July 17: Indianapolis

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Another lovely day, and after I had taken a bath and done some stretching exercises, I took my book and chose one of the other terraces to do some peaceful reading while listening to the birds and enjoying the morning breezes.  After a while, Charles came around the corner and asked me to go with him to the grocery store to purchase pickling spices and vinegar for the canning extravaganza for later on.  It was fun to ride around in his car, with the top down.  Returning, Charles and Martin created a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs with chives and cilantro.  We also had excellent bagels from Bialy's in Cleveland,  sausage, as well as baked green tomatoes that Charles had newly picked from the garden.  Orange juice and coffee completed the meal, and all were excellent, and we had the good fortune to eat in the formal dining room, which I enjoyed very much.  And now, Alexandra and Charles have been canning for the past 1 1/2 hours, and it's like a cottage industry in here.  Gwen's mother has departed, and Alexandra will be leaving in about 30 minutes.  Soon afterwards, Charles and Martin will be taking me to the airport for my ca. 8:00 p.m. flight.  This will be the last blog for a few days, and I will start a new blog on July 23, when Alexandra and I leave for Costa Rica.  Another great visit!  Thanks so much, Charles, Martin, and Alexandra!  Fine times!  As ever, Sylvia V.

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas