Wednesday afternoon...
2 squares of Belgium chocolate
Lapsang Souchong tea
a delightful magazine Victoria with a favourite French focus.
Mother's Paragon cup and saucer, now mine, and her sweet wee sterling basket.
A bittersweet day
as we handed the keys to mom's former condo over to the new owners...
the end of an era.
I took the afternoon "off" and cocooned at home.
It was wise to stay home as there were a few moments when I teared up.
Mom was a strong believer in stoicism and she bore all her trials with grace and dignity.
She never "aired her dirty laundry" in public and advised us to do the same.
I am doing quite well under the circumstances...
am taking one day at a time
taking life slow
going to Yoga
appreciating beauty where it pops up
giving thanks...
Home grown asparagus
harvested from The Humble Bungalow Garden.
Steamed lightly and served with a dollop of mayonnaise.
Sweet and tasty.
It is two years since I was in Paris
nibbling fresh white asparagus dipped in mayonnaise.
Its hard to believe that it has been so long since that dream trip.
Chartreuse green Euphorbia putting on a stellar show in the garden.
I like to think of these as flowers but I believe they are considered bracts.
A pretty little mix of perennials stand out against a weathered tree trunk.
The Demitasse Garden Centre has a wide assortment of plants.
They are located not too far from the home where I grew up and I love to pop by and wander along the aisles
perusing their stock for something new and different.
Many of our Humble Bungalow plants were purchased from this special nursery.
Soup for lunch after plant shopping...
this is a popular spot for local landscapers and trades people to grab a bite of lunch.
Cleaned out my closet and pared down my wardrobe even more...
who knew it was possible that I could find more things to consign?
I am making room for a few new things that I have on my wish list.
Bought a pink ball for the grandchildren to play with in the garden
and on the boat.
Have you heard of the Big Love Balls?
They have quite a following on Instagram.
New fragrance from France.
I ordered the reasonably priced sample pack of testers from Sylvaine Delacourte awhile back
and after wearing them for a few weeks I finally decided which one I like best.
Dovana
a beautiful atomizer
with a spray bottle inside and a spare one to use after the original is empty.
Current read...
picked up from the wee library
outside author Laura Bradbury's home in Oak Bay.
"Beach Combers Library"
when I am finished the book I will return it and drop of another one to share with the readers in that neighbourhood.
Public art on Oak Bay Avenue...
Time for me to close for now and get our dinner.
Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.
XO
25 comments:
Hi Leslie, I'm interested in trying out the perfumes that you mention. Could you tell me - how big is the travel atomiser? Is it lipstick-sized, or bigger? I think I will send away for the samples, there seems to be a good range of different scents.
Such a delightful post - beautiful in thought, emotion, sight and scent...
I love wee libraries! What a simple, fine concept. I even enjoy seeing how they vary in appearance. There is only one in our small village that I know of, and yesterday driving past, I observed the post was empty. I assume the wee library is getting spruced up for its summer season. I also observed a new addition -- a bench!
The cup and saucer are so lovely
It may be the end of an era and you must be sad,but memories would stay with you forever
Take care
Dottoressa
Beautiful pictures as always. Love the flowers and that carved owl sculpture. You are wise to take things slow as you adjust to a new era. Have fun shopping from your wish list.
It takes a while for the tears not to come unexpectedly, at any time of the day or night, so be kind to yourself, which I think you are doing with that lovely tea, magazine, and scent. Not heard of this scent before, something for me to Google perhaps!
Lovely plants, and lovely asparagus! Total yum! But what on earth's a Big Love Ball? The mind boggles! I wonder what might come up if I Google that! I hope nothing saucy! I love your late mother's Paragon cup & saucer. I have some paragon figures (some call them 'figurines' but that isn't the right word for them, a bit like calling napkins "serviettes" which is so declasse!) which are really lovely, but of course, such things aren't fashionable. They are finer quality than Royal Doulton figures, and really pretty. I have just one on display in the guest bedroom, a beautiful lady with hat in shades of blue/green.
Love that carved-wood public art (whatever it is meant to be!)
Margaret P
www.margaretpowling.com
I Googled Big Love Ball and it's a ball with the word LOVE on it. But what on earth's it for? Ornament? To sit on and bounce around on?
Margaret P
I love "Victoria" magazine - I own every single issue ever printed and go back through them all the time. I love to sit with a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon and work my way through it slowly and savour it. Have a nice relaxing weekend.
Thank you for the fragrance recommendation. I just went to the site and ordered the discovery box to try them myself. I'm so excited! (It's the little things, sometimes.)
It is a travel size a bit larger than a lipstick. The samples will last a few weeks and they are reasonably priced...you may find one that suits you.
A bench sounds like a wonderful idea...our library is located in a communal space with wood benches, chairs and a table also there are swings for the children and a nice green space for all to enjoy.
A lifetime of memories to sustain us all...pretty cups and saucers and a few other things from Mother' collection have found their way into The Humble Bungalow.
Thank you Christy, I hope to find some time when I have a day that is free so I can focus on the shopping...the store in Sidney is a lovely spot and they have a great selection of Saint James clothing.
I am usually busy but these days I found that slow and quiet days are more to my liking.
We plan to use the "big love ball" as a beach ball to play in the yard and on the boat with the grandchildren. Mother used to have many "figurines" that is what we called them...Royal Doulton figurines like The Balloon Lady and such...
We do use the term serviettes for paper napkins...I prefer cloth or linen napkins.
The carved wood sculpture is an owl sitting under the oak tree leaves.
We will use ours as a beach ball...the children will kick and throw it around.
Oh I used to collect all the Victoria magazines too but I ran out of room so I gave them away....I used to peruse the issues many many times. Lovely pictures and great recipes...a dreamy publication!
I hope you enjoy the scents...the delivery time is quite quick too so you will not have to wait too long. Please let me know what one you like the best.
What lovely shades of green: your mother's gorgeous cup and saucer, delicious asparagus, and those amazing flowers. You are taking care of yourself in beautiful ways; the sudden tears do come occasionally, even years alter, but that is how our loved ones live in our hearts.
I too love the public art, beautifully designed and made.
Hi Leslie, the markets here in southwest France are full of asparagus, both green and white, so we are enjoying ourselves. We like to chargrill ours with a little olive oil and serve with lots of shaved parmesan cheese. Just a change from mayonnaise. Bonne journée
That's funny because I tease my mum because she always says "serviettes" and
"figurines". We also sit on the chesterfield. Mum has the Balloon Lady and Balloon Man as well. They were so popular at one time. My grandmother and my mother-in-law had them too.
My French-Canadian grandmother would surely have bridled to have her use of the word "serviette" called déclassé! Remember that language use varies according to geography, and Canadian English differs from American and from that used in the UK (where it differs so much again regionally, of course). Our use here in Canada is very much influenced by our French heritage and our maintenance of two official languages. My husband still puts serviettes (always cloth) on the table, although I suppose I've been more influenced by current usage, which seems more globalised with every passing day. . .
I was in the SW of France 2 years ago and sampled the sweet white stalks of asparagus with a mouselline sauce....absolutely delicious! Loved the French open air markets...will try your BBQ and parmesan cheese asparagus...the flavours must be divine.
Yes, language changes. I was always taught that napkin was U and serviette was non-U, going back to the Nancy Mitford days when some words were considered Upper Class and some weren't. For example it U to say lavatory or loo but non-U to say toilet, and so forth. I accept that English English is different from Canadian and American English.
Margaret P
It's rather comic, these days, isn't it, to think of the effort that once went into ensuring our language marked our class, and that effort to attain or to maintain an impression of superiority? As a (retired) professor of English Literature whose study has often focused on post-colonial literature or what was once known in the English-speaking world as Commonwealth Literature, I'm particularly alert to the way language was used to exclude (especially given my grandmother's history) I wonder what Mitford would think of it all now -- I so enjoy her novels.
Thank you! I did order the sample pack, looking forward to trying out something new.
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