Reporting In

 With nostalgia in the air, Fiorella is going through everything she ever wrote, and that's a lot--so much so that she hardly remembers it all. School, college, teacher, newspapers, poetry and prose, she's covered the waterfront. And now--look--she's a blogger!

It's not as if your girl has written anything that changed the world. She's more like an observer of the little things that are going on around her.  Okay, sometimes, she's been a bit nasty sometimes, but at all times, she tries to be interesting. 

Right now, Fiorella is going through all the medical stuff she missed out on last year during the storm, the move, and settling into the new house. Yep, Son L has signed her up for every test on the face of the earth, which Fio doesn't mind because she'd like to stay around a little longer. She also likes getting acquainted  with people, as you may have guessed.

Congratulate your girl--every day she adds a couple more paces to her morning walk. At this rate, she'll show up on your front porch one of these days. Please have chocolate ready💗

If you're wondering about Fio's studio, it's still a mess, but your girl is gradually getting a handle on it. She already has fourteen paintings of drawings (most of them her own) on the walls and is confident that all her books can fit can fit in those five Ikea bookcases.

 

 

 

 

 

Running Low on Fuel

 FIO IS TAKING A DAY OFF!

THE CHILDREN, Storage, Neurologist, Budes, Reworking

 Interesting. Fio posted a negative comment on FB about the damage Louis deJoy has done to the postal system and the response of a woman she knew in high school sneeringly implied that Fiorella has dropped her concern about the children at the border. Not so--your girl  is still concerned about THE CHILDREN, but  trusts the Biden administration to handle that situation. The post office problems on the other hand, are still occurring. 

Just realized that there were three more things Fiorella should have come home from the storage unit with: her bathroom scales, her vacuum cleaner, and her piano. Oh well, there's always a next time (hopefully.)

Fiorella is happy to announce that she has an appointment with one of her favorite people tomorrow--her neurologist. He hasn't waved a magic wand that can cure her problem (family tremor) yet, but at least, your girl's shaking, rattling, and rolling hasn't gotten any worse....and he's a lot of fun.

Last night, Fio Son L spent a good day unloading everything they had chosen to being home from their Pflugerville storage units and today, your girl started stashing away everything in order, which  means she was mostly ripping newspaper padding off of about ten big paintings and trying to find appropriate places for them to hanng. The nudes are the hardest, especially when there's a four-year-old in the house.

One of the first things Fiorella will do when she is settled and has extra time is to rework some of her paintings that she never quite cottoned too--and, yes, that is legal in the Art World. Remember all the cartoons you've seen of a guy with a beret on his head and a paint brush touching up his own masterpiece?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Much for One Day!

 Today was a humdinger--Son L drove Fiorella to Pfugerville to see the three units still in storage and Fio cherry-picked what she could, at the same time insisting that she wants all of it. Yah--your girl didn't spend two years packing and weeping just to donate her efforts to a a city dump. The problem, of course, is space. Fio's new home is smaller than her previous one and its walls do not welcome decorations. But we'll see what Fiorella can cook up. 😄

Your girl, who is now setting up medical appointments she missed during the snowstorm, the move, and the settling-in, will get her pacemaker checked out on Monday, and then, on Tuesday, she'll visit one of her favorite doctors--her neurologist. Happy days are here again!

Fio should mention that on the way back to Austin, she and Son stopped at a highway restaurant that had been a family favorite in times gone by. Son ordered baby-back ribs and Fiorella indulged herself in a salmon that was cooked much better than she could ever have done for herself--and they were both delicious.

By the way, did you know that Fio used to write for local magazines? Pawing through her old papers has given her new respect for herself. 💗

 

Rollin' Along

 Your girl has been working her head off on her studio lately, and there's still more to come--she and Son L will be driving up to to wherever that storage place is and clearing it out tomorrow. Well, Fiorella thinks we'll be clearing everything out, but Son wants to cherry pick. We'll see.

In going through old family pictures, Fio saw resemblances she'd never noticed before. Guessing that her father's line runs s-t-r-o-n-g !

As soon as Fiorella gets the studio in shape, she'll call in the pros to redo her closet and make way for her bedside chests. Hopefully, that day is getting closer and closer....

Three cheers! Your girl found her German classroom book, the ancient one, but let's face it: Das Deutsch is Das Deutsch when you're at the elementary level.  

Be proud of Fio. In the early afternoon, she walked a block and a half up to the mailbox with Son L and then, later in the afternoon, walked her own mail up to it. (Was praying the whole time that deJoy wouldn't spot her.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Morning to Evening

MORNING:  Fiorella is rearranging her bookcases and it's hard labor, but the good part of the day will be when Son L hangs that self-portrait you've been hearing so much about in the wall above her bed. Hoping he'll also hang a smaller painting for her--a landscape--above the mini-fridge. And if your girl is really lucky, he'll even open the un-openable drawer in the middle of a venerable chest.

LATER: Son got the painting on up and it makes the room, but he couldn't get the middle drawer of the chest open so Fiorella sat herself down in front of that dang chest and stared at it for about twenty minutes, considering--after all, she was the holder of the keys and it would have been odd for her to have locked up the middle drawer and not the others, so why not try again? Maybe, if she opened the top and bottom drawers, the middle drawer would follow suit.

And VOILA! It worked!

AFTERNOON: However, in her exuberancy, Fio somehow lost that old German language book that she was using to keep up with Cousin Tom, whose Deutsch is a lot better than your girl's. Ah well, das buch will turn up eventually. 

EVENING: It wasn't until Fiorella went out to give Sonia Dog her last chance of the day to relieve herself that she realized the chiggers, her sworn enemies, were were also art. Yep, your girl is itching from the knees on down.

 

 

 

 

Catchin Up with Fiorella

 And again, Fiorella fouled up somehow because her blog for the twenty-third didn't get published till the twenty-fourth--even though she pushed the PUBLISH button for the twenty-third. What the f is your non-technological girl missing? Or is the culprit Louis deJoy, Trump's Postmaster General, striking back at Fio for the comments she's posted on FaceBook about his purposeful delay of the mail?!

It's 1:39 a.m. now so Fio should be able to get this blog out on its intended date. Your girl didn't used to be up so late up so late at night, but over the past month, she's developed the habit of catching a cat  nap, then wandering into her half-finished studio and deciding what to do next, then doing it--and all in a quiet house. 

Today, on Husband's birthday, Son L and Fiorella will be visiting his grave with flowers in hand. When her children were still children, your girl would take them to their Austin grandparents' graves in the state cemetery, and now that she's back in Austin, Fio might do that again this year. She is rarely able to visit her own parents' graves because they are buried in Waco, but when she does, she makes up for lost time by weeping an ocean--not just of sorrow, but of love 💘

Speaking of love, Son L has promised to hang Fiorella's self-portrait above her bed this afternoon, which will be no easy task--that frame must weigh a ton. In the meantime, your girl will be work-work-working on--and in--her studio. There's a difference between getting all the books shelved and getting them shelved in their proper places.

 

Life on the Run

 It's just thirty minutes after noon and Fiorella has already scarfed down two Hershey bars. Let's hope that they will last her till tomorrow, but she doubts it. Yep, your girl is an admitted chocoholic. On the other hand, chocolate is her only do-or-die sweet, so maybe she'll survive.

Son L invited Fio to accompany him and B on on their expedition  to Barnes and Noble and your girl was somewhat shocked by all the floor space dedicated to high-priced kids' toys. In her day, the top seller was women's romances...or was it just that romances were all Fiorella was interested in back then?

Your girl is resolved to spending her afternoon working on another stage of her studio, with the full knowledge that there will be several more stages to go. Pray for her.

If you can believe it, Son L's washing machine has about six adjustments to be made before it will accept and wash Fiorella's clothes. Son whips right through the task, but Fio is totally flummexed and has had to request not only a printed list for the washer, but for the dryer as well.

Thinking ahead, which is probably a stupid think to do, Fiorella is dreaming of a neighborhood "reveal" of her studio, complete with music and drinks....if anyone would be in the least interested.

 

 

 

 

From Across the Waves to Poignant Memories

 Fiorella has had a busy morning. She not only visited with friend Suzy across the ocean blue, but did the initial arrangement of the library-style bookshelves in her studio. Next will come the bookshelf that stands alone on one side of the chest of drawers, then the one that stands on the other side of it. If your girl can figure out how to do that job, she'll make a floor plan and post it for you.

Fio's brother called her today, which she really appreciated. Not only did they exchange family news, but it was an exercise in talking for Fiorella, which your girl still needs. Yes, that overactive panic button is playing the same old tricks.

Fiorella has had very good FB reactions to her treatment of the large, long window in her bedroom. Thank you, one and all, and just wait till you see the completed studio in all its glory--she's carried the montage theme all the way through.

 Your girl was pondering why Doc Martin became her TV favorite even when the lead was a bit of a grouch and the answer is that the hero had flaws but didn't sleep around and bodies weren't piling up right and left. Also, the setting was interesting and exciting.

Tomorrow would have been Husband's birthday and Fiorella still misses him. He had his own problems, but Fio always knew he loved her.💗

 

Reporting In

 All stoked up! Fio has finished stage two of organizing her studio! Everything is off the floor, which means that it will all fit into the current bookshelves, file cabinets, and tables--and that there will also be enough wall space left for her montages and paintings.

One of the joys of going through everything your girl shelved away for, lo, these many years is her rediscovery of herself. It wasn't just stories and poems she wrote, but also musical compositions and mini-plays. Is Fio puffing up at the realization?? YOU BET SHE IS!

Fiorella's next step will be getting her teenage self portrait hung on the wall behind her bed, for which she'll have to depend on Son L. Never, that day that Fiorella, fresh from washing her hair, painted herself with her head wrapped up in a blue bath towel, did she ever think said towels would end up commanding her bedroom.

Ick--your girl has made a bit of a start on the desk across from her bedroom, a built-in which is really not big enough for her and, at the same time, too tall for her. This will not end well. In fact, if Fiorella had her way, the whole thing would be removed and the space behind it added to the bathroom. Stay tuned.

Did Fio tell you how happy--and honored--your girl was to see that Daughter has a fair number of her paintings showcased in her new house?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Stoked Up!

 Louis deJoy, the postmaster who's slowing down our mail, must have gotten into your girl's computer and messed it somehow because, again, she thought she had done everything right to make yesterday's blog come out on the 19th, but instead, it waited till today.  In fifteen-plus years of inviting the world into her own private world, Fiorella never had a problem with Blogger until it "improved" itself at abut the same time FB was introducing its own g-d awful "new and improved" edition, which she had no choice but to accept.

Congratulate your girl--she had a moment of sheer genius and spent most of the afternoon grabbing her overflow of clothes off the bedroom floor and stuffing them into labeled plastic bags which she then tossed into into the in-progresss studio next door--for the time being.  The day is coming closer when Fiorella will hire professionals to make her closet more appropriate for an adult, and she can hardly wait!

Your girl took advantage of Father's Day and hit Son L up for information on all the families in the neighborhood. Of course, he hasn't lived here long enough to get to know everyone, but a thumb-nail sketch was a good start.

Thinking that it might be better if Son would mount that painting (the one Fio did of her teen-age self wearing a turban-like bath towel) over her bed now rather than later, when the workman are here. Whatever--SO EXCITED!

And yes, Fiorella wants to take up the paintbrush again...and the languages...and the music...and the writing--although, if you count Blogger, she never really missed the latter 😁

 

Adventure Strikes Again

Fiorella walked two blocks up around the corner this afternoon and deposited the family's outgoing mail into Louis deJoy's hungry mail mouth. Wonder how long it will take for everything to reach its destination.

Your girl is getting giddy. That shopping expedition with Daughter really turned her on and she is actually considering replacing some of her old jeans and shorts with clothes that fit her. Yes, wonder of wonders, Fio has actually lost some weight.

Your girl is fooling around with a design for a clever step-up that she plans to display on the inside of the entry to her studio. Her favorite rocks will be on the bottom rung and the top rung will display the sea shells entrusted to her by Husband's Aunt Ethelyn, and Fio's heart will break a little each time she sees them. Sweet, clueless Ethelyn deserved so much more out of life than she received.

Fiorella washed her own clothes today, which was half elation and half irritation. WHY THE HECK DO "THEY" MAKE MACHINES SO BIG THAT FIO HAS TO STAND ON HER TIPPY-TOES TO EMPTY THE DRIER? (If she used a stool, she'd probably fall in the machine like one of her favorite TV "little people" did.)

Bellyaching to the side, Fio feels pretty dang good. There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel again.

 

 

 

 

Retrospect

 

Fiorella is happy to announce that she had a good day. In the morning, she worked on her studio, and in the afternoon, she and Daughter went shopping for new outfits to refurbish Fio's wardrobe--something that hasn't been done since Husband died. Along the way, your girl picked up an old-fashioned coloring book for Granddaughter, and, when they got back to Daughter's house, Fio luxuriated in her weekly tub bath. 

You will remember that Fio can't bathe at home because that stupid cranky knee won't allow your girl use any kid of tub but a ridged Soaker.

Somewhere along the line, Fiorella hopes to be able to run off the last couple of years of her blog---which, please God, are still in her computer. What with everything going on, she didn't print out her yearly meanderings as she should have. 

Fio almost forgot to tell you about her experience in a local fitting room, where Daughter was trying slacks and tops on your girl. There was a rustling in the next "booth" and a half-weeping female voice said she had been listening to us the whole time and was touched by our relationship, the way we obviously enjoyed and cared for each other. Of course, that brought your girl to tears herself.

Fiorella forgot to mention that she lent a sharp eye to assembling the jigsaw puzzle that was on Daughter's kitchen table. Remember, always look for the straight-edged pieces first, then fill in the middle.

 

 

Up to Date Reporting

 Son L kindly drove your girl over to the office of her new heart doctor and apparently she's in surprisingly good shape, especially for someone whose motto is "a chocolate a day keeps the doctor away." A couple of tests have been scheduled and some of her meds have been changed around, but so far, everything seems to look good. Cross your fingers....

Son stopped by HEB on the way back to the house so Fio could stock up on her weekly groceries--another notch in her recovery from the horridity she experienced earlier in the year--but it would be even better if she could ease into driving again. After all, Son really doesn't have the time to cart his mother all over Austin, and she herself wants not only to be able to handle her own medical appointments, but to visit with her lady friends whenever she wants to.

Tomorrow's the day! Daughter will zip by about noon and whisk Fio off on a shopping trip. Fiorella, as you know, has been wearing yesteryears's clothes and yesteryear's shoes ever since Husband died, so it's time to shake up her wardrobe a little. Who knows--maybe a tall, handsome, white-haired charmer will appear on her horizon. In the meantime, your girl will continue to work on making her bedroom livable and her studio stunning--beware, the blown-up cover of her first romance is taped to the back of the entry door!

 

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From Poetry to Cornwall

 There once was a governor named Abbott

Who had the deplorable habit

Of letting us freeze or letting us fry

Without a blink of his Trumpian eye

And as for a heart, he lacked it

What did Fio do all day? Worked on her studio mostly. Translation: she went through piles of family photos and decided to keep them all. Your girl holds every one of her ancestors to her heart and has even started labeling the ones she recognizes in hopes there will be another Fiorella down the line.

Speaking of old pictures, Fiorella was fascinated by the way she echoed her mother in weight. Both of us were fairly lightweight until our middle years, when we put on the poundage, and both of us shed most of it as we got older.

Cross your fingers--your girl will be checking in with her new heart doctor tomorrow. She's always gotten good grades in that regard so let's hope the trend continues. Later in the month will come will come her neurologist, then her ophthalmologist, both of which she knows and likes...although she hasn't seen either of them for a couple of years.

Fiorella had a field day when Son L introduced her to the universal remote, but apparently she used up all the good movies/shows because now she can't find a single one she likes. Doc Martin will come on again in the fall, but--dang it--the show will be Cornwall's swan song.

 

 

 

 

Moving Along Slowly but Surely

 Your girl is really moving along with her studio since she decided that every wall in the room is fair game. Right now, she's doing a once-over of a pile piece by piece, which will take most of her day. And no, she does not have save, dump, donate piles. Everything Fio owns is a treasure, and her only job is to recognize its current usefulness.

Fiorella is still crowing to herself about how she turned that large useless side window into her bedroom's highlight, first by lining the bottom of the window with appropriate throw pillows, then by getting Son L to hang the pictures of her maternal great-grandparents just above the window itself, then by push-pinning three sets of meaningful photos down both side of the window well. 

Yippie--one of Fio's college friends has found her way to your girl's blog. Hi, there, Kaye! Nice to have you aboard and I hope you will enjoy some of Fiorella's earlier postings too. 

Did Fiorella tell you that, after staring at her collections of rocks and sea shells on and off for about a week, she's finally figured out a cheap, simple way to stage them in her studio without taking up much precious room? Her plan is to prevail upon Son L to make a simple stand with two steps--the upper for the shells and the lower for the rocks--which she will place next to the entrance wall.

If Fio has her dates right, Son will fetch her final storage shipment this weekend, which will be not only furniture, but also her electric piano. Waiting with bated breath 💗

 

 

From Gremlins to Carpathian Rusyns

 The gremlins are after Fiorella--after all, Fio can't be messing up her postings herself, can she?

AH, technology, or rather, DANG technology! No more bells and whistles, please! Fiorella would rather deal with pen, paper, and real people. In fact, real people have always been her favorites because they're  much more interesting.

With Sonia Dog snoring by her side, your girl is alternating working on her studio and taking time off and catching up on what is going on in the world via ABC shorts. 

Did Fio tell you that her "good" pair of glasses showed up sitting in plain view on one of the black cabinets by the side of her bed? Not likely they'll hang around long, of course....

There's only one more storage unit to empty now, and Fiorella hopes everything she's missing is in it--like her bathroom scales. Also, Mother's mink.

Speaking of mother, Fio was unpacking old pictures and got the ancestry bug again. Remember, your girl is from exotic stock--Carpathian Rusyn and the like. Maybe, once the settling in is over, she can follow up on Cousin-in-Law's research.

 

 

 

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO PUBLISH YESTERDAY

 Fiorella is up'n-at'em again, but she needs a hammer and a nail to hang one of her many self portraits onto the wall of her arts-and-crafts studio. She had an excess of tools in her old house that would have done the trick, but apparently, said tools haven't made it to the new house yet. And if you're wondering why Fio has so many self-portraits lying around, it's because the bathroom mirror was usually the only model available that didn't charge. (Yes, even her kids made her pay.)

Your girl is happy to announce that she has completed the basic decoration of the large window on the side of her bedroom. Framed in gold ovals by Fio's mother, your girl's maternal great-grandfather and great-grandmother top the window with Mother's matching cross-stitch in a oval floral frame between them. Down each side of the window, Fiorella has paraded people and places that have been important to her, plus more of Mother's cross-stitch.  

Remember when Fio used to tromp the woods daily with Sonia Dog? Preparing for the move killed that habit, of course, but Fiorella has recently--and in a small way and without Doggie, who has not adapted well to in-town living-- stared  walking around the neighborhood. She enjoys the birds and the solitude.

Your girl's assignment is to go through family photos right now--HEAPS of photos--and tears of memory are overwhelming her. Her children were so young, and so were she and Husband. Will these photos mean anything to her children and grandchild

WARNING! Fiorella is the kind of person who stays in touch with her friends, even if they move far away.

Hi! I'm Back Again!

 Nothing like pushing a grocery cart down the aisles of HEB to bring back a feeling a normalcy. Your girl came home with two bottles of milk, three boxes of Shredded Wheat, a long, skinny, baguette, a nice little steak, grapes, Kleenexes, a box of cookies, way too much chocolate, a breakfast bowl, and a pack of emory boards, but she forgot the masking tape.

Along the way, Fiorella bumped into a few other shoppers (literally). They laughed, made clever quips, and went on their way, then waved at Fiorella when they turned up in the same check-out line. 

What is going on? Fio just realized she lost another page of clever quips and out-and-out bitchery that she thought would come out yesterday. Well, all she can do is take it from here. And right now, she's somehow lost her plastic box of morning pills. Ho-hum...it's bound to show up somewhere.

On the other hand, that call she put in to the Statesman has borne fruit--your girl found a freshly folded newspaper on her lawn this morning. Keep'em comin', boys--Fiorella needs those funny papers!

If you're wondering how Fio is getting along with untangling everything she's ever owned, made, or used, it's slow, tearful going, but totally worthwhile. She's rediscovered not only everyone else, but herself.💗

Back and Forth

 Because of what Fiorella must do, she doesn't have time to do what she wants to do. Thus your girl is still sorting through storage and working out new ways to use old treasures when what she wants to do is write books, paint pictures, and create new treasures.

Strangely, and with no prompting, bits and pieces of some of Fio's languages are coming back at the appropriate moments. Maybe there's hope for her yet.

Remember that tug of war that your girl was having with Facebook to get her decade book? Well it finally arrived today--eight years rather than ten, but Fio won't complain because she looks GOOD in every one of those pictures! 

Your girl is still grinding away in her studio-to-be, trying to clear the floor and put things in the right shelves and drawers. Then there are the paintings, which she'll be papering the wall with. And the whole time, Sonia Dog will be snoring at her feet. 

Two days without newspaper delivery. GRRRRRRRR!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoping for a Better Future

Fiorella is so happy, happier than she's been in a l-o-n-g time, because now, at 3:00 in the morning, she suddenly sees herself as having a future. Not only is her plan for the studio working out, but there's a possibility her child-designed closet will be adjusted for adult use sooner rather than later. Also, she's come across her cache of Linda Howard romances and has been absorbing how to write a knock'm dead romance again.

But as you know, setting up her rooms and getting into writing sexy stories is not all that your girl wants to do. She's also determined to dive into her language studies again, turn out a couple more paintings, dabble around with music, and, in general, save the world near and far. Yes, DOLLY IS BACK IN T-O-W-W-W-N!

What brought all this on, you ask. It's been a gradual healing, of course, and there is still more to go, but the turning point was the email from sister-in-law Patsy giving her the name of a company that would be able to revamp Fio's closet so that her clothes are no longer lying in piles on the floor.

Today is Ellen's birthday--may she rest in peace.

 

Continuing On

 Now that things have calmed down a little, Fiorella has made another list for herself, starting with obtaining that elusive FB Decade Book, then  continuing with visiting a string of appropriate doctors, obtaining a personal breakfast bowl (which she will keep in her bedroom), replenishing her wardrobe, and changing the mattress cover on her bed. Needless to say, Fio is on an upwards swing. 

Believe it or not, your girl cleared everything off the studio floor today, then stuffed all her unfinished masterpieces and reams of writing paper into her threesome of filing cabinets. Tomorrow, she'll be lining up her library of hardbacks. 

 Fio, who is still wearing a mask, will be glad when she can go face-naked. Her facial construction is such that the edges of regulation masks creep up to her eyes and irritate them.

Once Fiorella finally gets her studio room set up the way she wants it, who will come to see her? After all, she really doesn't know anyone in her new neighborhood--they're all young and sparkling and Fio is...not! 

Guess what? Fio's sister-in-law gave her the name of a company that can do handyman work. WOWEE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day and Night

 As you've probably figured out, Fiorella, a technological idiot, forgot to publish yesterday's blog till now, so you're going to be getting an overload today. 

It's three o'clock in the morning right now, and yes, your girl is wide awake and working on her salon/studio/arts-and-crafts room. It's easier for her to picture her ultimate goal when she's alone in a silent world, and tonight, she's hit jack pot, arranging and rearranging until she finally got everything just the way she wanted it and when, just now, she tested her arrangement against the large painting that she wants to showcase--the one of her in a long dress with a bear rug under her feet and a rose in her hand--everything came together!

AND FIO SAYS AGAIN: she is in desperate need of a handyman. Your girl can move furniture around and paint pictures, but she does not have the skills or equipment to remodel her clothes closet, shave her bedroom woodwork, or add protective edges to the black chests on both sides of her bed. Any takers?

Fiorella's ripped her way through all the universal remote selections on TV, or at least all the ones she's even halfway interested in, so she's going to have to dig up some other form of non-athletic entertainment. Maybe some of those old romances she's dug up can do the trick.

Hip, hip, hooray! The nice lady who worked out all of Fio's physical check-ups is now working on finding her an appropriate counselor.

 

 

 

 Another busy day...and Fiorella likes busy days. The highlight was when Son L drove your girl over to HEB and released her to find her way around the grocery store by herself--heleocoptering no longer necessary.

Hurling herself headlong into her arts-and-crafts room, which was overflowing with...well...everything, Fio not only managed to clear enough to be able to see the floor again, but to nudge a fair number of items toward their future resting places.

Fiorella still hasn't been able to make any new friends or meet up with any of her old ones yet, partially, she thinks, because she isn't driving yet and partially because we're all still shell-shocked from the pandemic.

It's growing closer and closer to the time when your girl is going to have to strike out on her own and find a handyman who can help her with her bedroom clothes closet and her studio display work. Son can handle the latter to some degree, but he has his own responsibilities too.

God is good! Just got a message from Friend Suzy in England and we're going to be a twosome again. May God bless her and keep her 💗 💗 💗

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the Saddle Again!

 Your girl woke up in the middle of the night determined to make this day a better day than yesterday. No more distress, no more sorrow, no more weeping. Move ahead, Fiorella--after all, you are the matriarch of the family, the only one who has been strong enough to survive.

But what does "move ahead" mean? Fio grabbed her bedside tablet and started scribbling down notes. First, she had to stand up for herself and set new goals. Along the way, she needed to replace her scotch-taped eye-glasses and buy some new clothes that fit her weight loss, and, down the line, she had to start driving again, at least in her immediate vicinity.

Easier said than done, you say, but this is Fiorella's manifesto, and she's sticking to it. This morning, she dressed like someone who cared, held her head high when she walked outside with the trash she'd been accumulating, picked up an old Linda Howard romance she'd found in a box she was cleaning out and started reading it--whew, hot stuff--and Fio can write like that  that too. Then she reset a Ghandi sign that she'd been commissioned to make many years ago and hung it on her display wall. Right now, she's recording her activities as a pat herself on her back....and to remind herself of what she's done so far when her confidence begins to fade.

Ellen would be proud of her.

Backlash?

 One of the worst things about looking back is that you realize that most of the things that went bad for you were your own stupid fault. Yep, Fio could have won that school board race hands down if she'd hired a pro to run her campaign instead trying to run it all by herself. And when she got her degree, she should have taken the generous offer of her professors and to help her write a book on her dissertation topic instead of striking out alone and in another direction.

As you can guess, this is not your girl's best day. She's exhausted and depressed. After spending more than a year packing up her old house, she's spent  more than three months unpacking for her new house--and the job not finished yet. Then comes the guillotine: what Fiorella values in a home is not necessarily what Son L and his wife, who are her housemates, value. 

Another depressing situation is that, while Fio does have some longtime friends in the area, she can't meet up with them because she isn't driving at this time. And also, because she's been devoting all her energy to unpacking and putting away, she hasn't had time to make friends in her new neighborhood. 

Your girl found about thirty of Husband's favorite paperbacks--Oz, Vince Flynn, Laurie King--in one of the boxes she unpacked today. They're all from ten or twenty years ago, but Fio refuses to toss them into the trash bin. Will try to get someone to drop them of at Goodwill instead. 

Maybe Fiorella is experiencing some kind of shiva backlash, but she's been quite morose today.

 

 

 

 

Tears of Joy and Sadness

I can dance, I can sing, I can do most anything! 

Yes, Son L drove Fio into the hospital this morning where Dr. Michel gave her a shot in her left knee that IMMEDIATELY cured whatever havoc she had wrought when she tried to break a branch over it last Christmastide. She'll have to get another shot in three months. but that's just fine with her. Thank you, God, for modern medicine! 

She came out with tears of joy.

Fiorella's knee problem had always seemed like a minor problem to her--an annoying inconvenience she  had to work around, but once today's shot took effect, it was like she had been released from jail and should go conquer the world. Chocolate seemed more chocolately, world seemed happier, and she was bubbling over with thiansnision.   

Reenter the human race. Energy. Doesn't have to watch her every step.  

Okay, Fiorella is crying now. She was shelving books and came across The Book of Cowboys,  a chaming book etcHusband's favorite book as a chold.favoritechild. Cried because of him and because of the                                 sweet simplicity of the book.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

DAY SEVEN

 In the midst of life, we are in death. This is day seven, the supposed last day of Fiorella's sitting shiva for Ellen, but there will always be a part of her that sorrows for her friend, just as her heart still sorrows for all her friends and family who have gone before.

There are still about two months to go before the move-in to the new house is complete. Right now, Fio is trying to figure out how to handle her overloaded studio--especially since there's yet another U-Haul truck due.

Your girl will be in an orthopedist's office Austin bright and early tomorrow morning to see if that left knee of hers can be fixed. Fio thinks it's a tendon, but she's not a specialist.

Do you remember that Fiorella used to get a kick out of giving you the figures on how many readers she had and what countries they were from? Well, apparently that service got cut (as well as  the use of common poetic forms) when whoever owns the blog changed systems. BOOOOOOO!

Fio's still looking for a handyman to help her with her clothes closet problem.

Day Six

The portents are saying that it's going to be a good day--yep, FIORELLA GOT ALL FOUR OF THE NEWSPAPER ANAGRAMS AT FIRST GLANCE!

Why does Fio read romances? Because life is hard, and she likes happy endings. And, by the way, two of her own are still available under another name. Just two, you say? Well, circumstances have kept Fiorella from publishing more, but she's hoping that within a few months, she'll be back in the saddle again.

Dang! Your girl got caught in the jungle of her half-unloaded studio and ended up on the floor, with the small steak she had just bought disappearing somewhere into the rest of the mess. No doubt it will be discovered again when the aroma of decaying beef perfumes the room.

 The time has come, the Walrus said

To mount a painting above my bed

A portrait of me when I was young

My future bright, my song unsung

Yes, Ellen, my heart still weeps for you and always will 💗