Sharing Our Life in Bury St. Edmunds

Well, we had our very first visitor last week!  Our friend Elie from Portland came through town, and we had about a day and a half to show her our life.  I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you what we showed her...  We had a very low-key  time, just going about life as usual-- only, it was better, since we were sharing it with a friend.

We picked Elie up in Cambridge at the train station, and the first order of business was taking her to the Abbey Gardens for a picnic lunch. This is where I realized that I hadn't replaced the memory card in my camera, so I don't have pictures of that.  But you can see Bury St. Edmund's Abbey Gardens here.

We got home just in time to pick Amelia up from school, and then it was time to get cooking.  Elie told me she was looking forward to some meals at Mama's Bistro, and I had been looking forward to sharing a meal with a friend outdoors, finally.  There is something so sweet about having that extra person at the table-- it makes a meal into a memory for me.  Those 36 or so hours were packed with food...

Elie is not just my friend-- she is friends with each one of us.  We each got special attention from her, as well as enjoying her all together.

OK, so I cannot tell you how glad I was to have a friend attend a big school event with me the next morning.  Amelia's school had their annual sports day, and this time it was Olympics-themed, of course.  They had already cancelled it once because of the rain, and even though it was a little rainy that morning, they went ahead in good faith, and things stayed dry throughout the tournament.

Amelia is very... challenged, athletically-speaking, and so it was all at once hilarious, horrifying, exhilarating and inspiring to watch her power through all of the events, always dead last.  She had such a great attitude, and seemed to have fun even though it was a struggle.  It was really good to have the moral support of a friend as I cheered her on there.

 The whole affair was very impressively organized, yet still had the feeling of a circus.

 Amelia's favorite race was the "Equestrian Event."  Seriously adorable.

After the races were over, we headed back home for a much-needed cup of coffee.  We headed inside and out a few times, as it rained, stopped, and then showered again.  Once the skies cleared enough, it was time to get back to "work."  It was Wednesday, the day of the week that I do my most important marketing in town.

 I have been meaning to take pictures of the market for a post... I guess this will do for now!

After that, we headed back toward home, and stopped at the butcher to pick up meat for dinner and bacon for the next morning.

 There's my butcher (he's camera-shy!)

We also grabbed some ham and local cheese for a quick lunch outside, enjoying some serious sunshine for the first time in quite a while.  Soon, it was time to pick Amelia up again.  We couldn't let Elie leave without taking her to a pub, so when Jeff came home, we went to one nearby that has a nice garden.

I know.  Can you believe the name?  I can mention it casually with a straight face now, but only because I've had almost a year to get used to it!

 Back home, it was one last dinner... And lots of chatting.

Wondering about the green drink?  I took the gooseberries from the market, and made a really nice Gooseberry Margarita. 

When I originally found out that we would have a guest, I had a long list in my mind of all the places we should go-- to the coast, punting on the Cam, into Lavenham, to a farm...  Our schedule didn't really allow for any of that, but it was totally OK.  I realized while we were going about normal daily activities that this was what I wanted to share with someone-- the really ordinary stuff that I do all the time.  It's sweet to know that at least one person from my "old life" can picture what I'm up to, even when it's not something exciting to blog about.  So, thanks, Elie!


If you only had about 36 hours to share your life with a friend, what would you choose to do?