I got the OOMA device working correctly this morning. I had a wiring problem plugging the ethernet into the wrong port. I liked it so much I ended up canceling the Vonage service. It also sounds much better than I expected. I'll get the Scout device to make it easier to retrieve voicemail. I spent time organizing pictures and backing up folders. I still don't have everything on the server. Libbie and I went out after lunch today and picked up groceries in Trader Joes. I continued to work on the AVSA Shop shopping cart. There's much I don't understand about templates, etc. Dinner was pasta we picked up in TJ's today.

We couldn't find Kitty's card that I assembled. Searched everywhere. We got going at 7:30 and stopped down the street on NJ70 at McDonalds for breakfast. Had a nice trip through Delaware where i avoided the $4 toll once again. Stopped an a dunkin donuts in Aberdeen for more coffee and 2 donuts each. They were good. Did a gas stop in Emporia, VA where we paid 3.92 which was a ripoff. Also did a chicken wrap at Mcdonalds for one stop eaat and gas. The people in the McDonalds were awful - dress seemed to be undershirts which I think is disgusting. It was nice to find 64 at MM 138 and cruise in peace to Raleigh. We got home at 3 pm. After Lib drove to the greenhouse and unloaded she had to water the plants because they were super dry. Later she found the Kitty Get Well card with all the AVSA signatures under her violets. I looked up her address, filled it out and stamped it then took it to the Post office. I also tried looking for milk in Walgreens. Some some teenage hookers in short dresses but no skim milk. Drove to Krogers and got slim milk. I noticed Krogers gas was 3.77 or 3.67 with points. Libbie made her pizza from scratch because 3 PM was enough time to make bread for a crust.

We went to Mickey D's for breakfast again and also topped off our gas tank for the trip back tomorrow. Gas was 3.69. Looked up Patty brunkers phone number on Spokeo which Libbie used to call her and chat. She lives nearby the hotel but she was going to the art museum today as a volunteer.
I went to John Carters talk today about creating an educational exhibit. It was a nicely done presentation. I left near the end and retrieved my camera to get pictures of the nice exhibits he brought with him.
After packing up the booth, Stephie showed up with her two kids. We had a nice visit but we were tired and wanted to lay down. Cocktail hour started at 5 which was when we were still loading the car. I really wanted to lay down for a while. We went down and had a glass of wine then went to our table. There was a Fife and Drum which was nice but they stayed and played during dinner which was head pounding drums. This was not dinner music. Too make matters worse, we had a long boring George Washington talk for 45 minutes. Yuck. I received a society award this wevening. dinner was roast pork and mashed new potatoes with ice cream and a fruit turnover. Too much food and not enough wine. We dragged ourselves to bed where I passed out for the evening.

We did breakfast in McDonalds for $8 which was much better than the $35 breakfast at the hotel. I ran the booth this morning while Libbie attended the Virus talk. We had a starbucks wrap sandwich for lunch which was good. After a long day we went out to dinner at Bahama Breeze again but this time we had to wait for 45 minutes. About 10 of the Texas gang showed up while we were waiting and they got seated before we did. There was a pretty good rain storm gooing on when we arrived. Had a lovely dinner then dragged ourselves back to the hotel where I crashed. It was probably the 2 galsses of wine that did it!

This morning I hung around while judging was going on. At noon we had the library meeting planning our strategy for the year then started the photography shortly after. The show was very nice. I met a photographer who really knew what he was doing, Neil something or other. We both worked until we were dead tired. Went out to dinner to Bahama Breeze again by the Cherry Hill Mall. I had almond crusted tilapia with mashed sweet potatoes and a glass of shiraz.

We had the hotel continental breakfast for $11 each. We sat with Anne and Richard then Libbie made calls to visit Stephanie and Slim chicks while I went to the 9 am board meeting. Not much happened at the meeting. I tried to press the issue about schedule and timing of the website but got nowhere except the answer was that it's a legal issue and the resolution date is open ended. The meeting ended surprisingly before noon or shortly after the break. Wow. This freed me up for the rest of the day. Libbie came back in the rain shortly after lunch after sitting in a McDonalds during a downpour talking on the phone to Sue about Sue's problems which are many and varied. We went to the Presidents reception but just as we got there the phone rang and Jennifer arrived with our plants which we went downstairs to help unload. Went back to the reception and had finger foods and wine. I talked to Janet about the archivist duties and will assist her which involves a trip to Beaumont. This evening we went out and had pizza down the street for dinner.

After breakfast this morning we got into the car and left home at 8 am. It's supposed to rain but so far we drove in NC under blue skies and little to no traffic. We stopped on I-95 around Roanoke for more coffee and a McDonalds biscuit. We hit rain from Richmond to Fredericksburg. Bought gas in Fredericksburg at 3.92 and also had a ranch wrap in McDonalds. This was also a good bathroom break. This time going North I wanted to avoid the DE-MD toll so we did the drive around. It took 7 minutes. If we had not gone around, the toll and 2 exits would probably be 5 minutes so I estimate this added 2 minutes to our trip. We had a very good trip, we arrived at 3:30. I briefly had a chat with Winston about the website. Nothing has changed. After settling into our room and unpacking the plant boxes we called the Nicholas's and also Marjorie and went out to Bahama Breeze with them for dinner. I had the Jerk painted salmon with sweet potatoes. We each had a glass of Shiraz with dinner. Bahama Breeze was next to the Cherry hill Mall. After getting back at 8:30 we went to our room and to bed.

Did some last minute work outside today. Put stakes in for the tomatoes and the one renegade Dahlia that appeared by itself. Tied the plants as appropriate. Went back inside and prepared the cameras and lights for the trip to AVSA. Packed up my suitcase. For lunch I had the leftover Chinese and also a BLT. For dinner Libbie made the Trader Joe's pasta. We watched about 20 minutes of Dancing with The Stars before turning it off and going back upstairs to fine tune our suitcases for the AVSA trip.

Got up and started organizing files as well as I did a few touch ups to Jessica's album. Watched an Indy film this afternoon, Endure and briefly went outside to stake the Dahlias and tomatoes. Couldn't find the string so that job is incomplete. Printed labels for the Violet Convention sales this week. Libbie had to go to OfficeMax for Avery 8162 labels. WE had a yummy pizza this evening with real tomatoes. After dinner I watched spanish TV for a while, Nuestra Belleza Latina. I started gathering my journals for the past 15 years by running the program "egret" against the phpblog. This VB program I wrote gathers the individual daily entries and compiles them into a yearly journal. I may compile the 2000-1010 into a decade journal and put it on Google for archiving.

The Guenthers arrived around 1 am this morning. Libbie went down to greet them. In the morning they went to the greenhouse at 9:30 but we had to leave for the opera at 10:30. Libbie managed to get away and get home in time to get dressed and make tuna sandwiches. We got to the theater on time and even took some pics for the Met Facebook page. The performance was delayed 40 minutes by troubles with "the Machine" which stages the opera. When it went on the Opera was spectacular. Bryn Terfel and Jonas Kaufman are part of a stellar cast. The music, singing and staging were a complete experience. We got home around 6:30. We ordered Chinese takeout which we had with shiraz. Yummy. I finished up Jessica's 40 page album today as well. What a relief.

Worked on Jessica's album and finished it today. Now I still have the last minute tweaks such as adjusting borders and choosing backgrounds. This was a big relief. Looked at the AVSA budget. What a mess. Revenue is still going down while expenses remain level. Libbie and I went to Trader Joes this afternoon for wine and sundry items. We had wine, Lima Beans and ribs for dinner. The Guenthers spent this morning at Disneyworld then they were going to drive here. We heard they got into the car at 2 PM which means a midnight arrival if we're lucky.

This was catch up day. Sorted stuff, unpacked the suitcases, dealt with some finances, etc. Resurrected the Chumby from Best Buy and programmed it to display pics from Traviata as well as Facebook, Picasa and Flickr. Dinner was La Cocina where we had Margaritas and our standard Quesadilla La Cocina. There was an accident on Old Raleigh Rd where we couldn't get buy so we came home through buckingham. It's been a while since we went that way - the back entrance.

Well, I woke up this morning and made the decision to leave today. I'll pack the apartment up this morning then get going by 8:30 which will allow me to miss rush hours in Tampa, Orland and JAX. I managed to get everything buttoned up but later realized I left my water bottle in the bike handlebar bag, partially filled with water. Sirius XM has Florida traffic on one of their channels. I programmed preset A0 to access this easily. It gives Miami on the 1's, Orlando on the 4's and Tampa on the 8's, both traffic and weather for each of those cities. It was pretty handy for the traffic. I left at 8:28 and had a pretty easy drive with no congestion or slowdowns anywhere. First stop was in Brunswick where gas was an outrageous 3.99. I used exit 29, should have waited for exit 36 or so where they were advertising 3.89. Next stop was Florence but instead of my normal exit 164 I drove further to hwy 38, the Hess station where gas was 3.65. I chose this because there are no lights getting on or off the highway and it's less congested for the same price. There also is no food here and since I had my cut up cup of fruit from Publix all was fine. I arrived home at 7:15 where Libbie greeted me with BLT's and strawberry shortcake.

I decided not to paint the door this trip. I'll bring a sanding sponge next time and maybe blue tape and a good paint brush. I want to start a painting but I'm not sure if it should be a simple tree or the complicated building I was going to paint.
Took the old cruiser bike to Goodwill and dropped it off then hooked up my bike and drove to the Venice Train Depot. Rode the Venice waterways all the way to Casperian Beach. It was great. Very scenic and I love the Casperian Beach park. Came back and had Thai Curry chicken for dinner along with some Ravenswood Zinfindel and Key Lime Cheesecake. I treated myself nicely. I also called Comcast today and turned off the Internet. I'm also going to try getting rid of Vonage and switching to an Ooma. I took out a 941 area code google number for use in the condo, specifically with the Ooma device.
I have mixed feelings about driving home tomorrow. I want to stay another day.

Got up early this morning and started quietly cutting away the carpet where the new door frame has to go. When it got to be 9 am I got to work seriously on the effort. Cut a 2x4 and a 1x4 for use as shims and nailed them to the sides. Cut a 1/2 inch off the new frame and installed it but the door was too tight against the carpet. I decided to pull the door out and remove the sheetrock on the header. It was a messy job but necessary. The door fits much better. After getting the door secured I went to Home Depot and bought a door handle with lock and shims. Using the shims I was able to get the door straight and then spackle all the nail holes. For lunch and dinner I ordered 2 sandwiches from the club house, a hamburger and a BLT, both with side orders of sweet potato fries. Both were excellent. I listened to Walkure live on Sirius but dozed off several times. I worked hard, did not go out on the bicycle at all which was too bad.

Bought a newspaper this morning. I'm not sure it was worth it. Hopped on the bicycle and rode to Oscar Scherer. This almost killed me I was so tired. That's what I get for eating donuts after breakfast. I was also concerned about tire pressure on the rear tire. When I got back I checked it and it was low at 35 but that's not too bad. Dinner was a beanburger with Vidalia on flat bread.

Went out this morning to Lockridge Rd. Interesting. When I came back i listened to the Met saturday broadcast of Ariadne. It was incredibly good. While the opera was on I built a St Simons photo book on lulu and ordered it using a graduation coupon for 30% off. Lulu's tools are better than Kodaks. Libbie called later in the afternoon relaying all the travails with the Guenther trip. They got off to a a late start, having to switch rental cars in Richmond which also meant driving 2 cars to Richmond and leaving one there while they switched the van with the wrong child restraint mounts and picked up one with the correct mounts for their Florida trip. It seems like much ado about nothing. For lunch and dinner today I had a bean burger on flat bread with a slice of Vidalia and ketchup. Desert was chocolate Moose Tracks frozen yogurt. I'm watching my favorite variety show on Spanish TV, Sabado Gigante.

I wanted to go for a bike ride but the sky looked too threatening. Went to Selby gardens instead and then stopped by Home Depot on the way home. It started thundering and lightning inside the store but I was able to get door sizes and prices anyway. I also looked at door handles for home. I want to change our doorknobs to levers in the Playroom as a start. I may defer this project until I'm able to raise the funds to pay the Stoneybrook fees. Found a good watercolor book in Books a Million. It's called Watercolor: The Spirit of Spontaneity. It was $25 in the store but is $15 on Amazon. I ordered it from Amazon for around $18 with shipping. Dinner was the leftover ribs, potato and rolls. Very nice. Libbie is doing much better today. Ron Davidson called and told her he was going to call the ag department and apologize for Georgine's behavior.

Talked to Nancy today when I called the greenhouse. I thanked her for being Libbie's therapist. Went out later in the morning and looked at bikes in both Target and Walmart. I liked the Walmart Next model with 7 speeds. hooked up the bike rack back at Stoneybrook and bought the bike at Walamrt as well as a very nice straw hat. Since it was an XL it fits much nicer than my other one. Pumped the tires up to 40. They came with 20 psi. Used the factory seat and took a ride to the back corner by the junk yard, a total of 4 miles round trip. Talked to John Carter when I returned. He was out mentoring elementary school kids. His assigned child has a Mother in jail and is being raised by a grandmother. He had the child make a Mothers Day card anyway for the grandmother to give to the Mother if she see her. I relayed to John the long sad story of Georgina and INSV. Unknown to me he sent out an eMail to AVSA EC members and Anne telling what the "AVSA INSV Expert" did to Libbie. Anne sent out a note and I replied with the story. Libbie called her. At 6 PM I called over to the clubhouse for an order of a rack of ribs to go. They were delicious. Unfortunately I went to Publix later in the evening and picked up some frozen yogurt which I don't need. Listened to the Met on Sirius for both Trovatore and Walkure in the evening. Set the radio to auto sleep and went to bed with Walkure playing. It shuts off in 90 minutes.

It was raining this morning. Checked the radar and decided that it was OK to travel at 10 am. I canceled the room I had reserved in JAX since even though I may get in late I still cam make it to Stoneybrrok at a reasonable hour. Had rain on the beltline and some of 40 but I-95 was celar and by the time I got to Fayetteville there was blue sky. Stopped for gas in Florence, used my $25 gift card and paid for the rest of the gas with my Visa. $3.73 per gallon. Next gas stop was Kingsland/St Mary where it was $3.88 per gallon. These were my only two stops. I had an apple on the way down. Bought milk and OJ at Publix but the Subway was closed when I got back outside. It was just after 9. Instead I went to Checkers and had a Big Rufus combo for 7.06. It was way too fattening. A Big Mac like burger, tasty fries and a huge coke. I should not have done it besides it cost $7.06. At the condo I talked to Lib who was still getting over this Georgine thing. It's a shame, she works so hard and gets dumped on like this.

Did the grocery store run this morning then visited Ace Hardware looking for a 9/16-20 tap. No luck but I did buy pepper plants and zucchini seeds. Put the electric fence around the grow boxes after planting 6 peppers and the squash seeds. I'm ready for the trip. I also hooked up the watering to the box and ran out to Krogers for a new 9v backup battery for the watering timer. Took a drive up 55 to the bicycle chain bike store looking for my tap. They have a huge selection of bikes, all of which were very expensive. Libbie came home in tears today with INSV issues reported to her from a different ag department. That Georgina is a pain in the ass. Our ag inspector insisted we did not have INSV.

Watched some news this morning that Osama Bin Laden was killed yesterday. After breakfast news went outside and tilled the garden. The tiller started right up. Planted the tomatoes then prepared the grow boxes for planting. Put two tomatoes in there as well but they need an electrical fence for protection. Next i mowed the front lawn for the first time this year. Also picked up the outlet covers and plaster for the playroom job. Much going on!!!!
For dinner we had crabcakes with tomatoes Libbie picked up at a vegetable stand on Kildaire Farm Rd.

Managed to get all new outlets installed on the South wall of the playroom and under the fan window (3 outlets).

I started working on the plaster job in the playroom. When Libbie came home started putting the green paint on. Made it all the way around the room in 2 coats except for the wall that needs repair. For dinner we had Libbie's wonderful pizza. It was great that she was able to do this despite the fact she worked all day painting trim in the playroom! I ordered a fruit basket for Arlene's 60th birthday this week from edible arrangements. Luckily i used Google and found a coupon code to get 10% off. Getting ready to go to Sarasota this week. It's one of the few weeks i can do this!

I'm not feeling too sore today after doing the paint roller yesterday. The Met Facebook page is requesting pictures from inside the HD theater today so they can post it on their site.
Took a few pictures outside the theater of the line and also a few inside but didn't use them. We loved Trovatore!!!! it was perfect. The HD camera also focused on a group of ladies waving panties to Hvortovsky. Unfortunately those 2 annoying ladies from last week sat down next to me. I moved to the other side of Libbie to get away from them. i could still hear them but it was better. After the theater we stopped at BJ's for ribs and sundry other groceries. Dinner was ribs with broccoli and Shiraz. Very nice. I worked a little more on the Hiroshima Peace building then sent it to the virtual paintout. I'm going to redo it but first i want to participate in the May painting.

When I turned GMA on this morning the Royal Wedding had just finished and they were in the registry signing the book. Saw the procession and drive to Buckingham Palace as well as the replay put together by ABC called 4 hours in 40 minutes. Enjoyed it all, especially the funky hats.
I started the Hiroshima Peace Memorial painting again. It's going better this time, I decided to use a wash for the building and then add weather effects. The sponge worked especially well. I hooked up the wire snake and pulled the last wire into the knee wall for the Playroom rebuilding project. When Libbie came home we opened the new paint I bought in Home Depot this morning and started rollering. Made it all the way around the room to the front window. I have some serious plaster repair to do for the other half of the room. Got cleaned up and drove to the Chapel Hill Town hall for Kim's Art show of her sculpture. We had some nibbles and stayed around a little looking at her artwork and chatting. We next went to Thai Palace on Raleigh Rd where we had Spring Rolls, Chicken Pad Thai and house burgundy wine. The bill with tip was $44 which was excellent. We got home about 9:30 and watched a little of the replay of the Royal Wedding between Will and Kate which was today.