Happy Independence Day!

Day 25, Friday, July 4...last day in Southampton, MA

I hope everyone reading this blog had a wonderful holiday, celebrated with lots of laughter, friends and family, and terrific food...and a great deal of gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. I know that describes our day completely.

Now, if you're not connected to the Shirer family, it's possible that you'll be a bit bored by today's post. It'll be mostly family photos. So you have my permission to skip this if you don't feel like wading through "who's who among the Shirers"...and join us tomorrow when Curt and I once again turn the truck farther northeast and head for Maine. 

Honestly, I don't know anybody who loves to tell a story like a Shirer! This is the breakfast table...but about an hour and a half after breakfast was over. The crew is still sitting around the table, sharing great stories and memories:

When we finally got up from the table, preparations began in earnest. There were 18 people coming for dinner, and there was lots to do. Fortunately, Lorna is extremely organized, and she always had a task to delegate whenever someone said, "What can I do to help?"

Family members started arriving around noon. First Ross and Lorna's son Ross III, his wife Tracy, and their daughter Madison, age 4. What a sweet family! They live nearby, so Madison is right at home at "Nonnie and Bumpa's" house!

Next came Curt, Ross & Patty's brother, Kim, and his daughter Tricia, and her dog Snickers, all from Connecticut...followed shortly by Tricia's sister Kathy from Cape Cod. We had not seen this branch of the Shirer family in 35 years or more. Kathy and Tricia have become such lovely and accomplished young women.

L to R: Tricia, Snickers, Kathy, Kim and Patty.

Soon neighbors Ray and Yolanda arrived. They are Ross and Lorna's very dear friends, and give so generously of their expertise and resources in the neighborhood. Yola is from Poland, but some of her childhood was under Russian rule. She was surprised and delighted (as were we all!) when Tricia introduced herself to Yola and then began speaking to her in Russian!

Ross and Lorna's daughter Kirsten, her husband Alan, and Alan's son Andrew completed the group. These three are so gifted in MANY different fields...from music to finances, to aeronautics to fitness. AND they   were the outdoor barbecue chefs, so everyone was doubly delighted when they arrived!

Lots of catching up, mixing and laughter ( because all the Shirers are famous for their senses of humor and their playful pranks as well as their stories.) I'll add a few photos just to give you a sense of what it was like:

Patty had a friend make these "Wild West"cookies in honor of Curt, her Texas brother.

Lorna brought out a birthday surprise...a cake honoring brothers Ross, Kim and Curt, all of whom have birthdays in late June or July. "Happy Birthday, Boys!"

Before people started to leave, we took the opportunity to get some group family photos. Who knows when we'll be able to gather again like this?

Shirer siblings Youngest to oldest: Curt, Kim, Patty and Ross. It's interesting: Their father was a textile designer and professional magician and their mother was a homemaker with an extremely literary bent. All four of the  siblings became gifted and beloved teachers. Between them they have touched and enriched thousands of young lives.

The whole crew:

What a wonderful day! Curt and I are so thankful for Ross and Lorna for generously hosting this reunion, and for all the family members who made such an effort and traveled so far to come. THIS is exactly what we had in mind when we started our adventure. If it ended tomorrow it would be worth it, for the opportunity to reconnect with such an amazing family.

Field Trip to Smith College

Day 24, Thursday, July 3

One more fruitless morning waiting for the jets to come by on schedule today. It's funny--they took off right on the same schedule for the first 3 days we were here (and for countless days before that, according to Ross). And the moment we set up to take photos and videos, they change their route! We know our grandsons would love to see pictures of the F-15's and huge cargo jets up close. But since it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow here, and we leave the next day, we may just have to describe the jets.

After breakfast, Curt and Ross went for a hike, and we four "girls" (Lorna, Patty, Carol and me) took a drive to Northampton, Massachusetts to see Smith College. Smith is a very prestigious college for women, one of the Seven Sisters (a group which includes Vassar, Mount Holyoke, Barnard, Wellesley, Radcliffe and Bryn Mawr.) The buildings were beautiful...a very nice blend of the old and the new, but what was most stunning to me was the landscaping. Such amazing flowers!

Then we had a great time shopping in some of the quaint shops in Northampton before having a simple but delicious lunch at one of Lorna's favorite eateries:

We passed one of my favorite sights in this part of Massachusetts...the red barn I've been admiring for days. Finally got a couple of photos!

While I practiced my mandolin back at home, the others had a quick swim before the afternoon storm arrived. Once again we escaped the brunt of the severe storm, but we had plenty of lightning, thunder and rain. Here's a shot of the storm from under the eaves:

Curt cracked us all up this evening with an astute observation. After dinner, much lively conversation, and sharing of stories and photos, we each relaxed into our separate chairs in the living room. We were all checking email on our iPads, when Curt walked into the room and said, "Ah, yes, here we are at the exciting Shirer Family Reunion...with everyone buried in their iPads!" yep, we're a pretty lively

group...and we all talk about the teens and their addiction to their electronic devices!

Later it was great for Curt to be able to show Patty their childhood home on Google Earth. That brought back so many memories for both of them.  

The rest of the family arrives tomorrow. We haven't seen Curt's brother Kim and his two daughters in 39 years. Can't wait to be reunited!

Family, Fun, Laughter

Day 23, Wednesdat, July 2

Curt and I started out this morning sitting way out in the yard on lawnchairs, aiming our iPads up into the sky and staring upward. Why, you might ask? There's an airstrip that ends just 1 mile from Ross and Lorna's house. At different times of day the most interesting planes, jets, helicopters, etc. are taking off and landing. Since we've been here we've seen loads of F-15's, private luxury Gulf Stream jets, and even a huge cargo jet (C-130, I think), which did touch-and-go's all afternoon yesterday. Since the military jets are fairly predictable, we decided to set up and photograph them during their morning exercises today. Curt was set to video them and I was prepared for still shots. We thought you might like to see some of these guys pretty close up. We were all set up when we heard the first engines fire. We aimed our iPads and waited....and waited....and gradually the sound faded away. Two minutes later the same thing happened with the second plane. Foiled! Today they took off in the opposite direction! But we'll try again tomorrow morning. It's pretty impressive, and definitely photo-worthy, to be so close to the airstrip when these big guys take off and land.

Lots of talk on the TV, and concern in the community this afternoon, about an oncoming storm. We battened down all the hatches, brought everything in from outdoors, zipped up the camper, and waited. Just before the storm was about to hit, in came Patty, Curt's sister, and her best friend Carol. Suddenly the storm was old news. We had our own excitement indoors. Since we haven't seen Patty and Carol in over 25 years, there was a LOT of catching up to do! And in a family of born storytellers, there were lots of memories to rehash. The  stories and laughter flowed nonstop from 3 pm to 11 pm. 

L to R: Patty, Curt, Carol

In the meantime, Ross and Lorna's eldest daughter, Kirsten, and her husband, Alan, arrived. That just added more fuel to the fire, and more stories and laughter. As it turned out, we did have a storm, but not nearly as severe as predicted. I only noticed a few flashes of lightning, however, with all the action inside.

L to R: Kirsten, Patty and Carol

I haven't mentioned Emma yet, because until today she has kept a pretty low profile. But today she must have finally decided that Curt and I might not be a threat after all...and she started following me around the house. Emma is the most mellow, sweet tempered cat I've seen. And I think we're going to be able to make friends now. For all you cat lovers, check out these glamor shots:

It was manicure time for Emma tonight...one of the chores Kirsten and Alan do when they come to visit:

And Emma is just fine with it...as long as she gets her kitty treats the moment her claws are trimmed.

Now everyone's sawing logs, tuckered out from all the visiting. But I have a feeling that the stories and memories will resume bright and early tomorrow, so I'd better rest up for that, too!

Oh, by the way, it was the auto-correct feature on my iPad, not my spelling, that transformed my dinner description last night from crepes to creeps. Curt and I had a big laugh today when he discovered that on my blog! There are probably lots of other things we haven't caught, so enjoy them as you find them. Gotta love auto-correct; it can create the most interesting visuals!

Southampton, Day 2

Day 22, Tuesday, July 5

I've spent the past 40 years in western states: Montana, Nevada, Idaho and Texas. There, when we think of an old house or building, we're thinking 100 years old or so. It's way different in New England. As we drove around the Southampton area today, Lorna pointed out houses, churches, town halls, etc, and she was throwing out dates like 1782, 1801, 1794, 1809.....that all adds up to a LOT of history!

In Texas, lots of our houses are low and sprawling...partly because there's lots of land available and partly because the houses keep cooler that way. In New England, you see many more two and three story houses with smaller "footprints." That way there's not as much square footage to heat in the cold winters, and the heat that is produced can rise and be captured higher up.

One of the stops on our drive today was at the lovely home of an artist friend of Lorna's. Though her friend wasn't at home, we wandered through her beautiful natural garden. I love the textures and colors, and the breathtaking view. I can imagine what those hillsides look like in autumn!

We stopped for lunch at Outlook Farms, a wonderful working farm that provides beautiful produce, home raised and cut meats, and has a delightful country store and cafe where they make all their own meals, breads and desserts. It's all housed in a magnificent post and beam building added on to the original barn. What a step back in time!

These cherries were almost as big as plums!

After returning to Ross and Lorna's, Curt power-washed young Ross's boat for him before our daily swim.

Then tonight we went to one of Ross and Lorna's favorite dinner spots. The food was absolutely delicious, and so unique...from warm beet and Gorgonzola salad, to Gouda-stuffed chicken, to herb creeps...and much more. What a delight!

That was all topped off by a stunning view of the distant mountains with the sun just skimming the tops of the clouds. 

Tomorrow, more of Curt's family will begin arriving for the July 4 holiday. Some we haven't seen in 30, 35, and 40 years. These next few days are going to be so much fun!