Too Late

I always wanted to be the sort of person who owned a baby grand piano, and, as the only other the ivory-tinkler in the family,  I almost got my mother-in-law's, but my sister-in-law asserted prior claim. Then she closed the lid and arranged her collection of garage-sale miniatures on top of it.  So we shopped around and bought an electronic spinet.  But when Husband recently angled our piano from the wall to check the electric connections, I realized there actually was room for a baby grand in its place.

But my time for accuulating possessions has passed. At this point I'd be looking for someone to pass a baby grand on to myself.

Hoarders in the Family

As Fiorella's hands set rocks around the driveway, her brain was busy trying to piece together the psychology of her late sister-in-law.  In her later years, BJ became a classic hoarder.  Narrow paths wound their ways between the piles of treasures in her architect-designed home on a prestigious street in an exclusive Austin zip code.

Maybe BJ's hoarding was because her parents had died on her, one of her sons had been killed, and another had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. But BJ had a third son who was very much alive and sane.  And two grandsons to boot.

Maybe the  hoarding was a genetic thing--BJ's aunt had been a hoarder.  Maybe hoarding had once been a survival mechanism for the human race.

Fiorella didn't draw any conclusions about BJ, but at least a lot of rocks got put in place.

Celebrate!

Fiorella had a week-long birthday celebration--Facebook and RWA congratulations, Minnesota son and wife calling, Husband taking her out to Fish Daddy's on her actual birthday, friend Paula treating her to breakfast at Dan's, the pastor leading the small Wednesday noon congregation in singing Happy Birthday to her, Friend Sharon taking her out to Dan's for an afternoon hamburger, Brother and his wife taking her out for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse on Saturday evening, her Austin children treating her to cake and ice cream on Sunday afternoon.

The happiest birthday week ever!

Ka-boom!

According to the latest news, half the population of the German city of Koblenz is being evacuated so authorities can defuse a WWII bomb that's popped up in the Rhine River.

And, wouldn't you know it, today is the fifth day of Brother and Sister-in law's cruise down the Rhine.

Not what they bargained for.