Fiorella Has the End-of-the-Year Blues

 Fio is feeling ever more sorrowful on the last day of the month as she goes around the empty house humming "Fast away, the old year passes" in a most dolorous tone. Not that she can really sing anymore, of course, which also makes her even sadder. 

In the late afternoon yesterday, she heard jangles and the sound of children playing outside so she took a chair out, sat it on the porch, and watched the kids as they lined up for the ice-cream man and then ran their bikes and scooters around until the evening darkened and they were called home, leaving your girl alone again. Nothing to do but pick up her chair and go back inside the house.

 Fiorella tries so hard to be a good person, no matter what, but it's hard to to keep a-smilin' when all she wants to do is cry. Sometimes it  teems like the whole world is against her, telling her that everything she does or has done is wrong and accusing her of things she never even thought of doing.

She'd feel better if she could just hop in the car and drive to places like the bank, her doctors' offices, church, wherever, on her own, but while Fio could scoot around small-town Georgetown with no problem, she doesn't know her way around Austin anymore. Son L has been kindly acting as chauffeur, but he has his own life to live.

Sorry to end the year on such a low note, but maybe next year will be better.

Love, Fiorella 💗

 

 

 

Post Christmas Doldrums

 It seems to Fio that she's done so much work on her new lodgings--bedroom and studio--that she should be able to relax and enjoy herself, but NOOOOOO! Her closet is still a childish mess and the studio seems to get more crowded every day.

It's always so exciting to decorate for Christmas and a real hassle to take it everything down--and this year, to add to it, Fiorella can't find a box big enough to store all of her collected decorations.

Now that your girl's home care nurse has released her, she's without a friend to talk to. Covid has kept her from making new friends in her neighborhood and, since she isn't driving, she can't "Get around much anymore." DANG! Nothing to do but sneak out at night and paint pictures on the sides of her neighbors' houses. Anyone want to put on a black mask and join her?

Speaking of painting up other people's houses, Fio once had a student who wrote an essay about how he and his pals would paint all sorts of designs on freight cars. As an artist, your girl thought it was interesting, and as a teacher, she felt honored that he trusted her enough to confide what was a crime at the time--and still may be, for all Fio knows.

What has Yours Truly been doing lately to combat the post-Christmas blues, you ask? How about gathering oak leaves from the sidewalk and yard, then making a falling tree design down the front window of her studio. Try it--you'll like it. 😊

 

From Let Down to Possible Venture

 December 19--what a let down. Fio's decorations are looking jaded, the Christmas tree is old hat, and she herself is feeling out of sorts--especially because her home health nurse's tenure is over, which means your girl has no one to talk with face-to-face/mask any more, thanks to Covid.😢😢😢

What can Fiorella do now so she won't go stark raving crazy(er)? Well, looking at her page-long list, it looks like she could be finishing  off the parlor, but that can't happen until Son L hangs two pictures above the piano and takes her to the lumberyard to get four finished shelves to display the afore-mentioned figurines and other pretties from both sides of the family. HINT, HINT!

One of Fio's super list hopes for the new year is that someone will write out directions for the major operations she has to learn to do on the computer in order to join the modern world. (She was doing pretty good for a while there, but last year took a toll on her admittedly meager technological skills.

EEK, it looks like your girl missed an appointment with the tall, dark, and handsome doctor who is healing her left knee--the one that got injured when she tried to break a branch over it to augment her firewood last winter. Fiorella thinks the knee is doing well, but she'd really want a pro to check it out. (Did, uh, she mention that the doctor is also quite charming?)

Your girl studied the fallen oak leaves as she walked to the neighborhood's communal mailbox and, on her way back, decided to compose some kind of design with them on the two front windows that she commands. Will let you know what happens.

 

 

 

Sliding Down from Christmastime

 How thrilling! Fiorella's Christmas poem has really hit the big time--especially with women of a certain age. Fio even had a call from a childhood friend who lives in Virginia to rave about it. Your girl hopes that when her oriental carpets come out of storage, they will be raved about by her family.

Speaking of storage, she also hopes to find all her decorations and pretties in good shape. Some of them are really old, like from Fio's and Husband's grandparents. And yes, we were both taught to respect old people and old things.

Sitting on the floor, Fio went through about two hours of pictures, art, and writing that she'd secreted in the bottom shelf next to the piano last week. Her method is simple. First she separates everything into husband's leftovers or her own, tossing repeats as she encounters them. Next, she goes through each stack and decides what is worthwhile to save for the kids. Then she closes shop and it's up to them.

What will today bring Fiorella--so far, just indigestion. Maybe a half-bag of walnuts were not her best decision for a late-night supper.

End of day: well, what today brought to Fio was a mess revolving around one of her prescriptions resulting an evening run to Walgreens that wasn't any fun. Wish your girl better for tomorrow.

 

 

RECOVERIES!

 Fiorella is trilled to announce to you that her Christmas sonnet has been commended by at least seventy readers so far, and that's just from one source. A couple of her other friends, mostly from her RWA group have also spread the word, as have friends and (she hopes) relatives. Hmm...maybe it's time to put her sonnets together in a book--if your girl can find them all. She's been sonnetting ever since high school. 

What does one do in the break between Christmas and New Years? Your girl looks her bedroom and studio over to see how what she can improve on or add too, vows to finish off her current project (the parlor), and makes plans for future projects. Yep, you can't keep an ol' celebrator down.

The sad thing about Christmas Past is that now Fiorella has to take down her decorations--the tons of holly and mistletoe she cut out of paper this year, the sprinkling  of old cards taped on the wall for remembrance and refrence, the jingle bells and felt stockings from years past. 

There isn't much that Fio can do with January's staggering old man and naked baby so she'll have to concentrate on completing the romance she's been working on lo, these many years, and then there are those other books she wrote that never made it to a publisher. Maybe now that most of her belongings are out of storage, she can bite her teeth into them both.

WOW! Your girl suddenly realized she'll never be bored this year because she'll have languages to recover and a piano to relearn!

 

 

Leftovers

The day after Christmas, and what do I do

But write another poem to you

To wish you well in the coming year 

And also to those whom you hold dear 

Fiorella got so carried away by rhyming that it was hard for her to stop so, fortunately, Granddaughter pulled her out of her room to play with Christmas toys and four-year old fantasies--starring yours truly as the baby. Along the way, your also got swabbed with a kiddie make up, which is apparently all the rage now.

Apparently Fio ate something that she shouldn't have--or maybe too much of everything she shouldn't have--at the Christmas celebration at Son L's in-laws--because her stomach has been complaining ever since she got up this morning.

Nostalgia reins supreme. Fio has been prowling through some old photos today and came across a collection of pics from a Christmas about ten years ago, when she and Husband were still on the ranch and your girl decorated everything that wouldn't fight back. Sigh--those were the days.  Maybe next year she'll be able to gussy up the new house to her specifications, but right now she hasn't even gotten herself settled in yet. Sigh....

Oops, excuse me. I just now glanced down the front of my nightgown and discovered that my gown is on inside out.

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

 While Son L and his wife and child were off helping his mother-in-law with her yearly Christmas party yesterday, Fiorella guarded the fort at home, and not only did she fill out all her incoming bills, but spent about an hour on and off in the parlor, checking out the electric piano with one of the carols she'd composed several years ago when she was all about music. Yes, you heard Fio--she used to compose,  but that was before she moved out into the boondocks and, along the way, lost her singing voice.

On a whim, Fio tried not just to play one of her songs on the piano, but also to sing along--and it sounds like her voice is coming back. Not strongly, of course, but enough to stay on pitch. Hmm...wonder if, with daily practice, she could retrain the cords in her throat. (PS: she'll have to retrain her hands for the piano too.)

 It's Christmas morning, but there's not a sound in the house so your girl has been lying in bed penning poetry--cute little lines like "What can I do, what can I say?/I can't make the rhyming go away! 

Suddenly, Granddaughter burst into Fio's room because her parents were still asleep, waved an unwrapped present at me, grabbed Grammy's hand, and insisted she come to the den with her to see what Santa had left, but didn't open anything until her parents awoke from their well deserved rest.

It's almost noon and Granddaughter, the star of the show, is ecstatic over all her gifts--and Fiorella is impressed by the way she joyfully picked up all the wrapping paper and stuffed it in a bag. Good home training!

 

December 24

 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house/ Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse/ The stockings were hung by the chimney with care/In case that St. Nicholas soon would be there/And Ma in her kerchief and Dad in in his cap/Had just settled down for a long winter's nap. 

Sound familiar? Fio was surprised (but pleased) that she remembered those first four lines of Clement Clarke Moore's beloved holiday poem, but wonders how many other people will. The times, they are a-changin', and even Fiorella chose a more personal view with her holiday poem this year.

By the way, the front room parlor is shaping up well. It's amazing how much can be fit into a relatively small room if one plans carefully. Fiorella is thrilled that the electronic piano still works and that she's been able to gather all the music books, sheets, and compositions together in one place. Hoping that the collection will be a joy to Granddaughter when she's older.

The collections of about three generations of decorations from times past are also on display--a good number of ceramic Santa Clauses plus lovely angels.

There's nothing else your girl has to say but Moore's Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! 💗

AAAAAAAK--I didn't realize this hadn't been posted!

Almost Too Late

 It's the twenty-third, and Fiorella has "gone about as fer as she can go" regarding the parlor today--you'll remember that she's been working like a dog to make it a music/art/display room for the whole family plus visitors. Hoping she can finish it off tomorrow, but it may take a couple of days more.

No snow on the ground, of course, but it felt like an early Christmas when Fio was out at the curb and the man across the street came over and gave her a holiday greeting again.

Did Your girl tell you that she was going through a box of things from Christmases past and found some holiday songs she'd composed? None of them made it to whatever passes for the Hit Parade nowadays, but they warmed her heart--and made her wonder if she could write a couple more songs for Christmas next year. Hmm...

If you heard somebody hammering a nail in the wall above Fiorella's bed, she herself was the perpetrator. Yep, instead of whining around until Son L had time to affix the picture of his grandmother's first-place win in that long-ago spelling bee your girl keeps talking about, she hunted down a yard stick and used it to determine where she should drive in the a nail so that the new picture would be vertically even with a picture above it, AND IT WORKED! 

 The house is quiet now--everyone in the house seems to have gotten themselves tucked in for the night so if you'll excuse her, Fio will close up shop, say her prayers, and go to bed.💗💗💗

 

 

 

Closer and Closer to Christmas

 The nearer it gets to  Christmas, the weepier Fiorella gets as she remembers times past--sometimes with  joy, sometimes with  sorrow. 

Whoopee! Your girl has just discovered there is another slat that fits into the upper shelf of the secretary she is now working on. That means one more place to put her mother's pretties, a couple of which even won prizes at the Waco fair.

Fio has had a hard time going to sleep lately so she's been watching TV to calm herself. Her current choice of television lullaby is Three Men and a Baby, which she never saw in a theater--turned down low, of course.

Fiorella packed everything in her old house and brought it with her when she moved, just in case it might be needed. Guess what--it wasn't. 😢

Your girl's ear misses the sound of Christmas music. Isn't there a caroling group around her somewhere? She can't lead one like she used to, but she could applaud....and maybe tear up a little, remembering times past. 😊

Fio has dragged Mom's collections of family heirlooms out of the dust of travel, and her tears well up as she looks at each and every one and remembers how precious they were to her mother, which means they are even more precious to her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Next?

 The noose grows tighter and tighter as Fiorella gets closer and closer to Christmas--what has she done, what has she not done, and does she have any chance of having her own personal Christmas be merry this year? Sure, she's sent out all her cards, washed all her clothes, and done what she could to have a storybook Christmas, but with the ghost of last year's Christmas and its aftermath hovering over her, she is not taking any bets.

What with the holidays, your girl's artistic side and writing skills are adding on muscle. It's taking a lot longer to set up her studio and settle down to finish off Lolly's story than she thought it would, but all she can do is keep on plowing. After all, she has more of a chance to reach her goals if she keeps moving ahead than if she doesn't.

What about those music skills that Fiorella once claimed to possess? Well, your girl has a piano now, but she's so busy pulling the parlor together that she hasn't had time to play--and she knows it will take a good while for her to get up to speed again. Admittedly, she was ever anything but mediocre on the keyboard, but her compositions were pretty good.

And then there is her linguistic side--remember when your girl was watching Spanish TV dramas to pick up the lingo? Well, with everything that's happened, it's all slipped away, of course, but maybe Fio can start it up again when she's totally settled. She'd like to review her other languages too--not she's ever been truly fluent in anything but English, but it's fun to dabble.

Every now and then, Fiorella wonders if anyone at all reads her blog. Then she reminds herself that if she did know how many or how few followers she has, it would make her so self-conscious or depressed that she couldn't write.

 

 

Flying High

 

                   Flying High

   I cannot write a merry poem this year

Too much has happened lately in my life--

Uprooted from a home that I held dear

And now a widow, who was once a wife 

   Change is not my forte, and options few--

A clock cannot run backwards, nor can I,

Thus I must gird myself and start anew

To see how high my aging kite can fly

   Too late, they say--your day is almost done.

Pull down your kite and rest yourself a while-- 

Go take a break from shining in the sun--

Enjoy yourself before your final mile,  

   And as they lecture,  I slip quietly by

   And launch my kite into the waiting sky

 

 

 

Christmas Build Up

 Sorry to be running so late, but it's that season--helter skelter everywhere, but in a very nice way. We went over to brother's home not only to wish him and his wife a Merry Christmas, but also to see their wonderful decorations that far outdo anything Fiorella has ever pulled together.

Your girl was thrilled at a very personal Christmas present--getting in touch with friend Maqua from years ago via computer. What a great time we used to have with our ladies' chorus at Christmastime and, yes,  some of the songs were Fio's compositions. 

The only problem with Christmas, as Fiorella sees it, is that the prep time leading up to it is too short and the enjoyment part of it is also too short. How about gobbling up Thanksgiving into the scene? Elves in November might seem a little weird at first, but we could all get used to it.

Good grief! Your girl just realized that the reason the house is so silent is because while she's been busy typing away, everyone else has gone to bed and is fast asleep. Well, the day has been overwhelming--not just the visit to Granddaughter's aunt and uncle's Christmas fairyland, but the decorating of our own tree so maybe Fio should turn in herself. So...Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

 

 

 

 

From Brow-wiping to Santa Claus

 WHEW,  says Fiorella, as she wipes her brow. Your girl has been working on her Christmas cards for quite a while now--first the composition, then getting the cards printed (Kinkos), then writing a nice message on the inside, then sticking stamps on about fifty envelopes, then turning to her computer to get the addresses of several old friends whose addresses she couldn't find. WHEW, says Fiorella again.

Fio also says "So THAT'S how it's done," because she taught herself how to look up addresses on the compute today. Hmm...that could have uses other than just  cards.

Fiorella herself has not received more than two Christmas cards so far, which she attributes to her having moved from her Georgetown home back to Austin, but at a difference location.  

The autographed portrait of President and Lady Bird Johnson will get a new place of honor in Daughter's house. Fio's father-in-law was the lead reporter for Johnson's radio station way back when, and your girl was actually introduced to him once.  Ah, if this hand could speak!

Would it help you feel more Christmasy if Yours Truly told you that she's wearing green slacks and a red t-shirt today? Ho, ho, ho! 😁

 

 

Chritmas Coments

 Firella is running late because she's been sort of sick the past two days--more today than yesterday. No idea how she got sick--maybe from the neighborhood kids, maybe when she was at the FedEx store, maybe from a passing stranger--who knows. The important thing is that she's feeling a lot better now and can proceed with writing nice notes inside her cards and mailing them off to places known and unknown   (And if she doesn't have your address, she'll post a copy of her yearly magnificence here in the blog--art, poetry, greetings, and all.)

Now that your girl has fallen behind in decorating, she'll have to scuttle a bit, but never fear. Except when she had scarlet fever as a child, she's never missed a Christmas.

The happiest moment in her day today was when friend Paula called from frosty Vermont. Talking over times old and new is a great way to warm up winter.

Fiorella is hoping to have the front parlor in tip-top shape by Christmas. Hopefully, Son L will have the paintings hung by then.  We will also have to make a trip to the lumber yard to pick up some extra boards to rightfully exhibit all of Mom's collection of pretties, some of them quite valuable. Fio should add that she's also put some of Husband's best photos on the wall--if you've got it, show it!

Wondering if Son L will take us all on a ride around town to look at the lights as the holiday lights up.

 

 

 

 

 

December 16, ON TIME!

Has Fio tried to skip a day again? Probably so, because it's been a very busy day. Yes, you guessed it--Son L drove her to FedEx and, after what seemed like an interminable wait (although it was only about forty-five minutes), her 100 Christmas cards were born. There were a few scratches, but one can't expect perfection on a rush job.

Now to write a nice semi-personal note inside each card, sign them, seal them, pick up a hundred stamps at the already-swamped post office, toss the cards in the communal mail box, and pray that all goes well. Whew--your girl is exhausted already.

Keep it a secret, but Fiorella is mulling over the idea of walking up and down her street, knocking on doors and giving out her Christmas cards. With the pandemic still at full-speed ahead, it may be the only way she'll have to get acquainted with her neighbors--also to impress them. After all, not every block on the street has not only an artist, but a full-fledged poet on the premises. 

Sorry, but your girl has to leave now. It's past nine (p.m.) and she needs to get a good night's sleep if she's going to be addressing a mountain of envelopes tomorrow.

GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT, DON'T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE!

Scattered Information

 

Remember smoking? Wonder what stylish fad we're killing ourselves with now....

What can Fio do with used pill bottles? They're so cute and must be useful for something....

It wasn't till Husband's parents got her teeth fixed that your girl started smiling--and has never stopped....

Why was it that not till about ten years ago that Fiorella found out how good salmon was? Answer: Her parents never served fish for dinner because her father, who grew up near a polluted Pennsylvania river, would never eat fish of any kind.

Note to a blossoming artist: Draw what you see, not what you think you see.

That Christmas card that Fiorella has been working on for about a week? She critiqued it, then changed a few things, but it should be ready to go to the printer tomorrow...maybe....

Fiorella has had a full day--TOO full a day, which is why she's running short.

I know it's a bad habit, but I can't stop THINKING 😄!

 

About that recent poem I penned

In anger, resentment, rage, or spite--

It didn't know you'd take offense

Since you were wrong and I was right!😁

 

(FIO DID NOT AIM THE ABOVE POEM AT ANYONE, but she thought the impudence was hilarious)

 

Oops, Another Misfire: Just Enjoy!

 Fiorella is going full speed ahead for Christmas. All of Mom's treasures, plus a few more picked up by yours truly, will be on display, and, if the sheet music can be found, there will be some singing too. One thing she especially likes about her family is that they all sing out loud and clear....and on pitch. 

Also on display (she hopes) will be the parlor which, as you will remember, Fio has been working on for a good while. Rearranging the furniture gave the place more room, and discovering that there were already pegs to hold up extra shelves has been a godsend. The only real problem is a lovely pair of heavy lamps, but your girl has an idea of where she could show themselves off in another room in the house.

Strangely enough, Fiorella, who wants to attend a service this weekend, is having a hard time finding an appropriate Lutheran church near her. The one she selected because it was small and nearby doesn't answer its phone. Ah, well, maybe the driver she will be hiring can help her.

 

Prep Time

 Oops--Fiorella skipped yesterday, for which she begs your forgiveness. Looking back, she remembers that there was a lot going on--visits from both of her traveling nurses, decorating the house, working all afternoon on her Christmas card, etc., etc. In other words--holiday mayhem in full force.

Of course, there's still more to do today--like a trip to the nearest FedEx to get a that card that your girl labored like a dog over yesterday to be prepared for bring sent out to friends far and near. Then there are the appropriately-sized envelopes to buy, stamp, and drop in the nearest mail box, and, in the meantime, Fiorella wants to strike up a relationship with the nearest Lutheran church, which she intends to visit this Sunday.

Yes, there's a lot for her to do, but everything looks good so far. Translation: your girl whipped right down the newspaper Jumble as if she'd been given the answers on the sly, which was a far cry from yesterday!

Oh! Did your girl also mention that she's still working on the small parlor at the front of the house, and IT IS LOOKING GOOD?! The major furniture--a piano, two tall bookshelves, a secretary, and a couple of Mom's chairs--are all sitting pretty now, ready to welcome the knick-knacks and paintings that Fiorella is going to start putting into place today. Wish her well: she doesn't want to have to bury a single one of them.

Son L and his wife took care of setting up the Christmas tree, but Fio will add in her own decorations as soon as she gets them out of storage. One thing she can guarantee--that tree will be loaded.

Party and Pre Christmas

 Happy birthday to Son L, who is, for once, able to sleep late--although we have all looked in on him and wished him well. The hoopla can wait till later. 💗

All the local family was here for Son L's birthday party--his sister, wife, daughter, and yours truly. We  all enjoyed the get-together, but now your girl has to deal with Christmas itself. She'll feel even better if she could just find all her decorations, the ones she carefully wrapped and put in storage last year before she moved.

By the way, Fiorela has finally been able to sketch out the bones of her Christmas card, which gets harder each year because she's already used all the obvious greetings, scenes, topics, etc., but she can't make herself stop. CORRECTION: she doesn't want to stop!

Hey, hey! One of Son L's birthday gifts was wrapped in gold-toned paper and Fiorella managed to rescue the mangled remains of it--the paper that is--which she hopes she can use for her Christmas card dummy. (Er, "dummy" in the sense of a model for other cards or whatever.)

The tree is now dressed with shining ornaments and draped with ropes of silver and gold, as well as a star on top, just as it should be. God bless us all, both big  and small--and that's all I have to say today💗

 

   

   

 

Now You Know All

 Remember Dolly Parton's song about the coat of many colors that her mother made for her? Well, Fio's mother beat her to it way back in WWII when she made a dress out of Daddy's tennis flannels and embroidered it with knitting yarn so that your girl could have a beautiful dress for the Christmas Eve church service.

Speaking of Christmas, your girl is trying a new approach to her Christmas cards--putting zig-zagging gold strings across them and using different colors to highlight the kite pattern. It may  well flop, but she'll still have time to concoct a new scheme.

Welcome to a new day. Fiorella's newspaper is missing in action again. GRRRRR!

Hey, hey, hey--you should see what Fio has done to two of her doors, the one for her crowded closet and the one to her room. She grabbed her stack of green paper and cut out several mistletoe designs, then searched for her hole cutter and cut several mistletoe berries out of red paper. It took most of the day so your girl probably won't be making any more mistletoe decorations this year. Besides, now she has to tackle the miracle of getting her own Christmas cards ready. As she's already said, she knows what she wants to do, but will need someone who can spare the time to drive her from store to store looking for multi-color foils. 

Christmas is a jolly season--lots of singing and laughter. Fio can still manage the laughter, but an essential tremor has just about muted her singing-wise.😢

 

 

From Dawn to a Couple of Hours Past Dusk

This is the day! Your girl will have a carpenter coming in and to see what he can do not only about getting some light in the closet, but also changing a child's clothes closet into an adult's. It won't be cheap, she knows, but the result should be worth it. Now, if Fio, who doesn't have an alarm clock, can just wake up by 7:00 on her own....

Of course, with Fiorella having awakened just past dawn, you know the carpenter didn't come till about two hours later, but there wasn't any problem because Fio still had a couple of others things that needed looking into--like a huge pile of pillowcases, sheets, and mattress covers found rolled up with the sheets. Needless to say, later in the day, after the carpenter came, they all got sorted into piles later in the day--save, donation, trash.

Your girl is feeling sort of blue again. Where are the carolers?

Fio has started designing her traditional, wonderful Christmas cards, of course, but it may be hard to find two of her major ingredients--gold foil and a coat of many colors. More on this later.

One of your girl's new year's resolutions will be to get more acquainted with her neighbors, whether they want to or not not. Walking a couple of blocks to the communal mailbox every now and then isn't going doing the trick.

 

 

 

Bits and Pieces Again

 Poor hungry George Cat...he thinks because Fio walks on two legs, she will feed him, but Son L is the only one who know what George's preferences are.

Your girl went to yet another doctor today and was told she's in good shape, then was referenced to a line-up of other doctors she should see. Sigh.... maybe that means he wants every one of his pals to profit off her too....

Watch out--Fiorella's Christmas card is shaping up to match the poem she wrote about about herself as a high-flying kite. And no, you can't see it before the unveiling!

Hip hooray, hip hooray! Tomorrow is the day that the carpenter comes over and checks out her clothes closet to see if it can be made more usable for an adult.

Barney, Fio's favorite nephew, died this morning, and she is in sorrow. May the good God bless his two sons and comfort his loyal wife.💗

  

 

 

JINGLE BELLS, JNGLE BELLS!

 Fiorella has had a topsy-turvy day, but somehow she still got a fair amount of work done. Apparently, she'll not have to worry about a tree because Son L and his wife have the same kind of fake tree that Fio and Husband had, which your girl applauds. Not only do they cost less in the long run than a real tree, but don't wilt or require water. Your girl used their tree--made in Japan--for at least twenty years, maybe more, before it started looking its age. 😕

Your girl is hoping that is a caroling group that will wander out our way. Back in her heyday, Fio often led choral singers not only around the neighborhood, but to homes for the aged, but now, can hardly croak out a "Merry Christmas." Nevertheless,  the joy is still with her💗

Son L took Fiorella out to H-E-B this afternoon and she really got into the shopping scene. Like huge ATLANTIC SALMON shopping! Yes, your girl is swinging off of hamburger onto fresh Atlantic salmon again. Yum😄!

EEK--FIO JUST RECEIVED HER FIRST CARD, SO SHE'S RUNNING BEHIND!

Merry Christmas to the newborn baby, to the new home, to the nephew in the hospital and his offspring, to doctors and nurses everywhere, to all that is wonderful in the world 💗

 

 

 

THANK YOU, PAULA

Fiorella is on the run right now, and not just because she's got a Christmas card to design and presents to buy, but because she had a good, solid talk with friend Paula. Apparently, your girl is a people person, and like a flower needs water, she needs friends to wind her up, which isn't a good survival trait in a pandemic that seems to have no end.

Son L has a new job, which we'll all have to get used to, and which means Fio will probably have to find some other way to get to her doctor appointments and prescription pick ups. Then, of course, there are the trips to Fed Ex she'll be making to get acquainted with the people who will be running off her Christmas cards. And last, but not least, she'd like to visit the local Lutheran church over the holidays. 

Actually, in truth,  she'd like to have transportation available whenever she needs it, sigh. Anyone out there want to gift her with a chauffeur?

Back to reality, your girl is still arranging the last shipment that came in from storage and still has to check the garage for Christmas tree lights and decorations. Son L, of course, will have to be the one who searches out the attic. 

Hooray,  hooray! Fio's electric piano, which stopped playing normal piano sounds about ten years ago, has healed itself! Yes, and all the other sounds--bells, etc., are also working. Hmm...maybe it just needed a rest in a dark corner for a while.

 

 

Christmas Is Coming to Town!

 Is there anyone else out there who writes important notes--like an upcoming birthday or the exact time you are supposed to take a pill--on the palm of his/her hand like your girl does?

Fiorella thanks the Good Lord that she had a mother who wasn't afraid to shinny up a step ladder taller than she was to hammer a nail into the wall for whatever was necessary--in this case for one of your girl's paintings. Yes, Fio's still working on the studio. 

Christmas is coming and Son L is out front draping strings of lights over the shrubbery and still-blooming roses, but maybe things will change in the next couple of weeks. Just so we don't get the same weather as last year--the snowstorm that left Fiorella house-bound, cold, hungry, and on the edge of freezing to death. 

A lot has changed for your girl since last year--she's sharing a newish house with Son L and his family, set up an art studio for herself, really gotten to know her granddaughter, made contacts with some of her old friends, and is doing her best to move forward.

Excitement is in the air! We'll be rescuing the piano from storage today. Pray that it will still work....

Happy Birthday to Mom and Other Comments

THIS IS A TEST! Fiorella, who believes in "waste not, want not," can't get rid of a blank page that has set up camp in her blog thus she's decided to see if it can be used to produce another blog, so bear with her....

Why, oh why, is Fio still coughing, sneezing, and honking? Is she allergic to everything on earth or is it a dastardly scheme by Kleenex to boost its sales?

 

I'm small, not tall/ But all in all

I have a loud voice

Little or big/ A fiddle or twig--     

Take your choice

 

 Today is Fiorella's mother's birthday, and your girl misses her still. She was the one who taught Fio tolerance and compassion, to enjoy the sweep and magnificence of poetry, to value and constantly search out education, to breath in the beauty of music, to value foreign languages and their speakers, to follow her heart and paint with with rainbow colors, to be kind to all, even those who have no kindness in them. May God bless this beautiful, loving woman and keep her under His wing, forever and ever, amen. 💗

 

 

 

 

 

 

A WILD RIDE!

 Yes, Fiorella is driving herself crazy regarding  her Christmas card this year, mostly because (1) she doesn't know where the nearest Fed Ex (Kinko's) is, and (2), because she probably won't have transportation to get there even if she did know. You got the picture--Fio drove all over little old Georgetown without a problem, but Austin is high traffic, and it's changed MUCHO from when she and Husband migrated from it way-back-when. The only solutions your girl can come up with is calling a cab or using Uber--which might be more interesting because she's never used Uber before.

But what about her medical appointments? Fio doubts that either of the above would be willing to not only pick her up, but wait who-knows-how-long for her appointment to be over. Looks like your girl is back against a wall.

In the meantime, Fiorella soldiers on regarding her self-appointed household duties. She can't do much more with the parlor until the piano is in place, but then she should be able to decide exactly where to put the two full-length mirrors (maybe in the closet) and how to showcase her mother's display pieces.

Out of the blue, Your girl has started having foot problems--at night of all things--so Son L drove her to Walmart and consulted Dr. Scholl. We'll see if his prescription works, but if it doesn't, Fiorella will have to resort to a real live podiatrist. Actually, Fio had the same problem about ten years ago and ended up with  $pecialty inserts in her shoes. Hoping that she'll not have have to go to that extreme this time around.

Fiorella hopes she's not overloading you: she's on a roll and has been writing ahead for the last couple of days but she's not sure she's pushing the right buttons regarding the publication dates. If so, just hang on--wherever you are with Fio, it's  a wild ride!

 

 

Christmas Blues and Other Hues

 Your girl was terribly depressed all morning. The day was dark and dreary, and all she could think about were happier days past--until suddenly it dawned on her that it was DECEMBER, and CHRISTMAS was coming on. So, as anyone who had Mrs. Rubright as a kindergarten teacher would do, she went through her supplies in the art shelves, pulled out several red and green pieces of paper, grabbed her ever-handy scissors, and began making a chain to decorate the back wall to the front door. No one called a halt to her endeavors so she added a bottom chain and put red ribbons around the necks of the wooden duck and metal goose. Now, what else can she decorate?

Just three days more till Fiorella can claim her piano! She's ecstatic at the thought, but concerned about the reality....

Wonder if anyone reads Fio's blog or if she's just writing to herself. But maybe it's good that she doesn't know "who, what, and where" because then she'd get more self-conscious than ever and not give you the bottom line.

Your girl can't help but think about Christmases in the past as a child, a wife, and a mother--the hustle- bustle of downtown shopping, the music in the air, the gloriously lit tree, the anticipation.  (On the other hand, with Covid and all its cousins, she's guessing there won't be much downtown shopping this year.)

OMG--as Fiorella was lying on her back in bed and writing with the computer on her stomach, THE SUN CAME OUT! Surely, it's a good omen!

 

 

 

Bits and Pieces and More So

ATTENTION! Anyone who gets Fio on the phone and calls out "ATTENTION"in a vibrant voice will be hung up on immediately.

Are Fiorella's pierced ear lobes gaining weigh? She's been having a bit of trouble getting her earrings into place lately....

NOTE TO SELF: Christmas is in the air so start working on your Christmas cards, Fio--NOW!

Hmm...wondering if Robinson Crusoe, when he was finally rescued, had the same problem communicating like your girl had after she went through a series of shattering experiences and was alone for so long.

 Just learned that chocolate is full of dopamine so it's no wonder Fiorella runs for her stash of goodies whenever she's been cut down. Unfortunately, she's also figured out that someone whose dopamine is already over-active shouldn't encourage it with even more of the same. GRRRRRR....

 

 

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

 Happy December! Fiorella will now swing into full gear--decorations, cards, gifts, etc., on top of everything else she is doing, like rescuing her remaining belongings from Pflugerville, which is still high on her list. Son L says we will be bringing the piano to its new home on Saturday, and Fio is thrilled, but on tenterhooks--what if it's been damaged? 

Everyone in the house has a cold right now. At least we assume it's just a cold--sniffling, tiredness, etc. Nobody has a fever, though. Hope that means something.

It's been a hard day so far, and your girl has been clutching to her bosom the wooden frame that holds the gold medal that is hanging from a blue ribbon, the one that her mother was awarded for winning the Summit County Elementary School spelling contest in1937. Wonder if, in the far future, one of Fio's descendants will clutch some of Fiorella's awards to her bosom for strength....

Hooray! Fio's other traveling nurse visited, this afternoon, the one who's trying to get your girl back on track with the rest of the world, and the good news is that Fiorella has been progressing from appointment to appointment and will soon be considered up to date. Apparently, nearly freezing to death clogs your brain for a while afterwards, but therapy can redeem you. 

Happy December to all, and to all a good month!💗

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog on the Run

 WWWWWWHAT happened  to the three pieces Fio wrote this morning? Well, looks like she's starting all over again....

Fiorella has made more progress on the cute little front room. She's been edging heavy bookcases around  and trying different settings to make everything as nice and inviting as possible. The piano, which won't arrive till next week, will be the center of attraction, with a set of tall shelves on both sides of it which will  hold stacks of music on the bottom and family lovelies on the top. Of course, there have been changes along the way--and still will be more--but the basic plan is in place. Can hardly wait till the piano arrives!

Oh, Fio should have added that she moved the rest of the furniture around too so that now there is a banked seat and smaller chest against the front window--and yes, HOORAY--your girl figured out a way to get a full-length mirror opposite the front window so that she can check if she looks presentable before she goes out anywhere.

Oh, Fiorella forgot to tell you that she moved a big desk (complete with top that looks like a church window*) into a corner so that anybody who needs to pay bills or whatever can have a place to sit down and look over his finances. 

All in all, Fio is having a great time. She's not only creating a lovely scene, but a sensible arrangements of the furniture that has served her family well through the years. May it give us comfort and good service for many years to come.

*I'll probably remember the name of it as soon as I post.

AAAAAAAND the forgotten word was S E C R E T A R Y !

From the Parlor Project to a Possible New Pal

 Fiorella confesses all--she is a rubber band hoarder. Yes, any rubber band that comes into her hands--from the grocery store, the newspaper delivery, or whatever--is put into a little box your girl has in the drawer on the right hand side of her bed. After all, she never knows when she might need one.

Regarding the parlor project, Fio is still working like a dog. Yesterday evening, she moved more furniture around, and today, she measured out the space for the piano--which may and may not still work because it's electronic and has been packed away for about two years. Now she has to not only figure out the rest of the floor plan but how to display her mother's treasures, some of them quite valuable.

Fiorella's traveling nurse, Becky, came when your girl was working on the parlor, and while Fio liked hearing that her blood is doing whatever it's supposed to do, but she was over the moon when Becky complimented her on her placing of so many of her mother's geegaws.

Going through old pictures is interesting and, at the same time, heartbreaking when one thinks about the losses of various types through the years. Love, laughter, and tears--it's the way of the world.

Your girl got acquainted with the man who lives across the street when she was coming down from picking up her mail at the communal post box and, as it turned out, his daughter is a writer too. Hope we'll get together sometime.😃

 

From Baptism to Piano

 More treasures--Fiorella was sifting through the goodies brought in from her latest visit to the Pflugerville units and, on looking through her bounty, discovered her mother's baptismal certificate, painted and framed. Interestingly enough, Mom was baptized as Ileen rather than Eileen (which she lived by and swore by.) Did the pastor's secretary get it wrong, or did Mom decide at some point that Eileen had a classier ring to it?

Wow--memories of Fio's younger years! Pony tails are in fashion again so guess who dropped by the store yesterday to pick up a set of twisted plastic bands--black, auburn, brown, gold, white, and a snake design?

Yes, Fiorella has been weeping....with joy. It had been a bad day, and then she saw the little girls who were visiting Granddaughter wandering down the hall toward Fio's studio--even though B tried to get them to steer clear. However, instead of shooing the girls off, Fiorella stepped out of her bedroom and supervised the show--they would point to the pictures of Fio's various of friends and relatives, and she would tell them their relationship to her, which the little girls seemed interested in.  💗😁😁😁

Ho hum....Son sat down on the corner of Fiorella's ancient bed, the one that's survived about three generations, and cracked a big board that now hangs lower than the other ones. Fio can still sleep on the bed--or at least one side of it--but she's made it clear that Son is the one who has to get it repaired.

Your girl has pretty much gotten her bedroom and studio in place and she should have have the parlor habitable in about a week, although who knows when the piano can be moved in--or if it will still be working. Whatever, be assured that FIORELLA WILL HAVE A PIANO!

 

 

 

 

 

From Weep to Weep

 Yes, Fiorella is weeping again. She's been thinking a lot about her parents lately, about what good people they were, and wondering why they had to die. Wouldn't it be better if truly good people could live forever while nasty, bad people would go through death after death until they've finally seen the error of their ways and become good people?

Wow, it's actually cold outside! Fio started the day wearing black slacks, a nice printed top, and a dark tee overlaid with a three-quarter arm stylish-looking shirt, but when she went out with Son L to pick up  groceries and a prescription, she had to grab Husband's old zippered rain jacket to fend off the cold. Ah...so much for glamor....

Your girl knows that we still a while more till December, but she's aching to start decorating, partly because she loves the joy of the Christmas season and partly because she wants to make sure all her carefully wrapped ornaments have survived the move. The twenty-some year old fake Japanese tree didn't, as you remember. 😓

Texas has been guaranteed snow this year, but the big question is what kind. A dainty pitter-patter that's burned up by afternoon? A more robust fall that that can produce enough of the white stuff that children will try to build snowmen? A horrendous downfall like last year, when Fiorella was frozen out of her house and had to seek shelter with Son L's wife's family?

Going through more of the items Fiorella brought back from the last trip to the Pfugerville storage units, she found her mother's beautifully illustrated certificate of baptism and, of course, spent the rest of the afternoon weeping.

 

 

 

Treasures

 Fio is going through the storage items that she and Son L brought back to the house, and your girl has found some wonderful personal treasures, like leftovers of Christmas cards she's designed through the years, some very nice clothes she'd forgotten she had, commendations from writing contests she'd participated in, poems she'd thought she'd lost, and a couple of her music compositions. Now--gulp--to figure out where to display everything in the new house, which was not built to contain an ego as bloated as Fiorella's. 

Interestingly enough, even as Fio accumulates evidences of herself, she's somehow been able to clear out some of the file cabinets in her studio. Whoopee!

You may remember how your girl put so much time and energy into packing her mother's treasures a year ago--well,  she's putting the same amount--if not more--into unpacking them, and hasn't even started getting any of them settled into place. Some will be sold, of course, but Yours Truly hopes she can station others in the offsprings' houses.

While going through Mom's papers, Fio found a framed blue ribbon she had never seen before. It was for the Summit County Elementary Spelling Contest way back when, and, interestingly enough, although Fiorella knew about the win, she had never seen the ribbon before, on the wall or anywhere else. Why not? Had her mother put it in a drawer and forgotten about it or had she tucked it away as old hat? Whatever, Fio's heart was touched by the rediscovery. It was like getting a message from heaven.

And to think, there are still two and a half storage units to go. 💗

 

 

Thanksgiving 2021

 Yes, your girl had a lovely, loving Thanksgiving with her daughter and beau at their new house. The turkey of the day was salmon, which, as you remember, is one of Fio's favorites, and it was cooked to perfection--which means Daughter has inherited her cooking skills from her grandmothers, not her mother. (In case, you haven't figured it out on your own, Fiorella is more of an eater than a cooker.)

While Fio was dragging out all the boxes holding the family Haviland--used only on Christmas--Son L, wife, and daughter were at Daughter-in-Law's family's annual Thanksgiving party, which usually involves about four days in and out, and which, in this case, will give your girl a lot of solitary time not only to unleash her Christmas frenzy, but maybe work off the calories she gulped down while at Daughter's table.

Hmm...your girl is here alone, and no one would know if she ate up all the the sweet treats that the neighbors sent over when they saw that lights were on in the house.😁

Of course, everyone in Texas is probably wondering if the winter this year will be as bad as last year's when, as you will remember, your Fiorella was iced in, lost her electricity, and wouldn't be alive today if Son L hadn't known a friend who had a truck that could brave the weather. Hope the power grid (whatever that is) will hold this year, but whatever, Fio has an idea we'll all be more prepared this time around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putting Everything Together

 Fiorella, the lumber jack! Well, it hasn't gotten that bad, but she's been working like a dog all day--all inside. Earlier, she was flitting around her bedroom and studio, putting them into shape, but now, she's pulling together the "parlor" of the house, a well-lit little room right inside the front door that was probably used as the sales office. 

Almost all of your girl's treasures are boxed and labeled "FRAGILE in bright red letters--Haviland, my dear, and Fio doesn't want her generation to be the end of it. 

Fiorella also had a wonderful long-distance call from a friend in England whom she used to teach, sing, and hang out with, then made a long-distance business call to Colorado in regard to one of her late Husband's business interests. All of the above sound don't sound like too much on paper, but somehow, it took Fio a whole day and dusk to tend to them--with more of the same to finish off tomorrow.

One of the negative aspects of Fio's clean-outs and rearrangement is that she always find things that she'd thought she'd lost--which means she now has to find a lovely--and loving--place for them.

Going through the storage yesterday, Fiorella found her college degrees, the ones that Husband had gussied up and hung in the den to show your girl off a couple of years back. Fio admits that she doesn't like to smash people in the face with her degrees, but she does like to look at them herself and remember when.

Happy Almost Thanksgiving and Happy Almost Christmas to All!

 

 

Art and Family

 So far today, your girl has spent most of her time in the car . Yes--another trip to the remaining storage units, but this time, she and Son L rescued only a few paintings--most of their labor went into dealing with bedding instead--and they didn't even stop for an ice cream cone. Of course, when they finally did got everything home, some sorting had to be in order.😢

Fiorella will be spending the rest of the day continuing to work on a mystery major prop that Son L will be using at his mother-in-law's family talent show. Whoopee! A star is born!

One of the paintings that Fio brought back from storage is of her mother-in-law as an older woman, and your girl is determined to find a place to hang it. No, it's not one something that your girl painted, but it is a darn good picture--and just the sort of decoration and inspiration that Fiorella likes to have on her wall. (She did paint a couple of pictures of her father-in-law, both from pictures. One of them hangs on her wall and she gave the other painting to Son K. In it, she had joined her father-in-law, husband, and Son K together in a pose.

 EEK!  Fiorella hasn't even thought about getting her giant cloth sandwich out of the car. Don't laugh--giant food was very stylish for a moment or two way back when.

 

 

On and On

 Whaddya know? Fiorella discovered that her cell phone hasn't been working for who knows how long because the box in front of the ultimate power source had edged semi-loose from its moorings. Wow--a typewriter never did that. (Is your girl showing her age?) 

Fio spent about two hours this afternoon on one of her favorite sports--working on a jigsaw puzzle. It was slow going, of course, but every time your girl decided to call it quits for the day, she suddenly had a run of good luck. Hmm...maybe she should go to a casino and see what happens.

Two phone calls in one day--this morning, one from her friend in England, and, this afternoon, one from Son K in Minnesota. Happy days! 

Guess who spent her whole evening finishing off Son L's front part of his puppet theater featuring Kermit the Frog? Needless to say, she could have done a better job if she'd had a couple more days to work on it, but Son isn't complaining.

Tomorrow, Fio will have to get back to work on Lolly again--after she's cleaned up the total mess she made of her studio when she was working on Son L's puppet theater.

 

 

 

 

 

Family, Closet, Lolly, Neighbors, Blogs

 What a wonderful family get-together! Fiorella's brother and his wife invited us over to their place for Thanksgiving and a premature celebration of brother's birthday, and, as Mother would have said, "a good time was had by all." Your girl, who grew up in Texas with no kin in sight, loves these get-togethers. 

Three cheers for Fio! As soon as she came home from Brother's house, Fiorella started on her laundry and the shaping up her child-sized clothes closet so that when the carpenter shows, he'll be able to tell her what he can do to give her more room. In case he doesn't have any ideas, Fio, clever girl that she is, has written down all her needs and Scotch Taped it to the outside of the closet door. 

Sometimes Fio isn't as smart as she thinks she is--she nearly lost the first chapter of Lolly's story yesterday because she started messing with it rather that working toward the end of the book. Repeat after me, Fiorella: I will only move forward with the story today, not look backwards--which can wait till after the lead characters have all had their happy ending

Hooray! Your girl walked across the street to return a pink balloon and get acquainted with the neighbors, who were outside with their kids. Baby steps, but Fio feels like she climbed a mountain. Maybe she'll make friends here after all.

In case you're wondering, Fiorella still hasn't gotten all her blogs printed out, but they're on the radar now. Moving is a laborious process.

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Trying to get Back to "Normal"

 Thanks for bearing with Fio. She was knocked cold by that "trial" and hopes there will be a back door that a hero, probably a lawyer, can crash through. In the meantime, your girl has been trying to move onward with Lolly's story, but she may have mortally wounded it because she was really in no condition to work on a romance today.... but she did.

Tomorrow should be a good day for your girl--it's an early birthday celebration for her brother because his "born birthday" is so close to Thanksgiving. Whatever, Fiorella wants to testify that her brother is the best brother in the whole wide world--and she still remembers the whole neighborhood showing up to greet Mom and him when the ambulance drove them home from the hospital way back when.

Isn't it odd how things from long ago suddenly pop into your mind? No doubt because of her remembrance of Brother's homecoming in style, Fio also remembered Dr. Etne, the family doctor years and years agowhen her family lived in Ohio. She can even picture his luxurious homes/office. 

Your girl likes to end her day with a little TV before she goes to bed, but she seems to have run out of good shows. When, oh when, will Doc Martin come back on? Would also like to have more of The Indian Doctor and shows like Dr. Thorne.  Er...is Fio seeing a pattern here?

What Fio doesn't want to see more of is cops and robbers shows. Yep, her fascination with Bosch is over, partly because it's hard for her to make out what everyone is saying and partly because she's afraid that his "daughter," who's working with him now, will get killed off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANGER!

 NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR A DRIVER'S LICENSE, 

BUT OLD  ENOUGH TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER! 

And that's all Fiorella has to say today.

Exclamation Points and Explanations

 

 Egad! We're sinking into a swamp of analysis. Everything we once thought of as interesting traits are now psychological diagnoses.

Fiorella now understands the shock in her mother's face when she first saw the house Dad had bought for the family when we moved to Waco. But she also remembers what Mom made of that house through the years....although your girl still doesn't understand why the bushes out front and, in their turn, the trees out back, got cut down. Probably some Home and Garden thing.

Whoopee! Full steam ahead! Son has invited Fio to participate in his latest art project!!!

 Another whoopee! Fiorella's traveling nurse has confirmed that, after three scary days, Fio's blood thinner is exactly where it should be. Whew!

Your girl is in a quandary about Thanksgiving.  She thought she'd be spending it at the new house with her immediate family, but it turns out that Son L and his wife have already committed to attending the larger--and longer--celebration at at Daughter-in-law's parents' home. Still being uncomfortable in crowds, especially one in which she is a stranger, Fio is not sure what to do. 

 

Odds and Ends

Most of last night, Fio had nightmares revolving around the medications she is taking. Then, in the sweet rays of morning, her credit card was rejected when Son L went out to gas up the car, which made for an extra trip to the bank to make sure all was well in Fiorella's finances. Then, she went shopping at H-E-B and piled on the milk, nuts, meat, fruit, and sweets. Then, she came home and exchanged her cute jeans and long-armed maroon top for shorts and even cuter shorts. Viva la winter in Texas!

Your girl is hoping her Christmas decorations will be out of storage by Christmas. We'll see.... 

 Thanks to Son L's teaching her again on how to operate the printer, Fio is moving right along on Lolly's story. But please, God--don't let anyone invent an even more advanced printer while Fiorella is still  nervous about this one.

Your girl is hypnotized by a television show that uses language Fio wouldn't stay in the same room with, kills off people right and left, has violent sex with anything that wanders in, and is willing to bend all the "rules." The name of the show and the hero is BOSCH, and this is NOT an advertisement...although Fiorella  can't quit watching it. Maybe it's because it's filmed in the US rather than overseas. 

Oops! Fio forgot to post this blog yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

Melancholy

 Okay, Fio will admit it--she needs a friend, someone she can talk to, but in this day of Covid around every corner, friends are hard to get, especially since your girl still isn't driving. 

Wow! Fiorella's mood sure has changed from this morning, mostly because of the work she put in during  the afternoon and evening, with Son Ls' help. Lordy, Lordy, how different things are now! Your girl used to write on a cardboard table, and now, it's computer all the way. But no matter what, her books and whatevers still have the same ring to them--love, love, love and "good' winning out over bad.

If you're wondering, Fio seems to have come to no harm from her recent warfarin mix-up, and she promises to be more careful in the future--once scared, twice on guard! Although your girl did have a great time with Nurse B when she came to save the day, it would have been better if yours truly hadn't messed them up the first place.

 

 To Sonia Dog:

Wherever you are

I know that your star

Shines brightly

 So I search the sky

As the moon rides high

 Nightly 💗

Yes, it still comes as a surprise to Fiorella that when she wakes up, Doggie isn't there....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onward, Onward, Onward!

Hurray for Fio's traveling nurse! She got your girl reset on her coumadin regimen and now all's right with the world--or at least Fiorella is. Your girl still has more to to do regarding her studio and her writing--and then there's all the stuff still in storage to take care of, but, with luck, she'll finally be settled in by February or March.

One good thing came out of Fiorella's coumadin scare--she was so totally energized by fear that she ran around  gathering up all her Lolly chapters--each of which has about five different semi-versions--stacked them according to their page numbers, and laid them out on floor beside her bed so she could work the story into a whole. 

Fio mailed a package of family pictures, etc., to Son K this afternoon. Hope he enjoys the memories.

It can be nerve-racking when you start working on a book you didn't finish a couple of years back, but Fiorella heaved a sigh of relief when she read through Lolly's story again. It's just as quick and centered as it was when your girl wrote it it four years ago.😁

And again, Fio misses Sonia dog. 💗

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening

 WHAT? Did your girl really miss reporting in yesterday? And she had such a nice time--Son L escorted Fio and B to a local art-and-crafts fair on a nearby playground and all three of them had a really good time. Son got acquainted with everyone in sight, Fio talked with her artsy neighbors, and Granddaughter interacted not only with the kindergartners, but also, sweetly, with a young'n who couldn't quite walk yet 💗

 Fiorella started working on Lolly's story again and, following the story line instead of worrying over every word, was elated at how well it read💗 

Maybe it's the way your girl was brought up, but to her, a house is not a home until there's piano on the premises: HINT, HINT, HINT!💖💗

Okay, Fio will confess. She thought Saturday was Sunday and accidentally double-dosed herself with her warfarin prescription, a big no-no, but all will be well. Your girl immediately looked up ways to counter her mistake and confessed her stupidity to the  traveling nurse who drops by every Monday morning to check Fio out. (Your tax dollars at work--THANKS💗) 

Now, if you will excuse her, Fiorella needs to get back to Lolly, who has just been rescued from her dastardly uncle by the hero--but now that he has rescued her, what can he do with her? 💗

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Time Passes in Fio's World

(1) Late morning: Fiorella planned to recover three simple, important responsibilities--learn how to post pictures on FaceBook again, clean up the mess on the top of her chest of drawers (which, as a child, she heard as "chesterdrawers" and always wondered what kind of wood "chester" was), and work on Lolly's story.

(2) Home: The clean-up lasted longer than your girl thought it because she got involved in everything she was thinking of throwing away.

(3) Out and about: Fixing her watch and plowing on, Fio accompanied Son L and her granddaughter on a jaunt to the kiddie park that ended in a bowl of ice cream for each of them 😁.

(4) Back at the house: Fiorella had to wait till Son was available to get instructions on how to transfer a photo to FB (again.)

5) Evening: All told, your girl didn't even start working on Lolly's story till seven. Where did all the time go???????

Life Is How It Is

Fiorella is on the move. Yesterday, she arranged for someone to come look at her closet in hopes of renovating it, and today, she spent the whole day working on getting a painting of hers (the one of Husband as a child that had fallen off the wall about three months ago) back into its proper place--and yah, it took that long to come up with a workable solution because the portrait had been transferred into about five different households through the years, making it difficult to use the usual methods of hanging a frame. 

Believe it or not, your girl has lost a some weight and is having to roll the top of her jeans and slacks over so they don't embarrass her in public by slipping down to her ankles. Hello, shopping trip!

 Fiorella has just composed a new and more informative page to keep track of her numerous prescriptions, Hmm...maybe she should copyright it.

If you're wondering, yes, Fio is still in mourning for Sonja Dog--it's always a surprise to her when she wakes up each morning and Doggie isn't sleeping by her side. And yes, during the day, your girl keeps looking around to keep tabs on her baby who isn't there😢

 

 

 

 

Christmas on My Mind

 TODAY WAS THE DAY! After about a month's worth of procrastinating, your girl called ABC Home and Commercial Services and asked them to send someone out to see if they could renovate her child-like clothes closet. No one was available until till early December, but Fio can wait. It will be her Christmas present. 😁

Now, whatever other mountains can Fiorella climb today? During the rest of the afternoon, she'll probably continue with her deep read of Lolly's story--not the whole story, but she'll least cover a couple of chapters.

Last weeks' journey to Pflugerville to pick up more of Fio's storage fell through, but there's always this weekend. Your girl is praying to come back home on Sunday with not only her precious Christmas decorations, but also with her electric piano....intact.

One thing Fiorella is going to do during the holiday season is get herself some new clothes. She's lost enough weight during the past year that she has to roll her jeans over at the belt line to keep them up from taking an embarrassing slide down her legs. 

 As she combs through her family's bags and bags of photographs, Fio bemoans the unidentifiable pictures --the shots of people who are probably in her bloodline or had a certain importance to her family. ALWAYS LABEL YOUR SHOTS!

 

 

 

Moving Forward, but Looking Back

 At last, your girl is working--really and truly WORKING--on Lolly's story. She has all the chapters spread out on the floor of her studio and is at present going through each of them to make sure that they not only move the story along, but give it backbone. (She'll also be getting rid of the extras so they won't lead her astray.) This marks a giant step in her recovery from the horrors of her recent past. Watch out world! Fiorella's gearing up her engine and planning to seize her part of the world, her part of LIFE!

It's not just Lolly who is benefiting from Fio's renewed energy, but Fio herself--she's going to call around to find someone who will renovate her clothes closet and maybe even work on the bathroom she shares with her granddaughter.

Sorry that so many of your girl's posts have been totally self-centered lately, but juicy topics like Trump planning another attack on the capitol are old hat and the pandemic has kept Fio from hanging out with long-time friends or making new ones. In fact, it seems like the only people she sees on a steady basis are her immediate family and her medical crew. Don't get her wrong--she values her family and her doctors, but she'd like a little more variety.

Fiorella is having a hard time digesting the idea that Christmas is almost upon us, probably because all of her beloved decorations are still in storage and she's not sure if they'd be appreciated even if they are available. It's hard to blend family traditions and practices. but let's hope for the best. 

Your girl finally cured the croak in her throat, and all it took was a cheap, over-the-counter antihistamine tablet! WAHOO!

 

 

 

 

From Numbers to Vampires

 True to form, whenever another shock wave hits her, Fio loses her numbers. Not that she's ever been that good with math, but the waves have gotten stronger and more frequent lately, which means that your girl has to spend far too much time each day staring at her watch to find out what time it is.

This has been Fiorella's lucky day--two visitors so far, both of them nurses who have become friends. Hmm--none of this would have happened if it weren't for the pandemic driving us all outdoors.  

And, if you're wondering, Fio is medically in topnotch shape--except that she needs more human contact. Again, she asks, how can she buy a friend?

Completely off subject, Fiorella's hair, which falls about four inches below her neck, has started to curl into ringlets--not that she objects, but she's never had this happen before without--uh--assistance.

Please excuse Fio for now. She's needs to work on Lolly's story again. After all, she has a vampire story in the wings.

Sunday/ Domingo

MORNING: You'll remember that Fiorella and her brother are lactos persistent, a heritage from their father's Carpathian-Rusyn blood line, but what you may not know--and Fio herself didn't until she did some research--is that the ability to digest cow milk past childhood is a relatively recent development for humanity...and a good one too, because it provides us with another easy food source.

EARLY AFTERNOON: Fio was totally despondent and angry with the world in general.

LATE AFTERNOON: Son L, in his knightly armor, invited Fio to go shopping at Walmart with him and you can bet she grabbed her mask and ran for the car. Sox and Scotch Tape were on her list, as well as getting out of the house.

HOME AGAIN: She's feeling much better except for a slight headache. As soon as that clears, maybe she'll take up where she took off in knitting together Lolly's story.

EVENING: Can't sleep. Worrying about everything. Thinking of Sonia Dog.

 

 

 

Winter Weather and a Yapping Doggy

 It must be winter--Fio is wearing a long-sleeved shirt and has had to turn off her air conditioning. On the other hand, this is Texas, and the afternoon might turn into a scorcher.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday--maybe your girl's neighbors will come out in force and make some friends. Yeah, like that's ever going to happen! Fiorella has lived in this neighborhood for eight months and doubts if anyone but her immediate family even knows her name. 

HOW-SO-EVER, the minute,  Fiorella stepped outside the door to walk up to the mailbox to deposit bill payments, her adventures began. First, she encountered a friendly brown dog and a gentlemanly young man, who actually spoke to her, then a small white dog, which kept circling and yapping angrily at her feet. Now, having been a dog owner for m-a-n-y years, Fio wasn't fazed...until she realized the little dog, still yapping, had followed her all the way back to the house. 

Who was its owner? Your girl checked in with the next-door-neighbors to the right, who didn't own the dog but told her who did--the neighbors on their right. So, your girl led the desperate dog in that direction, where it was claimed (somewhat reluctantly?) by its owners.

It was an interesting way to begin the day. What next?

 

 

 

Hope, Plan, Excitement, Information, Disappointment

 At last, Fiorella's sniffles are abating, which probably means she had an allergy all along and could have healed herself by buying an over-the-counter pill or two. Ah, well--at least your girl will know better next time. 

Fio has her Lolly chapters spread out from one end of her studio to the other, and what she wants to do at this point is make sure everything connects, which means she has to control herself and ignore the bumps along the way. The frosting can come later.

Oh-oh, from what your girl can figure out regarding a morning phone call, two home nursing services are fighting over your Fiorella.  Will keep you in the loop. Could be interesting....

In Fio's early days, boys wore jeans that zipped down the front while girls wore slacks that zipped or buttoned down the side. Tuck that away in your trivia box.

At the end of the day, Fiorella realizes that she hasn't gotten too much done  and it's all her fault. Instead of making sure everything connected, she started revamping the story, page by page, which was a BIG mistake.

 

From Keenexes to Covid

Uh, the glamorous life of a romance writer is overblown. Fiorella is currently trying to separate Lolly's twelve chapters with folded Kleenexes because she didn't do so when writing.

Your girl watched a wonderful TV show about the history of native Americans, then gathered together some photographs and items that she thought Minnesota son would enjoy seeing again and prepared them for mailing, then worked with one of her therapists, then gathered together her many versions of Lolly's story as she waited for Daughter to come pick her up for a visit. Ah, for the days when Fio was driving.

Like it usually does at this time of year, the weather has turned, and Fiorella has had to drag a couple of long-sleeved shirts out of the back of her closet, which means she'd better get going on her plan for renovating that rabbit hole.

Son L and Fiorella are planning to make a trip to Pflugerville this weekend and will probably hire a team to help them--that piano can't walk back to Austin on its own. (Any volunteers?) 

Hey, this is great--your girl will be getting yet another nurse tomorrow to check her out. All in all, it's quite impressive how the local medical establishment has adjusted to the Time of Covid.

 

 

 

Everything is part of me/ And I am part of immortality....

Fio's Voice

 Had a nice call from Brother today. Not only does Fio enjoy talking to him, but it's good practice for your girl who's voice went numb during the snowstorm and who is still suffering from it. (Luckily, she can still think and write.)

The rest of the family is out today so Fiorella has the house to herself and--oops...she started to say "Sonia Dog," but that solace has been ripped from her forever.

Reading through her first published romance, Fio doesn't like the final chapter, the wedding scene, which as she remembers, was called for by the publishers. Your girl wanted it to end it all with Laurel and Jase flying off to her Hollywood hometown to meet her family, then getting married there, and, earlier in the story, she would have liked to have kept in her her references to teen age drug problems in small towns, something she heard about all the time when she was teaching. 

Of course, with self-publishing now being the rage, things may have changed, and as soon as Fiorella completes this blog, she'll start working on Lolly again. And if Lolly doesn't make it, there are plenty more old scripts for Fio to look over. And if none of them work out, your girl will gather all--ALL--of her poetry together for publication!

FIORELLA'S VOICE WILL BE HEARD, NO MATTER WHAT!

 

 

 

Complete Accounting

 (1) Daybreak, and your girl is up early, thanks to a rare insomnia--or maybe excitement. Oh well, she'll make up for it by dozing all afternoon when she gets home from voting.

(2) Mid-morning, and Fiorella has cast her votes regarding local legalities and feels so goooood. Yep, voting turns her on!

(3) Back at the house, Fio spends a couple of hours sitting on the floor of her studio and going through a bag of old photographs. She treasures each and every one of those pictures but knows she can't keep all of them so she's putting aside photos that are her favorites and sending the rest off the to the kids so they can remember old times.

(4) At the end of the day, Daughter drives Fiorella to Walgreens to get her booster shot from a very nice young man. And, as with her first two shots, your girl hardly felt it. Try it--you'll like it!😀

(5) Sleep well, my friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Beauty Preps to a Halloween Poem

At present, Fio's doesn't have a place in the house where she can sit down to comb her hair and put on her make up, but she's a-lookin' and a-thinkin'....

Your girl found one of her old Christmas cards and was totally impressed---a  poem on the horizontal line with the first letters of each perpendicular line spelling out "Merry Christmas."  WOW! Wonder if she could pull off something like that this year? Hmm....

Fiorella seems to have lost her bats, the ones she decorated the front hall with, and please don't tell her they flew away at midnight😕

Speaking of Halloween, there wasn't much of a show in Fio's neighborhood, probably because most of the kids are young'ns. Apparently, there were some adult gatherings, though, which she will be  on the lookout for next year 😁

It's morning after Halloween

And not a beggar to be seen

They've packed away their morbid gear

To keep it safe until next year 😃

 

Our children are our joy and sorrow, just as we were to our own parents.

 

 

Gets It All From His Mother

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN and wish Fiorella well--she's dedicating today to rereading Lolly's story and, as she remembers, it gets pretty ragged toward the end. Her ultimate goal is to have all the pages shaped up and ready for beta readers by the middle of November--which, of course, translates to early December in your girl's world. 

You'll be glad to hear that Granddaughter has settled on what costume she will wear for trick-or-treating this evening--it's Little Red Ridinghood, the same bright red outfit she had on yesterday. Hoping this means she will maintain a loyal and decisive personality as she grows older...and will always choose a bold color😋

Ye gads! The medical powers-that-be have prescribed yet another four-per-day pill on Fio, which brings her up to sixteen a day. With that much sour going down your girl's gullet, don't you think she needs more sweets to balance everything out? Like maybe left-over Halloween candy of the chocolate variety? 😃

Clever, clever Fiorella bought an orange angel food cake at HEB yesterday with the thought that the whole family would share it as a "Halloween cake," but as with many of her ventures, this one fell flat. Better luck next time, kiddo....

(Son L, a professional artist, showed me a sample of the work he does, and I am proud to say that artistically, he's a chip off the old gene pool.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Full Day

 Relax--your girl is not going to jump off a cliff. Not only does she has she put all her stupid pills in   correct amount and order again, but Son L took her on an expedition (masked, of course) to H-E-B, and then, as a side-trip, stopped by Walgreens so she could pick up her meds. On the other hand, she hasn't started working on poor, leftover Lolly again. 

The joy of the day was seeing Granddaughter run around the house in her Little-Red-Ridinghood outfit, although her daytime choice was no indication that was the one she would wear for Halloween. Apparently B has a couple more costumes in her closet. Hmm...wonder if she could trick-or-treat the block, then change clothes and move from house to house again...and again...and really make a haul.

Your girl may not have worked on Lolly today, but she did go through another of bag of family photos, weeping as she went. There are still more to go, but Fiorella is thinking about putting them aside for a while. You can only cry so long before you turn into mush.

Fio is thinking more and more about the renovation of her child-size clothes closet. She's even started drawing plans, which may or may not work. Then, of course, there's the bathroom she shares with B. 

And between your girl's health, Halloween, family, and remodeling, she's been reading an old romance by Susan Elizabeth Phillips to get in the mood again.

 

 

Halloween Jokes?

 Maybe it's a Halloween trick, but Fio's computer is playing games with her--sometimes she can type on it, sometimes she can't--so if your girl stops in the middle of a sentence, you'll know what's happening--or rather, NOT happening. 

Before running into a system failure with her computer, Fiorella was in her studio, clearing out  photographs from, lo, these many years ago. Ye gads--did your girl ever look that fat?! And that hair-style did NOT become her.

But somehow, when Son L came home in the afternoon and laid on his hands, the sky cleared and your girl could talk to the whole wide world again. Hmmm....could the whole scene have been some kind of technological Halloween joke?

After going back to the studio, Fiorella did get a lot of work done today, and she expects this stage of her effort will be finished up tomorrow, which means, she hopes, that everything will look neat and clean so she can turn her attention from the looks of the studio to the use of it. 

As your girl sees it, Lolly will be the first guest.

 

You Tell'm, Fiorella!

 Running late--Fio's computer went out on her. Apparently it was something about the way she closed it down, which she still doesn't understand. Whatever, thanks to Son L, she's back on the job again.

Although the sun is shining brightly, the wind is slapping the tall bushes outside Fiorella's bedroom against her window to announce that Halloween is soon upon us. Granddaughter has finally settled on her costume--or maybe she hasn't--but Fiorella is hoping that she'll put together a majorette-gypsy-cowgirl outfit like your girl did way back one.

Fio is still working on the studio, and it's amazing how much more room there is in it now that she's reluctantly cleared out most of the boxes. It's hard to trash things that, while you were preparing to move, you scoured the house, post office, and supermarkets for.

On the way home from a kiddie park, Son L stopped at the local H-E-B and, while he and Granddaughter shopped, Fiorella stayed in the car, pulled out her trusty tablet, and wrote down goals for rerouting her life. Her time for being a victim is over. She will not let a stupid snowstorm and difficult people determine her future. Onward, Fio! Reach for the stars! 

ANNOUNCEMENT! THE FIRST THING SHE WILL DO IS TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT REWORKING HER CLOTHES CLOSET SO IT SUITS A GROWN WOMAN RATHER THAN A CHID. Then will come work on the bathroom she shares with her granddaughter, who doesn't have even half the make-up Fiorella does!

 

Movin' Along Hopefully, But With A Tear in My Eye

 Your girl's at a stand-still again, which drives her crazy. There are a lot of things that she's needs to work on--and has been--but her efforts don't seem to get her anywhere. Despite all her promises, the studio is still  a semi-mess, she hasn't started reworking Lolly's story, and she backed off to trotting next door to ask someone she's never really met to link her into a Spanish-language station. To top it off, her TV hero,  The Indian Doctor, is being mercilessly attacked by the same villagers who lauded him when he was healing their wounds or saving their lives in earlier shows.

Two hours  later, Fiorella has settled herself down by climbing up and down a stepladder to move half of her life into one of her set of four six-foot tall book shelves. Your girl swears every word is all true, but see if you can make any sense out of that last sentence.

OMG--Fio will be opening up about fifteen years of blog conversation pretty soon, and you'll notice her style and presentation has changed through the years--for the best, hopefully.

Your girl made some Halloween cut-outs (jack-o'-lanterns and baby bats intertwined) and hung them so they could be seen from the view into the house from the front door. What else would be suitable? 

Fiorella is still sleeping on one side of the bed to give Sonia plenty of room, and when she wakes up each morning, the first thing she does is reach out to pet the dog who isn't there . 💗😢

 

 

CONTINUING ONWARD, ONWARD, ONWARD!

 It's painful for Fiorella to walk into her bedroom and not see a big, happy dog lying on the bed, her tail beating like a drum to greet Mommy. Fio loved her Sonja Dog and wil always miss her, but time is passing and every day Fiorella is getting stronger and bolder. Wish her well in her new manifestation.

The first thing Fio she is going to do is seek assistance from the next-door neighbors for finding a Spanish-language soap opera like the one she watched back when Husband was alive. Not that he shared her interest in languages--in fact, she had to call him down for deliberately interrupting her show a couple of times.

Your girl is working on her studio too, trying to put everything in its proper place, or at least, its semi-proper place. You have to understand the situation: Fiorella has done her best to save everything she's written or drawn on ever since she was in grade school. Yes, she's a fire hazard. (Umm...anyone want to come over and help her?)

Why is it so hot? This is October, almost Halloween, and your girl has to take work breaks while cleaning up her studio, which is at the front of the house. 

If you want to see a good TV show, check out Indian Doctor. Of course, Fio, whose doctorate was in that area, may be a bit prejudiced. (And, yes, Fiorella still has a couple of nice saris tuck away somewhere.)💗

 

 

Hither and Thither

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Storage shelves here, there, and everywhere--at least Fio hopes there are, because she has plenty of things to fill them with. Right now, she's busy putting away her art, photos, newspapers, calendars, comedy routines, family genealogy, and reams of paper--with more to come.

Tomorrow will be Lolly's day to shine. Fiorella will be going through her story chapter by chapter to make sure everything sticks together. Then she'll take care of the rough corners, although that will take a lot longer.

Fio is putting up a good front, but inside, she is about to topple over from the heavy load she is carrying. Losing Sonia Dog was a hard blow after all those preceding blows, and Fiorella still isn't settled in to her new home and neighborhood where she knows no one and no one knows her. 

Daughter kindly drove Fio over to visit her nephew and his wife today. No, there wasn't  a family feud that had kept them apart, just that Nephew was living in Austin all this time while Fio and Husband had moved many miles up the highway to Gtown.

On the side, your girl is having a terrible time finding the right frame for one of her paintings. You can probably hear her teeth gnashing from miles away.

Tomorrow will be Lolly's day to shine (hopefully) when Fiorella goes through her story chapter by chapter to make sure everything sticks together. Then she'll smooth off the rough corners, which will take a little longer.

 

 

 

 

From Mourning to Poetry to the Heart

 

Please bare with Fio because she's done it again--erased all her notes from yesterday that she was going to shape up today, which means you are getting a clean slate, like it or not. 

Yes, Fio is still in mourning, especially when she goes to bed at night, but she's trying to forge ahead. Lolly's story has been put off way too long, as has the arrangement of the art shelves in the studio. And your girl would also like someone (1) to fix her up with a nice Spanish-language show, and (2) run off her last three years of Fiorella so she can put them in a solid folder with all the others. Any takers?

Going through the latest pile from the Pflugerville storage units. Fio found a nice, framed picture of her late husband and, on the spot, decided to hang it up in her bedroom. She'd forgotten what a handsome guy he was--no wonder our children are so good-looking.

Your girl wants to gather together all her poetry, from junior high on, and put it together in a book. Of course, some of it is gone forever, but maybe its ghost is floating on the wind and will inspire another  little girl walking home from school with a feel for rhyme and rhythm. 

But what about "modern" poetry, Fiorella? Aren't rhyme and rhythm out of style? Well, as your girl sees it, the world is big enough for everybody to enjoy fanciful writing in their own way, but she herself is betting rhyme and rhythm will out-survive its latter-day rivals. You can't beat the measured beat of a heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorrow

 Fio would like to tell you that she is at peace with her loss of Sonia Dog, but she isn't. In fact, she weeps for her in and out and has had dreams where she and Doggie are being chased and hiding in various places inside the house and out. 

It didn't help that this morning, Fiorella's visiting nurse told her that she had overplayed her coumadin and should back off till Monday. Yes, your girl is in a mess (as usual) although all she wants to do is get her studio in better shape--which is harder than it sounds because she needs a lot of muscle to help with the  heavy lifting, and Son can't pay attention to his job, wife, kid, and mother all at the same time. 

The pandemic, of course, has to take part of the blame too. We're all nervous about hiring strangers to come inside our homes to help us.

Back to the beginning and if you're wondering, yes, your girl has a color photo of Sonia framed and taped to the front of her bureau so it's the last thing she sees when she goes to sleep at night.