Poppies, foxgloves...and a book of fairies.

Poppies...

I planted one poppy plant a few years ago

and now I have a family of poppies.

They are crowded together and fighting for space.

I have pulled out the volunteers that are encroaching on 

or 

invading on the territory of plants

that are in the vicinity.

While they are blooming they are beautiful and make quite a nice display.

after the blooms fade and the petals drop 

the greenery turns a sad shade of brown

and I yank them out

still 

year after year 

they come back and announce their resilience

Mother Nature has her own ideas about what grows and where

and I have learned not to fight with her!

Foxgloves are another example of volunteers

they come back yearly with vigor

and the fact that they are considered to be biennials

this is somewhat amusing!

They stand tall like decorated soldiers for several months

until they flop over and decay

rather than see their wilted stems slumbering on the soil

I shake the seeds out of the pods and scatter them

wherever I want a new forest of foxgloves.

Have you seen an flower fairies in your garden?

when I was young I had a book about flower fairies...

illustrated in colour by Cicely Mary Barker

of fairies wearing flowers!

the book was one of my favourites 

the spine shows it's age

well loved

Meet the Poppy Fairy

It was a gift from my grandmother

a woman of great importance in my life

 a wonderful role model

a woman of high moral standards

whose life was rich and full

she had her share of sadness 

she was a busy gal on the domestic scene

bread making

jams

preserving

cooking

dish washing

laundry

ironing

sweeping

marketing

parenting

and 

when I stayed with her she wrapped an apron around me 

and I "helped" with her daily chores

she made me feel very grown up

and never minded about any mess that I made!

I have so many sweet memories of my grandmother that I hold close to my heart.

I miss her and think of her often.

There is a foxglove fairy too but she is not in my book...

the website for the Fairies

Fairies and Grannies added much richness to my childhood

what or whom do you remember that made an impact on shaping the person that you are today?

Parades...and Pike Place...

Do you love parades?
We have a few  parades where we live, one is large, the others are small.
Our family attended parades every year when I was young and then we took our children.
Since our offspring have grown and flown the nest we do not attend....

We found ourselves in the middle of a parade in Seattle.

we could watch from our hotel window

which we did for awhile

we were hoping to go to Pike Place Market for another visit

(where there's a will there's a way)

we did manage to cross the parade route 

through the barricades

running quickly across the street 

dodging floats and marching bands

Seafood stall

I didn't know that halibut had cheeks! 

the seafood looks delicious...

flower bouquets 

are plentiful

and their prices are so reasonable

Customs does not allow these to cross the border

so I lingered a little longer and took photos of my favourites.

"stuck on you!"

many people gathered...

cameras flashed

people chewed big wads of gum and then...

you might find this hard to believe but they stuck it on the brick wall!

The Gum Wall

 is very popular

and has made the "to do list" on some travel advisor sites!

as the light grows dim

we dine...

We are at Cutter's 

which is a large restaurant with a fabulous view of Seattle's waterfront

Mr. HB has crab

The Hostess has salmon

and

after some more walking...

this wee balloon flower lay abandoned on the street until I rescued it 

and gave it to the next child we saw

she was thrilled!

weary by all the fresh air and walking 

we leisurely strolled back to our Hotel 

for a night of restful slumber.

I do love weekends away.

Kate Spade quotes...and snippets of Seattle

I found this card inside my new Kate Spade bag...

love this shade of green

For the record

 we used to have a blue Fiat Sport Spider convertible 

and it was a fun car...

I rarely drove it as I needed to sit on top of two pillows 

to see over the steering wheel and to stretch to reach the pedals...

Italians are obviously tall or at least a good bit taller than me!

it was a persnickety car

a lot of money went to the mechanic to keep it running!

Fix It Again Tony!

Seattle buys continued...

Brown and white striped linen trousers

wider legs cool for summer

Jones of NY

purchased at Macy's

I have seen a lot of stripes appearing in the fashion mags and in stores.

I like the stripes as they are vertical, they given the illusion of height

I can just imagine if they were horizontal...

Yikes!

I do not need to look wider than I already am!

 I remembered that I have a perfect partner in my jewelry chest back home

Debra K woven brown and burnished sterling necklace.

I want to wear these soon

I plan to team them up with a simple white tank and a sweater or a white shirt worn as a jacket

these crystals might work too

what do you think?

Exploring the shops near Pike Place Market we found ourselves in Sur la Table

their selection of cooking gadgets and gear was overwhelming

decisions are difficult when too many choices are available.

I was tempted to buy the pasta roller for my Kitchen Aid

but they were out of stock.

I found some basic napkins

I can always use more

as we use only cloth 

avoiding the toss away paper ones in an attempt to be more mindful

and Green.

and they were on sale...

So that about sums up the shopping 

I hope that I have not bored you to bits!

Dining downtown was varied and never once did we need a reservation

which as spontaneous tourists we really appreciated

I managed to eat only half of every serving 

as I found the portions large.

I have been very inspired by some of the unusual salads

and plan to recreate them here in The Humble Bungalow.

When we got thirsty we rehydrated 

at Starbucks

the first Starbucks in Pike Place had a line up out the door

 cameras were snapping madly capturing the images

of smiling tourists

in front of the sign

YES

there is a Starbucks on every corner in Seattle!

Please stay tuned there's one more....

What's in the bags?

Seattle weekend continued...
Do you remember we arrived early and had some time to kill?
So a shopping we will go...
I owe I owe it's off to work I go!

Some clues as to what is in the bags...

Coral lipstick does not suit me...

floating back to the party sounds dangerous

the phrase conjures up adventure

and possibly espionage...

I am intrigued!

Hobo has been on my radar for about a year

 and you might ask why..

well

it has been a cost factor

and 

I have needed to justify my purchase...

(money does not grow on trees here)

and my Rutherford and Brown wallet has held up remarkably well

I saw RED and was WOOED!!

Filthy Rich

awaits on my bedside table

I am curious about the title...

what does filthy have to do with riches?

it might look like a simple leather wallet

but it is so much more!

a cheery lining

commodious room for cards, cheques and coins

 in the zippered compartment- phone, passport and some lipstick!

I christen thee The Red Queen!

(she will be serving me for a long time!)

the Hobo can hop in here!

If you have been following me for awhile you might know 

 Black and White

are 

my Go To Shades

I try to colour my world but it feels like I am cheating on myself...

I dabbled with orange and green and with yellow

but I felt like a fake...

I embrace honesty in all things.

Mr. HB and I strolled through the handbags 

in Nordstroms...

one purchase in hand on a mission for more...

we moved methodically by designer and displays...

I let him know that I was on the prowl for a new bag before we left town...

I had done some research online and had narrowed it down to a few contenders.

What I had not anticipated 

was Mr. HB's opinion on which bag he preferred...

I selected the contenders and put them on my shoulder and moved closer to the mirrors

he commented

and 

I took his advice.

Black leather

quilted

bag

Kate Spade

N.Y.

a classic choice

affordable price

and

Mr. HB chose it

so I think that is 

WIN WIN WIN!

Pike Place Peony's

a plethora of petals

rich in perfume

and

pennies a stem....

stay tuned!

Seattle weekend....

We had a marvelous time!

We arrived before the hotel's check in time 

so we had the Mayflower Park store our bags and we went shopping!

(More about that in the next post!)

The weather was quite lovely, warm and sunny.

Seattle can be cool and rainy but she performed beyond our expectations 

as did our accommodations.

We were delighted with the suite

and the Love Thy Canadian Neighbour Package included breakfast and valet parking!

The service and the staff are amazing and we feel very spoiled...

I suppose that is why we keep returning to our 

"home away from home"

Oliver's is the lounge in the Mayflower and we enjoyed a cocktail

Mr. HB had an Oliverita which is like a marguerita

and I sipped a French 75

(the bartender filled the glass so full!)

We walked for many hours every day taking in the sights and sounds of downtown.

Seattle is such a pretty city located by the ocean and the snow capped mountains beyond

the people are friendly

the streets are green

  so many great spots to stop for coffee

cafes and restaurants galore

lots to see and do...

looking up at the canopy of trees

people were out and about enjoying the fresh air

a giant game of chess was being played in the square!

Open spaces and greenery

people friendly spaces...

We watched children as they ran through this water feature

giggling and laughing as the water poured all around them

Pike Place Market

and more...

in my next post.

Thank you for the many anniversary wishes...

officially our 37th is not until July 20th

I suppose we will be celebrating for a few more weeks!

I have been away from my computer for a few days

 and 

now need to catch up on my blog reading...