wanna go an adventure? spring::2021 #1

May 18, 2021 Arlene Giddings

I want this to my summer of adventures,
my year of adventures,
my effing decade of adventures…

and I want to document them
here and there,
instagram, facebook,
scrawled on the back of a napkin,
mailed in a letter to myself,
photos sailing away in a bottle…
(yes, sometimes I get carried away…I’m aware….)

So on adventure #1,
I took a drive east…
made a stop at my brother’s
and saw a random parachute in the sky…
drove here
with intentions of going for a hike
but once again,
this sign had me scurrying back to my car
looking over my shoulder
sure that I heard coyote-like scuffling
in the trees.

Coyotes are very distinct scufflers, I think.

So I drove to the Blockhouse Point Lighthouse
which is one of my most favorite
spots to go…
I had a little nap
in the backseat of the car
in the sun
with the windows down
and the sound of the waves
and woke up
feeling refreshed and ready
for more adventure.

I also woke up hungry…
I finally made my way to
Country Taste Kitchen and Bakery
and sweet mother of all that is sweet….
you have GOT to go there.

I often say I don’t have a
sweet tooth
and people laugh at me…
like they literally point at me
and guffaw…
sometimes they even
choke on their drinks in disbeleif…
but I really don’t feel like I do….
I love salt.
Well. And candy, too, I guess.
And ice cream.
But doesn’t everybody??

Anyway…after some discussion
with the very friendly staff,
and some strong recommendations
I bought one of everything she recommended
and oh….I did not regret one single bite.

The only regret I had is that I
unwittingly shared my sweets with my
friend by leaving her half when I came home…
before I tasted them…
once I tasted them,
I wanted to drive back and
get my other half.

The s’mores tart was perfect
and the cake was delicious
but that flaky thing with the
huge gobs of incredible icing in the
center left me absolutely speechless.
I will most definitely be back to that spot
and it’s kind of good it’s so far away…
I lack self control.

Eventually I met up with my usual partner-in-adventure
and we went in to Murray River
for supper at the
Harbourview Restaurant
which is the sweetest little place
with deep fried pickles and adorable
decor and the sweetest woman
took our orders and
let me order from the kids menu.

And see…I don’t always eat
chicken fingers…
sometimes I eat chicken nuggets.

It was definitely a stellar day
for a spring-time adventure…
I’m looking forward to so many more!
And open to suggestions!
:)

mary mary quite contrary

July 19, 2020 Arlene Giddings

how does your garden grow…

I actually took these
photos a couple of weeks ago…
it is looking even bigger now
plus, thanks to a good friend,
I was able to add 4 more deck tomato plants.

The cucumber plants are actually
way bigger now.
Next year, I would like to try to
make something cute
that will also keep them up a bit
but now, I am just trying to “train”
them to grow around the bamboo.

Sadly, my string bean plants
were eaten in infancy
by some heartless monster…
or possibly slugs?
I don’t know.
But I am going to try replanting some…
I do have a couple that might give me
few string beans
but
I WANT A LOT!

heehee.

This is the path I take
countless times a day
to water the garden
(the hose won’t reach
AND it leaks
so I have to use a watering can)
and to check on its progress
multiple times a day…

At some point,
I would like to put a real path
in here
with some cute stones
but not sure that
is going to happen this summer.

Good intentions though.
That counts, I think.
Heehee.

finding my way back to me....

May 24, 2020 Arlene Giddings

For the first time since this COVID 19 thing started,
I felt a little bit more like myself.
I actually got up early Friday morning
and did a real “Friday Adventure”….
tried Dromore trail for the first time….
I did the South Loop,
well, actually, it’s possible I did the South Loop
twice
because I got confused and might have gone
the wrong way.

It’s a wonder I can make it out of a roundabout really.

After Dromore, I found a great, winding
but very narrow dirt road
that seemed to go on forever.

Then I accidentally came across Mooney’s Pond,
which I absolutely love.
I took photos there, too
but will have to share them on a different day.

I had a quick nap in the parking lot
of the trail with the windows open
and a light breeze blowing in
the smell of fresh cut grass.

Then came back to Summerside
to meet up with a best friend
who I haven’t seen for far too long
and we video called another friend
who is too far away…

I came home exhausted and happy.

As soon as I set foot on that trail,
all I could think is
THIS is what I needed…
I realize I have to make a bigger effort
to get out of the house
now that I am working from home.
It is very easy to slide into a rut of
home and home…and home.

The rest of the weekend was
pretty great too….but I have
rambled long enough… :)

(oh. but the other thing I realized
I have missed…is my camera….
this also made me very happy all weekend…
kinda like reconnecting with an old friend)

thinking out loud...

April 11, 2020 Arlene Giddings

how are you getting along?
i mean, really?
are you ok?
i hope that you are….that you have someone to talk to
and someone to hug you tight…
and someone who makes you laugh really hard
and that you have lots of food to eat…
and that you are taking a break from
the bad stuff on the tv and social media.

here's how it’s been in the big orange house:

trying to keep my regular bedtime/morning routines
a lot of “hair jammed into a messy bun” & leggings/pjs
i don’t normally take baths because i can’t justify the cost of
filling that giant tub…but i have been making an exception…
while using epsom salts, playing music and
drinking ginger ale out of a fancy glass.
spending at least half an hour on yoga every day…have been
doing yoga with adriene - Home (30 days)
reading my stockpile of books (I can’t wait to tell you about 2 of them!!)
writing a little bit in a journal every morning
getting outside every day, even if just for 15 minutes
snuggling the cat
watching/listening to a LOT of damien rice…i am not going to lie
I may have developed a small obsession here….this is on the
daily playlist
NOT tracking my eating
daydreaming about planting a giant garden
working on new paintings (coming soon!)
watching star wars, marvel series & movies (on agent carter now), renting the
occasional movie as a treat (thinking this might be up next)
eating a lot of peanut butter…and drinking a lot of diet coke…
making plans to do things, but then losing whole days to
music, books and movies….and not really feeling that bad about it.
feeding the birds & getting very excited when I see one…

this guy makes it very hard to work…but also, gives me lots of cuddles…

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embrace winter bucket list - january update

January 26, 2020 Arlene Giddings

Back in December,
I wrote a blog post
about how I planned to
embrace winter this year
instead of fighting it tooth and nail
which is my normal method of madness.

So far,
I have tried curling (which was fun
but I failed miserably at…),
looked at lots and lots of Christmas lights,
baked chocolate chip cookies…twice…
(and yes, passing someone else the
ingredients and occasionally
setting the timer
TOTALLY counts as baking cookies….
they are my rules, after all.)