Team Interplanetary Biscotti

[Ambi]

Stargirl
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Date Completed: 4/7

UNO:

1 - #1 in series
6 - title

Blue Cover

[SandyL]

Title: Things You Save in a Fire
Author: Katherine Center
Read: 4/4/20
How it works:

0 - Standalone
1 - character - Owen
2 - title - Things
3 - character - Cassie Hanwell
6 - character - Joe Sullivan
Skip - author - Katherine Center
Blue?

[SandyL]

Title: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
Author: Nujood Ali
Read: 4/5/20
How it works:
0 - stand alone
5 - title - I
6 - narrator - Meera Simham
9 - author - Nujood

[SandyL]

Title: Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin
Author: Mariana Zapata
Read: 4/6/20
How it works:
0 - author - Mariana Zapata
5 - character - Isaiah
6 - character - Sacha
8 - character - Eli

[SandyL]

Title: Legend
Author: Sawyer Bennett
Read: 4/7/20
How it works:
2 - character - Tacker
3 - series # - Arizona Vengeance #3
6 - author - Sawyer Bennett
8 - character - Erik
9/Skip - character - Pepper Nantais

[Ashley]

Book: Class Mom
Author: Laurie Gelman
Finished: 4/8/20

How it works:
0 - ch first name Zach
1 - first in series
2 - ch surname Peetsa Tucci
3 - ch surname Kay Howard
4 - ch surname Kim Fancy
7 - ch first name Vivs
9 - ch first name Nina
Skip - ch first name Peetsa

Blue cover - planned to use for 9 blue

[Ambi]

Kulti
Marina Zapata
Date completed: 4/8

0 - standalone
6 -ch- Sal
SKiP - title

[Christina]

the mini challenge for April will get posted in the next couple of hours and starts on April 12 already! (countdown to be added)

[Daniela]

How is everyone doing?

I just finished my yellow cover book, looking for my next audio book to listen to during runs, cleaning and playing computer games

[Ashley]

Curious to see what the new mini will be! I'm still working on Well Met for audio. I find that I'm not doing much listening because of the things I've been doing lately, but I'm enjoying it. I'll definitely finish by the end of the month at the latest. I'm having a hard time getting into An Anonymous Girl, but I think it might just be that the toddler is requiring more attention than normal this week. I've been getting tons of ebooks in from the library, so now I've just got to see which ones I want to read first and what I can use them for...

In general, I've really hit a weird emotional patch right now. I am fine being home and have plenty of things to do. I'm never bored. I've been getting a little overwhelmed with the uncertainty of how this coronavirus is going to unfold in the next few months and not being able to really plan anything. Also just realizing how many people are affected in so many different ways that I may not have even thought of before. That might also be contributing to my lack of getting into this book. So far we are healthy and doing well staying at home... so I am so thankful for that.

[Daniela]

@Ashley happy to hear y'all are healthy and well.

[Ambi]

You Are Not Alone
Author: Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
Date completed: 4/10

UNO:

3 - author - Hendricks
6 - ch - Shay
7 - ch - Valerie
SKIP - author - Sarah Pekkanen

Blue cover

[Ashley]

I'll read 1 Yellow with and 8 Yellow with .

[Christina]

here's the April mini challenge:


This is an optional mini challenge for our UNO players. This month we are joining another team for a bake-off!

In February, you assembled your space treats and in March you embarked on your space travel. So now it is time to come back home and have a tea party with your new found treats.

◈ You can choose any recipe from a different team (found here). With that recipe in hand you need to decide as a team how to eat their treat. You do this by:
→ picking word(s) to "spell-it-out" you can do this with up to 15 letters (they need to be complete words, not only spelling partial words)
→ picking word(s) that you can find on the cover of books or as words in text. You can do this with up to 15 words
→ deciding what else you would like to serve at the tea party. Complete the story on the spreadsheet using book titles. (15 words) Be as creative as you like. You can use as much or as little of a title as you see fit.

◈ Every book read, i.e. every task completed, is worth 10 points.

◈ If you complete all your requirements for a tea party, your team will receive 30 bonus points.

◈ Share your tea party with the team that created the recipe you were given for an additional 10 points. (This means posting to their thread your tea party story)

◈ Books can be started at any point since the start of the UNO challenge (Feb 1)
◈ Books need to be finished after the start of this mini challenge on April 12, 7pm AEST (countdown is here) and before May 1 at 7pm AEST


◈ Books used for this mini challenge do not need to be separate books for what you are claiming for your UNO hands
◈ The usual book length rules apply
◈ Team spreadsheets will be updated with a mini challenge tab so that you can track your books and claim your points

[Christina]

we have to write yet another story, yay xD

[Ashley]

I feel like maybe it's time for me to go to bed. This all looks like nonsense to me and I can't even comprehend what exactly we are supposed to be doing. I'll try to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow... or maybe someone can translate for a tired mama?

[Ashley]

I was just glancing at the spreadsheet and noticed that Class Mom is listed as 9 Blue for ch Nancy. There technically was a character named Nancy but she was a child and I don't believe her character spoke. I would feel safer going with the character Nina... I'm not sure how/if these characters are checked though.

[SandyL]

Title: One Day in December
Author: Josie Silver
Read: 4/9/20
How it works:
0 - standalone
1 - title - One
2/8 - narrator - Eleanor Tomlinson
6 - character - Sarah

[SandyL]

Title: Forever Mine
Author: Erin Nicholas
Read: 4/10/20
How it works:
1 - series name - Opposites
2 - series # - Opposites Attract #2
4 - title - Forever
6/Skip - character - Samantha Kane
7 - narrator - Vanessa Edwin
8/9 - author - Erin Nicholas

[Daniela]

I'm a bit confused myself, need to read it over when I'm fully awake xD but I think we should decide on a team's recipe we want to use first, then it'll be more clear and we can answer questions regarding this mini better

[Christina]

I /personally/ would go for Galaxy Donuts because- have you looked at their Team photo???? I've been OBSESSED with it ever since uno started!! But that's just personal preference hah. Whatever.

Let us know what you guys think, wanna do any specific team's recipe? (Galaxy Donuts' recipe is fairly long so we would have a lot of words to work with, too)

[Daniela]

I don't mind which recipe we choose. Everyone just leave a message until the end of the day! So we have one chosen once the mini challenge starts

[Ambi]

I like Galaxy Donuts.

[[deleted user]]

Galaxy donuts would be cool!

[SandyL]

That works for me too

[Daniela]

As most voted I'd say we take Galaxy Donuts, I hope you're ok with this @Jen :) I'll post the full recipe in here and in the spreadsheet after I have eaten

[Daniela]

Galaxy Donuts
Donuts
Ingredients
· 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
· 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
· 1/2 cup warm moonjuice (110° to 115°)
· 1/8 cup pomegranate juice
· 1/8 cup blackberry juice
· 1/3 cup butter, softened
· 1-1/3 cups star dust
· 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 3 to 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
· 3 tablespoons jam (can also substitute Alien Wax™️
· 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
· Oil for deep-fat frying
Directions
· In a small metal bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine moon juice, pomegranate juice, blackberry juice, butter, 1/3 cup stardust, egg yolks, salt, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth as Saturn’s surface. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (do not knead).
· Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (such as direct sunlight) until doubled, about 45 minutes, or 2 hours if in space.
· Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead about 10 times. Divide dough in half.
· Roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. round cutter. Place about 1/2 teaspoon jelly in the center of half of the circles; brush edges with egg white. Top with remaining circles; press edges to seal tightly.
· Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes (2 hours space travel time.)
· In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Make sure to be in an enclosed area if frying in space. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Roll warm doughnuts in the remaining star dust; add extra stardust or asteroid powder to taste.

Jam for donuts
Ingredients
· 4 ½ cups crushed blueberries
· ½ cup dried sun-chips (for spice)
· ¼ cup lemon juice
· 1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
· 7 cups star dust
· 3 (1 pint) canning jars with lids and rings (best to use pressurized ones when working in space)


Directions
· Combine blueberries, champagne, lemon juice, and pectin in a nonreactive pan (best to do this in a room with gravity in order for jam to turn out correctly); bring to boil. Stir star dust into blueberry mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture returns to a boil. Cook until starsust dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes.
· Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Ladle jam into hot, sterilized jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top. Careful not to let the jam escape if youre in zero gravity, its very hot. Run a knife or thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles or star fragments that didnt dissolve. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue if in zero gravity. Top with lids and screw on rings, like Saturn.
· Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars into the boiling water using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary, to bring the water level to at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the pot, and process for 15 minutes; 45 minutes if in space.
· Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area, such as the Moon.

[Ashley]

I still don't really understand what we are doing. I like donuts so yay for Galaxy Donuts... but are we supposed to do all 3 items next to the arrows under the first bullet point or just pick 1? Do we just pick whatever words we want from the recipe? Also, what exactly is "spell it out"? I'm really feeling like a newbie on this one.

[Daniela]

I'm still confused myself, especially about part one as I'm not quite sure if we can spell out as many words as we want.. Spell-Out is basically: take the word F-L-O-W-E-R. If we want to spell it out we need to read one book for each letter, f.e I can use a book called "Fortuna" for the letter F, as the title starts with F.

We do all parts, so 45 books in all. I think part 2 and 3 should be easiest

[SandyL]

Title: Bury the Lead
Author: David Rosenfelt
Read: 4/11/20
How it works:
0/2 - character - Zachary Tucker
3 - series # - Andy Carpenter #3
4 - character - Freddie
6 - character - Sondra
7 - character - Vince
8 - character - Edna
9 - setting - New Jersey
Yellow cover??

[SandyL]

Title: Quiet Man
Author: Kristen Ashley
Read: 4/12/20
How it works:
2 - character - Tex
3 - character - Hawk
6 - character - Smithy
8/9 - character - Eddie Nightingale
Skip - author - Kristen Ashley

[Daniela]

So for part 1 of the mini challenge, Christina suggested we take the words "baking sheet" and "salt" as they seem the easiest. So have a lookout for those letters. Same rules as with the main challenge apply (author, title, characters,..)

For part 2 we need to find 15 words from the recipe in our books or on the covers (can also be images). So please read through the recipe and see if you find anything. With e-books it's easiest as you can just search for them. With many books you can also do this through google books, so maybe have a look at that.

[Daniela]

SandyL wrote: "
Title: Quiet Man
Author: Kristen Ashley
Read: 4/12/20
How it works:
2 - character - Tex
3 - character - Hawk
6 - character - Smithy
8..."

I guess you finished this when the mini challenge started? Anything it can work for? (like other characters or a word from the recipe?)

[Ashley]

Title: An Anonymous Girl
Authors: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Finished:4/14/20

Uno:
0 -Standalone
2 - ch first name Thomas
3 - author surname Hendricks
4 - ch last names Jessica Farris
6 - ch surname Dr. Shields
7 - ch surname April Voss
9 - ch first name Noah
Skip - author surname Sarah Pekkanen
Reverse - Ambi read this book

Red cover

Mini:
Part 1 -
B - ch first name Becky
A - title
N - ch first name Noah
G - author first name Greer Hendricks
S- ch surname Dr. Shields
H - author surname Greer Hendricks
T - ch first name Thomas
L - ch first name Lizzie

Part 2 - I just picked out a handful of the words and searched for them on Google books. Let me know if at any point you need more.
p 20 surface
p 43 edges
p 96 jelly
p 137 salt
p 137 butter
p 137 pan
p 298 beaten

[Ambi]

Ashley wrote: "
Title: An Anonymous Girl
Authors: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Finished:4/14/20

Uno:
0 -Standalone
2 - ch first name Thomas
3 - author surname Hendrick..."

This was one of the highly messed up books I read last year. *shudders

[Ambi]

Title: Lord of the Fading Lands
Authors: C. L. Wilson
Finished:4/14/20

Uno:

1 - 1 in series
2 - series title
4 - setting - Fading Lands
6 - ch - Sol
7 - ch - Vadim
8 - ch - Ellie
SKIP - ch - Kolis

B - ch - Bel
A - ch - Annoura
K - ch - Kolis
S - ch - Sol
L - ch - Lillis
T - series title

small - pg 20
dust - pg 196
warm - pg 44
water - pg 18
star - pg 319

[Daniela]

Regarding part 2: it's enough to give us 2-3 words I think. We need 15 different ones, and you can always have a look in the spreadsheet which ones we already used

[Daniela]

I just added a couple books from the Uno Pixie shelf to see which coloured cards we still need:

2 WD4 (already used Bue 6 & 9, Red 4 & 8)
7 Yellow
2 Green
4 Green
6 Green --> Ashley
9 Red

Please have a lookout for those. I'm trying to find a green cover book myself, if you have ideas from your previous reads I could read, let me know!

[Ashley]

Title: Ghost
Author: Jason Reynolds
Finished: 4/15/20

Uno:
1 - first in series
2 - ch first name Tia
3 - ch surname Aaron Holmes
4 - ch surname Mikey Farrar
6 - ch first name Sunny Lancaster
Skip - ch first name Patina/Patty
Reverse - Natalie read this book

Yellow Cover

Mini:
Part 1
B- ch first name Brandon Simmons
A - ch first name Aaron Holmes
G - Title
S - ch first name Sunny Lancaster
H - ch last name Aaron Holmes
T - ch first name Tia
L - ch first name Lu Richardson

Part 2
p 36 grease
p 37 tight
p 142 boiling

[Ashley]

I'm going to give Molly: The True Story of the Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats: The True Story of the Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats a try. It says in the description that Molly has to win over Colin's girlfriend, Sarah, so I'm assuming we could use it for 6 Green.

[Ashley]

Oops, I meant to include the cover, not the link. Here it is.

[Jen]

Hey guys! I just wanted to apologize for not reading much. March ended up being a crazy month and I was looking forward to reading more in April, but then I've been really sick for the last little bit.
I am starting to feel better, so once I feel like existing again I will get back in to reading, hopefully before the end of the month.
I hope everyone is looking after themselves and staying safe and healthy.

[Daniela]

Jen wrote: "Hey guys! I just wanted to apologize for not reading much. March ended up being a crazy month and I was looking forward to reading more in April, but then I've been really sick for the last little ..."

feel better soon!

[Ambi]

Tell Me Three Things
Author: Julie Buxbaum
Date Completed: 4/16

UNO

0 - standalone
2 - title
5 - setting - Illinois
6 - ch - Scarlett
8 - ch - Ethan

Mini challenge

B - Author last name
A - ch - Adriana
I - setting Illinois
S - ch - Scarlett
E - ch - Ethan
T - title
L - setting - Los Angeles

lemon - pg 251
jar - pg 66
metal - 298
bowl - 234

[Ashley]

Assuming I can get through these next books pretty quickly, I found at that Class Mom has a sequel and I was able to get the ebook from the library. If we still need something green at that point, I can give it a go. I know it will work for 2 (second book in series), but I'm not sure what else it might work for as I don't know for sure which characters will be back.

[Ashley]

Woah, I feel like that looks way less green on my laptop than it does on my phone. Is it green?

[Ambi]

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever
Author: Bill O'Reilly
Date Completed: 4/16

UNO

0 - standalone
1 - author last name
SKIP - title

Mini challenge

B - Author first name
A - ch - Abraham
K - title
G - ch - Grant
L - ch - Luis

portion pg 81
oil pg 274
active pg 62
dry pg 132

[Daniela]

@Ashley it looks green to me :)

[Ambi]

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Author: James Cain
Date Completed: 4/17

UNO:

0 - standalone
9 - ch - Nick
SKIP - ch - Papadakis

star - pg 41
heat - pg 42
oil - pg 40
place pg - 114

[Christina]

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been here much lately... There's a lot going on currently and I've been super busy, AND my reading slump is back :( I hope it'll be better again starting Monday!