From the Past to the Future

Fio has started cleaning out her upstairs office, and this afternoon, she went through a bundle of stuff from when she was teaching--accolades from students, their parents, and colleagues. Needless to say, she's not tossing a single page. In fact, she may even request they all be put in her coffin as grave goods.
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Hip, hip hooray! Fio and friend Patricia are off and running on the romance/murder mystery, and the ideas are flying fast and furious. Keep an eagle eye out for excerpts.
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Sabrina's story (formerly Phillipa's story) is riding high. Fiorella is whizzing through 40 pages of revisions a day now, but will probably slow down to about 20 per day when she crosses the halfway mark. The good thing is that she's finally worked out all the plot knots so all that's left is pulling the whole thing together (gulp).
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Lolly's story got a solid boost last week when Fiorella had to close down the murder mystery until friend Patricia got back from California, and Fio is more excited about it than ever. It's wonderful to start reading something you packed away five years ago and realize it is hot, hot, hot!
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Fio's gradually adjusting to her new computer, but she's going to have to run off to Click tomorrow to learn how to make her Kindle reappear and how to "find" numbered pages. She'll also visit a Michael's store for adhesive alphabet letters and Mazda for touch-up paint. Yes, your Fio is a busy bee.

Thinking Things Over

Back in the day--the day before the proliferation of paper and plastic products, to be exact--a woman's joy was to possess a nice set of china. Thus, through various twists and turns, Fio inherited two sets of really good china of the same pattern (Haviland, to be exact), one from her great-grandmother, the other from Husband's grandmother, and she uses them at Christmas every year. But now she's considering selling both of them off. The times, they are a-changin', and Fiorella doubts that the next generation will value this heritage. besides, there's only so much one can pass on without weighing people down.
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Fiorella has been blessed with good friends. The guys at Mazda take good care of her baby car, Click  Computer Repair provides not only good service, but good advice, and the lady bankers at Chase are helping her through a financial situation she wants to settle. Thank you, one and all.
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Fio has been hearing a lot about meditation lately so she researched it on line--and decided it wasn't for her. Fiorella doesn't want to sit still, doesn't want to clear her mind of everything she has commited to, and doesn't want to hypnotize herself into nothingness. Ever since she was a child, she's had an acute perception of time passing, and she doesn't want to lose that feeling because it is what drives her to do what she must do before she leaves this earth.

DELIVERY DAY!

It's delivery day! Fio has finished feeding the mouths of all her charities, she mailed a check to the newspaper delivery guy last week, and as soon as she finishes this post, she'll be in her baby car taking chocolate kisses to Mazda and Click, with a side trip to Chase bank to deliver chocolate Santas to Lisa and Stephanie. These people have been good to Fiorella and giving them Christmas treats is the least she can do.
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Speaking of good people, Fernando, the guy who takes care of Fio and Husband's yard--and does his best to take care of us--took down one of our dead trees and we now have enough firewood to last through next winter. Fio always gives Fernando a Christmas bonus, but he deserves far more.
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The fire is lit, the stage is set, and the picture of Baby is hanging from the mantel, but FB will not accept Fiorella's photo. Must be Trump getting his revenge on Fio for last year's Christmas card, the one in which she compared him to Ghengis Khan.
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Hodge Podge

It irritates the heck out of Fiorella to watch HGTV shows about people who toss money around like it's water. And they're all so young!
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Did you know Price's exodus has brought the tally of number of Trumps' drop-outs to fourteen? And he hasn't even been in office a year yet?
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With the heavy rains we've had, Fio's bayberries look like they've grown a foot taller. Too bad they don't know she's going to be chopping off their heads come November.
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Why is it Fio has nine mosquito bites on her left arm and none on her right?
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Fio got hit by an older man backing his truck out of a parking space at Walgreens the other day.  Apparently, he couldn't see that Baby Car had already started backing, but, luckily, the man sitting in a car next to Fio realized what was happening and honked his horn long and loud. Fio stopped. The truck didn't. CRASH! The older man parked and hobbled over to look at the damage to Baby Car. Surprisingly, there was none, so Fio's going to stop by Mazda and tell the all guys what great rear ends they have.

Bad Day

As if it weren't enough that Fio spent a couple of hours at Mazda on Monday, only to learn that her engine light wouldn't go off because she hadn't tightened down the gas tank lid. As if it weren't enough that her brake light wouldn't go off on Tuesday, and she'll have to take the car in again this morning, hoping to get it back in time to meet with Evelyn, then Paula, in Austin. As if it weren't enough that her computadora has been pinging off at random times for two days, although when she left it at Click Computer Repair yesterday afternoon, it behaved like an angel. As if all these things weren't enough, Fiorella, who watches very little television, had to choose between Mi Marido Tiene Familia and The Little Couple last night. She chose the former, of course, because Little Couple will be rebroadcast at some point, but her teeth are gRRRRRRRRRRRRinding.

Purely Fiorella

Fiorella grabbed a nice handful of servietas at Starbucks as she was heading out of la puerta, y ellas came in handy. El dia was blazing caliente and su automovil had been sitting en el sol por dos horas so her car seat and steering wheel were burning. Thinking fast, Fio stuck a servieta under each pierne and grasped una servieta in each mano before she pulled out of her parking space and headed a su casa.
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Yesterday was up and down. Way up and way down. Fio was ecstatic when Richard at Mazda called to tell her that baby car was all healed and ready to go home early--and that the bill turned out to be $500 less than expected. But her day started going downhill when she stopped by the post office on the way home and left her purse and keys in the car, then locked the door. A nice passerby let her use his cell phone and Fio called Husband, who arrived with Sonia dog in the back seat. About two hours later, the locksmith arrived. And to think, Fiorella thought she would get a lot of writing done because her lista amarilla was so lightweightfor the day.
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Fiorella has discovered a wonderful new rock bed (cama de rocas) behind the chainlink fence separating her back yard from the jungle beyond, and she's already pulled several of them up and tossed them over the fence, where she'll pack them into her little red wagon to tow up to the driveway to reinforce su mura pequena, but that's the only mura she'll ever contribute to

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

Fiorella is going to have a full house for Easter when Minnesota son and his wife visit.  She's been buying up Peeps and chocolate bunnies over the the past week  for the occasion. She's also stocked up on bags of chocolate kisses for the guys at Click Computer Repair and the Mazda service department. And she's cashed a check ot give out some holiday tips. And she's planning to don her rabbit ears and deliver treats to her neighbors who have helped build her murita de rocas. 

Never say Fio doesn't know how to celebrate a holiday.

A STAR IS BORN!

Fio is ecstatic!  In second heaven! She received a cast call yesterday afternoon, and she's going to be a S-T-A-R!

Well, maybe--Serena, who represents an advertising agency, asked Fio if she would be willing to participate in an ad for Roger Beasley Mazda, which has serviced Fio's car for the past ten years, and what could Fio say but YES, YES, YES!  The Mazda people have taken good care of her as well as her baby car, and she wants to tell everyone how wonderful they are, but she also looks forward to being in the spotlight again.

Not that it's set, of course--the ad may fall through or Fio may not give a good performance. But for the time being, she can dream.  First Mazda, then Hollywood, then People Magazine, then the Oscar.

And to think. An hour before Serena called, Fio didn't have anything to tell you about today.

Falling Apart

Click Computer Repair, the Mazda service department, and Walgreen's Pharmacy.  Three businesses where people greet Fio by name when she comes through the door. Maybe that says a little more about her than you want to know.

What Will Happen When God Cuts off the Electricity?

Fiorella has long been concerned about our increasing dependence on electronics, and earlier this month, she was the victim of it.  Her credit card was hacked and she misplaced her car keys,   Mastercard thwarted the baddies and sent her a new card, and Mazda leapt into action and reprogrammed a new key for her, but it all took time--and Mazda cost money too.

We are all vulnerable.  What if Isis figures out how to shut us down?  How would we manage to drive our cars without pushing buttons?  How would we light out homes without flipping a switch?  How would we communicate with each other over the miles?  How would we cook our meals?

It's back to the cave man days, people. Thank God for Boy Scouts.

Hard Luck Story

Fiorella and Husband are going through a bad stretch.  First her credit card was hacked, which meant she had to cut it up and has to wait for a new one to be mailed to her.  Then she lost her key ring, which meant she couldn't start her car and didn't have a house key.  Then, despite the fact that Fiorella bought a new car key and had it entered into the Mazda system, her baby car conked out again after bringing her and Husband home from dinner.  At the same time, not only did Husband lose the keys to the loaner car he was using because his car was in the shop getting a damaged rear view mirror replaced, but he forgot to bring his charge card to the restaurant.

Husband paid cash for our dinner, and we did make it home from the restaurant safely, which is when Fio's car went out.  Husband has found his credit card and his missing keys, but your Fio still lacks a house key and a usable vehicle.

And she wonders why it takes her so long to grind out a book.

Fuel Pump Blues

Fio had a busy day planned yesterday--stopping by BookSpot in Round Rock, then driving to Austin to check in with BookPeople and join a friend for lunch before speeding back to Georgetown to sit in on a writer's circle. Then her car went dead. Thank goodness it was at a service station in Georgetown and that Click Computer was just two storefronts down. Friend Travis contacted Mazda for her, and Mazda's Jason Gardner, also a friend, came to her rescue, called a tow truck, and delivered her safely home. Later she learned the problem was the fuel pump, which is expensive to replace, but Fio's baby car can't run and play without it.

Weighing It All

Nothing beats laughter and random kindness to pull Fio out of a depression.  She had a great time at Mazda yesterday while she was picking up her baby car--Jason and Richard are lots of fun--and then, when she stopped by H-E-B to pick up a few things for supper, an employee who was outside gathering baskets noticed she was looking for a small one and ran across the roadway to fetch one for her.  And inside the store, she was able to snag a bigger package of hamburger (for Husband, Son, and Fio) than the butcher usually cuts, and a checker invited her to a new line she was opening up.

Fate balances out.

Stressed, You Say?

This has been a hard week for Fiorella,  That engine light was still on so Fio had to take the car to the dealer for a $400 repair, she was diagnosed with GERD (good-bye, chocolate), attacked by a herd of mosquitoes, hit the concrete face-first again, is still recovering from having her false vocal chords shot up with botox, is agonizing over revisions of her new book, and is preparing not only for the NY writers' conference, but for her birthday,

The good thing is that she's lost two pounds.

Christmas Round-up

As it turned out, the Chinese delegation didn't arrive till 4:00, which worked out quite well for all concerned.  They spent at least an hour at the house, with Fiorella giving them their gift bags and making over the darling baby while Husband answered their questions about the use of the fireplaces, a no-no in Hong Kong. The visitors were charming, and Fio hopes she and Husband were too.
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It seems weird to be back to real life after a week of concentrating on NOTHING but Christmas.  Fiorella's first concern now is getting Moira's story written, although she'll have to take her baby car into Mazda sometime soon.  Husband says its radiator is leaking coolant, whatever that means--apparently, nothing good.
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Fiorella intends to leave the Christmas decor up for at least a month.  After all, she didn't finish it up till Tuesday.