Tuesday Tidbit

It's May 1st! Yay! Gulp. It's getting close. Okay, for your tidbit of the week. I love fresh bouquets. During the spring, summer, and fall, I pick a bouquet from the garden every Friday morning. This week it'll be roses, but it can be something small like pansies or huge like calla lilies or birds of paradise. My house feels more homey with a fresh bouquet of flowers and that makes me a happy woman. ; ) It's the little things, you know?

Are there any little things you do just to make yourself smile?

Footnote: This picture is not from my garden because I'm big and pregnant and too lazy to take my camera outside. ; ). It's from here. 

What's blooming

I had fulling intended to post something baking related but the garden just looks so beautiful this time of year! ; )

Here's what's blooming in my garden:

Peace is blooming in the Thomas backyard. ; )

Calla lilies are so elegant and easy to grow. I love these plants

This is the big azalea in full bloom. The heat will take it's toll fast on these delicate flowers. 

The purple flower is my lilac. I couldn't get closer  to it due to my enlarged belly. I bought this shrub about 3 years ago. They take about that long to bloom so this is the first year I have flowers. The scent of these, coupled with the orange blossoms behind it, is something like what paradise must smell like. My  copper-colored irises are also getting ready to bloom. they're my favorite.

This is the clematis that escaped its trellis. ; ) But doesn't it look pretty blooming with the geranium? This is my favorite geranium. It has delicate pink and blue flowers in the spring.

Celebration Giveaway

It's not every day yourbook wins an award and Altered Destiny winning the RT award for fantasy/paranormal is so far the highlight of my career. So I think a celebration is in order! Don' t you? And what better way to celebrate than to give away some fantastic prizes. My fellow writers have graciously offered to donate their e-books for a ginormous give away.

We have:

Steam and Sorcery by Cindy Spencer http://www.cindyspencerpape.com/index.html

Acceptable Risks by Natalie Damschroder http://www.nataliedamschroder.com/

Target of Betrayl by Melissa Ohnoutka  http://www.melissaohnoutka.com/

Rough Ride by Keri Ford http://keriford.com/

Texas Two Step by Cynthia D'Alba http://cynthiadalba.com

The winners choice of book from Liz Talley http://www.liztalleybooks.com/

Demon Crossing by Eleri Stone  http://eleristone.com/

Priestess of the Nile by Veronica Scott http://veronicascott.wordpress.com/about-song-of-the-nile/

Quarter Square by David Bridger http://www.davidbridger.com/

The Last Slayer by Nadia Lee http://www.nadialee.net/

And last, but not least,

a key chain compass in honor of the tool that led Jaden through the White Forest.

So what do you have to do to win all this wonderful? That's easy. Just mention Altered Destiny on the web somewhere. Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, your blog, etc. Take your pick. Just be sure to paste a link at my blog or at Everybody Needs a Little Romance so I know about it and that's it! You're entered! The winner will be announced on May 4^th 2012. So what are you waiting for? Link away! : ) 

What's blooming?

I am a writer but one of my other passions is gardening and cooking. So I thought why not indulge myself a bit? So I'm going to try to post something about either of those subjects each Friday. This are one of my favorite spring-time flowers. Here in zone 9, ranunculus bloom in April and May. This is one of those lovely, generous plants that bloom the more you cut! And as most of you know, I love cut flowers. I don't remember the exact type of flower this is but I love the vivid color. They glow in the sunlight. Ranunculus bloom in a wide range of colors though so take your pick! They grow from a bulb-no seeds-and will eventually spread. I have a cluster of them planted with my purple anemones. (I know my husband took a picture of them, but it's past time for the anemones already) Trust me, it's a gorgeous display. These are planted with pale purple creeping thyme.