AT A CROSSROAD

Tomorrow is the last month of summer, when the weather is the hottest and which pale-skinned Fio avoids as much as she can . To tell the truth, if she could, your girl would avoid all of summer if she could. Remember, her mother's folks were from Ohio and her father's from Pennsylvania/ Eastern Europe--not good candidates for lying in the sun or playing in the surf. 

Son L just took his daughter over to Walmart and invited Fiorella to go along, your girl couldn't find her knee cane, which meant she had to ride in a cart. Whoopee! It was like the first time she'd driven a car at Driver Training in Waco High School so many years ago--all the other kids had been under their mothers' tutelage for quite a while, but since Fio's mother didn't drive, Fio was in the unusual situation of being at the bottom of the class. And in a way, that's the same situation your girl is in right now--she needs to get around town on her own, but has been away from Austin so long that she doesn't know where everything is. 

Obviously, a paid driver is the answer, and Fio's working on it. (She'll tell you more on Friday.)

Beware--your girl is entering yet another stage now--cleaning everything out. As said earlier, she's winnowing her collection of pictures and information on the inside of her bedroom wall and plans to be more active in her studio. She'll also be seeing what's left in storage from her old home, including the boxes in the garage and attic. Maybe she'll even get around to selling some of her mother's limoges. Those carefully wrapped pieces of china can't stay in the closet forever and, sadly, there doesn't seem to be anyone else in the family who values them. Ah, well--time marches on....

One last thing: Fiorella has somehow lost her "lifts," those $200 apiece partial forms she inserts in her shoes so her feet don't ache. MOTHERS: Please heck your child's play bin!