Mum Having Lunch

Mom loves to follow the sunshine, even when she's having lunch.

Mum in Texas!

Rose is blooming in Texas--her travels between children have her residing in the Lone Star State now. Her son Joseph brought her to Linda and Mike's house on Friday, January 20th. Joey came with a Randazzo's King Cake in tow and was enjoyed by all!

She and Linda go on several walks each day--a mile to two miles of fun exercise. Rose runs circles around her daughter. Even Patches is fond of only one walk a day--no more, but that's understandable. In dog years, she's older than her G'Ma!

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Mom's Trip Home

Mom and I flew from Champaign to Chicago and then onto New Awlins on Monday, October 10th which happened to be Columbus Day! Mom enjoyed sitting by the window seats and looking out at the beautiful fall coloring of the tree tops and the shimmering silhouettes of the clouds. She carried herself with confidence and acted as if she had been flying for years. I was so proud of mom for the way she adjusted to this mode of transportation and very thankful that God was giving us peace and joy during our trip. Everything went according to schedule and we arrived at Moisant Airport right around the start of rush hour traffic. The first thing I noticed when walking through the airport was the amount of people huddled around tables experiencing some of the local cuisine and drinks. This place was definatley different from the O'hare airport we had just left where there seems to be lots of fast food joints at each turn. Moisant airport is a much more relaxed and casual atmosphere and there was that ever familiar aroma of fried foods lingering in the air. Yes, we were definately back home in New Orleans! Joey arrived in his bright yellow truck to pick us up. Joey met us at the baggage claim area where he jokingly told us he was ready to pick up two old bags! Well mom and I knew we were right back home with that greeting..... HaHa! We soon headed to Joey & Trish's home in Slidell, which will be mom's new place she is visiting for a few months. Joey & Trish had been working day and night renovating the bathroom adjacent to mom's bedroom. They refinished the tub, tiled the bath surround and used the extra italian tile from our house on Redwood Street, as the new flooring in her bathroom. When mom arrived at their house and saw the bathroom she was so surprised to see her favorite tile in her bathroom. She rememebered it well and it meant a lot to her to see it again. Mom's bedroom was set up for her as well, with a chair from her old house in the corner and a few familiar photo books on her bookshelf. Mom's favorite picture of the Cafe du Monde arrived the day before she did and it was already hanging on one of her walls in her room. After visiting for a while we went ahead and unpacked the suitcases, tried out the newly renovated bathroom and decided to go to bed early. It will take a few weeks for mom to get into her new routine but she will adjust and enjoy her new surroundings while spending time with her family. We have all tried to keep the same routine and have shared tips with each other to help make her transitions easier. We all really enjoyed spending the afternoon with everyone and going out to lunch at the Picadilly cafeteria and then topping it off with coffee & cake at Aunt Santa's. It'll be nice for mom to see her brother and sisters more often and during the holidays!