Bungalow Bob Arts and Crafts circa 2011...a Pepper Post!

What have we here?
Is it a carpet
or maybe it's sisal...

Pet lovers can be a wee bit indulgent when it comes to their pets.

I've heard of pooches that get coiffed with bows in their hair and matching claw polish.

Well we are teetering on the edge of that precipice...

and Pepper is on the receiving side...

We subscribe to the American Bungalow magazine and have every issue since they started publishing

and I happened upon an ad for pet paraphenalia in the last issue

I emailed 

 Bungalow Bob's Pet Designs 

and asked him if he would be interested

in designing and building Pepper

a scratching post in the arts and crafts style...

he'd never made one before

but rose to the challenge

and he exceeded our expectations!

look at the attention to detail...

and constructed with quarter sawn oak

superior craftmanship

the finish is sheer perfection

it's a lovely solid piece

Pepper gave it the once over...

I think it meets her approval!

she is a pam-purred puss 

 that soft down duvet does beckon...

looking ever so relaxed

and given the fact that she's part Bengal

these moments are interspersed with frenzied activity

(you can see the surgical site where they shaved her tummy)

is that a smug shot?

I have a sneaky feeling that she is ruling the roost

or trying to give that impression!

I'd say she's got me under her spell...

she gives us much happiness

here in the Humble Bungalow.

I have been asked to show more detail of the Humble Bungalow

these are last years images

Humble Bungalow Porch

beam detail

View from the street

Porch details side view

Constance Spry Climber on pergola

side view looking back into garden

deck off of the kitchen top left

the fence shown here has been replaced with a new one

the slate patio is now mostly covered by creeping thyme

clematis and sundeck

and for interior images you can go here too.

Mirror images....a copy cat post!

Lisa from a mid life of privilege posted a picture of a lovely mirror that she inherited from her grandmama...(run on over and see her mirror and then come back and see mine...)

I'm not usually a copy cat...
no doubt you've heard that expression
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

My grandparents gave me this mirror when I was young.

The wood is Maple 

it is a very heavy piece and requires 2 large hooks in back to hold it's weight.

The bevelled glass mirror is backed with another type of wood

which I cannot identify...

I used to think it looked like the mirror in Disney's Sleeping Beauty...

mirror mirror on the wall who's the fairest one of all?

I have no idea where this was made or what style it might be

it is a simple mirror which has moved from my family home 

and accompanied me ever since.

These sit atop the lingerie chest...

in our small bedroom.

Pepper sits stop our queen size bed 

snoopervising my photo shoot

I am blogging from bed

it would appear the flu has become an unwelcome visitor...

I am curious...

do you hand wash many garments?

I have a few favourite things 

like this Elie Tahari Tee

the fabric is soft and silky

I consider it to be delicate in nature

as it was a purchase I thought twice about because of the price point

but

 it gets a lot of wear 

(CPW)

I find if I treat garments gently and handwash them with TLC

 they outlive garments washed in the machine

(how's that for a frugal tip?)

I wash and rinse in the bathroom sink

using Aveda shampure, of course!

I have been blog reading on my laptop in bed and the battery is running low

my book

is calling my name

yoo hoo Hostess!

written by Anne Giardini

the daughter of the late author Carol Shields

I am halfway through, enjoying it immensely

 it is quite sad

and find her style to be quite similar to that of her late mother

Carol Shields

If you have not had the pleasure of reading a Carol Shields novel you might want to pick one up from your local library.

The Fashion Police set up shop...but I fear they are undercover....incognito

It's getting more and more difficult taking photographs of clothing on the bed...
I think it's because the fashion police have arrived!

Pepper holding court atop our bed.

Her favourite toy is a clump of feathers attached to a wand

which I shake and move as she attacks

leaping

jumping

 and 

rolling

She looks right at home here

her recent surgery seems a distant memory

she has healed nicely and now we are waiting for the fur on her belly to grow back.

I hope that she approves of this outfit

it was chosen by my lovely daughter

It is for Miss Isla superior grand daughter!

(who is nearly 8 months old)

Just for the record, she is the cutest little girl anywhere

and I am not biased in the least!

I am feeling rather thick in the middle

so I purchased a looser top which drapes and skims

it is not the fix I need

merely a temporary solution

my weights are gathering dust in the room where I used to work out 

as it has become Peppers play room.

(excuses excuses!)

I didn't risk laying this soft knit top on the bed as I imagined shreds and  tatters before I got to wear it!

I am looking very tired

and very puffy

and having a bad hair day

what's going on?

I've been

burning the candle at both ends

and

so many people are sick

and I have been fighting something

off

and look at that unsightly spot...

now quickly look away

it showed up after my hygenist cleaned my teeth

I wonder if it had something to do with the latex gloves?

I am planning to use these sloughing potions to sandblast my winter weary skin

(Spot-be-gone)

less expensive

 than a scrub at the Spa

but just as effective

just not as luxe

Hope that you are enjoying good health

and feeling fabulous...

and looking better than me!

The BBC...Bungalow Basic Curry

I have a basic curry recipe which a friend shared with me years ago...
I keep returning to it and have made it with a variety of ingredients.

It is a great potluck dish...
we attended a 40th anniversary potluck recently and this is what I took along.
I thought it might be one to share...

I made a vegetarian version

and doubled the ingredients

to feed a crowd!

It is simple and very forgiving

I love it served over rice with Major Grey's Indian chutney.

you could also serve it with shaved coconut, chopped peanuts, raisins

as toppings.

saute the vegetables until soft

add the spices

slowly add in the flour blending as you go

add the stock (vegetable or chicken)

then add the milk

simmer

and

cook until the veggies are soft

(add chicken or prawns if you like them)

I cook and ladle this out of my Le Creuset if I am at home

but for a potluck

I put this in a corningware covered casserole

wrap it in a towel and place it in a large basket

for ease of transport in the car.

As I put the towel lined basket on the floor in front of the oven

Pepper decided it was playtime and she hopped in...

Mr. HB had to help as she was resistant to vacate

and I was mitted and holding the hot casserole dish!

Domestics are calling my name...

yoo hoo...

Hostess

Not much cleaning or tidying happened on the weekend

the Bungalow looks dishevelled

as do I

so I must away and get it sorted!

Bye for now!

I have been moved and shaken...

I have not seen a play of this quality or magnitude EVER.
I hadn't expected to be so moved or to be so shaken by such a powerful performance on stage.

Schindler's List had a similar effect...
and it took me several years before I could see it.

(I'd read every WW ll book available on the holocaust in High School)

I wept salty tears and lay awake for many nights after viewing it.

Things stay with me...I cannot forget
like a sponge soaking up all the pain
and only time lessens the effect,
the visions blur a bit and I can put it in a perspective that allow me to function but not forget.

Mother and I saw The Laramie Project...
go here for the background....

We have seasons tickets to a local Theatre Guild and are usually entertained by classic plays which are light and cheerful...mother feels refreshed and optimistic and chatters on and laughs on the drive home.

Today...you could have heard a pin drop in the theatre...it was an intense and brilliant production and the actors were gifted and committed to bringing home a true story...
a story that was both horrific and brutal but needed to be told... cleverly crafted and with such raw emotion by the performers ( a cast of 33) I was moved by what I saw.
I sat ever so still in my seat hanging on every word...and breathing quietly trying desperately to control my desire to weep...as loudly or sniffle as others close by were doing...kleenex was making an entrance.

Suffice to say...if you EVER get a chance to see this play...
RUN don't WALK...as this run here at our small theatre was SOLD OUT for every performance.

I now know why...

So here I sit, rocked to my core...
(goodness only knows what my delicate mother is doing right now)
she felt very distressed and confused at intermission
and started relating how she had been sheltered from the horrific events of WWll and only later did she realize...
she looked shell shocked as she uttered these words

as I dropped her off she intimated to me that she was going to have a large glass of wine as soon as she got in the door...

I've come home early from a party
preoccupied with thoughts and images
that I cannot get out of my mind...

It might be a night of tossing and turning...
I am having a Gin and Tonic...
I know it's late
and I have a brunch tomorrow.

the dishwasher is humming though it's cycles
Pepper is playing in a basket on the floor that transported my curry dish to the potluck
Mr. HB is reading the 3rd Steig Larsen book in the Bungalow Living room
it looks like a "normal" night...
hah!

I am sitting alone in near darkness,
I can hear my heart beating
and it feels like it's beating in my ears
here I sit at my computer
looking for some solace
and find none
I struggle as I am trying to type something that conveys even a little bit of how I feel
the words are not coming easy to me...
they sound pappy and mushy and juvenile
some sound like I am pontificating
others show how sheltered my life has been.

I want to say something profound
something that might be significant enough to open some eyes to what is happening to so many
and I fear that I cannot...
these words ellude me
so I'll stop now and reflect...

I am so troubled by man's inhumanity against man...
one positive has come out of this tragic event a law has been enacted

and now go here

I think...what can I, as one single human being, do to make the world a better place...
I forsee many sleepless nights ahead.

Simple deconstructed dressing...

Salads are one of my favourite ways of getting nutritious and healthy greens into my diet.

A salad can be made with a very few simple ingredients that you have on hand or be chock full of assorted tasty treats.

I think homemade dressings are the best because they are the freshest alternative and contain no preservatives. They are cheaper and can be mixed in a jiffy using a jar...no need for fancy gizmos here, just keep it simple.

You'll need a jar, some good quality oil, vinegar, salt and pepper for a basic dressing.
I like to add garlic, and dijon mustard...
you can add whatever herbs or flavours that appeal to you.

A friend of mine likes to add a couple of spoonfuls of whatever jam she has on hand.

Jamie Oliver...superior cook and visionary who has trained youth at risk by teaching them cooking skills and employing them in his restaurants. He also was the instigator responsible for redesigning the meals served in the UK schools with a new focus on healthy food choices. He trained hundreds of school dinner ladies by introducing them to a variety of healthy vegetables and lower fat alternatives to chips and chicken.

He has a new show on that follows him as he cooks his way across the USA. I watched the Los Angeles episode recently and was very impressed. He has a strong sense of humanity and empathy and feels that cooking can break through ethnic, political, and racial barriers.

It was a very powerful show...thank you Jamie!

I'm thinking that most of us believe that all families should be able to sit down and enjoy eating a meal together in peace...don't you agree?

Now, let's move on as I have slightly gone off on a tangent!

Here's what Jamie Oliver has to say about salad dressing...

Simple Salad

Hostess Style...

Washed romaine lettuce spun dry in a spinner or gently pressed between a clean tea towel.

Tear into bite size pieces...one does not need a knife when eating this type of salad.

Cheese wafers homemade or store bought

I love this brand, made in small batches...a bit dear, but extremely tasty.

(these can be crumbled or left whole to pick up and nosh like a cracker)

dress with homemade vinaigrette...

1 large clove of garlic minced

1tsp. dijon mustard

freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. vinegar

3 tbsp. olive oil

make and shake just before serving

toss 

 enjoy!

If you feel that you need some help in the imagination department

here is a great book of salads where the guesswork has been done for you.

I received this wonderful book from my BFF 

she is a fabulous cook...and a dear dear friend.

So now... 

your job is to action some salad and dress it as you see fit!

My social calendar is chock full this weekend

hope you have a lovely one.

Cheers!

Friend and artist...Cheryl Fortier

Cheryl Fortier is a BC artist and a personal friend
she spends time in her Vancouver BC studio
and in Auvilar, France as a host for the VCCA

She lives aboard a classic Chris Craft in False Creek
she has a lovely husband, dear friend to mine...
a skilled I.T. guy, photographer, navigator, scotch drinker and wine connoisseur...

Seen here about to partake in fresh Dungeness Crab Cakes...
caught by Mr. HB one of the the best crab hunters and catchers I have known.

The Humble Bungalow Hostess's specialty at anchor...
crab cakes served with my BFF 's amazing ginger dip.

Cheryl is at home on the sea

prawns anyone?

Mr. HB and I have enjoyed many a cruise together with Cheryl and her hubby

theirs is the large Chris Craft 

originally powered by 3 motors

we are the smaller vessel

powered by two

sharing an anchorage 

tied together

going nowhere

and somewhere

sharing time

bobbing

and ebbing

on the tides

Cruising is all about the journey

and we are steering a course

of friendship

                                          We are fortunate to have a few pieces of her work....

Cabbage Island, BC 

I commissioned her paint the Humble Bungalow

 a gift to my husband a few years back for Christmas

she has captured it brilliantly.

                                                         She has been very generous...

 watercolour of a totem 

 Queen Charlotte Islands, BC

which has a place of honour in our dining room

and 

fresh from France

circa 2011

Poppies painted on antique French linen

framed floating in glass

with the Humble Bungalow green paint in the bathroom as a backdrop!

I fell in love...

"still life with apples"

and

wave pattern china

(which we both have and use on our vintage Chris Crafts)

I purchased this on a surprise visit to her studio during the Vancouver Eastside Cultural Crawl.

here she is cooking in the Humble Bungalow

French cuisine

naturally

she's so beautiful...

looking very chic

on a cold winter walk

her smile is bright and genuine

she has a passion for colour 

evidenced in her art

clothing and accessories

she embraces life with zest 

I find that trait enviable and admirable

balanced and strengthened with the practice of Yoga

she embodies grace

and

her spirit is light

 she's started a new blog 

here

please go visit and say hi 

it's her birthday...

say that I sent you!

Happy Birthday Cheryl

Hugs from the Hostess!