green thumbs?

May 30, 2015 Arlene Giddings

we had big plans for the yard when we bought this house about ten years ago.

and then life got in the way and thwarted all our plans.

we are resilient and persistent though.

we are giving it another try... today was like an episode from a reality game show...like...create a garden using ONLY WHAT YOU HAVE.

which consisted of:

9 concrete blocks that didn't match
an old wood stove that was rusting with one broken plane of glass
3 open bags of dirt with varying amounts left of peat, top soil and supersoil
some awesome free hostas a friend sweetly gave us
a spade, a shovel and a rake.

it looks like a heart, she said.  So he made it one. ❤ — it looks like a heart, she said. So he made it one. ❤

I love rust.  And metal. — I love rust. And metal.

I got a sunburn....and now I am exhausted....I am not used to physical labor!

i never get tired of fridays!! :)

May 29, 2015 Arlene Giddings

friday i'm in love!

today's friday i'm in love could also be called
friday-i-wants...
cause...i want.
and when you have no money,
you may as well dream big
and PRETEND you have money....
(it only hurts when the realization sits in...)
(but just for a minute)
(as long you go right back to pretending again heeheehee)

so...friday i'm love brings you friday i want::::

to eat this. for dessert. for breakfast. for supper.
to contain my life in this...i would love it and hug it and fill it will promises and minion stickers and glittery hearts and little robot sketches.
to live this, make it my mantra...write it on my hand, tattoo it on arm...remember it...live it.
to own a talent like this...i might have swooned a little....so beautiful!
to add this to my collection...along with this...and this....
to make pugsley into a pugosaur....what could be better than that. I challenge you to think of one this that would be better than a pugosaur.
to fill my house with the scent of these...
to own one of these which would inspire me to use my 3 boxes of 64 crayola crayons! and the artist lives here in PEI...we're twitter-friends! i can say that, right, Nadine? we're twitter-friends, right? and instagram-buddies! :)
to put at least one (or 5...or 10) of these in my driveway...soooooo cute it hurts my heart.
to be able to pick up my pen and write like this...sigh.
to go on a road trip....in one of these....i have not been a traveling kinda girl...but since our camping trip last summer, I find myself thinking about it more and more...like a longing for something I didn't know that I missed.
sheep. i want sheep. and goats. and maybe a chicken or two. and a whole pug family. and a house in the country where 15 can have dirt bikes and half pipes and I can have a tire swing with polka dots or a skateboard swing and a treehouse!! and S can have a garage and 19 can sing until her heart's content....the one stipulation we ALL agree on? there HAS to be high speed internet. sad but true.

happy weekend!!

there was a graduation...

May 27, 2015 Arlene Giddings

3 years ago in June,
my heart nearly stopped
and my life was changed
in many, many ways
but every day, i remember that it could
have been changed in a much worse way.

my husband was involved in a very bad motorcycle accident in 2012
and, although his leg will probably never be the same as it used to be,
it has come a long way and he is alive...
for that alone, i am incredibly grateful.

he was told he can never do construction work again
which was also life altering...
that's what he has done his whole life.

2 years ago, my husband went back to school
to be a computer programmer.
a huge change in directions...one of the oldest in the class,
still dealing with leg issues and physiotherapy and constant pain...
there was a kid in his class
who was in our daughter's grade one class,
who had played at our house as a kid...
which doesn't help you feel young.
plus it was a steep learning curve...like learning a new language,
and he started later than everyone else in the class...
it was definitely a challenge.

Sunday...he graduated.

i am incredibly happy for him and proud of him.... :) :) :)

it's the little things

May 27, 2015 Arlene Giddings

sometimes...it really is the little things you have to focus on because worrying about the big things that you have no control over will drive you insane.

so today I am stealing 5 minutes in my car to blog and listen to birdsong.

i am going to make sure I notice the little things...like hugs and happy hellos...like chocolate covered pretzels and a sunshine-y day...like supper eaten together and giggles and inside jokes.

today I am not going to worry about the big things.

snapshot saturday 2015: May RoundUp

May 23, 2015 Arlene Giddings

i haven't posted anything from my daily 365 for the month of may...
so here you go.
it's been a big month for me...
emma's trip, counting crows, starting to "ZenWalk", one last improv night,
the end of the barn.