The Trip Home

I know this entry has been a long time

in coming, but I've been SO busy with

the move. Hopefully, these will

catch us up...

My boss Kevin told me on Thursday,

February 15th, that we were going to

have more snow the day I was to depart

for Memphis. Needless, to say I was

a bit nervous when I heard the news...

especially since my car was still stuck in

the ice from storm two days earlier.

Friday didn't calm my fears. In fact, that

day the worry escalated. I discovered that

the buyer of my house indeed wanted

repairs, but I didn't find out until

3:00 Friday afternoon, and closing was

scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Tuesday.

The joy of Friday was when Bob and

his neighbor were able to push

my car from its frozen grave.

Life plugged along, and sure enough we had

about 4-6 inches of new snow on Saturday morning.

I parked in the cheap lot at the airport, and it took

the shuttle about 15 minutes to get us to the terminal.

Below is a shot of the runway at the Columbus

Airport. Snowplows were all over the place!

There was a Starbucks near the gate

so I had my favorite frappe and a

blueberry scone while I waited.

The plane was delayed about 50 minutes

once we boarded. I wasn't worried...not much.

I did get a free Bloody Mary because

of the tardiness so why should I complain?

Em picked me up at the Memphis

Airport, and we went to Ione's to drop

my stuff off. Here are pictures of

my home away from home away from home...

And what home is complete without a

few of these critters hanging around?!?

Above is Cue.

Below is BW.

And the beautiful boy under this caption

is Grey Ghost.

OH, and who can forget Bogey!

Tippy, Bogey's girlfriend, was always hiding

when I had the camera out...

Em and I joined Jimmy Stephens at

Macaroni Grill on Saturday evening for

supper, and then Em and I went to

the Orpheum to see Spamalot.

Sunday Daniel took me to Batesville to

meet my family so we could travel on

to Parchman, where my cousin Chris

is incarcerated.

Later that night, Ione helped me finish packing.

Monday the 19th was the trip to my hometown

of Mantachie. Aunt Louise had been

hospitalized twice since my move to Ohio,

and I wanted not only to see her but the

rest of my family as well.

This is my parents' home and the place

I called home from 1979 to 1996.

Below is a quick shot of Mama and

the girls before we left the house to

visit Louise. Aren't they adorable?

And, of course, no trip is complete with

my nieces without a trip to the

Home of the Whopper!

To my surprise Louise was

doing exceptionally well.

Now, tell me...Does she look almost 80?!?

(NOTE: She had a bad night after I left.

Her blood sugar dropped to 14!

Nevertheless, she has now been

released from the step-down unit

and is once again living at home.

Okay, my Ohio friends, don't be shocked!

Yes, it was February 19th, and the

daffodils at my homeplace were in

full bloom!!!

I asked Daddy to check Ione's tires

before I headed back to Memphis.

(Beth is supervising.)

Below is the inside of Daddy's shop.

I took my leave about 5:00 p.m.

and headed back to Memphis.

Stella had invited me to dinner at her

new apartment. What she had not

expected was that her oven was going

to stop working. We shot over to Emily's

house after the salad, cooked the main

course and dessert, and finished our

meal about 8:30 p.m. Monday night.

Here's Stella in a very unstaged photo. HA!

The next day was a flurry of activity.

We changed the closing to 2:00 from 10:00,

so I had the movers come at 9:00 instead of 12:00.

Without going into the financial details of

the sale of my home, I'll just say that Tuesday the

20th was one of the most stressful days

in recent memories. (I have zits this week

to prove it.) BUT the house sold, I FINALLY

signed papers, and the day was almost over.

My friends met over at Ione's for a final

meal together. Ione is always so

kind to play hostess. Thank you, Ione!

Below, Johnny (RUFUS) has arrived from

Tupelo and is washing up. It was Mardi Gras

so that explains his showy jewelry.

Another shot of Rufie with Ione and Bogey.

Everyone congregated around the birds

to try to see Tippy and her egg.

This final shot is one of my best friend Em

and her new friend Jason.

Tomorrow I'll try to upload photos of

my move into Brewers Yard.