Happy September! After a great summer which included a two-month blogging break, I’m back. One lovely summer surprise was an email from Stephen Kenned (former editor of the Testimony magazine and fellow poet). He told me about a new chapbook he had recently published and would I like a copy? YES! I Read Your Poems… Continue reading I Read Your Poems Out Loud (review)
God's Hostage: A True Story of Persecution, Imprisonment, and Perseverance by Andrew BrunsonMy rating: 5 of 5 starsWhen Andrew Brunson and his wife answered a request to come to the police station in Izmir Turkey on October 7, 2016, Andrew didn’t realize that he wouldn’t see the inside of his home again for almost two… Continue reading God’s Hostage – review
As a book person, I’m always delighted when I find interesting new art books. Last week, when an art instructor mentioned the Loomis method of drawing faces, I did a quick search and found Successful Drawing by Andrew Loomis. Loomis’s book is the most detailed instruction on drawing correct perspective that I’ve found. His explanation… Continue reading Wisdom from Andrew Loomis
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas to all the readers of my blog! Thank you so much for coming by and sharing a few minutes with me almost weekly. I wish you all the blessings of the season--safety, health, the company of family and friends, good food, and maybe a break in the weather to wear off… Continue reading Merry Christmas!
Poppies - Photo © 2017 by Violet Nesdoly In Flanders FieldsBy John McCrae In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and… Continue reading A day of remembrance
Fall is the season of delicious new-crop apples. We're working on a bag of this year's Spartans--crisp, juicy, sweet-and-sour… so good! Today, a couple of apple poems to celebrate this delicious fall fruit. Apple Collection Because they come in wood, brass, marbleclocks, tiles and trivets Because their roundness pleasestheir coats of red, yellow, green and… Continue reading Apples
“Though I have never been to Mount Olive, New Jersey,I have spent years of my reading life on the Mount of Olives,trespassing, looking for a brown-skinned teacher…” writes Brad Davis in his book’s title poem, “Trespassing on the Mount of Olives.”* The poem summarizes well the quest which Davis shares with us in the collection… Continue reading Trespassing on the Mount of Olives by Brad Davis – review
Happy New Year! Here we are, already seven days into 2022. How is the year treating you so far? Have you made (and perhaps broken) resolutions? Are you trying something new? I am! My family knows what to give me at Christmas these days. A gift card to my favourite art supply store gets 5… Continue reading The sun rises on something new
Sunday is Mother’s Day—I’m sure I don’t need to remind you! Mother’s Day reminds me of my own mother and the fact that it’s already 15 years ago that I gave her her last Mother’s Day card. She died about six weeks after Mother’s Day in 2006. I still miss her, though signs of her… Continue reading “Portrait of my mother at twenty” – a poem
Some Bible stories are just too deliciously visual to resist bringing to pictorial life. I found Jonah to be one of those. In my 2018 project to journal at least once in each minor prophet book, Jonah got the full treatment; an entry on each of its four pages. I love the end-of-Jonah challenge cast… Continue reading Jonah (#BibleJournaling)
Violet Nesdoly 