catching my breath

September 16, 2025 Arlene Giddings

I spent this past weekend
at Steel Away Cottages in Grand Tracadie
and it was exactly
what my heart needed.

If you know me, you know I love heights…
so this was so fantastic.
There were two decks and the view was
INCREDIBLE.
I got up before sunrise both mornings
so that I could sit on the top deck
and watch the sun come up over the water.
I saw two eagles skimming the shore,
spent time in the barrel sauna
(also I WILL own a barrel sauna at some point in my life,
if I have to build it myself, haha),
explored beaches in Stanhope,
ate at Fin Folk which is ALWAYS amazing
and I had the sweetest server….

I would 100% recommend this
little island getaway…
😍

a rare sunday adventure....

August 25, 2019 Arlene Giddings

i had big plans for today
but then
i stayed up too late last night
and overslept this morning
and thought it was ruined….

but it wasn’t!

i had such a fantastic day…
there was a truck convoy for Special Olympics
starting at 10 am
and i was sure i was going to be too late
but i was JUST in time.

and this adorable little toddler
picked me bouquets of weeds and flowers
and sat beside me for the whole thing
which guaranteed premium beep-age
by the big trucks going by.
:)

i had heard great things about the
queen street open market on sundays
so headed there for that next…
it was fantasic…so many great vendors…
i bought string beans and chocolate chip cookies
and cinnamon rolls with BACON in them….

but….
then i went to the Confederation Center Art Galley
specifically
to see this one exhibit…
and it did not disappoint.

it literally took my breath away.

i spent at least half an hour
just lost in the details
and colors and reflected light
the mesmerizing suspension
and gently swaying, spinning silence.

sigh.

i need this in my house.

i regretted not taking my big camera in…
and also,
these crows still make me feel sad…

and to top the day off,
i hung out with a friend in the park
discussing cameras & ice cream & 80’s movies
AND tried the new purple haze flavor at Truckin Roll….
which was sooooooo pretty…
(i am not going to lie though…i didn’t love the tea part of it…
but the rest was delicious!!)

there is seriously so much to do here…
i am feeling panicky trying to jam as much of it in as
i can before the snow flies and
the pajamas become my standard uniform again.
:)

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.

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.
:)

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... :)

a perfect day...♥♥♥

September 10, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i love fridays
especially fridays off...
especially sunny fridays off...
especially fridays off
that happen to fall on your
birthday!

i met up with a friend and
she introduced me to a brand new trail
that i had never heard of
winter river trail.
it was beautiful...
runs adjacent to a river in places
(hence the name, i guess)
and was definitely a bit of a work out!
we did the orange trail above
but you can do shorter versions as well.

it was so peaceful and the moss and ferns
made the whole area seem electric
with color...

there were mushrooms and
tall, tall trees
and a little cabin by the water...

if you have not done this trail before
(and you are on the island)
you should totally check it out!

we came across a flock or a herd or a gaggle
of butterflies, too.
i think they are called painted lady butterflies...
so pretty!

i came back into town
and stopped at our local office supply store
because they had emailed to let me know
that the mildliners i have been waiting for
had come in!!!
these are made by zebra
but only recently released in canada
and i have wanted them
for
so
long
that
i think i may have been a little
scary
in my
exuberance (i'm not sure that everyone
gets that excited about high lighters)
when i walked into HMS
and saw the display...
i bought one of every package.
and a little baby bullet journal!
it's so cute!

the rest of the day
was spent with my sweet husband...
chinese food for supper,
exploring a new dirt road,
ice cream drumsticks and
movies...and so many sweet messages
on facebook and text that
it took me until today to read them all
(and i am totally not complaining...
i loved them all!)

all in all, it was a pretty perfect day...
♥ ♥ ♥