Betty LaVelle
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Historical Fiction (and romance) - Gini Rifkin

11/6/2022

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In my spare time (hah!) I have been reading a friend of mine's novels. Never thought I would read a romance novel (and never knowingly had in my lifetime), but Gini Rifkin's western tales have caught my attention. She spices her books with not only romance, but a sense of humor.  

​I particularly liked Lady Gallant, a somewhat steamy historical fiction book about a nurse in the Russian/British Crimean war of the 19th century, who falls in love with a correspondent from Britain.  Also, fun reading is her short novel Trapper's Moon, a love story about a mountain man trapper who encounters and rescues a kidnapped sight-impaired Native American beauty and ends up traveling with her...

Her newest release is Break Heart Canyon (haven't read it yet) among her many award-winning books.  You can take a look at her work at https//ginirifkin.blogspot.com
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November 10, 2022

11/6/2022

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Coming Soon.  Soon, possibly next week, the plucky Rooster Rockstar returns with new feathers and continuing lust for his ladies. After somewhat of a demise, Rooster is resurrected in The Reprise of Rooster Rockstar, a new collection of poetry, prose, photography and art. This book contains at least 22 pages of vividly colored photography and artwork and a new genre of abstract photography.

All work is based on actual experiences. You can savor a ride on the magical menagerie carousel in Nederland, Colorado when you read the poem "Carousel." Or, when you read "The Goat," you can imagine the talkative goat roaming the fields outside of Lyons, Colorado. In this book, I explore delights in the world and share insights praising life, honoring death--features that we all may retain on our personal journeys.


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If You Knew Susie

8/10/2018

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      If you ever have had a cleaning service, your relationship with a housekeeper may have been different from ours. I recall the old popular song “If you knew Susie,” which goes on to proclaim Oh, what a girl! That was our housekeeper, Susie. Her real name was Lila Ann but she liked to be called Susie—and Susie seemed to fit her better.
 
     Susie was in charge of our household for almost four years. During so much time, one may not realize how much personal information you willingly and unwittingly share. If we didn’t knowingly share, she would ask questions like a journalist: who, what, where, when and sometimes, how much? Susie knew who our best friends are, what time we ate our meals, where we shopped, when bed sheets were changed, music we enjoyed (she liked the old-time western tunes), the kind of toothbrushes we used, our selection of clothing, the brand of coffee we drink—all intimate details one does not completely share with others. She knew more about our personal and social lives than anyone on the planet.
 
     She brought flowers when she discovered either one of us was ill and then telephoned later to check up on our progress in getting better. Suzy knew our favorite sports teams and favorite players. She would get excited about the Bronco’s draft and take time from her housecleaning to share the ecstatic shouts and cheers, sitting down to catch glimpses of player interviews and games on T.V.
 
     Susie would comb her hair and put on makeup in her car parked in front of our house (she said she wanted to look pretty before she saw us) before bouncing through our front door to go to work, almost passionately. We looked forward to her visits knowing that when she left our house, it would sparkle. Sometimes during her visits, she would positively comment on the furniture and even the art and paint on the walls. She enjoyed re-arranging our knick-knacks according to her sensibilities.
 
    Sometimes Susie was stressed: she had episodes with her son and other family members that stressed her; she had health issues and believed her vegan diet would cure her ailments. Recently Susie was bubbling about her trip to Denver on the back of her son-in-law’s motorcycle to visit a gourmet vegan restaurant. She was committed to a new vegan diet and aware of local eateries that served appealing vegan foods.
 
     Our girl Susie loved animals. She rescued four dogs and three cats with special needs from the local humane society and used her savings to care for the pets. They took up a lot of room in her mobile home. She told us that she had to clean and paint the floors after she finally was able to housebreak the animals.
 
     Susie was scheduled to work at our house on Thursday, August 2, but never arrived nor did she telephone to let us know she would be late. It was an out-of-the-ordinary situation because Susie was always on time and never late without first calling.  I telephoned her cell phone number and received a message, “the person you are calling is not available.” Twice more I called that day and the next morning and received the same message. 
 
     My husband and I were concerned Susie may be in the hospital and did not have her contact list handy to get in touch with us. We decided we would go to her home and stick a note on her door, “Susie call us.” Instead, I looked at a job application she completed before she began working to locate a phone number and reference name of someone who possibly would know where she was.
 
     I found and called the reference number and identified myself to the person answering the phone. I asked, “Do you know where Susie is?”
 
     After a few seconds of silence the person on the end of the line responded, “Yes, she was murdered.” My heart stood still and I hung up. I checked the local newspaper on line and there was the headline: “Neighbors often saw ‘person of interest’ sought in suspicious death near Longmont.”
 
Numbness and shallow breathing set in like being outside in the dead of winter with temperatures below zero.
 
 

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Humanity Exhibit

5/28/2017

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Humanity Photography Contest Exhibit
June 10 thru July 29, 2017
The DARKROOM @ Bin 46

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       OPENING RECEPTION
    Friday, June 9, 6-9 p.m.


Come visit me at the opening reception of "Humanity" on June 9 at Bin 46 in Longmont. Jim and I will be having dinner there  around 5:30 p.m. and then attend the reception. Their address is 600 Longs Peak Avenue. My photography "Hoe Down" will be on display.
                                                          Hoe Down                              Betty LaVelle          

If you wish to have dinner before or after the reception, please contact Bin 46 for reservations, 720-438-7410. Food, beer, and wine will be served at the reception.



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Authors' Open House

9/26/2016

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A fun day at Longmont Library's annual festival—come and visit with many writers who have exciting stories to tell. Get autographs from authors and see the great selection of books that are available.  Hope to see you there this Saturday.


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Coming in August

6/29/2016

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A collection of selected poetry, photography, and art.
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Call for Guest Writers 

3/2/2016

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I'm taking time off from my blog to concentrate on writing a new book of poetry and art (and to do continuing research for "Don't Tell Mary".) Hope to return to blog writing in the spring. If you would like to write an article for this page, please let me know what you have in mind. I would love to have some interesting topics by guest writers. You may contact me on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/BettyLaVelle.author or at the Contact Me tab on this website.
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Peace on Earth

12/20/2015

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In the City of David a savior is born who is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will toward men.
Luke 2:8-14

_______________________________
Dear friends and followers,

     I am taking the month of December off from writing so that I may have extra time to spend with family and friends.

     Happy Holidays to everyone!
                                                       Betty

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Wally

11/21/2015

 
Recently, I had a hole in the wall right through the orange-peel texture of the drywall. It was not just any hole, but a gigantic cavity because of my husband canon balling into the wall with his shoulder when he lost his balance and fell in the hallway. 
 
I am so thankful that he was not hurt but, still, I was mad at the misfortune of having the hole in direct line of eyesight for anyone sitting in our dining room—my favorite room for entertaining guests. Why couldn’t the hole be in the bedroom or his office?  I cut a rectangular patch from foam board, painted it, and carefully tacked it over the hole to try to hide the gap and keep any critters from wandering in or out of the space. And I called Mike. Mike is my best guy friend. He knows how to fix everything, or he knows someone to call if he cannot do it. (My husband is somewhat household-challenged.)
 
After I gave Mike the details, he said, “I will send Wally over to take care of it.” I met Wally once before when I was looking for Mike at a rental property he owns. All dressed in white with spatters of white mud compound on his contractor’s uniform, Wally was inside vertically stretched near the top of a ladder and maneuvering a trowel to repair a 10-foot high ceiling. I introduced myself and we chatted a while. I was impressed with his agility.
 
A few weeks later after my conversation with Mike, Mike telephoned and related that he and Wally were coming over the next day to fix the hole in the wall. Both of these precision-minded men arrived early in the morning. Mike staged the area, laying down tack cloth throughout the carpet to try to contain any drywall residue from the injured wall vicinity. He then left to go about his other chores for the day. I started a conversation with Wally—so friendly and happy in his work.
 
Waldermar “Wally” Schielke grew up in Chicago after his family left Stuttgart, Germany following World War I. After spending 17 years in Chicago, he joined the Navy during WW II. He met and married his wife in Oak Park, Illinois. At that time, his brother, Sig, was going to school in Colorado. Brother Sig and another friend had also started a plastering business. The friend was called to action in the Korean War and killed on his very first mission. Sig wrote to Wally and mentioned that there was great fishing in the high and low country of Colorado. Wow, thought Wally. He and his wife threw their wedding gifts into their car and headed to Boulder.
 
Wally joined his brother in the plastering business. However, plastering—a very skilled trade—was losing ground and dry walling was taking hold. The process was easier and faster. Wally began his dry walling career in 1957-58. Sig continued with the plastering business.
 
I stopped our chat to observe Wally’s fastidious progress with eliminating the hole in the wall. I asked him when he was through, would he consider doing surgery on my face to cover the wrinkles? He said, “Oh no, they would get me for a murder rap.”
 
Why is Wally still doing dry walling?  Wally’s wife died four years ago and he said he does not like sitting around. The health magazine he reads recognizes exercise, exercise. “I am trying to do that,” he says.  “My wife and I started with nothing. Poor as church mice. Didn’t care to budget. What we had left over was what we earned and saved. I don’t mind working. My kids are okay.”
 
Wally remarks, “Young folks building a house on their own, they start out with the drywall and learn that when it comes to finishing the drywall, they usually call in an expert.”
 
Wally may be the most experienced drywaller they can call. Wally celebrated his 89th birthday this month.  Happy Birthday, Wally.



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This article was published in the Longmont Times-Call:
LaVelle, Betty (2015, November 28.) Happy Birthday, Wally [LIFE]. Longmont Times-Call, p 5B.

Events

10/31/2015

 
December 4, 2015-January 23, 2016
"Red, Rouge, Roja"
The DARKROOM Gallery, Longmont, CO

One of my artworks, "Barn Wood" has been chosen to be in the DARKROOM's exhibition "Red, Rouge, Roja—the Color, the Feeling, the Passion."

The photography gallery located at 515 Main St. (next to the Longmont Theatre) in Longmont, Colorado features world-class photography. I am honored that my photograph depicting how the color RED is expressed in a photograph was selected.
Fifty outstanding photographs will be displayed. COME VISIT.

The exhibition runs from December through January with a reception on Friday, December 11, 2015 from 6-9 p.m.

( Note: This art was purchased by a retailer for further exhibit.)
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