Monday the view from here....

Walking at my usual pace has been difficult recently due to a sore knee...
I don't know what I have done.
I could have twisted it or pulled a muscle,
so I am walking slower and trying not to exacerbate it.

Really must not complain too much as there are so many more serious things to consider out there, other than knee pain...
I'm sure you can think of a thing or two worse.

"Sorbis Hupehensis"

Aren't these wee pink berries adorable?

They are growing on a bush on a street nearby The Humble Bungalow.

Mr. HB made me a fancy cocktail...

a Chambord Cosmopolitan.

Chambord is a raspberry liqueur from the Loire Valley.

Here is a link to the recipe.

We used pure unsweetened cranberry juice and it is delicious!

The cooler weather inspires me to make roasts on Sunday evenings.

A free range organic chicken or a prime rib is a tasty treat at this time of year.

Yorkshire pudding is yummy too!

Root vegetables roasted in a shallow pan with a bit of olive oil brings out their flavours.

All the produce is locally grown.

It's important to support the island farmers.

This is the current view out the kitchen window...

the crew that are dismantling the home beside us have chosen a yellow dumpster which looks quite pretty with the autumnal foliage.

The noise starts around 8am and goes until about 4pm.

We will have two homes on this site once the building gets started.

Two couples eager to get into the housing market have purchased the old home from an estate for just under a million dollars!

(Our real estate market has been brisk but is showing signs of slowing down)

The couples have been by and introduced themselves to us 

and all the neighbours near to the property.

Just down the street 

there are 3 or 4 significant home renovation projects happening...

our little street seems to be quite a popular place for tradesmen these days...

Chester is not amused...

the constant truck traffic is disturbing his naps.

He and Pepper frequently sit on the front window ledges and keep watch.

Have you been watching The Durells in Corfu on PBS?

I am really enjoying the series...

I read most of Gerald Durrells' novels when I was growing up.

Peacock pecking on the ground in Beacon Hill Park this afternoon.

It did not seem to mind that I was slowly creeping closer...

He glanced over in my direction and then got back to the task at hand...

there were oodles of pea hens whose drab colouring helped them blend into the foliage also pecking for tidbits.

It was chilly today so I bundled up in a scarf and my puffer coat.

 Purposely I chose a different route with varied and interesting scenery 

I felt would keep me focused on distance rather than my pace.

I passed quite a few walkers who were also enjoying the park.

Hope your week is off to a great start.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Cilantro....love it or hate it? Perhaps an acquired taste?

Cilantro divides the masses...
there are people who love the taste
and in our group of friends and family,
an equal number of people who despise the flavour.

Fortunately we are in the "love it group"
and have a green house with a bumper crop of cilantro just waiting to be picked.

Mr. HB suggested that I find some recipes online so that we do not waste the plants.

Here is the link to the recipe for
Pasta with Almond Spinach Cilantro Pesto and Sausages.

You will need a food processor to make quick work of the pesto.

The pesto makes enough for the recipe with leftovers that you can freeze for future use. The author suggest that you freeze the pesto in ice cube trays but we have an automatic ice cube maker in our freezer so I used my trusty scoop and freeze them in a container and when they are frozen I will pop them in a ziploc bag.

Lovely shade of green...and the taste is divine!

Busy cooking in the Humble Bungalow Kitchen

Love this shallow Sophie Conran Portmeirion bowl

I use it for salads and pasta.

a few shavings of parmesan cheese and dinner is served

just as I expected Mr. HB enjoyed the new recipe and there were no leftovers.

Pretty African Violets line the windowsills at Goward House. 

 I take French lessons and play bridge in this heritage home which has been converted to a club for seniors.

Next time I go to a flower shop I am going to pick up a few of these plants....

they are very inexpensive, easy to grow and bloom for a long time.

Thank you for popping by The Humble Bungalow.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Friday Bits and Bobs...

How is your week going?

I drove darling daughter and her husband to the airport earlier this week.

They are off on their 5 week honeymoon to New Zealand and Australia.

Mr. HB and I have an app on our IPhones called Plane Finder.

We watched the route that their plane took for several hours 

before going to sleep.

 In the middle of the night I woke and checked again...

saw their plane over the South Pacific Ocean and went back to sleep.

When I woke up their plane was still a few hours away from the Auckland airport and I kept checking as I went about my morning routine.

Then when their plane safely landed I actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Now we await updates of their adventures.

There have been a few grey days this week and a smattering of rain.

Freighters laden with containers float by the seafront on their way to ports beyond our shores.

My walks have been sporadic...

There is a gentle rhythm when actioning the domestic jobs

here in The Humble Bungalow.

My energy is at its peak in the morning and so I try to accomplish as much as possible before noon.

I recently switched out the summer clothes for the Fall and Winter ones.

This is my core everyday wardrobe...

mostly black and greys with a smattering of blue.

3 pairs of jeans

2 pairs of black pants

 black skirt

 grey skirt

white shirt

cream top

black sweater

3 striped tops

grey top

3 black tops

2 blue tops 

2 pairs yoga pants

2 tees

I have a couple of puffy vests and a variety of walking coats and jackets.

Several dresses hang in the downstairs closet with a couple of dressy separates.

I bought a new pair of grey knit skinny pants.

They fit in well with the colour scheme of my core basics.

The fit and length are good and the weight of the fabric is heavy which I like so they do not cling!

I also bought a new walking coat which I will show you in a future post.

It is almost too quiet here this morning...

 it is almost sunrise while I sit to type this post

all I can hear are the birds singing outside our Humble Bungalow.

I must not complain as the house beside us is being demolished.

There will be a crew working with crow bars, hammers just after 8am

and the noise as they fill the container that they have dumped on the lawn 

is enough to make one leave home for a respite...

which I am planning to do!

Hope you have some quiet moments today where you can sit, relax and contemplate all the good things in life...perhaps count your blessings.

Take care and thank you for stopping by...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Endings and new beginnings....

When I left our Humble Bungalow for my walk it was pouring rain.

An umbrella and boots were required.

The rain stopped about halfway through my walk

Then the clouds parted and the sun shone.

 What a spectacular sight I spied at the end my walk!

This beautiful brooch was designed by Paris born jeweller Marcel Boucher.

Boucher worked for Cartier before being hired by the Mazer Brothers in the USA

He eventually opened his own company in 1937.

I am taking it with the others to a local consignment shop.

I rarely wear these anymore and think that someone else might enjoy them.

Why would I keep something so pretty hidden away in a drawer?

Many of my Brooches have been sold at The Vanity Fair Antique Mall

in the case that I shared with our darling daughter.

I have not been buying much and seem to have lost the desire to acquire

so I recently, I decided that it was time to call it a day.

It feels like the end of an era....

New beginnings...

Mr. HB has donned his chef hat and has been sharing some of the cooking here in The Humble Bungalow!

Mr. HB loves chow mien and found a recipe online that he wanted to try.

He brought our Le Creuset wok out from storage and he gave it a work out.

It was wonderful to have a night off from cooking and to be served such a  delicious meal prepared by my husband was such a treat.

You can find this recipe online here.

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

thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Bits and Bobs today on the Blog...

A small bronze Eiffel Tower sits on the shelf above our Shaw farmhouse sink.

I look up when I wash and scrub dishes and pots and I ponder my trip to Paris

and the south of France

it feels like yesterday in so many ways...

I recently received a lovely diamond eternity band from my husband and I do not want it to get caked with soap so I took it off while doing dishes and popped it atop the bronze Eiffel Tower.

(thank you darling!)

We keep our humble bungalow decor in the arts and crafts style...

not very many "modern accents" dip their toes in our heritage listed home.

That might surprise many of you but we try to be purists.

Cookbooks take up an entire shelf in our kitchen.

I will put Ina Gartens' newest cookbook Cooking for Jeffrey

on my Christmas Wish List.

The kitchen table is a quarter sawn oak mission arts and crafts trestle table

distressed by over 100 years of wear.

This is

where I sit and blog...

a Diptyque candle

adds to the ambiance.

(Mr. HB is watching the hockey game)

I enjoy cooking and feel very content in the kitchen.

I made a delicious Caesar Salad tonight...

if you want a seriously garlicky dressing this is the one for you!

I have several Caesar salad recipes and have shared them over the years.

If you want to see any of the recipes on my blog just scroll down on the right of my sidebar until you find the labels and click on the title recipes...

Caesar Salad Dressing

Place all the following ingredients in a blender

1 egg

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

 1/4 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

blend

then with the machine running add slowly

 in a continuous stream

3/4 cup good quality olive oil

arrange washed and dried romaine lettuce on a tray 

(or in a deep bowl)

sprinkle 

bacon or anchovies over top

add

croutons 

(if desired)

I like to plan dinner early in the day so that I can walk to the market and buy what I need.

Pacing myself is much easier now in retirement than when I was working.

Its one of the best perks of retirement.

Time to accomplish things at a slower pace.

I write what we eat for dinner in my day timer so that I can easily see what I have made and I try to rotate the menu so that we get a variety.

Browsing in my cookbooks 

helps to inspire me to be creative and try something new and different.

Increasing my repertoire is always an adventure and not every new recipe is a winner... but I never give up on trying to find new and tasty dishes.

Mr. HB is planning to try a new recipe this weekend.

He seems to be enthused about cooking after his successful Saturday fare last weekend.

I feel so fortunate that he is getting his "chef hat" on.

Finnish mid century "FINEL" mushroom bowl

one of the few "interlopers" in our humble bungalow.

Have you got some fun planned for your weekend ?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Minding my own business...to a point!

Things have been quite busy today in and around The Humble Bungalow.
Sorting out some drawers that were too full, moving summer whites to the guest room closet for storage, wiping crumbs from the cutlery drawers in the kitchen.
Taking Mother to the flu shot clinic for our annual vaccines.

Mother has been under stress lately, which has necessitated that my sister and I offer her more support dealing with everyday events.
She has had some plumbing problems in her condo and now her fridge is on the fritz...phoning for plumbers and repair firms are the easy part. There are things that she needed to do to prepare for the tradesmen and she is a little overwhelmed by all the fuss. I totally understand and empathize but now I realize that we are on a very slippery slope...
I take over lunch, make tea and sit and knit while keeping her company.
We frequently work on the crossword puzzles...she starts them and when she gets stuck we finish them together!

Mother has been proactive about her financial affairs and is still able to go out and purchase food and her medications. She still drives a few blocks to the plaza and to the Avenue.

I am very sensitive not to "take over" things that she enjoys and looks forward to doing, there is a fine balance and I feel that I must respect her wishes as much as possible but I do not want to see her overwhelmed either...it is a challenge for me not to take charge!
One must be mindful and keep an watchful eye on the subtle clues and cues.

The weather here is overcast, cool, and rainy today...
perfect for spending time in the kitchen.

I find it so soothing cooking and baking...its not unlike a form of meditation.

Casual Week day dinner

~ On the Menu ~

'(recipes found online)

Chef Johns' BBQ ribs

Broccoli and Carrots

with

Scalloped potatoes

Nigella Lawsons' Chocolate Olive Oil Cake 

served with whipped cream.

Picked this book up from the local library 

ready to pop the kettle on and sit for a wee bit and escape...

to the 1930's in Provence with Ondine and Picasso.

Company should be here in a few hours but I have time to read a few chapters.

How is your week going?

~ 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 ~