All that life can be

Yesterday was a typical Saturday in Hadleigh. Jay and I walked up to the Co-OP Store to get groceries. One of us goes to the grocery store, the produce shop and the farm store about every third day.

After dropping off the groceries at home, we walked back up to the High Street to visit the St. Mary's Church bizarre. St. Mary's is the original church in the heart of the town. The story says that the Vikings came here and divided up the land giving East Anglia to a king. The church was formed shortly after that.

The church is a beautiful ancient building with a tower that can be seen a long distance from town. St. Mary's also has a local school, and lots of activities for everyone who wants to join in. Today the bizarre was to raise money to support the church.

There were used books, cookies and tea, yard sale type items too -- like clothing, material, jewelry and pottery. We bought a huge bag of books.

After lunch Cat and I walked up to meet her friend Anna. We walked over to the school for "ice skating". The ice was actually a kind of waxed tile that they put down on the gym floor, but the kids used real ice skates. Elaine, the violin teacher, waddled over in skates to ask me a few questions over the loud music. She was interested in how Americans are different from British, even though we seem very similar. Afterward Anna came home with us to play for a while.

We spent the rest of the day decorating the big mantel over the fireplace. We scattered tiny fairy lights around the candles. We hung green and yellow French eggs on branches stuck in a huge blue and white vase. When we plugged in the lights the whole room looked magical.

The next day was Sunday and the weather had turned warmer, which is good. But it was windy and overcast, so it felt like one of those days to stay in and do nothing. I walked down to the newspaper store before it closed at noon and bought two fat papers. There are lots of national newspapers, and they never have the liberal one I like to read. So I had to choose from the conservative versions of the news. There are lots of inserts, so it takes all afternoon to read them.

I stuffed the thick newspapers into my raincoat and walked through the rain back to Benton Street. Along the way, I stopped to look into the consignment shop window to see if they have anything new that I couldn't live with out. Window-shopping along the High Street is fun.

Christopher and Lucy Cats ran to greet me when I opened the kitchen door. I pulled off my "wellies" -- or high-topped boots -- with their help. That poor kitchen is full of boots these days. On with the teakettle for a "spot of tea."

As Jay put together his 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of a thatched cottage, and Cat practiced her typing on my laptop, I was feeling really good about life. Living in a small town is a marvelous way to spend time. And I enjoy these days of dreary weather because I can be indoors with my family.

Pretty much every day is like this. It makes me wonder how we will adjust to life back in the United States.