10 MORE Random Pictures Around Boroughbridge

Whoops.  I totally missed posting yesterday.  Yorkshire winters can be wet and muddy because the sun isn't up often enough or long enough during the day to ever dry everything completely out, so we were on a quest yesterday to find the kids winter boots that can keep their toes warm and withstand mud and water.  Let's just say Saturday at the outlet mall was completely exhausting, and all thoughts of blogging went completely out of my head last night when we made it back home!

In the spirit of being on top of things today, I'll leave you with ten more random photos from around town in Boroughbridge from the 2015 archives.

Isn't this seemingly abandoned house beautiful?  Can't you just imagine how cool it must be inside and what it would look like restored?  It reminds me of the house in It's a Wonderful Life that George and Mary throw rocks through the windows and make wishes that they eventually buy and restore.  I love it.

These pictures are all from the same August evening last year.  In the above picture is the canal that runs parallel to the River Ure through Boroughbridge.  They're both a good place for sunset and cloud reflection pictures if you happen to be walking across at the right moment.

The wheat fields around Boroughbridge go from green to golden at harvest time.

In the summertime the canal is filled with boats.  I think lots of people spend their holidays on the intricate canal system across England, mooring in different towns along the way.

What was called The Fruit Basket has just been re-branded with the owner's last name.  It's a lovely shop with all kinds of special flours, oils, jams, coffee, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.  Their sidewalk display is always beautiful to look at.

England is so far north on the globe I really expected the autumn color to be on a par with New England.  It's not quite like that as a result of that warm gulf current that keeps their temperatures moderate, but it is quite beautiful.  The temperature always seems to be around 55 Fahrenheit, which feels very fall-like.

Supermarket parking lots are one of the surprising places to find some beautiful fall foliage.

Looking up the High Street, there's another little cafe.  I've got to get started on my visits!

Hooray for Fall!

The Boroughbridge Library

I've been reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets aloud to Ella at night for the past week (it has been such a joy to share it with her, listening to her gasp in all the right places), and a couple of nights ago we read that semi-famous line of Ron's when he describes Hermione's tendencies:  When in doubt, go to the library.  That's always been my philosophy, too, though for different reasons than Hermione's.

Our local library is small but nonetheless a pleasure because it's a library, and libraries are full of magic.  That reminds me of another good quote about libraries:

And even though it's small I can usually find something I've been wanting to read.  The shelves are pretty well stocked.  And the plus side is that we actually do have access to even more books since all North Yorkshire Libraries are interconnected.  We love visiting the library whenever we go to other nearby towns.  We can borrow from one branch and return at our local branch.

Libraries are also a good place to run into friends.  And for old times sake, a picture from a little over a year ago:

10 Random Photos Around Boroughbridge

Tonight, because it's late and I don't have many original thoughts left in my brain, I thought I'd just post a few pictures from around town in 2015 that I have on file. Sometimes you do what you gotta do to make it through a 31-day blogging challenge!  Here's 10 photos snapped on my phone of ordinary life for us in Boroughbridge.

Several people commented on how little James was in the post about his first Boroughbridge haircut. He really was so little when we moved!  But what always gets me more is Ella.  She's always the big girl, the big sister, but every time I look back at older photos I want to cry at how little she is.  She's grown a lot taller in the past two years.  As she should do of course.

The beautiful crocuses!  I felt like I understood The Secret Garden so much better after our first spring here.

This trail runs beside the River Ure, which runs through town, necessitating the bridge in Boroughbridge.

St. James's is the Church of England church in town.

This is a funny picture to me of James and his pal Jethro wrestling in the school yard after school one day.  Yes, this is their play area.

There's always something that makes me want to stop the car and take a picture.

Sniff, sniff, because all the clothing Ella is wearing in this picture is now too small.

Beautiful things just grow here so easily.

A Sunny day on the High Street - KJ likes to eat the all-day breakfast at Tasty Snacks on the left.

Evening walks are lovely.

Boroughbridge at Night

Tonight we found ourselves in that unfortunate predicament of being out of milk and bread with the next day being a school day.  I was starting to feel a little stress about it when I realized there was still plenty of time before the kids' bedtime to walk to the little convenience store in the center of town.  It takes us around 5 minutes 20 seconds to walk there.  James was complaining about how far it was one day so I timed it.

The kids were pretty enamored with the idea of walking around town in the near-dark, which prompted a few picture-snapping moments and exclamations of, "It's cool outside at night!"

They don't often get to see the lights on in the square.  

If you had asked James in our first few months living here about his favorite places in Boroughbridge he would have told you, "The Spar and the Sweet Shop."  For my American friends' information, Spar is a chain of little stores often found in the center of small towns.  It's a little bigger than a good-sized gas station, and you can buy a little bit of everything.  It's a great place to go when you don't feel brave enough for the supermarket.  

We got what we needed to face the morning with equanimity and saw three friends while we were at it.  Win, win.

A First Haircut in Boroughbridge

Within the first few of days of our move to Boroughbridge James was in desperate need of a haircut. We asked for a recommendation about where to go and made an appointment as soon as possible.

Cutting James's hair wasn't always an easy task, but he had a great first experience here.

We enjoyed our first visit, but the second visit upped all of James's expectation for visit to the hair salon.  He now likes to get there a little early so he can have the pleasure of a hot chocolate while he waits.  I'm always offered a latte or a cup of tea.

 

 

Great service and a satisfied customer.

Our Road to Boroughbridge

October 10, 2011 was a Monday, too.  And it was on that Monday five years ago today that I boarded an airplane with my husband for my first overseas flight to, you guessed it, England.  It was the result of a sudden lightning bolt decision in February 2010 that hey, we were grown-ups and could go places.  And the end result of that lightning bolt moment is that five years later I am recording our lives on the same little blog I kept then from our home in North Yorkshire, England.

I had nothing more in my head but a really fun "trip of a lifetime" with my husband.  Yet, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."  

And as Bilbo warned Frodo, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door...You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to."

Autumn in Boroughbridge

Today was a very rain, sun, rain, sun, rain and sun together, kind of day.  I took a little Autumn Beauty Walk around town, bringing along a plastic bag to protect my camera in the event of a rain shower (of which there was one).  This is a little bit of a continuation on a theme from my last post since it involves what you can see when you go for a walk this time of year and keep your eyes lifted up.

I love autumn days like today.  For a little while yesterday the air turned colder, and I needed a coat and scarf, and it made me feel sad.  There's a bit of a melancholy feeling thinking about shorter days ahead and having to bundle up in lots of layers before going outside.  There's a lot of beauty to be found in the winter, but in some ways October feels like the last nice month of the year.

 

I'll have to make a winter bucket list to get myself geared up for what's ahead.  For now, I'm greatly enjoying October.  If you're on the internet at all you know how Anne Shirley felt about October. Here's another good Anne quote:

"The world looks like something God had 

just imagined for his own pleasure, doesn't it?"