Wonderful Wedding of Mo and Danny

Cousin Hunter and Mary Margeret's daughter, Maureen (Mo) Hollar, got married Friday evening to Danny McKenna.

(This overview was "borrowed" from my cousin's FB wall.  Thanks, Quentin!)

The wedding was held at the King Family Vinyards in Crozet (about 15 miles west of Charlottesville), Virginia. 


It rained most of the day so they decided to be safe and put up a tent.  Thankfully, the rain stopped and the weather was lovely.

 

Click on any photo for a larger version.

I knew the bride would be beautiful.

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Danny McKenna

The back of Maureen's dress was beautiful, too.  


The simplicity reminded me of the good taste and simplicity of Kate Middleton's dress in the recent royal wedding.


The bride's mother, Mary Margaret, dancing the night away.

Isn't there a nursery rhyme about  "Pretty girls all in a row..."

Ed and I were honored to be invited.

The Father's Toast

Parents of the bride, Hunter and Mary Margaret Hollar with the bride's grandmother, Thelma Hollar

After a luscious dinner of roast duck and steak, the cake was cut and the dancing continued.

Mike and Sarah Hill Buczynski, Mo's sister

Barry & Jane Hollar, Mo's uncle

Sharon Harman and Bo, her beau

Lee and Brenda Branner

Bob Ring, Hunter's high school friend.  I hadn't seen him for about 40 years!

The show stealer of the evening was Mo's little niece who was the flower girl.  She was so intense about dropping every petal in her basket.  She got to the front and had some petals left over so she walked back and forth a bit until that last petal was gone.

She also made a grand entrance into the reception.  

It's such a joy to watch a child before they become self-conscious.  

A picturesque setting, charming people, delectable food, and a rockin' live band created a wedding that was a true celebration 

of the GREAT LOVE 

of Maureen and Danny McKenna.

 Best wishes for a joyful life together!

Farm is Finally For Sale!

Our farm is officially on the market!  
Walker May Farm, 7321 Greenmount Road, Singers Glen, VA 22850

 

 I think the realtor's photographer did a great job.  
Here are some of the photos: 
 (Click on any photo for a larger version.)

  

The views are beautiful in every direction.

  

Mockingbird Hill Farm has been in the May family for over 90 years.  Our grandparents moved here in 1920 and our father was born in this house.  My brother, sister, and I agree that we want it to stay together as a farm and we hope this will happen.  This is where we grew up so we are rather sentimental about it.

For "official" information, please go to Kline-May Realty at:

  http://www.klinemay.com/77210?fromSearch=results&szPropertyClass=Farm&pageNumber=1&sort=priceDesc

Where Were YOU on 9-11-01?

 We remember. We honor. We pay tribute. And we will never forget.  -author unknown

I was living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and was coming out of my appointment with the neurologist, who had just told me I have fibromyalgia. I went to the counter to pay my co-pay and the receptionist was on the phone with her sister, saying things like, “Calm down! What happened? A plane what?” I then drove to the nursing home to visit Alan, my first husband who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. The nurses had the TV in the day-room on and all of us were trying to make heads or tales of it. I remember thinking that we were near Miami, a large city and possible target. I had the feeling I should duck or cover my head because I wondered if a bomb was coming at any moment as I was driving home. 

We must be aware that our 9-11 remembrance is not just sentimental.  This brought to our attention the great struggle between good and evil. 

"All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win the world is for enough good men to do nothing." - Edmond Burke 1729-1797

September 11, 2001 will always be a day to remember. And each time we remember, let us resolve again to honor those who sacrificed so much, to honor them not merely with our tears, not merely with our memorials or sadness, but with the way we live.  — Ralph Marston

Childlike Enthusiasm for Cows

Our New York friends (who live full-time in Savanna Club, our retirement community in Florida) went to New York to see their family this summer.  On their way back to Florida, they stopped to visit us in Virginia.  Bobbie and Ron Steinberg grew up in the city and had never really been on a farm.

"Childlike enthusiasm" is something my family read about years ago and we use this expression to describe a person who is excited about life and its experiences.  Well, Bobbie definitely has childlike enthusiasm!  She couldn't get over our view of rolling hills and took lots of pictures. 

There are cows grazing on three sides of us and it was the greatest thing that every time a cow mooed, she laughed.  Now, every time I hear a moo, which is quite frequently, I chuckle inside and think of Bobbie.

Bobbie, Christie & Leonard as she gets an up-close and personal view of milking. 

Christie Rhodes explains how the milk goes in a glass tube to another room with a bulk tank.  The milk truck picks up twice a week.

Ron had seen milking before and stayed on the upper level.  I thought he was bored but later learned he had childlike enthusiasm as he watched the expressions on the cows' faces.

They use chopped corn as food for the cows and it is blown into these silos.

Lorena showed us a sample of silage.  It smelled sour, not rotten but kind of pickled.

People in the Shenandoah Valley have green thumbs, raising lots of vegetables and beautiful flowers.  Cheri (my weeding assistant) and Christie in front of some of their flowers.

MaryMay with her adopted family -- Cheri, Christie, Lorena, and Grant Rhodes.  Morgan and Linden were off to buy a stronger blower for the silos.

Horses?  Yes we saw horses, too.

On to see the chicken house where their 6,000 hens, with the help of 600 roosters, produce fertile eggs.

Cousin Stashia's hands were busy sorting, even while she explained and answered questions.

During the peak, Stashia gathers eggs at least 6 times a day.

She had sorted upteen thousand eggs that day...so far.

Bobbie and Ron took us to the Blue Stone Inn, a unique restaurant with delicious food, where you can always eat under a buck.

It is with childlike enthusiasm that I can say we really enjoyed Bobbie and Ron's visit and we were honored that they came to see us.