Funny to think of now, Tom and I actually talked about moving to Scott County the very first time we came down together. Three years later, we're living in Aunt Monnie's house. I called Cousin Bob McConnell in January and said, "Bob, we're coming. We've decided we want to move now, so we're putting our house on the market and as soon as it's sold, we're coming to Scott County." And Bob said, "Well, the lady who was in Mother's house just moved out. She's going to West Virginia to be with her daughter."Our house in Pennsylvania sold in two weeks, and here we are.
This is the living room in Aunt Monnie's house, and the pretty brick fireplace where the family used to burn coal. The house was built in the early 1940's - help me out here, Bob, exactly when was it built? - by our grandfather, Noble B. Peters, for Aunt Monnie and her family. It is possible - and I like to think probable - that the lumber he used came from the sawmill of his father-in-law, Abe "Super" Lane, our Grandma Maggie's father. By all accounts, Grandpa Peters was not a happy man, and very likely suffered from a form of the depression that runs through the family. I hope he has found peace now. I hope he knows that I am here in this simple, sturdy, dear house he built, and that I think of him every single day. I hope he knows, that even though I, too, struggle with depression, I am glad to be here. And I am happy. 
Another view shows the beautiful woodwork. The door on the right leads to the front bedroom, and the other to a little hallway, and the kitchen, bath, and back bedroom.
The house is basically four rooms with a bath in the middle and a laundry room built off of the kitchen. The cupboards in the bath and in the kitchen, above, were crafted by Uncle Carl.
Three of Noble and Maggie Peters great-great-grandchildren swing on the front porch of Aunt Monnie's house. From left, Tabitha, Phillip and Sabrina, are the children of Dale and Allison Page, Dale is the son of Barbara Peters Page, who is the daughter of Glen Peters, the youngest son of Noble and Maggie. You can see Uncle Carl's store/woodshop in the background. This building is now owned by Annabelle Hammonds. 
When we moved into Aunt Monnie's house in April, the branch was flowing fast, and these pretty flowers welcomed us. Now in summer, the branch has slowed and to hear it trickling over the rocks, you must sit quietly. I like to sit by it in the evening and watch the lightning bugs come and go, and the stars appear.
One of the first things we did was fill up the bird feeder in the backyard and add a few more. Goldfinches flock to the thistle feeder, and hummingbirds have found the nectar we put out for them. So far, we've identified 20 different kinds of birds at these feeders in our backyard. And every morning we wake up to birdsong.
This is one of the first pictures I took when we moved here. Uncle Carl's house is on the upper right and Aunt Monnie's in the lower left. The redbuds were blooming everywhere. We could pretty much look out any window and see a redbud.
This big pine tree stands in our front yard. I just think it's a neat picture. A row of these trees stood all along the front of Uncle Carl's store, and I remember them from my girlhood. It is a curious thing to walk down the road beneath them. It seems as if the past and the present are side-by-side and sometimes it's hard to remember just where I am. It's disconcerting right now, but I'm getting used to it, and now and then comes a moment of wholeness and perfect peace. Just what I hoped to find here.
Aunt Monnie's name is still on the mailbox, because as Cousin Bob said, "It belongs there." I agree.
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