Hello JCOS Family and Friends!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter break. Peter, the girls, and I have been relaxing on our “staycation.” R & Q have enjoyed playing Lego Batman and have slept in late every morning. Peter finished assembling a marble maze contraption and has been cooking delightful meals (homemade saag paneer being one of my favorites). The cats have been found sleeping awkwardly in every single half-empty box in the house. I have been dieing pysanki eggs and experimenting with a T-Fal fryer donated to the IA this year; I’ve learned how to make some awesome brussel sprouts (although the girls would argue there is no such thing).
We have all done a lot of reading. I thought I would share with you the three titles I have most recently enjoyed, in the hopes you will write back and let me know what you folks are reading.
Vessel, by Sarah Beth Durst, is a teen fantasy that takes place in a desert world where, once every century, an individual from each tribe is selected to be a vessel for a god or goddess. By page 35 Liyana is cast from her nomadic family and left to die. Oh, and her world is full of drought and wolves made out of flying sand.
Cherub, by Robert Muchamore, stars James, a rebellious, intelligent teenager with a little sister and a mother who deals in stolen goods. CHERUB is an institution of highly trained and talented spy agents all under the age of seventeen. I’ve read a lot of books recently starring the “teenager trained to be the superhero/villain” lately, and this is one of the better ones.
The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham, is a science fiction classic published in 1951. Everyone around the world oohed and aahhed at the amazing meteorite shower, only to wake up blind the next day. Everyone except a handful of people who, for one reason or another, were kept from seeing the spectacular event. The few remaining sighted people are left to witness the post-apocalyptic scenery. Bad enough? Wait for it… How about those three legged carnivorous plants that have suddenly started roaming the streets shooting people with poisonous stingers?
I look forward to seeing you all soon. Remember, when we return to school we are in full on BRIDGES mode and will be working on our Passages lessons and deciding on our SDL topics. Consider making your final payments for the Snow Mountain Ranch trip. At this time, we don’t have enough money to cover the room and board, let alone the classes we hope to take!
Fondly,
Gabrielle