Salad Daze....or post number 896.

One thing that this weight loss journey has taught me is to embrace salads.
I try to have a salad main course for lunch everyday.
This means that I need to have a variety of salad recipes to keep my taste buds happy.

I made the second winning recipe from this wonderful book.

This assembles very quickly and I put it in the fridge to allow the flavours to meld before serving.

I used low fat mayonnaise.

This is the picture from the actual cookbook.

Looks delicious!

The Hostess's version served from Gran Gran's antique stoneware pudding bowl.

Tastes delicious!

A great pot luck salad as it can be made ahead and easily doubled for a crowd.

~ ~ ~

I weighed in today at WW and lost another 1.3 pounds.

But I have a confession to make...

last week I was up .7 pounds on the scale and I couldn't really figure out why.

I gave myself a stern talking to...

and moved on.

Despite indulging in appetizers and cocktails on the boat,  

AND a grilled cheese sandwich!

I held my breath while I stood on the scale and was so relieved that I was down!

I enjoyed a really long walk today and met some girlfriends for coffee.

I love spending time with long time close friends.

We are all Grandmothers and show pictures of our sweet little ones...

we share what's new and support each other as we help out our families and assist our elderly parents.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my Humble Bungalow Blog.

Please come back again...

Hostess.

ABC ~ apples, books, and a coat!

Our Humble Bungalow Garden needs a lot of TLC at this time of year.
Deadheading, cutting back, dividing and yanking out all the plants that are spent.

It's a messy time of year...
I get dirtier as the garden gets tidier!

These alliums are a lucky couple of blooms that survived being blown over by the recent wind and rain.

The rest sadly are in the compost bins.

I love to pop these into arrangements as fillers.

The bees love these too.

The recent rainy day knitting project went much faster than I thought it would...
and the rain did not last all that long!

Sunny days followed and I spent quite a bit of time out in the garden.
How do the weeds grow overnight?

I have more yarn and will make another hat in the next few weeks.

With the weather so warm and sunny I like to be outdoors.

One thing you notice is that it's definitely cheerful.

Have started and am enjoying a new book that I picked up on my walk to the Village.

Speaking of walks, 

I bought a new walking coat when Mother and I were out last week.

It's by Chillox and has some great features,

perfect for our climate.

Arm pocket and side pockets

a hood

warm lining

a front zipper that can be zipped from the top or from the bottom

windproof

water repellant

lightweight

and 

breathable.

BASIC BLACK!

This purchase was on the need list not the want/lust list!

I found this book at Value Village for $4.99

I haven't had a Waldorf Salad for years!

There are lots of local apples available right now.

Windfalls are plentiful.

Neighbours put their fruit out in front of their homes and passers by can help themself to a few.

I took advantage of this and made a salad.

There are so many great recipes for salads in this book.

I am not sure which one to try next.

 I love the inspiration and ideas here as I tend to use the same ingredients and welcome a change.

I am reminded that I need to cull my cookbook collection...

so many books get ignored.

How many cookbooks do you own?

Do you use them all or hang onto to them for sentimental reasons?

Beauty is in the small things...Sunsets, flowers, bark, a book and then some...

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
there is an abundance of beauty...
surprisingly at every turn, if one has the time and inclination to stop and look.

It might be the simple bloom of a mauve colchium popping up in the most unexpected place, the sandy shoreline at Willows Beach on a foggy morning walk with my BFF and her terrier, Cooper.
It could be the bark of the Arbutus tree as it sheds the outer layer exposing the lime toned new layer beneath...

There seems to be plenty of beauty in nature.
None of it seems overly contrived.
Mother Nature seems to get it right every time.

I am so impressed by the gorgeous play of light on the clouds and the ocean at sunset.

Pender Island 

on a calm evening in September.

This was the scene just hours before we left our marina.

I thought that we would be staying onboard snug and safe in the slip.

 I don't like navigating in the fog...

it's rather like driving with ones eyes closed!

The fog lifted a few hours later and we scooted across the water.

There was a celebratory cocktail after we tied up and awaited our dinner in the pub at Poets Cove.

Bark can be beautiful...

This deer was munching on the foliage near the outdoor hot tub of the Poets Cove Spa.

It did not mind me in the least.

 Michelle from The Bungalow on Estevan leant me this delicious book.

I read it in two days...

she sells this book and many others in the shop that she and Graham run in Oak Bay.

It's my favourite spot to shop for cards and gifts.

Do pop by and if you are not shy mention that "The Hostess" sent me...

and while you are there check out Michelle's sale table out front.

She has some great bargains!

Azure blue skies...

soft puffy white clouds

calm seas

What's in a name you may ask...

I may never get to Paris

 because I am so happy on the ocean.

I am delighted to read about Paris

it sounds like a dreamy city

 I do not feel the need to travel far to foreign ports.

~ ~ ~

A good book

someone to love

family

friends

something rewarding to do

a creative outlet 

~ knitting ~ gardening ~ painting ~ cooking ~

connections with people 

something of beauty to admire

a roof over head

nourishing food

simple things

and yet we may tend to overlook the obvious.

Are you embracing gratitude every day?

Thank you for taking the time to visit me here where I share my thoughts

why not share your thoughts too?

If you have a blog please tell me about it.

Be Well

XO

The Humble Bungalow Garden ~ The September issue....

It's been ages since I've done a garden post.
It's not like I have been ignoring the garden,
I feel that I have written so many posts on it that you might be bored to tears.

You might be yawning as I have been writing about my simple life in this wee house for quite sometime...

Why do I blog?

I like writing.
This Humble Blog has become a habit and an online diary.
Some of you are commenting and a lot more of you are reading.
I check the stats periodically just to reaffirm that I have an audience.
but I digress...

I was outside for hours yesterday and in my zeal to dead head the roses I gave myself a nasty cut with the secateurs.
It might have needed a stitch but I cleaned it well with hydrogen peroxide and slathered some antibiotic cream on it and plastered a bandage on it pronto. It throbbed for about an hour and so I took myself off for a walk in the neighbourhood to take my mind off it....
I am such a sissy when it comes right down to it.

When I returned I got right back in garden mode, I put on my gloves this time and trimmed the edges and mowed the lawn.
Did I mention that Mr. HB bought us a new lawn mower this season?
a cute chartreuse green rechargeable battery type that is so much lighter than our old gas guzzling Toro.
This one is quieter and does a great job and I can use it without being pulled off my feet!

I am achy and tired after my stint in the garden and needed to sit for a bit and rest up before making dinner...
so I thought why not sip tea and do a garden post.
Be mindful not to type with the bandaged finger.
(Can you tell that I am having a bit of a pity party?)

Peeking through the pillars

is a sturdy Arbutus tree

I love how the bark peels

Look at that earthy olive green shade underneath the rusty red bark

This tree drops lots of leaves on our garden

I use a childs rake when tidying up the beds

it certainly comes in handy.

Limelight hydrangea

floppy heads that droop a bit after the rain,

they are stunning in a bouquet.

colchiums

roses are still blooming

coreopsis and a yellow rose

fried egg plant as some like to call it...

Romneya coulteri

The Humble Bungalow

You can see how tall the grass was before I cut it!

Hope that your week is going well...

OOTD for a day with Mother.

Mother and I are heading out for some retail therapy...
she has chosen where we are going and I am happy to chauffeur her to our destination. It's a pleasant 30 minute drive along a scenic ocean route.

I'm looking for a great pair of black pants, Mother is looking for a black skirt. Both basic classics that are very much in demand and the sizes get picked over quite fast so we are shopping early rather than later to avoid disappointment.

I have ample room in my Burberry jacket.

Which is great 

I can add a cashmere sweater underneath for warmth this season.

It was rather tight the past few years and I had trouble doing it up

and I do love this jacket.

Franco Sarto loafers

purchased on sale at Nordstroms last spring.

I bought these a few years ago

when I was lusting after Hunter boots.

These are going to get some serious wear this Fall and Winter...

after all we live in the Pacific Northwest and get buckets of rain.

They are not too tall for my short legs!

Hunter now make several heights and they come in such delicious colours...

but do I really NEED a pair?

No!

Shopping with a list of what one NEEDS helps to keep focused.

I find it is so easly to get distracted with all the new clothes that are filling up the shops.

Sumptuous soft wool coats caught my eye and I was tempted to buy a new coat today.

Love the simple styles that we saw in camel, navy and black....

however they were "investment prices!" 

($600)

The black pants eluded me...

I really want to get a petite line as hemming the regular ones means you lose some of the features of the silhouette.

I saw a fun faux fur vest and tried it on...Mother loved it on me.

Then it occured to me that I have a perfectly good vest in my winter wardrobe storage at home.

 I should have perused what I own that fits me from last season before even leaving the house.

I put on my two cashmere cardigans to find that they look quite acceptable.

The two cashmere 'tees" from Lands' End look good too.

I'm trying to hold onto summer by wearing lighter clothes but the weather is dictating change

which will require some action on my part soon!

I plan to switch over my summer clothes to winter in the next few weeks.

Do you go shopping with a list?

Are you swayed and tempted by garments that you have no real need for?

I did buy something and I will tell you more about that purchase in an upcoming post...

until then...

Be Well.

Hostess