In the early 1960?s, a young couple with two small children, tired of the Long Island rat-race, leave New York in search of a new life in Vermont. Disillusioned with the tourist industry they purchase a General Store in the rural village of Bridport in the Champlain Valley. For seven years, as their children grow up, they learn to love life in the country. He learns to cut meat, what goes into a stew and a cake, how to grind hamburger and cut up chickens, she learns how to pump gas, the difference between 10?penny nails and wood screws and what pickled tripe looks like. He learns which beers sell best, how to store dry goods and how to order insulin for special customers. She flounders in distress over bookkeeping, stocks shelves, dislikes cutting liver and gives a coat of paint to the entire inside of the store, shelf by shelf, over a year?s time. The children go to school, join 4-H Clubs and learn about animal husbandry from their peers.There is the garden, canning and freezing veggies, making jam, acquiring pets and other assorted animals from rabbits and chickens, squirrels and pigeons to a "rented" pony