all day on the DVD. Did not walk, it was raining in the PM anyway. Dinner was scallops over pasta with Sauvignon Blanc from 2 buck chuck. Pretty nice. I finished the DVD this evening but need to do some touchup tomorrow.

Today when I weighed myself this morning I was 225.5 After my 4 mile walk it was 225 even although I don't think it will be this good tomorrow morning but I'm happy. Worked on the DVD today - installed the software then got going in earnest. Built the main menu then started putting shows together. We got a call at 2 PM that our car was never inspected. Went over to Fred Anderson and had the thing inspected. This dealership is bad news. I hope I never buy another car there again. It seems to be screwup after screwup. Dinner was bean burger and some really nice corn we picked up in Krogers on the way back from the car inspection.

I was happy to weigh 226 this morning. It's been a long time stuck at 228 but things are finally falling in place. Built the slide show this morning then picked up my Highwaymen scans from Walgreens. I was very happy with the result and took them to Nicoles with me. Did a 2.5 mile walk instead of 4. I cut it short at the lake going down this side instead. Arrived home at 12:35 after leaving at 11:31. Took a shower then went to Nicoles Gallery. Rocky really helped me paint the clouds and sky in my painting. The key was knowing which colors to mix. She has an eye for it. Worked until 4:30 then took it all home including the palette. The big news of the day was my weight after the walk. I was 224 which won't last until morning. I'm hoping for 225 in the morning. Dinner was a BLT. We have lots of garden tomatoes so it was very appropriate. Done up on wheat toast, it was also very good. I was hungry of course. My other food today was an apple and slice of watermelon.

Renumbered the MP3 files then built a new MPG movie file with new pictures and new MP3's. Started over with everything. Also sent the 3 slides to ProDigital after changing the numbers in the corner of the slide. This is the easiest way of dealing with the misnumbering. Redo the slides and don't mess with anything else. I weighed in at 227 this morning which will be the official weight. After the 4 mile walk I weighed 226. This is great news. Dinner was reheated eggplant Parmesan which was excellent. Nice meal!!!

Did the grocery run this morning. Still weighing in at 228. This is a long flat line. Did a 4 mile walk and took it easy on consumption today. No snacks, healthy or not. Watched an Opera show featuring Dr Oz and the Eat This guy. The feature was obese kids. Some of these kids were almost 400 pounds and were only 11 years old. They showed the horrible diet these kids ate with no exercise. Dinner tonight was Eggplant. Found an almost disaster with the slides - I thought they were all screwed up but it turns out only 3 of them were out of order.

Went to Jerry's this morning and got more paint and some palettes and palette knifes that were on sale. Stopped by Trader Joes on the way back. Still no Mangoes. Did not walk today - cut the back lawn instead. Dinner was pasta. Had a lot of responses on Facebook to the AVSA 2010 convention pages. worked on a promo for the MAAVS Memo. Wrote the promo for the MAAVS convention to be published in the MAAVS Memo. I have it on Google Docs for others to contribute.

Weight this morning was on the high side of 228 after the wine last night. I was looking for 227, but I'm not going to get there this way. Went to Krogers at 6:45 for the paper, a loaf of bread and a 9v battery for our clock. It was flashing yesterday after the power went off for 5 minutes. The generator started but Apex came back pretty quickly. Did the 4 mile walk and came back in time for a thunderstorm. Libbie made a great pizza. I was tired so went to sleep after dinner. Talked to John Glembock who called during our pizza. He had privacy concerns with Glembocki.info. I'll look into password protection.

Weight this morning is still at 228. No loss in the past few days. Worked on hooking up the DVD player which came yesterday. Using the component outputs it looks like herringbone so I used the composite. The problem with composite is the sound from the TIVO on s-video is hooked to the channel. Maybe if I kill the sound during DVD playback and use the Surround sound audio instead it will be an acceptable solution. Did the full 4 miles today. While out I was studying the sky and clouds for a potential painting. I like the Alfred Hair painting in the front of the Gordon Highwaymen book. I may try to replicate that. Watched the Bob Rankin video lesson on mixing colors on the palette then I watched a second one about the color wheel. Studied some of the paintings obtained from Google Street view then I studied Google street view imagery. Dinner was frozen salmon from Trader Joes along with steamfresh peas and, oh no, 2 glasses of Shiraz. The shiraz is a huge no no on a diet. Will atone for my stones early this week.

Worked on slides all morning, renumbering and adding the number in the lower left corner. Finished the thing up and uploaded everything to Pro Digital for slide making. cost will be 1.19 each plus 5.95 shipping to Anne. So glad this is out of here. When Libbie came home we went to Jerry's Artarama and bought some oil colors by Lukas as well as a palette knife and palette paper. After this we went to the Farmers Market where I got an outstanding watermelon for $6. When I got back it was too late for a walk so I chose to mow the front grass instead then took a shower. Dinner was crab cakes with lettuce and tomato on a bun. I had watermelon afterward for desert.