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.