Fiorella Revised

Hey, hey, hey, everyone!  Friend Marion came up with an even more accurate description of Fio, and she even mercifully changed "loony" to "loopy"--although she could have changed it to "lovely" (hint, hint).  On the other hand, "alluring" does the job.

Fiorella 

Is

Outlandish

Revolutionary

Evocative

Loopy

Loquacious

Alluring

Fio and Music

'Tis the season for Fiorella to practice Christmas carols on the piano.  Not that she's in the same league as Friend Marion, who, as she admits, was "born understanding how the piano works," or   Friend Mary's daughter, Julia, who has the same inborn talent, or Fio's high school friend, Jan Herring, who placed second in the Van Cliburn competition.  No, Fio is something of a dud.

For one thing, she's terribly self-conscious when playing the piano or singing.  Fiorella used to have a very good voice and was actually able to sing in public without choking up for a few precious years, but age, steroids, and a resurgence of her self-consciousness took their toll. 

One thing she can still do, though, is compose.  Yeah, good ol' creative, analytical Fiorella can compose the dickens out of you.  Her children's opera of the Three Little Pigs is loads of fun, and she's written a few carols too. Maybe someday you'll hear them.

PS: Sorry Fio ran late yesterday.  She set the date wrong.

Eclectic Snippets

Like Dolly, Fiorella's back in town.  Not that she was actually gone, just knocked off the internet till about noon today, which drove her crazy.  No Google news, no e-mail, no blogging.  For someone who calls herself a Luddite, Fio is mighty computer-dependent.
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Looking at the pictures Son took of her, Fio realizes she doesn't really look as good as she thinks she does.  But then, she never did.
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Between the elections and the Longhorns, Fio's going to retreat into her snail shell for the duration.
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What would Fio do without friends?  Tomorrow she's going to have lunch with Joan, and last week she lunched with Sharon.  Last night she wrote a long email to Suzy in England to bring her up to date.  Paula has stood by her for years.  Katie, Janece, and Jane have cheered on her literary aspirations, and Marion even read an early copy of P of BB.  Fio's sure to have left someone important out so please forgive her because she loves you all.

Puppy Love

Maybe it's the new puppy, but life is rosy at La Casa Fiorella right now. Local Son has a new desktop computer, put together by Cousin Aaron and Friend Anthony after his laptop crashed. Daughter is recovered from her cold/flu, Minnesota Son is heading toward long-awaited knee surgery on March 5 (his late grandfather's birthday), and Husband has had an extended period of good health--the experimental lupus drug seems to be working.

Add to all that the fact that Friend Sharon is holding steady on her own experimental drug, Cousin Julie's daughter seems to have beaten breast cancer, Friend Suzy's husband has a new job, Friend Paula's daughter and husband have bought a new house, Friend Marion is expecting another grandchild, and Fiorella herself has had a nibble from another literary agent.

Fio has also developed a new skill--typing with her left hand because sweet, silky-furred Sonya Wendysdotttir is sleeping on her other arm.

The occasional puddles on the floor are worth it.

HAPPY BD, MARION

Happy birthday to Friend Marion, whom Fio bonded with years ago when they walked home together from a community school class and confessed to each other that their husbands thought they were crazy.

And they still do, and we still are.