Week 23 - Funeral and Home

The week started off with a chilly day, which seemed appropriate for Auntie Margaret's funeral. We'd be busy all day on Monday and then start back the next day. It was going to be a long week.

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to St. Luke's - the church we grew up in and where the funeral would be. We got there at 9:30. The visitation was at 10:00 and the funeral at 11:00. Auntie Margaret looked nothing like herself and there were fewer people there than I thought there'd be but it was a very nice service that Aunt Margaret had planned herself. The new priest, who was new to St. Luke's and new as a priest too, was great. We went directly to the cemetary for a small service in their chapel and then we found Nana and Papa's grave to take a pic for ancestry. The funeral lunch was at a nice Italian restaurant, where I got to visit with my cousins, which was lovely, and the food was delicious. We said our goodbyes and headed out.

Dottie and I went to East Greenwich and did the obligatory drive through the old neighborhood on the way to my oldest friend's mother's house. She has cancer so I wanted to make sure I paid her a visit. We then went to Deanne's so I could see her new house, which was lovely, and we chatted for a bit. We had made plans to meet Janice at The Newport Creamery for ice cream and closed it down, with more chatting. I had only been in Rhode Island for mere hours but I'd managed to fit lots in besides the funeral. We'd be leaving first thing the next morning so went back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep.

After another hotel breakfast, we started driving. Having enjoyed Budd Lake Diner, we stopped at another fave place of Dottie's in Mt. Arlington - Davey's Dogs. I love a good hotdog so was happy with it. We drove around her old neighborhood and found her condo before getting back on the road. We drove through Pennsylvania all day, stopping at an Applebee's somewhere for supper and staying in Youngstown, Ohio, found with an app my friend Ana recommended - hoteltonight. It was a much better experience than on our way to Rhode Island.

The hotel breakfast was pretty lackluster so we went to Starbuck's across the street and hit the road. Our goal was to not take the toll road but smaller highways and hit some thrifts along the way in Indiana. It took us a few hours to get through Ohio and we found a great mom & pop restaurant for lunch and had time to hit 2 MCC (Menonite Central Committee) thrifts and found some treasures at both. We ran out of time for the last thrift but got back to Dottie's in time for pizza for supper. We then went out for soft serve followed by porch time. I went to bed happy to know it was my last night not sleeping in my own bed.

My intent was to leave at 9:00 to miss Chicago traffic but I woke up at 4:30 when my nephew, who gets up early for work, was yelling at the dog outside my room. I read until 5:15 but when it was clear I wasn't going to fall back asleep, I got up, ate breakfast and headed out. I didn't want my brother-in-law to wake my sister up (I'd just spent 5 days 24/7 with her after all) but he didn't listen and did. Oh well. I was so early that I not only missed Chicago traffic but the construction workers weren't at work yet so I sailed through Illinois. I stopped for a break in Grinnell, Iowa and was almost to Nebraska before it started raining. It was an easy ride and it felt great to be home. I unpacked, sorted laundry and went to bed early.

I spent the next 2 days doing laundry and cooking. It was wonderful to have healthy, homemade food after eating on the road for a week. My cats were happy I was home, although not so happy when I put on the Bravecto flea stuff, and I was happy to see that all my plants and newly planted things all looked great. I planted my dahlias, which I'd already potted up a month ago, into window boxes and called my flowers done. 

By Sunday, things were back to normal. I did the cats and was sad to see that my favorite cat, Gracie, who was a skinny old girl, had died the day before. I showered and headed to Lincoln, dropping off some donations at Stuff Creative Reuse before meeting Anne and Rene for lunch to hear all about Rene's 2 months in Europe. We all went to Sam's together and then split up. I scored some super cheap yarn grab bags and went to 2 supermarkets to restock from being gone. I made French toast and bacon for supper and called myself recovered.

What a week! Spending 6 of the 7 days I was gone driving all day was tiring. I didn't get as much knitting done as I thought I would despite being the passenger for 4 long days (chalk that up to my sister's driving style, which stressed me out). It was wonderful to get home afterwards but I'm glad we went. Auntie Margaret was the last of that generation and I loved her so much. Totally worth it. Here's a rose that was growing outside the church to remember her by.