Saturday, August 30, 2008

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

32 comments:

Unknown said...

love it! always do! you don't disappoint!

Akelamalu said...

A megamegawordzzle no less! Crikey Dianne that was fantastic, how long did it take you?

jaycoles@gmail.com said...

Welcome back! - Last week was much dimmer without Finola's being in it. -

PS hope your foot is better.

Jeff B said...

thirty words and they all fit into the story perfectly!

The exchange between "Posh" and Pavarotti was excellent.

Can't wait to see what happens next.

Dianne said...

kim - thanks! but for me you knocked it out of the park this week. just sayin' ;)

akelamalu - I did it last night, on and off for a couple of hours. the funniest thing is all week I had jotted down little ideas and then when I actually sat down to do it I didn't use a single one.
BTW - Crickey is one of my favorite words :)

jay - thanks! I missed Finola too and I think she missed me lol
the foot is screaming to get out of this damn boot. the MRI is on Tuesday - we'll see. thanks for asking.

jeff - thank you!!
I promised myself I would only do it if the words really belonged so I appreciate your comment even more. I always make myself laugh at least once a paragraph and the Pav/Posh exchange was it for me :)

Raven said...

I love Finola's adventures. I think you deserve some kind of an award for the two weeks combined into one. That is Wordzzle Mastery... and with a wounded tendon to boot!

BRAVA and well done. I think I'm going to like Pavaratti. Your dialog is superlative. Your writing is superlative.

Melli said...

Oh YES! Finola definitely did deserve ALL her words! WAY TO GO! There is a lot of talent in this little group of people! :)

Jay said...

You did both weeks words in one HUGE Mega Wordzzle??

You're just showing off now! ;-)

Dianne said...

raven - I think I'm going to like Pavaratti too lol
and thanks for the compliment re. my dialog as I feel I struggle with that.

melli - I refer to it as the 'Merry Band of Wordzzlers' and I'm so glad you joined in :)

Jay - it's not me!, it's Finola ;)

Reb said...

Oh, well done! Last week was a bit drab without Finola, I'm glad to see her back.

Kimmie said...

I loved, loved, loved the way Posh and Pavoratti exchanged quips! That was so good! Great story Dianne! I just love Finola and this continuing saga. Thank You!
Hugs,
Kimmie

Carletta said...

I never want Finola's story to end!
So glad you are back this week Dianne.
I too loved the Posh/Pavarotti exchange - excellent.
I'm wondering that if Pavarotti is a psychic will he figure out what Finola really wants?
I bet Ray doesn't get invited to the microclimate in the back room!

Richard said...

It seems both you and Finola are doing better. She should be OK with a physic painter. And you should be OK with a good Labor Day weekend.

Rich

Cinnamon Girl said...

Excellent job, Dianne! And a twofer at that!

bobbie said...

I'm so glad that Finola is back. And the story seems to be moving along quite well. You did a great job, using all those words.

Dianne said...

reb - thanks! finola does liven things up

kimmie - thanks! I'm so glad that you enjoy reading Finola

carletta - I do think Ray is out of his element now that Pav and Posh are together. thanks :)

rich - thanks! hope you have a good weekend too

starr - thanks!!

bobbie - it was enjoyable! once I invented Waterloo it was all good ;)
thanks

OldLady Of The Hills said...

This is MASTERFUL! Really wonderful and funny and sweet, all at the same time. Bravo to you!

Anonymous said...

I'm enjoying Finola's hilarious adventures - very creative!

Mom Knows Everything said...

I missed her too last week! I'm glad she back this week! :o)

holly said...

this was really really fun! i'm going to have to go back and read finola from the beginning!

i love that the entire town is connected through the surge protector. crack.me.up!

and i *may* just join you next time!

holly said...

and no corgis were killed by your movements. just to put your mind at ease.

SMM said...

Dianne...good to see you back. how are you now?

As usual loved Finola's madcap adventures. Now I need tiramisu and wine too on a Monday afternoon

Anonymous said...

Wow! And a serial post, too! This is amazing.

Casdok said...

Brillient!! Very clever!

SMM said...

Hey Dianne. I tagged you. please don't think it to be too presumptuous on my past. Details are on my latest post

tt said...

{{whispering}}
I'm supposed to be tiling but I had to see if Finola was back...and she is. YEAA!!!

I swear this is the best book I've read in a long time! The way you put phrases to together cracks me up. "Demented pogo stick" made me laugh out loud. And of course I said 'uh-oh' when I read that Pavarotti is a psychic. I'm sure that registered to her on some level....she'll find out if he's full of "terror my sue" or if he's real. lol
Can't wait .............

Dianne said...

oldoldlady of the hills - such kind words! thank you

april - I'm always thrilled when anyone tells me they enjoy Finola, thanks!

tammy - can't keep Finola silent for too long :) thanks!

holly - thank heavens the corgis are OK! and I'm so happy you like Finola.
Please do join in! you would be a fantastic Wordzzler!!

smm - I'm babying my tendons as best I can, thanks for asking.
I've been thinking about tiramisu and wine for days now ;)

quilly - thanks!! I'm so glad you joined in, I hope you enjoy it :)

casdok - thank you! always so cool to see you :)

smm - I'll come take a look

tt - I'm honored that you left Lovee alone with the tiles to come visit. Glad you laughed. I wonder if Pav being a psychic is going to help or harm Finola. Oy!

Bobkat said...

You have such a creative mind. I wonder what is in store next for Finola after she has finished her tiramasu and wine?

Shelly said...

Love it! What a crazy fun story. It's like a wild dream, when you wake up you wish you could remember all the details because it's so fascinating. That Finola is one gutsy gal.

Dianne said...

bob-kat - I think Finola is going to get accustomed to fine wine and desserts :)

shelly - I'm so glad it's fun, thanks!!

Linda Murphy said...

Welcome back, Finola!

How is your foot today?

Dianne said...

snoopmurph - Finola is glad to be back! The foot is sore. Had the MRI this morning and now have to find an X-Ray place my insurance will allow. The imaging center doesn't do x-rays anymore.