Fio, Cohen, and God

Yes, your Fio has gained five pounds in the past two months and will probably pack on a few more next month. After all, Christmas through Easter is chocolate season.
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Fiorella's high school graduation class newsletter has been sharing nostalgic memories lately so Fio reminded them of the day the principal yelled "Y'all aren't acting like WHITE people!" into the speaker. Fio and her crowd were horrified, but she's not so sure about her other classmates--then or now.
*
With fear in her heart that she hadn't put the beast together right, Fiorella took her new chainsaw outside and whacked at a couple of dead cedar limbs, and...it  worked! Now she's got her eye on the cedar thicket to the south of the driveway.
*
WOW! Michael Cohen's testimony was hot stuff and straight from the horse's mouth. No wonder Trump and team tried to saddle, bridle, and hog-tie him.
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We grow up with the idea that God looks like a bearded old man with penetrating eyes, but actually, according to Fiorella's catechism, God is a spirit (mind and will, but no body) with the attributes of being eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, omni-present, holy, fair, faithful, benevolent, merciful, and gracious. Fio likes the way that sounds.

Not a Good Day

Husband was really good with dogs, but Fiorella beat him out when it came to getting Sonia Dog to take her medicine. He, being a guy, tried to strong-arm Doggie, to force the pill down her throat, but she promptly coughed it out onto the carpet. Next, he tried tucking the pill inside peanut butter or a mushy product sold for that purpose. Sometimes the pill went down, and sometimes it ended up on the carpet again, but Fiorella had no problem. She too used peanut butter as a lure, but she stuck the covered pill to rhe handle of a fork and OFFERED it to Sonia rather than trying to force it down her throat. Ladies like to be wooed, not pressured.
*
Fio woke up a-rarin' to go, but her afternoon wasn't that great. Her buzon contained two fat envelopes of papers related to Husband's death that she was supposed to figure out and fill out. She started on the insurance papers because they were the ones that would provide her bread and butter in years to come. A couple of hours and a few tears later, she gave up and called the HELP number, then spent another hour on the phone, then had to race off to her bank for vital info. Why don't they just send her a check and have done with it?
*
She decided to settle herself by going through the six-inch-thick pile of notes she's accumulated about what she wants to write, say, think, do, or research. Bad choice. Several dog interuptions later, her notes were even more confused than they had been. Time to go to watch television and head off to bed. Let's hope the ceiling doesn't leak again.

Odds, Ends, and a Truth

Spring sprung on Fiorella before she realized winter was over, which means she'll have to hustle over to Home Depot to see what's available in jasmine ground covers, then contact her yardman. She's been talking about a ground cover for a couple of years, and now is the time for action.
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Those cute amber beads that Fio's been sporting? They started life an eyeglass chain, but the ends kept dropping her glasses so she gave up and turned them into a necklace.
*
When Fiorella's hair falls forward, she looks like Snape. (Shhh--don't pass it around.)
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Did Fio tell you that she encountered a good-sized scorpion crossing her kitchen floor the other day?  Mr. S froze and tried to blend in with the concrete, but Fio went in for the squash.  Good things she was wearing shoes.
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Precious things break so easily--that's why they're so precious.

Flotsam and Jetsam from Fio's Notes

We are all the centers of our own universes and see everything from our own unique viewpoints, like blind men describing an elephant.
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There's a close connection between humor and pain, and the relationship isn't just laughing away one's troubles or singing in the rain.  It's about the adrenaline of cruelty.  Think about the classic guy-slipping-on-a-banana-peel routine.  Think of the Three Stooges bonking each other on the head.
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Fiorella heard what sounded like a mower way too close, maybe on her own property so she started walking toward  it.  Yeah, Fio is as curious as a cow.
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Death waits for no man, but take it from Fiorella, a newly bereaved woman can wait forever in a funeral home.
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Even one Russian-influenced vote is one too many.

Fiorella at Home

Having lectured herself beforehand about overloading on sweets, Fiorella was able to withstand the lure of H-E-B's candy and cookie aisle, but two rows down, she was snagged by the the Easter aisle, which she hadn't expected to be in operation this early. She grabbed a chocolate bunny for her shopping cart, of course, then added a bag of Russell Stover chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies--which somehow found sweeter lodging inside Fio'm ever-expanding tummy on her way home. Have you ever seen someone drive a car with the outside palms of her hands and, with her fingers, peeling open yet another chocolate-covered marchmallow cookie?
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Of course, one way for Fio to deliver herself from temptation would be to use H-E-B's on-line shopping service and pick her groceries up at the curb, but she prefers mingling with the populace. Remember, she's pretty well isolated out here in the boondocks.
*
Have I told you that Fiorella has lost her credit card AGAIN--the same one she lost two weeks ago and received a replacement card for? Cringing with embarrassment, she's going to let the situation hang for a while because she's sure the card is somewhere in the house or car. After all, the day after she received her last replacement card, the original card reared its ugly head in the pocket of one of Husband's jackets that Fio had been wearing.
*
Fiorella's wonderful yardman came by on Saturday and brought the backyard and the woodpile area up to snuff--even cutting Fio another ring of la lena. Meanwhile, she was inside, shoveling about ten pounds of ashes out of la chimenea and cleaning up the gray dust that hung hung the air. That's all till next year, folks. Primevera is just around the corner.
*
Speaking of Spanish, or in Spanish, Fiorella is planning to launch an all-out effort to conquer el espanol as soon as she's gotten her life  in shape again. Le deseamos bien!

Taxes, Cookies, Grills, Husband, The Children

Don't hold your breath, but Fiorella is beginning to see daylight. She's finally burned every last stick of the trash wood in the fireplace, gotten most of Husband's affairs in order, and caught up with the laundry. Next comes--gulp--the 2018 taxes.
*
`Okay, Fio admits she grabbed a bag of galletas de chocolate when she was in HEB to pick up a baguette, and she ate every single one of them on the ride home because she was mad about having to buy a new chainsaw. Dang thing cost almost $180!
*
Fio's yardman is supposed to come tomorrow. As she's told you, she's going to offer him all three of the decrepit BBQ grills on the back porch. Hope he can use them.
*
Husband's ophthamologist's robocall asked for him and totally disregarded Fiorella's explanation of the situation. She'll have to call the office tomorrow.
*
Fiorella's posting about the children Trump and his pals have kidnapped and jailed. What sort of education do they get? Are the younger ones taught readin', writin', and 'rithmatic? Are the older ones perpared for jobs or college? Do they ever play games? Who teaches them nighttime prayers? Do they ever sing? Who comforts them when they cry? 💔

Friends, Fire, TV, Michael Jackson, CDs

Fio's said it before and she'll say it again--she couldn't have gotten this far without her lady friends. Some of them have been keeping tabs on her by phone, email, or Facebook, and some have met her for lunch or Starbucks treats. She loves them all. Thank you.
*
You'll be happy to know that Fiorella was able to build another fire yesterday afternoon, even though la lena was cold and dampish. She's determined to use up all the old wood moldering away outside as part of her clean-up of the house and yard. It saves on electricity, cleans up the landscape, and reduces the fire hazard.
*
Fiorella has been so involved in her various self-assignments yesterday evening that she lost the first five minutes of Big Bang Theory--dang! And she's been so tired from her labors lately that she\'s moissed Colbert two nights running--double dang!
*
We all knew what was going on with Michael Jackson and all those boys, but the worshipful reverence our society has for celebrities protected him. Maybe that's Trump's shield too.
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Fio's starting to clear out Husband's six yards of music CDs. He had a wonderful library, but apparently people don't listen to CDs anymore.

La Perra, El Hermano, Trump, La Amiga, El Espanol

Sonia Dog is a good listener, but not much of a conversationalist unless she wants (1) mas comida, (2) un leche-hueso, or (3) the top of the toilet raised so she can drink from the bowl.
*
Bless Fiorella's abogado brother. Su hermano shepherded her through the winding ways of northwest Austin to find the death certificate headquarters, then stood in line with her for at least half an hour till Fio's turn at the bat came up. Of course, Fio, who is easily bored, talked to people up and down the line the whole time, even excercising her meager Spanish if appropriate--or not.
*
Hey, hey, hey--must tell you that Fiorella, of course, had her DUMP TRUMP button pinned on her jacket the whole time, and she lots of got smiles, nods, and thumbs up. 😉😃😄
*
Before her trip into bureacratic wonderland, Fio had lunch at Fish Daddy's with friend Susan Craig, a fellow romance writer who moved to the Houston area a while back. The food was good, the service was great (same waiter as the one Fiorella called down after the funeral), and the conversation was not only lively, but inspiring. Fiorella's chawing at the bit to start writing again, but it's hard to get  anything going when her computer eats up revisions and her printer has stopped working.
*
Has Fiorella told you that she makes up little Spanish sentences (fraces en el espanol) in her head all the time? She doesn't have a big enough vocabulary (especialmente in regard to los verbos) to go full blast, but she'd like to think that big oaks from little acrorns grow.

Lies Fiorella Tells Herself

That she's only going to eat half the package of black licorice Twizzlers.
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That she's going to buy herself some new black shoes and get rid of her twenty-year-old lace-ups that she freshens up with Magic Marker.
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That it's a good idea to put off researching boring legal stuff this afternoon because she'll be more alert in the morning.
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That if she tunes in the Spanish-speaking TV stations every now and then, she'll eventually learn to speak el espanol.
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That she looks twenty years younger than her birth certificate when actually she only looks ten years younger.😉

The Fire Blazes On

Fio lied. She'd said yesterday's fire would be the last one of the season, but actually, she's decided to BURN, BABY, BURN until all la lena in the hoops across the driveway runs out.
*
What is it about a fire that fascinates Fiorella?  Maybe it's that it's beautiful and horrible at the same time. Maybe it's that controlling a blaze is is like taming a lion--so interesting, so dangerous.
*
Fiorella had a nice long-distance conversation with her only surviving cousin on her mother's side yesterday afternoon. And like all mothers, the main topic of their conversation was their daughters.
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Determined to get back into the writing game, Fio has bought two reams of pre-punched paper at Office Depot, hoping that hijo mayor can get her printer working again when he comes in March. Fiorella has a list of about ten other things she also needs help with, but don't tell him that.
*
As Fiorella writes, Sonia Dog is cuddled up beside her on the couch, snoring away. Do the imprisoned children have dogs to love them? Does anyone love them?

Last Fire of Winter

Trash fires are Fiorella's specialty. She tosses all her torn-up newspapers and used Kleenexes into the fireplace, and, when the cold weather hits, tops the mound withher collection of firewood debris and the shredded advertisements the post office has generously favored her with. Then, with the back door open for draw, she strikes a match or two and the flames flare up.

Fio figured out  a while back that the trick is to warm up the cavern and  keep it warm so, accordingly, she scurries back and forth from the den to the foyer to pick up more rickety sticks and a couple of more substantial pieces de madera, including actual logs, which she keeps in a separate pile.

Wait a minute, Fio--did you say you keep your trashy firewood INSIDE the house? 
Well, yes, I do. It's not just the fireplace cavern that has to be warm. Madera that is cold/damp is reluctant to burn, so I provide mi lena with a hospitable environment.

You talk about su lena as if it is sentient. Doesn't it then make you fell guilty to toss it to the flames?
Not at all. Remember, my theory is that everyone and everything wants to be of use. What else are we here for?

Oops, the fire's dying down. Gotta go grab a couple more logs. See ya!

Another Excerpt from PASSION

Sigrid sat on the edge of her bed and looked around dully, not sure what to do.  Images from the fire appeared on the movie screen of her mind--the flames leaping and crackling, the smoke, the drone of the water hoses, the yells of the firefighters shouting back and forth as they battled the flames. 

The stench of burned flesh.     

Mik rose to leave.  “I’ll turn off the light.” 

A wave of panic flashed through her.  “No, keep it on!” She grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave me!” Waves of shivers ran through her. “Stay with me.  Please, stay with me.”  All her defenses had been burned through, and she couldn’t bear to be alone tonight.

Mik looked at her for one long moment, then came back to the bed, sat down and took her ice-cold hands in his.  

“Do you know what you’re asking for, Sigrid?”  His pale eyes bored into hers.  “If I stay in this room with you, I sleep in this bed with you.”

She knew exactly what she was asking for and why she shouldn’t be asking it, but she couldn’t help herself.  It was hard to always be tough, to never let anything get to you.  Sometimes it was more than she could bear.      

She tried to explain, to make him understand, but couldn’t get the words out right.  “The smell--I saw people with horrible burns--children--there was a child . . . . . Stay with me.”  Her teeth started to chatter. "I need you."   

Mik nodded, then, and slowly, solemnly, drew her into his embrace. His face was rigid with intent.  If she wanted to forget, he could make her forget.  But first he wanted her to remember, and this time there would be no interruptions.

From Trash to Trump

Fiorella went out onto the back porch in the morning to detrash it, then, in the afternoon, detrashed the backyard. There's still a little more to go, but she's making progress.
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In between, Fio beta-read Annabeth Saryu's second book, Crazy Hearts. Annabeth's first book, Fighting Hearts, zoomed up to the top of the romance  charts. Try it--you'll like it.
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Fiorella wants to get back to working on her own books, but after-death responsibilities and legalities take precedence. (Sigh.)
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Actually, Fio's tummy isn't feeling well, maybe because she whipped up a big plate of Carnation's Famous Fudge and ate half of it.
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If Trump's ego demands a national emergency, how about a real one, like the Border Patrol kidnapping and jailing innocent immigrant children?

Facing Facts

Well, Fio's fianally learned what probate is for, and she's going to have to hire a lawyer. Dang it, there goes that nest egg of insurance policies she's been building up.
*
If the cold weather sweeps back in like it's supposed to this weekend, brace yourself for the biggest fires of the season at Casa Fiorella.  She's done her best to empty the woodpiles out front this year, and this will be her final opportunity. Spring cometh.
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Fio has spent much of her life accumulating things that she's now she's trying to get rid of. None of them seem to matter anymore
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When someone close to you dies, a chunk out of your life is gone forever, but Fio doesn't believe in death. She can understand that we will all stop breathing at some point, but she doesn't think that means we are dead-dead, just dead to the living world.
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Fiorella is a sweet little old lady until the shyster phone calls start flooding in. The it's GRRRRRRR!

From Gripe to Whimsy

Fio doesn't know about what's going on with other cities' newspapers, but the front page of The Austin American Statesman is edging toward tabloid reporting. Long-winded features rule the day. THE WHOLE STORY IS ABOUT TO COME OUT was the front-page headline in a recent paper, with DID MEDICS DO ENOUGH TO SAVE A DYING MAN" as its sister  scoop. Whatever happened to who, what, why, when, and where?
*
A TV special covered an all-girls high-school shop class in a high school the other night, and Fiorella couldn't help but remember how interested she had been in taking shop when she was in high school. She was rightfully discouraged by her mother, of course, because girls did not take shop back then. Besides, Fio also wanted to take every other class Waco High had to offer.
*
Come to think of it, Fio has "shop" in her blood. The easel her maternal grandfather made for her is still in the garage, and she's pretty sure her brother has the wagon, table, and chairs. Gramp could build anything.
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To cut down on electricity, Fiorella gathers fallen limbs to build indoor fires. Then she harvests the ashes to enrich the yard. It's a reciprocal.
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Fio wonders--if she could live her life over, would she be a better person next time around?

What Did You Do Yesterday, Fiorella?

VOLUME I: After a glorious awakening with a lovely poem in her mind, Fiorella's day did not go well. The newspaper didn't arrive on her porch, which meant she'd have to trudge up to the top of the driveway in her robe to claim it or wait till she went out to meet with Endor, her long-time writing group, in mid-morning. She chose the latter and, when the time came, scrambled into a cute Chinese jacket, dark blue slacks, and flowerdy shoes, then did her face and hair, splashed on some Chanel,  ready to take off for Starbucks. But wait--maybe she'd better check her email to see if anyone had canceled.

Bad luck--Ashley couldn't come because of allergies. What about Carol? No reply, which meant  either she was coming to the meeting or that she'd forgotten about it. Hoping for the former, Fio gathered her purse, glasses, and keys, dashed out the door into the garage, and pushed the button to open the garage door.

Nothing happened. She pushed the button again--and again. Dang, that fix that neighbor Michael had put on the mechan Fio spent her time filling out an insurance form, paying bills and going through the bank statements, then  working on the Christmas mess in the garage, but the highlight (gracias a dio) was when she finally found Husband's death certificates.ism the evening before wasn't working. (One more strike against technology--Dad's garage door never stuck when he hauled it open!)

Nothing for Fio to do but  change into grubbiess, work around the house, and hope she could get the garage door working by the next day, when she was supposed to drive to Austin to pick up copies of  Husband's death certificate in the morning, get together with with friend Kaye at 12:30, and meet with friend Deborah, her hair stylist, at 2:00.

VOLUME II: After a major sulk, Fio spent her time working on the Chritmas mess in the garage, filling out an insurance form, paying bills and going through the bank statements, and searching for  Husband's death certificates. Before she closed the house down for the night, she tested the garage door again and--voila--up it went. But just to be sure she had transportation for the next day, she backed the Queen Mary out of the garage before she closed the door again.

VOLUME III: It's a new day so Fiorella isgearing up for her rule-of-three errands--assailing the Texas Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Unit, visiting with Kaye, and being pampered by Deborah. Wish her well!

On Awakening and Looking out the Window

       
          

          Thank you, God, for a beautiful morning

          Thank you, God, for a restful night

          Keep my mind sharp, my vision clear

          And give me the strength to fight the good fight

Monday Morning Considerations

When Husband was in the hospital or rehab or whatever, it was Fiorella's job to hold down the fort--to keep everything the same as it always was. But now everything is different, and there's no way to turn the clock back.😢
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Fiorella didn't realize how much time and thought she spent trying to please Husband. And she still does.💓
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Fio gets a kick out of it when she and a couple of friends she went to high school with gang up on former classmates who put outrageously right-wing posts on Facebook with the truth. Nothing like the search engine to blow holes in stupid conspiracy theories. 😁
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Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, whatever--Fiorella's experience has been that there are good people and bad people in all religions. The trick is to avoid the zealots and the tribals. 😕
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Your Fio is a miracle of modern medicine. She's had two spinal surgeries, two C-sections, a hysterectomy, gall-bladder surgery, hand surgery, a partial thyroidectomy, all sorts of eye surgeries, a pacemaker, an aortic valve replacement, and a hip replacement--and she's still galloping along. (Oh, and she was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis for a couple of years, but that cured itself.) 😄

Collisions, Consequences, Confusions, Coincidences, and Fio

Fiorella just spent twenty minutes trying to cancel Husband's subscription to Cooks' Country, a pricey cooking magazine, but guess what? The cancellation will not take place till the end of the six-month subscription in July, a neat way to squeeze very last centime out of dissatisfied customers or new widows whose idea of primo cuisine is popcorn or chocolate pudding.
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In the years to come, the USA is going to be paying through the nose for snatching the immigrant children from their parents and imprisoning them. Can you spell  L A W S U I T ?
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Fio's gotta drive over to Click on Monday and find out if iCloud saying she only has 25% of storage left, Vipre telling her needs yet another update, and Google putting a strange orange message on her blog mean anything.
*
Did Fiorella tell you that she and Sonia Dog witnessed and experienced GRAUPEL yesterday when she drove off to Dairy Queen for their chocolate dipped cone and puppy cup, respectively?
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Fiorella's been weird her whole life. Why should she change now?

Holidays Past and Present, Homemaking, Awareness, Nature

Fio isn't moving as fast as she had hoped regarding the de-Christmastation of the house, but she has everything down to one room--the dining room (aka command center). The next phase is to pack the remainder and move the boxes to the garage shelves. Hoping it will all be done by Monday (lunes).
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But what about Valentine's Day, Fiorella? . 
All taken care of. After dropping by Mazda to deliver three bags of Hershey kisses, Fio drove over to Click Computer Repair with a bag of H-E-B's best nuts in hand. (The guys in the back room are on a diet.)
*
Fiorella has to stock up on some healthy cook-it-yourself food the next time she goes to H-E-B. The only thing she could find in the pantry today was chocolate pudding--which she likes, but not as a steady diet.
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It's so odd to take just three bag of trash to the bin when she and Husband always took six--or more.
*
Central Texas is having a cold snap so Fio is using her recently acquired fire-starting skills to keep the house warm. Yes, she has central heat, but why run up an electricity bill when nature provides? Besides, it would be a sin against God's bounty if she left the firewood racks to rot.

Updating Fio's Friday

It's a first! Fio followed the directions on the popcorn popper she'd bought on sale ($7) at Target and popped a big bowl of popcorn for herself. She won't starve after all!
*
Driving back and forth to Austin is a big, fat waste to time. How does one sign up for teleporting?
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One of the first things Fio insisted on buying after she and Husband were married was a sewing machine, and, yes, Fiorella made many of her own clothes. She hasn't sewn in years, but maybe after her life gets organized again....
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Hey, hey, hey--for the first time since Husband died, Fio did all her morning exercises--the weight-lifting, the plies, the standing push-ups--and she has to admit her back feels a lot better.
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Sonia Dog has always taken a couple more steps more after being signaled to stop in her tracks, and Fiorella has always chalked it up to command taking a while to penitrate her massive mastiff brain. On the other hand, Doggie is johnny-on-the-spot when her food bowl rattles. Hmmm.....

Thoroughly Trump

Trump's SOTU speech was a bombastic, blowhard delivery that went nowhere. And what the heck was going on with his hair?
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What an interesting contrast between Pence and Pelosi. She was human.
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Fiorella couldn't help but laugh at the "Bette Davis" that Nancy pulled on Trump, taking the audience's attention off him by picking up papers and looking them over just as old-time Hollywood star Davis slowly removed her gloves in a stage play to take the auidence's attention off the leading lady.
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Trump has so thoroughly alienated every other country in the world that if the US were attacked by Martians, none of them would care--except maybe China, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia, who would  fight each other for the spoils.
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The Wall is Trump's Holy Grail, and we all know how successful that quest has been.



.

From Credit to Insurance

Fiorella is giving up on finding her missing credit card, but knows it will turn up the second she calls her carrier for a replacement.
*
Hooray for yours truly! She took all the ornaments from the swag sobre el mostrador en las cocina, then removed the fake greenery and stuffed it in a big plastic bag with the other greenery. The ornaments are still lined up en el mostrador, but Fio has to pack them individually.
*
Fiorella is looking forward to meeting with friend Evelyn tomorrow, not just because she's a lot of fun, but because she's a lawyer and might be able to help Fio with some of the legal mumbo-jumbo.
*
To tell the truth, Fiorella really likes the excerpts from her novels, published or not, that she's been posting, and can hardly wait to get back to writing sultry romances again. You'll be the first to know!
*
Time is passing and Fiorella still hasn't written any thank-you notes. Everything else seems more pressing--like trying to figure out the life insurance forms.

PASSION Rerun

An excerpt from PASSION, an unpublished romance Fio wrote several years ago 

The timer sang out and Sigrid retrieved the pizzas from the microwave, then set a single place at the table and put a couple of ice cubes in the tall glass beside the plate.

Right on time, Mik emerged from the hall, sauntered over to the dining table, and braced a hand on the back of a chair.

“You’ve changed your clothes,” she blurted out.  Clean Levi’s and a fresh white pullover did a lot for him.  Too much.  Her skin prickled.  Damn.  She had to get him out of here quick.

“And I’ve washed my hair and shaved.”  He stroked his jaw, then swept his hands through his dark, shoulder-length hair to push it behind his ears.  “Nothing’s too good for you, babe.”

Damn.  He knew how to hit her buttons.

“I’ve told you, don’t call me . . . where—where did you get those jeans?  I don’t have any men’s clothes in the bathroom.” 

He raised his eyebrows, then gave her a sly look. “I carry extras in my backpack, but am I to assume from what you say that there are men’s clothes stored elsewhere in the condo?  Are you living with someone now, Sigrid?  Will our little tete-a-tete be interrupted by a jealous lover?”

She managed a small, tight smile but her voice was colder than the ice in his glass.  “In the first place, Mik, this is not a romantic rendezvous, and in the second place, it’s none of your business if I have a lover.  I don’t have to answer to you.  We’re divorced.”

“Just curious.”  He shrugged, then made a big production of sampling the air.  “Is that dinner I smell?  A homemade meal?”  He cocked an eye at her.  “Welcoming the prodigal husband?”

“Don’t get too excited.  It’s Lean Cuisine frozen pizza.”

“Mmmmm--one of my favorites.”  He smacked his lips.  “You always were a great cook, babe.”

She gave him a darkling glance. “And you were always a great eater, babe.”

“Ouch!  Touché.  I guess I really packed on the pounds after we got married.  Was that why you left?  Didn’t like the love handles?”

“Cut it out, Mik.  Why are you being such a smartass? You know exactly why I left.  You were an indolent slob without an ounce of ambition except to win Resident Evil and drink yourself to death, and I finally had enough of it.”

He whistled mockingly.  “That’s really laying it on the line.”

God, couldn’t he just shut up?  She added the salad bowl to the table and pulled a plastic container of green jasmine out of the refrigerator.

His eyes danced as she poured the tea into his glass.  “Iced tea?  You don't have anything stronger?”

She gave him a dirty look.  “Not for you.  Now, sit down.”

He glanced at the single table setting and one dark eyebrow arched.

“And where are you going to sit?”

“I’ll eat later, after you’re gone.”

His pale eyes narrowed to ominous slit, he smiled that slow, sexy smile that had always sent hot shivers down her spine, and his voice turned honey smooth.  “Babe, if you want me to leave at any time ever, you’d better set a place for yourself and join me for dinner.” 

What Are You Thinking About Today, Fiorella?

Fio spent most of the day yesterday packing away Christmas and being sad. Usually, she half-enjoys the putting-away process, but things are different now. After fifteen years of perfecting the tree, the lights, the swags, wreaths, and displays for this house, she doesn't have any idea where she'll be for Christmas next year. 😟
*
According to Fiorella's brain, Husband is still around. When she woke up from an afternoon nap, she found herself deciding to talk him about the two burners on the stove that aren't working. 😥
*
Okay, Fio will admit it--she messed up trying to boil eggs and had to consult the internet to find out where she'd gone wrong. 🙃
*
Your faithful correspondent is not as taken with kiddie talent shows as the rest of the world is. Please, let the children grow up a little before activating their competition genes. 💗
*
Fio's going to be making the rounds this morning to pick up a popcorn popper, get her chainsaw fixed, and maybe find out what's making her printer misbehave--not all at the same establishment, of course. 😄

Family Love

Fiorella's day today made up for yesterday. She worked in the garage for about two hours, getting passageways cleared to accommodate the disassembled Christmas tree, and then, after a trip to town to mail letters, do some grocery shopping and stop by the pharmacy, she went home to pull red ribbons off the necks of about fifty individual shelf displays. Nephew Barrett and his wife, Rachel, arrived in time to help with the ribbons and, after being bribed with Skinny Cows, were kind enough to move all the bags of  Christmas tree limbs to the garage and pack them onto the shelves, no small task considering Fio couldn't even lift some of those bags. They also shelved eight bags of wreaths for Fio. They also jump-started Fio's Miata and stayed close behind her as she drove over to Mazda to check Baby in for the weekend. They also took the Christmas stree stem apart for Fio so it could be stored.

Afterwards, everyone sat down in the den to recover from their labors, and Fiorella passed out the last of the Skinny Cows. Enjoying each other's company, they talked about Husband, his life and death, and the family general. As they left, Barrett and Rachel told Fio to contact them for anything she needed, or if she just wanted to talk.

Fio is humbled by their goodness, but everyone in the family has reacted the same way to Fio's sudden widowhood. She is blessed.

THWARTED X FIVE

(1) Aside from the pyromaniac aspect, yesterday was not a good day for your faithful correspondent. First of all, after she loaded up Baby Car, the Miata, for an appointment with Austin Heart, the car wouldn't start, even with the new battery Mazda had put in it just a few weeks ago, which meant she had too hurriedly transfer into the Queen Mary, Husband's Mercedes.

(2) Everyone was running late at Austin Heart, and Fio not only had to sit in the waiting room for half an hour past her appointment time and listen to a series of obnoxious medical infomercials, but to be the guinea pig for a cumadin nurse in training. (Citing her years of experience with a parade of cumadin nurses, she advised him to learn all he could, then jump ship to a higher-paying posiiton elsewhere.)

(3) Home again, Fiorella, who'd planned to have popcorn for supper, a treat which she and Husband used to indulge in a couple of times a month, but she couldn't find the popcown popper. Had Husband taken it with him? But no--she suddenly remembered that she'd given it to Daughter after he died. Not being an Indian-giver, Fio's put a new popcorn popper on her grocery list. Maybe there are single-serving ones available now.

(4) Ah, well, even if Fio couldn't enjoy one of her favorite treats, she figured she could get a kick out of one of her favorite TV shows. No such luck. Big Bang Theory was such a bomb that Fiorella changed channels half-way through.

(5) Determined to do get SOMETHING done,  Fiorella decided to take a photo of the new DUMP TRUMP button she's made and post it on Facebook. You guessed it--her iPhone is jammed and won't let her send pictures to FB anymore.

From My Fireplace to Yours

Fio's gotten pretty adept at starting fires. If she'd been with that guy in Jack London's bad-luck story, he would have survived.
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She's also pretty good at eyeballing how much de la lena she needs to bring into the house every day to keep the fire going till bedtime, and it's a lot--at least half a ring. Obviously that boy who tended the fireplace in oldern times was very important.
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Husband was an aristocrat when it came to what went into the flames, but Fio will throw in anything that burns--rotten wood, used Kleenexes, old newspapers, ads that come in the mail, anything.

Did Fiorella tell you that she's using Starbucks bags to haul the ashes out of the house to spread on the lawn? Remember, she's the "everything wants to be of use" girl.
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Sonya Dog is jealous of the amount of time Fio is spending tending the fire and wants Mommy to spent more time tending HER.