Home sweet home...

Our holidays have come to an end and we are home safe and sound.
I am buried under a mountain of laundry and have lots of catching up to do...
the cats were really glad to see us.

Our house sitter did a great job keeping up with the watering of the garden and she was able to harvest some beets, swiss chard and zucchini.
The sweet peas are glorious...
I ran out with my secateurs and grabbed a handful.

bliss in a vase

water colour pastel shades

Chester has spent most of the afternoon on Mr. HB's lap.

He loves to find a sunny spot for his nap.

View from the cooktop through the window

Ball sealer jars on the ledge.

My BFF called me today to tell me a co worker had died tragically.

She was our age.

Her work mates are getting together tonight to support each other in their grief.

Monday morning in the office is going to be difficult.

My heart goes out to her family and all her friends...

Ship Shape...a floating boating post.

The weather is HOT HOT HOT!
I am keeping my cool by wearing cotton frocks and I have donned a pair of shorts.
I just hope that The Fashion Police have taken the day off.
I am showing much more skin that I usually do and feel a bit vulnerable.

Grey mix of batik type pattern

loose and cool.

a water mister for a quick shot of cool

~ ~ ~

 now for a few snippets of life aboard ship

I love to coil our dock lines.

polished chrome scoops bring air in to cool the engines

our cozy V berth

screened "air conditioning" above

also

our personal sky light if you will

a view from the deck

We are moored at Poet's Cove Resort

pools, hot tubs, a pub, restaurant, cafe and a Spa

all here at our fingertips.

Mr. HB has been working his summer daytime job as The Crab Man

he brought in 3 for our dinner tonight

we'll sit and pick them leisurely while sipping a cold beverage

and I made a batch of "prawn sauce" which we love on all seafood.

Prawn Dip

1 cup mayonnaise

2-3 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

2-3 tsp. soy sauce

mix and chill ahead to allow flavours to blend.

Lovely daughter will be joining us tomorrow

we have lunch at a Gulf Island Vineyard planned

and there will be swimming

and perhaps a visit to the Spa!

Hope that you are keeping your cool.

Stay hydrated until next time.

Your Humble Hostess

reporting from our Chris Craft Constellation.

XO

Saving face on the high seas....

High maintenance beauty routines are not in the forefront aboard ship.

I relax and use less make up

and have given up blow drying my hair.

With a little help from Bumble and Bumble my holiday hair looks just fine.

Skin and sunshine are not the best of friends...over exposure is not advisable.

I recently learned that a very dear friend has had surgery to remove a malignant melanoma.

It's scary stuff and a wake up call for all of us. 

She is doing fine but now limits her time in the sun wears a hat and uses sunscreen everyday.

My skincare routine on board is the same as at home.

I use travel sizes of the Avene products and bring the Olay battery powered facial brush.

Everything is conveniently stored in my roll up cosmetic bag and hangs in the head for easy access.

Eminence Mineral Sunscreen 

a bit of lipgloss

some mascara

and I am ready.

Eating fresh fruit and vegetables gives me a sense of health

that balance out the "naughty salty snacks" that I have been eating.

My current read

is set in Australia

I've just started this novel

and feel transported to another place and another time...

Stay tuned...

I'll check in with you periodically as we move from marina to marina in the sunny Gulf Islands of BC.

Hostess

XO

Galley "creations" are common aboard our wee craft.

Lunch time rolls around and we are famished.
With the invigorating salt air we find ourselves nibbling between meals
munching naughty snacks and our meal time portions tend to be on the larger size...
I am sure that I will gain weight this holiday.

There's a pub up at the top of the dock which serves up fabulous fare

we enjoyed lunch there last weekend. 

I like to cook and doing so in my small galley gives me a sense of satisfaction.
I rustled up a ship board lunch using swiss chard, bacon and eggs...
(vegetarians look away)

fry up pieces of bacon

Meanwhile 

look in the fridge for some veggies

~ ~ ~ 

swiss chard from our Humble Bungalow Garden

corn sheared off the leftover cob that went uneaten

asparagus spears from the previous night's dinner

after removing the bacon

wilt the veggies 

boil water in a pot 

when boiling add a glug of vinegar so the eggs stay "together"

and poach some eggs

Plate the veggies

top with eggs and arrange the bacon

a hot salad lunch is served!

Mr. HB is out setting the crab traps

we've met up with some boating buddies and they have a sleek new boat

 we dined aboard their vessel last evening

they are off hiking 

they'll be joining us for drinks and appetizers tonight.

I am alone with a cup of coffee

and have done all my boat chores.

One of which was to polish all my bangles 

as they were so very tarnished

 I had no Twinkle aboard so I used toothpaste

it worked brilliantly!

We have been thinking about selling our boat

as we have not been using it very much the past few seasons.

But when we get out and relax aboard her it feels like we are meant to live this life.

We sleep so soundly and ship life is rather carefree...

maintaining a classic takes deep pockets and lots of elbow grease.

Moorage in the boathouse is very dear.

Looking ahead to retirement one wonders if owning a boat is an extravagance that is too expensive.

It 's too confusing to think about just now

so I am going to put these thoughts far away from my mind and live in the moment.

reflections of our boat in the ocean...

The sounds of a seaplane

the seals floating by

the call of the ravens

the gentle hum of the fridge as it cycles

the smell of hot coffee

the tick tock of the ship's clock

the creaking of the dock

the flapping of the burgee in the breeze

the gentle rocking from wake of boats passing by

the scent of lavender from the soap from my morning toilette

is all I need for right now.

Have a wonderful week!

Persols and snippets on the high seas...

We are aboard our 1957 Chris Craft Constellation cruising the salty seas.
It's a quiet pace and we keep the days simple.
Meal times are 10am 2pm and 8pm...
it just feels right when on vacation to sleep late
and our bed is ever so cozy.

Our boat is 35 feet but inside is a compact space
with bunks in the V berth, a dinette in the salon and a settee.
There is not a lot of storage space so one needs to stow things carefully and keep clutter to a minimum.
The galley consists of a 2 burner stove and a fridge and a small wash basin.
The head has a shower, sink and toilet.
Most of the living space is outside on the back deck.
So we are fair weather cruisers!

our dinette and garden roses

love the sea theme aboard

faux starfish

when we were kids we'd pull starfish off the rocks and study them

we'd also fish for shiners at the dock pilings

catch them and put them in buckets before releasing them

boat gems

aqua and sea glass green

lemons and limes to ward off scurvy!

 lemonade and limeade

so refreshing 

I pop them in a glass of water to add flavour.

I found these Persols in the basket under my sun hats.

I'd completely forgotten that I still had these.

They are polarized which is so necessary for the glare from the sun as it reflects off the ocean.

Here is where I sit to blog.

As I closed the pages on Rules of Civility I wished that I was just starting it again.

It's was a fabulous novel.

Here's a little fluff read

to keep me entertained...

But then there is

cracking crab

dock walks

watching the Ospreys, Blue Herons and Eagles

the Farmer's Market

evening cruises in the dingy

playing cribbage

nibbling appetizers

enjoying seafood

sleeping soundly

laughing

there's

lots of action.

~ ~ ~

Must close for now 

the sun is shining

and there's a book calling my name.

I'll post again in a few days...

thanks for stopping by.