Happy Birthday, Handel!

George Frederic Handel was born on this date, in 1685. He is probably best known for his "Messiah," which used the text of the King James Bible, and that extensive composition is probably best known for the "Hallelujah Chorus," although there is a lot of other great music in "Messiah." (The link at the beginning of the paragraph has links to some of Handel's music.)

On a more current, but less important note, we have arrived in Southern California, for an extended stay. Our oldest daughter is located several hours from her home, on military deployment. Our son-in-law's work assignments take him away from home overnight, sometimes for several days, so we will have sole human responsibility for our grandson some of the time.

My mother, who is 96, was hospitalized a few days ago, and is recovering, but our sister-in-law felt that it was necessary to place her in a nursing home when she leaves the hospital, as she is not able to take care of herself, at least not yet. Apparently she has accepted this. She went to nursing homes as a volunteer for a few decades, playing the piano and otherwise encouraging the residents, and, of course, lately was older than most of them. She may recover enough to go back home. We'll see.

Thanks for reading. I plan to post occasionally.