summer lovin'

August 2, 2018 Arlene Giddings

i have not been here
very much this summer...

it's hard to make myself come in the house
and type at the computer
when it is so hot and sunny and pretty outside.

summer goes by far too fast.

i find myself panicking as the days
turn into august,
feeling like summer
is slipping through my fingers
like sand
and i want to grab it tight
and fill my pockets
and my shoes,
i want to store it, savor it, hoard it.

i want to make it last forever.

so i haven't been here much
but i've been writing blog posts
in my head
and taking photos
with the big camera and the little one (my phone)...
i've been reading books
and eating ice cream and taking long walks,
finding new beaches
and driving down endless dirt roads.

hello august.
i am going to try really hard not to think of you
as the end...
but instead, i'm going to try to soak up as much summer
as i can and not stress about the passing of the days.

out and about...

June 23, 2018 Arlene Giddings

If you have been here before,
you know I like to try to get out and about
with my camera and some diet coke
every Friday...well...really...every chance I can get
when it's nice out, Friday or not.
I am definitely not limiting myself to Fridays
but they often work best.

A couple of weeks ago,
I had no plan in mind but wanted to
go on a trail.
I love trails...but have become slightly
nervous of coyotes after hearing a portion of a trail
that I have been on before had been closed
due to coyote behavior....
and I'm not going to lie....
my personality is naturally a little anxious
so this...well...it freaked me out a bit.

So I thought I would do the Cavendish Grove trail
because it seems to be pretty wide
and groomed and well traveled.
And I told myself coyotes don't go to Cavendish,
it's for the tourists.
I told myself coyotes don't go to the beach.
I told myself it would be ok.

And it was.
I walked part of the trail. I still haven't done the
"Homestead Trail" because I didn't bring any water,
or anything to eat, or most importantly, bug spray.
So I had to save that part for another day.

But I did stop at a bench that overlooked the dunes
and a shallow expanse of blue water.
There were ducks and geese just hanging out...
until suddenly, there was a loud ruckus
and everyone was flying and diving and quacking and honking
and I saw an eagle fly over the tops of the trees.

At least...I think it was an eagle. Hahaha.

It's funny how Cavendish Grove still reminds me
so strongly of Rainbow Valley.
It's a little bittersweet to visit that spot.
But, then, I am glad that at least we are still able to go there,
I am grateful for the park and trails it has been turned into.

so...this is how the conversation went...

June 20, 2018 Arlene Giddings

which...led to...

And
really and truly...
all I heard was
DON'T LET YOUR DREAM DIE.

heh.

sometimes pretty is...

June 9, 2018 Arlene Giddings

in your own backyard...
or...
maybe in your neighbor's front yard...
or the park across the street...
but
close enough to walk to...
that's my point.

on friday,
after complaining about the
yuckiness of the weather
i met up with a best friend for
treats and laughing
(so much laughing...my face hurt)
at a favorite coffee shop.

it started to pour rain
while we were there
but, by the time i got home,
the sun had come out
and the light
was
magical.

i couldn't stop myself...
i was only going to take a couple photos
but ended up being gone for over 2 hours.
it all started with the park at the end of my street...

and yeah...if you live close to me and
have lilacs...i might have been skulking around your
front yard (totally not brave enough to
skulk around someone's BACK yard...)

and then i found myself outside
Holman's Ice Cream Parlour....
and it IS the month of sundaes soooooooo.....

that sundae
was
OUT OF THIS WORLD amazing...

and then i embarrassed myself a little
but practically laying on the ground
in their gardens to take photos of the flowers
BUT I CAN'T HELP MYSELF.

and the stroll ended at the boardwalk
by the water
as the sun was going down
which is when i realized
that the sun was going down
which meant
june bugs
would be coming out
so i pretty much ran-walk the whole way home...

you gotta have a plan, stan...

March 17, 2018 Arlene Giddings

I think we all know that I love PEI...
and that I like to take random drives
with my camera and a healthy supply of diet coke
and candy...and sometimes doughnuts...
I usually go alone, sometimes with a friend...
and I usually end up documenting it here
or on my facebook page...

Last Saturday, I went to meet some friends
at the PEI Writer's Guild Winter Sociable
at Upstreet Craft Brewery
which was so much fun!

I stopped at Indigo beforehand
and bought a map of PEI.
The kid that rang me in said
"I hope you don't get lost"
as he handed me my map...
I said "The funny thing is
I have lived on PEI my whole life."

He looked puzzled.

"So...why are you buy a map then??
Do you have friends coming to visit?"

And I'm like "I want to drive EVERY road
on PEI and then use a highlighter to mark
what roads I have been on so I can keep track..."
at the same time thinking this sounds weird to say out loud.

He says "there's a facebook group for that! Did you know
there's a waterfall on PEI??" and I'm like "I KNOWWWWWW!
I TOTALLY WANT TO FIND THAT!!!!"
and then I don't feel so weird anymore.

So.
I bought my map and I came home
and thumbtacked it to the wall.
I highlighted the roads I took to
and from Charlottetown that day
and decided that I am going to start fresh...
I know I have travelled a lot of the other roads
but I going to start highlighting them from
this point on.

This is slightly unrelated...but...
photos I took on the way down...
:)