a rare sunday adventure....

August 25, 2019 Arlene Giddings

i had big plans for today
but then
i stayed up too late last night
and overslept this morning
and thought it was ruined….

but it wasn’t!

i had such a fantastic day…
there was a truck convoy for Special Olympics
starting at 10 am
and i was sure i was going to be too late
but i was JUST in time.

and this adorable little toddler
picked me bouquets of weeds and flowers
and sat beside me for the whole thing
which guaranteed premium beep-age
by the big trucks going by.
:)

i had heard great things about the
queen street open market on sundays
so headed there for that next…
it was fantasic…so many great vendors…
i bought string beans and chocolate chip cookies
and cinnamon rolls with BACON in them….

but….
then i went to the Confederation Center Art Galley
specifically
to see this one exhibit…
and it did not disappoint.

it literally took my breath away.

i spent at least half an hour
just lost in the details
and colors and reflected light
the mesmerizing suspension
and gently swaying, spinning silence.

sigh.

i need this in my house.

i regretted not taking my big camera in…
and also,
these crows still make me feel sad…

and to top the day off,
i hung out with a friend in the park
discussing cameras & ice cream & 80’s movies
AND tried the new purple haze flavor at Truckin Roll….
which was sooooooo pretty…
(i am not going to lie though…i didn’t love the tea part of it…
but the rest was delicious!!)

there is seriously so much to do here…
i am feeling panicky trying to jam as much of it in as
i can before the snow flies and
the pajamas become my standard uniform again.
:)

friday adventures are better with a friend!

August 18, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I don’t think it’s a secret that I usually do my
Friday adventures
solo…
not really for any reason, it’s just a thing I like to do.

But a really good friend of mine
was home from away a little while ago
and she bravely agreed to come along on a Friday adventure
with me…
I did warn her that there would be no map,
no plan and, also, no air conditioning in my car…heh…
AND she might have to sign a waiver…

Heehee. :)

We started with the most amazing, delicious
HOMEMADE raspberry flakie that was literally mouthwatering…
this photo does it NO justice at all but if you are interested
in buying some of these, let me know and I will
totally hook you up with my dealer…heehee

We decided to go west
because, honestly, that’s where most of the dairy bars are…
we stopped at wharves and beaches and lighthouses…
(&…all these photos are with my phone…so meh…but still had to share them…
heehee…what’s a blog post without photos?)

We went all the way to North Cape
to see the windmills….I had been there before
but I had never tried the trail before…
I wish we would have had more time to do the whole thing
because it was beautiful!
but…it was also looking like thunder
and I did NOT want to be around all that metal
if there was going to be lightning!

Our last stop was at
Southside Scoop Shack in O’Leary…
cause…
the best way to finish your day
is with ice cream…
I had the apple pie sundae
AND IT WAS SO GOOD

and the truth is
i did get us lost and, for a second, i thought
maybe we might be getting shot at
for trespassing on a beach
(skeet shooting close by, I think…or at least,
that’s what I told Ange…heehee)
and we had no air conditioning
but we did have a lot of laughs,
sang along to some loud 80’s music
and reconnected…
and the waiver was never mentioned again.
:)
all in all, a successful friday adventure!

sometimes...

April 18, 2019 Arlene Giddings

a sunset drive and loud music
is all
you really need….
it fills in all the cracks in your heart
and stops the chatter in your head…

tuesday truths...

April 16, 2019 Arlene Giddings

i have a bad habit
of hiding
and avoiding
and procrastinating
and pretending
and creating distractions
and diversions
and delusions in my head
that everything is fine
when really
there are things i should be
facing…

i am an ostrich
sometimes
with my head in sand.

(ok. who am i kidding…
i am probably not as tall as an ostrich
and the thought of burying my head
in sand immediately makes feel claustrophobic)

(and now i am wondering if
ostriches even do that…is that a fact?
or did i make that up
somewhere along the line?)

anyway.

todays tuesday truth
is that i am trying to shake myself
out of this habit…
i am trying to make myself
face reality at least
once a day.
do one “grown up thing”
(preferably, one i have been putting off for a long time)
each day.
bills.
laundry.
groceries.
research an oil tank.
the not-so-fun stuff….

but still allow myself
time every day
to lose myself in a good show
or escape in a book…
to write or draw or paint.

balance.
it’s all about balance.

dear candy....i kinda like you...

April 7, 2019 Arlene Giddings

this candy reminds me
of the little yellow corner store
that used to be
next to my grandparents house…
lois’s
”run over to lois’s and get a can of chicken gravy”
”can i go to lois’s? i have a quarter.”

this was always my favorite
penny candy
(back when penny candy was really
a penny
and pennies
really existed)…

i got stitches just under my eye
from this penny candy…
my cousin & i found a pop bottle
in the backyard
when i was like…5…
he would throw it & whoever got to to it first
could take it to lois’s….
and me being me…i ran out in front of him
just before he threw it…
it hit me in the face and i had to get stitches…
heeheehee.

(i normally just tell people i got hit the face
with a bottle during a fight…it sounds more interesting.
heh.)

they said my biggest concern
was that my cousin william
wasn’t going to get in trouble…
heeheehee.
he was my favorite.
which is pretty obvious from these photos…heehee