Yesterday marked Day 30 in my travel itinerary.  I can't believe that a whole month has already gone by!  On the one hand, that month has been so full of new sights and new people that it feels like I've been here for ages, but on the other hand, it seems like just a week ago that I was playing with Dylan and Devin in Salt Lake City before boarding my flight.  You'd think that I'd do something wonderful and celebratory on Day 30, but it turned out to be the quietest day of my trip so far.  I slept in and then took my own sweet time getting ready for the day.  I wandered around the house a bit, acquainted myself with the rooms and the yard, and played the piano.  It felt so nice to sit down with my newly-shortened nails and make music.  I haven't touched a piano in almost three solid months, though, and my fingers are a bit stiff and sore.  The piano is lovely, though; it's a Kawai grand with a lovely, rich tone.  It even sounds like it's been tuned recently!  Hurrah!  I found a music book near the piano and had some fun with "I've Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," "Rhapsody in Blue," and other Gershwin favorites.

After that, I unpacked my suitcases and did my best to find a spot in my room for everything important.  Nicole had told me to make myself at home and find food because "polite people go hungry," so I had a lovely turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread for lunch.  After that, I found the computer that Nicole had mentioned in her note and spent several hours e-mailing family and friends.  (I should point out that the house was completely deserted this whole time.  Nicole and Richard were already asleep when I came in the night before, and they left the house the next morning around 7:30--well before I awoke.)  Then I returned to my room to write the travel logs for Days 28 and 29, but grew so sleeply that I took a nice, long nap instead.  I think my body was really grateful for such a slow, easy, completely unstressful day!  I don't feel a bit sick anymore.

After my wonderful nap, I went back to the computer to send off a couple more e-mails, and it was about then that Jeanette and her daughters returned from Girls' Camp.   

They all went to bed around 9:00 (they were exhausted after all the Girls' Camp late nights!), and I spent a few hours catching up on journal entries and things before hitting the sack.  All in all, it was a wonderful, restful day.  And--oh!--have I told you about the view from my window?  It's beautiful!  I look out onto the Saltzmans' beautiful, green backyard and all the surrounding houses and trees.  This is what I pictured England looking like:  Lush greenery everywhere and picturesque rows of Tudor-style houses.  :-)  What fun!  And the weather is perfect right now--only slightly chilly.  I'm perfectly contented.