Calming down - but not completely

I've had a few conversations with Fidelity reps in the days since I got that horrendous phone call. They all repeat that this is the new policy. I haven't received any letter. My kids, who also have similar accounts, have not received telephone calls or letters. I asked if, perhaps, the new policy had been rescinded, but was told that no, it had not and that my letter had gone out on May 9. Well, it's the 22nd today and I still don't have it. I have made some suggestions -- that such important letters that indicate tremendous changes to our accounts should be sent out be registered mail and the clock ticking on the new policy should not start until the date received, not the date sent, that changes to the welcome page on the website that require you do accept or decline should allow you to see the options of what happens if you decline before you actually click the button, not once you have clicked. (Really bad website design!) I did not click; I called and asked what the options were, and since the international options are not available to US citizens, of course, I ended up clicking the "Accept" button.
I've been following an excellent blog, The Franco-American Flophouse, and its author, Victoria Ferauge, is a much better writer than I am, much more articulate, a journalist, really. She has been writing about all sorts of subjects, which I'll let you discover, but one of her pet peeves, like mine, is US tax law concerning residents abroad. Today's post announce a meeting in Brussels on the EU and FATCA next week. I won't be able to attend, but if any of my readers are able to, I strongly recommend attending.
No other news of great import. It's been raining a lot, but it looks like today may be nicer. Sacha is growing. Claire and Geoff are weeding through girls' names and it looks like they've settled the matter, but I'm keeping mum until the baby is actually born. Anne is home for a few days between Prague and a visit to England with a couple of days in London at the end. Emma is off to Switzerland for a few days. Paul and I are finished with our bad colds, although he's still a bit congested. I'm still trying to scan a few photos a day to finish reproducing our old albums. I'm up to 1997 and from 2006, we already have the newer, printed albums, so with less than a decade to go, I hope to finish this before the end of the year.