3 books, 2 movies, 1 mess

Over the past couple of weeks I have read three really good books in a row. No picking up, reading through the first chapter and discarding. Start to finish. They were The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Help, and just finished Mr. Pip. Three very different novels, the last one set in Papua New Guinea. Lots of stars for each one. I thought the ending of The Help too contrived and I would have written it differently. Or I should say I might have reached the same denouement but would have gotten there by a different route.

Two movies I watched: A Single Man and The Band's Visit. The first, with Michael Douglas, made me squirm with discomfort, not because it was bad but because Douglas plays such a pathetic character and does it so well. Interesting ending. The Band's Visit was great fun to watch. It's about an Egyptian police band that goes to Israel and gets lost in the desert and ends up in a tiny Israeli settlement. Charming and witty and ultimately quite satisfying.

The mess concerns the entire house. We are heading to Mexico in four days. We are living around and among bags and boxes and suitcases filled with "essentials" including 5 mop heads (can't get them in MX), 6 boxes of Jello® Instant Pudding and 2 bottles of Kraft Tartar Sauce (for others), 2 jars of Mr. C's favorite peanut butter and horseradish (!), and who knows what else. Oh yes, 2 cases of good wine. Insanity on wheels!

The paper has been stopped, Netflix® suspended, the pool guy and gardener notified. I've had my teeth cleaned, legs waxed, tomorrow is a haircut, Tuesday is a pedicure. That's it for personal maintenance. Today I have to go through my stack of unread New Yorkers to decide which to take, which to donate to the local hospital's waiting rooms. Final chore is to get the house back into some semblance of its usual order for our tenant. We've been slowly working through each room so that on Thursday morning, around 3 AM, Mr. C doesn't feel he has to vacuum the floors and clean the windows before we drive off at 6:30 AM. Getting out of here is not easy! I'm glad we'll have a few days to rest from our labors before hitting I-8 on our way to Tucson.