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| Homecoming 2022 |
Homecoming for James Madison High School was October 1 this year. Anna was planning to go for weeks and decided to make her own dress. She went shopping in Ohio with Grandma to pick out the materials, designed her own pattern, and went to work. There was much stitching, re-doing, and stitching again. She did a great job and was down to the final portion - a closure for the skirt. She decided she did not want to do a zipper by herself (mom was no help here) and opted for some snaps. Unfortunately, she cut too much of the material and the snaps would no longer work AND there was no way to replace the material. Alas, the dress was not usable. A crisis ensued two days before the dance that ultimately ended with a last-minute purchase at Nordstrom Rack (thank goodness for a good deal). The original dress otherwise looks good and hopefully can be salvaged for future use.
As for the homecoming events, they were a bit of damper thanks to the remnants of hurricane Ian, which hung around the area for 6 days. It rained on the parade. It rained on the football game. It rained on the dance. The dance was supposed to be in a large tent but was moved to the school gym at the last minute. Anna went with a group of friends in her last-minute dress and accessories. They opted to do a pot-luck dinner at a friend's house, who happens to live adjacent to the school. She had a good time despite the rain.
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| Anna & friends before homecoming |
The day after the dance was also rainy. Anna had a soccer game (no cancellations for turf fields unless there is thunder) and spent 90 minutes playing in the pouring rain. Joe was feeling particularly under the weather with a massive headache. By the end of the day, it seemed that a trip to urgent care was needed. Theresa drove Joe's car .....and hit a deer. Actually, the deer ran into the side of the car. It was dark and rainy and wasn't immediately clear what happened as the deer kept going (Theresa saw two other deer behind in the mirror). Calling the police was also a challenge as the incident happened on the Town of Vienna/Fairfax County line (which jurisdiction do you call). We learned that with no deer in the road, it was considered an act of nature and no police report was needed. Fortunately, the car was drivable, if not street legal (see pictures) and we proceeded to urgent care (thanks to the damage, we looked like we were even more urgently in need of care). The car is now in for repairs ($7500 in damage) and Joe is also feeling better (his repair bill was considerably less). We are grateful for insurance for both cases. The next day, the doorbell rang in the afternoon and a nurse showed up at the door. There was much confusion as Theresa thought the insurance company had dispatched a nurse to check on Joe while Joe thought it was a neighbor that had stopped to see Theresa. It turns out the nurse was simply at the wrong house, having gone to EAST Meredith rather than WEST Meredith. She found is very friendly and welcoming.
As for the deer, word seems to have reached the Vienna, VA deer herd as they have been taunting us ever since. In the last week, there has been a pile of deer poop in the driveway, more in the backyard, AND they ate off Theresa's flowers in the backyard after ignoring them all summer. Clearly the deer are taking their revenge.
On the good news front, the rain finally stopped, and it was a beautiful fall weekend. Sunday was the day for the annual hike and trip to the Wal-Mart pumpkin patch. Anna and Theresa explored one of the local trails (Anna is more enthusiastic about hiking these days after her Outward-Bound trip as the day trip is short and do not require carrying a 40-pound pack). Joe explored an old mill from 1794 near the trail. Afterward, we procured our pumpkins and mums from the local Wal-Mart in less than 15 minutes.
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| Deer vs. Car |
Happy Fall - and watch out for deer!
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| Exploring the mill |
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