Playing Possums

Look who came up to visit tonight!  We actually had two possums on the deck with us tonight, and they could care less if we were sitting there at the window gawking.  The two of them were just chowing down on the seeds there, chewing and chewing, and we discovered later, spitting quite a bit out.  I'm not sure what's up with that, but it was interesting seeing these guests up on our desk.  We didn't shoo them away, but we'll bring in the plate tomorrow night as we don't want to attract any larger menagerie.  With the winter weather approaching, we may actually leave all kinds of things out on the snow, but we'll see how the forecast develops.

Speaking of snow, I was out there today amongst the throng of shoppers, battling for bread and milk.  Okay, not so much bread.  But definitely milk.  I got two gallons, mainly because we go through that much with tea and other things for Nana.  But the it was towards the end of the milk supply at that one grocery store.  The ground beef was my biggest challenge.  I actually went to three different grocery stores before finally getting that taken care of, and that was pretty pricy.  One thing not commented on here too much is the word "inflation."  It's been bad.  The latest story is that inflation is at its worst place in forty years.  Prices for a lot of things have gone up pretty fast.  Gas is the most notable, as we have to stop at the pump so often.  I was just reading how the average price of gas per gallon in the country was $2.42 in 2021.  This year, that average is currently $3.30.  So we're paying an extra $9-$10 each time we stop to fill up for gas.  And we're paying extra each time we purchase groceries and other items too.  Hopefully this won't head into a dangerous territory, but we're not exactly filled with confidence in our government administration currently, which seems to be either in denial or accusation mode, rather than communicating a plan to do something about it.  And that's just inflation, of course.  

Anyway, changing the subject, today we filmed another escape room game that we created, one related to our "Get a Clue" theme.  It was fun, and the contestants actually figured it out, although one clue had them hung up for a while.  It'll be great putting that all together.  I'm still working on the St. Patrick's Day escape room here and there.  It should be fun for the family, I think.  We'll see!

Maddie had taekwondo tonight, working with the sword and also spending some time instructing the younger ones.  She's doing well at both, and she has these wonderful moments of pride when she sees a student take her advice and then afterwards succeed.  I'm quite proud of her abilities as an instructor.  I'm not saying she's going to be a teacher or anything, but her ability to relate to students is great.  She compliments them on their strengths, and then goes into the areas where she can help them improve.  It's all positive, and often it is received well.  Some students are a little less receptive, but don't take that personally Maddie, as you know there are students even in high school that just aren't in the mood to listen or improve.

Anyway, we got home tonight, and watched the weather somewhat.  This coming snow storm seems definite.  We'll be as ready as we can be, which means we were looking up ideas for a snowman.  This year, I'm wanting to make a classic snowman, the kind with a top hat.  I've never done that before, so I got a top hat from the prop room, and we'll be ready to go when that snow comes.  

We read tonight, nearly closing out the first part of "The Return," the first of a three-book series of the Kingdom Keepers.  We'll head to "The Syndrome" next, as it's a in-between book for the series.  We have three to go after this one.  We read tonight, and then said our prayers.  The possums are still out there munching on the back deck.  How did they find us?