I got up early this morning and went to get a paper at 6:24. Libbie made peach pancakes with the leftover peaches then I had a slice of zucchini bread for desert. It was warm out but I got 24 feet of fascia boards installed. I realized that I don't have enough 6 inch wide fascia boards so I went to Lowes after RLT to get another piece. Put it in the Corolla hanging out the back.

The Light on the Piazza was another fine RLT production. I was surprised to find it was a musical. I wasn't expecting this. It was very enjoyable. Beforehand we walked around the Raleigh rose Garden admiring roses at their peak before summer takes it's toll. I took a few pictures. At home Libbie made her yummy pizza for dinner. In the evening Joe called for Fathers Day. He and Christa were at Cory's house since it's his first Father's Day. We talked about coming to California to help with house remodeling. There is an opera at the end of July in Santa Fe that we can get tickets to, Tales of Hoffman with Kate Lindsey who did the Met HD performance. Dinner was Libbie's nice pizza. She had a frozen one she was able to whip out since this afternoon we weren't home.

I finished putting up the soffits today over the back porch. They came out pretty good. In the PM Libbie and I went over to BB and trimmed the holly bushes and chain sawed some tree branches overhanging the grass. When I came home hot and sweaty I mixed the last of the Orthene and sprayed Japanese beetles on the Hibiscus and roses until the 1/2 gal of mix ran out. I got cleaned up then Libbie and I did a Trader Joes' trip to pick up wine and nuts. Libbie made a banana zucchini bread from the AV cookbook. Dinner was eggplant parmesan, shiraz and banana zucchini bread by Kathy Lahti.

I took down the rest of the old soffit over the back porch then went to Lowes with the trailer and picked up 2 more pieces of the stuff. Painted it all then got cleaned up, ending my day. Tom Herner came over to recharge the AC. It didn't need any freon. The problem was a blown fuse on the downstairs compressor. I felt dumb since I could have fixed this a year ago myself. Dinner was eggplant parmesan.

The first attempt at installing a 12 foot soffit was a failure. Five feet of it snapped off on the ladder trying to put it on the two brackets I fabricated. The next 2 were 8 foot sections which were much more manageable. I had to trim the boxwood and the myrtle on the corner before going further. Finished removing the fascia before I got tired for the day. I now need two more soffit pieces. We went to the Credit Union and signed our new loan agreement. The old one ran out after 10 years. This one is good for 20 years.

After breakfast I hooked up the trailer with the ladder on it and went to Lowes to get 4 more 12 foot pieces of soffitt. I painted them on the side of the house before it rained then took down more of the old wood. When Libbie came home we were going to go to take a walk but it started raining. Went over to Litmus to get my sculpture instead then we stopped at the Farmers Market for fruit and veggies. I like the cute Farmers Daughters over there in tight tee shirts and short shorts.
Dinner was corn on the cob and bean burger with vidalia. Desert was canteloupe. Yum.

Put up one panel of the hardiboard soffitt and also took some more of the old stuff down. Picked up Libbie at 3:10, her plane was on time. I then hooked up the trailer and we went over to the greenhouse to get the ladder. Found out that Jennifer's Stuart finally got a job. He starts a week from Monday. Even though I had fresh pasta from Trader Joes today we went out to La Cosina for Margaritas and a Quesadilla, our favorite.

Watched a creepy movie that I liked, The Quiet One. Cut the soffitt into an 8 foot long piece after looking at my options at both Home Depot and Lowes. I'll end up buying 12 foot lengths and cutting them into 8 foot pieces. We'll see how this works with the first one. Went over to the greenhouse at 7 with Libbie's car to charge it up. I also ran the greenhouse generator. It was dead 2 days ago so I put water in the battery and now all is well. There was an accident in front of the golf course so I came home via Kildair to Penny Rd. Drove over to Kroger for ice cream that I said wasn't get anymore but I have no will power. They were setting up the lights on Old Raleigh Rd for paving again when I returned from the greenhouse.

Read the paper this morning then went out to work on the fascia boards. Tooks some more down before taking a break to spray the dam. Since it's
Sunday morning I thought it would be good to spray the dam when nobody's around. Only mixed up 2 gals but it went a long ways. Dinner was a bean burger with Vidallia.

I spent a lot of time messing with Uniserver and blog software today. Went outside and mowed the entire back lawn. Did a greenhouse trip and found the generator battery dead. Put water in it and will try tomorrow. The thermostats were set to 70 which means they ran all night long. Set them back to 90, hopefully the fans will turn off tonight. Set up the second ladder as well as a step ladder and took down some more fascia board. The 2x8 underneath looks OK except it's a little weather worn. Dinner was bean burger with Vidalia and ice cream. No more ice cream!!!! It's fattening as hell.
Now I need to mow the front lawn and also, since it's the weekend, take some roundup up onto the dam.

The art book came today. I want to experiment with making colors with oil paints, something I've been having trouble doing. Went to Lowes and bought the materials for the back porch soffit and fascias. Took down the old rotted wood and painted the new wood before installing it. For some reason Lib called twice today from RI. Dinner was Broccoli salad. I downloaded Its Complicated with Alex Baldwin and Mery Streep and watched half of it. It's funny but a long movie.

I installed Xampp on my computer and tried a php socket server but it didn't work too well. Jennifer called that she smelled propane. I went over and found a small leak around the valve on tank 3. Fixed it then weeded the landscape plants and spread Jennifers bark around. The plants seem to be thriving nicely. Dinner was a fish Lean Cuisisne.

Took Libbie to the airport leaving at 8 am. Traffic was surprisingly light the back way through the Cary Pkwy. On the way back I stopped in Brueggers and picked up a bagel with cream cheese. Spent the rest of the day reading about sockets and 485 to IP Wiznet hardware. Dinner tonight was the Broccoli salad which I made this afternoon.

Assembled the second Pisces card this morning then went to Krogers to get gas at 2.56 per gal. Went to the greenhouse at 10:45 where I picked up Libbie and JoAnne Hoover for the drive to Fayetteville. Sheilas home is lovely. I loved the garden and pond that Fred put in, complete with Waterfalls. Absolutely lovely! She had a nice lunch buffet setup with salads and chopped barbecue. We left there around 2 and I drove everyone to the greenhouse to get their cars, including Libbie. At home the mail contained my Wiznet IP to 485 bridge module as well as our State refund check of almost $600. I filed the taxes April 4 and this is June 8. I also went out and got a minimal amount of groceries since today is Tuesday. We forgot to get the garbage to the street this morning. Dinner tonight was BLT with Southern Pit BBQ baked beans.

Went out and worked pretty hard on the fallen tree. I cleared it all and even picked up some of the branches from other trees. Made a large pile next to the fence along the dam. The weather is cool and humidity is low. For dinner we had ribs with sweet potato and cor, all of it leftovers. We walked into Seagrove Farms on the newly opened path after dinner. It's satisfying to see how far the clearing I have done in the woods has come.

No newspaper this morning. Too much to do. We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast then I packaged and installed the fish feeder. We have it set for 6 seconds which Libbie says is an ample amount of food. This is great, the fish feeder was my priority. I put out the MAAVS Memo today and had to update the MAAVS website to include the Raleigh convention. I also worked on clearing the fallen Beech tree in the back by the pond and bird house. It was pretty hot but satisfying work. About another day or two of chain saw work and I'll have a path cleared. I want to be able to take my sprayer to the dam and clear some more of a path with the roundup but the path is blocked. I took my camera to the back and took more pictures in Seagrove Farms. Quite a few more homes are sold. It's very surprising.

Saturday Morning
Worked on a cable for the Pisces controller. Hooked it up to the Fish feeder and it works as expected. I'm happy!!! Next step is to package this thing up, my least favorite job. At noon Libbie came home. We had lunch on the back porch - I had watermelon then we went to the Farmers Market for Fresh peaches, blueberries, corn, zucchini and a trailing gardenia. Stopped at BJ's on the way home and got ribs and milk. Couldn't make the turn back onto Lake Pine at Wendy's because they closed the intersection for paving. We went home via Laura Duncan. We encountered the same situation last night after First Friday. Dinner was ribs, Shiraz and peach pie!!!! We had the corn with the ribs - it was the best of the season.

This morning I finished the Memo article and touched up 4 photos to go with the Convention article for the MAAVS Memo and sent them to Ken for publication. I earlier finished up a short blurb about the MAAVS website and sent it to Ken also. I wrote both articles last night during the opera on WCPE but revised them this morning. I did not want to do anything else until this was done and it is!!! The article references the MAAVS website which needs to be updated before publication this weekend. At noon I went outside and sprayed 4 more gallons of Roundup as a touchup on my previous job. Lib came up the hill when I was about out and piddling the remaining around the edges of the septic field. After a watermelon lunch I went to work on the Pisces Fish Feeder controller. I wired up a cable for control and then built a second cable for my power supply. I found the regulator was installed backwards by me. Reversed it and now I have good 5 volt power from an 8 volt source. I made reservations at Caffe Luna for this evening since it's First Friday.
I checked today to see if my State tax refund has been issued. The State website says that it has.
We left at 6:15 for downtown Raleigh and parked in the Moore Square parking lot at the bus transfer station. We first went to the bank where Nicole had a contemporary show and reception. Our next stop was Artspace where there was a 70th birthday party going on for Judy Crane. We had wine there as well as at Nicoles bank show. On the way out we listened to a young band playing mostly Beatle music and other 60s music. At Caffe Luna I had the chefs special which was scallops, shrimp and other seafood cooked into a slice of bread with a filet of Mahi Mahi. It was very good. I had a glass of Rodney strong Merlot with the meal. We went and listened to more Beatles music until Libbie got dizzy and had to leave.

This is my first day back. I installed all the components on the Fish Feeder board which came in while I was away. Went up in the back and examined a large Beech tree that came down blocking access to the dam and the Seagrove development. I need to clean it up before we can use the path again. A note came from Ken Barbi mentioning that I had promised 2 articles for the MAAVS Memo. I got busy and wrote both of them in the evening but did not submit them. Dinner was a bean burger on Vidalia with cherries for desert. We later had a bowl of skinny Minty ice cream. I listed to a Menotti opera, The Medium while writing 2 articles for the MAAVS Memo. Lib did not like it as predicted but I gave it a chance and ended up enjoying it.

Got up at 4 and was on the road by 4:45. I had clear sailing all the way except for thundershowers beginning in Florence. I stopped at McDonalds for a sausage McMuffin in Ormond Beach and then for a second in Kingsland, GA. I also filled up at 2.59. Next was 2 hamburgers, small fries and medium drink in Florence followed by a fillup at 2.39. It started pouring so bad I couldn't see the lanes on I-95. I was soon out of it but then it started again and continued on and off all the way home. Arrived home at 3:43 in light rain but dark and thundery skies. I planned to do lots of stuff at home but once I stopped traveling I just collapsed. Dinner was BLT and Southwest Fiesta Grillin Beans.

The Scoobie is charged and ready to go. I'll set it up in the kitchen this morning before going out. I'll let the noise run while I'm out and about. Took a long bike ride to Dona Bay and back.

Scoobie did good on the floors but didn't vacuum up the water. The floor looks clean. Recharged and did it again in the bathroom. This time it seems to have vacuumed up the water. Cleaned up the rest of the place including laundry. I had Chile Rejeno for dinner with a side of orange slices for desert. Yummy. In the afternoon I went around looking for a hat. Found a nice straw hat in Davidsons on siesta Key.

Went online to read the rest of the 27 dresses movie outcome. I watched the
movie yesterday until the file wouldn't red anymore so I didn't know how it
ended. will have to download it when I get home and watch the ending. Took a
ride in the other direction of the Legacy trail, towards Clark road from the
Sarasota Parkway. Went to the end and photographed the end of trail sign. Went
to Walmart and picked up a square bike seat that claims to have no pressure
points. Mounted this seat and tried a 4 mile bike road around the outside of
Stoneybrook, past the wetlands and down mcIntosh into the back entrance. I'm not
sure if the seat helped since my butt was still sore but I'm going to give it
another try. The bike is performing well but doen't roll easily. This may be due
to the wide tires and cheap bearings. I took a ride down to Venice and had a big
mac and fries for dinner/lunch at 4 PM. I then went to Walmart again and picked
up a watermelon. the melon was from Mississippi!! I really wanted a Florida
melon. Tried surfing around on TV looking for something to watch then went to
bed bored. I'll probably go home Wednesday.

After breakfast I went to get the newspaper. Read the paper then got on the
bicycle and did a short ride through Soneybrook estates looking for "ForSale'
signs. Came back and went online searching real estate. Took a short nap before
heading out to the drum circle. Couldn't get into the parking lot in 2 attempts
so I went to Turtle Beach and walked from the beach to Island Reef and then back
onto Midnight Pass Rd to walk back to the Turtle Beach parking lot. Left the key
and went to Paneras and had a veggie sandwich and French Onion soup. Returned
after sunset and the lot entrance was blocked by Sarasota sheriff cars. They
weren't letting any cars in after dark. Saw a few nice bikinis walking along
Midnight Pass around Siesta beach. When I got back to Stoneybrook I checked
eMail and found that Libbie had fallen yesterday in the greenhouse and was home
injured. I called right away to check on her condition. She was bruised but OK.
Did some work on the 485 network before going to bed.

I slept well last night. There was some thunder and lightning during the night
but I fell back asleep. Woke at 6:30 and watched the morning shows while I
worked on pictures on my computer. I will need to get to the AVSA pics next. I'm
thinking of driving back tomorrow since I have more to do at home than here.
Took the light apart in the bathroom which I have never liked. I may go to Lowes
to get a replacement. I want a stainless "4 banger" like the "3 banger" we have
in the master bath.

Bought the 4 baner light at Lowes. It went in relatively easy. Finished the job
except for painting. I'll bring rollers and spackle when I come in July.

Went over to Ringling at 10:30. They gave me the senior price even though senior
starts at age 65. The Senior rate is $20 whereas regular admission is $25. I
first went to Caas D'Azan which had a wedding going on the back patio
overlooking Sarasota Bay. The house is opulent but not on the same order as
Hearst Castle or the Biltmore. The surprise was the Tibbal learning center which
was thousands of miniature people made in Tibbals workshop over 50 years. He had
trains, circus wagons, lots of tents and big tops. Wow. I then toured the Rose
garden and some of the other landscaping which was lush. I did a walk through of
the Art Museum including the Circus photographs of somebody at the turn of last
century. Dinner tonight was leftover ribs from last night. Talked to Libbie
tonight on my Pay Per View phone. She worked late at the greenhouse today so she
can take tomorrow morning off and get a massage. Tonight I had the leftover ribs
with the veggies and bake potato. I went to Publix and picked up some Sour Cream
for my potato and I also got some chips which I shouldn't have. I watched Beau
Pere which I brought with me. The title must refer to a Stepfather. The premise
is a man is left with the 14 year old daughter of his girlfriend after the
girlfriend dies in a car wreck. A love relationship ensues making this a remake
of Lolita.

I went to Selby this morning and enjoyed the gardens. Next trip was to Ringling
to get pricing info and hours. I was happy with the pictures from Selby. The new
camera really performs well. Focus is quick, exposure is right on and the camera
is fast. I stopped at the clubhouse at 7 and ordered a rack of ribs to go. They
were good but not as good as Libbies. For desert I had Roadrunner frozen yogurt.
I worked on Pisces today. It was delivered to the greenhouse, Nancy signed for
it. The software was not working. The timer code was screwed up, the wrong
interrupt was being called causing the program to reset to the beginning in the
simulator. I got the interrupts and the registers straightened out and set the
timer to 20 MS using the simulator. I'll check it one the scope at home with the
real hardware.