Realities

 Excuse Fiorella for coughing, choke, sneeze, but the ant exterminator is treating all the rooms this afternoon.....

 Fio is flattered that various people have said they'd like her to start painting again, but she's also a bit nervous. Do they really mean it? Is there actually a market out there for oils and acrylics?

 There may be a battle royale between her doctor and Fiorella, Apparently he has not gotten the word that neither she nor her son can bring themselves to stick a needle in their arms, bellies, or whatever. Wish us well. (To be continued.)

Your girl is beginning to think that "thwarted" should be her middle name. All those nice set-ups for older people that you read about--the activity centers and such? Take it from Fio that every one of them depends on having someone living with you who has oodles of free time and can be available to transport you back and forth from the doorstep at the snap of your fingers.

No problem, you say, because there are also organizations that provide free transport. But, believe Fiorella, the reality is that you have to plan your jaunt for a week or more ahead--and if  you need to get to the bank or the grocery store right now--or even a week from now, you're out of luck. 

 

From Rebellion to Inspiration!

 Just because she felt like it, your girl is lying on her bed and having an afternoon feast--two Cokes and half of a big bag of salty potato chips. Ah--memories of her teen-age days, or, more likely (being that her mother was a meticulous housekeeper) early college days.

But why did Fiorella dip back into yesteryear? 

Why? Because earlier in the morning, a hired driver had driven her to a physical therapy storefront to get her bad leg pounded and twirled back into shape and then Son L had driven her to the doctor's office to get her blood checked ou--that and then the car wouldn't start up until after Son had called home and then, on reaching home, we learned ants had invaded the whole house will need to be treated. 😞$$$

So, to make a long story short, Fio decided that if the whole house will be treated, she--who was always a such a very nice girl--might as well throw her own little terrible teen party beforehand..

Actually, Fio has been taking some very adult steps lately, like contacting a certain activity center nearby, but she has to admit that she's interested in it not only because of its programs, but because her favorite hamburger shop is so close by that she can s-m-m-m-ell it. 😋😋😊

By the way, your girl is taking up portrait painting again, if she hasn't told you already, and the first thing she's going to do is finish off a painting of her late father-in-law that she started years ago--so long ago that she's having to use a picture of her own late father to fill in some of the problem points. (After all, they were both good men  and need to get better acquainted.)

 Hmm...just wondering if that activity center would hire on Fiorella to help people set up their own blogs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Income Taxes to Art and Music, in Sets of Threes

Income Taxes--Fiorella's least favorite chore of the year, probably because she doesn't like working with numbers, she doesn't like having to search out papers stashed away in the depths of her desk, and she's always dreadfully afraid she'll make a mistake.

 Fiorella's left leg is still stiff, she still has a bad cold, and her bought-and-paid-for newspaper was not delivered today. GRRRRRRR!

THREE CHEERS! Your girl finally found a therapist, and that good lady is urging her to concentrate on her music and art, which means you'll be seeing a lot of references to piano compositions and paintbrushes from now on. Maybe Fio will even find a way to put some of her paintings on Blogger!

 In the meantime, Fiorella will ponder which of her half-finished canvases she will attack first--the unfinished portrait of her father-in-law, the larger canvas of her nuclear family, or maybe one of her nude sketches, which are hidden on the back of her bedroom door. 

Regarding her music, your girl will pound away on her piano until the end of its days, which may be earlier than expected--it's electric and cannot be repaired.

PS: Wishing there were something more interesting on television than other television.

 

From Movies to a NEWSPAPER!

 Egad! That John Wayne made-in-London movie that Fiorella turned on while she was mending an old-fashioned yarn shawl was so stupid that she turned it off (the movie, not the shawl) after the first couple of murders. What a disappointment! And she had loved The Quiet Man--maybe because it had a strong  FEMALE lead.

Hooray for Fiorella, who finally found her ruby-colored cane--hidden behind the closet door, which was overloaded with purses. It's not that she needs help walking now, but that she's grown accustomed to the feel of the metal and likes to twirl it like a baton.😁

All hail tomorrow, when Fio will contact the local heart people to get included in the line-up for weekly check-ups again, and a double hail for Ashley, who has been feeding your girl the information that she  needs to be be able to do things like sign up with a local piano teacher or get aquainted with the local art community. (Wouldn't it be great if Fio ran into some old friends?) 

Music and art aren't the only things she wants to revive for herself--how about her thwarted studies of German and Spanish? And, you know, she could teach a class or two on writing a blog😁

                                                                               😋

 OMG, Fiorella almost forgot to tell you about the miracle on our front lawn this morning: A NEWSPAPER! (How long do you bet the deliveries will last?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A CRUSHING DISAPPOINTMENT

 What a crushing disappointment! The get-together with the Massachusetts branch of the family didn't work out because one of Cousin Aaron's kids is a sickish. And your girl, eager to had dressed in her best clothes....

 The only good thing that happened today was that (1) Fio visited Granddaughter's swim class, and (2) that Fio found a cache of old family papers that she can hand over to her daughter and the lawyers to sort through. (Gone are the days when Fiorella wanted to examine each page herself. )

What is next on her plate, then? Probably worming her way back into Austin Heart South's once-a-week medical check-up system, which requires transportation, which means she'll be relying on Son and Cheriot. With all that settled, she hopes to join up with the city music and art groups--all vaccinated and masked, of course. Hey--maybe she will even run across some old friends!

In the meantime, your girl will look over her unfinished canvases and decide what/who to work on first. Eureka--she can use a photo of her father's stance to correct the problems with her father-in-law's stance!

Before bedtime, Daughter-in-Law played the Walt Disney Dumbo recordings and Fio, of course, started crying because they stirred up memories of her early childhood, but as the evening progressed, her linguistic training rose to the forefront. Today, we would frown on the heavy accents the Disney characters used, but back in the day, those accents were simply how people in different origins or parts of the county talked--and sang.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admittedly Dull, but Stay Tuned

 What does Fiorella do every day--besides eat breakfast and whine, that is? Well, she's rearranges the contents of her bedroom for daylight, then goes outside to see if, by some miracle, her departed newspaper has arrived, and, the whole time, she is trying to give her left leg a work out as instructed by her therapist. Along the way, she also checks out her home art salon, hoping that the picture of her father-in-law she's been working on has mysteriously finished itself off.

Then she picks up her remote to find out what's happening in the world--which makes her wish that the only thing on TV was "Are You Being Served?" and, of course, her beloved "Unfinished Sky."

Further into the day, she writes to you and to Facebook, the latter of which which isn't as lively as it used to be, and maybe she'll notes down ideas for some poetry or such too. She'd love to write another romance, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards--right now, at least.

OMG--it's twelve o'clock! And when did Fiorella have lunch? Hmmm...she dimly remembers making a snack sandwich out of a couple of pieces of bread and some strips of turkey, so next on her plate must be supper, which will mean she'll also get CHOCOLATE for desert.

On the way to five o'clock, she'll admit she she'll usually rests a little, then labors at the piano, hoping she'll reach third-grade level.  Not that she was ever that much of a pianist, but once she hit college, she was pretty dang good at composing.

The rest of the evening is usually pretty dull, but stay posted--Fiorella has some plans she'll be telling you about soon.....

 EEEK! ThIS BLOG WAS SUPPOSED TO PUBLISH YESTERDAY!

 

Whiny, As Usual

 ACK! Your girl wrote a blog for the 25th, tried to make it even better, and somehow deleted it--as if one of the machines at her physical therapy session hadn't already given her a hard time. To make it worse she didn't realize it until she got half-way home. Yep, the left knee came out better than it went in, but the right knee came out worse. Fio is going to have to baby it the whole weekend just to get herself back to some-what normal. IF THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU, JUST SIGH AND SKIP IT!

Has Fiorella told you that a part of her family, who live in Massachusetts, will be visiting tomorrow? Wonder what they'll think about the weather here in Texas? Wonder what the two little girls will think of each other?

In a couple of months, after she's gotten acquainted with the local local colony, your girl hopes to take up landscape and portrait painting again. Hope the locals don't give her the cold shoulder...

 Of course, there's also piano too, in which Fiorella needs to be re-instructed before she can do any composing. And languages, which she loves, but hasn't kept up with. And linguistics, which she lost track of years and years ago. Sigh--you've heard it all before.

 

 

Confessions

 Like everyone, Fio has had some disappointments in her life, but she never imagined that her local newspaper would let her down. The Austin American Statesman (which she actually wrote for a while way back when) has pocketed  her money but not produced the product. Apparently all her newspapers are lying in a heap with a mound of other people's newspapers at the entrance to her gated community

Changing the subject, your girl is working with a physical therapy instructor now, but once she got home ths afternoon, she realized that, while everything seemed to be going well with the kick-in-the-air movement, that because she doesn't have a ball of any type in the house, she'll have to put a rolled-up towel under her bad leg for the second movement. (Only someone doing PT will be able to understand this.)

By the way, Fiorella is toying with starting up her painting business again. She specializes in portraits and landscapes.

Daughter-in-law's big fat Persian cat likes to come into your girl's bedroom and, after a sniffing "hello," curls up for a long snooze away from Granddaughter and her vociferous friends. Maybe Fio will paint him sometime.......

Your girl has been rather down lately so when she found this old poem (hers, of course), she decided to add it to today's blog. Please use a very secretive voice when you read it:

                                  I am a mermaid

                                  And no one knows.....

                                   I hide my scales with calicos

                                  And drape my tail with long, loose clothes

                                   I am a mermaid

                                    And no one knows.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Happy

 GRRRRRR..... The American Statesman newspaper hasn't shown up at Fiorella's door for about two weeks now and when she tried to contact said newspaper, she was switched around from one mechanical device to another, finally ending up with a machine that informed her she was taking too long answering its questions

Actually, the missing newspapers were probably delivered to the gated of the community in which your girl lives and thrown onto--or across--the fence, but someone somewhere, somehow, should have been able to come up with a clever way to deliver each newspaper to its rightful recipient.

Whoopee--Fio is attending physical therapy to shape up her left leg, the one that was operated on. It's an eight-day, half-an-hour program and so far, your girl is enjoying it. Her left leg is enjoying it too.😀

As you know, transportation is Fiorella's worst problem, but maybe Son L will get some relief as chauffeur if his mother can get acquainted with the local "mature" art scene. Who knows--she might even run into some old pals....

Your girl is worried right now because she's afraid that her daily g-mails to Daughter and Son K aren't getting to them--probably because Mom somehow messing up the g-mail about a week (?) ago.  

Does everything Fio touches have to fall to pieces?😖

 

 

 

 

By the Minute

 Frustration is Fiorella's first name, second name, and third name.  It looks like Chariot can't give her a ride to her physical therapy location so she'll have to dig up either another driver or another class. It also looks like that, after not seeing or hearing from any visiting health ladies for about a month, your girl will be getting two phone calls on top of each other (one of which didn't give her name).  Fio hopes they don't arrive at the same time.

Hurrah! Her visitors came an hour apart and Ashley, who seems to be impressed by your girls' paintings, actually suggested she start up business again. Hmm....maybe Fiorella will even show her friend the nudes hidden behind the bedroom door next time around.....

Fiorella would also like to find someone who would refresh her piano skills, mostly so that she can continue composing, although she may have to invest in a new instrument too--her electric spinet is on its last legs. (Hmm, the music departments of most colleges usually have good used pianos for sale.)

The rainstorm has calmed down, but you don't hear anyone in Texas sighing in relief. It's a miracle when rain strikes in the last molten days of summer.

Saturday is now on line, but this is Monday, which means that the Austin American Statesman owes Fiorella  S-I--X--say it again-- S-I-X undelivered newspapers this week! GRRRRRRRRRR!

Actually, more and more, your girl thinks that Trump deviously stole the presidency from Hillary....

SORRY THIS BLOG IS SUCH A MESS. WILL TRY TO DO BETTER TOMORROW.

 

 

 

 

Problems

 What the heck is going on with Fiorella's computer? Apparently her gmail, which she thought had been fixed, isn't sending out her morning messages to daughter and older son. 

Does everything have to end up as competition--sports, dance, lawns, even cooking? Can't anyone just enjoy what they're doing for the sake of doing it?

Your girl is all alone in the house today so she's been walking up and down down the  hall and trying to bring back her singing voice with some of the oldies-but-goodies her fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson, taught the class--like Go Tell  Aunt Rhody the Old Gray Goose Is Dead, which Fio would then bellow out without any sense of macabre as she walked home from school. (If you're wondering, the goose, which Aunt Rhody had been saving "to make a feather bed" died of "an aching in its head," not Aunt Rhody's ready mallet.)

Hey, hey--our supposedly-retired  pastor came by to replace Fiorella's missing church sign which was probably stolen, ripped away by the wind, or disposed of by our landscapers. The sign is non-denominational, but it meant a lot to Fiorella because a member of her church drove several miles up the freeway and didn't even know that she and her dog were alone on the ranch and being heckled by neighborhood Trumpsters.

Don't hold your breath, but your girl has started painting again--a re-work of a picture of her father-in-law that she'd painted years ago at the request of her husband. She knew at the time that the photo he gave her wouldn't work as a painting--and she was right--but maybe she'll be able to do a salvage job this time around.

ANY SUGESTIONS?

 Big disappointment--Fiorella opened her college German book and suddenly realized (slap hand on forehead) that it required two people to participate in order to make the conversational exchange that was the hallmark of the teaching method. So now your action-packed girl is out in left field again. Is this how it's going to be for the rest of her life? Where does she go from here? It seems that everything she wants to do involves two people--to drive a car, if nothing else.

Oops--Fio forgot to hold back today's blog until she's ready to post it full strength which mans that you'll be getting her thoughts live---like that she's very excited that Son has invited her to to attend Granddaughter's swim class this morning. Your girl lovingly remembers her first lesson in the Akron YWCA pool. Her mother, who grew up next to a lake, had never learned how to swim, but was determined that her children would. 

It's early morning and Fiorella is not only a little groggy but HUNGRY, the latter of which won't be satisfied until after the swim lesson because she's not supposed to eat until she takes her bucket of pills and---sob---we're out of milk, which is what your girl always gulps down her pills with.

EXTRA! EXTRA! The swim class got cancelled. Son L not only brought in Fio's weekly groceries but drove her over to her daughter's house so she could play with the baby and meet his other set of grandparents, whom she liked very much. Then, after she got home she started work on a portrait that she'd painted from a photograph of her father-in-law long, long ago and not liked the way it had turned out. Let's hope she can do better this time around!

Now for the evening, which is usually devoted to old movies/television movies which your girl either can't stand or has seen far too many times before.  And again she asks: WHERE IS UNFINISHED SKY?

 

Painting, Food, Unfinished Sky, Lust for Languages

 Batten down the hatches--as soon as Fiorella can get hold of a yellow and a brown tube of acrylic paint, your girl is going to start painting again. Her first subject will be a re-working of a portrait of her father-in-law which she never thought did him justice.  (She'll also paint over the cigarette hanging from his lip, a style back in "the day.")

Continued: So far the portrait looks good. In fact, it's amazing what a black background can do for a painting. But now, Fio has to figure out how to take care of the outreaching hand which doesn't work because the original painting was brush-stroke-by-brush-stroke painted from a photograph at a very odd angle. Nothing to do but stare at the canvas for about a week or two a solution comes to mind.

Change of subject: your girl's refrigerator needs refilling unless she's supposed to exist on crackers and chocolate. (For the sake of science, she tried it for lunch and was sickish the rest of the afternoon.)

Your girl has been sweeping through the television programs, trying to find a good show she can fall in love with like her beloved UNFINISHED SKY, an Australian masterpiece which was discontinued when the television shows were recently juggled around. Why in the world did the powers-that-be knock her favorite program off the screen? It's a classic story--boy with a dog rescues girl, she helps him find himself, evil forces attack them and kill the dog, hero protects girl, she rescues him, and they live happily ever after on his sheep farm. Got it?

In the meantime, Fio, the linguist, has decided to take another swing at German. She was top of her class in collage, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. (Also, she doesn't have a friendly German girl living next door to her anymore--missing you, Vera!)

 

 

 

From Ohio to Texas---

 If you want your old pill bottles to go to a good use, check out Matthew 25: Ministries, 11060 Kenwood Road, Blue Ash OH 45242. Be sure to remove labels, etc., as required. (Fiorella used Matthew for years and now that she's settled, has started up with it again.)

Fio spent about half an hour at the piano this afternoon, but didn't make much progress with John Thompson's "Starlight Waltz," one of childhood recital pieces. Ah well--maybe she'll do better this evening. It would probably help if she could find a local teacher, but such does not seem to exist in her neck of the woods--maybe because guitars are more popular these days. 

Have to add that it didn't help when her carpal tunnel flared up again..... 

Remember the political diatribe your girl posted a few days back? Well, it must have used up all her energy because, ever since, she's been turning off the TV in her bedroom whenever political discussions are in progress. Let's face it---she's scared. The countries of the world are in a delicate balance and what if the wrong people get elected and allow Putin to usurp Ukraine? And then, there's China, always hungry....

YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT, BUT A RAINSTORM JUST NOW RACED THROUGH THE PARCHED-DRY STREETS OF AUSTIN, TEXAS! (A message from God?)

 

 

 

 

 

Telling All (Plus)

 Good news--Son L was able to get your girl back on Facebook again, and he bought her a hamburger too. However, the rest of the day was boring, boring, boring--so boring that Fio watched about two and a half  hours of Dragnet and has developed what she is sure will be a life-long allergy to DUM-Di-DUM DUM CRASH!

So, having eliminated Friday and his partner, what else could Fiorella occupy her time with? You won't believe it, but she actually cleaned her room, which she's bean meaning to do--er, uh---for about six months. (Yep, your girl is not her mother, whose house was always neat, tidy, and presentable.)

But that's as far as she got today. Maybe tomorrow your girl will start working on her studio, the large room she has all her books, sewing, and art stored in--which might even even encourage her to finish off a couple of those lush romances she started a couple of years ago. Hey, she hasn't written a poem so maybe Fio could get an early start on all the holidays from here to Christmas!

DANG! Someone made off with the welcoming sign in our front yard, the comforting one the church gave Fiorella when she was alone at the ranch. Fio will have to call the church for a replacement and question the monthly yard crew---that sign means/meant a lot to your girl. 

This country means a lot to Fiorella too, and she can't understand why any midterm voter would support Trump and his cohorts--which include Putin. Remember those cuddly talks the two of them had when Trump first took office? As I understand it, the Russian forces were gathering around Ukraine even then, tighter and tighter and tighter.....

 

 

 

 

Nothing, Nothing, Nothing....

 Son L kindly fixed Fio's G-mail problem. but she has just now discovered that her Facebook is a total blank page. Dang--things were a lot easier in your girl's salad days when all she had to do was write a letter on a piece of paper and stick it in the mailbox.

Fiorella will be off to the knee doctor today to get her surgery results checked out. Your girl thinks she's doing great, but the doctor may not not agree. The last time she saw him, he scolded her about not doing enough exercising, but good grief--that booklet was traumatizing.

Speaking of traumatizing, Fio has sworn off DRAGNET--enough is enough--but what will she replace it with? Ah, if only UNFINISHED SKY would come back on the TV screen.....

The house is so silent now that Granddaughter is off to kindergarten every weekday. Fiorella misses her.

This is the dullest blog that Fiorella has ever written. Guess she'll have to sharpen her pen for tomorrow.

 

From Bad to Worse

 Fio doesn't know about you, but she's getting tired of the Mar-a-lago scandal. No more suppositions and conjectures, please. All she wants to know about is (1) the bald truth and (2) Trump's ouster to somewhere like--well--Russia.

Changing the subject, please wish your girl well in her upcoming home check-up on her knee surgery--and she'll need all the support she can get because, as you remember, she's no good when it comes to anything athletic.

Fiorella enjoys the stray outbursts that she hears from the other side of the hall--like Son L volunteering to help his daughter get ready for bed, then saying, "No wonder you can't get your bathrobe on--it's upside down!" 😀😁😁

Your girl has somehow blanked out her g-mail so if you have an urgent message for her, try the phone. That's the black thing that you have to hold in your hand.

Oh, great! Fio has taken down all her little notes with her friend's names, etc., on them from the wall and alphabetized them, but now she can't find the little tablet she was going to put them in!

There seems to be a lot of talk on TV about fraternities and sororities right now as if they are necessary to a meaningful college education, but Fiorella will tell you that she and her brother have done quite well for themselves without either of them. Brother is a lawyer and, as you know, Fio holds a PhD....and actually, on her final graduation, was asked to teach at UT (which, because she was tired of school, she refused, dang it!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A COUNTRY DIVIDED CANNOT STAND

 

PUTIN PLAYS WITH UKRAINE as TRUMP DIVIDES UNITED STATES! Yes, there's no other way your girl can see it. Remember all those coy little conversations the two of them held when Trump was first elected? Well, it looks like they're bearing fruit.

Why is Fiorella so concerned? Because she saw a short on Jimmy Carter yesterday and remembered better times. It also reminded her of Hillary Clinton and made her wonder if Trump and Putin had been in cahoots about that election too. Just think of how different the country would be today if Hillary had been in charge for four--or eight--years!

So--what's going to happen next? There are a lot of guns out there and a lot of people who are itching to use them against any and all. Think about January 6! Think about killer Kyle Rittenhouse, that kid whose mother drove him--and his rifle--into the next state so he could he could shoot up a couple of peaceful protest marches. 

What's next? Will Army personnel be ambushed? Will police have to patrol with another line of cops to protect their tails? Apparently, even now, there are rumbles against civil authority. And, again, remember January 6, which, as we've learned, Trump himself instigated--and supervised.

O M G !  When did the United States become a banana republic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HMM...

Don't hold your breath, but Friend Raquel is going to drive Fiorella around Austin so your girl can see what has become of the three houses Fio and her husband lived in before they settled in Georgetown.

 Fiorella is so mad at herself--somehow, she's lost the book in which she marks down all her monthly payments. GRRRRR!

Oh...about her former homes: the one near Sears, where Fio worked for a couple of years upstairs to pay for college, seems to have disappeared along with Sears itself. On the other hand, the first house that she and Husband owned--gratis his father, is still extant, as is the blue house, which she and Husband bought pretty much out of their own pockets.

Your girl is keeping an eye on the news right now, even though she really doesn't understand why Trump is acting like a baby about what must be explosive papers he took with him when he left office. Have any other ex-presidents pulled this stunt?

                                                              Hmm...

Fio said she won't talk about The Massacres again, but she couldn't help noticing that the University of Texas killer and the south Texas school killer were both male teenagers who had family problems and access to guns. 

Then, there's that game Uvalde mother who defied the cops, rescued her kids herself....-and got written up for it!

TIDBITS

 GUESS WHAT! SURPRISE, SURPRISE! The American Statesman DELIVERED today! Yep--right into your girl's driveway. Now, about the deliveries she DIDN'T get this week, can she have her money back?

Your girl is quite happy about the guy that her knee doctor sent out to her. Brandon is quite pleasant and, unlike the first ones, bawl her out or load her up with too many instructions.

In her leisure time, Fiorella has been checking in with the an old TV show, DRAGNET, in which all the cops are dead-pan and every crime is solved in half an hour. Try it--you'll like it--for a while....

 Your girl has to dig up a cell phone for Friday, when friend Raquel will be taking Fio on a drive to try to find all the houses your girl and Husband used to live in. Somewhere along the way, hers got lost--and was probably out date anyway.

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to friend Suzy across the waves! May all your dreams come true💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗!

 

 

 

GRUMP, GRUMP, HOPE, HOPE, GRANDDAUGHTER, INSPIRATION, GULP!

 Two days in a row and no newspaper in her yard, dang it! What's wrong with the Statesman? We pay our money and get nothing for it. Are the powers-that-be trying to make us all read it on-line? Does this situation require a letter to the editor about how some people still want to read a newspaper written on--well--PAPER?

Fiorella is down today. She still hasn't reached her anti-coagulation (blood) people, she has no idea what she's supposed to do about her leg, which the doctor says she should have been exercising more, and she's still heart-broken about UNFINISHED SKY--which she watched almost every day--being removed from the television movie list.

Hey, Leg Doc, that time Fio didn't show up for an appointment you set up for her after the surgery? It was because she couldn't get transportation. Not all of us are still driving, you know....

Does anyone else use as many Kleenexes per day as your girl? Here's hoping that her next project--lassoing a nose-throat doctor--will give her overactive nostrils a little rest. HONK!

Actually, the--uh--honk doctor should be the last of her medical visits, God willing, except for periodic visits with her favorite people--like Dr. David Moreledge, her neurologist, who even read one of her books.

Granddaughter will start kindergarten Monday--the beginning of her academic career. Fio remembers her own days with the wonderful Mrs. Ruebright, who handled one class of about forty kids in the morning and another forty in the afternoon and managed to enthrall us all. She knew all the little songs and could make anything out of paper.

Your girl is planning to work on a telephone list of her friends today and--if known--their addresses--which reminds her that she should also start thinking about Christmas poetry. Yeah, it's early, but who knows when genius will strike?  

EGAD--Son has signed up Fiorella, she who was always last chosen in high school PE, for some kind of adult PE . PRAY FOR HER!               

 

 

 

Continuing Onward....

 Dang--Fiorella's knee doctor says she should sit upright at a desk when she writes her blog--or anything--instead of lolling around on her bed. He's also is going to be putting her through a month of training.

Fio scraped her bad knee on a license plate when she hobbled outside to pick up the newspaper this morning, which, of course, wasn't there. Don't understand how the American Statesman stays in business,

If she had the nerve, your girl would sign up for another facelift. The one she had ten (?) years ago is still holding, but it was only a partial. This time, she'd go for the forehead too 😁.

Fiorella is trying to get her soprano voice back into shape again by singing along to one of her favorite little piano pieces, "Bill Grogan's Goat." Believe it or not, it works, but don't expect any of her opera pieces to be sacrificed to the experiment. (She's saving them for her granddaughter💗.)

Complete change of subject--what the heck is going on in Trump Land? Don't know about you, but Fio can't wait to find out what impelled the Department of Justice to stage the raid!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

UP and DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!

 This will be a difficult day because Fiorella is (1) hoping that about 9:00, friend Carolyn will arrive and be able to tell your girl how to get back into the ant-coagulant system, (2) hoping that about 2:00, her new semi-friend, Ashley, will arrive so she and Fio will become better acquainted, and (3) hoping that about an hour later, a young man whom Fio suspects has been sent over from the knee-doctor's office will come knocking on the door to introduce himself. WOW! YOUR GIRL CHANGES FROM LONELINESS TO BELLE OF THE BALL IN ONE DAY!

And if, perchance, you are wondering about that knee operation has progressed, the knee itself s still hot and there's still a wisp of tape left on it--but Fiorella will learn more tomorrow when she visits Dr. Mischel's office. 

Whoops--Carolyn didn't show. Ashley and the guy from Dr. M's office--who was quite knowledgeable about knees won. 

In the meantime, your girl washed and dried her laundry, then hung it up in the closet. In other words, she had a very dull rest of her day and expects the same for the evening so she'll hang up the phone now and maybe dream of scenes from Unfinished Sky💗

Adendum: Just when Fio is at her lowest, the FBI raids Mar-a-Lago! WHOOPEE!

 

SOMEWHAT BATTERED!

 PANIC--Fio's computer wouldn't obey her when she tapped in the magic letters so there was nothing to do but seek help from the younger generation, and--thank you God--Fio's daughter-in-law was at hand and willing!

Fiorella finds it distressing that, as far as she can tell, our country's elections are decided by whichever side can cough up the most money. She also finds it distressing that God gave us this lush, lovely planet to enjoy, and all we do is continue to blow it up more and more every year.

Your girl had three cork boards on her inside wall loaded with everything she wanted to save, and now, with the smoke clearing, she's going through it all again, sifting out duplicates, etc., which has brought her down to two boards. Another clean-out (probably next week) should take care of a fair amount of the second board.  

DAMN! Fiorella has lost her favorite Australian TV movie and now can't even remember its name! She had kept it floating for at least four months, but now there's no story to lull her to sleep at night. Anyone remember her talking about it?

And, in the meantime, Fio has been scrabbling through every tablet or piece of paper she could find to make sure of whom would be checking her out tomorrow--hopefully not that woman who expected your girl to be heave-ho like a seasoned football player. (Give Fiorella  was always the last one chosen in back-and-forth games! )

HEY, HEY, HEY! Fio found a piece of paper with the name of her favorite movie on it, TA DA: UNFINISHED SKY! Now, however you can, pease figure out a way to get the TV to START showing it again...and again...and again. Romance is the only way Fiorella can get a good night's sleep.😊

From Irritation to WOW!

 A string of knowledgeable professional women from various medical organizations have shown up at Fiorella's door since she ended up with a bum leg two month ago, most of them quite helpful--except for the one today. Fio is sure that in her domain, this woman is a good wife and mother, etc., but she irritated your girl from one end to the other--first, because she scolded Fiorella for not going through all the knee exercises again when Fio's she's been rocketing around the house with cane (or not) with no problem at all and, second, because she used Son L as her ally, third, because she seemed to think Fiorella was an idiot. And, no, your girl is not interested in learning what each one of her meds are for. 

Was Fio's day all bad? Not in the least! She made considerable progress on her bedroom wall project and was finally able to stabilize the front yard shades on the art window so all the Ukrainian yellow sunflowers she had cut out earlier in the year showed well. Let's hope that Ukraine itself will show well too.

Fiorella gets tired of having to set up transportation by family members or Cheriot every time she turns around, and she's pretty sure that her drivers feel the same.  DANG! If only she hadn't stopped driving when she moved back to Austin--all she would have needed back then was a class that polished up the old skills. Hmm...wonder if her high school driving teacher is still available...

AHEM! Yesterday was yesterday and today was another--another knee nurse, that is, and apparently one with better training. She didn't scold or threaten Fio, just worked with her carefully, even walking her around outside on a slanting cement driveway and telling her how well she was doing--and that's the sort of thing your girl likes to hear. 

Just got a phone call from Carol, a cohort from college days on out, and agreed to help her with contesting the route that a big oil pipeline, Matterhorn Express, is planning to gauge through the sweet ranchland she's lived on since birth. WOW! Fio the avenger rides again!

 

 Whadda ya know: Fiorella, who has always been the talkative type, isn't as verbose as she used to be. In fact, all to often, she retreats into silence, but that's what happens when when trauma after trauma comes your way. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO, she has decided. Tomorrow, she'll try to tell somebody a story and maybe even sing a song of some kind.

 

 

Up and At'm Again! What's Next?

 When Fiorella prowled around the house after her new friend had left, she realized she was still depressed ...because what she really needed was to DO SOMETHING! Your girl is about at the end of her medical check-ups, so now she needs to put herself to work finding/making work. We'll see. Maybe now is the time when she should finish off Lolly's long-delayed story and publish it herself--if she can wiggle out of  the contract with her publisher....

Whoopee! Via Chariot, your girl's transport to her scheduled heart check up is an India Indian lady who speaks Telugu, one of the languages your girl studied in college. Of course, that was long ago, but Fio still remembers  how to say "Hello," and "How are you"--nahmustay and apkasayheh? Now let's hope she doesn't bungle it up!

Bit by bit, Fiorella is revising the information tacked to the boards on her house-side wall. Give her another week--maybe less--and she'll have everything she needs to know at a single sideways glance. 

Has Fio told you how much she resents what she's had to go through because her left leg is always in pain as a result of her "tibia" cracking during surgery and, thus, instead of a minor fix-up, she had to have a major-football-player-type repair? Of course, it also didn't help that the bandages have had to stay on  longer than usual because she wasn't able to get transportation to her doctor's office. HEY, DOC--NOT EVERYONE HAS A CAR AVAILABLE ON CALL!

Change of subject: Your girl has been looking around her studio again with the idea of doing something--anything!!! Yep, the artist in her is fighting it's way through the storms and traumas, and let's hope the result is a masterpiece...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addition

 Fio is right on the edge of firing one of her traveling nurses, although come to think of it, that particularly obnoxious woman may be just a medical supply huckster trying to pick up another shekel. She keeps pushing, pushing, pushing when your girl did all the exercises a couple of weeks ago and had no trouble with them except for her bloated left leg which she couldn't life from a prone position because her kneecap was still bandaged. Got all that?

Needles and News

 Fiorella is feeling kind of sickish today, like she ate something that disagreed with her system, but it may be because the Blood Nurse told her to lay off her Warfarin--a very potent pill--for two and a half days, that she was overdosed, which your girl doesn't understand because she is very careful regarding her pill box and Warfarin passes her lips only once a day at approximately 5:00 p.m. Let's see what happens when Fio visits the Blood Nurse again tomorrow.

Speaking of doctors, Fiorella had a great visit with her neurologist yesterday--the one who pushes a couple of long needles into her neck every now and then to help control her "tremor," which she and her brother inherited from their father's side of the family. Dr. M is the sort of guy who not only remembers everything you've ever told him about yourself, your friends, and your family, but feeds you tidbits about his own adventures.

As according to today's headline, Fio also has a visiting nurse scheduled for today, and you can bet your girl is going to drill her about Warfarin and the Blood Nurse. Something here just doesn't make sense. Aha--a mystery in the making! 

Totally changing the subject, Fiorella is quite pleased with how her rearranged inside wall is working out. She's been able to clump her names-and-addresses together on the lower third of her first board, leaving her with a lot more room for her dogs and family. Now for the second board--but don't hold your breath--there are a lot more changes and rearrangements to go. 

Fio suddenly realized how to make her Ukrainian yellow national flower montage more visible from her art window: OPEN THE BLINDS!                                                                                                                But, in fact, those stupid shades are so difficult to manage that she wants to do away with the them entirely. We'll see....

 

NEWS?

 WHAT IS GOING ON? Fiorella's bedroom is cool, the kitchen is cool, and when she stepped outside to get her newspaper, the weather was cool! Christmas in August? Who knows?

And Again!

 Fiorella Thought she had finally mastered the art of posting ahead, but all that happened was that she did triple duty to the third of August. Enjoy what you can and forget the rest.....

Never mid--it's a mess. Fio will start over tomorrow.

Weird Medical Stuff, etc.

 This seems to be Fio's medical week. She's attended one medical summons already (blood check), and has three to go--neurologist, knee therapy, and a repeat of the the blood suckers. She'd scheduled early on for the first blood check and the neurologist, but is out in left field for the second blood sucker. Luckily, the Health Care Service won't show up till Thursday and the knee lady won't visit the home until Friday. Followed all that? If so, you're doing better than Fiorella!

Oh, and did your girl mention that the bloodsucker is saying that Fio has taken two and a half warfarins more than she should have, which is impossible because Fio's morning pill ritual wouldn't allow it. What Fiorella thinks happened is that her pill box, which she brought with her when she was reporting in, warmed when she stuffed it in the same bag as the the propranolol. Whatever, one cannot take down a pill as scary as warfarin without being aware of it!

Turning to happier notes, that bedroom wall that your girl worked on this morning has reached the half-way point, inspiring Fio to work on harder on it even harder. (That turkey sandwich that Son L had provided the fixin's for can also be chalked up as inspirational😁.)

Today will be brief because Fiorella is still miffed about her blood checks....or maybe she'll get inspired in an hour or so and tell you more about her life....which is what she does anyway.

Daily Round-up of Scattered Events

 Welcome to August! It was getting stuffy inside the house so Fiorella opened the front door--and it was even warmer outside. Nothing to do but step back in and turn her floor fan up to full volume. September, you can't come soon enough!

Hey, hey, hey! Thanks to the efforts of Son L and Austin's In Home Counseling Service, Fiorella has a friend now--someone she can actually talk to--and they've already started talking about UT and Uvalde. For background, your girl referred  her new friend to the Fiorella pages which she devoted to the twin massacres.

It was a busy day--the knee lady also dropped by and checked out Fio's left leg, which seems to be doing well. Hey, hey--maybe that means your girl will be able to throw away her cane next time around!

Fiorella still has limoge on her mind, but unfortunately, no knowledgeable genie has appeared out of the mist to tell her how to peddle her pretties. Oh well--maybe next year.

Tomorrow is the day that Manchula, an Indian lady, will be picking Fio up for a ride to her heart appointment a la Chariot, and you can bet that her first words to her will be namastee, which Fio may have misspelled but still remembers how to pronounce.