Lilacs ~ an unexpected "windfall"

Thank you all for your kind messages on the previous post...

Yesterday we gathered at the church for a memorial Mass
to honour a lovely, gracious and kind woman...
the mother of my closest and dearest friend.
I have known this amazing lady since I was 8 years old.

Many years of wonderful memories ~ she will never be forgotten.

The vintage white floral wicker baskets were purchased from an antique shop almost 10 years ago.

Our son was getting married and having a garden wedding at my friend's home and I was in charge of the flowers and when I spied these I knew they would be perfect.

These have been used for several other weddings and they were used yesterday at the church service.

I offered to help with the flowers because it is something that I really enjoy...

I picked flowers from our Humble Bungalow garden...

lily of the valley, pink roses, fern fronds, hosta leaves and some blue bells popped them in a bucket and drove to my friend's home.

These went into vases and were placed around the house in various rooms.

The lily of the valley was placed on the table at the church between pictures, her rosary and some personal mementos 

We used the crystal vase that she had given me at my wedding shower almost 42 years ago.

My friend and I wandered around their garden looking for flowers for the wicker urns and discovered that a limb had snapped off the lilac bush in the wind that blew up the night before.

So we wasted no time and started cutting them, then plunged the fragrant lilacs into cold water.

They looked lovely at the church and were taken back to the house for the reception.

The private memorial Mass and afternoon gathering was mostly family...

we felt honoured to be included.

Here are a couple of pictures of their gorgeous garden 

which is large, lush and incredibly beautiful.

Purple Potato Vine looks so pretty mixed in with the chartreuse green Euphorbia.

Wisteria by the front entrance.

Dogwood Tree

Yellow Rose

I love how pretty this yellow rose looks contrasted against the red door.

I had a fairly quiet day today...

I met with the orthopedic surgeon who is treating my frozen shoulder and she seemed pleased with my progress...she is the first female orthopedic surgeon in Victoria...

looks very young and has a lovely "bedside manner."

I indulged in a relaxing pedicure at my favourite place

 Bliss Spa...

 Sipping and savouring a cup of hot tea

and looking at the clock

it is almost time to get dinner started...

Thank you for stopping by.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~ 

Dinner time for the deer and the dears....

There are a few plants in the front garden of Our Humble Bungalow....
that have delighted the resident deer population...Dinner is Served!

Sum and Substance is a large leafed Hosta...

those bite marks are huge!

This Hosta had it's flower stalks bitten down and most of the leaves removed.

I planted it this Spring...may be moving it next Fall to the fenced back yard.

Yum Yum someone had a tasty treat.

Another Hosta that was planted this Spring...

munch munch munch.

The deer have left this Giant Rudbeckia alone...

The grasses are untouched but the Orange Crocosmia flowers have been all eaten.

They love eating roses...the tender new foliage and the flowers.

David Austin Rose William Shakespeare has not been a target yet...

perhaps because it is surrounded by Hostas 

which I have decided are the snack of choice for the deer.

This is the same size as the deer that I saw walking along our side walk out front of The Humble Bungalow. I think he must need a lot of greenery to keep him feel full...don't you?

(picture from the archives)

Plump Rose Hips are forming on our neighbours rose bushes.

They are really quite beautiful...

Indulged in a wee bit of pampering...

a relaxing spa pedicure with a bright red polish.

OPI 

Give me a Lido Kiss

from

Bliss Spa.

We had the family around to celebrate Mr. HB's birthday.

I cooked up a big batch of macaroni and cheese, made a couple of salads, baked a salmon, and served cupcakes with coloured sprinkles.

Mother and Aunty Jennifer got to meet Mira Louise and we had plenty of cuddles and hugs from the children...

it was a lovely evening.

Seriously The Best!

The house feels so quiet now...

I can hear

the dishwasher swishing and the linens are in the washer spinning.

Yet

I can still hear the enthusiastic voices of the little ones...

 singing Happy Birthday to Grampa.

They will sustain and keep me happy until I see them again....

Life with Grand Children...

is as Good as it Gets!

From the Spa to the Sea...and The Glove is Back!

I am slowly getting back into my routine here in The Humble Bungalow.
I'm resisting rushing into anything with too much gusto.
Perhaps it is "Post holiday transition."

Sporadic thoughts of Paris and France linger...
and bubble up when I least expect them, but I encourage and savour the thoughts.

I've been spending time in the house doing the domestics and in the garden weeding and dead heading the roses.
Last week I rewarded myself with a "day off."

I popped into one of my favourite thrift shops and bought a funky necklace.

It looks hand made and I wore it with my black bamboo dress.

It has a definite BoHo vibe.

I decided to vary my walking route and went along the waterfront where I grew up in South Oak Bay.

This little stretch of water is known as McNeil Bay.

A lighthouse on Trial Island is situated quite close...

the whale watching boats go by several times a day as there are pods of resident Orcas living in our waters and those near the US San Juan Islands.

My reward was a delicious lunch! 

A tasty veggie cabbage roll in the Olive Olio's cafe in the Cadboro Bay Village...

I sat outside in the sunshine before going to the spa around the corner.

I love Bliss Spa...

it's clean and quiet and off the beaten track.

One relaxes in their waiting room sipping peppermint tea while leafing through magazines.

OPI 

"This colour is making waves"

Perfect for the boating season which has started up...

Oh but it's not all glamour here...

I dug out "THE GLOVE!"

Do you remember that it makes an appearance every so often?

It's been quite a long time since I featured this accessory and would have probably not thought to focus on it but I received a cheery email from a reader saying that she enjoyed seeing "the glove" and it makes her laugh so without further ado...

The glove came out to the boat with me this weekend.

Big dirty jobs require the assistance of a reliable and handy helper.

Mr. HB and I cleaned the boat from top to bottom and it shines.

Why do I have Twinkle on board you may ask?

Well we have WMF silverware on board...

it might sound a wee bit strange but when we were outfitting our SeaRay Sundancer I was looking for dishes, cutlery, pots and pans as well as towels and pillows and bedding...

the costs were getting out of control and so when I spied this set of silver at the thrift shop for less than the stainless steel at Target I pounced on it.

After a day of work we sat down to a lovely lunch at Sea Glass restaurant at the top of the dock at Van Isle Marina.

The Marina has erected a new sign... our boat is tied up on this dock.

After lunch my BFF and I decided to have our photos taken in front of the Van Isle sign...

we are all celebrating 60 years!

The original Glove debut...

Pepper got into the act...

then she decided to puncture the thumb with her very sharp teeth!

The original glove is long gone.

Thankfully there are many more available...

I've got my heart set on some new pairs of "Playtex Living Gloves" in bright colours.

They are only available in the US so I am thinking a trip to Seattle is in our future...

Can you imagine what the border security will say when I mention the purpose of our trip is to buy Playtex rubber gloves?

Hope you've enjoyed this silly post.

There are quite a few joyous June birthday celebrations in our midst

and yet

many people in our lives are struggling with personal issues.

We have friends and family that are seriously ill and there have been a few recent deaths.

Our hearts go out to them in sympathy.

"Laughter is an instant vacation."

~ Milton Berle ~

"There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt."

~ Erma Bombeck ~