This was a busy day. I started by finishing the sanding of the shutter then I put a coat of Rustoleum on one side. Returned several hours later, flipped the shutter and did the other side. I'll check tomorrow, it may need 2 coats of paint. Temp got up to 88 today in the greenhouse, one of the reasons I want the shutter functioning. This was with the outside door propped open. Set the toaster on fire by leaving toast cooking in the thing and forgetting about it. The Smoke Detector alerted me but not before the kitchen was filled with smoke and there were flames coming out of the toaster. I'm afraid it has reached the end of the road. Installed the fence wire up Longo's side of the property today, this completes the fence job except for retrieving my mason line. Spent some time with the Adobe Lightroom tutorial today. I'm not sure of the worth of this program but I will keep at it. It may not buy me anything from what I see so far. I also downloaded Family Tree Maker 2012 from Pirate Bay. My version was 2010. Not sure what's new and improved. Dinner was fried chicken and cherry pie. Too much food, I'll never learn.

Got the shutter from the Jessie Rd greenhouse before it started raining at noon today. Patched the hole where it came from. It's rusted badly, so I'll have to sand and paint it. Easier said then done, it needs to be disassembled first and the motor rebuilt. Dinner was tuna sandwiches before going over to Litmus to sculpt. My piece is doing fine. I want to complete hands and legs as well as a complete head with hair. Came home and played with the Nook, looking for another book to read since I finished "Sahara" by Clive Custler.

Straightened up the house and got the lunch buffet ready for the Violet club which stared shortly after noon when Sheila arrived, then Sylvia, Ed and Joanne. It was a pleasant get together. Sheila demonstrated a Pave technique for design which was nice. Sylvia gave me a bunch of comments about the new AVSA website. After the meeting I put the shutter up over the fan and completed the strip tape around it. I took a walk to the top of the hill and looked over where I need to put the fence wire but I didn't do anything about it since i was a little tired. Lunch today was cookies (too many of them), cupcakes, tuna salad, chicken salad, macaroni salad, potato salad and Hawaiian rolls. I ate too many cookies, too many sandwiches which I also had for dinner. Listened to Barber of Seville in the evening live. It was truly a delight then read "Sahara" on my Nook until 11:30 PM. It's a great read, I really like Dirk Pitt. This is like the old James Bond but a Geekier version.

Got up at 5 to take Libbie to the airport at 5:30 for her 7 AM flight to PVD. Came home tired. Read the Wall Street Journal then did some online reading of Arduino and Pachube. My feed is still frozen for unknown reasons. Visited downtown Raleigh then went to Northern Tool, Lowes and Home Depot looking at reciprocating saws. Milwaukee makes a made in USA model for $119 but Lowes sells a name brand Skil reciprocating saw for $59. Did the Tuesday groceries at Kroger and picked up a Lowes $50 gift card which I spent in Lowes for the Skil saw. The lady running the register, Gwen, was tall, slim and attractive. I mentioned to her how tall she was and had a pleasant conversation. Nice. Dinner was Lima beans and cranberry-orange cookies. Not great.

Went to Home Depot and got more nails and 2x6's. Although it was around 50 outside, it was hot in the greenhouse. The temp got to over 100. I was sweating and ended up finishing the walkway without my shirt. Libbie took pics of everything which I downloaded from her camera and put on her computer for her. I made a photographic Valentine for her which I picked up at Walgreens and assembled to give to her. We checked her very late into her flight but she still got an A ticket. Dinner was BBQ from Trader Joes which we had on buns.
Tomorrow in the greenhouse I need to install the fan since it's getting hot in there. I also have to take LKibbie to the airport at 5:30 am.

Leveled the walkway and built the ramp to the stairs. Next job was to cut the boards into 2 foot lengths and nail down the planks. I ran out of nails and wood. GMA this morning devoted the whole show to Whitney Houston. I'm not sure why. She had a great voice but I wasn't excited by her music. Libbie made her great pizza which we had while watching the Grammys.

Carried the wood and bricks into the greenhouse this morning and pounded a pipe into the ground for the walkway near the steps. I want to stay clean because we're going to the Opera at Crossroads. Left at 11:15 for a noon showing of Gotterdamerung. The music was transporting. The transmission was lost for 10 minutes at about the 5 hour mark when the power to the theater glitched. Afterr the performance it was very cold and windy outside. ?The car thermometer said it was 37. We had Chinese tonight with Ravenwood Shiraz and an eggroll. I really like this stuff.

Put together the walkway for the South Bench. Next I have to build a ramp to get to the stairs platform. I spent somr time on the Srduino project. I can now pick up the Zigbee stuff but it's not being displayed correctly by the web server. I went to the top of the hill and put the new fence post into it then nailed the wire to the fence. this repairs the back section of fence. Next job will be to run a wire down the Longo side of the property and attach it to the posts. Dinner tonight was scallops, broccoli and Brown rice with shiraz.

Busy day. Went to the Credit Union and deposited the 3,000 Feb rent check. This will help with cash flow. Priced lumber in lowes, they raised the price of treated wood. Bought 6 2x6's in Home Depot for the walkway. It's 40 cents per foot. Pachube still not working. Created a stripped down program to try. Went to the top of the hill and pulled the staples from the broken fence post. Will finish mending the back fence tomorrow. Finished the second half of the South bench. It still needs a covering and the first half still needs blocking. Nailed down the stairs and examined the cement job from yesterday. Very nice. While the stairs were in place I used them to remove the window frame on 3 sides. Getting ready to break through but first will build the walkway.

Adjusted the string along the property line early this morning then went into the greenhouse to begin bench construction. Mixed up some hydraulic cement and patched around the hole where the gas pipe and conduit pass through. Cut the riser boards for the stairs. I'm one short, probably the bottom step when I get them all nailed down. Cut the wood and assembled the second Southernmost bench. I want both benches in place before I start building the boardwalk. I hung the Bluebird thermometer which I retrieved yesterday from the Jessie Rd greenhouse. Best place for it seems to be over the thermostats which is out of the sun. Dinner was Chicken peanut Thai. Yummy.

Went to the greenhouse and picked up 20 2x4x12's to work on the benches and walkway. I bought some mason string and located the fence line between us and Longo. Kids have been playing in our woods, we found a teepee fort made out of sticks in the woods. I want to stop this so will run a wire fence for a few hundred feet from the corner of the property. I used the fence digger and dug one hole and located the corner post. Ran the mason string from there for about 300 feet. Dinner was Lobster pasta. We finished the chicken from last night today. Had it for lunch with baked beans.

Jack Shannon came over today to help Libbie and her shipping. I painted the gas pipe in the greenhouse. It's a hot day inside the greenhouse structure with no fan to exhaust the air. I also worked out the problem with receiving comma separated data with commas for the Meistersinger energy collector Arduino. This is the last day of the current charge cycle with Sparks Visa. Tomorrow Ii can spend again! We need to book the rest of the New Orleans trip but I'm waiting for a new charge cycle. Dinner was baked beans and a rotisserie chicken from Kroger.

Picked up some more 2x6's from Lowes then added the decking boards for the stairs landing. Cut and fit the stair stringers and bolted them to the wall and to the landing. Placed the treads over the stringers but did not nail them because I need to move them to paint the pipe. Libbie made her very nice pizza which we had while listening to Tales of Hoffman from the met instead of the Silly Bowl.

Today was digging day in the greenhouse. Stabilized the platform which will serve as the landing for the stairs. Used the dirt under the fence gate to make it level. Decided I wanted to listen to Anna Bolena this afternoon from the Met so stayed inside working on the computer on Arduino projects. In the late afternoon we went to Fresh market and bought some Shrimp and Broccoli and forbidden rice which we had with shiraz for dinner. Very nice meal.

I spent the day wiring the new lights on the top shelf of Tower 1. This involved a trip to Home Depot to pick up wiring supplies and a fourth light. This project took all day but it's finished and the lights work We went to Litmus at 6:30 and saw Clara's contemporary art work which were large oil paintings, some of them 2 panel pieces.
Next we went to Visual Arts which was a surprise. They had a large crowd and many young people on bicycles. The crowd was young and eclectic. We also popped in next door and walked through an Artspace like facility. Next stop was Buku. This was the former Fins but now reconfigured as a global street cart restaurant. Wow, we were blown away by the taste and flavor. I had Thai BBQ Snapper with Papaya salad. We each had Shiraz and shared a Tiramisu for desert. Wow, this was yummy. I'm definitely going back.

Nancy came over this morning. While she was here the fence guys came and worked all day until 3 PM. The fence looks pretty good although the enclosed area seems smaller than I imagined it to be. While they worked the fence I was in the greenhouse building the porch landing and digging out the ground to get it level while on bricks. I achieved this. Dinner was Trader Joes barbecue on flat buns.

Check book is replenished today since it's the first of the month. Immediately paid off Home Depot which was down to $400 balance for the oven, range and hood. I also paid the vehicle tax for the Prius which was $117. Worked outside most of the day building a greenhouse bench. I moved the saw out there on the potting bench. After lunch I picked up some 2x4's at Home Depot and then bought an HD gift card to get fuel points. Libbie and I both filled up for 3.37 with a 20 cent discount due to fuel points. Kroger gas is 3.57 today. Next task was to start installing the lights for the top shelf of Tower 1. Mounted 3 lights on the ceiling. Have to wire them up and buy a new timer. Dinner was Lobster Pasta.

It was a slow day. I went to Trader joes and Krogers then went outside to remove nails from the 2x4's in the yard and move them out of the way. Didn't do much else today. This morning I talked to the gas line locator guy and also the cable locator. The cable locator service painted the ground where the septic line is located. Dinner was the leftover Pollo Chipotle.

Got up at 6 and loaded the rest of the suitcases and arranged the Dandy pots. We got going at 7 am but had a little under a half tank of gas. Stopped at the second exit on I-4 for McDonalds and gas at 3.47. It was convenient, the Raceway Gas and the McDonalds were next to each other. We slowed down a little through Orlando morning rush but got back to cruising speed shortly after downtown.

We stopped at the visitors center in GA for Libbie then stopped for gas and food at a combo McDonalds and gas pumps at Exit 8 in SC. We saw on the highway signs that there was an accident 15 miles ahead so we got on 17 North along with a line of trucks up to Ridgeland at exit 20. It wasn't too bad, we could see I-95 stopped as we traveled at 60 MPH. We chose not to stop in Florence and kept going till we arrived home at 6:15. Not sure how it took 15 extra minutes since we didn't have any delays. Went out again for dinner at 6:30 to LaCocina where I had the Pollo Chipotle. Nice to be home.

Started out on the computer updating my musings. It looks to be another beautiful day. Libbie is spreading her quilting out on the floor. It looks beautiful. Libbie did most of the cleaning of the floors. We went for a short walk around the subdivision. Christa had lent us a New Orleans restaurant recipes book. I liked it so I ordered one used on Amazon and returned their copy to them and said goodbye. Will see them in the Fall. I told them I would cook them a Cajun dinner. Around 6:30 we ordered a Pizza from Valentinos on Clark then went to Publix to get fruit for our trip and new sponges for the condo. Got to Valentinos at 7 and our pizza was ready. It was good as usual. After dinner we packed some of our stuff and started loading the car. We have the Dandy Pots so space will be at a premium.

The sun is out and it's beautiful. We left the condo at 9 heading North. Found Diane in Wesley Chapel via GPS. What a dump. Her garage is junked up with boxes, toys all over an unkempt yard and junk cars everywhere. We losded the Dandy's wherever we could find room in the Corolla. After loading up we went in to see Diane's light stands. The house smelled bad with dogs. She has a surprisingly large number of light stands. Libbie bought two violets. We then left for Dunedin via FL 54. Stopped at a very busy McDonalds for bathroom and lunch. On the way to Dunedin Darrel called and said Holly had a stroke last night. Libbie called Sue, Mary and Bill. We arrived at Rainbows End around 1. There was no parking so I parked across the street and then moved it later. Libbie got all her materials for the three baby quilts. On the way home I stopped at the Ellenton Outlet mall and got new jeans. The mall was pretty crowded but it was a Saturday. I cleaned the front screen door of the condo when we got home and also the back door. At 5 we went over to Peter and Christas. We had wine and Italian Salami on the back porch to start. Dinner was Quiche Lorraine that Christa made with bacon and cheese. Desert was three flavors of Sorbet. Very nice. We enjoyed the dinner and the conversation.

We woke up to thunder and rain. It rained most of the morning. I used the time to write and debug the Xbee_Enviro program which collects sensor data in the workshop and sends it out the Xbee. Next step is to receive this data in the office for web display and Pachube data logging. We went out on our bikes in the PM. Took the new Honore extension to Venice. Amazingly the road has curbs and sidewalks on both sides through the cow pastures. We took the South side of the waterway trail to Shannon Park at the end. What a nice surprise. We had to use the bathrooms at the park. I talked to a lady for a while who was seated on a bench. She was from Utica and staying in Florida for a month. In the evening we went to Bangkock Thai on Proctor where I did not have wine but did order the seafood pad thai. Yum.

We had the carpet shampooed at 9 AM for $80. The carpet was too wet to walk on until 5 PM. We laid on the bed, did some napping and some reading on my Nook. After a lazy day we washed some of the fans then went to the clubhouse for rib night. Took a wlak around the block first, noticed that Verizon had a tent set up to sell Fios. We took some granola bars from their table. At dinner I had prime rib and wine. I finished the whole thing. Very good. Desert was back home. We had the Moose tracks ice cream.

We had a late morning in the condo. A little after 10 we got outside and went to Selby Gardens. This was an enjoyable experience on an enjoyable day. It's 81 degrees this afternoon. Next stop was Whole Foods for crackers and pizza for lunch. When we got back we knocked on Peter and Christa's door and chatted with them for a while. I came back and dusted the living room fan. It wasn't too bad but the kitchen fan is pretty greasy. For dinner we went to the clubhouse pub night after 7. I had Florida wreck fish over brown rice which was excellent. Moose Tracks for desert back home.

Up at the normal time and on the road at 7:01 am. It was a little foggy but not as bad as they predicted. We had good visibility. the sun came out while in SC. Stoppped for gas in Florence and a Mickey Dee biscuit. 3.24 per gallon. Next stop was lunch, snack wraps at Mickey Dee and 3.37 gas fill up. Traffic was light. We had some heavy episodes through Orlando because it was 4:30 pm but nothing to stop us. Sailed right through Tampa and into Stoneybrook at 6:15 PM. We went to the clubhouse for dinner - 2 glasses of Cabernet and Florida Wreck fish pan seared over rice and Broccoli. Very enjoyable. The parking lot was very full because it was Bingo night.