Anna Grows

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