Ooh La La! every woman can feel beautiful...

I am savouring Jamie Cat Callan's most recent, soon to be published novel "Ooh La La."
Each chapter is delicious and I am indulging like I would eat a chocolate,
slowly letting it melt in my mouth.
Jamie takes us on a journey where she shares the secrets of French women and their secrets to feeling beautiful everyday...
she has interviewed many women while doing her research and I love to hear their "voices" on many topics. I am halfway through the book and look forward to the next chapters...
but like any good book when you reach the end, you are left craving for more.
With this in mind I am pacing myself because I do not want it to end!

Pretty pink native lilies are in bloom in a field nearby our Humble Bungalow.

My orchid is re-blooming...

these plants are really a bargain

  they bloom several times a year for many years 

all they need is water once a week and some filtered light

I'm tempted to pick up another one as they are on sale at the flower shop.

Our garden has many hellebores

this one is a mass of blooms and shows no signs of stopping.

I've seen the black variety of this plant in the gardens at Van Dusen in Vancouver 

I have yet to track it down locally but it is very definitely on my wish list!

Our asparagus patch is in it's second year and we must not harvest any until the third season.

It does make my mouth water just thinking of how delicious it will be when we can pick some.

It's raining cats and dogs outside this morning and I am hunkered down under the down duvet...

indulging in a little rest and relaxation.

It's been a long work week that found me very tired by Friday.

Mr. HB suggested we go out for dinner last evening but I was too tired to get dressed up 

so we ordered in some delicious Chinese food and I read more of Jamie's book.

In her book she stresses that all women should feel beautiful 

regardless of their physical size or their financial state.

I am loving her tips and the insights into the French Femmes

which focuses on "la femme d'un certain age."

Au revoir

 from this femme d'un certain age!

~ ~ ~

(there's a book on the bedside table calling my name!)

I'll be back soon and in the meantime I hope that you are well and in good spirits

have a beautiful weekend!

XO

I am going to bed with a good book.....

Hello people...
whoo hoo
the mail brought gifts this week!

Look at this packaging!

Look at the title!

Pinch me please I am not dreaming!

Jamie Cat Callan sent me her advanced readers copy BEFORE it hits the press...
loving all things FRENCH I am swooning as I read the chapters.
I want to meet Jamie someday....
I love her "voice."
I think I might just take a bloggy break while I devour her book...

Mr. HB came home tonight to find me on the couch sipping a cup of tea and very quiet
while I had great difficulty prying my eyes from the pages of Jamie's newest...
to welcome him home.
I was so immersed I hardly noticed...

I do not want to stop reading until I have finished...

It never rains but it pours
Cheryl Fortier, a dear friend who first introduced me to Jamie Cat Callan when she met her in Auvilar France sent me Barbara Kingsolver's latest...
she met up with her at The Virginia Centre of The Arts when she was an artist in residence this past month.

I am keen to get stuck in...

Please send some positive thoughts for Cheryl and her family as her father is in hospital

and not doing well...

My BFF's mother has been in hospital and now is back home with 24 hour care and I am reminded of how precious and precarious life can be...

HUG your loved ones and tell them you care.

Everyday!

Thank you for visiting my Humble Blog.

OOTD...my new uniform.

After years of fussing when getting dressed I am happy to report that getting dressed has taken on a casual twist.
Staying close to home has brought new meaning in wearing "the uniform."
It needs to be comfortable, neat and tidy...
easy to wear and fast to assemble.

OOTD

It's simply me

the retired version

(I have a few months left to work before it's official)

I am practising for my future role!

Gap boyfriend jeans

white tank from H and M

grey cashmere from Lands End

Olsen belt

red Nine West ballet flats

Hermes scarf

I plan to invest in a few more cashmere cardigans when they go on sale

and I have oodles of scarves to pair with them.

It's my new comfort zone.

Not too sloppy...

but let's keep things simple.

Life is too short to spend everyday standing in front of the closet searching for clothes to put on.

I love the quick pick speedy way of dressing.

How about you?

Do you have a basic uniform?

I hope that your week is off to a great start.

Chester gives us a scare!

Our indoor kitten Chester jumped out the window Sunday morning around 9:00 am and we frantically combed the neighbourhood, put up signs...registered on lost pets websites.

After about 6 hours of searching, and calling his name a neighbour mentioned that she saw a cat stalking something in the area of her covered storage area...
She and I went into the shed and looked around and huddled under a pile of wood I saw a mound of familiar looking fur.
He was not meowing or acknowledging our presence in any way so we had to grab him and remove enough wood to pull him out.
He was shaking and cold, obviously terrified.
I was shaking and cold with relief!

We are so grateful for the safe return of Chester.

I raced out and bought the largest bouquet I could find, a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates.

Delivered with a heartfelt Thank You card...

A Happy Ending to a stressful day.

I am still somewhat shaken...

though relieved

and now we need to figure out how to cat proof the window so Chester stays safe.

How was your weekend?

Rainbow blooms...cheap and cheerful.

Mother, my sister and I went out to brunch a few weeks ago and we happened upon a nursery where I discovered this plant. I think it is a cape primrose although there was no tag in sight.
These little plants were on sale for a mere $2.00 each!

Look at the rainbow of colours on this one little plant!

I bought two

one for the bathroom and one for the den.

The flowers on each plant have several colours which I thought quite unusual.

I feel myself smiling...

Aren't they cheerful?

I wasn't looking for house plants until I spied them blooming their wee hearts out 

just waiting for a home to call their own.

What have you stumbled on that brightened your day?

I hope that your weekend is full to the brim

with lovely things. 

~ ~ ~

Facing the future...thoughts on mortality and a death.

One never knows what is around the next corner and all we can do is plan as best we can and hope for the best.
The future that lies ahead, however long or short...
it is beyond our control and all we really can do is live as richly as we can in the moment,
the now, this very second.

Friends have mentioned those who have terminal illnesses and the stories of the recently departed.
Some taken before their time...
what we might consider "before their time"
meaning what?
That they were close to our age and we might feel nervous if we knew that we were in their shoes.

It could happen.
(Perish the thought)

Coming to terms with one's mortality feels a little uncomfortable...at least it does to me. I'm not ready!
I think "Oh when I'm 70 I'll consider it", or "maybe 80"
My Mother has not arrived at this place...
I don't think my Father did until he was told that he had a few days left to live.

Maybe we are never ready until the last minute
maybe it's months
or when we receive a diagnosis that kicks us in the gut and forces us to think long and hard about what we have done in our lives,
what is important,
what we may have wasted time doing,
what we could have done better...

What would you do if this was the last day of your life?
Who would you call?
Do you have any unresolved conflicts to resolve?
Is there someone you need to forgive?

I've been sitting here in The Humble Bungalow in the still and quiet and thoughts have been flowing free...
startling and awakening thoughts that so
many people struggle with health challenges everyday
and despite them they press on.

I am so humbled and feel immensely grateful for so many things in my life.

I am dedicating this post to Peg from Comox who lost her battle to cancer yesterday at 1:00...
she was a regular commenter and we emailed behind the scenes.
When she discovered my love of tea she sent me some delicious teas in the mail that were artfully blended in a Comox tea shop...my favourite was the Paris blend. In return I sent her a Kate Morton novel...

 Peg's husband sent me this picture of Peg yesterday and I thought how lovely it would be to post it here

in her memory...

Sheila from Ephemera and I had dinner with her and got a chance to spend some time in her company.
She was a gracious and inspiring woman...I am grateful that our paths crossed.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."

                                                            ~ Melody Beattie ~

Gifts...that keep on giving.

This past weekend was sunny and warm, a perfect time to be out and about, pottering in the garden.
Mr. HB and I drove out to Brentwood Bay Nursery to redeem the gift certificate that I received from my family last March on my birthday.

I like to shop there because they have such great roses!
Lots of selection, many are of the David Austin variety.

Meet Madame Hardy

a pure white rose with a myrrh fragrance.

Mr. HB dug her into a bed in the back

out of harms way from the deer.

As long as the gate stays closed our plants should be safe from those hungry foragers.

Did I mention that our front yard is their new salad bar?

It's fortunate that we took Mr. HB's convertible so we could bring home our new Star Magnolia!

We had to take the backroads so we could drive slowly.

Planted in the front garden so it's sweet scent would greet us when we walk by...

isn't it pretty?

such a delicate dainty flower

many blooms are yet to emerge from their fuzzy cocoons

I've always admired Magnolia trees and find them startling in their beauty.

I wonder if the deer like magnolias...

I hope this one settles in nicely and grows roots.

Greeting those who walk by the Humble Bungalow Garden.

Hope that your week is off to a great start...

Happy daze....

On the most recent trip to my hairdresser I had a cut and a few minimal highlights to help ease the growing in of the grey hairs...
short of shaving my hair all off there is no real easy way to go grey gracefully.
Having dyed my hair for years it is a bit alarming to see just how much grey that I have!

I am happy that my hairdresser is guiding me through this journey.
She has many clients that are doing the same and she herself has silver hair which looks stunning.

The area around my temples seems to be where the bulk of the grey is growing

the rest is rather like tinsel a little bit here and there.

I hope I don't end up looking like a badger!

Maintaining a shorter cut for now seems like the easiest solution 

when all the colour has been cut off I can choose to grow it longer.

I think it will be several months yet...

Here's my salt and pepper linen scarf

I love linen!

I do not own any linen clothing but have done so in the past.

I am thinking of investing in a linen dress for summer as there is nothing cooler that wearing linen in the heat.

I don't even mind that linen creases

and I love how it softens up after laundering and years of wear.

My tea towels are all linen

I would not dream of using anything else to dry my dishes.

Do you know what I keep in this grey felted wool bag?

Why my knitting of course!

I dabble in dish cloths...

cotton, of course

 one of my quirks

they have to be cotton.

I know what you might be thinking...

The Hostess is a snob!

I AM fussy

 I know what I like.

Are you fussy too?

What are you fussy about?

The Easter weekend weather has been glorious ~ warm and sunny.

We have been out in the Humble Bungalow Garden messing about in the dirt.

It's springing to life before our very eyes.

I've got some new things 

so don't be a stranger and come back soon

until then...

it's a happy daze around here.