Thanks for the quick replies everyone!
PaulRB: I just had a bunch of WS2812b strips left from a previous project and I'm trying to re-use some of the stuff.
Saildude: I'll look into that and might buy a starter kit too. It's just that the shipping from the US to Canada is ridiculously high.
Delta_G: Good point but I don't know if C++ is a good introduction to programming for a 40year old :). My friends, who are all programmers by trade tell me it's a pretty steep language. What do you think?
Thanks guys, I'm so impressed at how helpful the community is. This is great!
Jay