A Hostess gift...a milestone birthday...and a pathetic attempt at humour

                                                    Welcome to the Humble Bungalow!

I am looking out onto the front porch and pondering life
while I am actually cleaning my oven.

There's a self clean super hero that does the hard work for me.

I stay close just in case the many roast beef Sunday dinner drippings decide to ignite...

and when Mr. HB comes in the door he'll actually think that we are having a roast!

The Lampe Berger will get some sweet scented time after the cycle has finished.

My wonderful son is celebrating a milestone
he's turning 30
and there will be partying and presents...
celebrations are the order of the day.

Emotions spill forth,
tears woven with memories...

cherished photos
and
bronzed baby boots
I'm gonna HUG HIM BIG when I get the chance!

I'm in the mood for a party
and what's a party without gifts?
It's time for a gift for a follower...
your comments really rock my world...

In gratitude, I'd like to share something of mine

maybe it'll be yours!

It is snug inside this wooden box

any guesses?

a 20 inch strand of Majorica

faux pearls

considered to be the BEST faux pearls

from

Spain

Nordstroms sells them

Majorica

To be entered in the giveaway

you must be a follower

and

leave me a comment

Please tell me what Bungalow posts you enjoy the most

or suggest a topic for a post.

I'll keep the contest open until February 27th 

The night that The Oscars will be on TV 

I will draw a winner

and The Pearls go to....

actually I'll ask Mr. HB to draw a winner

it will be low tech

paper pieces with your names on them

put into a bowl or bag

shaken up

etc.

Good Luck

Front porch

the Free Plants Sign has been resting here since the Fall

The twiggy branches await budding 

warmer weather and longer sunnier days are required.

Boy that oven takes a long time to clean itself!

 I am content with the snowdrops in the front bed...

although I'd like them to multiply rapidly!

go and visit Tabitha

she's got snowdrops too!

 I remember manually cleaning ovens

what a dirty job

stinky too 

 those ammonia aerosol sprays

my gloves got filthy

I perspired

not my favourite thing

and

afterwards a long soak in the tub was necessary to rid myself of the grime.

Hi Lisa!

did you laugh?

Hi mette!

Your recent post reminded me that my pony needed an outing!

 Hope that your weekend is chock full of delights...

I'll be here and there

prepping foods

wrapping gifts

hugging family

and

recording milestone moments in my heart

and 

snapping a few photos along the way...

Snowdrops, greed, magnification and...magazines

I wandered out in the garden for a spell today
in a sliver of sunlight I spied a small patch of snowdrops under a rhodo
they looked so pretty and dainty
and with only a few clumps I considered carefully but
I could not resist picking a few
to bring indoors.

One of my dreams 

is to have a garden that has masses upon masses 

of snowdrops 

I plant them whenever I see them offered for sale

but they are difficult to find here

I am a victim of garden envy 

and my envy is a vivid shade of green

gardeners 

love to share

  to acquire

 new 

 beautiful 

and 

exotic

and often are secretive 

and smug 

and will not share their sources

some even resort to stealing...

I

remember hearing about 

The Orchid Thief

and later reading the book.

Driving on a shaded street nearby

I spied a profusion

en masse

of white wee poppets

the boulevards were overflowing 

littered with the tiny white drooping heads 

snowdrops...

what a sight!

green and greedy

 my gardener's envy 

reared it's ugly head...

I remarked to my mother

that I might come back at midnight and dig up some of them

they have so many would they miss just a few?

I would never actually do this

but the thought did occur to me...

I can visualize the snowdrops in my minds eye...

unfortunately my eyesight is not 20/20

all kinds of activities

beyond reading

things near and far

require glasses

so the time has come...

for

 a magnifying mirror

for

eye make up

foundation

and dare I say it

tweezing

ugh!

8X magnification on one side 

and 

an honest and true reflection on the reverse

Anything new that comes into the Bungalow needs to be inspected

and 

as you can see

Pepper is on the job.

I was surprised at how expensive these mirrors are to purchase

I have been looking for a sale

and have had no luck

so

I gave up waiting

this is more of a need than a want.

my favourite magazine

for

recreational reading

and dreaming

supreme

 UK

at first glimpse 

I thought the flowers were snowdrops...

now glasses on

 I see they are muscari album!

Town and Country 

arrived in the post

and 

looking at the cover image

I pondered who the target audience was...

funnily enough the issue is titled Spring Fashion

and flipping the pages I see that this image goes with the article

"What is a Socialite?"

not Spring Fashion after all!

Whew!

and

my current bedside read is 

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austin

by Syrie James

I'm hooked...

BTW

Mr. HB and I took in the film

The King's Speech and we both loved it...

Colin Firth's performance is superb

if you haven't yet seen it

I highly recommend it

and the book is available at the booksellers.

peeking inside these sweet snowdrops

can you see why I am infatuated with their beauty?

Galanthus atkinsii

there's so much detail

in such a small space

dreamy

in

white

and 

green

 and

The Hostess has

an embarrassingly large punch

 of greedy gardener's envy!

Cashmere weather....

Bon Chic Bon Genre

or

good taste good class

it's a wee bit of bling on my cashmere top

this logo  is subtle

and resides at the bottom of the top

I normally eschew logos

but the cashmere won me over

there are days when I would like to stay in bed 

this frosty morning is one of them...

the top has a cowl neck

has long sleeves

with 2 pockets near the hem

it's cozy and warm

 my go-to top when it is cold

today there is frost on the ground

and I am wearing grey leggings

cashmere socks

and boots

We had some bubbly last evening...

it tickled my tongue...

and 

the dinner of ribs and coleslaw was simple and tasty

Happy Post Valentine's Day!

Tell me all about your day...

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day
February 14th, 2011

It's a day for
Hearts
and
Flowers...
Hugs
and Kisses

Hearts of gold and sprinkled with diamonds

They dangle and jangle from my wrist

on a bracelet of hearts

a circle of

tokens

gifts of love

from my sweetheart

Mr. HB

Today might include a movie date...

Valentine's Day

is a sweet 

romantic comedy

 a feel good

light hearted

escape

as are these...

DVD's for TV 

or the laptop 

perfect for when we are away on the boat

or snug in a cabin by the ocean

away from it all

We'll be celebrating while holidaying 

in a rustic cabin by the sea

soon

and I can hardly wait!

On Valentine's Day

whatever you do 

however you celebrate

I hope that there is someone that you love

someone you can hug

or snuggle up with

someone who enjoys spending time in your company

someone to savour 

 everyday simple moments 

with....

if you do not tell them everyday

how much they mean to you

make a point of

reminding them today...

just how special they are!

Roses

 image from  2010

Our plans involve a stay at home evening here in The Humble Bungalow

I'll be preparing a home made dinner

serving it with some wine or bubbly

Bubbly

image from New Years 2011

lovely daughter will be here too

it's her laundry night 

and our routine is to

watch 

The Batchelor on TV

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hugs from the Hostess

XO

Rain rain go away....colour me orange.

It's raining 

it's pouring

coming down in buckets

the gutters are gurgling

the windows

splattered and smattered with rivulets of raindrops

it's chilly

and the wind has come up

 skies are grey

and

weeping 

I'm 

snug and warm

cocooning 

inside today = domestics 

later errands = actioned

boots, brolly, beret

and a raincoat

kept the Hostess

dry-ish

I dodged some puddles but the drops

coated my specs

there's nothing like trying to read labels 

through a rain-dotted lens

one's

perspective

is skewed

ducks must love it

starfish are at home in the wet

I refuse to feel sorry

 or entertain sad thoughts

they are party poopers

and who wants them to rain on a parade?

I will choose to dream in colour

day dream,

so I may remember

the colours

and vividly, if you please!

I rarely remember dreams

from slumber

I prefer to think that I must not dream

because if I do not remember 

and if I do in fact dream

why

 do I not remember?

la belette rouge

dreams vividly

go visit

she knows a lot about dreams 

 Poppy blooms are dreamy

there's a patch of my garden where they have gone wild...

and grow like weeds

a very good friend has asked me

to paint some for her hallway...

a

long time friend

I hope that she likes what 

flows 

from the brush and the brain...

I am gathering ideas and inspirations

researching

and given the fact that I love orange

 in nature...

I am well on my way...

take heart

harness some courage

and proceed....

Rothschild variety of Azalea

sweetly scented

perfuming the garden in the sunshine of summer

Abkhazi Gardens

a

romantic 

and special place

David Austin summer blooming rose

Abraham Darby

rubbing shoulders with Lady's Mantle

a marriage

in a vase

I highly approve!

heirloom tomatoes

sweet

orange goodness

that one can eat

Cheddar Cheese

sharp

a long time love affair

Mac n' Cheese = Comfort Supreme

Hermes

 in the signature luxe orange

Hermes scarf 

with a touch of orange

Oranges

sweet 

juicy

vitamin C

parcels of goodness

Collection d'orangerie...

Hermes

Ranunculas 

painted in 2009

by the Humble Bungalow Hostess

 now hanging

in a retail shop

not far from the Bungalow

a gift to a friend

It's a wet weekend

the forecast is for a week of wind and rain

don't be surprised 

if by the end of the week

that

I have dreamt in all the colours!

Sweet dreams to all....

Hugs 

from the Hostess

XO