Well, I�m actually sick. I have a low-grade fever (a little over 99 degrees, but my usual body temperature is about 97.8) and my sinuses hurt. They�re a little stuffy but it�s not pressure that I feel. They just hurt. I don�t like it. My throat tickles, too, and I cough a lot when I�m not sucking on something. This bites. I�ve got a holiday to worry about. I don�t have time to loll around and recuperate, fer cryin� out loud!

Ed and I went to lunch today for our date. It was nice to be alone with him. He�s much nicer now that his cold is starting to abate. I hope I don�t turn bitchy like he did. At lunch we discussed Christmas gift ideas and what to do with our 600-some-odd dollar state income tax kicker check that came in the mail yesterday. Do we put it toward a new washer and dryer and call it Christmas? Or a new computer? Or get my new kick-ass digital camera? Choices, choices. We don�t know what we�ll do with it yet. It�s nice to have it come right before Christmas, though. I feel very fortunate this year. After lunch, we went to Costco and bought our turkey for Thursday and it was only $.79 per pound! I was so amazed.

We have local programming now. For the past 5 years, our channels have come from either LA or NY on our satellite and I�ve felt so out of touch with our own community but finally, we have local programming. I watched the news at 5pm and every time they would say Portland, I�d think "Hey, they just said Portland!" It was kind of funny. I sure won�t miss hearing news reports of murders and shootings and high-speed car chases in "the Southland," that�s for darn sure!

I won my first ebay auction yesterday. It was exhilarating! I bid on a Hoya 52mm circular polarizing filter and only had to pay $10.50 for it plus $2.90 for shipping. Not bad�those are usually around $30 so I got a good deal. I�m going to look for more goodies for my old camera�extension tubes and macro lens to start.

I hope I feel well enough to go to school tomorrow. I�ve got film to print, dang it! I only have one more week of class left. That doesn�t seem possible! How did the semester go so quickly? I think I�ll check and see if I can register for next term yet.

Mary, you�ll be delighted to know I wrote this entry in Word and am pasting it in. I usually write on the fly but my access is limited tonight so I have to write it offline. J

Time to go�I need to do a few things before I head to bed. Ta!

--L