Shut the gas off and disassembled the lines going to the furnace and water heater. Installing the new lines went pretty good except I needed a new appliance connection fitting and another 2 inch x 3/4 inch pipe nipple. Got everything hooked up and tested the gas with soap bubbles and discovered the union was leaking even though this wasn't even disassembled. Took it apart and painted the threads with pipe sealant and tightened everything up again. This time it was leak free. When Libbie came home we listened to the Met Tosca while having lunch on the back porch. We had the leftover beef from last night. During the Met intermission we took a walk in the back. They started lot 68 and were painting and trimming several others. We're almost completely blocked in by homes except for the two ponds. For dinner tonight we ordered Chinese Szechuan which we had with Trader Joe Chardonnay. I finished the AVSA 2010 accounting and sent the spreadsheet off to Brenda, IRwin and Kathy. Still need to audit it.

Could not install the blower this morning after struggling to cut the blower opening. It turns out I have to reroute the gas lines. If I had done this when i started the job would have been much easier since furnace access would be much better. I went with Libbie to BJ's and got note cards and about $94 worth of other stuff. I have to move the gas lines. Went to Home Depot and picked up some black pipe fittings to get the job done. Dinner tonight was the prime rib from Trader Joes with asian veggies, mashed potatoes and gravy and Pinot noir that we got from the Hilton.

Visited the greenhouse to bring change to Libbie who didn't bring any. JoAnne and Jack were there working away. I finished the pipe job by covering up the ditch under the bench with gravel. On the way there I stopped by Walmart and happily found an oil filter for the Prius. Fram now makes it. Still need a 64 mm wrench with 14 flats. At home i started working on the blower in the attic. Assembled the Grainger motor to the blower then made a template to match the new blower opening. Used the template to draw an outline inside the furnace then used the jigsaw to cut 2 sides of the opening before the blade broke. This is tough work since it's hot, noisy and I have to get into the furnace opening bent at a weird angle. Later Libbie helped me load the tractor on the trailer to bring it back to the greenhouse. We stored it at home to make room for the AVSA tour. Dinner was Briyani with Moose track ice cream for desert. I went upstairs to look at joomla for MAAVS and listen to the radio while Libbie watched TV crap.

We're getting back to normal. We had some much needed rain on and off throughout the day today. I finally broke down and ordered a Canon 7d from an eBay seller. I also ordered a 16 gb CF card from Newegg. It should be interesting to see how many pics the 16 gb holds. I paid Norwood today, had to do it with 2 check since Helens account did not have enough in it to cover, partially because I withdrew 900 earlier in the month. I removed the blower from the attic air handler, started assembling the replacement blower in my workshop. I need to install some rails on the new blower to slide it in place like the old one. Dinner tonight was a frozen chile releno from Trader Joes. Libbie had a mac and cheese. Tonight we watched American idol results show. Tim was kicked off.

Early this morning I went to the greenhouse and finished the plumbing job by gluing one fitting. Brought the garbage home for the garbage man then took sue to the airport at 9 for her 10:30 flight. Picked up a bagel and coffee in Brueggers then did some catch up on monitoring finances. Bought some KMP and RGNC in the IRA account today. When Libbie came home we had cheese and tomato toast sandwiches then went to Trader Joe's and Krogers.

We're getting back into our routine today. I went to the greenhouse to look at a faucet that was leaking. Ended up replacing 2 faucets but a pipe broke as well. Went to Lowes and the Credit Union to deposit my AVSA check. At Lowes I got plumbing parts. Fixed everything but the pipe elbow was too wet to glue. Left it for morning. Sue, Libbie and I went to LaCocina for Margaritas and Mexican dinner. It was a nice celebration to end a week of AVSA. We watched Dancing with the Stars after dinner. Libbie also made shortcake to go with the strawberries we picked up at the Farmers Market.

Went over to the Hilton to retrieve Hans' package at 9 a.m. Met Kathy and others there. We didn't have much to do. Libbie went with Sue and got donuts at Dunkin donuts. At 10 or so we took Kathy, Terry and Jude from Minnesota to the WRAL azalea gardens. They were at the blooming peak and spectacular. We met Dr Ira there. After the gardens we went to Bluebird for a mini tour since Kathy had not been there. After Bluebird we had lunch at the Farmers Market then strolled the produce and shrubbery. Kathy bought a Beauregard sweet potato. Libbie and Sue left us there in the Prius while I took everyone back to the Hilton so they could take the shuttle to the airport at 4. It was a pleasant day. When I got home I took all the packages to the Post Office self serve kiosk and mailed them. In the evening we had 2 Libbie pizzas. Libbie and Sue had wine but I abstained.

This morning is judging. I spent some time in the hospitality room then watched the opening of the commercial sales and the resulting lineup. Judging completed early so we were able to go into the showroom to start photography around 1:30. We finished early enough to make it to the cash bar at 6. I threw a sports coat over my khaki pants and was good to go. Libbie was the Commercial sweepstakes winner with 35 blue ribbons. Wow. Dinner was chicken wellington which was chicken on some kind of pastry.

Entries started today. I started with an 8 a.m. meeting of the new board members then I went to the main board meeting. Ran home after this meeting to get the meatballs and cheese balls for Linda who was hosting the Presidents reception. Next I went shopping to AC Moore and Walmart for design materials. I ate at chick Fil A for lunch. Got back and had way too much to do. I ended up only doing 2 designs in 25 minutes. I was not proud of either effort. Tonight I joined Libbie and Sue in Loftons Skybox for dinner. I had the panini wiith turkey and avocado. I liked the reuben better. This was another long night. Libbie stayed at the Hilton in Sue's room.

This morning I bought wood at Home Depot to stiffen the plywood. I used the loading dock to cut the wood. Nailed it inside the showroom and built all the shelving to support the niches. Kitty and Sharon were fun to work with. Sharon gave us a bottle of wine and 2 glasses for the work effort. This was very nice. Tonight for dinner we ate at the Skybox. I had a Rueben and Onion Rings. It was excellent. I had the Gaelic beer which Kitty recommended. This was right on! Drove home dead tired.

I went early to the hilton. This will be the first of many mornings. At noon i went to meet the bus at Bluebird Greenhouse. Unbelievably there were 50 people touring the greenhouse. Libbie sold over $1,000 worth of stuff. We brought cookies and drinks for the bus crowd. The bus left around 4. We went to the Hilton and met the Nicholas's and went out to bluebird with them for a private tour. We then went out to the Pit for dinner. It was my first time there. I had a half rack of ribs with sweet potato fries and cole slaw. I also had two glasses of a shiraz blend wine. It was quite nice and Richard treated us.

I picked up a paper this morning and read it on the back porch. This is the start of the convention. Went to the Hilton at noon to start setting up but there was a pharmacy convention in our work area. We set up our registration at a counter nearby instead and it worked well. ann-marie and Lenny were already there. Later in the afternoon I picked Marjorie up at the airport. We took a tour down Ridge Rd looking at Azaleas and Dogwoods before turning around and going to the Hilton. That night I picked up a frozen pizza at Trader Joes which we had later on the back porch. Lenny and Ann Marie had turkey sandwiches they had brought. Tomorrow is the Bluebird tour.

More last minute powerpoint stuff this morning. Also hooked up the trailer and picked up the tractor at the greenhouse. Mowed the front and back at home before making room for the tractor in the garage. Left at 11 for the Garden show. Not too many people there but we set up in the booth and then did our little presentation. It wa snot worth it but we enjoyed it. Stopd at Hardees on Western Blvd for lunch. I had Cajun chicken. We left at 5:10 to pick up Kathy Lahti at RDU in the Prius. Because 40 was stopped going Eastbound we chose to take 70 to the Hilton instead of the Interstate. Dropped her at the Hilton at 6:00 then went home to get her shoes which she mailed to us. Arrived back at the Hilton at 7:05 then went out to dinner at 7:30 with the Carters, Davidson, Bill Foster, Sure Ramsuer, Kathy Lahti and 2 others. We went to Caffe Luna where I had the Sea Bass special. It was a lovely night.

Getting ready for AVSA. I spent the morning on some library posters then sent them to PIP. In the PM Libbie and I went to PIP and picked them up. I also worked on the bathroom curtains at the greenhouse. Libbie mowed the lawn. Dinner was pork chops with apple sauce, steamfresh corn and shiraz.

I did the USPS research and then printed out a price sheet for the Information table. I went to the greenhouse with the second flag pole and tried it. Looked at the landscape planting. Everything still looks great. Trimmed the bushes around the door. After lunch Libbie and I went to PIP to get the booklets and all our convention stuff. We then went to Walmart and got curtains for the bathroom. I was going to skip sculpture tonight but decided at the last minute to go. I'm glad I did because it was a lot of fun. Came home in a driving rain on the beltline which then tapered into intermittent rain once I reached Crossroads.

Went to the greenhouse and replaced the shutter motor then worked on putting up two flag holders which I picked up in Ace. Dinner was pitty pan with some of the leftover ham. Watched American Idol tonight. The judges saved Big Mike. Called PIP printing. They said maybe tomorrow for the booklets.

Went to the Hilton this morning to get the tables and black cloths straightened out. This was a more relaxing day. Downloaded some sleaze movies then heard that interest rates were going up due to fed action. I emailed Joe who emailed back that they locked their rates. Did the grocery thing today. The pollen outside is horrible. It's visibly raining down from the trees. Dinner was pasta from Trader Joes. Ordered a fruit bouquet for Vicki today and also picked up a birthday card in Krogers but didn't get it mailed.

This was a busy day. I cut the boards for the staging. Need to make the supports. Uploaded everything to PIP today - the ag forms, banquet menus and restaurant directory. Rebuilt the shutter motor and also went to Lowes for screws. Took all the coins to the credit union coin counter. We had $58 worth of loose change laying around. The machine took almost everything except for 2 cents. It was a tiring day. The weeds in the grass are finally starting to die. Dinner was simmer sauce on chicken and broccoli.

I debated about getting a paper but got one with change we scrounged up. Spread potting soil on the shrubbery on the hill and watered everything in. Took the shutter motor home and got dressed for the ballet. Sylphide was quite a surprise. It was fully staged and beautiful. Dinner was Libbie's great pizza again. I started disassembling the shutter motor this evening.

This was a tiring day. I hooked up the tiller to the trailer and hauled everything over to the greenhouse. Needed to bring a 100 foot extension cord for my drill which is needed to start the thing. Tilled the mound then planted the shrubs into greenhouse potting soil on the mound. Planted Osmanthus Goshiki, Loropetalum and Phlox. Keeping the tiller going was a challenge. It would only run at higher speeds and stall out when running slower especially when loaded. Listened to Aida this afternoon but then during the last act I hooked up the weed killer hos attachment and sprayed the back lawn with broadleaf weed killer. Hope it works. I used a granular stuff on the front street lawn and it seemed to do nothing. Dinner was spiral ham, shiraz, broccoli, and yams. We went to Target and Kohls earlier in the day looking for bathroom curtains and a shower curtain.

I went to Bluebird and worked on the drain pipe at the back of the garage building. Got it buried and tied into the main drain. Took a picture of the entrance flowers and put them on Facebook. JoAnn was visiting this orning so I put her on there as well. Later in the PM we went to the Farmers Market and picked up some potatoes and shrubs for the parking lot mound. Dinner was spiral ham with Shiraz, yams and beets.

I did a scouting trip to Lowes today and bought some lawn mower tune up parts. Scoped out the plywood and also saw an Ott brand floor lamp for $55 but I didn't have my $10 off coupon with me. Went back at 4 with Libbie and picked up 2 sheets of plywood and also bought the Ott lamp. The wood is for the design shelves at the convention. I reluctantly went to sculpting this evening. The reluctance was for a new model from UNC Chapel Hill who never modeled before. She was beautiful and quite competent. Part of this fact was she is an art major and does life drawing every day. She wanted to experience being on the other side of art modeling. No dinner tonight. I had a bowl of salad before leaving at 6. Came home a little later since Katlin was in traffic and came late so everything was shifted about 30 minutes.

Talked with Sharon Long about wine and the wood she needed for the design staging. I went over to the greenhouse and replaced the shutter spring. I need to put in a drain pipe and cover the ditch for the garage building. This was Mariachi night at La Cocina so we went over there for dinner around 7:30. It was pretty enjoyable. I only had one Margarita, thank goodness.

I did the groceries this morning then went with Libbie to JoAnn Raymer's house in Cary for lunch and goody bag stuffing. We enjoyed her house and her hospitality. There's something to be said about downsizing and starting with new furniture in a new community. Everything matches and is tasteful. We filled bags until tired. This is hard work. We came home and had Kroger's pasta with Trader Joe's classic marinara sauce. I watched both American Idol and dancing with the stars. The first elimination of Dancing was last night. Idol will kick somebody off tomorrow. I left the leftover goody bags in the car because I was too tired to unload everything.

During Good Morning America this morning I uploaded our printing jobs to PIP in Cary. We have awards forms, Bluebird handouts and the souvenir booklet that needs printing. Drove to PIP at 9:30 and set up the jobs. I waited while they printed the bluebird map and the award form. Paid for everything. Still have to build the program menu's which I did later in the day. Dinner today was chile rejeno while Libbie had a frozen lasagna.