Having the Eye

Fiorella is fascinated by the way the right accent piece can pull a room together.

Every room in Fiorella's house is painted white and decorated in shades of red and blue.  Downstairs in the den, it's maroon and blue, which shows off the Persian carpets Husband inherited from his mother.  And in the master bedroom upstairs, it's peach and aqua, which works well with the white, white master bedroom and en suite. But neither of the rooms really came together until Fio added a large maroon pillow to the couch and placed a multi-folded red-orange Indian blanket across the bench at the foot of the bed.

Fio's inner artist glows with appreciation every time she looks at the maroon pillow and red-orange Indian blanket, but Sonia Dog drags the pillow off onto the floor, and Husband piles clothes on top of the blanket.

Such is the fate of an artist.

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.

Paper Dreams

Has Fiorella ever told you about Mrs. Ruebright, her kindergarten teacher? Armed with that most wonderful of all devices, a stapler, she could make anything out of paper.

Fio remembers how honored she felt when selected to try on Mrs. Ruebright's prototype Pilgrim lady's hat and apron for the Thanksgiving program.

Yes, Mrs. Ruebright was an inspiration to Fio, which is why Fio requested a stapler for Christmas when she was six years old.

And why her Christmas halls are always decked with boughs of paper.

Choosing Feathers

Fiorella is a nestbuilder. The girl can't help it.

In college, she and Roommate Cornelia designed an African room, with spears constructed by Roommate's brother, dorm chairs recovered in leopardskin print, and bedspreads a coordinated orange. Her nestbuilding since then has encompassed, in turn, a small duplex, a rent home, and three family homes. She's still going strong; however now she's into fireplaces, leather sofas, and Persian carpets.

But Fio's nursing home of the future had better beware. She may revert to spears and leopardskin any second.