Hey! This is Mallory from the Children’s Department. I am writing to share what I have been doing while at home. I miss seeing everyone at the library and all the great conversations we have. I hope you are all doing well, and finding the silver linings in this strange situation.
I am playing lots of board games and dice games with my family. My grandpa’s favorite game is Farkle. My new favorite is a thrilling mystery game called Chronicles of Crime. This board game includes a VR element for exploring crime scenes, which is totally cool.
My mom and I have been watching the TV series A Place to Call Home, set in 1950’s Australia. This series is about a Jewish nurse returning from post-war Europe, and getting involved with the drama of a wealthy family. It was great to find something we can enjoy watching together. My mom loves historical dramas like Downton Abbey.
I’ve been working on some art projects, too. I like to make my own pins using shrink plastic, UV resin, and glitter. I sketch out my design first then trace it onto shrink plastic with permanent marker. After I bake it, the design shrinks smaller than I could ever draw, but keeps all its details. If you want to learn how to make them look for the artist Polymomotea on Youtube. He has some great tutorials that walk you through this process and other resin projects.
I wanted to see how the reading quest dragons would look if I added shading, and ended up making a small tutorial about shading and highlighting. It gives them a lot of depth, but I think I will be sticking with the flat colored version for now.
My mom and I started working on a diamond painting. We kept seeing ads for them and finally gave in. We work on it a little every day. It is simple, therapeutic and sparkly. About every few minutes one of us feels compelled to comment on how sparkly it is.
How I keep social. Most of my friends are playing Animals Crossing New Horizons. We chat and send each other gifts in game, and bury items all over our islands for scavenger hunt fun. With seasonal events like cherry blossom viewing, and Bunny Day there is a lot to do.
I’m listening to the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. I am almost finished with book 2, Scarlet. The Lunar Chronicles casts fairy tale characters in a futuristic world with cyborgs and a Lunar plague. I use my library card and the Libby app to listen to audiobooks for free.
And I have been enjoying the company of my snuggly kitties Carmello and Custard. It is nice to have pets to chill with and take my mind off the stressfulness of our current situation.
Mallory Thompson
Librarian