I took a trip back to the Southeast for Nana’s funeral. I was able to see almost the entire family, many of whom I didn’t recognize as it had been a very long time since I’d seen them.

I spent Friday getting to my parent’s house in Atlanta. Saturday morning Mom, Dad, and I went to the botanical gardens but the parking was full. Instead we went to brunch. Mom and I then went to see Jeff and family at their neighborhood pool. Elise was scared of me, with a big feeling of ‘stranger danger.’ When she gets older she’ll understand who I am.

Sunday we made it to the gardens early. They had some interesting troll statues made from scrap and trash. Mom and I also stopped by the market, and the neighborhood meeting / party for a short time. Sunday evening I went to see Kim at her place. We had a good talk, and I saw the amazing scene she was preparing for me.

Monday Kim and Grace came over and I showed her the Story Machine, and she loved it. I’m going to make changes that she wanted and get Kim to load it onto a computer for her. It should then save her stories and I’ll be able to publish them.

Tuesday I rode over with Jeff and had a good talk with him. Then we met at the church for the service. It was lovely. Fred did a reading, as did I. Lucas did an amazing Aria. Then we saw the ashes put into the final resting place. We spent time at the church talking and having some snacks before heading back to Nana’s house. Fred and Karin brought over a ton of food and we all ate and drank and reminisced.

Wednesday we headed back to Atlanta.

Thursday I grabbed lunch with Jeff and was able to see Kim before Mom took me to the airport. The flight back was better, and I went into work for a bit to do the performance reviews before heading back to my flat to cuddle the kitties.

While I was in Atlanta and Birmingham, Steph was cave diving in southern France. She sent me pics of the area.