Winter Blues

With the weather forecast showing another blizzard on the way, now more than ever I am missing the summer.  They say the nor’easter is going to dump about 18 inches of snow across our region of the country, but all I want is sunshine.  The summer is, by far, my favorite season.  When I was younger my friends and I used to go to the beach whenever we had the opportunity.  As we’ve gotten older we don’t go as often, but I make up for it by lounging by my mom’s pool.  She lives nearby so almost every weekend I bring my dog to her house so he can swim and I can sunbathe.  Not only is the weather more enjoyable in the summer, but so is the food.  My fiancé and I barbeque almost every night.  More often than not, our friends will join us and they each bring something to eat.  After dinner we sit in the backyard around the fire pit until we run out of wood to burn.  For now, I will have to settle for the fireplace instead.

VOCABULARY:

Forecast  (n.)  prediction

Blizzard  (n.) winter storm that brings lots of snow and high winds

Nor’easter  (n.) winter storm that brings cold weather and usually rain or snow

Lounge (v.)  lay around; relax

Sunbathe  (v.)  lay in the sunshine

Barbeque  (v.)  cook food on an outdoor grill

Fire pit (n.)  large outdoor container for burning fires

Fireplace (n.)  indoor area for burning fires; bottom of the chimney

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY

Explain (in your own words) the difference between the following pairs of words:

1. Blizzard and nor’easter

2. Lounge and sunbathe

3. Fire pit and fireplace

Describe or explain the following words in your own way:

                1. Forecast

                2. Barbeque

GRAMMAR POINT

Pronouns are words that are used in place of a full noun.  (Example: My dad went to the store. He bought groceries.  “He” is the pronoun used in place of “my dad”)  Common subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we and they.  Common object pronouns are me, you, her, him, it, us, you and them.  (Note that you, and it can be both a subject pronoun and/or an object pronoun.) 

GRAMMAR ACTIVITY

List all the pronouns in the above text and who or what each refers to.

Vamos a Mexico!

My best friend recently announced that she and her fiancé will be tying the knot in Mexico this coming October.  She had been anxiously awaiting the proposal because they have spoken about getting married several times.  Of course, all of our girlfriends happily accepted her request that we tag along as her bridesmaids.  I’ve never been to Mexico before, aside from a day trip from Los Angeles to Tijuana, so I am especially excited.  I immediately googled the resort and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of amenities included.  Surprisingly enough, even one full-day excursion is included.  I wouldn’t be even slightly opposed to going ziplining while we are there because it is an opportunity that rarely presents itself.  We are definitely going to make an adventure out of this wedding!

VOCABULARY

1.  tie the knot  (v.)  to get married

2.  proposal  (n.)  request of marriage

3.  tag along  (v.)  to come with

4.  googled (v.-past tense)  to search the internet

5.  amenity  (n.)  extras

6.  excursion  (n.)  outing

7.  zipline  (v.) slide downward while hanging from a wire or cord

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY

Complete the crossword puzzle with the vocabulary words.

GRAMMAR POINT: 

Just the way the adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs.  Adverbs describe verbs or how they happen.  The adverbs in the text above are indicated in italics.

GRAMMAR ACTIVITY: 

Find all the adverbs in the text and write down the verb that is being modified.  Be sure to consider the entire sentence as some adverbs may not appear as close to the verb as you would expect.