#tbt that hits me right in the heart...

May 19, 2016 Arlene Giddings

where, where, where has the time gone?

our gap toothed little blonde diehard twisted sister fan
with a mouth full of chewing gum
and heart full of sweetness,
all sassy attitude and devil horns...

our big-headed boy
with the eyes so dark brown they looked black,
pudgy hands and big chubby cheeks,
all rough and tumble
and baby talk...

it blows my mind...it seems like yesterday.

i read somewhere when the kids were little
that the
days are long,
but the years are short...
and it is so gawd damn true
it hurts my heart a little...

but they also make me so unbearably happy today
all kinda grown up and still so sweet, still so funny...
still all devil horns and rough & tumble -
{but now emma has all her teeth
and campbell doesn't fall forward
when running because his head is too heavy}.
:) :) :) :)

wordless wednesday

May 18, 2016 Arlene Giddings

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.

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 9 - goal 12}

May 16, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i knew immediately
that this was going to be the type of book
that i did not want to end...
ever.

i love, love, loved this book.
i was drawn in from page one and
could not put it down...
and i mean to the point that
i had it on my phone
and i read it as i walked back
and forth to work.

i knew right from page one that
i was going to be sad to see it end.
i loved the characters...
Handful/Hetty, Sarah, Mauma - not Missus though -
i hated her.

i loved getting a glimpse into Sarah's mind,
into how torn she was,
and how confusing and hard it must have been
to not believe in slavery
while growing up in a family that did.

i love Sue Monk Kidd's style of writing...
she captures voices in a way that makes you feel
like you know them, like you get them.
i didn't realize until almost the very end
that this was based on actual people, Sarah and Angelina Grimke

i made a note while reading this that said
"must read everything by this author"
but i realize now that i have already read a good majority
of what she has written.
i loved the mermaid chair and the secret life of bees...
i just wish there was more of her books to read.
i'll be watching for the next one!

5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP: YOU'RE NEVER WEIRD ON THE INTERNET (ALMOST) - FELICIA DAY

all the things i didn't do...

May 14, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i had big plans when i got up this morning.
plans that involved
tackling the mountain of laundry
and cooking healthy food...
washing up a sink full of dirty dishes
and whipping the house
into a clean, uncluttered home.

none of that happened.