Fun of a Walkable Neighborhood

After yesterday's Worst Commute Ever, the last thing I wanted to do today is get in a motorized vehicle of any kind. So, my husband had to go to the grocery store -- I got stuck yesterday right by Stop & Shop, and don't really want to see that intersection again just yet (preferably not until spring). But I was able to walk to the Pinefield shopping center and pick up some wine to go with the dinner we're making tonight.

As I was walking, I saw some neighbors out clearing driveways. I saw kids playing in the snow. I saw geese flying overheard in V-formation -- something I couldn't have stopped to enjoy if I'd had to get in my car to run the errand.

And, I saw this:



How fun is that! Turns out the local Ace hardware store is running rides around the neighborhood. I walked by Hometowne Hotdogs, and it was mobbed inside because Santa was visiting. The Amazing Things Arts Center is readying for a jazz concert tonight.... all within a 15-minute walk of the house. I felt a lot better about my neighborhood than I did yesterday :-)

Ah, if we were building the new library in Saxonville.... if there could be a small grocery store in the shopping center again that I could walk to ... and a bakery in Pinefield where you could pick up fresh bread every morning....if there was a cafe up at the sidewalk, with landscaped outdoor seating so you could watch the passers-by, and a good buffer between the sidewalk and the traffic.... it would be close to perfect. For now, though, it feels a lot better to me than some sprawl-plagued subdivision where you can only walk for recreation or exercise, not to actually GET anywhere besides other houses.