This Boot Was Made For Wordzzling

I missed Finola last week. It was the first Wordzzle I skipped since the beginning and that gave me a sense of incompletion, as though Finola’s story was missing something – missing words.
So I continue her adventures with the words from last week and this week. Finola deserves all her words.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about go to RAVEN’S NEST and check out the wonderful word game we play each Saturday.

Here are the words...

From August 23rd:
tiramisu, transfixed, evacuation, Queen of the Nile, pillowcase, grammatical, voice inflection, pacified, microclimate, swami maggots, thermal pocket, industrial, bovine, feminized

And this week:
pogo stick, ant farm, psychic, tin box, wall safe, Waterloo, surge protector, pneumonia, ravages of time, turtle Swollen ankles, opera singer, toothy grin, oil paints, potter’s wheel

Finola is Back!!

“You look like the Queen of the Nile” Ray told Finola. The poor store clerk was transfixed by the sight of Finola perched on the seat back of his old convertible. They were moving so slowly that Finola felt secure and kept changing poses. Now she was seated in what she assumed was a swami pose. She hoped to keep Ray pacified by constantly smiling at him and addressing him with the sexiest voice inflection she could come up with. The truth was his toothy grin was nauseating and his endless grammatical errors were annoying. To add insult to injury his convertible had lost its battle with the ravages of time and they were moving like a turtle. Finola was impatient for the glamorous part of her life to begin.

Finola plopped back down into the seat and asked Ray when they might be moving out of the industrial part of the county and into more pleasant surroundings. “We’ll be coming into Waterloo soon” he responded. “It’s a nice little town and ought to be a good place to stop”. “And after Waterloo?” she asked. “How long to the Medical Center?” Ray’s face clouded over with concern. “Are you feeling sick? You seemed fine a minute before”. “I’m worried about my swollen ankles” she told Ray, “it’s a sure sign of impending pneumonia”. Ray’s head nodded in agreement like a demented pogo stick. Finola stifled a laugh. Lord he was the most feminized boy she had ever met! Not that she knew that many boys.

“We could cut across the old evacuation route” Ray told Finola as he chuckled. “The locals call it Bovine Boulevard; the old slaughterhouse is shut down now”. A vision of mountains of maggots feasting on discarded cow parts crossed Finola’s mind and she said no, no. “I like the idea of stopping in Waterloo” she said as she touched Ray’s arm. “I’m feeling fine for now so let’s enjoy the trip”.

Finola was still half asleep when she heard the trunk of the car squeak open. She sat up and saw they were parked behind a large stone building. She jumped out and went to the back. Ray was rifling through a pillowcase full of stuff. “My car version of a wall safe” he told Finola. “A pillowcase isn’t very safe” Finola said sharply. “I know!” For the first time since they met Ray seemed bothered by Finola. She cursed her short temper and smiled at Ray. “I’m just worried that you might lose all your belongings”. “You’re sweet” Ray said, all was forgiven in the blink of Finola’s eyes. “I have a locked tin box for my money and this quilt has a huge thermal pocket for some cold beers. What more do I need?” You need a clue Finola thought as she grabbed Ray’s hand. “So how much farther to Waterloo?” “We’re here” Ray shouted out loud. “You’re going to love this place”.

Finola stood and stared at the huge stone building. It looked like several structures had been pushed together and covered in old sun baked stones. “I thought Waterloo was a town?” “It is” Ray told her. “Out here all you need is two people and a postal code and you’re a town. Come to the front, I can’t wait for you to see this place”.

A huge potter’s wheel was spinning in the sun as Ray and Finola rounded the corner of the building. It caught beams of sunlight and seemed to toss them back to the sky. Finola approached the wheel to see what made it spin. “Watch the surge protector!” shouted a low booming voice. “The entire town is connected through that thing”. Ray rushed over to hug the large loud man. “Pavarotti this is Posh. Posh this is Pavarotti” Ray was beaming with excitement. “Like the opera singer?” Finola asked. “Like the Spice Girl?” Pavarotti answered. Finola instantly liked him, things were getting interesting again.

“Come inside” Pavarotti said. He seemed to sweep them along with his large gestures. “We’ll have tiramisu and wine”. They entered the strange building through a large arched doorway. There were doors everywhere. Long narrow corridors and funny nooks and crannies. It reminded Finola of a large ant farm. She followed Ray and Pavarotti down the main corridor and into a bright kitchen area. There was a bottle of wine on the table along with many little dishes of a scrumptious looking goodie. Finola realized how hungry she was. “Is this the terror my sue?” Ray asked as he held up one of the treats. Pavarotti laughed and nodded yes. “Take a seat” he told them. “I’m sorry about all the chaos; I was playing with my oil paints”. “You’re an artist?” Finola asked. “I’m a psychic who likes to paint” Pavarotti told her. “I’m also a gardener. After we eat I’ll show you the orchids I’m growing. I’ve created a friendly microclimate for them in one of the back rooms”.

Finola settled down and sipped a bit of wine and tasted the tiramisu. They were both heavenly. Things were definitely looking up.

POOR FINOLA’S BEGINNING
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
PART SIX
PART SEVEN
PART EIGHT
PART NINE