On July 14th we officially celebrated 9 years of marriage! Wow. We are so thankful be on this journey together, for all the experiences and growth we have had together (including lots of life that we never anticipated or planned) and that by God's grace we continue to grow stronger and closer every year. We weren't together on the actual day but we eventually had a date & overnight at the end of the month. One of the things on my "Must Do this Summer" list was to tour the Lilly estate and gardens of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The gardens, estate and museum are free, and the day we spent there was sunny but not too hot. Here is the view from the front lawn of the former Lilly country house, on the outskirts of Indianapolis. (Yes, this is the same Lilly family that founded a very successful pharmaceutical company, donated a rare books collection to IU (we visited there in May), and also has a huge endowment/philanthropic foundation.)
Our lunch picnic. Okay so we didn't wander the gardens too much since my feet were getting hot and my belly heavy... Ice water and roast beef sandwiches helped alleviate that.
That night we stayed at a nice hotel downtown (thanks to a good deal on Priceline!) and then wandered the streets a bit on Saturday morning. The downtown area is very walkable, and the highlight is Monument Circle with its impressive war monument and fountains.
A close-up of one side that commemorates the Civil War.
Jim's favorite aspect is the bison water fountain.
On our way out of town we drove by this neighborhood deli and cafeteria that looked intriguing. And oh goody, it's lunchtime! Of course we had to stop, and upon entering we were reassured that this is The Place in Indy for good deli sandwiches and big slices of cake - the Shapiro family started this business in 1905. The Reuben sandwich was very, very good. We'll be back. And next time we'll have baby Gies in tow, and we'll get a slice of cake (no more gestational diabetes!). 
Thanks for putting up with my reminiscing about South Africa. We returned to the States about one year ago and it's a natural time to celebrate some memories from our time there. We miss it very much - and not just the food, but the people, the culture, our friends, the natural beauty of the Western Cape.
The subject of this post: Out and about with friends, enjoying a good meal - or simply a bowlful of hand-picked strawberries!
Moyo Restaurant with our South African parents, Jack and Marianne van der Lecq, and their son/our good friend, Fritz. Moyo is one of the most amazing culinary experiences I've ever had. The atmosphere is totally unique: The tables are set outdoors under huge spreading trees and within large tents, live African music in the background, and an incredible array of food stretched out on a 50-foot long buffet.
A surprise birthday party for Julianna at Addis in Cape, an Ethiopian restaurant in downtown Cape Town. She knew I was taking her out - what she didn't know was that some of our friends would be meeting us there.
Yep, this is a real restaurant! Wimpy is a South African fast-food hamburger joint.
We joined good friends Anthony and Daphne Buratovich for a huge wine and cheese festival hosted annually at a large wine estate in the winelands. 
Strawberry picking with wonderful American friends, Heather and Randy Gauthier (Randy was studying for the DLitt in Septuagint Studies at the University of Stellenbosch, recently graduated). They lived next door to the strawberry fields, so these are FRESH!
We enjoyed our strawberry-picking with the Gauthiers so much that we later did the same thing with Mawethu and Lisa Ncaca, another one of our special couple-friends.
Homemade cupcakes for Jul's birthday, enough to share with friends (taking the picture).
Visiting a chocolate shop in Tulbagh, one of our favorite Western Cape mountain villages. This was a weekend jaunt with Margit, Robyn, and Duncan (obviously not pictured).
A relaxing Saturday lunch at Dornier, an estate restaurant in the winelands.
Randy and Heather lived on the grounds of an Indonesia restaurant. Yum!
We enjoyed this restaurant-in-a-wine-cellar-within-a-mountain in Franschoek when Mom and Dad Gieser visited in March, 2009.
Our lunch picnic. Okay so we didn't wander the gardens too much since my feet were getting hot and my belly heavy... Ice water and roast beef sandwiches helped alleviate that.
That night we stayed at a nice hotel downtown (thanks to a good deal on Priceline!) and then wandered the streets a bit on Saturday morning. The downtown area is very walkable, and the highlight is Monument Circle with its impressive war monument and fountains.
A close-up of one side that commemorates the Civil War.
Jim's favorite aspect is the bison water fountain.
On our way out of town we drove by this neighborhood deli and cafeteria that looked intriguing. And oh goody, it's lunchtime! Of course we had to stop, and upon entering we were reassured that this is The Place in Indy for good deli sandwiches and big slices of cake - the Shapiro family started this business in 1905. The Reuben sandwich was very, very good. We'll be back. And next time we'll have baby Gies in tow, and we'll get a slice of cake (no more gestational diabetes!). 
