"The Rich Stay Cozy All Winter..."

In Russian you can call me Yulya. Maybe Yulyushka, too.

That would be pretty, wouldn't it?

"Where is She? Our Esmeralda..."

Comparatively better than last night.

Feeling a little floaty, though, which means I have not managed to fix myself yet; that's what feeling floaty is, it's still being sad and tired after having slept all night. But not as much as last night. And I'll be better by the time I come home.

Reading a different Agatha Christie now. I like Miss Marple a good deal, but not quite as much as Poirot, and I don't like it at all when the book is narrated from first person, because once before it was and it turned out the narrator was the murderer (I won't say which book, no spoilers), and now I don't trust her.

I love Ivan's devil. He's like Florian, but--not. And a devil. And a devil, by the way, who wears clothes two years out of the present style, and would like to shout Hosannah but then there wouldn't be any order any longer, and no evil, and nobody would buy any more newspapers, more's the pity. He's amazing. He's the sort of person I want to write with or play, but I daren't. He's Ivan's devil, good Lord.

I need to go to work.

"We'll Rally Once Again, Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom..."

Helen is in the hospital. Bertha says she fell and broke her hip; Anna said that's probably right.

Bertha is starting to get a pain in her neck and shoulder from doing puzzles, but she loves to do puzzles. We spent half an hour putting one together to-day. She says she doesn't want to have to wear the neck brace any more, but she might have to. I hope she doesn't. The neck braces are rather awful. Mum had to wear one after she was in the auto accident five years ago, and they're very uncomfortable and rather ugly and I just hope that Bertha doesn't have to wear hers again.

Jennie wasn't feeling well this morning, but by supper she was walking again, and she smiled at me a lot and watered plants and I do love Jennie terribly, eee. Am glad she was feeling better.

I went in to see Irma, which I don't usually do, because I'm a little frightened of Irma, but I had some spare time to-day, so I decided just to go in and see her. It really went all right. It really did. ^___^ She used to get so angry every time I came in, and this time she called me 'sweetheart' before I left. That's never happened before.

I promised to bring Catherine a plant, because she said she missed having flowers. We'll have to go and shop for one. She likes leaves as much as flowers, so it should be all right. I wonder if they sell Christmas cacti now?

Stewart is wicked, terribly wicked, and teases me much worse than Daniel does. Hmph.

We have a new gentleman named Frank. He's lovely, and I like him very much. I hope he's here long enough for me to get to know him better; but I do hope that if he's in for rehab, he can go home soon. I'm finally learning to sort that out, the long-term and the rehab. Speaking of rehab--Kelsey has to go to the doctor's on Wednesday, and she misses a dinner that's being held in honour of her daughter's fifteen years work. I feel rather bad about it.

Anna had a stroke on Friday, but she says she's recovering well. We talked for a long time to-day. I love her so much.

And I promised Katy I'd wear a big swirly skirt on Wednesday, so I can dance for her. ^____^ She said she wanted me to dance, but I was wearing the wrong kind of skirt to-day, not that kind that twirls and goes out when you spin. So I'll wear the right kind on Wednesday, for her. ^___^ She said I might not want to dance on Wednesday, though, and I said I'm always ready to dance, and she smiled. Sometimes Katy gets annoyed with me, but I think she likes me, and that is good, because I like Katy.

"But How Can I Swim This Great Divide...?"

I feel pretty, but there isn't anybody to see. *pouts* And I so rarely feel pretty, you know.

Zara in four days. Eeeeeeeeeee.

Oh! So restless. I do want to dance, but I want to dance for somebody. And be with somebody and laugh with somebody. Zara, I can't wait for you, I can't. ^__^ And I shall be so silly, I hope you won't mind me. Oh! But I do want to dance, and there won't even be anybody around to-morrow, I'll be home alone for the first day of school, and I don't know how I shall bear it. I've finally learnt what I wanted out of summer, and now it's over, that was silly, I should have managed that loads earlier.

But I'll manage, that's all right.

Oh!

And music, music, music, I would rather die for music. Restless!