Flowers and a colourful Stew for a rainy day...

Yellow daffodils are bursting forth in The Humble Bungalow Garden.
The deer do not eat them so they bloom in the front yard unlike the poor tulips that have are being munched to the ground!

Daffodils look cheerful even after the rain...

there is something about yellow.

I love yellow slickers, boots and brollies.

Such a great tonic for the grey days of prolonged precipitation.

Yellow shouts "Happy."

Mauve-y blue flower with white stamens...so pretty.

I snapped this photo when we were at the nursery picking up our new bare root roses.

We ordered three white David Austen roses...

"Claire Austen" is reliable and fragrant.

A hardy rose.

They will be located in the back bed at the foot of the sun deck.

I am having the gardeners plant them and plant the bed with a formal boxwood hedge.

I have hired a company to come and help with our weeding and the heavy work.

 There is a lot of weeding and digging to do in our garden as we have not really had a harsh winter which keeps weeds and plants in a dormant state.

The mild weather means that the weeds have multiplied!

The physiotherapist in very impressed with my progress and he says he likes my "attitude."

He says that a positive approach is the best kind of medicine.

I am always a bit sore after he manipulates my shoulder 

so I need to keep reminding myself that no pain is no gain.

These sweet little pansies are so cute...

My walk earlier this week was in the down town area.

These are the lamp standards that line our city streets.

I wandered through the shops but did not find anything to buy.

Browsing the fashionable shops inspires me to be more creative with my clothes.

I love to sit at a cafe look out the window and watch the women walk by 

and see what they are wearing.

A very classy looking lady wearing an amazing wool coat walked by...

Her coat was very boxy and looked like it might have been vintage.

Circa 1950's style.

Her hair was cut in a long bob

she wore bright red lipstick on and carried a small lady like handbag on her wrist.

She was walking quite fast in black suede kitten heels.

I wondered about her...

I imagined that she might be a lawyer or a doctor.

The cut and style of her clothes was elegant and impeccable. 

~ ~ ~

I saw a Hermes scarf in the case at WIN on Pandora Street.

A charity shop!

I tried it on but the colours were not flattering so I left it...

someone is going to be a very happy shopper.

Fountain at The Bay Centre...

Chilly temperatures and grey gloomy skies...

beg for a warming meal.

I felt that we needed an injection of "Happy" so I chose a colourful Stew for dinner.

"Little Stew" 

is a staple here in The Humble Bungalow.

It is easy and you can use almost any vegetables that you have on hand.

Use a heavy dutch oven or enamel Le Crueset with a lid.

Saute 1 or 2 large onions chopped until soft.

Brown some meat...ground beef, chicken or turkey.

Add a tin of beef bouillon.

I use about a tablespoon of thyme, a wee bit of salt and pepper.

Add assorted veggies and simmer for several hours.

Serve with bread.

You can see how it looks after it has been simmering...

the flavours mingle and the liquid reduces.

Boy~oh~Boy

the Humble Bungalow kitchen smells wonderful!

What has your week been like?

I am celebrating my birthday this week and have been wined and dined and will be back to tell you more.

Be Well and Be Kind

Monday Jewels...

Welcome to my blog...
I hope that you will continue to pop by and catch up.

Life has been busy and full and I am feeling immense gratitude these days...

The latest posts have been smaller and while I do apologize, my inability to sit and type for very long due to the shoulder issue have necessitated that I keep my time at the computer short.

But let's get on with it and put aside any whining and complaining!
The Spring flowers are working their magic...

This is one stunning Hellebore!

I love the colour and those stamens are like little jewels.

Henry, our grandson, came over last week to spend a morning with Grammy.

We had a fun building with blocks, we coloured in our book, shaped things with Play Doh, ate a healthy snack and read books. 

Next time it will be Isla's turn and I plan to make cookies or cupcakes and we can decorate them together and she can take them with her when she goes home.

One on one time is a lovely way to connect with the grandchildren.

Essie Jag-u-are lasts about a week 

I wear my gloves when doing the house work and washing the dishes.

I bought French's ketchup and learned that Heinz pulled out of Canada and laid off all the employees.

French's stepped up and has started making ketchup as well as their classic mustard.

I like the idea of keeping Canadians working and buying local.

(you can read the story here)

My car was in the shop again...

this time not as a result of vandalism but wear and tear.

My 2001 Volvo Estate is a high maintenance gal.

I have to keep her running as I cannot afford a new car right now.

The comfort that this car offers suits me and I do love Volvo's for their safety features.

I have owned 2 Volvo's prior to this one and I would opt for another one in the future.

While the car was being serviced I went shopping...

I bought this beautiful rhinestone brooch for resale at Vanity Fair Antiques.

Darling daughter and I rent a shelf in a case where we sell a few things.

Mostly jewelry and a few other bits and bobs.

Scottish citrine Hallmarked silver pin

Glasgow 1956

If I can figure out how to launch an Etsy shop I might try my hand at selling online.

It is fun to go browsing for treasures and beautiful things.

These Mexican silver earrings are for my personal use.

Since I got my hair cropped I am wearing bigger earrings.

You can see the reflection of me taking this photograph!

I stopped for a healthy lunch at The Grindstone Cafe.

Their salads are tasty and they make a great tortilla soup.

So that's about all for now...

Hope your week is off to a great start.

Be Well and Be Kind.

Getting my Happy On!

Spring has Sprung!

The pretty pink flowers are bursting forth from the trees that line the boulevards and streets of our city.

Their sweet subtle fragrance wafts as one saunters along 

slowly savouring the scent.

This is just another example of "getting my happy on."

I look everyday for something that makes me happy.

I rarely have to look too far...

on dark days I have to invent my own happy.

Those are days when I brew a pot of imported tea in a special cup and saucer

or soak in a tub of scented bath salts.

There are many many ways to make the most of a "not so great" day.

Change is afoot...

I got my hair cropped

it has got to be wash and wear until I can hold a blow dryer again.

There is good news!

                                                            The RMT is a miracle worker!

She worked on my upper back and shoulder for an hour this week.

There was tenderness while she was giving me my treatment and a few hours after but when I woke up the next morning I could move my arm more and I felt less pain.

Hallelujah!

I made an easy dinner that was so tasty I thought you might like to try it...

busy days beg for simple suppers

I boiled up turnips, spuds and carrots until they were soft.

Then mashed them up set aside to keep warm.

In a cast iron fry pan I sauteed onions until they were soft.

Added a bit of butter and popped in some super skinny pork chops.

Cooked until no longer pink and popped in a few tablespoons of Bonne Maman Apricot Jam.

Reduce the heat and let the flavours mingle before serving.

Hope you like the recipe.

I bought a Tribal Turquoise necklace from an Etsy shop.

I had been looking on Pinterest and pinning gorgeous examples and found a smaller scale one which I thought would look pretty peeking out from the collar of my new to me crisp white shirt.

It was sold to me unpolished and I am thinking that it will stay that way.

I also have a soft faded Gap light wash denim jacket which it would pair well with my white jeans for summer.

I prefer authentic jewelry over most costume pieces.

I have a few items that are cheap and cheerful.

One cannot always justify the expense of fine gems.

There are day to day living expenses...

and one does need to be mindful of the budget!

I do love vintage and hand crafted pieces that are interesting, unusual and make a statement.

So that is about all that is new here in The Humble Bungalow.

Thank you for popping by for a wee visit and a catch up.

Have a Fabulous Weekend!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Fabulous Finds

Darling daughter has an incredible gift for finding things...
she recently found me a couple of fabulous finds.

On Instagram she is known as thingfinder and she has an Etsy shop thethingfinders.

She works hard at finding things...
regularly frequenting the shops and antique dealers in town.
Her knowledge of jewelry, antiques and collectibles is vast...
I am in awe of her skills.

She knows a bargain and here are two of her latest finds
which she sold to me for a song.

Vintage leather Fossil bag in mint condition.

Cross Body bags are the only bags for me now

as I am not supposed to carry heavy handbags anymore.

"Doctor's orders"

A leather wallet, also in mint condition,

please look closer...

Kate Spade

gold lettering

immaculate even stitching

soft supple leather

polka dots

luxurious 

a quality piece in every way

lots of compartments 

plenty of room for money and cards

looks great with pearls

 a classic watch

or a silk scarf...

These two leather pieces will be so useful.

There is ample room in my closet now as I recently consigned all my big bags.

I took a bag of clothes that "I fell out of love with" to the charity shop.

There's a piece of vintage Navajo turquoise en route to my house from a dealer in the States.

I plan to wear it with my thrifted crisp white shirt and faded blue jean jacket 

for Spring and Summer.

Can hardly wait for it to arrive!

Garance has a list of her favourite things in this gem of a book.

I hope you plan to read it if you have not yet done so...

she is a breath of fresh air.

Have you happened upon any Fabulous Finds?

OOTD dinner out with the family

This past weekend we took our family our for dinner to celebrate our son's 35th birthday.
The grand children were on their best behaviour and the food was delicious...it was nice to go out.

I wore my grey pearls and vintage Nine West embellished cardigan over a black tank top and velvet pants.

The sweater was a recent purchase from VV Boutique, a large thrift shop in Victoria.

Velvet pants and my ancient Amalfi patent leather shoes.

My idea of one notch up from casual.

Comfy to wear with the children yet dressy enough to go out for dinner.

My meal was tasty and rich.

 I savoured the garlic whipped mound of mashed potatoes!

Sometimes one just MUST splurge.

The next week will involve some healthy lunches.

A simple wrap spread with a couple of tablespoons of hummus and loaded with fresh veggies.

I love this kind of lunch...

the softness of the wrap and the crispy crunch of the veggies

and the bonus is that the hummus is full of protein.

One of the benefits of blogging are the comments and the emails received behind the scenes.

Thank you for your kind words of support and taking time to relate your personal stories.

There is a large community of women out there 

who care for each other 

and 

are not afraid of sharing.

I am grateful and humbled.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~