Found - Family

Both Laurie and I are interested in our family histories and we've gathered a plethora of family related items, articles and documents over the past few years.  In addition, off and on we have subscribed to and participated in both the Ancestry.com as well as 23andme.com on-line sites.  While it is interesting to learn that our genetic roots lead back to Scotland, England, Germany, Ireland, Sweden...and most recently Iceland in my case, the real payoff takes place when you discover family and begin communicating with them...    

What better way for us to start a 13 day road trip than to actually visit 'found family', in this case via 23andMe... So off we headed to western Tennessee to meet Laurie's 'found' cousin, Meggen, and her family!

This is Meggen's family's home which is just a bit south of Paris Tennessee.  The family lives out in the country on a nice piece of property.    

I took this photo of Laurie and Meggen shortly after we arrived.  Meggen had just gotten home from work and apparently Belle (the pointer) was really happy to see her.  

Meggen and her husband Bradley have a lot of critters...and both Laurie and I love critters.  Tucker aka "Tuck" is more or less the 'house dog' and his favorite place for cuddles is in Bradley's lap.

This is Bravo.  Despite the presence of so many canines, he is about as 'chill' as a cat can be.  Its like he owns the place!

Meggen and Bradley's farm includes a flock of chickens and one very busy rooster.  Laurie has always wanted chickens but 'sadly' our POA doesn't allow for farm animals.  We both do love fresh eggs and Meggen told Laurie that almost all of her chickens lay eggs with a greenish tint.  FYI, Laurie almost never buys white eggs...

Meggen and Bradley live on a nice parcel of land...wooded acreage with plenty of pasture land and privacy.

Lots of dogs!  This is Gabby and he is an old boy.  When Meggen and Bradley bought the farm, Gabby had been living there for quite a while...so he actually came with the farm.

While both Bradley and Meggen also work elsewhere, he in manufacturing and she in health care, they raise Katahdin sheep on their farm!  Neither Laurie or myself had ever heard of this breed.  This breed was developed by a breeder in Maine...so it is an American breed.  They are a cross-breed involving African Hair Sheep with various meat breeds, principally the Suffolk.  

The Katahdin breed are easy-care sheep.  In addition, they are resistant to many common parasites.  They grow a hair coat with little wool which molts naturally in the spring...no sheering needed.  Meggen and Bradley raise them for their high quality meat, selling off all of their lambs every year.  Meggen does have 4 sheep that have been given names...and those will not be sold!

Note the large black and white sheep in the middle of this photo.  It's the ram in the middle of his 'ladies'.  He is a Dorper ram...the Dorper being a South African breed that was created by the South African government to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of that country.  While his 

'harem' of Katahdin ladies average 145 lbs., Dorper rams can weigh 230 lbs.

When raising sheep, goats or other small farm animals, coyotes abound in Tennessee so its a good idea to provide them with a protector.  In this case he is a Great Pyrenees whose name is Buck.  Buck does like a bit of human attention, especially if one of us would pick the burrs off his coat, but he is not a house dog...not his thing.

When owning a farm with critters to care for, an ATV is pretty much a necessity!  Meggen and Bradley rode down from the house to check out their flock of sheep.  They drove the ATV and we rode down to the pasture on a golf cart. 

After visiting the family at the farm, we headed into Paris Tennessee for a family dinner and gathering...

We got together with everyone at Moustos Pasta and Grill.  This restaurant is family owned and has been in business for over a decade.  With over 1,400 reviews on TripAdvisor, the restaurant has a 4.6 out of 5 rating.  As the focus was on meeting 'found family' I didn't take photos of the food, however both the food and service were very nice.  This restaurant has 2 locations in the area now, with another one opening soon.  Website: https://www.moustospastagrill.com/.  Unfortunately, this restaurant's website doesn't feature a menu which is a bit strange.   

Our family gathering included Meggen's son Collin, his wife Jordan, Meggen's mother Alice, then my better half Laurie, Meggen's son Alex at the head of the table, then Bradley and Meggen, then their son Sam...and at the end of the table their son Isaac with his girlfriend Kimora.

One final photo from our visit with Laurie's found family.  Laurie is at the left, then Meggen, and then Meggen's mother Alice.  Alice's mother was Laurie's grandmother's older sister on the paternal side of Laurie's heritage.

It was great meeting everyone and we loved the farm visit with all the critters.  The family has an open invitation to come and visit us at the eastern end of Tennessee!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for our family gathering!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie