Yesterday, my Aunt Sage died. She's my mom's oldest sister, and they were very close. What is really amazing was the way that my aunt embraced the whole computer age - she was the one who turned my mother on to computers (macs, of course). She was a web designer up into her 70's. She also was a talented artist - she spun her own wool, collected Mexican art, did all sorts of amazing things. I just wish that she had held on a little bit longer.

When I went to France this past December, my husband hooked us (and my mom) up with Skype so that we could talk over the internet. My Aunt Sage already had Skype, so I was able to talk to her, too, on New Year's Eve. She and my mother must have talked just about every day via computer - pretty neat! I know that my mom will miss her a lot.

Most of my memories of my aunt come from the times that all of our families spent together - before everyone divorced and dispersed. We used to go to their house in Lake Jackson, Texas, where they had a courtyard, a greenhouse, a sauna, and an indoor pool. That was the first time I ever read about Euell Gibbons and had fried sunflowers. I taught myself how to play "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" and "Close to You" on their grand piano. I read the book Walkabout and I think that's were we saw man land on the moon.

My aunt and uncle also owned a lake house at Lake Travis, near Austin. We had some great times there, even though my sister and I weren't allowed to take part in things like the Fireworks Battles my older cousins had on Fourth of July. I don't remember their ranch in West Texas quite as well, but I do remember that my aunt went to live there - on the part she got in her divorce.