Libbie stayed home today. It was a nice day. I worked on the controller card after watching the parade on TV. Didn't enjoy the parade as much. Libbie fixed a nice turkey dinner with everything. We opened a bottle of Cabernet and had one glass before capping it.

The Scooba recharged overnight but it didn't help. It still stopped before cleaning was done. I called support and they suggested several deep discharge cycles. They also registered my machine and sent me a coupon for 15% off in the iRoomba store. I ordered 2 cases of cleaner and another virtual wall. I also did a 125,000 rollover into an IRA today. I talked with Fidelity and did the request over the phone. Preferreds are tearing up the turf. My portfolio went up another $1,000 today. Unreal! Lib and I did another grocery run for missing fruit cake items including cheesecloth.

This was a busy day. Went to the Hilton to take pics of the lobby, then stopped at Trader Joes and finally at Krogers. Both stores were incredibly busy. In the late afternoon I remembered the $500 check from MAAVS so I ran to the credit union and deposited Libbie also wanted me to pick up one gallon freezer bags for the leftover turkey. The turkey I bought was .39 per pound with a $25 purchase which I easily made. The Scooba arrived today - I promptly charged it and started cleaning the floors. The battery didn't make it to the end. Dinner was Pasta and marinara sauce. I enjoyed Dancing With the Stars finale tonight. They pick a winner tomorrow. I was disappointed today in my 401K return which was only 2.8%. I need to make some changes in the investment mix. It only made $7,000 last year and I need $15,000 for my SEPP payments.

Woke naturally this morning at 3:18. The alarm was set to 4:00 just in case I slept in. Turned on the coffee maker then got dressed and had breakfast before locking and leaving at 4 AM. It was 74 degrees and foggy out. Water kept condensing on the windshield for the first few hours. There practically was no traffic. Did a pee stop at McDonalds in Ormaond BEach but bought nothing. KEpt right on driving in misty fog. Hit stop and go rush hour traffic at 8 AM in Jax. Temp there was 66. Tried listening to the Sandra BRown book, Mirror Image but I couldn't concentrate so I put on music a lot of the trip. Finally up in SC I switched to the book and really got into it. I took a badly needed dump at the GA visitors center then at the same stop without getting on I-95 I filled up on St Mary Rd for 2.52 per gallon. Next stop was to top off in Florence at 2.39 where I also bought some Popeyes Fried chicken. It was nice and spicy and hit the spot. Got home at 3 PM. I had misty rain as I approached Raleigh. Lib made chicken with Marsala over pasta.

Got up early this morning and picked up a paper at Publix along with some fruit for my trip tomorrow. Checked the weather and found the rain should be out of here except for Raleigh late tomorrow. Found that sunday GMA comes on at 7 AM around here. It's the same show at 8 back home as verified by talking to Libbie.

Today I cut the hole in the ceiling of the closet after buying the wrong vent intake at Home Depot. I bought a 20x20 but I needed an 18x18. Also picked up some Mollys to screw the replacement grill into the ceiling. This is a compromise situation. I'm still not sure why I want to mount the Sling player in the ceiling when the closet should do just as well. However, I do want to vent the closet a little better so this will do. I still want a grill on hinges so this is really a compromise. Got the Sling Player up and running. It seems to work. This should be interesting trying it on the Internet. It works over the internal network without a problem. Dinner was a BLT from the clubhouse but it was too salty for my tastes. Earlier in the day I ordered an Angus Burger. I may do that again tomorrow for dinner late in the day. While at Home Depot earlier today I observed a young woman in a white tube top and little short shorts that also looked like a "tube bottom". I had lots of success today with the new MAAVS web site.

I did a long bike trip today to Venice. I went to mile marker 899 on the trail. My bottom was pretty sore as I rode back. Dinner tonight was a bowl of cereal;. I was too lazy to fetch anything else.

Picked up a dummys book on Joomla which I also have in pdf format. It seems to be what I needed to get started in Joomla and understand the concepts.
I did the rib night tonight. I ordered a half rack and received a full rack. I ate the whole thing and also had some frozen yogurt for desert. Way too much food!!!!

Worked this morning on the computer then went out to the library and got another Karen robards book, Maggys child which I have not read. It's an old 1994 book. I had to renew my library card again. Next I went up Tamiami to Best Buy and Publix. Got some bananas and Lima beans. The router at home was out so I called Libbie to reset it which made Traviata accessible again. This is pub night so I ordered the potato crusted Haddock with veggies which was yummy. No salad even though if I ate in the clubhouse a family salad is included.

Slept well this morning. Got up at 6:20, had breakfast, went outside and took the bike out of the car and put the handle bars on then did a test ride around the pool before going to the sequence of meetings for the commons, the homeowners and the board budget meeting. Afterward I went out and bought oil at Walmart for the bike and took it on a 5 mile journey down the Legends trail to the Scherer park. It was a nice trip. For dinner I had the Boca burger again since I was too lazy to go to the clubhouse.

I woke naturally at 4 AM and hit the road by 4:30. Fog was pretty thick in NC and some of SC. Traffic was light or non existent. I made pretty good time. Stopped to top off the tank in florence and picked up a couple of sausage and egg biscuits in Mickey D's at 2 for $2. Next stop was the Fla visitors center to pee. I listened to Rheingold and then the 125th Met gala which I enjoyed. I stopped in Volusia county at McDonalds and the Raceway across the way. This is the exit with Ray Price Harley. I like the McDonalds - it has an outdoor deck for the entryway. This is just before I-4. I-4 was heavy through Orlando as usual. Saw a spa place to the left on I- West called "Crawford Construction Co.". I thought of Uncle Fred. Arrived in Stoneybrook at 3:15. sally was sweeping glass by the dumpster and Peter was walking across the driveway. It was nice to be greeted by everyone. Picked up some frozen yogurt and Boca burgers in Publix along with the paper. I had a Boca burger for dinner.

We got going at 6:40 today. Headed over to the breakfast room but the room had a line of kids waiting to get in. This has happened many times this week. Of course they didn't have the keys at the front desk like Sarah said they would. We finally got somebody to open the conference center but the lights were not on in the building. We did use the kitchen elevator because the little one up front was broken. Libbie had to pick up Dale at 8 at the lobby to take her to the airport. She got going and I finished loading up. Got to the greenhouse before noon and into our front door shortly thereafter just as Libbie called. I unpacked then repacked the car. did a Krogers run for coffee and dinner. Sorted pictures and backed up my files then updated MAAVS.org. All set to go in the morning!!! Dinner was California Pizza Kitchen thin crust pizza mergherita.

Breakfast this morning was crowded with an eighth grade class. We survived and had our cereal at a table next to Brenda and Mahlen. I bought 16 bottles of wine at Trader Joes and some cheese and crackers. Felicia and JoAnne cut up the cheese and helped me set out the food for the party. Everybody showed up at 6 and then just before 7 we headed out for the restaurant. We drove and the Texas crowd drove as well, getting to the restaurant before everyone else. The food and service was fantastic. Ann-Marie and Lenny showed up this afternoon and started the photography

We left after breakfast today. The drive was horrible. At times we couldn't see on I-95 as the rain was blowing sideways and winds were over 50 MPH really blowing us around. It was so nice to finally get to the conference center but it continued pouring a cold rain. The little conference center elevator was inadequate for unloading but we got the job done. We went out in the storm for dinner. I thought we were going to a nice restaurant but ended up in the chain restaurants part of Williamsburg and had ribs at Red Hot and Blue. Not what I expected.

The greenhouse got flooded by the broken sump pump and unrelenting rains. I have everything done for Williamsburg. Took time out and dug a trench by the tanks to let the water drain from the pipe better. I next punched a hole in the blocks to drain the garage and dug another trench from the block to a hole I dug down to the drain pipe. The cars are packed and we're set to go but it's not going to be fun - lots more rain predicted tonight and up there. Dinner was chicken over pasta.

I did the grocery run this morning and picked up the fruit cake ingredients along with everything else. Did not get too much stuff because we travel this week to Williamsburg. Did some last minute counting of meals from the latest list provided by Laurene. Worked on my Disney Story for unknown reasons. I'm going to write a story for the Winter Holidays theme for the same website I wrote earlier in the summer. The theme back then was "nude day". On my PC I got the backup program backing up my PC to the external drive as well as the Udrive on Traviata. The Udrive contains all the Linux related php info of Toms Lifebits, the art and pb databases and the music server, but not the music collection itself. Dinner was Briyani over spaghetti. We watched Dancing with the stars while I worked more on the Disney story.

After the paper today I worked a little on the microwave project. I started building the probes for the temperature. In the PM Libbie and I raked the yard, spread pinestraw and blew off the driveway. Dinner was the usually excellent Libbie pizza.

I started taking the laptop apart to replace the hinges which came Thursday. Can't seem to get the top off but it was 11:20 and time to change clothes to go to the opera, leaving home at 11:30.
We attended the HD performance this afternoon and loved it. We had a problem with sound dropouts but the Nessun Dorma was intact. The singing was wonderful even though we knew Maria Guiligiana was getting over a cold. Patricia Racette was the interviewer and it was truly a delight with her as host. Th interviews seemed natural and interesting instead of a game of 20 questions. I loved the interview with the Met Brass players about their new CD.
There were many many buses waiting for the old geezers outside the theater.
Stopped at Harris Teeter on the way home and got shrimp and Orange Juice.

I started the morning with wiring the under counter lights in up over the sink. Went to Home Depot looking for a plug in outlet for the light strip. No luck so I bought a conduit connector which was most difficult to install because of location. Late in the PM I realized I had a Will Call at Graingers for a new inflation blower for house 3&4 so I went out at 4 PM and picked it up. Traffic was stop and go on the way home as expected. Libbie made a Lemon Meringue pie while I was gone. We left at 6 for First Friday. Went to Nicloes and talked to Nicole and Rocky, had some avocado dip and red wine then went to Artspace. Lots of shapely young woman in boots and miniskirts as well as painted on jeans. It was a nice site other than the art. Had some wine at Visual Art but did not like the oddball exhibit they had along with loud DJ music outside the place. Walked through Artspace where I liked the salsa supplied by a restaurant. At Cafe Luna for our 8 PM dinner it was crowded. We sat in mid room and I had the Lobster Ravioli special in cream sauce which was yummy. Libbie had her usual Farfali. As we were going to the parking garage, the Imax theater got out so we had quite a wait in line getting out of the garage. I had lots of nice greetings on Facebook. Opened presents and got a book, "Blink" from George and Mary as well as chocolate pmegranate candy from Arlene. At Caffe Luna I was given a Hagan Daze ice cream with a lit candle. It was a nice evening.

Went to PIP in Cary earlier and set up the booklet print job. I previously emailed the files to them. They printed a proof while I waited which was nice.

I worked all day drilling the cabinets and concealing the wires to run the under the counter lights. Libbie came home in the PM and painted the remaining wall. I picked up the muted slate color earlier from Home Depot. We'll use the same paint in the front Foyer. At the end of the afternoon we were both tired and went out to eat at La Cocina. I had a Margarita with the quasadilla.

Today we painted the breakfast area orange. It's an entirely different look. The woodwork was previously taped. After a few hours we stripped the tape and started putting the room back together. Dinner was the whole wheat ravioli from Krogers yesterday. Libbie didn't like it but I did.

I finished the booklet today after Laurene sent me the registrants and their states. Put it up on google docs and sent out the link to the team. Quilting cowgirl called saying the quilt was on the frame. Libbie and I went to the voting place where I voted. She voted previously. Next was the quilt place to see the quilt being sewn. It was pretty exciting seeing this. Lastly we went to Home Depot and picked up the paint but did not put it on. Too late in the day to start.
Heard from Ken that one eMail address was wrong. Fixed it and found that I can't upload a new file over the old. The link I sent everyone changes! Went out after the polls closed and picked up 10 political signs for use as backing material for the convention posters.

I pretty much shot most of today putting the MAAVS book together. Received the awards from Richard which I formatted and put in the booklet. Judi informed me she was sending a letter. I added her page and renumbered everything. Now I just need locations. Libbie went tot he Apex garden club where she talked about Violets and showed the Reno DVD. Pat Knight had me change the website and eMail the membership that the designs deadline has been extended. Dinner was a can of Trader Joe's organic chili. Too much to eat once again.

We used the Kilz and painted the primer on the kitchen walls. I did a little more light sanding before taping the trimwork to protect it from the paint. It was a tiring job. After this I worked on MAAVS some more. Dinner was Libbie's fantastic pizza.

It's a beautiful day outside but I finished the plastering of the kitchen walls after wallpaper removal. It looks pretty smooth. Worked some more on the MAAVS booklet. So much to do. I also cut the holes for the plastic box so I can mount the keyboard and display for the microwave project, Kahlo 4.