We got up early and started loading the car in the 48 degree weather. It's a blue sky Fall morning. We drove down the street and got breakfast at McDonalds before driving to Silver Spring. I dropped Libbie off at Sue's then continued the journey. It was an easy drive with me arriving home at 2:30. i was shocked to see the garage door was open!!!1 Apparently it had not closed when we left - it must have auto reversed, something it does if there's a leaf or two hanging from the door. Unloaded everything and then took a shower and washed my hair. Did a Krogers trip for milk and OJ then started straightening out my finances. FIA online account has disappeared so I couldn't make a payment. I called them and they said it was changed to BankAmerica. I made a phone payment. What a pain in the ass. When the card gets here I'm not going to use it. It's out of here!

Things are pretty slow at MAAVS. I went to the Gesneriads in China talk which was very informative and entertaining, especially the life in Southern china near the Vietnam border. In the evening we got dressed up and went to the banquet. We were seated with Donna and her Mother, Janet Reimer, Nancy Hayes and Francis Silva. Sue Hoffmann also joined us. We used our priority coupons and got 2 for 1 drinks at the hotel bar, then took them into the banquet.

We didn't get up this morning until 7:24. I slept very well. Had the hotel breakfast which was a not too bad buffet for 10.95 each.
The showroom opened at 9 and the show at 1 but we couldn't be there because we were on the Inner Harbor bus tour. Enjoyed the ride through downtown Baltimore. There is a lot to offer down there. We may come back to the Peabody institute with Road Scholar. The banquet this evening was fun. I dressed in my Pink Flamingo costume which was voted most outrageous costume. Michelle also dressed as a Flamingo. The banquet dinner was Prime rib which was very good.

Left at 8 for Baltimore. Stopped somewhere around the VA/NC border on I-95 for coffee and biscuits. The Mickey D coffee was free and the biscuits 2 for 1. What a deal. Lunch at Mickey D near the hotel. Arrived at 1:30 PM at the Crowne Plaza. Nice hotel but old. After unloading in a cold rain we met with the Barbi's and Loomis's and went to a seafood restaurant called Mo's. It was outstanding including our outspoken waitress. I had the broiled seafood dinner with mixed veggies and baked potato. We each had 2 glasses of Fetzer Chardonnay for a total of $72 which included tip and tax. Going to the place was in rush hour traffic so we crept on I-83 4 miles to the exit. We enjoyed the evening.

Went under the porch this morning and hooked the gas line up and put the final strapping on. I did not turn the gas on because it would take some time to test it all. We got busy and packed everything for the MAAVS show including the plants since they will be OK overnight in the car in the garage. I went to Krogers for pasta which we had tonight for dinner. I finished the Nicholas Sparks "Best of Me" book tonight which was quite enjoyable.

This morning I went under the house and put the pipe strapping on the length of the gas pipe supporting it. When I was done it was time to get cleaned up to go to Sheila's. Left at noon with Sylvia and JoAnn for the 40 mile trip. Sheila had a nice lunch prepared of Ziti and crock pot sausage. Yummy. The program was a business meeting and the DVD of the TAVS show. In the evening we went to LaCocina for Margaritas and dinner. Good stuff.

Got the gas line run all the way to where it ties into the main line. Still have not secured it to the ceiling. Next step will be to secure it then tie it in and leak test it. This will probably happen tomorrow when we come back from Sheila's house. I had to make a Home Depot run for the final pipe sizes to reach the main line. Next issue will be the exhaust stack. It has to be 3 inch type B. I only saw 4 inch today in HD. Had an eye checkup this morning. At $160 this is getting to be expensive!!! Dinner tonight was Briyani. Burned the DVD tonight for the meeting tomorrow.

Went outside and ran the gas pipe from the foundation up to the entry into the backporch.
installed a shutoff in the back porch end above the clock. This was a days worth of work. I also managed to run 20 feet of pipe under the porch. Tried out the new LED head worn headlamp. it works well for hands free in the dark work. Libbie made her wonderful pizza. At noon today we went to the Farmers Market for pansies. Also got some Hummingbird cupcakes for a birthday treat which I had with lunch. After pizza this evening Libbie served a homemade apple pie which was yummy.

It's a short day because of Opera this afternoon. Worked on the back porch and under the porch disassembling the gas line and installing a tee for the new greenhouse branch. Buttoned all this up and bubble tested it for leaks. Cleaned up and left at 11:00 for Siegfried at Crossroads. This theater is a little closer and very very empty. It was a very memorable Siegfried. Jay Hunter Morris is a wonderful, playful Siegfried played by an unlikely Texan. Libbie made sandwiches for in the theater. We got out at 5:30 from a 12:00 start. When I got home I checked the air in the Prius because the light was on. Air was 22 on the passenger side front and back. It should be 35 and 33 respectively. Pumped up all 4 tires. Dinner was Chinese take out and Shiraz.

What a cold rainy day. I didn't accomplish much compared to yesterday. Libbie gave me an early birthday present, a head mounted LED flashlight to use under the house for the new greenhouse wiring and furnace installation. Dinner was scallops with Lima Beans and Santa Barbara Chardonnay.

This was a day of successes. Started out by taking the booklet to the printer. Dave at PIP printed me a proof copy which I took home. It looks great. I had the page count wrong, submitted 30 pages but the booklet has to be divisible by 4. I had them put two more pages in the back as "Notes". Next step was to assemble the 10 foot long gas pipes for painting. Libbie painted the pipes and when she was done she gave me the wet brush and can. I painted the generator gas pipe and the pipe going under the deck to the grill and the porch. I also knocked a hole in the foundation by the new greenhouse for the power and gas to come out. I may make it bigger to pass a conduit through as well. Next stop was the bathroom. After a lunch of corn chowder I assembled the bathroom drain. It works and it's leak free. Now i need to cut a plywood to paint and cover up the hole I cut in the sheetrock. Dinner was TJ's spinach tortellini. After dinner I installed Drupal on the LSAVC website. Earlier in the day Mary Corodan sent me the login and password. Didn't go to bed until midnight.

This morning I started working on the bathroom tub drain and got nowhere. Ended up cutting open the sheetrock some more and cutting away the plywood subfloor. I got the drain out of the tub. Went to Home Depot and Lowes for the drain. Bought the gas pipes in Home Depot for the greenhouse. It looks like some of the bows are too high. May have to do some adjusting. Dinner was lobster Ravioli which was yummy. I want more. will return the tub drain to Lowes.

Did a grocery run this morning. Went to Krogers, Trader Joes and Walmart for fish food. Put the remaining two bows up in the greenhouse. Dinner was barbecue on buns.

I spent some time today cstching up. The mail had my new Capital One card which I then used to switch a lot of my online payments. There are a lot of payments to deal with but I think I caught them all. Dinner was Briyanni. I spent a lot of time today putting the MAAVS Souvenir book together. Finished it up by midnight.

We got up at 5:05 and got going right away. Out the door in the dark into a chilly car. I was glad I bought the fleece pullover yesterday in Walmart. It was warm. We stopped at a QT 10 minutes before the airport to top off the gas tank. I bought 5.9 gallons at 3.19 per gallon. We easily found the car rental drop and checked our terminal on the monitors. It was E31. Got on the E shuttle which was very very full. I had to stand but it was a short ride. Breezed through security except Libbie who had to have her hands swabbed. We were not sure if it was random or a detection of fertilizer. Bought a bacon and egg biscuit at Popeyes before boarding the plane. Everything went ontime and the flight was very smooth. Bought a turkey melt in Atlanta with fries for lunch. We got home at 3:45. Found that part of the ceiling fell in the foyer. The culprit seems to be the shower drain which is leaking. Did a Krogers run for cheese, milk and to top off my gas tank at 3.48 less the 20 cents for fuel points for a total of 3.28.

We had another nice breakfast buffet then did showroom hosting duty until it was time for the Bill Price lecture. There were issues with the sound and the projector colors. I wasn't too interested in the presentation. When it was done we went out to find lunch and a sweatshirt. Got a cheap shirt in Walmart that looks like it will do. Had a nice lunch Texas Style at Cousins BBQ. They served a huge beef BBQ sandwich and a gigantic frosted mug of beer. Yummy. Got back to the hotel and took a deserved nap. Went to the banquet at 5:30 for Social Hour. Sat at a table with Janet, her Mother and girlfriend as well as a young couple new to Violets. It was an enjoyable evening. Dinner was a banquet where I had the chicken fried steak, potatoes, corn, salad and both chocolate cake and cheesecake for desert. No coffee was the only drawback.

We had the very nice breakfast buffet in the hotel then did the clerking. I was assigned to Kathy Bell then a second team was formed to help with Gesneriads. I helped Clerk that one. We had lunch at the Rig across the street then saw the show. Bill Price led a walk through of the Gesneriad section of the show which we attended. Andrea did her interview of us and the song. At 6 PM we met in the lobby and went out to Joe T Garcias with the Nicholas's, Bill Price and Elmer. The Mexican food was outstanding. Our only trouble was it was cash which was $45. We have lots of plastic, very little cash. After a nice dinner with friends, 18 of the Lonestar bunch to be exact, Richard drove us on a tour of the Stockyards in Ft Worth. We saw Billy Bobs, the old train station, the Cowboy Hall of Fame, a rodeo and many other sites lit up at night.

It was a leisurely but cold morning reading the paper and drinking coffee in the room. Left around 10 for the Kimbell Art museum in Ft Worth. It was a small museum but of high quality. We had lunch in the Museum Cafe. I had a small buffet plate with a ham sandwich, carrot and cabbage salad and Southwestern Corn chowder soup. Next stop was the Crowne Plaza. Set up the GPS and had no trouble getting to our hotel. Met Andrea in the parking lot. Did an early check in which was nice. Went over to sales and found some of our friends. Libbie helped with entries. At lunchtime we had a sandwich in the hotel cafe. I had a Cuban then went up to finish the Thomas Kinkade book, Christmas Gift, which was very nice. Libbie came up around 9 when entries were done.

We had a leisurely morning reading the Wall St journal in the room before heading to the other side of Dallas to buy a GPS from FRY's Electronics. We got a refurbished Magellan for $59 which I'm happy with. We programmed it for the Dallas Arboretum and got there with no trouble. The Arboretum was wonderful. They had 50,000 pumpkins on their 66 acres lining the paths.. There were many people everywhere but it was a warm 88 degree day and very pleasant. The flowers were spectacular, the water falls and manmade rapids and streams were incredible. We had lunch in a beergarten which was dressed for oktoberfest. We split a polish sausage and each had a bottle of special Oktoberfest beer. Nice. Dragged ourselves very tired to the car and got to the hotel via GPS with no problem. Layed down for an hour or so before we had to get dressed for the Opera. Left at 5:15 for Dickeys BBQ. The first one we tried closed at 3 PM but found another near downtown near a bad neighborhood. Had a beef brisket BBQ sandwich and split a side of beans. Crossed under the freeway and amazingly we were among opulence and splendor. The opera house is spectacular. We used self serve parking for $5 about a block away. Our toyota was in good company among Porsches, Mercedes and Lexus cars. Lucia was spectacular. The Orchestra was amazing, the singing was extraordinary. The opera was long with two intermissions. Our only glitch was the long line for champagne which cost $24. By the time we got our glasses we had to chug them because intermission was almost over. We stayed in the opera house for the second intermission. Going home was a breeze thanks to GPS and the hotel only being 6 miles away.

This morning I put tools away and updated the Bluebird website before we had to get into the car and drive to the airport at 11:30. We parked at the Relax and Park near route 70 and got a shuttle ride to Southwest. The plane ride was very smooth and on time but it was pretty long. We went from RDU to Tampa to Austin then changed planes for a Dallas flight. For lunch we split a turkey sandwich and water at RDU. Dinner was intersting. We landed at 7 PM and forgot our GPS. We tried map driving looking for a BBQ or steak place. Stumbled upon Dunstons on Lovers Lane. It was enjoyable. We both had baby backs with potato and salad bar and also a Beringers Pinot Noir glass. Bill with tip was $56. We arrived at the Comfort Inn pretty tired after having been in a traffic jam due to construction on the spur from 75 to I-35E. After driving lost for a while we eventually decided to go for the Interstate to approx where our hotel was. Drove the service road for many miles looking for the Comfort Inn. We miss the GPS!

Went outside early to start the bows. Found one of the gutters was reversed such that the holes for the bows didn't line up in synch with the first gutter. After a while I discovered the ridge pole was also backwards. Unbolted the bows and put it back together correctly. Had to return the screws I bought to Home Depot because they were too short. Also returned the one leftover bag of concrete. After Home Depot we went to the greenhouse and picked up the rest of the bows. Struggled with the first but then the rest just fell together. At 5:30 we went to the greenhouse again looking for the insert piece for the two ridge pole pieces in order to align them. I have 2 more bows to install. I wanted to finish the job before we leave tomorrow but it's not going to happen. 1010 was backed up all way to the Apex Peakway at 5:30 with rush hour traffic. We stayed in the line and eeked our way to the greenhouse. No luck finding the ridge pole insert. Can't finish. dinner was Tortellini with fresh tomato in the tomato sauce. I checked into Southwest this afternoon and got A tickets. Tried to view our seat assignments on Airtran for the return and found they charge $6 each for advanced seat reservations. No thanks.

After a leisurely morning of coffee, apple pie leftovers and CBS Sunday Morning I went outside and started setting the last of the poles. Had to run to the greenhouse to pick some pole extensions for the deadmen that we cut off. Drilled the extensions and bolted them on. Libbie and I went to Home Depot for another bag of concrete and then she mixed the three bags in the wheel barrow while I shoveled the concrete into the holes holding the support pipes. That finishes this phase of the project. Next up is the bows. Each one will be cut, drilled and mounted. We skipped RLT today to make progress on the greenhouse. Dinner was Libbie's outstanding pizza.

My finger is still bleeding this morning from yesterday's pipe pinching. Looking at how to monitor greenhouse and back porch temperature. Will use an Arduino with Xbee and three temperature sensors or possibly a humidity sensor. I want to monitor temperature outdoors, the porch and the new greenhouse. Today is the day to mix and pour concrete around the greenhouse poles. It's a little chilly today to be outdoors but after moving bags of 80 pound concrete I warmed up quickly. Poured the concrete on the poles and deadmen for the two corners. The center pole is in bad shape, very crooked. I'm tempted to pull it out and relocate it. Libbie raked the driveway so I used the pine straw as mulch around the Camelias in the back.
Dinner was pork chops with butternut squash, a Libbie baked Apple Pie and Rodney Strong Chardonnay.

Went to the greenhouse this morning with the trailer and brought home the gutters and dead man poles that were in the corn shed. Worked on the slope of the posts for a while then started assembling the gutters and dead men. Finished around 5, now it's ready for concrete. Used the new post hole digger to dig out the deadman post hole. not sure if I needed it for this. Libbie and I took a trip to Home Depot and picked up 6 bags of 80 lb concrete mixx for tomorrow. Libbie called the Chinese takeout from Home Depot and our order was ready when we arrived there. Dinner was eggrolls and Szechuan 3 meat and a bottle of Shiraz.

i started digging the post holes with my shovel but ran into trouble in the hard ground. Went to a rental place next to Kmart Cary and found they only rented furniture. They sent me to Mikes Garden Center across from Burkes. The state fair is going on so it was no easy task. They didn't have rentals either. Ended up going to Home Depot in Fuquay and buying a post hole digger. It did the job exceedingly well but just about killed me. Libbie is not feeling well so we skipped the State Fair which was good because I have too much to do. Dinner was the leftover eggplant parmesan which is very good.