the year i planted a garden...

September 16, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i haven't talked about the garden
for a while...
well...unless you count that time that i
said
that i was completely sick of it
and didn't want to deal with it
anymore.

heh.

anyway.

it seemed to have flourished even without my help.
back when i still loved the garden
i made these little signs for it
but totally didn't get a chance to
post any photos of them
(probably because i spent every damn day
making 16 thousand trips back and forth
watering the damn garden)
(next year, i'm using a hose.)

and now we are coming to the end
of the garden season...
i am going to update my little planning book
with what worked well for me
and what i will do different next year
(maybe not go SO heavy on the tomatoes...)
but i am really happy with how it went
this summer.

i want to try to do some fall bulb planting too
of flowers for next year...
i am really, really excited to see the little flower garden
i started this year
bloom on it's own next year...

yeah. i kinda like this gardening thing.
i bet i'll like it WAY better next year
with a working hose.
:)

friday adventures...

September 15, 2017 Arlene Giddings

sometimes the best adventures
catch you by surprise...
like when you get up friday morning
& pack up the car
with the camera and the diet coke
but your heart is
just not in it today...
the light's not right...it's too cloudy...
the car is making a funny noise,
you need gas but you don't feel like pumping it
and you feel like your hair is doing something weird
and then you think you will go for coffee
and bullet journal
but you sit in the parking lot
and think...you know what...
i just wanna go home and put on some pj pants
and doodle at my own desk.

so that's how i spent most of the day.

but i had plans with a friend to go for a bite to eat
and a walk so i left home a little early
and went to HMS and got 2 new leuchtturm1917
baby journals because apparently i'm an addict
(BUT THEY ARE SO CUTE)
and then met up with my friend for supper...
we ate at the silver fox
and seriously,
it was so good.
and inexpensive.
and no, there were no chicken fingers on the menu
but my new trick is to order the
chicken bacon wrap
but...without the wrap.
cause then?
well...it's just chicken fingers on a bed of lettuce with
some BACON.
sooooooo good.
oh...and a ceaser...also...soooooo good.
especially the spicy string bean.

so anyway. :)
then we walked the boardwalk
and the geese! there were so many geese.
i tried to convince my friend to
do something to make them all fly at once
so i could take a picture
but she declined all the ideas i proposed
(yelling wildly...throwing rocks)
(not AT the geese...just close...like...to make them fly...
not kill them! sheeesh)
and yes, uncle eddie...there WERE squirrels!
gangs of them. AND i forgot the stupid peanuts.

so anyway. :)
then we went for ice cream at holman's ice cream parlor
and i had the strawberry shortcake sundae
and look, i'm doing you a big favor right now.
go have that sundae.
you will totally thank me.
i mean..unless you are allergic to strawberries,
then maybe you shouldn't listen to me...
but otherwise...
you should try the sundae.

wordless wednesday...the robot edition... :)

September 13, 2017 Arlene Giddings

over half my life...♥♥♥

September 12, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i sat here in front of a flickering screen
and thought...what can i possibly tell you
that i haven't told you before...
in words and whispers,
notes on the back of bills,
letters with postage stamps and
envelopes covered in sesame street stickers...
love notes written in cards store bought and cards handmade...
phone calls and texts and blog posts
and facebook statuses...
conversations in the car, during supper,
while you are trying to watch a movie...
:)

i keep all my best stories for you.

when anything happens,
good, bad, funny, weird...
i can't wait to tell you.
you are my best audience...
you always listen, you always laugh
in the right places,
and you always, always make me feel better
when there are wrong places in the story.

i have shared over half my life with you.
and it doesn't feel like nearly enough.
♥ ♥ ♥

whatcha readin'? {2017::book 9 - goal 24}

September 11, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i picked this up on a whim...
i really knew nothing about it.
but the title was interesting
and i'm always drawn in by anything
that might be reminiscent of fairy tales
which this book was
in a very, very loose sense.

i enjoyed her writing
and the little twists she wove in
along the way.
i have to admit there were times that
i felt a little confused
or lost...
and found it difficult
to pick up the thread of the story again
but sometimes,
i think that might be my own fault
for reading a book
in dribs and drabs
of time
instead of rich big open blocks
of focused time.

i did enjoy this though and would definitely
give her other books a try though.
:)

3 out of 5 ♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP: MILLER'S VALLEY - ANNA QUINDLEN