Visiting Family in New Hampshire

I'm blogging a little out of order tonight. I want to get our new camper set up just a little more and catch a couple more photos in daylight before I officially introduce her to you. So I'll tell you about our last couple of days visiting my cousin Kim and her husband, Brad, before blogging about picking up the camper, which actually happened previously.

Kim's mom, Sally, and my Dad, George Talley, were siblings and best friends throughout their lives. (Aunt Sally's real name was Melba, but very early on she insisted everyone call her Sally, because she loved the rhyme with her last name...and she wasn't fond of the name Melba at all.) Because Kim and her sister Candi grew up in Oklahoma and my brothers and I grew up all up and down the East coast, we didn't see each other often as children. I really only remember seeing Kim two times (though I'm sure there were more visits when we were lots younger)...once when she came to visit our family in Fairfax, Virginia when I was in high school and she was in college, and another brief visit when I was home from college and she and Brad, expecting their first child very soon, stopped by for a visit. 

We reconnected 3 months ago at my dad's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and we realized that we'd been missing a wonderful family bond. So at their gracious invitation, Curt and I wanted to be sure we visited Kim and Brad on this trip. I'm SO glad we did!

Henniker, New Hampshire is a beautiful small, historic New England town. Kim and Brad live right in town, adjacent to the elementary school. It's such a delight to hear the squeals and happy shouts of children on the playground during the day. Their home is amazing. First built in 1839, with a barn built right on the side of it, it has undergone many changes through the years. Brad, an architect, researched it and has restored it beautifully, bringing back many of the original features and uncovering some real treasures in the process.

View from the front

From the back, where you can see the attached red barn. The elementary school where Kim and Brad's grandson, Ryder attends is behind me as I'm taking this photo.

View from the upper barn door across the back lawn toward the school.

This newel post was originally in our grandmother's house in Lawton, Oklahoma. Brad was able to salvage it for use with their banister. It's gorgeous, and provides such a sense of family history and character.

Working on the house, Brad also uncovered the original brick chimney which rises from the basement to the third floor. He had to patch and repair it in places, but it's difficult to tell.

Here's part of the chimney that was hidden in a bedroom closet. Brad moved the closet over to expose this bit of history.

Another view of the rear of the house and barn, showing the beautiful rock garden. The upper part of the barn that juts out was originally an outhouse, accessible from the house without having to go out in the New Hampshire cold! And the owners kept a horse in a stall right next to the outhouse (yes, way up there!) to keep it warm in winter.

Some close ups of the rock garden textures are below.

Kim shared with me so much information about our family that I never knew. It was such a wonderful opportunity to connect with my roots! The first night when I went to bed, I opened up the old Bible on the bookshelf next to my bed. It was my grandmother's Bible, presented to her by her mother when she received her Masters Degree in 1945! I never knew that! How many women sought that level of education during WWII? While my Dad, the youngest child, was fighting in Normandy, his mother was attending graduate school. How amazing is that?

When I asked Kim about it the next morning, she told me that our grandmother, Pearl Talley (whom we called "Mom-mom"), then went onto Columbia University and did all her coursework for a doctoral degree in education, lacking only her dissertation. Not only that, one year she was Teacher of the Year for either the City of El Paso or the entire State of Texas...Kim can't remember which. Wow! I knew as a child that Mom-mom had been a teacher, but I had no idea of the extent of her dedication.

Brad and Kim took us on wonderful drives around Henniker, seeing some of the amazing scenery in the rural areas around it. Here are a few shots you may enjoy:

A one-room schoolhouse, similar to the one our children attended for ,a few years in Montana:

This covered bridge is just beyond the school behind Brad and Kim's house. We were able to walk to it.

On the way back to the house, Curt moved a few rocks for Brad, while I couldn't resist a turn on the school swingset.

And Kim, being the good and loyal cousin that she is, shared two of her favorite haunts with me: the Quilted Threads Quilt Shop....

. . . And the Fiber Studio, complete with a terrific selection of spinning wheels:

Brad, Kim and their son Andy, below. I wasn't able to see their daughter, Whitney, this week because she was training for a Half Iron Man race (a grueling triathlon event that combines 50-mile bike ride, 1.2 mile swim and a 13 mile run. Amazing!) The event, which is called the Pumpkin Man, will be in Maine tomorrow. Good luck, Whitney!

Here's a shot of Curt with Brad, Kim and Andy with our new home in the background, taken from the sun porch of their 175-year-old house. Quite the juxtaposition of old and new!!!

it was hard this morning, leaving my long-lost and newly-found cousin...but I KNOW we won't let 45 years go by agaiin without seeing each other! (Notwithstanding the fact that neither of us will live that long!)

Thank you, Kim and Brad, for your generous hospitality and for a wonderful reunion. Can't wait to get together again...SOON!