This Weekend I was @.....

My family's home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

I had a lot of really big plans that did not come to fruition because time simply flies when you are catching up with your family.

We are approaching the one year anniversary of the the tornado that destroyed Tuscaloosa.  While I don't visit often, it doesn't get any easier seeing the damage done.  You are reminded as you approach Tuscaloosa, half an hour away at the Mercedes Benz plant.  And I still get disoriented, driving down 15th street, because most of the businesses, and homes, that dotted the long stretch of road are gone.

I planned to focus on the historical homes of Tuscaloosa and the Westervelt Warner Museum of Art.  Those who aren't familiar with this museum have no idea that the collection contains works from Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Albert Bierstadt and John Singer Sargent, just to name a few of those we have studied in Art History classes.

The other goal of my visit was to help my sister assemble a cookbook.   She married into a large family steeped in traditions and has been flooded with recipes and photographs from family members.  I thought it was only appropriate for her to create this cookbook since she and her husband live in the home that has been in his family since 1945.

The home was actually constructed in 1830 and was one of the only homes remaining after the burning of the University of Alabama. It is also Tuscaloosa County's only antebellum home that has been in continuous use since it's construction.   My sister and her husband have recently completed the restoration of the homes original footprint.

While I felt a little guilty for not sticking to my original plan to visit and photograph various places, I didn't realize until driving home today that I was eating, sleeping and relaxing in one of the historical antebellum homes of Tuscaloosa.  It is amazing how we can sometimes overlook the obvious.  

Here are some photos from my weekend and a few of the pages we put together for the cookbook.

 My sister, Leigh Ann, and her husband, Ken, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in the restored home.

Ken's mother and father celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in the same home and the same room, years before.

The cover of the cookbook and an old photo of the home my sister now lives in.

The home now, I took this photo on Thursday.

A picture of Ken's Grandmother and Grandfather on their 50th wedding anniversary, in front of the staircase that is still the main staircase in the current home.

One of the old pecan trees that line the long drive.

I had a great weekend and I hope you all did too!