Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Jewels of Winter Orchid Show at Riverside Gardens, MCP, Yo., OH








It's that time of year again - The Annual Jewels of Winter Orchid Show at Riverside Gardens in beautiful Mill Creek Park in Youngstown, Ohio. The show runs until mid-March, so you have plenty of time to get there. You'll fall in love with these beauties.

My own orchids at home are not in bloom in late February for the first time in ten years. The alternating warm and cold days affected them in the sunroom. Also, the more I travel, the worse all my houseplants look, even though I have a house sitter, dog sitter, plant sitter person. 


But the blooms at this show were exceptional and did not disappoint. There didn't seem to be as many as usual this year, but judging from my own plants at home, I understand why.





The Jewels of Winter Show is not just an exhibit. It is an educational forum. There is literature available on proper orchid care and propagation and usually you can find someone to answer a question or two. 



I've grown African Violets for years, but there is a special joy in keeping an exotic orchid plant alive from year to year, seeing it send out new shoots, and actually bloom! And the blooms will last for months with the right care.







Contrary to popular belief, orchids are not hard to keep alive, but there are a few very important rules. Most orchid plants die from one of two major causes: extreme fluctuations in temperature, or over-watering.




I add two ice cubes to the flower pot once a week, three if it is a big orchid plant.  That is it when it comes to water. They do not like to be sign or sit in water. Use pots made especially for orchids that have holes in them.


More on orchid care later. 

Monday, February 27, 2017

The Cat Collier Mystery Series by Carol Ann Kauffman


 This is how the Cat Collier Mystery Series begins. This is the opening paragraph from the first book, January Black Ice, where you meet the feisty redhead, Mary Catherine Collier, as she agrees to help an old hermit lawyer find out if a stranger in town is his son. 
Here is the section where Cat first sees the stranger-possible son. 



The short story mystery selections so far are:
January Black Ice
February White Lies
March Blues
April Yellow Moon


Amazon Link for January Black Ice:

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Schedule for Feb. 27 - Mar. 3, 2017


Mon., Feb. 27 - The Cat Collier Mystery Series 
by Carol Ann Kauffman
Tues., Feb. 28 - Jewels of Winter
The Orchid Show at Riverside Gardens, Mill Creek Park
Wed., Mar. 1 - The Psychedelic Cat
by Texas Paper Collage Artist Parker Kaufman
Thurs., Mar. 2  - Dying Thoughts - Second Sight
New Book by Joey Paul
Fri., Mar. 3 - Flower Paintings
by Anne Cotterill

Friday, February 24, 2017

The Time After Time Series by Carol Ann Kauffman

The series, TIME AFTER TIME, follows a pair of quintessential lovers, Richard and Nicole, through their lives together, in different places, in different times, with different names and faces and sometimes even on other planets. 

This follows the alternative theory that the relationships we forge in this lifetime, both the good and the bad, are continued into the future, and are rooted deeply in our past.


                                                                 



Whatever we do, whomever
we love, and the good and evil deeds we do today follow us into the future. 




Unsettled issues will present themselves again and again, until they are ultimately resolved. Those people who have had a profound effect on us in this lifetime will find us again in the future. 




And although everything changes, love remains.

I use the words reincarnation and incarnation, but they do not follow the philosophy of good deeds cause a higher level incarnation in the next live and if you are a really bad guy, you could come back as a bug, or something like that. It is simply a notion of a new awakening, or reawakening.



Books in the TIME AFTER TIME series are: BLUE LAKE, BELTERRA, The BASLICATO, BENTLEY SQUARE, WAITING FOR RICHARD, LORD OF BLAKELEY, and MacKALVEY HOUSE.




They do not need to be read in order, but BLUE Lake will give you an in-depth into the two main characters and their relationship.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Jewels of Winter, The Riverside Garden Orchid Show








It's that time of year again - The Annual Jewels of Winter Orchid Show at Riverside Gardens in beautiful Mill Creek Park in Youngstown, Ohio. The show runs until mid-March, so you have plenty of time to get there. You'll fall in love with these beauties.



My own orchids at home are not in bloom in late February for the first time in ten years. 

The alternating warm and cold days affected them in the sunroom.  


The blooms at the show were exceptional and did not disappoint. There didn't seem to be as many as usual this year, but judging from my own plants at home, I understand why.





The Jewels of Winter Show is not just an exhibit. It is an educational forum. There is literature available on proper orchid care and propagation and usually you can find someone to answer a question or two. 



I've grown African Violets for years, but there is a special joy in keeping an exotic orchid plant alive from year to year, seeing it send out new shoots, and actually bloom! And the blooms will last for months with the right care.







Contrary to popular belief, orchids are not hard to keep alive, but there are a few very important rules. Most orchid plants die from one of two major causes: extreme fluctuations in temperature, or over-watering.




I add two ice cubes to the flower pot once a week, three if it is a big orchid plant.  That is it when it comes to water. They do not like to be sign or sit in water. Use pots made especially for orchids that have holes in them.


More on orchid care later. 

Monday, February 20, 2017

The Art of Bertha Wegmann






Bertha Wegmann was a Danish painter who was born on December 16,1846 in Soglio, Denmark.  The family moved to Copenhagen, Denmark when she was five years old because her father had to change jobs. 


Although her father was a merchant by trade, he was an art lover and spent much of his free time painting. As a little girl, Bertha showed great interest in drawing and painting, but received no formal training until she was nineteen years old.



With the support of her parents, she moved to Munich, Germany, where she lived until 1881. She studied with historical painter Wilhelm von Lindenschmit, the Younger. Later she worked with Eduard Kurzbaugh. But studio learning was not for her. She wanted to paint from nature and the natural world.


Woman Sewing in an interior, 1891




Bertha Wegmann became the first woman to hold a chair at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (because she persisted). She passed away on February 22, 1926 in Copenhagen.

Once again, Gentle Readers, I claim nothing here as my own. All photos and information is from online research.  

Have a great day.
Hugs,
Carol

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Schedule for Feb. 20 - 24, 2017



Schedule

Mon., Feb. 20 - Bertha Wegman, the Artist
Tues., Feb. 21 - Jewels of Winter
The Riverside Gardens Orchid Show
Wed., Feb. 22 - The Southwestern Art of Stephen Morath
Thurs., Feb. 23 - Nitin Sharma's New Book 
Dear Office, You Suck!
Fri., Feb. 24 -  The Time After Time Series
By Carol Ann Kauffman

Friday, February 17, 2017

Interview with British Author Joey Paul

 Joey Paul
Swindon, UK



Good morning, Joey, and welcome back to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors. What have you been up to? I hear you have a new book coming out this month.
Yes. I write young adult crime/mystery, paranormal though I have also written a young adult romance and contemporary book. I have nine books published, with another two coming out this month. One is the fifth in series – Dying Thoughts – and the other is a standalone which is mostly crime/mystery.

What is your favorite genre to write?
I love writing crime and mystery, but I also find that alongside that I do love me some paranormal!

Favorite food.
Probably should say chocolate! But I also do love macaroni cheese! Yum!

Tea or coffee?
Tea, I'm actually allergic to coffee!

Pizza or ice cream? 
Pizza, ice cream is a favorite but it needs to be at certain times.

Wine or beer? 
Neither, I don't drink alcohol because it messes with my meds.

Where would you like to visit? 
Oh so many places! Right now I'd like to be somewhere warm like Hawaii.

Favorite musical artist. 
Busted  

Do you listen to music when you write?  What? 
No, I prefer to work in silence.

Me, too, Joey. That's why I prefer to write early in the morning or late, late at night. What makes you laugh? 
A lot of things, I actually have a good sense of humour, but I love jokes and hanging out with friends and making each other laugh.

Favorite work of art or sculpture. 
Starry Night by Van Gogh

How old were you when you started writing?
I was 13, but I didn't properly start until I was 19.

Describe your perfect evening. 
Snuggled up in bed, with a thunderstorm outside by nice and warm inside. My tablet on my lap and a good book on my Kindle.

Where do you get your inspiration? Everywhere! I'm serious, it comes at me from the strangest places but at the same time, I just have an over active imagination!



What do you do when you get a writer's block? 
I push through it. I've not had it for a while [touch wood] I know that it'll come, and when it does I just have to keep going.

Who is your favorite author? 
Oh I have so many, but one I always want to read? Harlan Coben.

Best book you ever read. 
There are so many, so so so many, it's like Sophie's choice with books!

Last book you read. 
Detour by Devorah Fox

What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
I actually don't think I'd be doing anything else. I have such limits on my mobility and energy and all the rest of that, that if I wasn't writing I probably wouldn't be doing anything at all!

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
There's two people. My best friend B, she's been my best friend for over 21 years now, and we get on so well. She became my carer when I got sick, and I am guardian to her daughter and we all live in the same house, just the three of us. 

The other person is my good friend, Kim. She helped me to see that I could be a writer and an author and I could do all of this and for that, she has changed my life.

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why? 
Probably my great Nan, she died in 2011 before I really got going with indie publishing and such and I'd love to talk to her, show her how much I've achieved, and just see her again.


What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer? 
It's a hard road, but keep going. Writing that first page is something to be celebrated, as is the first chapter and the second and so on. Keep going, it's hard, it's difficult and it can be soul destroying, but you are the only one who can tell that story the way you do, so keep going!

Thank you for being with us this morning, Joey. We at Vision and Verse wish you continued success in all your writing endeavors. 

Do you have some links for us to follow you?
Facebook: http://bit.ly/1VhLrWj
Amazon (US): http://amzn.to/1VhLHog
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1UcS61E
Youtube: http://bit.ly/1RSvQWx
Tumblr: http://bit.ly/1WhMqqE
Blog: http://www.joeypaulonline.com