Spring Beauty

The Humble Bungalow Garden is showing some signs of life as the bulbs are starting to poke their heads up through the soil...
I have seen some snowdrops up in neighbouring gardens and I love their pure white blooms, so fresh and new.
I found a few images from the Humble Bungalow Garden archives to share with you today.

I feel energized and hopeful when I see these wee flowers...
Spring cannot be too far off when the snowdrops are blooming.
One cannot help but feel encouraged when the garden emerges
from its winter slumber.

Hellebores are hardy plants and they are stalwarts in January

 bursting forth with colour.

Daffodils are soon to follow...

the flower vendors have oodles for sale and I am tempted to buy a few bunches.

I adore this black Hellebore with a spot of sunny yellow in the centre.

Isn't yellow the most cheery of all the colours?

When it comes to spring time flowers yellow blooms are a ray of sunshine.

The Magnolia will be flowering in a bit too...

the buds are plumping up.

One day I hope our Humble Bungalow will have masses of these snowdrops.

We have planted clumps of them and each year they multiply.

For those of you who were curious 

here are a few more snapshots from the archives of the renovated laundry room...

Hope that you have some fun planned for the weekend.

There is a dinner party to prepare, some errands and chores...

and

 we will be spending some time with the grandchildren 

which always makes me happy and my heart full.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Giveaway recipient...a dilemma for Mr. HB!

Greetings from The Humble Bungalow!

We have been busy of late with many lovely seasonal events and one particularly very special one today...a precious school pageant starring all the pupils of the private school that focuses on the arts as well as the mandated BC curriculum.
Our sweet red headed granddaughter Isla,
sang solo parts of a song by Sarah Brightman "The Music of The Night"
that moved this Grammy to tears....
MR. HB's eyes weren't the driest either!

I have been "under the weather" with a stiff neck this past week

and attribute it to too much knitting or possibly a virus.

 I have been trying to keep warm and cozy by wearing a fleecy jacket and cashmere socks.

But enough about me...

Mr. HB had to choose the recipient of the WW slow cooker recipe cookbook and he found it a tougher job than he signed on for so he narrowed it down to two...

So...dear reader he did what many people do when in doubt...

The Finel mid century bowl was put into action with the two entries inside...

He pulled this one out of the bowl.

Carol Woodard please send me an email with your mailing address

and I will send you the book.

We entered the 50/50 and the wine draw tonight at the pageant...

no wins here but so glad that we can help support a great school and see our sweet grand daughter on stage.

Hope you are having a lovely week.

May I just say that I have had an outpouring of support from readers who were feeling uncomfortable about the rude comments and I would like to take this opportunity to say that you have restored my faith in human nature.

~ 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 ~

France....Food and market memories...

Warm summer evenings are perfect for dining al fresco...
at home or in France.

Fresh harvest of home grown tomatoes and cucumbers...

 the flavours are truly incredible.

Eating freshly picked vegetables reminds me of my trip last year to France 

The markets are full of farm fresh produce and the display and array of food is so tantilizing, sumptuous and inviting. 

Shopping at the outdoor markets is a real pleasure

it is also a very social event.

One meets and greets the seller before embarking on a purchase.

Weekly Market day in Southwest France 

in the village of Valence-d'Agen on the Garonne river 

a town in the Midi Pyrenees 

across from the wee village of Auvillar where our good friends reside...

Cheeses that are rich and creamy ripe and tasty.

We arrived at the market early...

White asparagus is a delicacy here but in France it is quite common.

We are more accustomed to the green variety.

The radishes look so pretty...

we purchased a bundle and served them before our dinner.

We ate them raw dipped in delicious salty butter.

With our baskets filled with fruits, veggies, lamb and cheese...

we stopped at the bakery for a fresh brioche

then a last stop at wine merchants for a bottle of rose.

A glass of rose

 fresh grilled lamb 

fresh asparagus

salad

assorted cheeses

which we ate outside in the sunny courtyard

Ah! the memories of French food are as fresh and crisp as ever...

Our backyard is an oasis on this sunny evening in July.

Not a breath of wind and perfect for dining outdoors.

Grilled steak, boiled new potatoes, and fresh veggies 

(which I drizzled with a balsamic reduction)

The Humble Bungalow Garden is such a peaceful spot on a sunny day...

the front porch is shady and overlooks the hydrangeas out front.

The side area has a stone patio surrounded by roses and hostas and hydrangeas with two comfy chairs just waiting for someone to sit in them.

The back deck looks down on the green grass a perennial border and the new greenhouse.

This may not be located in France but nevertheless is a lovely spot to relax.

A place where one can read and sip a well deserved cup of tea.

I read Michelle's previous book and am eager to start this story...

I read so many books these days since I have retired and think it is such a luxury.

There are so many things that call to me...

flowers, books, fashion, friends, family, events, food, art, scents

life is full to the brim.

The Attitude of Gratitude still rings loud and clear...

And as I draw a close to this post I would be remiss not to show you the 

the lime light hydrangeas that are really looking spectacular this year.

And as a side post Mr. HB and I spent a day with the grand children this weekend 

we wandered along the chip trail near their home and discovered a vintage tractor on a side street...

If this tractor actually works 

I am certain that there would be several eager drivers in our midst!

How is your summer going?

~ 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 ~