We got up early and started last minute cleaning and carrying stuff to the car. Our car is incredibly loaded including two bikes, libbie's Pedago and my 7 speed which I'm going to convert to electric. we got going at 8:37 Am. Stopped by dunkin donuts on Clark for coffee and a glazed donut. A little ways down the road on I-75 we found 2 lanes were blocked at university and traffic was backed up. what a start to the trip. we got off on university and wound our way through lakewood ranch and then got onto 70 before getting back on i-75. not sure if we saved anything but libbie commented we've been on the road for an hour and have only made it to lakewood Ranch. the rest of the trip was trouble free. traffic was light. We took i-4 and did a rest stop on i-95 before jacksonville then got off a few exits later and bought gas at raceway for 1.99. we had lunch in the car of the leftover shaved beef from last night on French bread. It was pretty nice. A honeybell along the way served as a snack. Around sunset in Walterboro we got gas for 1.89 at a murphy Oil in front of Walmart next to the highway and had the leftover swiss cheese and crackers. Got gas at one of the last exits in SC at a Love for 1.89 while Libbie talked on the phone to Joe. We got home around 8:20 including a stop at Wendys for 2 large bowls of chili. it was 34 outside so the warm chili bowls were a good dinner. The mailman brought our mail today stuffing the mailbox. The majority of it was junk mail except for our tax forms and some peanut brittle and business cards I ordered.

My knee is still in great pain today. We did some more cleanup in the condo before having a lunch of leftover Pad Thai. After lunch I loaded the rental bike and took it back to the Pedago store. Since it was a beautiful sunny day we decided to also go to Selby where we enjoyed the tropical house, the butterfly and herb gardens and the plants in the gift shops. This was a nice way to spend the afternoon. On the way back we stopped in the Goodwill bookstore on Clark near McIntosh. This place is a find with neatly arranged shelves of used books. I bought a Sarasota History book. When we got back Peter and Christa offered me some of their History books they are leaving behind. I put some in my suitcase and others on our bookshelf in the condo. For dinner we went out to the clubhouse around 7. I ordered the shaved beef on buns with provolone and fries. accompanied by a Yuengling. The fries were yummy.

It was pretty windy all day. We didn't go out. I am having pains in my knee. It started while painting the bathroom baseboard. For dinner we went to Bangkok Thai and had chicken pad Thai. Yummy! A major snowstorm is going to hit the northeast tonight.

Watched the morning shows and purchased a watercolor figure class from Art tutor for half price, $40. I downloaded it and also archived it to OneDrive. We went to the mall to Sarasota 12 and watched the Swan Lake Bolshoi wwhich I absolutely loved. Interestingly, one ballerina fell down in one of the 24 ballerina numbers near the beginning. The lady playing the swan, both black and white, was incredibly graceful and flexible. Loved her. The music of course is always a winner. My favorite host, Katerina Novikova was the host. Good deal. She is certainly beautiful.
For dinner we tried a different pizza place - Rico's behind the Gulf Gate Shopping Center on Gateway Drive. The place is a little hole in the wall but the pizza is excellent. We'll probably put them down for a return visit. Libbie watched Downtown Abby while I went to bed and continued to read "My Night with Kate" which is surprisingly good.

Stayed in this morning doing some file organization and scanning of the Michelin receipts to submit the rebate which I did online. I also created a Design Gallery on AVSA. This afternoon listened to La Boheme. Margaret is still sick which has been a long time. While La Boheme was playing I communicated with Marjorie about the content of the design gallery. In the evening we went out to the Clubhouse where I ordered the seafood over pasta. There was a max of seafood and a minimum of pasta. Very filling. The sauce was a tomato vodka sauce. Libbie had a yummy smelling chicken vegetable soup and coconut Shrimp for the meal. We came home pretty tired and went to bed at 9. Before dinner we did the 2 mile walk around the subdivision in a very cold and very windy wind. It was only in the low 60s and highly overcast. The wind made it feel colder than it was.

It was supposed to rain today but it never happened. We went out to Costco to see about buying tires but they only take American Express after we buy a membership. The girl, Sasha, at the tire desk was very nice. I also got a quote at Sears but they were ridiculously high. I made an online appointment at Tire Kingdom for 4 PM and they took me right away and had all my paperwork. The job took 49 minutes. I purchased 4 Michelin Defender tires for $565 bottom line which I didn't think was too bad. In addition we get a 2% Visa rebate plus a $70 Michelin rebate so the whole thing. I returned the cookie sheet to Sally and Mark and spent some time other there as they showed me around. Libbie ended up coming over as well when I didn't return. We went over to the clubhouse for dinner and both had a seafood dish over Linguini with clam sauce. It was excellent. Accompanying this was a glass of house Cabernet. I was really stuffed in a very nice dining experience.

We loaded up the bikes and left for Myakka at 9:50. Bill and Barb were going to meet us there after renting a bike in Anna Marie. They called at 9:20 to say they were on their way. Today was Barbara's birthday, we wished her a Happy Birthday. We went all the way to the end of the park with a very nice stop at the bird walk boardwalk. Had a nice chat with a volunteer who moved from Connecticut. He was quite knowledgeable about birds and was using an app from Sibley on his phone. We stopped for lunch at the Outpost where I split and turkey and cheese sub with Libbie. I had a Florida Swamp Ape IPA beer which was 10% with double hops. It was bitter but I finished it. Libbie didn't like it at all. We finished up around 2:30. It was 84 degrees on my car thermometer. For dinner we went to the clubhouse at 6:30. We met a nice Canadian couple, Gerry and Mark (short for Margaret) from near Toronto. They are moving on to Hilton Head on Feb 1. We enjoyed the dinner conversation covering their cottage on the lake in Northern Canada and their Son in Sidney Australia. I ordered the Prime Rib with baked potato and veggies. A glass of Cabernet accompanied the meal.

Decided to take a long bike ride today. We started out with the bay as our goal on the Legacy Trail but made it to the middle of the Tamiami bridge in Venice. The total was 9.8 miles one way. the electric propulsion made things easier. Earlier in the morning we cooked the mushrooms and mixed the ingredients including cream cheese to refrigerate for later. Around 4 PM we rolled the pastry shells, filled them and cut them in squares. Cooked them at 400 for 15 minutes or until they were brown. They were delicious. We brought them over to Peter and Christa's at 6. Joining us for dinner were Edmond and Sandra from the UK and Mark and Sally from next door. Sally made a veggie platter which was delicious. Sandra brought a cake called Eton Mess which is a UK specialty. Christa made a Key Lime pie. Dinner was Veal in a wine sauce with Pasta noodles and the veggies. We started with a Ceasar salad which was yummy. We had a really enjoyable evening.

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.