Arrived at my parents' house and found that Aunt ML is here for a visit.

Aunt ML kindly took me in at the nadir of my relationship with my mother, mid junior year of high school. She still worries that she was too strict with me and that I must resent her terribly. On the contrary, ML. Besides, when she did get too strict, I simply asked Nana, who was suffering from Alzheimer's, although we just called it senility back then, and she would say, "Who cares what ML says, this is my house and I make the rules!" Yes ma'am!

Aunt ML talks in her sleep. Not just a few mumbles here and there, she'll hold an entire conversation with you. When she napped, it was always fun to suggest that, maybe, Nana was riding a motorcycle down the street, even doing wheelies, or capitalize on her fear of flying by pretending to be the captain making announcements in preparation to land. She would invariably start off with a hearty, "Jeeeesus, Mary and Joseph..."

I can't wait to show the girls.

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I enjoyed all my time spent in the car running errands today, as it gave me the opportunity to listen to WLRN and an endless stream of NPR. Our west coast public radio station can only afford to play classical music and the hourly news updates. Realizing how much I've been missing, I ran out this evening to Barnes & Noble and grabbed a New Yorker, Atlantic, Utne, and an extra-large (never say "Venti") iced Cafe Americano. I think it has about four shots of espresso, and not wanting to be up until next Tuesday, I get it decaf. Forgot to look for Smithsonian, but, tomorrow is another day.

Off to catch up on the news of the day...