Anna Grows

Father's Day with Benny  At long last, school ended on June 16.  This year, in what may be a new record, there were no snow or bad weather days used.  None.  Zero.  No one can remember the last time this happened.  Nonetheless, they decided to stick with the regular school calendar.  Students spent the last week going half days and watching lots of movies (we can debate the value of this week).  Anna is now officially a senior in high school.  Where does time go? This past weekend was Father's Day.  Joe had a quiet day and almost went to a car show.  Almost means we drove to the car show only to find a line stretching for a couple of miles of other people trying to take their dad to the car show.  We opted not to do that and instead decided to take Benny for his first trip to the local park.  He was very excited and enjoyed a long walk.  We concluded the day with a grilled chicken dinner and homemade almond ice cream for Joe.  In between the end of school and Father's Day,

Welcome Benny!  It was a busy kick-off to the month of June.  We began by welcoming Benny to our family.   Since Storm died in March, Theresa & Anna have been obsessively watching rescue sites for possible dogs.  There were a lot of requirements and a last Benny appeared.  Benny was picked up as a stray in Baltimore, so we don't know much about him.  He was at the animal shelter for a couple of months, and no one came for him.  Fortunately, Somerset Cottage Poodle Rescue (the same organization who found Storm) sprung him from the shelter.  He is a cockapoo estimated to be 8-12 years old.  Between the shelter and the rescue, he was neutered, had some minor lumps removed, had a dental treatment with a couple of teeth removed and is up to date on his vaccinations.  In short, he had a traumatic few months.  The shelter named him Zyan, but we decided that name did not fit him.  After an elaborate family voting system designed by Joe, the winning name was Benny.   It is going to take

It has been a busy couple of weeks with a road theme, including visitors on a road trip, Anna on the road, and Theresa also on a trip.  Anna's first drive We were happy to welcome Aunt Lucy and Aunt Terri who stopped by on their road trip from Massachusetts to South Carolina.  This was quite a trip that involved a furniture delivery effort to Terri's daughter (thus why they were driving) and Virginia was conveniently the halfway point.  They came bearing all sorts of gourmet goodies, including fresh rhubarb for Theresa.  They even stayed an extra day on the return trip and got to spend a day enjoying the art museums in DC.  Alas, all good things must come to an end and their trip home will be unforgettable.  Unfortunately, it is unforgettable as they got caught in an epic traffic jam north of Baltimore.  What should have taken 1 hour took 5.  At one point, they got out of the truck and picnicked along the side of the road.  What should have been an 8-hour trip was 12 hours.  Th