Humble Bungalow Home and Garden...

It has been a frenzy of activity here these past few days...as we have had a crew of painters here scraping and prepping the exterior of our Humble Bungalow in preparation for paint.
The cats have been running around to the windows and watching the men on their ladders...the noisy sanders have been loud and I was on deck to provide refreshments (cookies) as a self proclaimed Hostess I do have a reputation to live up to!

Oops someone left a cedar shingle on the patio!

Today all is quiet and I can hear myself think...the dish washer is going through its cycles but I can still hear the birdsong outside my window and it is music to my ears!

This pretty purple plant is in a neighbours garden and the bees just love it.

When I walked by I could hear the buzzing and watched as perhaps 50 bees gathered pollen.

Further down the block these beautiful artichokes are growing right beside the sidewalk.

I'm tempted to ask for a sample...

Artichokes have such interesting and intricate details.

Our Humble Bungalow Garden is a riot of colour and the roses are in full bloom.

Our roses are really putting on a spectacular show.

They love the warm weather and the sunshine.

This pink rose is the climber Madame Gregoire Staechelin.

Joesph's Coat of Many Colours

The blooms are bright orange when they first open and then they get tinges of yellow on the edges of the petals as they fully open up.

Iceberg is a reliable and hardy climbing rose which rewards us with many pure white flowers.

The cats do not usually nap in the same place but we caught them in the act and I had to take a picture because I think they looked quite cozy. They are sleeping on top of our vintage English Pram!

You still have a day to bid on the Hermes scarf and Pyrrha necklace if you are interested...

all the details are in the previous post.

Well that's about it for now...

I must get out for my walk as it is a beautiful sunny morning.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Hermes Scarf and Pyrrha Necklace ~ A Silent Auction fund raiser for Fort McMurray victims...

In my previous post I mentioned that my daughter Jennifer and I were going to be putting together a fundraiser to help the people from the town of Fort McMurray...we are ready and the auction is live!

Darling daughter has put together the silent auction post on her Instagram feed @thing _finder
and she is ready to accept bids by private message on these two lovely items. I donated the silk Hermes scarf which is made in Paris and she added the Pyrrha necklace which is made in Vancouver BC.

Fort McMurray is a town in Alberta where a wildfire has been burning for days. 88,000 people have fled, many with just the clothes on their backs and are currently living in camps or have joined family and friends elsewhere. Many homes burnt to the ground as well as buildings in the city.

After watching the news I have not been able to get the images out of my mind...so many people have been affected by the fire and the scale of the destruction is huge. I had just made a donation to The Red Cross and now I felt that I needed to do more to help.

Thank you...

                                ~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Garden daze...and a plea for help.

This unseasonably warm weather continues to be sunny and the garden is putting on quite the splashy show.

We have several different varieties of clematis in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Incredibly lush blooms on this clematis which is only a few years old.

I think it might be Clematis Jackmanii.

Our Pink Lewisia Cotyledon grows in a pot in the garden outside the back door.

It puts on a lovely display for most of the summer and asks very little except for the occasional drink of water and a sheltered spot out of the wind.

The  McCartney rose seems happy and is incredibly fragrant...

perfect for picking and bringing inside the Humble Bungalow.

The Rothschildianum Azalea was beautiful but sadly the deer have eaten most of the flowers.

I have suggested to Mr. HB that we look into erecting some fencing out in the front yard!

I observed the doe munching happily on these flowers and thought well...

she is probably expecting fawns and needs a sweet treat.

And Today Is Mother's Day!

Joesph's Coat of Many Colours climbing rose

Madame Gregoire Staechelin climber

closer look at Madame

her flowers are drooping and heavy as she is fully laden with buds and blooms

alliums

The bees love these...

On our Instagram feed 

Darling Daughter  @thing_finder and I are putting together a silent auction to help raise funds for more than 88,000 people who live in Fort McMurray Alberta who have had to flee their homes because of a fast moving wild fire...

It is horrific to think that many of these people had to leave their homes 

and left with nothing but the clothes on their back...many driving through flames and heat to escape.

The news is very graphic and scary that I fear that many will be traumatized.

I purchased this scarf new from the Vancouver Hermes shop and have the wee booklet and original box that it came in...

it is a white with grey 

a very "painterly" scarf 

 is so neutral that I feel anyone could wear it

you could buy this scarf and help someone in need.

I am offering my 2012 Hermes silk scarf and our darling daughter is offering a Pyrrha necklace

we both hope that you will help us raise funds for the people of Fort McMurray.

The Canadian government will match all the donations received...

so let's do our bit.

Please help.

So please stay tuned for details of the auction.

Hope all the Mother's out there had a great day!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Lilacs ~ an unexpected "windfall"

Thank you all for your kind messages on the previous post...

Yesterday we gathered at the church for a memorial Mass
to honour a lovely, gracious and kind woman...
the mother of my closest and dearest friend.
I have known this amazing lady since I was 8 years old.

Many years of wonderful memories ~ she will never be forgotten.

The vintage white floral wicker baskets were purchased from an antique shop almost 10 years ago.

Our son was getting married and having a garden wedding at my friend's home and I was in charge of the flowers and when I spied these I knew they would be perfect.

These have been used for several other weddings and they were used yesterday at the church service.

I offered to help with the flowers because it is something that I really enjoy...

I picked flowers from our Humble Bungalow garden...

lily of the valley, pink roses, fern fronds, hosta leaves and some blue bells popped them in a bucket and drove to my friend's home.

These went into vases and were placed around the house in various rooms.

The lily of the valley was placed on the table at the church between pictures, her rosary and some personal mementos 

We used the crystal vase that she had given me at my wedding shower almost 42 years ago.

My friend and I wandered around their garden looking for flowers for the wicker urns and discovered that a limb had snapped off the lilac bush in the wind that blew up the night before.

So we wasted no time and started cutting them, then plunged the fragrant lilacs into cold water.

They looked lovely at the church and were taken back to the house for the reception.

The private memorial Mass and afternoon gathering was mostly family...

we felt honoured to be included.

Here are a couple of pictures of their gorgeous garden 

which is large, lush and incredibly beautiful.

Purple Potato Vine looks so pretty mixed in with the chartreuse green Euphorbia.

Wisteria by the front entrance.

Dogwood Tree

Yellow Rose

I love how pretty this yellow rose looks contrasted against the red door.

I had a fairly quiet day today...

I met with the orthopedic surgeon who is treating my frozen shoulder and she seemed pleased with my progress...she is the first female orthopedic surgeon in Victoria...

looks very young and has a lovely "bedside manner."

I indulged in a relaxing pedicure at my favourite place

 Bliss Spa...

 Sipping and savouring a cup of hot tea

and looking at the clock

it is almost time to get dinner started...

Thank you for stopping by.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~ 

Au revoir....

Relaxing because
it is so difficult

I crave quiet and calm

it has been an emotional few days

I brewed a pot of tea and took a mug outside in the sunshine

and sat in one of the new red chairs

I needed to listen to the birdsong

look at the flowers

soak in all the beauty that I could

to refuel my spirit

soft greens and whites mingle together

the red chairs are comfy

I think they will be one of my favourite spots when I need to take a break in the garden

our Iceberg rose is in bloom

love the purity that white flowers exude

the new pot of geraniums will last all summer

 sunshine and water

and a little TLC

a lovely and gracious woman has left us...

she lived a full life

inspired and nurtured a family

  great grandmother

she was an important woman in my life

she was gracious

loving

giving

always put her family first

she leaves behind

family

friends

years of memories and events that can be recalled 

whenever we choose to do so

She will hold a special place in my heart forever

and I am honoured to have known her

I have wept...

my goodness we are all weeping

we cannot stem the tide...

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there." 

~ Ray Bradbury ~

Take care and thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~