Oh Laurel!

The circle of life continues. One of Macho's first cousins passed away on Saturday. He was able to visit with her family on Sunday evening at the funeral home. 

I was already committed to travel south and so was unable to join him. 

She suffered with the Alzheimer's for several years. Her family said it was hard and sad seeing her suffer. We know it was. We continue to pray for their comfort. 

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I picked up Sister Paulette on my way out of town. We spent the night at Alice's Palace. Her dad was the perfect host and had prepared a delicious meal of roasted vegetables and Korean short ribs for our supper. It was all delicious. 

Cc and her sister are doing great. 

Our sweet Alice will be one month old tomorrow. She is bright and growing and all things good. 

We left early Monday morning traveling south again. We landed in Laurel. We have some history there, along with our cousin, Richard. Our Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Jimmy made their home in Laurel. They are both deceased, but we did get in a good visit with Richard. More about him later. 

We walked all around town. It is going through a revitalization process. And. It is darling. Cute shops, restaurants, and some picturesque homes. The one above is where Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Jimmy lived for many years. It is called The Lindsey House. 

The street where the house is located is lined with old oaks. Shady and southern and beautiful. 

I spotted this bank while on our walk. I recognized it as the building that used to be the post office. The very building that was repurposed in the early '60s and where my piece of marble came from. The marble that is in the table in my living room right now. It passed from the old post office to my Uncle Jimmy. It then belonged to Mom and Dad for many years and rested on two old piano corbels in their living room until Katrina displaced it. After sitting in Mom's new-to-her garage for several years she offered it to me. It sat in my garage for a year before I found someone to create a table frame to display the piece. I love it. And knowing the history of it. 

Look who we ran into! Ben Napier from HGTVs Home Town. He is a marvelous ambassador for the city of Laurel. He was so friendly and warm. And. He is so tall! 

Of course we shopped the Napier's Lauren Mercantile Co. store. I even made a purchase. This is a photo of Sister Paulette, cousin Richard, and Sister Amanda.

Richard is our adopted cousin. He spoke to us about how he feels about his adoption yesterday. He has a big heart for animals, especially ones that are not quite perfect. He somehow tried to connect his being adopted with animals being euthanized. He thinks that he was fortunate to be adopted and he doesn't feel it necessary to seek information beyond what he knows. It was difficult trying to follow his conversation. I wanted so badly to understand what he was trying to tell us. 

He is special to us, but I want you to know that he is a special adult. He limits his conversation to what he knows - motors and oil and machines. As a 59 year old adult it is still difficult for him to navigate his home town. 

We love him. He is family. 

After our lunch and cousin visit we had some time to spend before we had to go our separate ways and say goodbye. Therefore we located the Sweet Something shop and each got a decadent treat. Sister Paulette ate a huge cinnamon roll with lots of sugar frosting on top. Sister Amanda ate a big brownie topped with a scoop of ice cream. I ate most of this thing in the photo. It was two huge chocolate chips cookies with chocolate filling. It was so sweet. The last 1/3 of it I brought home to Macho. 

Today is another gorgeous spring day. I've had my walk. My bed is stripped. I plan to stay home and wash sheet, towels, and cloths. Do a little dusting. And who knows? There may be adventures right in my own backyard. 

Shalom.