tuesday truths...the tired version... :)

June 21, 2016 Arlene Giddings

the truth is i'm tired
and i can barely keep my eyes open
and all i really want
to do
right this very
second
is curl up
in the corner of the
couch
and nap
like the cats do.

the truth is
i bit down too hard
on a piece of gum
today
(spearmint...which i don't even like)
and
aggravated some stupid nerve
and now
i have a stupid
toothache.

the truth is
it's only tuesday
and already
i feel like i am losing
steam.

the truth is
the tomato plants
are taking over the living room....
i thought about writing
a story about a girl named lili
who was lonely
so she built herself a robot friend
out of cereal boxes....
the house needs to be cleaned
and the laundry has become
a stockpile
of mismatched socks
and unfolded towels...
there are dishes in the sink
and 10000 steps yet to be taken
but the truth is
i'm tired today.

tomorrow's another day.

tuesday truths...

May 24, 2016 Arlene Giddings

today was kind of an up and down day...

1.
i walked to work
in the misty rain...
but then the sun came out
for the walk home.

2.
emma found out today
that she has been accepted to
a school an hour and a half away...
which is fantastic!!!!!
(but deep down, i feel a little teeny tiny
shard of sadness...my little girl...off on her own...
it kind of makes my heart hurt a little)
but really, i'm proud and happy and excited for her!!!!!
(if it wasn't for just that little itty bit of sad).

3.
and
there is no up and down with this one...
there is just sad.

tuesday truths and chicken fricot...

May 17, 2016 Arlene Giddings

I don't like to cook. Not normally.
Usually Stirling does most of the cooking
and by most...
I mean most.
If left to me, supper would generally be
sugary cereal with
more sugar added....
or toast
with butter
and brown sugar.

But I do like to make chicken fricot
or what I consider to be my version of chicken fricot.
In my non-vegetable loving world,
chicken fricot is chicken, potatoes and chicken broth...
no dumplings, no carrots, definitely no turnip...
lots of salt and pepper...and maybe, a little more salt.
Onions are ok now (not so much when I was a kid).

Chicken fricot makes me think of my grandmother's
teeny-tiny house that was always filled with kids
and where we jumped on the bed
and ate home cut french fries (if one of the boys would go
to the basement to get the potatoes)
and meat pies
and ice cream
while watching the carol burnett show
and cable tv (a luxury we did not have at home).
When my grandmother wasn't holding one of my many,
many younger cousins, she was knitting...or cooking...
or laughing...or all of these things at once.

When I make chicken fricot,
I think of her english mixed with french and vice versa.
I think about how she was the most down to earth person
I have ever known....and how, even though there were SO
many of us, she was always able to remember the little things...
when I would come over she would let me go out to my
uncle's room to read archie comics and color in peace...
she remembered what we liked, what we didn't.
And she listened when you were telling her something...
like...really listened...really heard you...
even with so much going on all the time.

So yeah, I like to make chicken fricot.
:) It'll never be hers but it always makes me feel better.

tuesday truths...

May 10, 2016 Arlene Giddings

♥ i am addicted to these powdered sugary
lemon filled clouds of really-not-good-for-you
but so damn good doughnuts from superstore.
they remind me of the lemon filled doughnuts
tim horton's used to make but don't seem to
anymore.

♥ i hung out with my mom on saturday
and we spent some time looking at plants
and flowers and planning vegetable gardens
and talking about youtube videos
of "why-didn't-i-think-of-that" gardening hacks.

i came home with 3 tomato plants even though
it felt early to buy them
and even though
i wasn't sure if they would survive the cats
but so far, so good.

i would like to grow some yellow tomatoes...
but am not really sure where i can find plants for them...
anyone have any ideas?
or suggestions for other tomatoes to try?
or hints on how not to kill them?
maybe it would help if i named the plants...
or wait...do you only talk to houseplants?

♥ speaking of cats...
i have this box under my computer desk
that i use to put my feet on while editing...
the top of it broke as you can see
and it has become finnegan's favorite hiding place...
except...
the tail is a dead giveaway.
my pets are weird...and
maybe not all that bright.

tuesday truths...life with casey and finnegan...

May 3, 2016 Arlene Giddings

THINGS I CATCH MYSELF SAYING TO THE CATS

STOP knocking my toys over!
for the love of gawd, leavvvvvve grover alone!!
i cannot edit if you are laying on the keyboard.
OK! who pulled off ernie's eyes!?! and left them on my bed! you cruel, cruel beasts.
no! the frog hat is MY hat! this one is yours!
awwww....c'mon....just one more picture...
STAWWWWWPPPP attacking my feet/arms/hands/forehead
just let me make the bed...this is not a game!
i'm giving you back to becky.
you're so pretty....such a pretty...OW...gawddammit...get down.

but then....they do something like this.... <3