Waco, Old and New

Surprisingly, Fio survived her high school reunion. She talked to a lot of people, ate too much, and spent way too much time driving around New Waco and looking for Old Waco. Her elementary school has been replaced by a new school, her junior high is now a vacant lot, and her high school is a downtown apartment building.  The nice neighborhood she grew up on is going downhill fast.

To top it off, she and Husband spent an hour out in the hot sun checking out tombstones to find her parents' graves before they finally gave up and sought help from a cemetery employee. Then there was the flower arrangement Fio tried to make for the grave vase.  Sorry, Mom.  Fio's brain and fingers were fried by then.

But I love you.

Recovery

The Bounce-back Kid has done it again.

Fiorella woke up this morning feeling totally normal--for her, at least.  The bruises are receding, the cut is healing, her nosebleed is minimal, her arm muscles don't hurt, and her split lip is recovering enough that she can smile again.  Now for the trip to to the ear-nose-and-throat guy, to be sure Fio's nose bones are healing right, then for visit to her dentist, to be sure her teeth are aligned correctly.

Thank you to everyone for the good wishes, and a special thanks for the flowers, balloon, and chocolates--you know who you are.

Love to all.

Gardening

When Fiorella was a child in Ohio, her family grew vegetables in a communal garden--corn and cucumbers and the like.  Fio remembers her mother doing a lot of canning.  When the family moved to Texas, her parents started up a garden in the backyard behind the garage, where the previous owners had kept a horse.  Back then, everyone in the neighborhood had vegetable gardens and fruit trees of some sort, and bushel baskets of excess regularly crossed the street.

Later, the vegetable garden was allowed to grass over, and Mother redirected her agricultural instincts to lining the house and back yard with flowers. 

Fio and husband have never planted a vegetable garden, but they have sodded lawns, landscaped with trees and bushes, and hosted a vast array of indoor plants, from a venus fly-trap to a peace lily.  But Fio's favorite is the Christmas tree, and it's a fake.

Springtime

Fio finally changed out the bright red Christmas tablecloth yesterday for one painted with pink springtime flowers.  It wasn't just that she was running behind, but that there were three projects piled on the dining table she had to get through first--the anniversary album, the framing of Son's digital painting, and the genealogy stuff.  The album, she finished; the half-done framing of the painting, she moved to the guest room for now; and the genealogy stuff, she stacked on her desk.

The framing will probably be finished this coming week and the genealogy stuff can't go any further till she hears from Cousin Sue or Cousin Syd.  Meanwhile a million more projects will pop up.  And what about that book Fio's supposed to be working on?