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

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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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grateful in a nutshell....

October 14, 2019 Arlene Giddings

a random grateful list in which i try not to be too sappy or lame::

  • family & friends that are always there for me…even when I seem to push people away

  • my kids…i know they fall under family but really, they get a line of their own. There is literally nothing that makes me happier than these two humans. Sometimes it takes my breath away a little bit…how much I love them. I would be lost without them.

  • a job that i love

  • health

  • home (even though it is acting like a temper tantrum-y 2 year old lately)

  • books that provide me an escape from real life occasionally

  • dirt roads

  • microwave popcorn

  • geese

  • fall leaves

  • hot chocolate

  • polka dots

  • people who make me laugh really hard (even if it is sometimes at my own expense)

  • ice cream

  • early morning texts/late night phone calls

  • homemade (not by me) chocolate chip cookies

  • turkey dinner (not made by me)

  • new-to-me treadmill

  • a working furnace

  • naps

  • that people are always so sweet & supportive about all of my little “interests” (ie cards; 50 before 50; blog; patreon; etc, etc, etc)

  • lemon squares…well…lemon anything really….

  • heated blankets

  • good conversation & connections

  • cold diet coke in a can

  • music (that also provides an escape sometimes)

Happy Thanksgiving…and I am not sure it has to be said
but I am seriously grateful for every person that stops by this
little space in the internetsphere to read my ramblings…so…yeah..you!! :)



In grateful, words Tags thanksgiving, grateful, happy, 2019::unfold
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wordless wednesday...

October 9, 2019 Arlene Giddings
In wordless wednesday Tags pei, PEI photographer, red dirt roads, i heart dirt roads
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whatcha readin'? 2019 {book 16::goal 25}

October 7, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I don’t even know where or how I heard of this book…
but I am sooooo glad that I did.

I loved this book.
The intricate threads tying each person together
in ways I didn’t expect,
the backstory,
the reasoning behind the reasons…

But Kate & Peter’s story…well….
Kate’s story…
the creeping realization, the gradual descent into…
the delayed reactions and then the subsequent
futile motions of trying to figure out where it all
went wrong, of how to fix it, to apply rational logic
to something that defies logic & is completely
out of your control…
well.

That made me cry.

Because I saw myself in that.
I saw me.
As clear and as sharp as looking in a mirror.
I saw me.

So my opinion on this book may be a little biased
because of that….I suspect you are either drawn to
or run away screaming from
what you recognize in yourself….depending on the day.

On this day, it felt good to be understood,
if only by a fictional character in a book with a name
I can never seem to remember.

Also, I wrote this note after reading it:

“The only secret to love is to be kind” found in the acknowledgements.
♥

5 out of 5 broken ♥♥♥♥♥
NEXT UP:: THE GREAT ALONE - KRISTIN HANNAH

In whatcha readin' Tags but not a real book review, book lover, book club, one book at a time, mary beth keane, ask again
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50 before 50

October 6, 2019 Arlene Giddings

i am not gonna lie.
i kinda had a tough weekend…
i don’t usually
feel sorry
for myself
but
this weekend,
well…
the furnace acting up is one thing…
but the furnace
acting up after i just replaced
the stupid oil tank
…
and the issue with the furnace
added to the roof leaking
and the downed trees that i still need to move
plus the side door
i need to replace…

well.

the furnace acting up
was just the straw that
might have temporarily broke me.

but….
the good news is…
i feel better now.

first of all, we have a great furnace guy.
he came as soon as he could
and he is coming back tomorrow
and hopefully, we will be all fixed up again
when he leaves.

and today
i wanted to do farm day in the city
but just didn’t have it in me…i was sad and worried and well,
just feeling kinda “i-give-up”-y so
19 spent the day with me…
i had apple picking on my 50 before 50 list
so he totally humored me
(even though I know he definitely had other things
he could have been doing)…and said let’s go.

he reached all the tall apples for me
and made me laugh…
we drove down dirt roads,
took photos of cows,
stopped in to see my parents,
and then went out for supper
(five dollar fill-ups at KFC for all!)

and
by the end of the day
i felt far less “i give up” ish
and much more
grateful
for the things in my life
that really matter.
(and…i can cross apple picking
off my 50 before 50 list!)

♥

In we are family, 50 before 50 Tags truth, little bits of truth, still a little sad but thats ok, apples, 50 before 50
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