Life with a German Houseboy; Other Observations

So contrary to Tearfree's prognostications, Hans the German Houseboy has not taken off with the first cute young Canadian girl who looked his way. Hans, in fact, has proven to be a homebody. He cooks, cleans, tidies up, sweeps the back garden and tends to the cats when he's not working part-time at an Indian restaurant. But the most wonderful thing Hans does is play the piano for hours on end.

When he first arrived and noticed the piano, he told me he used to play but was really bad and never even bothered to try anymore. Then one night when I was doing laundry, I heard strains of Moonlight Sonata filling the house. Flawlessly. By ear. I almost wept, it was so lovely and perfect. No one has ever played that piano the way Hans is playing that piano. And no, that is not a euphemism for anything pervy -- the boy just turned 20.

Hans is, in fact, an unbelievable piano player. He has since downloaded sheet music for all sorts of other pieces -- Beethoven and Bach and Wagner and Brahms -- and plays all the time. It is quite wondrous, and keeps me hanging around in the kitchen scrubbing all sorts of things I would usually leave for the cleaning lady just so I can listen to him playing in the next room.

I am so grateful that I baked him a strawberry-rhubarb pie yesterday when he began pining for German baking. I asked him if Canadian baking would do, and he has been hoovering that pie with delight since it came out of the oven. This week, a fresh peach pie if Ontario peaches are available. And I have also turned him onto Ryan Adams, who Hans says could be considered a Beethoven of his time.

Some other observations:

One of my children came home last night. Thank God. I was pining badly. Now if I can just keep him away from his girlfriend for a day or two.

Get ye Toronto girls to Forever 21 at Yonge and Dundas. I cleaned up yesterday on summery things to wear on my upcoming Spanish vacation; sundresses, cute halter tops, etc. And everything I tried on looked really good on me. My friend Sue says it's because I am slender and need to accept it, but I actually think the people at Forever 21 are smart and have installed skinny mirrors in their changerooms. Everything there is cute, cheap, and fits well, and a it's a boost to the ego to shop there. Go!