Another week have gone and it is only 10 days until Christmas. That is hard to believe! I was at the Fayette Mall today and it was pretty crazy, but not as bad as I expected. I was so excited - I found a watch repair place that was able to replace the battery on my watch without me having to send it in. I also had the pleasure of sitting next to, in the food court, a lady from Scott county who told me her Homemakers' group, the Buffalo Club, is responsible for the gorgeous painted quilt blocks on sides of barns in the area. The ladies paint them free of charge, other than materials. They also do lots of other volunteer projects. I need to find this group in Fayette County.

I stopped by Tates Creek HS on my way to the mall to drop of the two playaway audiobooks I had borrowed and to donate some graphic novels and other YA titles. I love this library. I was only there for about 20 minutes but during the whole time there were teens coming up to check out books and there were others on the computers. I am going to be doing a day long booktalking workshop at the HS in June - how fun!!

I can actually move my neck to the right without hearing awful noises and gasping in pain. The muscles in my neck, arm, and upper back are still sore, but the sharp pain is gone. The cervical facet block yesterday at the pain management clinic worked!! It was quite uncomfortable, if not down right painful, to have the injection needles stuck in my neck and I could feel the pressure as the stuff was going in, but I woke up this morning with less pain and more movement in my neck than I have had since May, so a miserable few hours was well worth it. The pain relief could last for only a few days, or for a couple of months, but however long it lasts I am a happy camper. I go back in January 10th for biofeedback to try to learn how to manage the muscle spasms.

Stopped at Urban Active Fitness and bought Steve and I an early Christmas present - a membership. They used to be part of Gold's Gym but went independent. What a gym! It is huge, but what I am interested in is the pool. I was given a "prescription" of water aerobics 3x a week and they have a nice heated pool so I guess I start tomorrow. I did water aerobics with Mary when she was pregnant and enjoyed it so we shall see. Steve doesn't know it yet, but he is going to go to spinning classes. :-)

My recent Christmas reading has been Ann M. Martin's On Christmas Eve. What a delightful feel good book about about an 8-year-old who is determined to meet Santa on Christmas Eve and give him a present. She has a snow globe with a spring scene for him to enjoy in the North Pole. Tess asks Santa for a gift he cannot give her - a cure for her best friend Sarah's father, but even Santa cannot cure his cancer. But, he can help to make sure Christmas stays alive for Sarah and her mother. The moment when Tess meets Santa is so precious as is her realization that the animals truly can speak during this magical night of the year, including her beloved dog. This is a one of those books that is going to be classic, in part because it is set in the 1950s when life was much simpler for our children, but also because it is a beautiful but gentle read aloud for the Holidays. This is keeper for both the home bookshelf and the library shelf.

All for today. I have all kinds of ideas what I want to do while I am able to move around a bit. Maybe I can convince Steve to drive through the Horse Park tonight so we can see the lights. We are supposed to get snow/freezing rain during the weekend so now would be a good evening to do it.