August 10, 2025 ~ Tidbits

 

Thank you all for the lovely and kind comments 

about our cat Pepper's 

recent passing...

Chester has been keeping us amused with his antics...

he is a chunky boy and surprised us by jumping up 3 feet from the ledge to the top of the cupboards.

(Pepper used to do this too.)

I am so grateful to have pictures of Pepper and wonderful memories.

Our Humble Bungalow Garden is full of limelight hydrangeas in full bloom.

They are like trees!!

The garden is slowly winding down for a rest...

outside today while hand watering I noticed some of the fading flowers and plants.

There are tomatoes coming along, and a handful of green beans and cukes to harvest.

Inside the greenhouse a watermelon and a cantaloupe.

I've been keeping fairly quiet,

 choosing a few activities that provide peace and solace.

I love daily rituals...

my morning coffee is sacred.

My BFF loves this body serum so naturally I had to try it...

it is made in Alberta and it is very emollient and smells lovely.

I've got crepey skin on my 70 year old arms...

the lotion seems to diminish the scaly look and softens the dryness.

I am using it after my morning showers and I feel like it lasts all day long.

The fragrance is not overpowering...

apparently it comes in a variety of scents.

I met up with my sister...

if you have been following me for awhile then you might remember that she is an accomplished equestrian who teaches riding.

I've heard her called "the horse whisperer"

She's had quite a few horses over the years...

as she started riding when she was about 12 years old.

As luck would have it she helped me to tick off one of the things on my bucket list...

(drive a vintage tractor)

We harrowed a paddock...

this tractor pulled a harrowing attachment which basically rakes and levels out the sand 

in the riding ring.

When I drove it I went slow (1st gear)

she was more experienced and went faster...it still took awhile to get the job done.

My recent tractor ride coincides with a thrift shop find...

pristine LEVI'S

Jeans are very stiff...

I need to wash them a few times and wear them in...

perhaps beat them on some rocks?

(isn't that what they do when they stonewash jeans?)

I'll never make a farmer or even a farmhand :-))

(I am much more suited as a gardener)

Met up with friends for a coffee and a chat...

so relaxing sitting in the sun sipping coffee and nibbling a cookie.

It was a lovely meet up!

The Miriam sweater is progressing well...

knitting the yoke now and then will bind off and pick up stitches along the front.

There is garter stitch edging that matches the hem of the sleeves and body.

 

Using the vintage Baycrest Aran yarn that our daughter found at the thrift shop.

($10.00)

I found two new pieces for my vintage 1930's tea set last week...

a cup and saucer and a large plate.

~ Royal Albert Canterbury pattern ~

Pieces are hard to find locally so I felt like I had won the lottery!!

I have ordered some online but they are much more expensive due to shipping and the rarity and availability of this pattern.

NEXT

I need to have some friends pop over for a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

Well I didn't think I would be posting a new blogpost

quite so soon but I guess I am ready...

Thank you for popping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Oh My Goodness!! it is already September...

 

Summer is slowly slipping away...

Feet up...

Sipping Green Tea on the porch most afternoons...

My old sneakers fell apart so I purchased a new pair.

These are GBG from Los Angeles 

I have never heard of this brand before?

Snapped a dressing room selfie...

This Lands' End denim dress has been a wonderful weekday workhorse

in my wardrobe.

I will be wearing it this Fall too :-))

The custom sea glass pendant by Charlene Hall of Pender Island 

has been getting oodles of compliments.

Thrifted measuring scoop...

  a new jar for flour are taking up valuable space on my counter.

Weekly sourdough bread making...

Much easier using the flour from the jar 

than grabbing and opening the big heavy and awkward bag from the cupboard.

Cucumbers are growing like weeds!

I am inundated with fresh produce from The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Daily pickings are so rewarding and the flavours are so amazing.

Made fried green tomatoes when a branch broke off...

sauteed in a bit of olive oil

sea salt and topped with Worchestershire Sauce.

Limelight Hydrangeas

are

putting on a spectacular show.

I am going to dry some for the house for the Fall and Winter.

Mr HB planted the vintage garden cart with yellow Dahlias.

I love the whimsy and the pop of colours.

Julia Child Rose

Sunflowers 

grown from seed.

My Friend Rosemarie, from Vancouver, sent me the seeds last Spring.

She sends me unexpected random surprise gifts in the mail!

Thank you dear friend.

XO

August was a VERY busy month with the family.

Birthdays and Cottage time.

On the long weekend I went to White Rock with our son and the three grands...

for the annual back to school shopping trip.

Read a lovely article about Pamela Anderson in BH and G.

She has totally come back to her roots and completely reinvented herself.

Renovated her family home

(which was made into a series)

Produced a documentary

wrote a book "Love Pamela"

Planted a rose garden

is

 growing masses of vegetables.

She bakes sourdough breads, pickles veggies, and makes jam.

She also has a new cookbook coming out in October.

Talk about BUSY!

I am keen to get my hands on it when it comes out!

We explored some of the thrift shops in the White Rock area...

I found some nice things.

A soft wool turtleneck Vera Moda poncho which will be cozy for Fall.

A handmade leather belt made in America.

Silk scarf with hand rolled edges.

All three items cost about $20

We went to IKEA 

Our son bought a few storage boxes and baskets, sheets and duvet covers.

I found basic paper napkins, a dish drying mat and some tea towels.

The highlight was lunch!

Only my second time enjoying their Swedish Meatballs.

Busy place to eat and it is obviously because the food is good!

(and the prices are low)

~ Home Sweet Home ~

Back home...

Quiet day today catching up on laundry and rest.

Made soup for our lunch with the food left in the fridge.

Slim Pickins though...

Have to pop out and get some groceries.

Need to answer some emails...

My first priority was to write and publish a post here 

as it has been a couple of weeks.

Life is Full to the Brim.

~ Jude The Obscure Rose ~

How has your summer been?

Are you ready for Fall?

What is new?

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~  Be Well and Be Kind ~

Gardening, Roses, Walking, and changes to my Instagram

 

~ Constance Spry Rose ~

Blooming!

Welcome to The Humble Bungalow Garden

One of the 30 roses we grow in the garden.

 ~ Graham Thomas ~

 a fragrant repeat blooming climbing rose 

When purchasing a new rose I am VERY fussy...

they must be repeat bloomers, be fragrant, disease resistant and hardy.

Here is the newest rose...

found at The Demitasse in Oak Bay.

If you live in Victoria, 

The Demitasse serves coffee, snacks and casual meals.

They have a wonderful carefully curated garden centre attached to the cafe...

well worth the visit.

~ North Patio Area ~ 

The bistro set from Kay's Korner in the Cook Street Village Shop 

has been painted black...

I love black accent pieces in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Now I need to invite some friends over for tea...or a glass of bubbly.

The new bed that I dug has been planted.

Foxgloves, nepetas, lupins, yarrow, candlestick primula, alliums, 

iris, and more...

they will grow taller and fill in the spaces.

In the Big pot we have a yellow flowering Solidago.

We purchased two new Adirondack chairs in black, of course!

Mr. HB made us a table using scrap wood he had leftover from another project.

He painted it black to match the chairs.

Thank you darling.

We have been SUPER busy in the garden...

time to take a break and sit in the chairs and sip a Cold beverage.

Have you tried Corona Zero alcohol yet?

OH MY GOODNESS

a thirst quencher without the buzz.

In other news...

I have had people ask me about my Instagram account and why I have gone private...

The simple answer is that I was inundated with so many strange accounts.

Not sure why all of a sudden I would have a deluge of these?

Have any of you experienced this issue?

Instagram sent me a message saying validate these accounts!

When I looked at them I noticed thousands of men following...

HOW STRANGE

My account is really rather pedestrian 

I post about food, fashion, gardening and life at 69 years old!

What do masses of men want with those topics?

I have nothing against men...but they all seem similar.

Doctors from the army

So for the time being I am opting for a private account...

maybe the trolls and the bots will forget about my Instagram :-))

If you want to follow you'll need a current active Instagram account and have something in your profile picture to identify yourself.

It might be asking a lot, but for safety reasons, 

 I am going to keep things secure.

I've been for a walk this afternoon!!!

My ankle is doing better.

Am feeling so grateful...it has been a very long 3 months.

I used my bamboo walking stick and walked along the compact sand near the shoreline.

Found a few pieces of sea glass and enjoyed watching the children frolic in the sand.

Oodles of people were sunbathing...

some of the young women's swimsuits were quite skimpy!

Reminds me of my teen years when we used baby oil instead of sunscreen 

and 

wore very tiny bikinis.

Love this wee blue ground cover...

(forget the name)

The flowers look like they are smiling.

So cheerful.

I must close for now as I have a sourdough boule ready to come out of the oven and dinner needs to get made.

I will post again soon...

I took 7 garments to the consignment shop last week...

(then I went shopping) 

Will be sharing some of the things that I bought so stay tuned.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Hard work and Busy days...I have a garden to tend!

 

Can you see the reflection of the Arbutus Tree limbs in the birdbath?

We relocated the bath from the side yard to the newly installed brick patio...

The weedy small patch of grass out front never got any thicker despite our efforts

Over the years...

Underneath the tall tree next door our garden has changed from sunny to shady.

Fortunately Hostas LOVE shade and I LOVE Hostas.

Three black pots...

A globe shaped Boxwood, Brunnera, and some Black Mondo Grass.

We took several weeks to complete this project...

 most of the hard work was done by my husband

digging up the sod

leveling out the space

(I found the used bricks on Market Place)

Designing the pattern, 

laying the bricks and grouting them with sand 

was all done by Mr HB.

Our Climbing Royal Sunset Rose is looking fabulous!

This fragrant repeat blooming rose is a stunner.

It must be 30 years old give or take...

Strawberry Hill is a new rose in the Humble Bungalow Garden.

WOW her fragrance is sooooo lovely.

I had no idea that she would have such a rich deep complex scent...

There is never a DULL moment (or lull) here in the Garden...

~ Another Bee in My Bonnet ~

Getting rid of more grass

new bed for tall perennial flowers is under construction :-))

Three days of hard work and I am finished the prep.

Our grass is really quite tatty...clover and buttercups mostly.

The bees seem to enjoy those so we will keep a bit of the grass.

We are off to the Nursery today so will see what they have left...

I have a list of flowering plants on my wish list.

My favourite David Austin rose Jude the Obscure.

Another view of Climbing Royal Sunset.

Boscobel 

Fragrant frothy and fabulous.

Growing in a large pot on the gravel area out front.

 ~ Imogen ~

grown in a large pot also

OODLES of roses in bloom!

Gertrude Jekyll Rose 

bright fuschia pink

fragrant 

hardy

THORNY but we can forgive her that as she is a stalwart rose.

We have over 30 roses in our small city sized garden.

I cannot believe how many we have but it is all my doing...

very much an obsession as far as plants go.

If you are a passionate gardener I am pretty sure that you will have a favourite plant.

We smile and knowingly nod at each other when we pass at the garden centres.

Our trolleys are full and our wallets are empty when we leave...

happiness CAN quite possibly be bought at the garden shops :-))

Update :

My ankle bone...has been x-rayed again

the fistula" has still not calcified.

Darn it...

 Dr. says no aquafit unless it is deep water, laps and swimming is ok.

Weight training is ongoing 20 minutes each day for the arms.

~ Aging is not for Sissies ~

Do you like Alliums?

I LOVE them!

These are pretty much done their blooming...

they were bold purple and now are fading.

Still, they bring interest and a sculptural quality to the garden.

In the Fall I will be buying MASSES of them!

More is More when it comes to these gorgeous Bulbs!

Gardening has been taking most of my energy these past few weeks.

We attended the annual Hospice Fundraising Garden Tour on Sunday.

The TEENY TINY Garden Tour.

We saw about 12 gardens and gleaned a few ideas for our own.

It surprised me how many people had hot tubs in their gardens!

Oh how lovely it would be to soak in a hot tub

 after a long day working in the garden!

(We hope to be on the tour next year.)

I ordered some black Adirondack chairs

 to pop on the grass in the garden...

We forget to stop and sit, 

gaze out over the space that we have created and lovingly tend.

I plan to take more time to sit and appreciate our Humble Bungalow Garden.

(once my latest project is done)

I am immersed in this lovely book...

I read The Chilbury Ladies' Choir a few years ago and totally LOVED it.

This story is set in wartime when rationing is place and women are trying to be creative with the foods that area available.

Am going to reserve her other book The Spies Of Shilling Lane at the local library.

Well I suppose that I better get busy and make some lunch...

Hope you are keeping well and taking time to stop and smell the roses!

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~