My pretty daughters

Lynn and Marie Javins, 1967

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Marie and Lynn, December 2005

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In honor of Marie's birthday I scanned in a portrait from almost 40 years ago. Her big sister Lynn is holding her for the photographer.

Marie and Lynn

Although Marie was born with her feet turned inward you wouldn't know it now. She's traveled a lot, even going around the world by herself.

When she was an infant I massaged her little ankles every day to keep them supple until she was big enough to have them put in braces for a while. The treatment worked well and by the time she was old enough to walk she learned to walk normally and hasn't stayed still since.

70th Anniversary of Virginia State Parks

As camping season opens, the state of Virginia kicks off a celebration of 70 years of state-run parks. On June 15-18, the state will offer a "special" on state park entrance fees, rolling them back to 1936 rate of 10 cents!

Virginia State Parks are scenic and offer a variety of activities.

Here you see Marie Javins researching a campground for the updated version of Tent Camping in Virginia.

And below are the acknowledgments from the book. Some of you will know some of these people.

Flowers along Killmon Road, Basye, VA

Routine updates

I posted the upcoming events for Spirtual Singles and added a link to their hosting service, VirtualAvenue!.

Yesterday I updated an old page on AOL's server which I used to host the little cartoon that I'm now using for my logo. I created it at abi-station.com.

Food Allergy Awareness Week

Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) is May 14 - May 20, 2006. The foods that account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions are milk, egg, nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.

I am allergic to three of those (milk, soy, wheat) and to some kinds of nuts and fish. There are also other foods that I can't eat, but I have never had a life-threatening reaction. Both of my daughters have some food allergies too. Frank's grandson Ryley is allergic to peanuts. I've had occasional reactions to peanuts but my allergist said this was due to mold, which is often found on peanut products.

View of Bryce Resort, Virginia

Bryce Resort as seen from Killmon Road

View from Supinlick Ridge

Looking toward Orkney Springs and North Mountain

Clematis in bloom

The house on the cove

Looking at all our pleasant photos of Glebe Harbor makes me sad that we are trying to sell the house. But home is now in Shenandoah County, one of the prettiest areas anywhere.

I updated my Sunny Harbor - Shelter Cove page which has a number of photos of our waterfront home. It's on my javins.com site which is hosted with VirtualAvenue, an economical hosting service for websites.

Events near Harrisonburg

Blue Ridge Community College Folk Arts Festival is coming up May 6-7 near Exit 235 off Interstate 81.

Native Plant Sale at JMU's arboretum will take place tomorrow
April 29 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Virginia Community College Registration

Deadlines approach for summer registration for community college courses here in Virginia. The May 19-21 Civil War Tour in West Virginia carries three credits from NVCC. I've taken Professor Poland's Civil War Courses for many years, touring numerous battlefields and less-known sites and really enjoy them.

A list of community college websites in Virginia is at www.vccs.edu.

Fisher's Hill, Virginia

Someone who saw my pictures of Fisher's Hill Battlefield wrote to me looking for details of the battle.

I replied that the National Park Service has a detailed page which describes the area as well as the battle of Fisher's Hill, I recommend that one and also johnsmilitaryhistory.com/fishhill.html.

There are various Shenandoah history and genealogy links at http://csonner.net.

Fisher's Hill battlefield will undoubtedly be damaged if I-81 is widened. The Interstate runs through the battlefield and VDOT is looking at plans to increase capacity of the highway. But at least for now, Fisher's Hill is a scenic place to visit.

Marie's birthday

On Saturday we drove up to New Jersey for Marie's birthday. It was a rainy day and the turnpike was jammed with cars, barely moving for long stretches. After finding that the gas station and restrooms were intolerably busy, we decided to bail out. We drove to US 9 and found it uncrowded, with gas stations that had no cars in line and a ladies' room that also had no line. Route 9 took us almost to our destination with no further problems. Still, a supposed-to-be 6-hour trip took 9 hours.

It was good to see Marie again and meet some of her friends. They are really nice people and interesting to talk to.

We spent the night at the Hilton next to the Newark Airport, a very nice hotel. I had gotten a good deal on Priceline.

A few more pictures of the house we're selling

Rear View

The Cove

Side View of the Barn/Garage

Kitchen has ample cabinets, a dishwasher, and a disposal

Hall bathroom.



There's a ramp leading to the deck.

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This home is in the Glebe Harbor/Cabin Point area of Virginia's Northern Neck.

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More photos of Egret Court

Our waterfront home in Glebe Harbor is listed at $399K. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a garage-style storage building, and an open floor plan.

Glebe Harbor is a quiet community near Mount Holly in Virginia's Northern Neck. It has a beach on the lower Potomac and a clubhouse with swimming pool.

The master bedroom has a view of the creek. It also has it's own bathroom. The kitchen, dining area, and living room also have a water view. You can sit on the deck and watch the herons, swans, and ducks visit the cove.

It really is greener over the septic...

We arrived in Montross last week after some rainy weather which really encouraged the grass to grow. There were long dark stripes of grass which I realized must be following the lines of the drainfield.

(Note to urbanites: a septic system has both a tank and a series of drain lines, from which water percolates into the soil.)

Frank was able to cut the grass without too much trouble, although I assisted by removing large pine cones from the lawn. Later that same day he arranged to have Mount Holly Lawn Service keep the grass cut.

We are listing the house for sale. We really don't use it a lot because it is a fairly long drive from our primary home, which is also in a resort area. Since the primary home is in a beautiful and restful place, there is not much reason to leave it.

Glebe Harbor is a beautiful place also and since the house is on a pretty cove, I'm sure someone will appreciate it. The community is on the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

The house next door is still for sale at $410K. Here's part of their backyard view.

Guppy the Wonder Dog

Interstate 81 Expansion? Tolls?

VDOT is looking at plans to widen I-81 through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and public meetings are being held this week. The Civil War Preservation Trust lists the Shenandoah Battlefields as endangered. Also, The National Parks Conservation Association says Virginia needs to work to further reduce its air pollutants not promote mega highway expansions.

I-81 on a bad day is better than I-95 on a good day. Yes, there is heavy truck traffic, but commuter traffic is mercifully light. VDOT has a useful system where you can dial 511 on your cell phone and find out where the traffic jams (if any) are. They can expand this system by putting up electronic signs so that we could switch to the alternate routes (US 11, Middle Road, Route 42).

Piedmont Environmental Council has some intelligent pages on the I 81 Issue. And don't miss the Shenandoah Valley Network's page: Speak Out Before VDOT Commits to
Massive Truckway, Bypass & Tolls.

Petition on benzene in juice and sodas

The Environmental Working Group has an online petition to the US FDA regarding benzene in beverages.

Also, you can read the letter that EWG already sent to the FDA on the benzene problem. It includes a chart showing test results. A quote:
"For example, between 1995 and 2001, FDA tested 24 samples of diet soda for benzene; 19 (79 percent) were contaminated with benzene above 5 parts per billion. The average benzene level was 19 ppb, nearly four times the 5 ppb tap water. The maximum detection was 55 ppb, 11 times the tap water limit."