The Sounds of Silence on a Sunny Wednesday Morning.

Hush
it's so quiet...
So quiet that I can hear my breathing and the beating of my heart.
Days with no breeze or wind are rare in our area...it's because the ocean is nearby.

 I tip toe outside...

the warmth and light of the summer sunshine

on my back.

our deck is bathed in sunlight

one of  summer's gifts

shadows come out to play 

The garden is a chaotic riot of greenery

the side yard has been taken over by Lady's Mantle 

it's a massive lime explosion!

our local deer wander by for a nibble here and there

if I left the back gate open perhaps they'd help me out...

dead head a few plants and do some weeding

but if I did I am sure that they'd head straight for my roses!

Jude The Obscure a David Austin Rose

sits out front in our Humble Bungalow Garden

vulnerable to the deer...

a doe and her two babies have been dining here.

One of the stags in our vicinity

and we live fairly close to town

the deer are thriving here in Victoria as there are no predators

(other than man)

urban development has taken over their habitat

forcing them to be resourceful and creative

in a city with so many gardens that offer up a salad bar 

the deer seem quite happy.

the neighbours are building fences

placing nets on their favourite plants

erecting chicken wire barricades

Oak Bay has performed a deer cull and it has been met with a lot of criticism.

There are signs up in the areas where fawns cross the roads... 

"slow down fawn crossing."

It's curious how when we are in a peaceful and quiet setting

 that our thoughts can wander

as we take time to ponder 

life's bigger issues and questions

being in the moment

focusing

changing

shifting

adapting

attempting 

to live in harmony with nature.

OOTD ~ Washday observations...

It's wash day again here in our Humble Bungalow.
Mondays more frequently are washing, ironing and domestics days...

OOTD

Club Monaco jeans

Monoprix grey linen Tee

silver necklace from Paris

This inexpensive Parisian necklace gets lots of compliments.

I love white and silver together...

so icy and cool.

Our white orchid is in bloom again..this must be the 4th year that it has re-bloomed.

Orchids, the window sill variety are a great bargain...just a wee bit more than a bouquet and they continue to perform for years. 

I water mine every Monday.

Our grey and black back door rug... from Target.

The Christmas cactus is looking healthy.

It usually blooms twice a year and not always at Christmas!

Mr. HB and I both spent a lazy day on the boat this weekend.

We read our books and the cats snoozed...

I bought a new mat for the galley.

and some new melamine plates designed by Nicole Miller.

Home Sense and Winners are the source of the nautical inspired accents pieces for our boat.

Pepper

Chester

The view from here...

There were many opportunities to reflect...

remember 

and honour the memory of our Fathers

both gone but not forgotten...

I'll be starting this book soon...

I want to learn how to make a French omellete...

I need to find a non stick pan first.

The time has come to say adieu

There are linens to launder and cottons to iron...

OOTD ~ Sailor Style

I cobbled together a crazy sailor style outfit this morning...
it's a busy day of domestics here in The Humble Bungalow.

I've been doing laundry since about 8:30 am.
Eradicating dirt should appear on the top of my CV!

It's a Blue OOTD all the way down to the toes.

The Tommy Hilfiger watch is waterproof so good for actioning domestics or wearing on the boat.

This might be what Lisa calls "Tomboy Style."

Do you read Lisa's blog?

I do and did you know that I started blogging because of her?

She was super helpful and supportive and she really knows her way around the technical area of computing.

She knows a lot about the WASP way of life which I personally find fascinating...

These comfy GAP capri length sailor pants are so soft.

They must be as old as the hills...

or they've been laundered dozens if not hundreds of times...

well I am given to exaggerate a bit!

The striped top is the one I purchased at COS in The Marais district in Paris this May...

Paris, France I was there just over a month ago.

Here are some images captured from my trip...all themed Blues.

It's Father's Day on Sunday and I'll be remembering my Dad,

honouring my husband, the Father of my children 

and son who is the father of two and soon to be 3.

Hope that you have a lovely weekend.

XO

Lime Time...

Love love love the colour green!
I adore the taste of limes...
have a "green thumb" and am often "green with envy."

I gravitate toward greens of all shades...

I love to use limes in a gin and tonic cocktail...
(My WW friendly G and T's are made using mostly Perrier with just a splash of tonic)
the wedge of lime is squeezed into the cocktail and then popped into the glass.

Avocado's are a WW high point but healthy splurge...avocado on toast or eaten straight from the skin with a splash of worchestershire sauce and a sprinkling of Sea salt...yum.

Green salads, green beans, green apples, green peas, green smoothie drinks...
so many healthy foods are green.

Our Humble Bungalow front porch is where we often sit after a hard day of working.

I found most of our vintage wicker porch furniture free on the boulevards...

after dragging the chairs and tables home I painted them black.

It's a cozy place to sit and chat.

It's located close to the street so it gives us an opportunity to greet the neighbours 

as they stroll by on the sidewalk.

We have a few dull planters that are going to be transformed by a coat of black paint...

I am not sure why I like black pots in the garden, but I do.

I'm not sure why I love green either but I do...

Does anyone know why we have colour favourites?

Ah but I digress...

 I need to get myself off to the paint store...

and I'm sitting here writing a blog post when I could be painting!

(my excuse is that it's really hot outside ~ I am keeping cool inside)

Do you "feel the heat?"

I do.

 I hydrate with sparkling water all day long so it is rather frustrating...

I garden in the mornings or later in the afternoon when the sun is not so intense.

I cannot remember if I mentioned that Mr. HB has been busy redoing our front porch and stairs.

They were in dire need of restoration.

When I went off to France my darling husband ripped them out and began a long and tedious project.

He improved the look as well as the stability and function of the stairs.

He rebuilt the area in front of the door by ripping out and replacing all the wood. 

Then he extended the treads of the stairs so they were deeper and reconfigured the detail of the sides by using the beveled siding as seen on the original house.

The beveled wood wraps around as you can see and it all needed to be level...

it was a big job but he is finished all the hard work and is ready to prime and paint.

I like the improved functionality and think it looks much better.

We need to decide on the style of the wood railings before the job is complete.

Railings would not have been part of the original design.

 With Mother popping by, 

(and we are aging ourselves!) 

we need to have something sturdy to hang onto.

Hermes scarf

Which I wear with this lime cardigan that I bought last summer from Target.

Cheap and cheerful.

  (I am still lamenting the loss of Target stores in Canada.)

I'm excited to report the wee lizard that we saw awhile ago in our Humble Bungalow Garden has been sighted several more times!

The Limelight hydrangeas are getting ready to flower so there will be lime bouquets in abundance.

That's all to report for now...

what's new with you?

Anything exciting happening in your neck of the woods?

From the Spa to the Sea...and The Glove is Back!

I am slowly getting back into my routine here in The Humble Bungalow.
I'm resisting rushing into anything with too much gusto.
Perhaps it is "Post holiday transition."

Sporadic thoughts of Paris and France linger...
and bubble up when I least expect them, but I encourage and savour the thoughts.

I've been spending time in the house doing the domestics and in the garden weeding and dead heading the roses.
Last week I rewarded myself with a "day off."

I popped into one of my favourite thrift shops and bought a funky necklace.

It looks hand made and I wore it with my black bamboo dress.

It has a definite BoHo vibe.

I decided to vary my walking route and went along the waterfront where I grew up in South Oak Bay.

This little stretch of water is known as McNeil Bay.

A lighthouse on Trial Island is situated quite close...

the whale watching boats go by several times a day as there are pods of resident Orcas living in our waters and those near the US San Juan Islands.

My reward was a delicious lunch! 

A tasty veggie cabbage roll in the Olive Olio's cafe in the Cadboro Bay Village...

I sat outside in the sunshine before going to the spa around the corner.

I love Bliss Spa...

it's clean and quiet and off the beaten track.

One relaxes in their waiting room sipping peppermint tea while leafing through magazines.

OPI 

"This colour is making waves"

Perfect for the boating season which has started up...

Oh but it's not all glamour here...

I dug out "THE GLOVE!"

Do you remember that it makes an appearance every so often?

It's been quite a long time since I featured this accessory and would have probably not thought to focus on it but I received a cheery email from a reader saying that she enjoyed seeing "the glove" and it makes her laugh so without further ado...

The glove came out to the boat with me this weekend.

Big dirty jobs require the assistance of a reliable and handy helper.

Mr. HB and I cleaned the boat from top to bottom and it shines.

Why do I have Twinkle on board you may ask?

Well we have WMF silverware on board...

it might sound a wee bit strange but when we were outfitting our SeaRay Sundancer I was looking for dishes, cutlery, pots and pans as well as towels and pillows and bedding...

the costs were getting out of control and so when I spied this set of silver at the thrift shop for less than the stainless steel at Target I pounced on it.

After a day of work we sat down to a lovely lunch at Sea Glass restaurant at the top of the dock at Van Isle Marina.

The Marina has erected a new sign... our boat is tied up on this dock.

After lunch my BFF and I decided to have our photos taken in front of the Van Isle sign...

we are all celebrating 60 years!

The original Glove debut...

Pepper got into the act...

then she decided to puncture the thumb with her very sharp teeth!

The original glove is long gone.

Thankfully there are many more available...

I've got my heart set on some new pairs of "Playtex Living Gloves" in bright colours.

They are only available in the US so I am thinking a trip to Seattle is in our future...

Can you imagine what the border security will say when I mention the purpose of our trip is to buy Playtex rubber gloves?

Hope you've enjoyed this silly post.

There are quite a few joyous June birthday celebrations in our midst

and yet

many people in our lives are struggling with personal issues.

We have friends and family that are seriously ill and there have been a few recent deaths.

Our hearts go out to them in sympathy.

"Laughter is an instant vacation."

~ Milton Berle ~

"There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt."

~ Erma Bombeck ~