Saturday 13 March 2010

long day, with books

Today started at 4:45. No, Bob didn’t have to go to work – Ella had to go to the bathroom. And instead of just taking her, Taryn and Naysha tried to talk her into going by herself. Apparently they talked for 20 minutes. Then slammed the bedroom and bathroom doors, turned on the light, and went back to the bedroom fussing more about something. They woke up everyone else except Elijah. A boy went to the bathroom. I got up and turned off the light and told everyone to go back to sleep. Quiet more or less lasted until 6, when we gave up and got up.

Everyone fussed about having cereal for breakfast, so I said something about Rugby’s. We’ve tried to have breakfast there twice, and they were closed both times. Ever since we found out they had waffles we’ve wanted to go. Well, they open at 8 on Saturday, so we had some time to kill. We all dressed and got shoes on, and I woke up Elijah and fed him. Then we went to Rugby’s. They were open! We ordered lots of food, and eventually got it. While waiting, Bob took pictures of a man who came in in a suit and hat. Well, for something we’ve wanted for 2 years, the waffles were a great disappointment. They tasted and felt rather like cornbread. Very dense and crumbly. The omelet was nice, though.

After breakfast we headed to Bury for the market. On the way I saw a sign about a book sale at Lackland Lakes, and convinced Bob to stop. I bought 3 books and he bought 5. :- ) Then on to Bury. We found a parking spot on the road, and on the way to the market I saw a clearance book store and convinced Bob to go in. We each got a book. I bought lots of produce and Bob got 3 photo magazines at the market, and a Dark chocolate Twix bar (Greek version) made with Fairtrade chocolate. Yummy! (Bob got a Lion bar.) After lunch at McDonald’s (doubly crowded since Burger King closed) we were out of time on our parking ticket. Just a note here to all Americans who haven’t been to Europe: you have to wait for a table in McDonald’s.

We decided, since it was cold and cloudy, to go to Lavenham. We’d never been, though I read about it soon after getting here. It is billed as England’s finest medieval village, and has loads of crooked half-timber buildings. Parking there is free, but scarce – there were a few spots open, but I can imagine the circling cars in summer. We walked nearly the whole length of the main street and back, but didn’t go down any side streets. The Post Office had a sign out about a used book sale (um, yeah – post offices over here aren’t sterile lines of people waiting to get stamps and mail packages; they are cozy little centers of the village, selling everything from fresh bread and ham to used books). Bob went in and found a book he wanted, but I had the money, and when I went in I couldn’t find his book, but I got 4 others.

We weren’t ready to go home yet, but too cold to do anything else outside, so we went to Mildenhall to the BXtra. After a leisurely tour of the store we had dinner at the food court, impressing an elderly British lady with our well-behaved children. We are nearly out of movies to watch, so we stopped at the library to see about renting one, but it was closed. So Home and to bed – it’s 8:30 now and Bob and I are on our way upstairs.

Oh, by the way, Elijah has TWO TEETH now. Yeah, he’s just 4 months old. And he can blow raspberries.
Okay, good night.

7 comments:

Wil said...

My day usually begins at 4:45 also -- that's when Marline has to wake up for her 5:30 a.m. shift... Fortunately, I get to go back to sleep for a while. :-)

Oh, and a note about McDonald's -- you have to wait for a table here too, in big cities: Montreal, New York, Boston, etc. :-)

Wil said...

(If that comment came up more than once... feel free to delete the others -- it didn't appear to post initially...)

MamaOlive said...

Thanks for the comment, Wil - I only got it once.
I guess I've been spoiled when it comes to restaurants. I just looked it up, and Bury has a population of 35,000. I just can't get used to the crowds, and I don't want to forget how different things are over here.

Anonymous said...

A long day indeed, but enough variety to keep it interesting -- book sales and markets are always good. :)

Maybe the U.S. Post Office should try the British way; might get it out of the financial mess it's in.

Give all the children a hug for me.
Love, mums

S.A.M. said...

Yea for blowing raspberries and having teeth. I just know that Elijah will be speaking in full sentences by the time you guys move back to the states.

Mrs. Darling said...

Wow its been forever since I've been here. Nice to catch up with your family.

I noticed in your profile that you said you wore a head covering. Are you doing that on your own or do you belong to a group that does that too. I guess you know i came from the Mennonites so this stuff always interests me. :)

MamaOlive said...

Hi, Mrs D! Good to see you again.
I cover on my own. In one previous church we led a Bible study on the covering, and one other woman began to cover, and now I have a friend who used to cover but doesn't anymore - that's all the IRL people I know who do (did).
There is a group here in England called the Plymouth Brethren, who aren't Anabaptist but cover, but the closest congregation is 45-60 minutes away. Sometimes I get asked if I go there, but England is so much more diverse than south/central US that most people don't think twice about how I look.