Around Michiana

JAN. 1-31 (SELECTED DATES) | SOUTH BEND FARMERS MARKET

Indoor market featuring home-grown produce, dairy products, meats, eggs, maple syrup, jams and jellies, handcrafts, artwork, jewelry, more. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 1105 Northside Blvd. 574-282-1259 southbendfarmersmarket.com

JAN. 6 | GOSHEN FIRST FRIDAY: “FIRE AND ICE FESTIVAL”

Featuring professional ice carvers and fire dancers. 5-9 p.m. Friday Free admission Downtown area 574-312-9922 downtowngoshen.org

MULTI-EVENT VENUES

LERNER THEATER | ELKHART

• Jan. 27, Tusk: The World’s No. 1 Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, 8 p.m. Friday, $39 to $59 410 S. Main St. 574-293-4469 thelerner.com

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY PARKS | SOUTH BEND

• Jan. 13, 20, 27, “Click and Go!” cross-country skiing lessons, 3-5 p.m. Friday, Red Barn, SP, $15/person. Please arrive 15-20 minutes before start of program. • Jan. 7, Overhead and Underfoot: Winter’s Secrets, Part 1 of 3, 8:30-10 a.m. Saturday, Harvest Room, SP, $15/person for three-part series, registration and payment required by Jan. 4. • Jan. 14, Cross-County Ski Class, 9:3011:30 a.m. Saturday, Red Barn, SP, $15/ person, registration and payment required by Jan. 11. • Jan. 18, Creative Canvas, 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Brown Barn, SP, $20/person, painting supplies provided, registration required by Jan. 10. • Jan. 19, “Winter Fling for the Little Ones,” 10 a.m.-noon Thursday, Brown Barn, SP, special activities for children 5 and under, $5/child, free for age 2 and under, registration and payment required by Jan. 17. • Jan. 27, Cake and Cardio for National Chocolate Cake Day, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Red Barn, SP, $1 per slice of cake, regular rental for skis and snowshoes. • Jan. 28, Sweet and Savory Maple Cuisine, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nature Center West Wing, BW, $15/ person, registration required by Jan. 25. St. Patrick’s County Park (SP), 50651 Laurel Road, South Bend; Bendix Woods County Park (BW), 56960 Timothy Road, New Carlisle; Ferrettie/Baugo Creek County Park (F/B), 57057 Ash Road, Osceola 574-654-3155

MORRIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER | SOUTH BEND

• Jan 20, Nate Bargatze: “The Be Funny Tour,” 7 p.m. Friday, $39.75 to $79.75. 211 N. Michigan St. 574-235-9190 morriscenter.org n

How to be a nurturing plant parent

in three easy steps

(StatePoint) Plants add color, life and vibrancy to your home’s indoor and outdoor spaces and can even improve indoor air quality. However, if you are new to plant ownership, you may be wondering how to make your foliage thrive. Here’s are three tips for healthier plants:

Make a move: Many plants that do well outdoors in the warmer months can’t tolerate the cold. So don’t wait for subfreezing temperatures to bring planters indoors for the season. Be sure to give your newly-transported plants the right amount of light. This may require using special grow lights. Keep in mind though that different types of plants thrive better with different color spectrums and intensities, so group plants under the right lights accordingly. If your indoor air is dry in winter, you may find misting the leaves of your warm climate and tropical plants will help provide needed humidity.1 Prevent pests: Unfortunately, keeping houseplants often attracts insects that can harm them and bug you. But there are steps you can take to prevent a pest problem in your home. One important thing you can do is to be sure you are not overwatering plants. Too much water in effect drowns plants. It can also create standing water that becomes a breeding ground for flying insects. You can also provide round-the-clock protection from fruit flies, gnats and flies by plugging a Zevo Flying Insect Trap into a regular outlet near your plants and wherever flying insects enter your home or gather. Rather than chemical insecticides, the traps use multi-spectrum light technology to attract flying bugs into a discreet glue sheet cartridge. When the cartridge is full, replace it and toss the used one without ever having to touch a dead bug. To learn more, visit zevoinsect.com.

Know your lifestyle and limitations: There are many plant species that while beautiful, don’t require much care. So, if you’re new to owning plants, consider starting out with lower-maintenance options, such as succulents or snake plants. Because these plants don’t need much water, they are also great options for those who travel frequently or those who are simply forgetful. Have furry friends? Always check whether a given plant is toxic to pets before bringing one home.

2 3 Having a green thumb can seem like magic. However, with the right tools and knowledge, anyone can become a nurturing plant parent. n

Does color affect our MENTAL HEALTH?

By BethAnne Brink-Cox House and Home Feature Writer

Though we might say we have the blues, most people identify depression as gray. Think about that for a minute–gray skies do seem pretty gloomy, while blue skies generally lift our spirits. Why is that? What’s behind that?

Studies have shown blue and green create a calming atmosphere, definitely a reason so many waiting rooms and doctors offices are often painted in those colors. Close your eyes and envision a spring meadow, with bright shades of green as the earth wakes up to another season, and the clear cerulean sky above (with maybe some puffy white clouds for good measure.) It can be just that simple!

Chris Doncaster of Doncaster Flooring explained they’re often asked for uplifting colors in their designs.

“Color and health are becoming more popular as the pandemic has hit. People are watching their health and looking ahead to also stay healthy. Not only by watching their diet and cleanliness, but also looking at color.

“Color can help psychologically, help with anxiety and depression when we come into these winter months as things become dreary and cold.”

She further explained, “Paint colors can influence your feeling and your home to help calm, soothe, energize and stimulate. Colors feed your mind, body, spirit needs and goals with a visual reaction.”

Colors affect us in more ways apart from our homes than we might realize. Most fast food places, especially in the early years, used lots of red, orange and yellow shades in their decor, wrappers, signage, everything down to the tables, chairs and the trays the food came on. Why would they do that? Well, orange and yellow can stimulate appetite and red is all about passion and energy.

It’s also the reason we see so much red and pink on Valentine’s Day–all those heart shaped boxes of chocolates! Red means love to 68% of people, and pink speaks love to 50%. (Not to mention all the red we see at Christmas–big red ribbons, Salvation Army kettles, Rudolph’s nose–they all have an impact of one sort of another.)

It’s also true that colors are more seasonal than we might realize: summer clothes are almost always fresh, bright colors, shades that make you think ‘beach’ and flowers and sunlit water, while winter clothes are usually darker, more dramatic shades. Does that mean that getting out your summer clothes–or buying new ones–is an automatic lift of the spirit? Well, for some it might do exactly that. In homes where people slipcover their furniture, it’s a pretty likely bet there are summer patterns and fall/winter patterns and colors.

Debbie Carpenter of Sweet Water

Interiors, Goshen, said, “We just go with more cheerful colors if a room has a darker shade of paint and they’re ready for more brightness. Lighter tones and brighter tones of fabrics, accessories–some that are really fun, like accent pillows with happy sayings.

We have everything from area rugs to lamps with designs that are cheerful. Artwork is good, too, like a painting of trees, you know, the glitter in the painting of shadows? There are wonderful happy colors everywhere. And light fixtures can be fun and light-hearted, maybe with beads? It just depends on your chosen decor.”

Doncaster added, “Besides paint colors we look at flooring. Taking these colors and finishes by doing a light color throughout helps make the space look bigger, not claustrophobic. Getting back to nature colors makes you feel relaxed.”

Incorporating this knowledge into our mental health, especially through the winter months, can be very important, and it can be as simple as letting in more natural light–think about the dazzle of sunlight on snow, which might seem colorless, but really isn’t–look more closely, and you just might spot a rainbow or two. n

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