This morning I found the Google Custom search box was not showing in either firefox or IE. Worse, i later found it didn't show in chrome unless signed in as an administrator. I tinkered most of the morning and found that if I used the Google CSE object instead of custom search, all worked well. Apparently the module I loaded using Google CSE works but the homemade one I created did not. We went out and found the party store. This is my first time in one, I was blown away. Libbie bought a purple wig for Mardi Gras. We practiced a little both waltz routines - the kick and the right/left turns. Dinner tonight was at the clubhouse. We each had beef ribs with chipotle sauce which was nice and spicy. Bob and Phyllis from NH joined us. It was a delightful conversation with them, discussing places to eat, etc. Got back around 8:30 from a 6:30 dinner. I also had a martini with olive during dinner. I had been threatening to do this for years. Tonite I did it. Of course the encouragement was a few days ago when there was a Martini sampling bar.

This morning I found the Google Custom search box was not showing in either firefox or IE. Worse, i later found it didn't show in chrome unless signed in as an administrator. I tinkered most of the morning and found that if I used the Google CSE object instead of custom search, all worked well. Apparently the module I loaded using Google CSE works but the homemade one I created did not. We went out and found the party store. This is my first time in one, I was blown away. Libbie bought a purple wig for Mardi Gras. We practiced a little both waltz routines - the kick and the right/left turns. Dinner tonight was at the clubhouse. We each had beef ribs with chipotle sauce which was nice and spicy. Bob and Phyllis from NH joined us. It was a delightful conversation with them, discussing places to eat, etc. Got back around 8:30 from a 6:30 dinner. I also had a martini with olive during dinner. I had been threatening to do this for years. Tonite I did it. Of course the encouragement was a few days ago when there was a Martini sampling bar.

I spent most of the day indoors working on Google Custom Search. Finally got it working. Did a Lowes trip to return the water filter. The return line was long but I was determined. While there I also looked at tomato seeds. I may start my own this year. This afternoon we mixed the cream cheese and mushroom mixture and filled the puff pastry sheets. I cut them up and placed them on parchment paper on the cookie sheets. I had to go next door to Sally to borrow a cookie sheet. We took it out 10 minutes before the party and carried them over. They went over well. the plates was cleaned out. The party was pretty nice. Met lots of people, ate too much good finger food. Loved the chicken balls in BBQ sauce the best. They were made by the couple renting 2107. We left at 7 for dance. The group lesson started at 7 but we chose to arrive late. We caught the end and video taped the rest of the pattern. I finally figured out the waltz but really got tired by 9:30 so we left. HAd to turn around and go back since Libbie forgot her purple jacket.

This morning I finished the sink job by putting some plumber's putty around the plug and screwed it down. It looks pretty good. I tried an update to avsa.org and had much trouble. The View module disappeared. when I reinstalled it the view was still not recognized. I did a manual install and magically everything started working again. In the meantime I was in near panic for several hours of no web site. I did find that I can not use any of the alternate search engines for the site since they require Apache extensions not supported by host gator. I will figure out how to configure google search for our site. After lunch we loaded the bikes and went to the celery fields. Saw a number of water birds and a new little one - the Palm Warbler. In the evening we ordered a pizza from Valentinos. There was one small glitch. I was sitting in the restaurant waiting for our pizza after having paid. I enjoyed watching the blonde girl with pony tail and nice tee shirt behind the counter. Actually there were 5 young pretty girls. After 20 minutes Lib came in and inquired. The pizza was sitting on the oven all along, finished. Libbie watched Downtown Abbey while I finished the Games novel which was a letdown since it is one of 3 books and didn't complete in this book.

It was a low key morning. I worked on the Pittman article and sent it to Marjorie. We then left just before 11 for the theater in Pinellas Park which is between Clearwater and St Pete. We got there around noon and started looking for the Subway which was supposed to be out front. We cruised the parking lots but couldn't find the Subway. Went to the theater parking lot and got parking in front which was a surprise. The theater was sold out. We thoroughly enjoyed the performance although not Renee fleming. The key was way too low for her to comfortably sing. We got out and onto the road without any problems although the shopping center was very busy. Where 275 meets up with 75 there was a speed trap. They had 3 cars pulled over in 3 separate stops. Traffic which had really been moving along had slowed to less than 50 mph. At home we had wine and cheese and watched a glorious sunset. We chose to stay in for dinner and had salad with Italian sausage soup which I really liked. Libbie didn't so this may not be in our repertoire.

We decided to make this an indoor day. I spent a lot of time on the computer getting organized and updating files. Next I replaced the toilet seat in the bathroom after cleaning the toilet bowl. This went well but I don't like the cheap plastic toilet seat. It works well, however. Next I had to deal with the sink water filtering. The new cartridges didn't fix the GE filter, water still won't flow. It's a known design flaw in the system. I bought a generic carbon filter but it requires 3/8 tubing and the existing GE uses 1/4 inch tubing. I would need a new tee on the supply line and also a new faucet. I went to Lowes to study what my options would cost. I found a new faucet for $53 and a tee valve for $16. There are three different size valves, I would need to buy 2 of them and return one to get the right size. As my last option I found a chrome screw in plug for the hole in the sink. I chose to go with this for $3.99. When I got back I removed the rest of the filter and restored the cold water to original. I still haven't put the plug into the sink hole but that's enough for one day. We went to dinner around 7. We sat with another couple from Arbor Green apartments. They don't have to be golf members in that community which is great. they only paid $155k for 1400 sq feet but there still is no garage. I would like more room and a garage without the golf fee. I had the clam chowder which was full of clams and yummy accompanied by two blackened shrimp tacos. Loved the spice on the shrimp and there were plenty of shrimp. Very nice evening.

We left our condo at 9 am in a light misty fog. We had to use the wipers. Went up I-75 to FL70 to 30 then FL64E to 75th in Bradenton. On FL64 we stopped at a subway and had a 6 inch turkey and cheese sub made for our lunch. The young girl behind the counter was very friendly. We took our condiments in packets so the bun wouldn't get soppy before lunch which was several hours away. We met Bill, Cort and Barbara in the parking lot of the Robinson Preserve. They rented 2 Pedagos in addition to Bill's and they were being delivered which was amazing. We had a very cold but fun bike ride through the preserve. We had our lunch in the preserve at a picnic table which came after a very long curvy bridge. I drove across the bridge with my video cam running which was fun. We got back to the car at 2 after 13 miles. My fingers were cold and it started misty rain again. We had no trouble shooting back on 75 at 70 MPH. The new bike rack performs well. At 7 we left for the clubhouse and had a prime rib dinner with asparagus and baked potato. I had a Yuengling to accompany it. Interestingly they were sampling martinis in the lobby which we tried. The blueberry martini was very fruity and tropical like. I also tried a glass of some kind of Vodka that had blue in the name. IT was pretty smooth, not sure of it's name. Our time in the restaurant was pretty quick since we were served promptly, the drinks came almost instantly and just as we took a roll, the food arrived. Wow!

We left at 9:30 for Bradenton. Stopped at Bills condo and picked them up then headed for Dunedin. Barbara and Libbie went quilt shopping. I walked through the store then went for a walk along the Bayfront. It was beautiful with big older homes, Live Oaks and a one lane road that was dirt at times running along the bay. After the ladies purchased their fabrics we had lunch at the Dunedin Brewery. This was excellent. Libbie and I split a plate of BBQ sliders with beer infused bbq sauce. I had a dark Belgium beer to go with lunch. It was all very very good. We had a long ride back since we had to creep and crawl through Bradenton. We went out at 6:50 for dinner for pub night. Our friends Terri and Su had just been seated and invited us over to join them which we did. We had a delightful dinner. Libbie had fish Tacos and I had the Sheperds Pie. It was good but I wouldn't order it again since it was made with hamburger meat and not what I expected. The top was covered with mashed potatoes. A piano player by the name of Mike Real played an outstanding run of songs including Crying by Roy Orbinson, McArthur Park, The entertainer and the Piano Man.

The sun was out so we loaded the bikes and drove to the Venice waterway for our ride. Drove to the beach then to Sharkys Pier where we made a reservation outdoors for lunch. We each had the crab cake with a Yuengling. Thank goodness for eBikes since we were able to pedal the 6 miles back to our car after eating all this. Dinner was only a bowl of soup and a salad then we watched "Boyhood" which was an excellent movie. At the train station today we found an Osprey nest and also one of the Ospreys on a telephone pole eating a fish. Also met another couple who were retiree first timers. There are so many of them.

It rained all day today. We stayed in which gave me a chance to work on the IOS app and make significant progress getting the pictures displayed and first letter search working. We ate light today, salad and beef pot pie soup for dinner. We left at 6:30 for the next group Waltz lesson. I video taped the review that Stephen and Chaka did at the beginning of the lesson. We got better each time on the waltz steps. I still can't get left and right turns down straight. This needs some conscientious work. During the Open dance portion which started at 8 PM we met a NC couple from Greensboro, Terri and Sylvia. She just retired as an OB and he was an investment banker. We had some snack food during the party - veggies, cookies and cake.

After the morning news shows we loaded up the bikes on our new bike carrier and went to Myakka Park. We met another couple there who were first time Sarasota winter residents. It's amazing the number of people who are retiring and arriving in Florida. We split a turkey and cheese sandwich in the Outpost Cafe which came with kettle chips. It was quite good. We pedaled out to the Audobon boardwalk where a large black bird was interested in our bike packs. I threw my helmet at him to shoo him away. After this we had a leisurely ride back to the visitors center. I was tired but satisfied. We chose to have soup and salad for dinner instead of going out. We watched the beginning hour of the Golden Globes before falling asleep then went to bed and slept well.

We did a little grocery run this morning to Walmart and also topped off the gas tank which was down to 1/4 tank. The price was 2.11 which was the lowest it has been in a few years thanks to low oil prices per gallon. This can't last. Picked up some butterfly mollies and mounted the LED strip light above the Washing Machine/Dryer. I really like it! At 1 PM I listened to Aida live from the Met. Aida was great by Tamara Wilson but Giordano was not great at all. He sounded all wrong. I continued the IOS app, this time reading about how to do navbar and toolbar menus.
We went over to the clubhouse for dinner at 6:30. They were lightly busy tonight. I had the New york Strip steak which was delicious. It came with veggies and mashed potatoes. Libbie ordered a decadent chocolate tort for dessert which I had a piece of accompanied by coffee. It was a nice night out but we have to stop eating like this.

This morning I tried to get a scrolling label working in IOS with no success. Ended up putting the text into a textview for now. Around 10 we left for the downtown bike shop. They had my bike rack which they shipped from Bradenton and had assembled it. I spoke with the guy who put it together. He was very helpful and was even willing to carry it out to my car. I carried it and installed it without much problem. I really like the sturdiness and quality of the rack. Next stop was JoAnn Fabric where Libbie bought a large cutting board for 50% off. It still was $35 but it was a Fiskar which is a good name. We took a local bike ride around the neighborhood. With my pullover it was fairly comfortable although it was cool with air temps around 65. We wanted to eat light tonight so we stayed in and had cheese & crackers and then soup with a peanut butter sandwich. Today I bought Merry Widow tickets for the Pinellas theater. After this I found that the Sarasota theater opened a third screen and had tickets available. Bad timing.

I did a lot of online research about trailer hitches and decided ?I wanted a Thule T2. Stopped in Trek but they didn't have it. Next stop was Ryder downtown. They said they could get it from their Bradenton store. I went for it and had them order it. They called later and said it was in. I told them I would like it assembled and will get it in the morning. Next stop was the Whimsy Museum. What a delight! We met MAry Lee also known as MArietta. The art on the walls was outstanding. Original paintings by Backus and also Highwayman James Gibson were a thrill. The others are high quality as well. For dinner we went to the club and each had Prime Rib with baked potato and wine. Later I tried to get Merry Waldo tickets but both Sarasota theaters were sold out as well as Port Charlotte. What a disappointment.

This morning I went out to retrieve my water filter which came in. We drove to the Home Depot on Cattleman to get it. We also stopped at Albrittons for Oranges and produce. This is always a yummy time. Picked up a few items such as salad greens at Publix then tried the filter at home. It didn't fix the problem which seems to be in the base unit. This is too bad since the filters cost $40.
Went over to the Clubhouse for pub night. We sat at a table with two other couples and had a delightful time. Bob and Phyllis are from NH are only here for one month. Terry and Su are from Indiana and are here for the season. I ordered the blackened salmon which was outstanding. We stayed way past closing just chatting and sipping our wine. This was a nice night.

This afternoon we hooked up the bikes and drove down to the Venice Waterway. We had a lovely bike ride to the beach. Sightings along the way included a Gopher turtle, a bald Eagle perched on top of a lone pine tree and a scrub jay, my first. Beautiful. Of course we had trouble finding the train station at first like we usually do. The weather was perfect, I enjoyed the waterway and the ride along the beachfront. We did a total of 10.6 miles. In the evening I continued the IOS development. This time I found I need to read separate table for the photo credits. Will tackle that tomorrow. Dinner was at the clubhouse where we had the Cod crusted with dijon pretzel crumbs and veggies. We came home and listened to the Merry Widow which sounds a little below the Met standards. It's more suitable for musical theater on broadway.

Christa is cleaning out her apartment and gave Libbie a Kenmore sewing machine which she is really happy about. We did not go biking today. I played a lot with the IOS app, trying to figure out how to display multiple pages which is different from the way it's done in Android. Weather is still a very comfortable 81 degrees. Dinner was the leftover bean soup mixed with Progresso and our salad which I love since it's a spiced up Ceasar.

We were watching CBS this Morning when Bill called that he was on his way to our condo and was about 15 minutes away. I called the gate to allow him clearance and then went to Publix for Chicken Salad and other lunch fixings including chips and potato salad. After a nice lunch we went outside to get our bikes ready. I pumped up the tires on my manual bike while Barbara took my electric. We went up to the community gardens on the trail for about a 6 mile round trip ride. I did quite well pedaling but it was brutal around the Clubside lake where there was a headwind and I ended up downshifting to 1st gear. Afterwards we rested in the living room before Bill and Barb left. I saw Bill's bike rack and decided I need something better. We stayed in for dinner after thinking about going out to get pizza. We had chicken salad sandwiches and chips and wine, basically the leftovers from lunch.

Worked on First Class some more this morning before we went out to Walmart for more groceries. Had a salad lunch then we went out to Selby. We always enjoy that place. They seem to have quite a few visitors. A wedding was getting ready to possibly start tonight. The ladies were all dressed in Peach gowns. I enjoyed a photography exhibit in the Selby House. The theme was Florida Eden and were all BW images of Florida nature like the Everglades, Myakka, etc. I enjoyed a slide show in the exhibit of more of the photographers work. When we got back Christa and Peter were cleaning out their condo and gave Libbie a sewing machine and a few trays of sewing threads and thimbles.
For dinner we had a salad, this followed cheese and crackers beforehand. We had an early dinner during the sunset then got ready for "Salute to Vienna" tonight.
The performance was at 8 in Van Wezel. I loved it even though the tenor and soprano were miked. It was a combination of light classics, opera in solos and duets, ballroom dance and ballet. The ballet was a little different since there were only 2 guys for 4 girls. There were 4 ballroom dancers, 2 couples. We got out at 10:30 in 71 degrees. It's supposed to get colder later this week.

I made quite a bit of progress today on the First Class program on IOS. I am able to populate a list and swipe through it. Next step is to populate it with violets and select one for display. We were going to go to Selby but remembered that we committed to help take down the Christmas decorations on the building. We already mentioned that we don't have room anymore for storing the lights. Taking it all down was easy. Libbie, I and Sally did all the work. Christa and Peter came later to help. They were out to lunch. We met the neighbors downstairs. They are from Ontario. We also met the NC people directly above us. They come from Southern Pines. We learned that 301 is a usable way to come down without the traffic. For dinner we went over to the clubhouse at 6:30 PM. We both ordered the seafood pasta which included grouper and lobster on a bed of pasta Alfredo. A glass of wine complemented our meal.

It was a relaxing day today as we pondered last night. The evening was not what we expected but the food was good. The band and the slobs at our table were not great. This morning we watched the Rose parade then went to the clubhouse for lunch. After a shrimp roll and a beer we went out to Publix for groceries. After groceries I tried some more on installing the bridge on IOS and finally succeeded. I had to use Chrome to do the job instead of Safari. We then went for a bike ride up the legacy trail North to Culver Park and back. Dinner was the rest of the shrimp roll with chips and a glass of wine.

We didn't want to get too tired today so we relaxed. Took an eBike ride out to McIntosh and then all around through the wetland area where we stopped for a while then back to the condo. I got dressed up in my tux early and we headed over to the clubhouse at a little before 7. We were seated all the way at the far end of the dining room. The hand passed hors d'oeuvres were outstanding. The meal was excellent. It started with a course of lobster followed by salad greens. We had a sorbet in champagne then Filet Mignon. The dessert was a chocolate raspberry and meringue concoction which was over the top. The people at our table were awful. What kind of person puts ketchup on Filet Mignon? Libbie said her table manners were terrible - no napkin, elbows on the table etc. Her conversation was one run on sentence all about herself. He was wearing a golf shirt. The band was terrible. Christa warned us. The music was not danceable. We left after dinner and didn't stay for midnight. We watched fireworks on the Lanai and then the ball drop on TV. This was too bad since we always enjoyed New Years Eve at the clubhouse.

We didn't want to get too tired today so we relaxed. Took an eBike ride out to McIntosh and then all around through the wetland area where we stopped for a while then back to the condo. I got dressed up in my tux early and we headed over to the clubhouse at a little before 7. We were seated all the way at the far end of the dining room. The hand passed hors d'oeuvres were outstanding. The meal was excellent. It started with a course of lobster followed by salad greens. We had a sorbet in champagne then Filet Mignon. The dessert was a chocolate raspberry and meringue concoction which was over the top. The people at our table were awful. What kind of person puts ketchup on Filet Mignon? Libbie said her table manners were terrible - no napkin, elbows on the table etc. Her conversation was one run on sentence all about herself. He was wearing a golf shirt. The band was terrible. Christa warned us. The music was not danceable. We left after dinner and didn't stay for midnight. We watched fireworks on the Lanai and then the ball drop on TV. This was too bad since we always enjoyed New Years Eve at the clubhouse.

This morning we went out to the Bike Shop on Osprey. I put the bike rack in the trunk in case we got a bike. Otherwise we were going to go to Selby. We talked with the owner for a while and eventually bought a Pedego 36V/10A for $2095 plus rented a second one for 30 days for $200 which was a savings of $350 over the normal monthly rental. We took a ride down the Legacy trail but around the bike sculpture at Bay Rd Libbie stopped to observe a Hawk sitting on a picnic shelter. She stepped in an ant mound disturbing the nest. She was bit many times. Since we were on Bay Rd we chose to go down this road towards Tamiami Trail and bought Benadryl at Walmart. We were pretty tired as we got back but it was a good ride on the Pedagos. Libbie reheated the Christmas Bean soup along with corn bread and salad greens. I really like the Spicy Ceasar dressing. It's a new favorite. We had a Schroeder Vineyards Melbac with the meal. Earlier we had a glass of wine with triscuits and sour cream which was left over from the dip I made over the weekend.

Today was a little bit of rest from the drive. We made one Walmart trip for groceries then took a walk around Stoneybrook. Did not do too much else today. An incredible fog rolled in just before sunset making it dark early and doing away with the sunset. We went out this evening in the fog to the Spanish Pointe Pub. We each ordered the fish and chips special which was made with Black Grouper, a local fish. I had fries with it, Libbie had Onion rings. A couple of Yuenglings accompanied the meal. Aida was live from the Met this evening on Sirius. I fell asleep during the last act.