Holidaze...

We are on holiday at the cottage and have our boat at the marina...

son and grandchildren are up at the cottage and my husband and I are on our boat. We have great weather and the pools are open.

Lego is a favourite with the grands.

Doctoring up a patient.

Side walk chalk

Very busy days...
3 excited youngsters to entertain.

Lots of food to prepare...snacks and meals.
Their favourite pool time swims, complete with floaty toys!

I will be back blogging after they return home.
Will need to try and figure out the new blogging formats...

Wish me Luck!

Take care, stay safe...

                       ~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Greetings from Telegraph Harbour....

The last week of our holidays finds us moored at the scenic Telegraph Harbour Marina on Thetis Island.
The WIFI is decent but there are so many boats using it that it has been rather hit and miss. Today after many boats left I was able to go online and check my email and as a result found that if I worked quickly I could sneak in a blog post!

Here is a view of the docks from the cafe.

Boating 

the way that we do 

 is relaxing.

Meals are simple

our days have a lovely rhythm 

rising after a restful sleep in our cozy bunk

coffee is the first order of business

showers 

then breakfast.

Books are the main source of entertainment

 and watching the boats come and go.

A leisurely walk perhaps

cocktail hour 

and a simple meal before bed.

Our small boat is the perfect size for two people.

The chores are quickly accomplished and there is ample time to just sit and enjoy the scenery.

Fried egg jelly fish which looked to me like something from outer space!

I am loving this new tote bag which was a gift from our lovely DIL's mom.

I am using it for my books and magazines.

We met a couple here at the marina that live in the Seattle area and it turns out she reads my blog!

Dennis and Nancy invited us aboard their boat for a visit

and we discovered that she and I have very similar tastes in books and she loves Paris and France.

It reminded me that we really do live in a very small world.

This tiny local Tree frog is no bigger than my thumb nail!

Bees were busy buzzing as we strolled by this shrubby plant.

Thistles line the roadside

Breakfast for this Hostess onboard is fresh fruit...

a juicy nectarine this morning with my coffee

pure bliss.

I gave this book to Nancy to read as she was leaving...

we exchanged contact info and hope to meet up with them again...

perhaps at Otter Bay next summer.

I like having fresh flowers aboard...this lavender plant is my wee garden! 

I must close for now as there are many more boats in the marina and the WIFI is getting slow...

Take care and Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

Quarter Deck Cottage week 2

Cottage holidays are busy and full to the brim with adventures and family fun.

Visiting the seashore and beach combing with the 3 grandchildren, "seeing it anew through the eyes of the children" is refreshing and the sheer thrill of discovery is contagious.
Their enthusiasm upon finding baby crabs under a rock or spying a jelly fish floating near the beach, picking up and collecting sea shells in a bucket...
simple joys.
Rowing in the dingy with Grampa...swimming in the pool, eating ice cream cones, colouring, playing games...it's all packed into our days.

We spend a lot of time on the deck looking out to The Salish Sea.

Ferry watching

From sunrise to sunset...

Bird watching...

Gulls, eagles, herons, hawks, purple martins, flickers,

robins, pigeons 

Our son bought a boat and had fun speeding over from Sidney for a visit...

he's at work this week.

 After he left our DIL's mom came over to  the cottage

so we have 3 grandparents to share in the fun!

Today is our 43rd wedding anniversary...

these are my "fun rings" not my wedding set 

and you can see Mr. HB is in the background!

Happy Anniversary to my life partner.

A kind, gentle and caring man...

his support and love mean the world to me.

 I must close now...

 there are laps to swim in the pool and plenty of fun waiting...

I will not be posting very much for the next week or so here on the blog but I will be active on Instagram.

Seaside planters at Otter Bay are filled with colourful flowers.

Hanging baskets and lush green lawns are fringed by weeping willow trees and the native arbutus.

Thank you for stopping by Quarter Deck Cottage...

Hope that you are enjoying your week.

Holiday snippets and snapshots...part 2

The mountain of laundry has been washed, folded and ironed and it feels so good to be back on top of the chores.

Chester has definitely warmed up and is back to his former tricks...
a few more snapshots from our holidays.

Port Browning Harbour on Pender Island.

Mr. HB and I have been going there since the 1970's

when it was called Scot's Lair the bagpiper would play the pipes at the raising and lowering of the flag right atop this rocky outcropping.

The Marina is close to the Driftwood Centre which has a fabulous book shop, a gift store, pharmacy and a well stocked food market...

basically all the things we might need are a 10 minute walk from the boat.

This horse saw us walking by the fence and came over to say hello.

After checking us out it proceeded to munch on some dandelions.

The view from our walk along Razor Point Road.

This windmill was beside a farm stand that sold veggies, jams, wool and eggs.

We walked briskly for an hour in the hot sun to visit the Sea Star Winery.

I had worked up quite a thirst and the wine was chilled!

a lovely glimpse of the ocean from the top of the hill

There was a food truck from the Hope Bay Bistro on site and a Farmer's Market with veggies, breads, jewelry, pottery, flowers.

An acoustic guitarist played while we dined...

 I had tasty fish tacos for lunch with a glass of wine.

The Ortega is especially nice for al fresco summer time dining and BBQ's.

When we pack for our cruising holidays on our SeaRay 

we plan ahead and bring lots of books.

One of the luxuries of being away from our usual demands and routines mean that we can devote a good chunk of time to reading.

There are no distractions like TV or the Internet as WI-Fi coverage is spotty and unreliable.

Colm Toibin's Nora Webster is a gem...I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jude the Obscure

I have another couple of instalments of the holiday snaps coming up...

with so many photos I need to break them up so that they don't bog down the Blogger site!

Hope that your week is a good one.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Holiday snippets and snapshots...part one.

Mr. HB and I just returned from our annual holiday aboard our Sea Ray.

          (Julian's newest novel did not disappoint, both Mr. HB and I enjoyed it)

We spent our days aboard our boat relaxing, reading, eating simple meals and walking and exploring the Gulf Islands.
I have to lose some weight as a result of too much rich food and wine...
I will be organizing a series of blog posts on how I plan to lose 10 pounds.

Perhaps you'll follow along on my journey...

There is a pile of laundry downstairs...the machines are going through their cycles as I sit here in the Humble Bungalow kitchen with my cafe creme typing this post.

The cats seem happy to see us...lots of meowing and purring.
They were left in the capable hands of a friend who has been taking care of them for our holidays for several years now and knows them well.

Chester seems a wee bit put out that we left him for so long and he is giving us the cold shoulder. I hope he forgives us soon, but thankfully Pepper the elder cat is her usual affectionate self.

Beach combing is one of my favourite things to do when we are out on our boat.

Sea shells and beach glass are often found along the shoreline.

A very large barnacle which we use for our coins...

showers, laundry and ice at the Marina's call for coins.

Loonies and Twonies

kept handy inside this vessel.

The view going through the gap between North and South Pender Islands.

Jude the Obscure rose was a stalwart on the trip...

even fading in the heat 

the fragrance was a welcome reminder of our Humble Bungalow Garden.

Stay tuned for more holiday snippets and snapshots.

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

Hope that your summer is ticking along nicely.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~