What Goes Up, Must Come Down.

Aaargh. Craig got a call from his sister tonight that once again his mother is in bad shape. They'll be keeping us posted. But I looked around and knew that I'd better get all the Christmas stuff put away pronto. There'd be nothing worse than leaving town suddenly and coming back to all that Christmas mess later in January. So four hours later, it's all done and put away. Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is. It's so much fun putting all the Christmas decorations up, but I absolutely detest taking it down. Hopefully, his mother will improve again and we won't be taking another trip.

I watched two good movies over the weekend. The first, The Duchess, starred Ralph Fiennes and Keira Knightly in an English period film. Craig took one look at it and fled to another room, but I loved it. The second, Shirley Valentine, is one of my all time favorites. Craig balked at first, but he loved seeing the movie again as much as I did. In fact, I may need to watch it one more time before I return it! For anyone out there who hasn't seen it, the plot is about a middle-aged English housewife, stuck in her routine rut, who rebels and takes a trip to Greece with a friend. One thing leads to another and Shirley stays in Greece instead of returning to her mundane life. She takes the leap out of her comfort zone and goes for it! Here's my favorite quote from the movie:

"I have led such a little life. I have allowed myself to lead this little life when inside there is so much more. And it has all gone unused, and now it never will be. Why do we get all these feelings and dreams and hopes if we don't ever use them? That is how Shirley Valentine disappeared, she got lost in all this unused life."

That quote is certainly food for thought, and I definitely need to add the Greek islands to my Bucket List!

I also started a new book this weekend and only have a few chapters left. Gringos in Paradise, in the same genre as God and Mr. Gomez (my all time favorite), is about a middle-aged couple who set out on a new adventure and build a home in Sayulita north of Puerta Vallarta. Craig keeps trying to steal the book from me! I think we're both interested in thinking about retirement options. And I'm especially interested in that area. We actually planned on exploring the area north of Puerta Vallarta last May, but life intervened. Anyway, I like Gringos in Paradise so much, I've put a hold on Barry Golson's next book, Retirement Without Borders.