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the big orange house
Summerside, PE
902-439-4562

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broken bones, baby bumps & sweet reunions...

June 12, 2016 Arlene Giddings

the sunset outside the hospital (moments before my phone died)

it was a weird roller coaster up & down kinda weekend.

i spent my friday off with the house to myself
playing with some watercolors,
doing a little doodling, listening to music...
taking the day slow and quiet,
my favorite kind of day.

then campbell came home
white as a sheet of paper
and hurt...
a 6 hour stay in emergency
to find out that while he did not
get a concussion out of his skateboarding mishap,
he did break his collarbone :(

it's never fun sitting in a hospital waiting room
for that long especially when your phone died
and you didn't have supper
and you are both starving
but,
on the bright side,
i had 6 hours of captive quality time with my boy.
i learned that he is incredibly patient, even when hungry and hurt.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-----------♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥------------♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-----------♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

as if a baby belly is not enough enticement to come take photos, they also bought me a diet coke AND told me they had lilacs in their yard!  :)

saturday was an early morning maternity session.
i love when i have the opportunity to work with friends.
i knew the momma-to-be from an ECCE course we
took together years ago
but i also had the privilege of doing their
engagement photos and their wedding photos
so i was very excited when they asked me to do
their baby-belly photos!

sneak peeks to come!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-----------♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥------------♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-----------♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

and early saturday evening was so much fun
as i got to meet up with a gang of friends
who planned an informal reunion get-together
at a beautiful cottage in Seaview.

i graduated TOSH in 1988 and i believe most of this
crew graduated in '86 or '87.
it was kind of a little surreal for me to do these photos
as i remember most of them from high school
but in a sort of intimidating they-were-a-cool-crowd-artsy-
i-wanna-be-like-them-but-i'm-such-a-dorky-shy-geeky-kid kinda way.

and it's funny how easily we can be transported to
those high school feelings even this many years later.
driving out there i was actually nervous, more nervous
than i normally am.

and what's even funnier is when you realize
that people are just people...and you know that
you knew it all along but it's hard to let go of what
you thought you knew about someone
when really...
you didn't know them at all.

i realize now that back then i formed more opinions of what
i thought other people must be like
based on my opinions and beliefs about myself...
my intimidation had more to do with my own
typical teenage-years lack of self confidence and insecurity...
and in my self-absorbed insecure teenage head,
i always thought i was the only one that felt this way
(dorky, weird, odd, alone, unattractive, out of fashion, alone)
but really, chances are, most of us felt this way
but some of us were better at hiding it.

anyway, this has totally gotten off track :)
and what i really wanted to say is
they all made me feel so welcome and comfortable
and it was so much fun listening to them share stories
of their time in high school...the parties, the yearbooks inscriptions,
the old photo albums and the big hair.
I am so happy that they asked me to help document part of
this weekend for them, it was a ton of fun!

sneak peeks to come!
 

and more lilacs...because...well...they're lilacs!!!  :)

In back when, i take pictures, my boy, she's so weird, we are family, words Tags lilacs, broken bones, my boy, reunions, baby bumps, old friends, waxing philosophical about high school, memories
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#tbt

June 9, 2016 Arlene Giddings

remember that time...
when the smurfs came to visit...

so...i went out to videotape my new hostas...and there was a strange sound...like a low lalalala sound...and a blinding blue light...
In #tbt, it's a smurfy world Tags #tbt, happy, smurfs, i'm not a videographer, mushrooms, polka dots, papa smurf
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wordless wednesday

June 8, 2016 Arlene Giddings
In wordless wednesday Tags lilacs, polka dot boots, pretty blossoms, pink, purple, spring
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one sided memories...

June 5, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i will warn you...this is not what i meant to write when i came here today....
but this is what came out.

it never fails.

every june,
i am drawn here.

i don't even realize it
until my car is passing my parent's house,
til I have passed the hall
where they used to hold Halloween parties,
where we used to meet "half-way" we said...
where i drive up the road
that we used to walk
relentlessly and tirelessly
singing billy idol
and bon jovi
at the top of our lungs,
neighbor's be damned....

the road where we used to practice curse words
and no one could hear...
where we shared headphones
and sang madonna...

til my car is passing her house
and the fields where we played both
baseball (by our own made up rules, of course
and likely with a stick for a bat
and pair of rolled up socks
for a ball) and barbies
that sported bathing suits made from
masking tape...
the field where we hid from the siblings....
the back step where we drank koolaid
(not kool aid with turpentine, that came later)
and the front step where we laid out
in matching white bathing suits...well,
not really matching...hers was christopher's beach club
and mine was the pink panther
with the smell of baby oil and fresh cut grass lingering.

past the spot where
i almost always have to close my eyes
but i can't now, cause i'm driving, so i look
at the fields, at the sky, at the radio,
anywhere but the road, anywhere but the driveway...

past the spot where the
bookmobile stopped,
past the part of the road where
at a certain time of day,
the shadows of the trees are cast
long across the road.
this was always my favorite stretch of this road
when we used to bike up this far...
and oddly enough,
this is very close to where you are now.
the shadows of the trees
cast long across you in the evenings.

i find myself on the dirt road
leading to our beach...
the road so familiar,
i could drive it with my eyes closed.

when i drive down this road,
i hear all of us crammed in the backseat...
all the fighting and the laughing and the teasing and the music...
bare legs sticking against hot seats,
no car seats, no seat belts,
8 of us crammed in a backseat built for 4.
warm koolaid with sand in it.
walking on the rocks as far as we could go...
looking for sandglass,
looking for boys...(there were never any)
swinging on the swings even when we were far too old
for that to be cool...
long baggy t-shirts over our bathing suits,
skin brown, hair messy and tangled.
happy.

every rock that i step on,
i think
we probably stepped on this rock.
i look for signs from you
and i worry
that you won't ever send me one
but then
i worry more
that you might sending them to me
and i might be
walking right by them
which would be so much worse...
so instead i focus on looking for
something
that i can bring to you...
a bouquet of wilted blossoms,
a stolen sprig of wild roses
not yet fully in bloom,
a misshapen heart shaped rock...
and when i slip and almost fall on the wet seaweed,
i laugh out loud...
cause i know that would have made you laugh.

every june,
i find myself drawn here
looking for us
in my one side memories.
♥♥♥♥♥

In best friends, back when, words, we are family
4 Comments

the BIG "why not" list...

June 4, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i don't really have a bucket list.
but what i do have...
is a BIG why not list.
(and when I am feeling really rebellious,
it becomes the BIG why the hell not list :) )

i started this list a long time ago,
maybe 2009...
i shared it on my blog then
but since then
there have been some changes...
some things have been added
and some
have just been removed
as i have realized over time that
that maybe that thing is just not that important to me anymore.

and...
some things have been COMPLETED!

a few people have asked about my list
so i thought maybe i would share it again
since i recently updated it to include it in my
bullet journal.

what the list actually looks like right now in my bullet journal

i apologize in advance for the length of this list...

the BIG "why not" list

  1. Do 100 ideas for creativity by keri smith.
  2. Read something of my own out loud in public. COMPLETE
  3. Go to Cabot Trail again with my parents.  (date is set for this!  Sept 16, 2016)
  4. Go to Disney with Stirling and kids...if they want to go, hahaha.
  5. See a real 3D movie at an IMAX.
  6. Build a studio (not just for photography but with good light).
  7. Make a wedding topper out of fimo.
  8. Have a gallery show at a different venue.
  9. Be a part of a writing group. COMPLETE
  10. Start a writing group in Summerside.
  11. Take a writing class or workshop.  COMPLETE
  12. Take a creative writing class at UPEI.
  13. Do ten tutorials about Photoshop.
  14. Design my own business cards and logo.
  15. Have something I have made in a shop.
  16. Write a long story.
  17. Drive a race car.
  18. Drive to Moncton by myself.  COMPLETE
  19. Bungee jump
  20. Do yoga regularly.
  21. Try judo, tai chi or kickboxing.
  22. Have one thing published somewhere.
  23. Participate in a bridal show. COMPLETE
  24. Start a real letter correspondence (a grown up way of saying i want a penpal!)
  25. Participate in a Christmas craft fair.
  26. Learn how to drive a standard.
  27. Learn how to change a tire.
  28. Have a photo published in a magazine.
  29. Be interviewed.
  30. Meet a blogger that i read in real life.
  31. Make a quilt.  (I may remove this one, I'm not sure it still holds interest for me)
  32. Take a drawing class.
  33. Try mixed media art (Kelly Rae).
  34. Take a course in something.
  35. Enter Island literary awards.
  36. Choose a theme for one month (photo & words).
  37. Make bread.
  38. Make a large paper cut image.
  39. Go to Italy.
  40. See the Skydiggers. COMPLETE...TWICE!
  41. Make my own salsa.
  42. Grow sunflowers.
  43. Reread all of Margaret Atwood.
  44. Invite my parents over for supper.
  45. Write a short story.
  46. Take a sewing class.
  47. Play scrabble.
  48. Teach the kids how to play SCAT, play with my parents.
  49. Find a job that I love ALL the time. COMPLETE
  50. Go rock-climbing.
  51. Ride a real roller-coaster.
  52. Photograph all the churches & graveyards on PEI (this one may not make the list much longer either)
  53. Own a hammock.
  54. Build a tree-house.
  55. Knit a robot.
  56. Knit a sock monkey.
  57. Make a blurb book of my blog.
  58. Learn how to play one song on guitar.
  59. Make peppermint bark.
  60. Hand carve something from wood.
  61. Write a letter to someone I am a fan of.
  62. Do the second Simple Abundance book.
  63. Hear Margaret Atwood read in person. COMPLETE!
  64. Color every page in a coloring book - start to finish.
  65. Try doing a latch rug kit.
  66. Make cinnamon rolls.
  67. Re-read Constance - Patricia Clapp
  68. Try watercolor painting. COMPLETE
  69. Play checkers.
  70. Go to Ireland.
  71. Plant a kitchen herb garden.
  72. Make my own poetry/photography book.
  73. Join a photography club.
  74. Read all of the Harry Potter books.
  75. Go to Scotland.
  76. Read the Outlander series.
  77. Make the 1001 ♥ shadowbox idea.
  78. Go on a photo walk.
  79. Go to Newfoundland.
  80. Make a Halloween decoration out of paper mache.
  81. Make a mushroom out of fimo.
  82. Finish my Anne painting and post on Etsy. COMPLETE
  83. Find Panmure Island.
  84. Take photos of graveyard on trail.
  85. Become a member of Women's Business Association.
  86. Have a gallery show at Beanz.
  87. Read War and Peace.  started
  88. Grow my hair long and tangly.
  89. Journal every day for one month straight.
  90. Write a kid's book.
  91. Try karate.
  92. Own a Mark camera.
  93. Learn to crochet.
  94. 20 minute walk outside every day for a month.
  95. Be debt-free.
  96. Read and do "Writing Down the Bones" again.
  97. Start and complete a 365 project of some sort.
  98. Make apple butter.
  99. Read at least one book on photography.
  100. Own polka dot rain-boots. COMPLETE
  101. Buy new docs. COMPLETE
  102. Develop our forgotten rolls of film.
  103. Buy a typewriter.
  104. Plan an overnight escapade with 2 certain friends.
  105. Go on a road trip with Stirling.
  106. Attend a retreat (ideally...liz lamoreaux's)
  107. Tree-go
  108. Take a painting class with Suzanne O'Callaghan.
  109. Act in a play. COMPLETE
  110. Switch home movies to digital.
  111. Learn to play the drums.
  112. Add to my tattoo.
  113. Get the dandelions to birds tattoo.
  114. See the Redwood forest.
  115. Get a new mailbox and cool house numbers.
  116. Finish the house.
  117. Buy a necklace from Liz Elayne
  118. Make an inspiration board.
  119. Take a photography class.
  120. Finger-paint.
  121. Bake a red velvet cake.
  122. Learn how to cable knit.
  123. Donate blood.
  124. Go on a train ride.
  125. Try a zip line.  COMPLETE
  126. Make a stop action movie.
  127. Be in Artful Blogging.
  128. Be in Where women create.
  129. Do the "Drawing on the right side of your brain" book.
  130. Make stamped metal jewelry.
  131. Make meat pies.
  132. Do an Alicia Burke class online.
  133. Do a Mondo Beyondo class.
  134. Make wonton soup.
  135. Drive in a transfer truck.
  136. Read all of LM Montgomery's books.
  137. Hang glass bottles from a tree.
  138. Move to the country.
  139. Put some photos to music in a video.
  140. Own a goat.
  141. Knit a big comfy earth toned blanket for me.
  142. Container garden. COMPLETE
  143. Drive a snowmobile.
  144. Sled down a giant hill.
  145. Make caramel apples.
  146. Go to a demolition derby.
  147. Fly in a fast plane.
  148. BE IN a demolition derby.
  149. Make strawberry freezer jam.
  150. Knit a dozen dishclothes.
  151. Make a calendar out of photos.
  152. Try Zumba.
  153. Make my own pop up book.
  154. Go to Canada's Wonderland.
  155. Read and do Inner Excavation.
  156. Drive a dirt bike.
  157. Get my taxi driver licence
  158. Shoot a month of sunsets
  159. Go to Peggy's Cove
  160. Get a little pug puppy friend for Pugsley
  161. Shoot a month of sunrises.
  162. Hike ALL the trails on PEI.
  163. Go somewhere with zero gravity.
  164. Go berry picking.
  165. Hot air balloon ride.
  166. Read the Robert Jordan series.
  167. Watch a meteor shower.
  168. See Blue Rodeo again.
  169. Go to Niagara Falls.
  170. Try flying trapeze lessons.
  171. Raise chickens
  172. Have a house with a sunroom.
  173. Build a greenhouse.
  174. Learn to meditate.
  175. Read kids books to kids at a library.
  176. Try glassblowing.
  177. Go to Grand Manan.
  178. See a murmuration for real.
  179. Try mountain biking.
  180. Make a coloring book.
  181. Be a bingo caller.
  182. Ride a mechanical bull.
  183. Perform a wedding ceremony.
  184. Segway
  185. Go go-kart racing
  186. Drive an ATV.
  187. Own a jeep...orange...or purple.
  188. Make an "all family" involved haunted house at halloween
  189. Try horse back riding.
  190. Do a big jigsaw puzzle

I warned you...it's a long list. 
I just read something that talked about the Golden Rule of the bucket list
being not to focus
on completing the bucket list,
just the tasks that are on it...
but it's good to keep adding to it.

So I guess I'm doing it right, heeheehee.

And by sharing it, I'm throwing it out there to the universe.
Take a chance, see what happens.

In 2016, list-me-up, she's so weird, the big WHY NOT list Tags the big why not list, bucket list, all the things, leaves, list, throw it out there
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