Anna Grows

2010 Snowmageddon  We are happy to report that the bomb cyclone missed the Washington, DC area.  Aunt Mary and Aunt Loren were not so lucky on Long Island where they are digging out of more than 20 inches of snow.  Fortunately, they are better equipped to handle snow than Northern Virginia (as evidenced by the great I-95 shutdown a few weeks ago). It was a quiet pandemic week, with the exception of excited weather forecasters watching the potential snowstorm.  Here are some of the other highlights: Anna went to school (we are thankful every day teachers show up).   Theresa went to the office a couple of days.   Joe bought a new mattress, that was delivered the next day (also good luck given the supply chain issues).   Theresa had her first night of "Jammers Gold," the adult percussion group. They meet once a month on Friday evenings. The long month of January is at last coming to an end.  Will there be more snow?  Will there be...

Happy Birthday Joe!  This week marked Martin Luther King Day along with another major celebration - Joe's birthday on January 18.  We decided to do something crazy to celebrate and went out to a restaurant - and ate there.  Joe picked an Italian restaurant we heard about and decided to mix it up on a Tuesday night.  Unfortunately, Joe also had a bit of a stomach bug and really did not get to enjoy the dinner or cake afterwards (he was out of commission Wednesday & Thursday).  We decided to try again on Friday with an Italian meal (including cannoli) from a local Vienna restaurant (this time we did carry-out).  On the plus side, Joe got two birthday dinners (even though he only enjoyed one).   The other big news of the weekend was the arrival of Girl Scout cookies.  This is a much more subdued event from earlier years when we use to warehouse 1,200 boxes of cookies at our house.  Thanks to on-line ordering and direct ship option, the ...

 The good news for the week is that Anna went back to school after an extra week of winter break thanks to the snowstorm.  The bad news is that COVID cases continue to cause problems at the schools.  Anna's chemistry teacher served as her English teacher one day this week.  The school also prepped kids and parents to take laptops home each night and be prepared for virtual school, albeit for snow or COVID.  Another interesting twist was that the new Virginia Governor was sworn in on Saturday and immediately signed an executive order eliminating the mask mandates in schools.  The next day, Fairfax County schools (where Anna goes) sent out a reminder that they do have a mask mandate.  The battles will continue. We continue to lay low and enjoy the warmth of the house after a chilly week.  The treat on Saturday was Swedish meatballs (Mrs. Latimer across the street joined us for dinner).  Sunday marked another snowstorm, albeit a couple of inches...

 On January 2 it was 62 degrees, and we were taking down holiday lights outside without a coat on.  On January 3 we got 9 inches of snow - the most significant snowstorm in 3 years.  Even though it has been a while, we are happy to report that the Northern Virginia area did not forget how to respond to a bunch of heavy, wet snow.  In typical fashion: The schools closed - for the ENTIRE week.  The storm was on Monday and we did have sub-zero weather (our children are delicate).  Actually, we think this was a blessing for the schools who got a week NOT to deal with skyrocketing COVID cases without going virtual.  We received a message from the superintendent about returning to school among COVID cases, teacher shortages, bus driver shortages, etc..... BUT they are committed to remain in person.  The school administrators have a much tougher job than normal. There was a massive traffic jam on I-95 in Virginia that resulted in the highway closing with...

Storm & Anna at Deep Creek Lake We made it to 2022!  Looking back on last new year, there was so much hope and expectations for returning to normal.  There were vaccines on the horizon, a change in political leadership.... surely things would be better. A few days into 2021, there was a riot at the Capitol that was a reminder there would not be a return to "normal."  While we do have vaccines and were at last able to visit family and friends and resume many activities, we started the new year with another COVID surge, more masks and another round of social distancing.  As a result, New Year's was a quiet affair again.  We did have a chance to get a change of scenery over the holidays.  Perhaps it was symbolic that it was rainy and cloudy the entire week. We headed to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland for a few nights after Christmas.  The original vision for the trip was to meet up with some of the Ohio family and enjoy some skiing.  It ended up being...