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

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  • who am i
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taking a breath...

September 27, 2022 Arlene Giddings

We were incredibly lucky
at the big orange house
as far as hurricane effing fiona went.

We lost one big tree in the back,
one of my prettiest trees
and I feel guilty even being sad
about that when so many people
lost so much more…
the destruction is heart breaking.

I can’t even look at it anymore.
I avoid facebook or tiktok or
anywhere that shows the
homes washed away,
the roofs blown off,
the destruction of beaches and
shoreline and wharves and boats
and dunes…bridges washed out completely,
flooding, power outages for days,
beautiful trees uprooted
and broken…
it hurts my heart
to see my island this way…

I know it can be fixed and rebuilt
to some degree but for now
I just can’t look anymore.
I don’t want to drive around in this..
and not just because it’s still dangerous to do so
but because
I think I would cry.

So instead,
I cope how I always cope…
avoidance & distraction.
Doodles of little geek girls with
stripey stocks and pig tails,
eating jello cups,
watching cartoons
and reading on the deck.

I hope everything is ok where you are.
That you are warm and fed and safe…
♥♥♥

In at the big orange house, doodles, grateful, fall, words Tags hurricanes, fiona, extreme weather, my island, island girl, prince edward island, heartbroken
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almost totally wordless wednesday...but with a few words...

November 24, 2021 Arlene Giddings

catching up on the huge number of photos
I took this summer and fall…
so will be posting randoms
here and there
as I try to make my way
back to this page…

also…
I think my poor old faithful computer
might be breathing his last breath.

He’s been with me for
about 12 years and has been
a very diligent, hard worker
so I really, really can’t complain.

But it is going to make me very sad.

So now I am in the market for
a new computer…or a laptop…
but the choices,
sweet mother of gawd
there are so many choices
and I have mentioned that I am not
good at choices?
It’s why I can’t eat at Subway
even though I love Subway.
Heh. I wish I was kidding.
I’m not.

Ok. Sorry.
This was not a very
wordless
wednesday.
I’ll try better next week.
:)

In fall, wordless wednesday Tags kinda wordless wednesday, fall on pei, fall colors, autumn, pei
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tuesday truths

October 22, 2019 Arlene Giddings

i love fall.

i really do.
the brilliance of the trees,
the crunch under my feet
of leaves and twigs
snapping and crackling…
the smell of wood smoke in the air
and feeling like
after the go-go-go
panicked frenzy to enjoy
EVERY FRIGGING SECOND OF SUMMER
while it’s here,
now
i can start
to slow down….

now
i start to give myself permission
to climb into bed
with a mountain
of fuzzy blankets,
some hot chocolate,
and a pile of books….

fall is movies and stories and blanket forts,
trail hikes, if i feel like it, and messy hair
(cause my hat will cover it anyway),
vanilla scented candles,
cinnamon apples, brown sugar on toast…
big thick fuzzy socks (but never in bed!)
and pajamas with hoods…

fall is cozy.

i love summer.
summer is exciting and exhilarating
and on a deadline
and you can’t waste a second
cause if you blink,
it’s gone.

but fall…
fall is kinda like my mom.
Comforting and sweet and
always makes me feel better.

winter, on the other hand…well….
i kinda hate that guy.
Heh.

In words, tuesday truths, the adventure continues, fall Tags fall on pei, fall, fall colors
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man-eating snails

October 23, 2017 Arlene Giddings

or...could also be
about how maybe i tend to exaggerate
for comedic purposes...
heh.

but
as promised yesterday
here is part 2
of my friday-adventure-on-a-holiday-monday
because i know you were sitting on the edge
of your seat refreshing the webpage
just waiting for part two, right?  heh.

dirt road #2

as i was leaving fort amherst
i saw this dirt road
and remembered how i told myself
that under no circumstances
were you going to go on dirt roads today...
but...
really...would you be able to say no to THIS dirt road?
it's on a hill!
who KNOWS what could be on the other side!
maybe a candy store...
or a space ship
or a herd of goats
in pajamas
or
a frigging cool lighthouse
you've never seen before.

(ummmm...it was the lighthouse, if you didn't guess...)

and such a pretty view!

and this....isn't it cute!  that roof.  ♥♥♥  it's so fairy tale-ish...in a decrepit kind of way...

and where are the non-man-eating snails i promised? you ask
well...next, i came across this place
which is burned into my memory
because
a)  i love love love that broken down wharf
b)  i did wedding photos here for the sweetest couple AND
c)  we lost the bride's engagement ring on the beach here
and it was horrifying and awful and stressful but then a man
came along & asked us what we were doing
(the whole wedding party and myself on hands and knees
digging in sand frantically) and he offered to go home & get
his metal detector...we went to the reception and this sweet man
FOUND the engagement ring and that's reason #345 235 why i love PEI...
(plus there are no bobcats).

it was fun to climb on
but that's how i noticed the snails...
i saw one at first
but then i realized there were hundreds!

and then...the drive home...
which found me on
dirt road #3...
but i'm so glad i
didn't take my own advice.

and that was the end of another adventure...
i know it was a low blow to trick you with man eating snails...
i hope the pretty dirt roads made up for it.
:)

In 2017, adventure 2017, i take pictures, she's so weird, fall Tags pei, pei blogger, PEI photographer, i heart dirt roads, fall on pei, friday adventure, adventure, nature, fort amherst, snails, non-man eating snails
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I MADE TOMATO SOUP!!!!

October 1, 2017 Arlene Giddings

from my OWN tomatoes!!!  out of my garden!!

the truth is
i made tomato soup yesterday too
but i'm not really sure why i thought
that tomato soup
made with carrots
and vegetable broth
would not taste like
VEGETABLES...

because it did.

it totally did.
it smelled like vomit.
and the carrots left a weird texture.
and it smelled like vomit.

i had to throw it out.

today
i started from scratch.
i had liked about 6 different recipes
on pinterest
so ended up pulling a little from each
i roasted the tomatoes with garlic and onion
and then put it in the ninja and
mushed it up
(disclaimer #1 - i never claimed that i could write a recipe
so bear with me...i don't know the technical terms)...
then put it in the slow cooker
with CHICKEN BROTH
(not vegetable broth...)
and basil pesto, cream, a handful of sugar,
a dollop of butter, salt & pepper

and it worked!

it was so good!

even 17, who said "i don't like tomato soup"
dipped his grilled cheese & bacon into our soup
and then said..."well...i don't like heinz tomato soup...
but this?  This is good"
and went & got a bowl for himself.

yay me!
i should start a cooking youtube channel...
and call it
cooking with luck or something equally clever.
:)

disclaimer #2 - the amazing grilled cheese & bacon sandwiches
were not cooked by me.
i do not handle cooking any food that spits hot grease at me.
That's S's department
(and he makes the BEST grilled cheese & bacon).
 

In 2017, the one i love most, fall, she's so weird Tags NOT a cooking blog, food, tomato soup, tomatoes, tomato plants, i made this, so damn proud, happy dance, vegetable broth tastes like vegetables
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