Anna Grows

 Anna returned home from college for a visit the weekend of September 14.  Actually, she came home to work the last weekend at Wolf Trap where they had three sold out shows (two for James Taylor and one show with Kristen Chenoweth).  Anna got up bright and early on Friday the 13th to take the bus to the Richmond train station, where she caught Amtrak to Northern Virginia (go public transit).  In a sign of how good of a travel packer she is (and how convenient the laundry facilities are in the dorm), she arrived with nothing more than her backpack for the weekend.  Upon arriving home, she briefly chatted with her parents and then went to her room.  It as if she never left..... As for the rest of the weekend, she worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.  The weather was beautiful - a great way to close out the concert season.  Theresa and a friend went to the Friday night Kristin Chenoweth concert.  Sunday night at the last minute, Theresa & Joe got James Taylor tickets and enjoyed

Anna celebrated her first birthday on September 3!  This also marked her first birthday away from home.  It is hard to believe how time has flown by (at least for mom and dad...maybe not for Anna).  Joe & Theresa decided to take Anna for an early celebration on Sunday when the drove to Richmond to take her for lunch.   After a quick tour of the dorm and a brief stop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, they headed to Joe's Inn for a birthday lunch.  Side note - Theresa happened to be talking to Aunt Gayle, who lived in Richmond for 25 years, and she mentioned this great Italian place she would go to all the time with friends.  Apparently, Joe's has been a Richmond staple for a long time. Anna was happy to receive all of the messages for her birthday from family and friends, along with some gifts, including a cake.  She noted that since she is 18, she can now: Buy a gun Purchase cigarettes Get a tattoo Her parents were thinking more along the lines of voting rather than fire

Ohio Tomato Harvest  Anna has officially been gone two weeks now.  So far, the reports are positive as she settles into college life.  There seems to be more concern about her parents.  Fortunately, Anna has been training them for this for the past year as she was frequently not around.  So what are Joe and Theresa up to? Joe is on a mission to fix the ventilation in the attic and has spent the days working on various aspects of sealing up the house.  For an in-depth discussion on energy efficiency and ventilation, please call him. Theresa so far has attended two concerts at Wolf Trap with friends (Boys 2 Men and Melissa Etheridge/Indigo Girls). All of the other concert goers were people in her age group.  Theresa and her friend Joy were sending selfies to their daughters to let them know what the moms are up to. Homemade Sauce Theresa also did a quick trip to Ohio to visit her parents.  She used the opportunity to demonstrate various uses of zucchini beyond bread.  This included zucch

 August 16 was move in day for Anna at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  Classes begin on August 20.  Anna signed up for a move-in window of 3 - 6 PM, so departure time was 12:45 from Vienna in anticipation of a 2-hour drive to campus.  After goodbyes to her friend Vic and the requisite first day of school photo by the tree, it was time to hit the road.  Lesson 1:  never drive on I-95 during the middle of the day, especially on Fridays.  The 2-hour drive turned into a 3-hour drive (and a 2 1/2-hour drive home).  Fortunately, there are several good public transportation options that Anna can utilize for future trips. VCU has the move-in down.  You pull up and drop the stuff on the curb.  The students check out giant bins on wheels to pile all of their stuff into and line up for the elevators (Anna is on the 8th floor).  Since a microwave and refrigerator are provided, it definitely reduces the amount of stuff Anna needed to pack.  The packing bags that were recommended worked gre

Lucy, Joe, Mary, John, Tom & Loren  The Fagellas descended on Greenfield, Massachusetts the weekend of August 3 to celebrate a major milestone:  Uncle Tom's 75th Birthday.  There was some question early on as to whether the guest of honor would show up for the party that was months in the making by his sisters.  Lucy volunteered to host the event at her house, including serving as the bed & breakfast for Joe, Theresa, Anna, Mary, James & Loren (she runs a 5-star establishment).  Ultimately Tom and Dottie came to his party, even though he had root canal surgery the previous day (not the best way to celebrate).  This was the first time all the brothers and sisters have been together in a number of years. Joe, Theresa & Anna flew up to Hartford, CT.  The downside was that the flight was over 3 hours late.  On the plus side, they were able to wait at home and go to the airport later.  Everyone had a great time.  Some of the highlights included: Enjoy fish and chips at a

Anna with the Cats  Anna made her annual summer visit to Grandma & Grandpa's house on July 23-26.  Cousin Aidyn was also there for the duration.  Anna flew into Dayton, where her grandparents picked her up.  Shortly thereafter, Grandma and Grandpa found themselves in the back of the van with Anna driving and Aidyn riding shotgun (it is unknown if they watched cartoons, but it is likely that Grandpa fell asleep). There was sad news on Tuesday night when they found out that their long-time neighbor and friend,  Linda Dangler , passed away.  Linda lived right next door and was a frequent visitor to the front porch.  She and the grandparents always looked out for each other.  She was a great friend and will be missed. Anna and Aidyn were able to distract their grandparents a bit during the visit.  While there do not seem to be many photos from this trip (this is the summer of no photos), there were lots of activities, including: A trip to  Shipshewana, Indiana   - Anna joined Grand