whatcha readin'?

September 18, 2017 Arlene Giddings

so...this is not how i usually do my
"whatcha readin'?"
blog posts.

usually i
FINISH
the book before i
talk about it.

and i blog about the books
i have read
in the order that i have read them.

but i have got to tell you...
i am reading a book right now
that i had never heard of...
it was an e book through my library
and so i put myself on the wait list
and then it came
so i thought
well...i'll give it a try...

and i am flabbergasted dumbfounded in love hook line and sinker.

it's the kind of book
that i am about halfway in
and i can't wait to see what happens
but i know that every page i turn
brings me closer to the end
and i don't want it to end
and i really want to know what happens
but at the same time
the writing is so beautiful
and the turns of phrase so perfectly odd
that i also want to go back to the
beginning
and reread it again...
slower this time
so that i can really absorb it.

it's a debut book called himself from jess kidd
and i'm telling you
i am totally crushing on this right now.
to the point that if you saw me
walking home today
staring at my phone
THE WHOLE WALK HOME
it's because i was reading that book
on my phone....crossing roads
waiting at intersections
reading that book and completely lost in the story...

i would not make a good sailor...

September 17, 2017 Arlene Giddings

all summer
i said i was going to visit greenwich national park
(the above picture IS NOT from there but was taken on the way)
so a couple of weeks ago
i finally did it.

and it did not disappoint.

the day was windy and a little cool
but the clouds were big and fluffy
and so low it felt you could jump up
and pull one down
and the sky was so damn blue
which seemed like a perfect day
for this trail.

the dunes were so incredibly cool...

but the walking bridge over the water
was way, way longer than i thought it was going to be
and i am sure
i walked it like a drunken sailor.
i thought that once i was on it for a bit
my body would adjust...
but no...not really...
i wobbled along, tripping and stumbling
and feeling a little seasick.
i kept watching other people
(because for the record...there were TONS of other people
on the trail the whole time i was there...
i didn't enjoy that part so much...
i like a little more solitude when i am on a trail)
to see if they were being affected
the same way
but if they were,
they hid it much better than me.
so...that coupled with the sad fact that i can't swim
has completely removed sailor
from my list of "what i want to be when i grow up".

and i didn't know that it would take you to the beach...
which was beautiful
and i love days like that
where the wind is wild
and the waves are foamy
and rushing in with a roar
and you just feel like laughing loud
and running along the beach
without caring what anybody thinks
but...
you are still feeling slightly seasick
AND there are so many people around
so you limit yourself
to trying to get really close to the waves
for photos
until one wave tricks you
and actually runs you over
soaking your pant legs
and making you laugh out loud
and run in front of strangers anyway.

the day before i went to this park
i had dyed my hair kind of purple...
so i also spent an inordinate amount of time
trying to get a photo of the purple
while on the trail...
which i am sure made people look at me oddly
as well...

and...
even more exciting...
i found a perfect little truffula tree
as i was walking back.
part of me want to point it out
to the other people as they walked by
but realized that shouting
"look!!!! it's a PERFECT TRUFFULA TREE!"
paired with my staggering walk on the bridge
might cause someone to think maybe
i shouldn't be driving...or unaccompanied.

i know this post was way too long
and so many photos so if you stuck with me
til the end, yay!
and honestly...THERE WERE SO MANY MORE PHOTOS
that i DIDN'T post...but wanted to.
if you have not been to this park yet, you really should go!
i regret that i didn't explore the interpretative center a little more
other than just to find the bathroom
and there is a whole other trail i didn't do
but that will be another adventure.

oh...and an ice cream sundae on the way back... :)

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