Sunday flowers...giving up alcohol on the blog today.

Remember these pink foxgloves?

The geraniums are still going strong but many of the garden flowers have faded away...summer is slowly but surely on its way out 

surprisingly the sunshine and warmth have not yet waned.

When we have finished working in the garden we are able to sit on the deck in our comfy chairs and survey all our hard work.

The garden has many plants that love the heat and perform well over the entire summer season...

others fade as soon as their blooms have wilted.

The lady's mantle is looking very straggly and needs to be drastically cut back.

Inside The Humble Bungalow the orchids have taken a beating...

something has crept in...

an unwelcome insect or pest

that has affected several of the older plants...

I had to throw them into the compost.

Fear not, 

I will be on the look out for a sale and find a few replacements.

They do add loads of cheer to the windowsill above the Humble Bungalow farmhouse kitchen sink.

The rose scent hunt for "the one" is still ongoing...

I have eliminated quite a few on the quest to find one or two that I love.

I will report back when I have completed my testing.

Love a pop of colour in the garden...

these chairs are perched on the railing of a porch on Denman Island

placed next to a jumble of blue flowers.

Delphiniums and bees.

Clematis

gardening is a green thumbs' way of painting!

After trying and failing to lose 10 pounds several times

I am back counting my points and have quit drinking all alcohol 

in an effort to get back to my goal weight.

The liver plays a significant role in burning fat so cutting out anything that impedes this progress is worth it.

I've been sipping non-alcoholic wines 

which are 1 or 2 WW points per 8 oz. glass.

After sampling several varieties ~ red, white and bubbly...

I have found a couple that taste great, and I have opted for the 1 point wines.

The plan is to return to weight watchers in September...

in the meantime 

I am back counting my points, making sensible food choices

and walking briskly every day.

Putting my "best foot forward" 

as I did it before

 I CAN do it again.

I have lusted after the red Ferragamo Varina's for many years 

IF I can find a pair this Fall 

providing I get back to my WW goal weight 

that is going to be my reward.

Nothing like a red shoe to make one feel cheerful.

There's a lot to do in the garden so I must hasten away and get busy.

Have you seen The Gardener's Cottage newly designed blog?

Janet has been one of the first bloggers that I discovered and I think she's just delightful and her new blog is wonderful.

Pop over and take a look.

Until next time...

Be well and Be Kind.

XO

Summer roses...and the goings on here in The Humble Bungalow

Summer is my favourite time of year...
the weather is usually sunny and warm and the garden is looking its' best.
I find my days slip away quite quickly at this time of year.
Busy with the garden chores,
keeping up with the domestics, walking, and cooking.

There is a feeling of weariness after a long hot day and so I am content to sit and read or watch some TV.

The roses are at their peak of perfection...

Days are busy spent dead heading the spent blooms to encourage repeat blooming.

Black spotted leaves are removed and discarded.

So important that they do not come in contact with the soil and spread to other roses.

One of the luxuries of growing roses is that you can pick a bouquet for the home or to give to others...

The fragrant arrangements that I share are always well received and appreciated.

Jude the Obscure and William Shakespeare mingle together and make for a frothy marriage of petals and scents.

Our garden helper has moved to Sooke 

(which is about a 45 minute drive out of town)

she is not longer able to help me once a month 

and I have come to rely on her...

I am in the process of searching for someone to come once a month 

 help with the heavy work, weeding and generally tidying up.

The hydrangeas are making a big statement this month.

These are by our north patio and there are many more limelight hydrangeas 

out front of the Humble Bungalow.

Last weekend our son took us to Sidney Spit in his new speedboat.

We arrived one day after our prime minister Justin Trudeau was there kayaking.

Cuddled up with two of our grandchildren...

we are ready to scoot across the Salish Sea to Sidney Spit.

And we did scoot...40 mph!

Fortunately my hat has a strap under the chin or it would have blown away!

We found a lovely little pool of water near the beach 

Our beach umbrella stuck in the sand, beach towels laid out and the cooler at the ready.

Beach combing, wading, a few games of Frisbee and horse shoes followed before we tucked into our picnic lunch.

Isla and I are chatting and taking in all the scenery while waiting on the bench. Henry, Grampa and our son will bring the car and trailer back to the boat launch.

The bungalow is super dusty right now as we have a stone mason on site.

Our chimney was in dire need of some repair and he is installing a new liner to make it safe for us to light fires in the fireplace.

He is almost finished...

while I have had to stay home more

 I have been busy 

washing the slipcovers and sorting through our linen drawers

rearranging some bits and bobs

gathering up a bunch of things to take to the charity shop.

Oh and I started a new book!

When I was donating at the thrift shop I took a few moments to cruise through the aisles...

I found something that I could not pass up.

a silver tray

love the intricate details

I must close for now and get dinner started...

thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow.

How is your summer going?

Have you found any treasures at the shops?

What are you reading?

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.

The bathing suit...

I recognized a lovely young woman pushing her child in a stroller at our local Marshall's store in the mall.
Smiling, vibrant and gorgeous...her name is Leah.

We see each other frequently on Oak Bay Avenue...
she is a fabulous teacher that I worked with at a local Middle School and I think that I can safely say that she is "adorable"...the daughter of an acquaintance.

Leah is one of those energetic and enthusiastic teachers that can inspire and engage students...these are the teachers that we love for so many reasons.
Young and impressionable students' minds need more teachers like Leah.

We exchanged news...
I told her that we were investing in a quarter share of a waterfront cottage on Pender Island. The resort has two pools, a children's play area and there is a marina for our boat.

We are hoping to get the children and grand children over to the cottage for the 2 week summer holidays and we will use it in the off season on our week each month.
Leah mentioned how much she appreciated having a cottage for their family holidays when she was growing up and now that she has two children of her own they are spending time with her parents at the cottage...
making many happy memories.

Leah asked if I had any luck finding anything in the store.
I did!
and I proceeded to swing a garment in my hands high over my head and said with a smile on my face that I had found a swimsuit!

Swimsuit shopping is quite an event...and when it is successful its a win win!

In my experience swimsuit shopping has never been easy...
one needs to try on quite a few to find the best option.

This is the first suit in more than a decade that has not been black. 

I have 2 suits in patterns of black and white...both have seen "better days."

~ Maxine of Hollywood ~

(sounds rather glamorous)

I have never seen this brand of swimwear.

Understandable as there has been a drought of swimwear shopping...

do not even bother to ask why!

How telling...

Obviously other shoppers have similar thoughts

otherwise why would they print a label that speaks to so many of us?

It must be a challenge for the designers of swim wear.

The suits need to fit, cover the "wobbly bits" and make us feel comfortable while wearing them.

I'll be dipping my toes in this pool soon.

I love swimming laps and I find it very relaxing.

It feels so good to tick a big item off the "to do list"

The swimsuit was my least favourite on my list, 

but fortunately it was not that daunting after all.

Summer is just around the corner and I am gathering up some summer reads.

I am almost finished The Madwoman Upstairs and it is an interesting story.

What is on your summer reading list?

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

XO

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 ~