Australia Day

G'day!  Maddie's small group tonight was good - a long one actually.  And that's okay - the girls were talking and praying for one another, and it just sort of went on for a bit.  And that was fine with us.  Traditionally, they play a game each week, and I try to make one up for Camille based on a thought she had to celebrate whatever holiday that Wednesday happens to be.  So today is Australia Day, and I made a memory game, where the girls had to find matching cards that all had something to do with Australia.  I love Darla up there.  You can see just a few of the cards, the opposite side showing a small graphic of Australia with a number on it to select.  Other cards featured Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman, as well as kangaroos, the Sydney Opera House, Ayers Rock, and the Australian flag.  I didn't have a card to show insane national leaders driving the land down under even further under because of draconian policies related to this virus.  Anyway, there was the game, and then the more meaningful night together with the girls.  I'm so glad Maddie is a part of this, and has been a part of it for so long.  

She was dong some homework today, but I brought home Chinese food because Mom was in the mood for that.  So we had some vegetarian plates, which we've had once before on this fast - the Jade Green without meats is basically a collection of broccoli, asparagus, and snow peas.  Mixed with fried rice, it's a nice meal.  Maddie goes for the egg rolls and the won ton soup.  We were apparently celebrating Chinese New Year a little early.  Don't worry - we'll get more Chinese food next week for our bigger celebration.  The Year of the Tiger is coming up soon.

Maddie took a picture the state of our snowman today.  It's hanging in there.  Sort of!  Another one "hanging in there" is our neighborhood cat, who seems to have taken a liking to us.  He'll jump up on a cushion in a nice comfy place in the house, and fall fast asleep without any worries.  It's nice and warm inside the house.  Of course, it's been slightly warmer outside lately during the day so that's not really a big problem.  At night, it's been colder, as what usually happens this time each year.  The cat spent the night with us the other night, not wanting to get up or move or go out or anything.  Only first thing in the morning did we hear the meowing, and we knew it was time to let him out.

The cat and the birds are entertaining to Nana, who looks on the back deck with amusement.  The cat took a cat nap on Nana's lap as she was watching the latest binge - this British baking show.  We like the show ourselves, but perhaps not over and over and over again all day long.  But that seems to make Nana happy so we're going with that at the moment.  She'll still dive into her mourning frequently, rushing upstairs to be alone and "talk with dad."  But we had some bright moments today too.  Good or bad all comes in waves, washing ashore at seemingly random times.

I finished the skit for Sunday today and sent it to Maddie and the other cast members.  The Sherlock Holmes mystery is moving on.  Mom made two new costumes, and I've got the musical tracks lined up and the scripts all printed, plus the keynotes for the day all set up.  

I've slowed down on the old radio shows that I've been listening to, shifting now to a podcast about each president.  I've become fascinated with Grant, and have learned quite a bit about Hayes and Tyler too.  I already knew quite a bit about Adams and Washington, but still learned a few more things with their podcasts.  Next up is Jefferson, who I recently read a book about his dealings with the pirates in the Mediterranean.  Speaking of Presidents, Mom got me a few new Presidential ornaments - there's a sale on these each year, and I'm doing a lot of catching up.  In the mail came one for Eisenhower, Grant, Hayes, and McKinley too.   These are wonderful ornaments, and they're now part of my growing collection of about thirteen or so.  Let's see... that means about thirty two to go.  I'm not entirely sure that Maddie cares one bit, except to say that these ornaments will be something she'll have to figure out what to do with some day.  Good luck - each one does have a bit of value, so there's that.

Anyway, tonight's programming was the latest episode of "The Book of Boba Fett," which for some odd reason did not feature Boba Fett.  It was a really good episode with jawas, an Ishi Tibb, Klatooinians, R5-D4, pit droids, Peli Motto, the Armorer, a N-1 Starfighter, and oh, by the way, it's Din Djarin, the Mandalorian!  Quite an episode!  We all sat and enjoyed it on the couch, this just before heading up to read, and then say our prayers.  We were all a bit tired tonight, and it's still cold out there.  So we stayed up a little bit longer, reading in our own beds, and soon were fast asleep.