No Place Like Home ~ Take 2!

 It's been 2 weeks since my last blog!

We had to schedule an emergency trip

back to Tennessee

because my mother-in-law has been in the I.C.U. for over 3 weeks!

 We left Oct. 10th (day after my 33rd b/day)

and just returned home yesterday!

Once again, it's good to be home!

2 weeks in TN was almost too much for me.

 I love visiting with family, but tire quickly of living out of suitcases

 and not having the comfort of my own home.

We stayed partly with my mother and the rest of the time

with my MAMMAW MARGIE.

She lives out in the country and I LOVE staying out there...

it's so easy to be LAZY there!

Cozy, relaxing, lots of good home-cooked meals,

and lots of SCRABBLE games!

She has a driveway that's lined with over 150 pine trees

(always reminds me of Twelve Oaks in Gone With the Wind,

except for Pine trees instead of Oak trees!)

Bailey loves being out there because of

all the cats that roam the property.

Mammaw names them the simplest names...

Possum, Brownie, Pretty Thing, Little Foot, etc.

Pretty Thing is my favorite ~ She's a cute little fluffy gray cat.

One of things I love about going back to visit family

is getting to see all the familiar things

that I remember from my childhood

 ~ photos, swings, furnishings and accessories~

Mammaw's old barn has been replaced with a newer,

smaller version that is now just used for storage,

but I remember the old one

and how I used to go down in the mornings

to help collect eggs from the chickens.

That's the chandelier in Mammaw's dining room.

I absolutely LOVE it!

It was nice to be out there where Bailey could just run wild in the yard.

(our yard here in Colorado is VERY small)

Above is a painting of my great grandparents

with my Mammaw on the bottom right.

To this day she still stands around with her arms crossed all the time!

So cute!

Notice the horse and carriage in the background.

All of these things remind me of my childhood

and simpler times.

It's fun to go back as an adult and pass on the same memories

to my own daughter.

On another note,

my mother-in-law is still in the I.C.U.

but seems to be doing better.

We're hoping to have her out of there soon.

When she was finally able to speak and listen to us,

 I told her I'd break her out of there so we could go SHOE SHOPPING!

Thought it would lift her spirits!

Now I must get settled in,

catch up on laundry and chores,

and get back to

THE REAL WORLD!