Anna Grows

Final meal at the dining hall  Anna is officially done with her first year at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Joe and Theresa made the trip to Richmond May 7 to move her home.  They were hopeful that Anna would have her stuff ready to go when they arrived.  That was not the case.  A few notes about moving home from college: You always have more stuff than you initially brought. Brings some things home with you in advance that you don't need (e.g. winter clothes). Be clear about expectations at "pick up" time. There was much packing to do when Joe and Theresa arrived with extra packing bags in tow (Joe even brought rope just in case the roof rack with needed).  After 4 hours and a stop in the cafeteria to use remaining meal swipes (also noting there are very limited options in the cafeteria during the last week), they managed to get everything packed into the car (no roof rack required) and headed back to Northern Virginia.  No trip up I-95 would be ...

Easter dinner with Fefzi & Klara  We kept our Easter tradition this year, which is every year is different. After past years with various spring break location, this year we enjoyed a warm spring day on the deck with friends (thank you Klara and Fefzi for hosting) and a delicious lamb dinner.  Anna was home for the weekend and made the Easter bread and Theresa made lamb cake.  It was also Klara's birthday on Sunday, so there was also a regular birthday cake and ice cream to celebrate. A note on making the Easter bread.  This is a labor-intensive, all-day effort.  Aunt Mary is the master of the Easter bread.  Anna took on the challenge, albeit on a teenager schedule.  This meant not starting the process until about 2 PM when she woke up.  It is unclear when she finished, but it was likely around midnight (Joe and Theresa had long sense gone to bed).  It was ready on Easter morning. In other news: Joe found a new lecture season at George Ma...

 The week of March 9 was spring break for Anna.  It was a wild week that included things like applying for her college program, coloring her hair and going to the dentist.  She did hang out with friends and got to do an overnight road trip to Busch Gardens followed by a stop to see her friend's brother perform in Jesus Christ Superstar  in Fredericksburg (Anna will give you her review of that musical).  Time flew by and she is back at school for the final 8 weeks. Theresa headed to Ohio March 14 to celebrate Grandpa's birthday.  This included a surprise visit from Uncle Rod and Tim, so it was a full house (the first question from the neighbors was where everyone slept).  The family enjoyed breakfast out on Saturday morning.  They managed to get a few chores done, including getting the porch furniture out and hanging Grandma's bird houses.  It was a weekend of weather extremes that included 80-degree weather, storms, lots of wind, and 30-degre...

Flowers are Helpful  Anna returned home President's Day weekend for a visit.  She came home to dog sit Benny as her parents had plans to go to Ohio to visit Grandma and Grandpa for their 52nd wedding anniversary.  After a delayed train on Valentine's morning, she arrived with a very red hair color (matching the Valentine's Day theme).  There are no photos due to other distractions over the weekend (details in a moment).  Like many things, the best laid plans do not always materialize. It was a memorable Valentine's Day for all the wrong reasons for Theresa.  Rather than a trip to Ohio, she canceled to go to the office for what is now known as the Federal Valentine's Day massacre, the firing of thousands of Federal employees who were in their 1-year probationary period.  Theresa lost 8 staff members (80 for her agency) - all new, talented employees.  It has truly been a challenging time to work as a federal employee.  Despite all of the chaos,...

Back to the dorm After a month off for the holidays, Anna headed back to college on January 12.  She was home for the first snowstorm of the year on January 6 with more than 7 inches of snow (she did not seem to be around for much of the shoveling action).   Unfortunately, the storm knocked out power to the water treatment plant in Richmond, VA, leaving the city without water for most of the week.  On the plus side, it happened before classes started, although it did mean a delays in VCU students returning to campus as the dorms did not open until January 13 at noon.  Fortunately, water was working by then and the boil advisory was lifted.  Joe & Theresa drove Anna back for what was almost the equivalent of move in day as everyone was coming back at the same time. They made it in (lots of bottled water was being carried by all of the students) and got some lunch before mom and dad headed home.   Anna just finished her first week of classes and...

 It is time to say goodbye to 2024. It really was a year of transition in the Fagella household as Anna graduated from high school and headed off to college.  Many people have asked Joe & Theresa how they are adjusting to life as empty nesters.  Rather than empty nesters, a better term may be "bird launcher" as her parents feel that they have mostly prepared her to launch off on her own.  Anna has already acknowledged some of this preparedness after a semester in college (apparently the ability to do laundry and clean up after oneself is a rare skill for college freshmen).   There were many highlights and milestones in 2024, including: The first major snow in at least 3 years.  It was only 5 inches, but that was a lot! Anna & Theresa got to enjoy some Broadway musicals together, including Frozen  as well as & Juliet .  Separately, Anna got to see  Wicked  in New York with her cousins.  Theresa got to see Jesus Chris...