Sandra Cox's Blog, page 150

Wacky Wednesday AND Happy Birthday

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To celebrate Flower Gardens And More is free today at Amazon. Help yourself to a copy.
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The Crystal is .99¢

This and That

THIS...

My Christmas Rose didn't make it in time for Christmas. And then there was the cold snap where it just hunkered down and waited for warmer weather. But it's working on blooming now.

THAT...
Body Art.
You may have seen this before.  Pretty amazing isn't it?

And THAT....
Did you know that the hard rind around parmesan cheese can be used to make vegetable stock?

Winter Warm Up Tour with J.Q. Rose

Thank you, Sandra, for kicking off the Winter Warm-Up 2018 Blog Tour for Terror on Sunshine Boulevard on your blog. I look forward to visiting with you and your readers and to answering any questions asked of me in the comments.
Readers--Please leave a comment below because a lucky commenter will win a PDF copy of Terror on Sunshine Boulevard. Today I’m sharing tips on arranging fresh, cut flowers in this blog post because Sandra loves flowers and is quite the flower gardener. She has written an excellent, information-packed book on flowers, Flower Gardens and More. Plus my main character, Jim Hart, is an avid gardener, and his wife Gloria loves flowers in their yard. Nothing sparks up a mid-winter day like a vase of fragrant and colorful blooms.Before I became a published writer, my husband and I owned and operated a floral shop, garden center, and greenhouses in West Michigan. So these tips are ones I have shared with customers. Hope there’s a gem or two in here for you.

Basic Fresh Floral Design Tips by J.Q. RoseCut the flower stems on a slant in order to allow more surface area for water to enter the stem. Place the bunch of flowers in a bucket or large vase to allow the flowers to soak up the warm, not hot, not cold, water with dissolved preservative before beginning your design.Always give a fresh cut to the flower stem before placing it in the arrangement.Use a very sharp knife or scissors to cut the stems. Dull tools will crush the stem and not allow the flower to drink up the water.If you use wet foam for your arrangement, be sure to place the foam in a bucket of warm water with preservative dissolved in it. Then place the foam, cut to fit your container, into the water, but don’t hold it down in the bucket. Every inch of the foam needs to be wet. If you hold it down for a couple of minutes, water does not reach all parts of it and may leave air holes in the material. Your flower could dry out because the stem end is in air and not water. So leave it in to soak up all the water. You can tell when you pick it up if the block is full or not by the weight.If making a “plunk-it” arrangement in a vase, simply set the vase on the edge of the counter, hold the flower bunch next to the vase, and determine how tall or short you want the arrangement to be.  Cut at the point where the flower stems are even with the top of the counter.  Then “plunk” the flowers in the vase immediately. Easy-peasy.When making a centerpiece, determine the width and length by placing a flower or greens at north, south, east, and west. Determine the height by placing a flower in the center. Just remember to start your arrangement with five flowers, then fill in.Don’t forget to use various kinds of green foliage to make a lovely background for the flowers to showcase their colors.Include three shapes of flowers in mixed bouquets—a spike flower e.g. gladiola or snapdragon, round flower e.g. carnation or mum, and a form flower e.g. iris or rose. The rule is to place lighter colors at the top of an arrangement and darker colors at the base. But rules are made to be broken, so design your piece to please your eye.Leave space around each flower so you can see each one. Don’t cram them together so tightly that the viewer can’t appreciate each beautiful face.The most important rule is to make a bouquet that you will enjoy.  Really, how can you go wrong when working with brilliant colors, unique shapes, and pleasant fragrances? You can’t!
Back of the Book:  Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed or investigating mysterious murders are not the usual calls for first responder Jim Hart. He expects slip and fall accidents or low blood pressure emergencies in his retirement community of Citrus Ridge Senior Community and Golf Resort. The ghastly crime scenes turn the winter time fun into a terrifying season of death and mystery when the authorities cannot track down the predator responsible. Jim and his wife Gloria could escape the horror and grief by returning to their northern home, but concern for their friends and residents keep them in Florida. With the entire community in a dither over the deaths, the Harts participate in the normal winter activities of golfing, dancing, and pool parties with their friends to distract them from the sadness and loss.Can Jim and Gloria work with the authorities to discover who or what is killing the seniors on Sunshine Boulevard and stop the increasing body count?Tagline: Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed? Investigating mysterious murders? These are not the usual calls in a Florida retirement community for volunteer first responder Jim Hart.Terror on Sunshine Boulevard is available for purchase at these digital booksellers.Universal Link for major online retailers: https://books2read.com/u/4XoN8e

About J.Q.After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction. Her published mysteries are Deadly Undertaking, Dangerous Sanctuary, and Terror on Sunshine Boulevard released by Books We Love Publishing. Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She spends winters in Florida and summers up north camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.Connect with J.Q. Rose online atJ.Q. Rose blog http://www.jqrose.com/ Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor Books We Love Author Page http://bookswelove.net/authors/rose-j-q/ Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/jqrose

Congrats on the release, J.Q.

It's The Weekend

Street Art

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It's The Weekend

Can You Find It?

Can You Find The Eight?

IWSG Wednesday

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.
January 3 IWSG Question: What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing? As far as my schedule, and I use that term loosely: In the mornings I feed the critters (God forbid that gets skipped!), grab a cup of coffee, turn on CNN and visit my blogger buds. This is a gray area, but I consider blogging part of my writing regime. After lunch: I write. In the evenings I edit and if time allows work on my marketing strategy, which involves a lot of trial and error.  I don't have a publishing schedule. I have some loose goals that if stretched out I almost meet:)  What about you? If you write or craft do you have a schedule?My latest finished project:


AYoung/New Adult Paranormal/Light Horror Novel




On  the  eve  of  her  eighteenth  birthday,  Aurora  Valente  goes  through  disturbing changes. She purrs and cravesraw meat. Most alarming of all, she’s taken to chasing wildlife. Her aunt gives her a beautiful, antique choker and tells her a story about a shapeshifting Minder princess and the beast that hunts the Minder’sdescendants. To Aurora it’s only a story...till later that night when her world takes a turn into terror.
Amazon

The Last Jedi

I loved The Force Awakens and enjoyed The Last Jedi just as much. It was two hours and thirty minutes of sci-fi/fantasy punch-packed action. If you're a Star Wars fan, I trust you'll appreciate it as much as I did.  Even without Harrison Ford, on a one to ten, I give it a ten without popcorn.  With popcorn, a solid eleven.

     

Happy New Year and The Artists in the Family and...

Happy New Year.  I hope your Christmas was wondrous and that 2018 will be a great one.
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I'd like to share some of the baby girl's and our son-in-law's work. Meghan Cox paints in oils.



Jacob Lunderby's work combines painting, photography and digital manipulation.


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A friend/fellow author is part of a rescue group rehoming twenty endangered ferals in New Jersey as they get the funds.  They currently have set up a go fund me page: https://www.gofundme.com/savesummitcats.
Any help with donations or spreading the word will be much appreciated.
http://www.i-love-cats.comAnd...