Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Walk~a~bout...

We are walking in my neighbourhood today...
I took my IPhone with me and took some pictures of some of the sights.
Hope you'll enjoy what you see...it's a wee thank you to you all
for your kind and thoughtful comments on my blog.
I have not been able to respond individually to all your comments because I have so much homework due for my French class which requires my immediate attention.


There are many beautiful gardens in our community.
When I was growing up here Victoria was known as "The City of Gardens."


The colours of this iris are quite lovely...
burgundy and purple with a splash of yellow.


Purple and mauve with orange...
artfully painted by Mother Nature herself.


This home was used in the series Gracepoint which has been filmed here locally for the past few months.
When I sauntered by the crew were removing a lot of their props and tidying up.
I wonder where the owners have been living for all these months.
Perhaps they flew off to the south of France or Tuscany Italy!


These Lands' End trail shoes have seen a lot of pavement and should be replaced sometime soon.


I've always loved this grand home.
It has recently been sold to a young family.
 Several generations of the same family lived here until the woman who was born in it had to move into assisted living...she is 97!


The Cook Street Village is our wee shopping area.
Locals refer to it simply as The Village.
The used book store is a wonderful place to spend time perusing the shelves...


The heritage chestnut trees line the street.
Many are old and in need of removal which the city is doing and replanting younger ones.
They create such a vast canopy overhead.


Mercedes Lane is a woman's clothing shop.
They sell hats, fashion jewelry, shoes and a few pieces of shabby chic furniture.



The market has been here as long as I can remember and is owned by the original vendor.


The view looking south on Cook Street towards the book shop.
There are 4 or 5 coffee shops and a pizzaria, a bank, 2 hairdressing studios, a pub, pet shop, wine merchant, pharmacy, doctor's office, 2 grocery shops, an optical store, a second hand shoppe, a senior's centre, another woman's clothing store, and Rainbird a shop that sells Hunter boots, rain coats, jackets and umbrellas.
If I were to have my druthers I'd like to see a fabulous gift shop open up.


The book I am currently reading...
after I finish my French homework I plan to brew a pot of tea and read a few chapters.

I'd love to know what you are reading.

Hostess

26 comments:

Susan B said...

Thanks for taking us on a tour of your neighborhood! Looks like a lovely spot.

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Leslie,

It is so intriguing seeing the neighbourhood in which a blogger lives. Suddenly everything becomes much more real and one has a context for the writing.

Your local area looks incredibly floriferous and well cared for. It is so nice when one's neighbours look after their environments as much as one takes care of one's own. The mature trees are particularly impressive. Lilacs and Chestnuts look wonderful when in full bloom as they are on your photographs.

And how lucky you are to have all your everyday needs catered for right on the doorstep. It is so nice not to have to make long journeys for every shop. A bookshop is such a happy sight. Sadly, they seem to be disappearing from most high streets.

Swissy said...

Lovely pics of your neighborhood. Thank you! I'm currently reading Henry James' "The Princess Casamassima". And my book group book for this month is "In the Garden of Beasts", which is chilling...and true.

Philippa said...

I am reading Wild Swans, by Jung Chang. I picked it up at a secondhand book sale in a church hall recently, having been meaning to read it for ages. It is shaking and extraordinary.

KSL said...

I love your neighborhood, so charming. Some sneaker advice - you should have two pairs of sneakers for exercise and alternate them - prolongs the life of both pairs of shoes and better for your feet too. I'm reading (and almost done with) Me Before You, which I love.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Greetings!
We are very fortunate that so many people enjoy pottering about in their gardens and making our streets so beautiful. We get a lot of precipitation here in the Pacific Northwest so naturally the plants thrive.
My husband reads more books on his IPAD but I cannot bring myself to let go of my book habit...I would consider it if I were on a plane but I love the feel of the pages and the weight of the book in my hands. (not too heavy a tome though)
Our city has quite a few independent book sellers and to the best of my knowledge they are doing well...but like the newspapers they are in a precarious position with technological tools available these days.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It looks so much prettier when the sun is shining!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Garden of Beasts! The title sounds ominous...chilling and true? I must investigate that book now as you have me curious.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I read that the author researched the book for over 10 years which is no small undertaking...

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

You are right I should have two pairs...I must watch for a sale soon.
Saw your FB post with your adorable Pearl, just lovely!

Lynne said...

Lovely neighborhood . . . my reading has been on pause for a few weeks while all my extra time has been spent with spring clean up, pruning and planting and such. The porch is ready and waiting for me to have a book in hand . . . Thank you for your recent selection.

Patricia said...

Thanks for the tour of your lovely neighbourhood! Life there looks splendid!

Madame Là-bas said...

I am reading Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters, a biography that I bought in St.Ives. How is your French class going? I find that watching French movies on Netflix is great practise for developing listening skills. When I was young, my BFF's grandmother lived in Victoria and we liked to visit there. You are lucky to have those small shops nearby. As I get older, I walk more and I like to browse and to visit local shops a lot. We have yellow iris blooming in our ponds right now and Monsieur released some little fish. Each time we pass, we check that they have survived. May is turning into June with lots of colour and blue skies.

Jeannine said...

Thanks for the tour of your neighborhood. Very charming. I am reading mysteries by MC Beaton - the Agatha Raisin series.

Anonymous said...

It looks like you are very lucky to have flat land to walkabout on! I live in a hilly place! ! ! I don't do well going up hills! :-) Emily

Pearl in Vancouver said...

I'm currently reading The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. I was taken in by the title - I saw it at Costco one day, and passed it by. But I kept thinking about it, wondering about the young girl who was the book thief. So back to Costco to get the book!

Sheila said...

I miss the Village! I lived down there on Linden from 1988 till 1995, then back again on Vancouver from 1996 to 1998. I walked down Cook St only Saturday last. Lovely pics, L!

Jim & Sonya Guthrie said...

Thanks for the lovely pictures of Fairfield!! It makes me miss the area when I would go there after work sometimes. The Cook Street Marketplace is owned by a Dutch man, and you are right, he has been there since he opened it many years ago!! I especially liked your picture of the burgundy, purple with a splash of yellow Iris...SO beautiful :)

Kerrie Roberts said...

Love the tour of your village. You are very lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

Charlene said...

Such beautiful pictures! Thanks for the tour.

AR said...

Thanks for the tour of your lovely village. I love "real" bookstores. I've just finished Home Sweet Anywhere by Lynne Martin. She and her husband sold their home in California and live abroad full time. I enjoyed their adventures in various cities, but like our nest too much to make such a bold move.

Deborah Montgomery said...

What a lovely area you live in! I love a town with small, independently owned shops. I just read The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle. Nice, light read.

Lorrie said...

You live in a very picturesque part of town. Lovely photos of homes and gardens. Iris is blooming in my garden, too. I'm reading some Agatha Christie mysteries that are new to me, set in the 1930s.

No Sacrifice Bags said...

Your photos of the Iris are exquisite I'm currently reading a number of business related books; trying to learn about current social media apps.

materfamilias said...

Lovely photos from a part of Victoria I love. btw, my Royal Sunset rose is (finally) blooming -- so happy I got to see a few of its gorgeous blossoms before heading away from my garden.

aurora raby said...

I really enjoyed looking at your neighbourhood Leslie. Thank you for showing us it looks very verdant and colourful. Lively too. It is so interesting to see the local areas where bloggers live...simple but so interesting. I am reading on my kindle The Memoirs of Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun" a free download. She was a considerable woman artist who painted Marie Antoinette then after the revolution had to decamp and went to St Petersburg to continue painting portraits of the rich and famous! Her portrait of Countess Golovine is my favourite...it's in the Barber Institute, University of Birmingham.