Golden Poppies and Lavender and reading about Tudor England

Thank you to all my blog sweeties for your birthday wishes. You are each one a treasured friend in my garden of friends.
For today's blog post I saw these Golden Poppies and Lavender on my walk along the bay today.
They are growing two blocks from our house.
The red brick wall gets very hot and holds the heat which California poppies and lavender both appreciate. I think orange and purple / blue flowers on a red wall are an odd combination, but it works and they look right purty.
I had time to read a bit today, and before that I exercised in a pool for an hour and did a wee spot of gardening.
With my reading I get to time travel, in a way, and today I am in the Tudor Court, reading a not yet released book about Henry VIII's sixth wife, Catherine Parr. The book is "Queen's Gambit" and it is the first novel by Elizabeth Fremantle. When I saw the author's name I thought she was born to write fiction about England's royalty.
Do you like to time travel with a book too?

Garden Party

Three dear friends treated me to an early birthday lunch and each gave me a garden related gift. Do they know what I like or what?
Isn't that a fun saying on the pink bag "Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake."
A festive painted ceramic snail, a brilliant red begonia and a Coconut Sherbet pansy in a blue Easter basket.
THANK YOU LADIES.
Friends are as sweet as garden flowers.

Camellias floating in water

Our seven foot tall camellias are blooming now and I like to float camellia flowers in a bowl of water.
I like to see the photos of where you all live, some of you having pretty white snow and all the different weathers round the world.

Easter Flower Cross "He is Risen"

Easter Flower Cross
Originally uploaded by Avondale Pattillo UMC

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. ⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
⁶ But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. ⁷ But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” 
Mark 16:4-7 NKJV

Easter Flowers

Easter Flowers
Originally uploaded by CanWeBowlPlease
A poem by Helen Steiner Rice about gardens and spring.
"The Miracles of Easter"
The sleeping earth awakens,
the robins start to sing -
The flowers open wide their eyes
to tell us it is spring.
The bleakness of the winter
is melted by the sun -
The tree that looked so stark and dead
becomes a living one.
These miracles of Easter,
wrought with divine perfection,
Are the blessed reassurance
of our Savior's resurrection.

I do enjoy her poems and as we all probably do, I appreciate spring.
As a Christian I put my hope in Easter, and I think all of us like this season. I understand that Passover begins at sundown on Monday so this is a doubly joyous week.
In future posts I will chat about the wonderful book I am reading, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Antonia Fraser, and show some photos of what is going on in my garden.
Happy Spring to All.

Spider Mums

Mini bridesmaid bouquets
Originally uploaded by NativeBacon
Spider mums are flashy flowers, aren't they?
A week ago I bought us a bouquet of lime green spider mums and they still look pretty.
I grow mums but only the kind with small flowers.
The green spider mums were only five dollars at Whole Foods, and they usually find environmentally friendly sources.
No, Whole Foods doesn't know I'm writing this.
My other fav source for bouquets is Trader Joe's.
Do you treat yourself to flowers once in a while? I smile whenever I see them, in our kitchen.

When Donkeys Talk book review

When Donkeys Talk by Tyler Blanski

Does anyone else adore donkeys? I know a couple of you do, and even have donkeys, you fortunate people! This book cover caught my eye, and I am glad I read it.

The author writes in a friendly style, exploring how science misses out on the miracles around us. He writes “Is it any wonder we moderns don’t believe Balaam’s donkey could talk? Our cult of facts and laws leaves no room for mystery or magic, no room for God.”

Sometimes modern people think that creativity comes from within rather than without or God-inspired. Blanski confides here that at times he was blind to the miracles of God around him, forgetting that the cherubim and seraphim and demons and God himself are everywhere. His book contains some memoir and some theology, and is easy to read and understand. Blanski is a musician and pursuing holy orders in the Anglican church, and writes with a touch of humor about serious topics.

Yes, Scripture tells us that God made a donkey talk and that God continues to make miracles and is active in our world today. The author calls on us to become students of Jesus, fed by passages of Scripture, and to get out of the way or become a way for God to heal and love broken people.

I love and share this belief.

Thanks to Booksneeze for giving me this book to review. If you have a blog and are interested in reviewing Christian books, visit booksneeze.com and take a look at their program.