Ack! I just now realized I forgot the green-bean casserole for Christmas! Oh, well, we had plenty of food and the turkey (Monica: "What brand is this?" Me: "Cheap") was fantastic.

Yesterday we (Vince, his friend Ken, Bernadette and I) went to see A Bug's Life. I loved it. Still dozing off at odd moments, so I will want to go again. We got the Star Wars trailer and, an unexpected treat, a Pixar Short, Geri's Game. I loved it, too.

At home, after Sharing God's Bounty (to which I didn't go. I was hooked to the computer playing Tomb Raider. Like I need this!) the Guru was helping Vince learn how to put a CD-player into his computer. Tonight Vince had some trouble, and they spent about an hour on the phone making sure both the CD-ROM and the mouse worked. It involved Telnetting a driver and a lot of calm talking. I think this is going to take a little more than some chocolate chip cookies and a home-cooked meal, I do.

Yes, indeed, we went through the fog (not too dense) to take Vince to the airport. The new terminal is nice. Once he was safely on the airplane, only a half-hour late, we went to all the stores. I especially like the "Chromatic Oasis" art piece in the ceiling. If you walk on the carpet under the piece, organ notes and birdsong result.

The news had its moments. My shoulder was hurting like heck (and here yesterday I had thought it was getting better) so I read the obituaries to be sure I wasn't dead. One gentleman had been recently diagnosed with leukemia, widowed in October, and he killed himself. So far I understand it, but there was a line in the obituary: " G. was a perfect example of faith in life to all who knew him." Say what?

And last night a cab driver was fatally shot just around the corner. They've caught the 17-year-old who did it.

My shoulder was really sore, as I said, so I thought that instead of waiting till next week I would call today and possibly get an appointment next week. To my surprise, the doctor was able to see me today at 2:45. The nurse had asked a lot of questions of the "LEFT shoulder, eh? Experiencing chest pains, palpitations, shortness of breath?" variety, but I told her I wasn't thinking heart attack, I was thinking bursitis.

I weigh too much (of course, shoes on, pack around my waist!) and my blood pressure was too high. I actually got my own doctor, and remember that I actually like him. He started manipulating my shoulder, and actually found one place that didn't hurt. Then he'd twist my right arm for comparison. The real teller was seeing how far I could get my thumb up behind my back... my right halfway up, the left only to my hip. It's an inflammation of the rotator cuff, not bursitis after all. (This is a form of tendonitis, in fact. Do not try this at home.) He outlined three courses of treatment: exercise, Motrin, and as a last resort, cortisone shots. We are trying the first two first. I am scheduled for a shoulder class next Tuesday. He asked if I was going to use the pharmacy downstairs and when I said yes he pressed a couple of keys on his computer and said my prescription would be ready in 15 minutes. And, by the way, I'm overdue for my mammogram and Pap smear and I can make the appointments on the way to the pharmacy. Caught! Drat it!

I was amused when he gave me a SHOULDER OWNER'S HANDBOOK. Hey, if you have one of these "shoulder" things, you should appreciate it, it's a finely tuned instrument. And you shouldn't wait 6 weeks to have it looked at, either, though I do think travelling to Pittsburgh and having Christmas are pretty-good excuses.

After that we went to Tower bookstore and I spent my gift certificate. The book is THE LAST DINOSAUR BOOK and it is about dinosaurs as cultural items. The middle section has the animation, "Gertie the Dinosaur" in the corners to use as a flip book. While I was there and because I have gone OVER A MONTH without buying a book, I did get a few more. It was great fun.

Thence to the store to pick up New Year's Eve food, and my pictures, and home to have dinner, take my first happy pill, and watch the last 4 hours of A&E's Pride and Prejudice which Monica had loaned us. I see why she wanted us to watch. Rich was enthralled, too. Somewhere I read a review of Austen: "Books where nothing happens, and you can't wait to see how." We really enjoyed it.

I heard from the Elections Board. They liked the job so much they gave me a gold star!

I can't start the exercises till next week, though I'm supposed to use the shoulder to the point of pain, avoiding a "frozen shoulder." The happy pill appears to be working, hooray. And so to bed.