Adventure in Exploring

Fiorella's good day yesterday continued to be good, despite the fact that when she and Husband decided to walk three of their property lines, they got lost in the jungle behind the house for two hours plus, and would have been spending the night sleeping under cedars if they hadn't spotted a house through the trees and appealed for help from the nice woman who opened the door. Not only did Dana Gray invite them to rest on her front porch and give them bottles of water, but she also led them back through the forest to their own acreage, which turned out to be right behind her own spread.

Oh, and did Fio mention that Sonia had been along for the trek? Poor baby--she's still sleeping it off.

Countdown!

Fiorella is having to lay off water, one of her favorite drinks, and indulge herself in milk, her other favorite drink.  There may even be a few milkshakes along the line.  And it's all medically prescribed--Fio had some shots in her neck that affect the swallowing mechanism and thus she needs to drink thicker liquids for a while. The procedure is to make sure her voice is in the best of shape for the National Romance Writers of America conference this summer.

More than two thousand women will be there, and Fio wants to be heard.

Necessities of Life

Most of the necessities of life are dangerous in excess. Think about the water we drink every day-- Fiorella probably more than most. In excess, it is a flood or a tsunami.  Think about fire, necessary for us to cook our food and warm out homes.  In excess, it will consume a forest--and us. What about food--in excess, it ruins our health.

But we can never have too much love.

Alcohol

Fiorella's mother grew up in a house that was dominated by her father's alcoholism so Fiorella grew up in a house that was alcohol-free.

But she was fascinated by the concept of drinking.  Not like the drinking her grandfather engaged in, but like the sophisticated people on television and in the movies who had a beer with friends or sipped a glass of wine before dinner or carried around a cocktail at a toney parties.

Fio had her chance when she was eighteen and departed stone-sober Waco for the more mellow halls of The University of Texas.  She drank on dates and at parties.  She even got drunk a few times.  But she never liked the taste.  Finally she quite trying.

Make Fio's water.

Hydro Phobia

Fiorella does not trust water.  It's okay in small quantities--bath tubs or swimming pools or poured into drinking glasses, but large uncontrolled amounts of it--oceans, lakes, rivers--make her nervous.

She is astounded at the people on HGTV who want to live on the ocean shore--haven't they ever heard of hurricanes and tsunamis? And lakes often  hide tree branches one can get snared in, or dangerous microbes, or piranhas, or crocodiles. And rivers can flood at a moment's notice.

Perhaps that's the root of Fiorella's phobia.  When she was a child and her family was driving from Texas to Ohio one year, they crested the hill at Cairo and looked down to see the road in front of them diving down beneath the Wabash River.

There was no land in sight on the other side

Fire, Water, and Whatever

Do not try to sell Fiorella beachfront property.  Fio doesn't trust the ocean--too much water.  Living on the edge of the ocean would be like camping on top of a smoking volcano.
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Speaking of volcanoes, yesterday was Mother's birthday.  Mother was fiery, but Fiorella loved her very much and wishes she could have been more the person her mother wanted her to be.  She's still trying.
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And on another subject, it's hard to take the high road when you've been dealt a low blow.

Back to the Womb

Fiorella's a water baby. When she can't sleep on the couch or the bed, she takes to the tub, where she's been putting in some quality post-surgery zzzs.

Not bad for someone who took three years to learn how to float.