Rosemarie arrives...fun ensues...and then a few tidbits.

 

Meet Rosemarie!

She lives in Vancouver and we are friends.

On any given week we will email several times and catch up with what we are doing.

Rosemarie is active, has a vibrant personality, is gregarious,

an adventurous traveller, kind and giving.

We have met up in Victoria several times for lunch and teas.

 Both of us love gardens, gardening and enjoy visiting gardens.

I invited Rosemarie to tour our Humble Bungalow Garden.

Then I asked if she wanted to peek inside our home.

We drove around the waterfront and stopped in at The Oak Bay Native Plant Garden.

The garden is tended by volunteers and is an oasis of calm and beauty.

Trilliums blooming...

Several different trilliums were dotted about in the lush space.

Checker Lily a Frittilaria 

The sound of water had us looking for the source

a  brook or a creek was nearby

such a lovely spot to sit and enjoy the natural beauty.

We met up with a couple who were visiting from Oakville Ontario.

Alix Scott and her husband...

Alix knows Ellen...

a woman who went to Oak Bay High School with me...

who I recently met up with at our 50th reunion.

(Hi Alix ~ Hi Ellen)

Apparently they both follow and read my blog!

Rosemarie and I continued on our scenic waterfront drive...

we stopped again at The Esplanade at Willows Beach.

Rosemarie collects cans and bottles and takes them to the depot

 exchanges

 them for cash 

which she sends to her cousin who has an animal shelter up island.

The shelter is called Misfit Meadow Sanctuary in Ladysmith.

You can read all about them on Facebook.

If you want to donate to them I am sure that Rosemarie would be THRILLED!

Tell them you read about it on my blog!!!

Let's see if we can help all those animals like Rosemarie does :-))

She tells me she usually sends about $100 a month.

The shelter needs the money for food to feed the rescued animals.

I bought a chicken on sale and wanted to find a new recipe...

I searched on line and found this one.

The site is Simply Delicious by Alida Ryder

Mr. HB and I love East Indian cuisine so this one caught my eye.

I had all the spices on hand and I got busy mixing up the rub and I marinated the roaster a few hours before cooking.

The results were delicious!

Jeanne on Instagram mentioned this book to me a few months ago.

It has been on my radar ever since,

so when I spied it at the thrift shop I knew I would buy it!

I read it in 2 days...loved it!

Thank you Jeanne 2707

Vintage Mustard Yellow Beret matches the yellow chrysanthemums.

I was washing dishes and gazing out at the gorgeous sea views...

when this combo caught my eye 

~ Cheap and cheerful ~

Weather Report

yesterday was super windy with rain.

This morning we awoke to glorious sunshine!

What a Gift!

Speaking of gifts...

I received this new book for my birthday from my BFF.

I am going to pop the kettle on and brew a pot of tea and start the book.

Thank you Suzanne.

XO

Hope your week is off to a great start...

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Grandchildren ~ Play time and memories...

There's nothing quite as special as time with the grandchildren...
their seemingly endless energy, unbridled enthusiasm and love of spontaneity is part of what I love so much when we are together.

These precious hours never fail to put a smile on my face and time passes so quickly that I always snap a few photos to preserve these special moments.

Gyro Park Octopus

children can climb inside the head and slide down the arms of the octopus.

A glorious September afternoon for a some playtime at the park.

Henry loved the zip line!

(you can see it on the right of the image)

Cadborosaurus

The mythical sea creature that has been seen over the years

swimming in Cadboro Bay.

(like the Loch Ness Monster)

Peek a boo!

GRRRR!

Our darling Mira loves to play like the big kids.

She climbs up the steep steps of the slide and then delights in sliding down.

Henry sitting on the fin of a blue whale.

Dallas Road Beach

the waterfront staircase and turret painted by Victoria's artist in residence.

A driftwood hut

a great spot for the grandchildren to explore and use their imagination.

Pirates?

Buried Treasure?

Isla had fun playing inside the structure and after playing inside we hunkered down and got serious about digging for beach glass!

Our September weather has been mild and sunny which makes it easy to get out and have fun in the afternoons and on the weekends when Isla is not at school.

I remember start of the school years as a young student...

new pencils and fresh pink erasers

clean scribblers

pots of glue

new shoes

white socks

 new skirts and blouses

gym strip

a lunch kit

all the things that I needed to make a great start to the school year.

So many years ago...

but the memories are still fresh.

And now it's Isla's turn to experience 

the newness of her books

the fresh pencils

clean pink erasers

a new pencil box

a backpack

Time to forge memories of her own which she'll keep for years to come.

My goodness but time passes quickly...

At the age of 62

looking back...

I have countless memories and experiences

enough to fill up many many books!

Feeling so grateful that I am able to share such lovely days with my family.

September is fresh with newness and I am starting a few new projects of my own.

How about you?

Have you got something new on your radar?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

OOTD

Bridge is one of my favourite card games.
It helps keep me on my toes.

I love that it challenges my brain by utilizing those "grey cells."
Scientists keep reminding us to use it or lose it...

Our club hosted a fund raising bridge luncheon last weekend and I got a wee bit dressed up for the event. It puts the fun into fundraising.

Many of the ladies who attend are much older and they take such care to dress in smart outfits, beautiful pearl necklaces, silk scarves and pretty rings.

On a regular weekday bridge game I wear..."casual clothes."
Like this black top and dark denim skinny NYDJ rolled up at the cuff
with short boots.

JCrew tassel necklace with a simple black top adds a little bit of oomph.

Clark boots  NYDJ

For the luncheon and the afternoon I wore...

Amalfi shoes with Nygaard velvet dress pants.

Burberry print scarf

Wilfred top

We had a fun afternoon and raised money for the club.

~ Win Win ~

Our darling grand daughter Isla came over on the weekend.

We had fun "playing school" made some banana bread and walked to the park.

She jumped in the leaves, swung on the swings, slid down the slide, climbed on the monkey bars and rode on the merry go round.

We collected some of the leaves...

Isla picked this "special leaf" for me...

I placed some of the leaves under the white pumpkins on the table 

on the front porch of our Humble Bungalow.

As I sit here tying on my lap top  I am wearing a new ring...

Darling daughter who is gifted at finding gems and jewels found an eternity ring in my size and we met up for coffee so that I could try it on...

It fits and was such a great price that I could not resist...

Hope that your week is off to a great start...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Early Saturday morning...reflecting on the events of the week.

I awoke very early this morning and could not get back to sleep...so I got up.

Weekend mornings I usually stay in bed longer and have a slow start to my day.
The coffee creme tasted so delicious that I savoured a second bowl before sitting down and opening up my lap top.

Have you heard of this award winning olive oil from the Marlborough area of New Zealand?
Lusatori is owned by our daughter's fiancee's family.
When they visited we were given a bottle and it is truly amazing!

I made a quick aioli that Dani BP mentioned in a recent comment on my blog.

I have a great easy sauce that my friend Pat gave me last week too, a fake aioli: 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup lemon juice, tsp of yogurt and tsp of mayo with fresh herbs thrown in and lots of pepper and a bit of salt, perfect on cold roast chicken and asparagus. Perfect this time of year.

Thank you Dani as it was delicious!

I served it with freshly picked asparagus grown in The Humble Bungalow garden and a store bought roasted chicken and deli salads.

We have been enjoying the Sunshine and Yellow flowers.

Darling daughter wore her citrine and diamond ring when we went out for lunch.

We ate outside in the "secret garden"behind Sally Bun on Fort Street.

They offer healthy food and make fabulous salads.

I am not a huge fan of gnomes but this one was tucked away into the foliage in such a way that it did not scare me!

a bird house in a tree that was inhabited

The canopy of trees makes this spot an intimate place for a quiet respite.

Our hydrangeas are starting to bloom.

The poppies are finished and I am gathering the seed pods to dry until next Spring when I will scatter them about the beds for more plants.

A pale yellow rose whose name remains unknown. 

Something has been munching on the leaves and there appears to be a bit of blackspot on this plant.

Bubble blowing in the garden with our grandson Henry.

Sidewalk Chalk Fun

Henry will be 3 this August.

Isla will be 6 this week...

I marvel at the speed with which time flies.

~ My week was full to the brim ~

several long walks with a friend

some beach time

a wee bit of gardening

the usual domestics

lunches out

time to read my book

play time with our grandson

I played bridge at the club and had fabulous cards

met some new bridge players

celebrated Mother's 89th birthday by taking her out for dinner

and now the weekend is here and we have more fun things planned.

It is time for me to wrap this up and get going with my day.

Hope you have a fantastic fun filled weekend.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~