New Plants

During May I had a great time searching my favorite garden centers for more wicked plants to put in my garden. I hunted for plants with wicked sounding names, black flowers, black foliage, toxic tendencies, and spikey leaves or stems. Here's what is growing in my garden at the end of springtime:

Crystal’s Wicked Garden

Amaranthus ‘Love Lies Bleeding’

Artichoke

Bearded Iris ‘Before the Storm’

Black Mondo Grass

Bleeding Heart ‘Valentine’

Bleeding Heart ~ ‘Alba’

Calla Lily ‘Cantor’

Carnation ~ mini

Clematis

Columbine

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Dahlia ‘Mystic Wonder’

Delphinium

Dusty Miller

English Ivy

Foxglove

Globe Thistle

Heuchera ‘Violet Frost’

Hollyhock ~ black

Hot Pepper ‘Habanero’

Hot Pepper ‘Satan’s Kiss’

Juniper ~ Creeping

Larkspur

Leadwort

Lupine

Monkshood

Narcissus ‘Thalia’

Nicotiana

Pansy ‘Halloween’

Petunia ‘Crazytunia Black Mamba’

Poppy ‘Brilliant’

Rosemary

Rue

Shasta Daisy

Solomon’s Seal

Spiny Bear’s Breeches

Tufted Evening Primrose ~ Moonflower

Tulip ~ Black Parrot

Tulip ‘Queen of Night’

Vinca ‘Wojo’s Jem’

Virginia Creeper

Yarrow

It's springtime at the Memmott house! I have enjoyed watching all the plants, shrubs, and trees bloom and perfume the neighborhood. I've added some new photos to the Gallery, take a look.

Book Review: Devil's Food Cake by Josi Kilpack

Devil's Food Cake was another delicious culinary mystery by author Josi Kilpack. Josi did a great job with the character development and I loved the predicaments that she put main character Sadie Hoffmiller in. Reading Devil's Food Cake gave me anxiety which means I could empathize with the characters. I was still trying to figure out who did it up until the end. This story was delightful and I'm excited to read the next book in the series, Key Lime Pie.

Las Vegas Trip

During Spring Break, March 25th-28th, my daughter Madison and I took a road trip to Las Vegas. It was her graduation trip and the perfect opportunity for me to do some research for my Windows of Heaven novel. We stayed three nights at The Venetian Resort Hotel, went to the Criss Angel show, and mall hopped: Fashion Show Mall, The Grand Canal Shoppes, The Forum Shops, The Boulevard Mall, and Las Vegas North Premium Outlets.  

The Venetian is grand! We enjoyed our comfortable and elegant suite with a great view of the formal gardens below. The restaurant Grand Lux had delicious food and great service too. Several retail stores and restaurants have changed since I started writing Windows of Heaven and it was good to visit the Grand Canal Shoppes to see what still works in my story. I've discovered that I need to make only a few revisions. We found another chocolatier, Godiva, creating divine looking chocolate covered strawberries and scrumptious tasting chocolate covered banana, strawberry kabobs. The jewelry store that I remembered is gone but new jewelers are there. I chose one that fits well with my story. I was disappointed that International News wouldn't work for the story; I'll have to rewrite that scene and use a gift shop in its place for the setting. I also had written  a scene with the Living Statues that I mistakenly remembered at The Venetian when in reality they were at Caesar's Palace...revision necessary for that scene too.

 After being away from Las Vegas for many years, it was fun to visit again and see the wonderful changes. The city was much cleaner and looked nicer and friendlier. I had a fabulous time with Madison and hope she will invite me to join her again on another road trip vacation.

Book Review: Fair Catch by Cindy Roland Anderson

Cindy Roland Anderson's Fair Catch was a delightful novel. I thoroughly enjoyed following Ellie and Nick's sweet love story. The characters were captivating and the storyline kept me engaged to the very end. In fact, I wish the Epilogue was longer! I appreciated the importance of religion for the main characters and the lesson about forgiveness. It's always good to have a reminder...though I really disliked Thomas. Yes, forgiveness is hard for most people and trust can be hard to give.
I've also read Cindy's novel, Discovering Sophie. I loved that book and highly recommend both books for readers of good, clean romance.

A new look for my Blog!

Here it is, a new look for my blog and website! I'm very happy with the design that Laine Sutherland, of A Little Peace of Africa, came up with and I'm looking forward to updating my website pages.