slow, snowy sunday...

March 1, 2020 Arlene Giddings

It was a slow, snowy sunday
at the big orange house.
There were naps taken
and yoga, bullet journalling and
a fair amount of shovelling.

In attempt to “embrace winter”
I took a quick walk to the park
to catch some snowfall photos…
and on the way back,
I decided today was the day
to make a snow angel…

snow angel. not a very good photo. but a snow angel regardless. :)

how naps are taken in the big orange house…

Then when I got back to the house,
I realized my neighbor was out shoveling her driveway
so I went over to say hi and introduce myself
and only realized after the fact
that I was wearing pink plaid pj pants
with pink polka dot rubber boots
and was COMPLETELY covered in snow…
you know…from the snow angel making…
and the very first thing I said to her was
”I lOVE THAT YOU BUILT A SNOWMAN!!”

Sigh.

Happy snowy, sweet, slow Sunday.
♥

where have i been when i haven't been here....

June 26, 2019 Arlene Giddings

honestly….i am not sure.

i guess we had a late spring
and now that it’s warming up out
i
just
want
to
be
outside…
all the damn time.

i have been cutting the grass
(with the new-to-me lawn mower that I bought all by myself)
and picking at yardwork…
taking the dog for long walks on trails
i have never been down before….
eating sundaes, watching sunsets, reading books on the deck.

i have done a little exploring,
taken some photos but didn’t feel like uploading anything until tonight…

i feel like creatively
i have been stalled…i just wasn’t feeling it….
which i don’t really panic about anymore
because i know it will come back,
it always comes back.

and sure enough, tonight
i found myself getting excited about editing the
photos that have been on my camera for too long…
i am thinking about pulling out the watercolors,
about how to build a giant cardboard castle in my backyard,
wondering if i could do a kid’s art class on saturdays,
thinking about how to build mushrooms and
trying to remember where i put the plans for the robot?

i knew it would come back.
it always comes back.
:)

under the bridge...

August 19, 2018 Arlene Giddings

Earlier in the summer
(before the accident that put the
l'il hyundai accent out of commission),
I took a little adventure drive
out through Borden...
and realized
that you can go
right under the
Confederation Bridge!

You have to climb down on
some pretty big rocks
but I have seriously always loved doing that anyway.

It did freak me out
just a teensy-tiny bit
when I got under there
and could hear
the cars and trucks and campers
and transfer trucks
shaking and rumbling right over top of me...
plus
I can't swim
so I was also very cautious not to drown
or drop my camera...

So fun though! :)
Oh....and I had taken some from a nearby beach, too!

lazy rainy sundaze...

August 5, 2018 Arlene Giddings

it has been a bit of a
rainy sunday...
the sun seems to be trying to
push its way out of the clouds now
but for most of the day,
i have found myself inside...
with extra time on my hands.

i haven't been doing any doodling.

at first, it was because, a while back,
i had some very strange dizzy spells...
or maybe vertigo...
kind of like hangover bed spins
but without the fun the night before.

eventually, they decreased in severity
but seemed to come back when i would
look down which meant
i couldn't write, doodle and even taking photos
with the big camera was difficult.

i did go to the doctor
but it was about 3 weeks after the worst of it...
she did some neurological tests
and everything seemed to be ok
although i was still getting dizzy quite often at the time.

but...long story short...
i seem to feel fine now!
but then
it was so sunny and warm outside
that i just couldn't seem to make myself
sit inside at the desk and play
until today...

so here's a little fairy.
:)
i feel a little rusty but also kind of excited to get back to
paper and pen and watercolors again.

also, i am playing along with an instagram challenge
that susannah conway has created
called #augustbreak
which has daily prompts...it's been a long time
since i have done one of these and so far,
i am really enjoying it!
if you are on instagram, check it out!

and...just a few photos from North Rustico...
my sister in law & her husband recently invited us to stay
at a cottage with them for a night or two...
which meant some early morning shots of flowers
(there were other photos taken but alcohol-driven-dance-offs
are not so pretty the next day...)

and...because today is today...
and this weighs heavy on my mind...
don't drink and drive.
call a cab, a friend, your mom, your friend's mom...
sleep on someone's couch, walk home, hitch a ride...
call your ex, your buddy, the next door neighbor, your mailman...
whatever...
just don't drink and drive.

(i like to remember her best on her birthday...
this day only makes me sad for what could have been...)

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.