All Things Considered....

 Hurray for Fiorella! She made herself some delicious scrambled eggs for lunch today. It was difficult because she was using Daughter-in-Law's ten-inch-wide pan instead of the six-inch pan that she--and her mother--always used. Note to self: Gotta get my inherited kitchen implements out of storage soon.

Monday starts a busy week for your girl regarding her doctor appointments. Strangely, it looks like there are two different doctors vying for her attention. She'll call her once-a-month home-visit nurse to find out what's going on, then let the doctors fall where they may.

The next thing Fio has to do with the parlor she's revived and decorating is to drag Son L to Home Depot to get extra shelves cut for the book cases on which she'll be staging her mother's treasured porcelains  instead of books. Of course, she'll probably also have to get glass or plastic fronts to protect the display from cats and small children, but wish your girl well--it's an ambitious undertaking.

Granddaughter is lucky not only to live in a neighborhood of children, but because the ones nearest to her are all girls. Of course, her three-day-a-week morning play-school has boys attending, but B doesn't seem  too aware of them--although some of them seem to be aware of her. It will be interesting to note how her love life develops as she enters kindergarten and on up. Fio's own crush, in the first grade, was on the principle's son. During recess, when he was chief of the boys team and she was chief of the girls team, they played a catch-me game with lots of excited screaming going on. Hmm...wonder how that relationship would have worked out if your girl's family hadn't moved to Texas.

Fio glances at the sun-shiny sky outside her bedroom window and remembers that this was how it looked before last year's February snowstorm that almost killed her. Of course, she's in a different house now, and although a February snowstorm may occur, she will not be alone this time. Certainly, with Son L, his wife and child on the premises, we will be able to stay warm with body heat and blankets. And because your girl now lives in a settled area, it will be easier for snow plows and rescue vehicles to rescue them.

 

Keeping Up with Fiorella

 You'd snicker at Fio if you could see her. She's all crumpled up on her bed with five yellow pads in front of her, trying to maybe combine them into just one...or two. Yep, your girl writes down every thought and thing she thinks might come in usable at some time or other. Of course, after a certain period of time, she has to dump the leftovers, but there are always more to come--not too bad for someone who never learned "proper" typing. 

Fiorella had a great driver for her first ride with the free transport for older people and she hopes to have as pleasant an experience in later February, when she'll visit a dermatologist about her dry skin and what she thinks is the remains of a hornet's kiss on her forehead. She wouldn't mind it if the doctor gave her a bit of Botox too (hint, hint). 

So irritating--two of Fio's doctors have set up appointments for her to come in on Tuesday, but Fio isn't sure she can drum up transportation this late in the game so she's decided to call the doctors' offices tomorrow and find out what the appointments are for. After all, it may be that both of them are looking at the same reports.

Winter morning/And it's warming/Spring is on the way/

Then comes summer/What a bummer/Sweating all the day

Remember:

 No matter how tall

You can't build a wall,

That your mother cannot break through

With her never ending love for you 😁

 

Friday, Not Much to Say....

Fiorella doesn't know what the current curriculums in pre-schools are, but her granddaughter is trying to teach her karate. Or at least, her version of karate....

Speaking of granddaughter, when she, her father, and Fio journeyed up to he street to the mailbox,  B was the passenger in the wagon, son was the muscle, and yours truly was the dillettante wearing a pink straw hat and flouting her mother's luscious mink jacket. Wondering if the HOA will make a call on us....

High on your girl's list is scooting over to Home Depot and getting shelves cut to her certifications so she can move forward on her plan to finish off the parlor. Maybe, if it looks nice, visitors will forgive her pathetic--and persistent--attempt to pick up her long-ago-lost piano skills again.

Firorella bemoans the olden times when any teenage boy on the block could make a buck or two by climbing up a ladder and hanging a heavy painting (like Fio has in waiting) toward the top of the ceiling. But now, with Covid on the rampage, they all stay at home and your girl's painting is lying on an antique chest in limbo.

 Fio's main goal in life is to make the world a better and more beautiful place for her having lived in it.

 

 

 

This and That

 Today is the day that Fiorella will deal not only with another corner of her studio and sorting out her clothes, but also standing in line at Walgreens for three prescriptions and some sundries--shoe strings, cologne, and a pony-tail clip. (Yep, your girl's hair is of that length now!)

By the way, while Fio's piano playing would never have gotten her a performance in Carnegie Hall, she's getting better with each visit to the keyboard. Does that mean she should try to sing again? And maybe write a few more songs?

Ripping through her college grad-school papers which, yes, your girl has saved though the years, Fiorella wondered if she could still translate Telugu, at least on paper. Interesting enough, her professor wasn't that interested in the language as speech, but drilled like crazy when it came to the written word. 

Granddaughter's favorite friend at her pre-school is Hawaiian, which reawakens the linguist in Fiorella. Genes will tell!

Guess who took a trip to Walgreens to pick up meds today and couldn't help but add in a bottle of cologne, a plastic pony tail clasp, and two bags of chocolate?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clearing Up Passageways

 Yippee! What a great way to start her day! Your girl scored a four word flush in the newspaper Jumble again--frame, going, fusion, creamy. Now if she can just get her grocery list in good shape. It's been so long since she's visited a grocery store in person that she's forgetting what they carry.

Whew, Fio was finally able to set up an appointment with a dermatologist and a call-back with a psychologist. That dark mark on her forehead needs looking at and the dark recesses of her mind need a cleaning out after all she's been through in the last couple of years. Now if she can just find someone who can cure her runny nose. 

Fiorella added a stray art table to her writing table yesterday evening, turning the newcomer sideways so it made an "L" with the writing table. Aaand how does one tell one table from the other? The writing table has drawers and the writing table has none.😁

In some ways, your girl was prepared for the computer world. Her mother had an old typewriter that she let Fio play with as a kid, which was good and bad. "Good" because she became accustomed to writing with a machine and "not-so-good" because she became so accustomed to hunt-and peck that she's never seen any reason to learn standard. 

Hmm...About the psychiatrist, should she confess that she has a daily blog?

 

 

 

 

Plowin' On, No Matter What

 Your girl is hitting her stride on the piano by practicing four beginner's pieces three times each day. Not that she's listenable yet, but she's coming along. (She'll let you know when Carnegy Hall calls her. 😄)

Have you been wondering about that second painting that Fiorella half-killed herself on when she tried to haul it up higher on the wall? Son L came to the rescue, went up and down the ladder with the hammer, hung the picture, and now everything is hunky-dory--except that Fio has ANOTHER painting she wants to have hung above the first one. Cross your fingers for everyone involved

Somewhere along the line, Fiorella wants to pick up another bottle of cologne--her age-old Chanel seems to have lost its essence. Maybe she could buy some make-do essence at Walgreens when she gets refills on her prescriptions. Ah, Youth--you were so fleeting.

About that doctor's visit--all that was wanted was a blood draw. HOWEVER, the young nurse who vampired your girl was from Bengaladesh and lit up when Fio exercised her rusty Telugu and greeted her with"Namaste."

Lately, granddaughter has been heading into Fiorella's bedroom every day when she gets home from pre-school After all, Grammy always has pens and paper ready for B to exercise her inherited creativity on.  😁

From Sewing to Stickers

 Fiorella is starting her day planning another sewing project--giving a new ankle to her best pair of jeans which she bought last year when raggedness was stylish. Why in the world anyone would think that ripping holes in perfectly nice clothes is cute is beyond Fio's comprehension, but she liked the fit of the jeans themselves and, now that she has her threads and needles at hand, she'll  return them to their original NON-RAGGED ankle glory.

Your girl's parents flinched when Dolly Parton, the guitar, and country music in general came on the scene, and Fio, who was taking voice lessons and singing in choirs and local operas flinched along with them. Since then, she's had a change in heart and not only lulls herself to sleep with Dolly and her pal Patsy Cline, but hopes someone will give her a recording of those Dolly, Emmylou Harris and  Linda Ronstadt  trios for her next birthday. Hint, hint.

Fiorella should have said that--strangely enough--her parents DID like Tennessee Ernie Ford, maybe because of Sixteen Tons. After all, Dad's father had worked--and died--in a coal mine

Later....  It took her about an hour, but your girl has just finished up trimming her blue jeans and she feels GREAT! Needlepoint, here she comes!

Actually, the rest of Fio's day was totally mundane--she devoted herself to paying bills and trying to get the stickers et.al removed from her old mini-fridge so Son L can use it on the veranda out back this coming summer.

Personal Information

 Fiorella is in the dog house with Son L. He gave her a lecture about patience, which she doesn't have much of when she's working on her living quarters. What happened was that she asked him to hang two paintings, one beside the other, above a chest in her studio, and he put her off--so she decided to do it herself. 

All it took for the first painting was a pen, some measurements, and her faithful stepladder, a quick switch to a seat on the chest, and BINGO--she was off the stepladder and admiring her handiwork. 

In fact, she was so satisfied with herself that she decided to go Lone Ranger on  the bigger, heavier second painting too, but unfortunately, she mistook her markings and hung the painting too low. Oh well--try, try again--nothing to do but climb down off the chest and start all over again. And that's when it happened--she missed the step on her ladder, causing the whole system, including her, to fall to the ground with a loud crash. Son rushed to the scene, hauled the stepladder off your girl, made sure she was okay, gave her a lecture, then said he would put up the second painting for her tomorrow.

Actually, there's also a third painting that Fio wants on that wall. Do you think she can ask Son to hang it also--or should she try to hang it herself?

                                                                 ************* 

By the way, that slight jolt mentioned above seems to have affected her left eye, in which Fiorella's been partly blind for many years, in a positive way. Yep, Fio's area of vision has enlarged itself!

The Old and the New

 Your girl couldn't find the yellow tablet listing of all her pills and their appropriate times of ingestion, then remembered she'd stuck it away somewhere when B came into her room last night and, as usual grabbed for Grammy's yellow drawing tablets. But where? Fio looked all over her bedroom, her studio, the kitchen, and the den, but couldn't find her list, then gave up and, since she knew her pills by memory, flopped onto her bed and started writing out a new list. But as she settled down into the tedious re-drawing of lines, dates, and times, she heard a crackling under her hand--a very familiar crackling-- and she reached under the covers and pulled out her original pill tablet. Hip, hooray! 

Speaking of B, she's wearing braids now that kindergarten is on her agenda in the fall, and they evoke memories in Fio of when she herself, her hair tightly braided, entered the wonderful world of kindergarten and Mrs. Ruebright. One can only hope Granddaughter will have a teacher even half as good.💗

Onto less important things, like that Fiorella, who has never been involved with an HOA before, may have missed some of her monthly payments. She's sure that a call to her local representatives and a fat check will cover everything.

What comes around goes around and your girl is trying for a pony tail now, the first time since she was in junior high. Hmm...wondering if she can buy some kind of a plastic clip somewhere instead of the traditional rubber band.

Guess who is patting herself on the back for mending a very nice red knit sweater that had come un-knit  about four inches along its neckline? Not that Fio can really knit--Mom preferred crochet so that was all Fiorella learned--but threading needles of any type is about the same so your girl found a large sewing needle, threaded it with red, and worked it in and out the the collar until the sweater was whole again. And now, not only does she have a good-looking sweater for winter, but she's rediscovered all her old sewing, crocheting, and needle point instruments. Don't laugh--after all, it's just about time for the home made trend to come back. People can't spend their all their time punching buttons without longing for activities more personal that they can take pride in at having made themselves.

Rejoining Humanity

 In case you're wondering--and Fio hopes you are--she's still practicing piano. It's from a beginner's book but she's moving along and quite proud of herself. Not that she was ever a top-notch player--three years as a child does not a Chopin make--but as she said, she's coming along, which, of course, encourages her to proceed in her other born skills. Language-wise, she's trying to recover what little Spanish she used to know by way of a "Ten Minutes a Day" book. Art-wise, she's sort of hung back, but has done a lot of decorating, which is in the same field. Regarding her fourth talent, writing, she's still got Lolly in the file drawer. Ah, well, time marches on.

Fiorella got all the newspaper Jumble again, and only one of them took more than two minutes! THANK YOU, BRAIN!

Sorry, but this is going to be an on-the-spot post. Your girl forgot to allow for a trip to the store. 

Aha! Son thought Mom had made off with the key to the mailbox, but then he found it in the pocket of his jacket. 😁

What is Fio working on today--after washing all her laundry today, that is? Well, she's also scheduled herself to move the 3'x3'x8" ham sandwich which she made out of cotton fabric back when food items like that were considered cute into her sewing closet. And, by the way, she still thinks her sandwich is cute.

 Your girl awoke in a terrible funk this morning and lay in bed for a full two hours thinking about the universe and her minuscule place in it, then decided to rejoin the human race and fight, fight, fight her way up the ladder.

In the Saddle Again!

 Fio  is riding high--totally inspired by a phone call from friend Paula. Not only was it a stimulating conversation, but it made Fiorella think about adding to those short stories she wrote long, long ago. Yep, when it comes to writing, your girl has played around with almost everything.

It's very cold in Austin today. quite a drop from yesterday's weather, but nowhere near what trapped Fio in her house for four days so that she had to go into shelter for two months. Fiorella apologizes that she keeps referring back to that time, but it changed her life, and she's still in recovery.

That new refrigerator in her studio is your girl's pride and joy. She'll be storing two gallons of milk in it at all times, a fair amount of chocolate, a box of butter, andalso a few carrots and celery. As a plus, on top of the fridge rides two long loaves of bread so she can have one of her favorite lunches--bread and butter. Oh, she should also say that the freezer shelf also has room for a nice steak or two. Yum!

There's nothing like visiting your favorite doctor, the one who can not only give you the shots in the neck, but also give you advice about other problems, like finding someone to stay with her nights when Son and his Wife will be on vacation.

Today is Fiorella's mother-in-law's birthday, may her memory be always blessed. 💗

 

 

 

 

 

Not Much...

 What happened? Fiorella woke up with so much energy whooshing through her, and now, she's exhausted. It couldn't have had anything to do with her morning appointment at her neurologist located half an hour away downtown, the long, unexpected drop-in of one of her nurses coordinators because part of her crew had not connected with the other crew, the hour Fio spent waiting in the car while Son tried to get service on his new watch, the realization that no matter how tired she was, your girl had to pay bills, hop over to the mailbox, then come home and work on her room, could it?

Hurrah! Fio's new mini-freeze can take care of your girl's basic needs: two long bread sticks, one steak, some celery, a few carrots, three gallons of milk, and a big bag of chocolate. Wahoo!

Sorry, but that's about it for the day.  Will try to be more exciting tomorrow.

 

 

 

The News and Nothing but the News!

 O M G! You should see what Fiorella has done with the parlor! Almost every one of her mother's treasures (and some of her own) are on display. It's been hard work, constantly climbing up and down the stepladder and even having to install a new shelf herself, but worth it.  She'll probably have to trot off to Home Depot to get two more shelves cut, but then she'll be through with the room except for some minor rearrangements....and, of course, her piano practice, which is coming along slower than she would like it to be.

All of this draws her closer to Lolly, who has been waiting around forever to see how her future plays out. The poor girl, who's been left in the lurch far too often, knows she'll have a happy ending--all romance heroines do--but how will she get through all the horrible situations that Fiorella will put her in before she can claim her happily ever after?

Has Fio told you that she's decorated not only her front window with fallen oak leaves, but also the door to her bedroom, the hall outside her bedroom, and the cork board on her bedroom wall? 

Sometimes your girl gets tired of dealing with grumpy people, but she's conditioned to it--Husband had his days too.

Don't tell anyone, but Fiorella just finished off the rest of the ice cream in the house. She was hungry and her supplies need to be replenished anyway.

Just one more thing: Son L hooked up Fio's new mini-fridge in her studio and and it is not only is roomier, but looks great.

Moving On Again

 Congratulate Fiorella! While Son L and family were visiting Daughter--in-law's family, she not only ripped the cardboard off her new mini-fridge, but managed to move it a few inches toward where it will reign supreme once the old mini-fridge, which had started frosting over, is done away with. Yes, your girl is coming into her own again. 

By the way, yesterday, Fio was wearing a three-inch-wide round pin with IKE and NIXON on it in blue, and red on a white background. In case you didn't know it, she has a very nice collection of old campaign buttons. Hmm...why doesn't she have any recent ones? Have they gone out of style? Dang!

Reading through the instructions on her new mini-fridge, your girl realized that the frosting over is natural and can be relieved by turning the machine off and opening its door. In other words, her old mini is still usable--except that it's too small for Fio's needs. Hello, Goodwill!

Fiorella is trying to remember to practice piano every day, even if just for a few minutes. It's irritating to have to toil through a beginner's book that she joyfully sailed through as a child, but if that's what she has to do, she'll do it. The piano will NOT sit in the parlor in vain. 

Your girl has finally dug out not only Mother's mink jacket, but a couple of collections of Dolly Partons and  Patsy Clines. Now, if she can just persuade someone to reteach her how to use the accompanying Boombox.😁

 

 

Life with Fiorella, Spanish, Granddaughter, Boombox, Mink, and Mini-Fridge

 OMG--Fiorella woke up early and lay in bed drowsing for a while reviewing her life, then sat up and thought "Que hora?" WHOOPEE! There's still hope for your girl--her brain has not let her self-imposed program to learn el espanol be forgotten! In the meantime, she has been devising set-ups to display her pretties, her mother's pretties, and those of every other female in the line. She's also practicing at the piano, stumbling through beginners' pieces that she could have ripped through when she was a kid.  Ah well, time will tell--in both ways.

Granddaughter B damaged one of Fio's pretties yesterday, one that she had been told not to touch, and your girl immediately broke into tears and told her to leave the room. Apparently, being banned was a big deal because B also started crying and ran off to her parents for consolation.

Has Fiorella told you that, once she got over her classical music snobbery, she discovered she enjoyed Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton? Now, if someone would just re-teach her how to work her Boombox....

Fio has reclaimed her late mother's mink, the one your girl gave her for Christmas back when having a mink was a big thing. Not that it still isn't, but people seem to prefer less show-offy winter jackets these days. (Just between you and me, Fio, who's something of a showoff herself, prefers the mink.)

Fiorella and Son L just got home from shopping for a mini-fridge for her studio, which is molding into shape more and more every day. She's probably just halfway through her creation, but that's more than she was yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Hitting Her Stride

 WAHOO! What better a way to begin the day than GETTING ALL FOUR OF THE NEWSPAPER JUMBLE  words straight down the list in about four minutes. Your girl has never done that before!😁

Speaking of newspapers, did you see that Luann and her friend took that test that gives people an idea as to their future occupations could be? Luckily for them, they got straight answers--teacher and attorney. The answer that wishy-washy Fio got way back when she herself sought that kind of guidance in college was that she could do whatever she wanted to do--which, come to think about it, is exactly what she has done. (Uh, except for math, of course. She never could have made it in that field.)

Sigh--Fiorella laments it that the pandemic has barred her from going to "her HEB" and checking out all the aisles, catching up with her favorite employees along the way.  She also liked being able to drop in at any time and pick up whatever trifle she needed. Now of course, she has to make a list and have her food picked up or delivered with minimal human interaction. 😞

 Granddaughter (who will be referred to as "B" from now) used one of those horrible children's make-up kits on Grammy, and Fio promises you, it will be the last time. The icky lipstick tastes like glue and the fingernail polish sticks like glue. BEWARE!

I'm in a race with death

A game I cannot win

But can enjoy along the way

So let the race begin!

 

 

 

 

 

   

                                                      

Up to Date

 Fio is happy to announce that she is recovering from the trauma of her past three years quite well, thanks to God, family (especially granddaughter), the visiting nurses, and her own determination. Yep, your girl is riding high now and planning a bright future, starting with finishing off her studio. Along the way, of course, she wants to locate her mother's treasured mink and her own beautiful oriental rugs. And, who knows--she might even find herself another husband, but right now, she's concentrating on family relationships and preserving her treasures.

Of course, one of her goals is to finish off Lolly's story and proceed on to the next heroine in the set--Sarah, who was done dirty by her husband and has to find her own happy ending. And then there are the stories your girl wrote before she ever heard of Romance Writers of America.

Now that she's back in Austin, Fiorella also hopes to be able to connect with various friends she's lost touch with because of distance and/or the pandemic. (Yes, your girl is still a bit lonely, even though she's opened up light friendships with her next-door neighbors and a retired teacher at the end of the street.)

Son L took Fio on a trip to Home Depot today to check out the store's LED lights, buy pegs for mounting the parlor shelves, and pick up a new mini-fridge for your girl's studio. They scored on the first two, but couldn't find a fridge that was about 32" tall. Any suggestions or donations?

Because Fiorella was either playing with granddaughter, at Home Depot, or sleeping off a headache, your girl didn't get as much done today as she had planned, but so far, there's always tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

TO MAKE UP FOR YESTERDAY

RHYMLET #1                                           RHYMLET #2

I do not care                                                 I'm crazy and I know it, clap your hands

What you weigh                                           I'm crazy and I know it, clap your hands                                     

Or what you wear                                         I'm as crazy as can be

Or who you say                                            Which is all okay with me

Your parents are                                           I'm crazy and I know it

Their shade of skin                                       Clap your hands

Or breed of car    

Or where you've been 

I only ask that you speak true 

As I, my friend, will speak to you                ( Playing around on her computer, Fio suddenly realized that                                                                            she could column-ize her short sillies. ) 

 Have you ever spent almost an entire day under the command of a headstrong four-year-old (almost five)  who is determined to take either the teacher role with you as the student or the mother role with you as her child? Fiorella can't help but wonder if she was just like Granddaughter when she was the same age. Some kindergarten teacher will have her hands full next fall and, of course, Fio will keep you posted.

PS: Your girl spent the rest of the day wading through yet more photographs of the family and people who may be related. 

 

Fio and Son L drove over too HEB to pick up their weekly groceries with your girl haranging herself all the way home about what she forgotten to put on the list: chocolate and "long bread." You can bet that  she'll give herself more of a choice next time around. A bit of lettuce, maybe, and steak to balance the salmon she has in the refrigerator.  Speaking of, she needs a new fridge for her studio.

 

 

 

              

 

 

(Yes, playing around on the computer, Fiorella suddenly realized she could columnize her short sillies.)

 

Don't hold your breath, but

Not Much of a Day

 Fiorella searched out all her paper scraps and turned them into a colorful birthday card for her daughter-in-law....along with a check, of course.

 Granddaughter has decided to name your girl's elephant doll "Strawberry Blueberry."

And that's about it--except that Fio and son drove down to HEB to pick up their food and found out that our order had been for tomorrow.  

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Fiorella thought today would be a day of humdrum and housework, but actually, it was rather fulfilling. Most of her time was spent either playing with Granddaughter or going through big collections of photos from times past, then writing the names down on the back of the pictures she recognized and tossing the ones she didn't. Surprisingly, her toss pile was rather small--thanks to not only her longevity, but to a dang good memory. 

Of course, all too many of the photos brought tears to her eyes, some of sorrow and others of sweet memories which cause Fio to ask again--why do good people have to die? Surely there enough bad people lolling around to fill the quota.

Your girl was especially moved by the picture of her husband's father and mother standing on the top step of their porch while their their daughter, her husband, and their son (Fio's husband) stood on the bottom step, and Fiorella and her new grandmother were together on the middle step, like they were being protected by the rest of the family💗

Fiorella has also been moved by the Christmas cards she received this year from friends of times gone by. May God bless them for their kindness.

Back to Granddaughter--playing with her was a revelation. Apparently, she had absorbed everything her pre-school had to teach and then some, which meant that she took on the role of teacher and her grandmother, who had been a college teacher for forever, was the student.  Hmm...out of the mouths of babes?

 

 

Manifesto!

Fiorella is taking her temperature every couple of hours and praying more than usual because the preschool that Granddaughter attends has alerted parents that a couple of kids in the upper grade tested positive for Covid. Let's hope all our family members have to do is self-quarantine for five days. 

In the meantime, God bless HEB take-out💗

A giant step for mankind: Fio, who's been wearing Son L to the bone by calling on him to drive her to her numerous doctor appointments, has set herself up for her first transportation by a local volunteer cab service for--uh--older people. (And if you're wondering, your girl's next appointment isn't until she will be way past her quarantine.) 

Hurray and three cheers for Fiorella! Using a nail clipper as a wedge and a straight pin to tunnel under the tight littlt nails, she was finally able to release a lovely golden frame from the old and not so lovely painting it had been guarding for almost a hundred years. Your girl has stared at the unmatched couple time and time again,--trying to justify their marriage--but couldn't, so now the painting is on the family donate/dump pile. Maybe someone else will give it a more appreciative home.

Fio confesses that, again, she's postponing when she's going to call Home and Commercial Services for a reference to someone who will be able to install a light in her closet, but there's always tomorrow. The work will be expensive, of course, but she refuses to spend the rest of her life digging around in her closet for clothes that can't be found because they're stuck in the dark of said closet. 

Then, after she pays that one off, your girl wants the bars that her wardrobe hangs from to be set to her own height.

 Wish her well....

 

 

 

Recovery

That trauma Fio experienced during the snow storm last year must have been a doozy because Fiorella is sad to announce that she is having to learn how to play her ever-patient piano all over again. So far, although her eyes can identify all the notes, her fingers are still out in left field. 

Hmm...Son and wife have left Fio alone at home as darkness closes in, just like last night. Did they get wind of your girl planning to reconquer the pianoforte all on her own and decide to vacate?

Fiorella has lined half of the sill beneath the window in her studio with her very best--and weirdest-- rocks from her former home. The other half of the window sill is inhabited by a lovely coven of flat glass birds that was a Christmas present somewhere along the line. As you've probably figured out, Fio never throws anything interesting away.

At the end of Fio's first grade, the school wanted her to be double-promoted, but her mother, who had been double-promoted herself as a child, wouldn't allow it. At the end of your girl's second grade in a new school, again, she was marked for double-promotion, but again, Mother still didn't allow it. Throughout her junior and senior high classes, she performed well and when she reached college, continued to be marked for special programs, skipping the Master's and  going straight for the Doctorate--and this time, Mom was proud--but Fiorella was bored so she explored life as a wife and mother, painted pictures, designed a lovely home, wrote for several magazines and the newspaper, put out her own short-living newspaper, wrote a couple of romances, songs, and piano pieces, but now she's having to start all over again.

Please wish her well.

 

 

 

 

From Family to Photography

 Fiorella's Son and his wife are off on a "date" this evening, and as the night settles in, your girl remembers that she doesn't like being alone after dark so obviously she's going to have to find another place to stay when the twosome goes off on their vacation in a couple of months. Any takers? Fio is house-trained and can obey commands if she wants to.

Day or night, the work of moving into her new home seems never to cease, just as the work of moving out of her old residence seemed to be lasting forever.

Hmm....A BRILLIANT IDEA! How about renting a large dog to babysit your girl for the week Son and wife will be gone? Fio never felt alone when Sonja Dog was with her.

Good news! Fiorella found the missing cork board and has put it in place on the wall beside the other cork board. Why cork boards, you ask? Her bedroom is small so she's trying to use vertical space for posting inspiring pictures, phone numbers, brilliant ideas, and the like.

Please, please, please, when you take pictures, always write the name of the person or place on the back of them. Your girl has just finished going through a stack of family pictures from way back when, and, yes, it was hell.

From the Divine to the Ridiculous

 Your girl invited over Maria, a retired teacher who lives down the street with her daughter and extended family much as Fio lives with her Son L and his extended family. This new friendship is especially important to Fiorella because Maria is fluent in Spanish, which, as you know, Fiorella was chugging away at before the multiple traumas of yesteryear--and it didn't hurt that Maria also likes the way Fiorella arranged and decorated the parlor, although your girl hastened to tell her that even better was to come.

Needless to say, Fio didn't usher her new friend into her studio or show off her bedroom. The studio is slowly coming into shape, but her bedroom, which is really too small for an adult, is overrunning with things like her large pill box, a floor fan, a big bulletin board, two desks, a heavy chest of drawers, and, last but not least, her bed.  If you visit and want to see said bedroom for yourself, ask about the room with a spray of oak leaves on the door.

Hooray! Fiorella is going to get a new mini-freezer soon! Walmart has them on sale.

Not everyone knows Fiorella has moved back to Austin so the sweet woman who bought Fiorella's house has been faithfully re-routing Fio's Christmas cards to her new address.💗

Question: why is a hamburger called a hamburger when it's really a beefburger?

From Crochet to Nada---Sort of a Downer

 For some reason--maybe because she's been going through so many family pictures--Fiorella started thinking about crochet, which she learned to do at her mother's knee, but never taught her own daughter, sadly because it's now easier to buy baby booties than to make them. Oh well, maybe Daughter will take up handiwork when she's older.

Damnation! Your girl will have to teach herself to play the piano all over again. Yep, that one-year hiatus scrambled her music brain.

Texas winter is upon us--no snow, of course--but the temperatures are crisp, and while other trees are just shedding their leaves, the banana tree out back has bit the dust. 

Cork board, cork board--do any of you have an extra thirty-four by twenty-two cork board lying around that you don't need but Fiorella does?

Your girl would like to think that there are many more interesting, exciting, and rewarding instances to come in her life, but so far, it's a nada.

 

 

 

 

Movin' Along

OOOPS! There is nothing left in Fio's mini fridge except two-week-old salmon frosting up more and more every day, which your girl didn't realize is NOT a good sign because she has never in her life before come across a refrigerator that didn't do the job automatically. A loud screech and whimpering sounds will doubtless follow.

At least your girl tackled the drawers in her desk, which itself, for some weird builder's reason, is not inside her room, but across from it. Fiorella didn't finish her clean-out, of course--there were too many years worth of papers dumped into the desk all at once after we moved in--but she did sweep off the top of the desk and clean out two lower drawers. Tomorrow, she'll go through what's left.

Congratulate Fio. She's posted half of her current life on an upright yard-long corkboard and as soon as she gets hold of its mate, will post the rest of it--all so that she can keep track of herself.

The times, they are a-changin'. FiorellaMovin' Along is in the last stages of preparing the parlor for all to enjoy and soon will be able to give more attention to her own bedroom (a closet light) and her studio (rearranging the bookshelves). Wish her well.

Blame it on the way she was reared--Fiorella can be naught but polite to everyone... despite themselves.

 Fiorella wants to live as long Betty White did and, like her model, enjoy every step along the way, no matter what!😁

There are things Fio wants to do and things she has to do, and--dang it--her conscience usually wins out!😒

You want to know how Loony Tunes your girl is? She's concocted a theory that everyone and everything is sentient to some degree and wants to be of good use. Example: whenever your girl went outside, the fallen oak leaves would cry out to her so what could she do but gather the best of them together and concoct the aforementioned window whirlwind, then make a bouquet for her bedroom door out of the leftovers?😊

Going through the mess on top of her desk, Fio found not only the phone number of an old friend, but a cache of Dump Trump buttons, a Father Christmas ornament which didn't make it to the tree, yet another mask, a Duracell battery, almost a whole ream of blank paper, and more and more. Wondering what she'll find when she opens the drawer itself. Garage sale anyone?😕

Going through her desk today has reminded Fiorella of what a firecracker she was--and can still be. Watch out world! Er... will you pay her bail?😢

Taking 2022 in Stride

Now that most of her immediate medical problems have been taken care of, Fiorella would like to have a go at her psychological hangups, old and new. She'd also like to get some good friends locally, reliable transportation, and (sigh) a Soaker Tub all her own. 

When Fio was waiting in line at the Walgreens pharmacy, Fio, being herself, struck up a conversation with the tall, elegantly-dressed older woman behind her who was sporting a sparkling silver mask. It turned out that Brigit was of German origin, but spoke some Russian also, which thrilled Fiorella to the core since at one time, she had sort of spoken both. Nevertheless, we had a great time (in English) laughing about the line up, and if your girl ever see her again, she'll try to get more acquainted. Maybe Brigit could be Fio's first new friend. 

On a more practical note, Fio's going to be calling the company that gave her an estimate on her clothes closet and, if nothing else, she'll get a light put in, which will be quite expen$ive by itself, meaning that raising the bars that are too low and and lowering the bars that are too high will have to wait until later. 

We live in a lucky age for little girls, one in which they can yell their heads off as they run back and forth inside the house. Your girl's own early childhood was spent trying to be quiet most of the day because daddy, who worked the night shift, was sleeping. 

Whoopee--Fio just discovered there are still a couple of bags of clothes in the garage that Fio and Son L brought home from their last trip to Pflugerville. Among them are a cord board pimpled with stickpins and a colorfully quilted bag full of her long-sleeved blouses. What else will she find in the garage tomorrow?

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, A Very Dull Day

 Fio apologizes for yesterday's scrambled post and has rewritten it this morning. All she can blame the mess on is sloppy proofreading and continuing frustration from not being able to get her prescription refills this past week.

Winter has suddenly swept into your girl's neck of the woods. She stepped outside to pick up the newspaper this morning and was hit by a blast of cold air that must have been swept down straight from Alaska. 

Fiorella is happy to announce that today's the day that Son L will be hanging the Japanese wood block prints over the piano in the parlor, which is meaningful because they were given to us by his godmother, who was a pianist, a linguist, and one of your girl's best friends.

Whadda ya know--after a long winter's wait, Fio is going to be able to pick up her prescriptions today. Too bad that she can't show off her mink at the same time. The weather calls for it, but Son L and your girl can't find the furry jacket that Husband and she gave her mother for Christmas a while back. Did Fio put it in local storage after moving her remaining items out of Pfugerville? Or maybe toss it into the attic?

Aside from picking up those pills, Fiorella plans to work on clearing her desk today, and if she has leftover time, she'll work on arranging the contents of the bookshelves of her studio better.

 

 

 

WOW! January 1, 2022

 Your girl, in a better mood than yesterday, finished Scotch-taping the rest of her collection of oak leaves in a whirlwind design on the inside her large front window. They start from one side of the bottom pane to the top, then twist around like a tornado to the topmost pane, then twirl into a spiral, like a question mark. Wonder if anyone will notice it?

Fio's alone today, which means she could get herself into a lot of trouble, but so far her only crime has been to track down a super-size ice cream bucket and ravage a full fourth of its contents.

What's next for Fio in this new year, you ask. Well, she wants to get better acquainted with her neighbors, finish up her adjustment to this new home and, at the same time, get out and about more so she can make new friends. And, of course, Lolly's story, as well as older manuscripts Fiorella is determined to get into print, are still hovering in the background.

2022, what a weird number, but not as weird as 2222, of which Fio will catch a glimpse only if she's marked as a reusable.

The child next door got sent over to borrow an egg so Fiorella actually will have had a bit of human contact before Son L and family return to the nest this evening. Your girl tried to make a few contacts by cell phone, but she must have been gone from the game too long because she was rejected.