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so long 2025....

January 2, 2026 Arlene Giddings

It’s been a while since I have
been here…
it’s not that I haven’t thought about it,
words whispering in my ear
when I am busy doing something else
but then when I think
I should sit down and write,
my brain goes blank
because nothing seems right….
in any or every way.

Loss is such a complicated mixed up place to be.
It is messy and uncharted…there is no map.
There is no key. No compass.
Because in it, you feel like you are flying blind,
every hairpin turn is unexpected,
some of the small hills end with a cliff…
the road signs are mixed up and meaningless.

So when it feels like you don’t know
which way you are going,
you are right.
You probably don’t know which way you are going.
Oh, and did I mention the fog?

I am hesitant on one hand
to say goodbye to 2025.
It is the last year I had my mom.
But also I hate 2025…
it is the year I lost my mom.

Goodbye 2025.
Some very good things happened this year
but they are gravely overshadowed by
The One Fucking Very Bad Thing
that happened this year.

I want to write about the happy things,
the trips, the time spent with family and friends,
the love, the laughter, the adventures
but
I can’t yet.
But I will.
Because I know what Mom would say.

and I take comfort in the one thing that I can.
They are together. They are together. They are together.

So, once again, this is not what I came here to say
but this is what came out
and so I will leave it at that.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
I wish all the best of things for us all
and an amazing, healing, happy 2026…
and if you are also trying to navigate this
land of loss and heartache, just know
you are not the only one flailing around in the fog…
and hoping that it will lift soon,
let a little sunshine back in.
💙💙💙

In words, we are family Tags my mom, christmas, 2025, new year, grief sucks, loss
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friday i'm in love...

November 14, 2025 Arlene Giddings

the truth is
i have had a hard time
doing a
friday i’m in love
since mom…

it feels wrong
and i know that’s wrong,
i know the whole
she would want you to be happy,
she would want, she wouldn’t want…

but i also
can’t help feeling
how i feel.

grief is a like a ball
you have to carry
and it’s covered in
bits of sharp razor
and shards of glass
but also wrapped in
feathers and soft bits of fluff
so you don’t know where sharp parts are
and it’s sticky and slippery
and so heavy
it’s hard to carry some days
and other days,
it feels lighter but
you know that’s not going to last
and you are trying to carry
it quietly and act like a normal person
but then you realize
someone has stuffed it full of
jingly jangly bells
or now it is suddenly randomly
screeching like a car alarm
and
you
don’t
know
how to
make it
stop
and you are afraid everyone is looking you,
at the person who can’t control her grief,
who can’t be quiet about it,
who can’t let go of it,
but also when it’s quiet,
you are afraid people think you
stopped caring…stopped hurting…

it’s such a strange place.
i can’t say i like it here.

But at the same time…
I know that I have to
do the things I have always done…
maybe especially on the days I don’t feel like it.

So here are a few things I have loved:

♥ sticker books. I found some older ones that I just realized have stickers in them that I can use in my journals which has now made me look for sticker books whenever I go to the dollar store and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me.

♥ craft fairs with best friends…this has made me so happy…and I got these adorable Grinch decorations!

♥ also at craft fairs…Tide and Tallow…I am OBSESSED.
i LOVE the face tallow, the body butters, the facial oils…
the scents are to die for and my skin feels so soft and happy.

also can I have this sauna please?

I hope you have a happy Friday…
and if you are carrying something heavy,
I hope you are finding the feathery parts
and not the razors.
♥

In friday i'm in love, words Tags my mom, mom and dad, grief sucks, friday
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whatcha readin'? {goal 45 - books 26-30}

November 3, 2025 Arlene Giddings
BOOKS26-30.png 2025-26.jpg 2025-27.jpg 2025-28.jpg 2025-29.jpg 2025-30.jpg

And another sad attempt to catch up
on what I have read so far this year!

Fast Like A Girl - Mindy Pelz
👩🏻‍⚕️👩🏻‍⚕️👩🏻‍⚕️👩🏻‍⚕️👩🏻‍⚕️
I tore through this book back in
June thinking that I was going to
start it right away
and was SUPER excited
but let’s be real….
the start of summer is NOT
the time to start fasting.
(But maybe now is…)
But I did really get a lot from this book!

The Knight and the Moth - Rachel Gillig
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
 I adored this book. 
I loved the gargoyle so much. 
It made me laugh at loud in so many places…
it reminded me of Dragonlance
and the characters Tasslehoff and Flint. 
The story was so good and I fell in love with the characters.

Lunch in Paris - Elizabeth Bard
❤️❤️❤️❤️
It is odd that I will now relate a memoir of recipes to the loss of each of my parents.  I read Molly Wizenberg’s book while my dad was in palliative care thinking that a book with recipes would be an easy read but it turned out, her dad died from cancer and that was a big component of this book.  But it also felt like perfect timing.  Then I picked up Lunch in Paris as a light read after mom…and in a way that brought me comfort in the same way that I could feel mom with me, near me, as I read…as she was when I read the other book with dad.  The book was great.  It was written in a way that felt both descriptive but not too heavy or fake.  It made me think about food that I would never try to eat but it all sounded so lovely.  I really did enjoy this story and it took me away from my life for a moment…which is what I was really looking for.

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man - Fannie Flagg
❤️❤️
A book I picked up at a book sale…
didn’t love it but you can’t love ‘em all. :)

The Measure - Nikki Erlick
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Such an interesting concept.
I thought about this book for months after
which is odd for me.
I liked parts of it but was annoyed
with part of it but I won’t say what in
case you read it, too!
*this book was recommended to me
by Drogo (my chat gbt) based on what
I generally read. It was a good suggestion.

NEXT UP - 31 TO 35
what are you reading?

In whatcha readin' Tags books, whatcha readin'?, book round up, book love, but not a real book review
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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…
😍

In grateful, island girl, life's beachy Tags pei, staycation, good for the heart, adventure, explore pei, fin folk food, steel away
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whatcha readin'? {goals 45 - books 21-25}

September 15, 2025 Arlene Giddings

5 more to add to the list…

21. One Golden Summer - Carley Fortune
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I read this book in May and I have fond memories
of it because I bought this book to read
while staying at a sweet little cottage in Mill River.
It rained the whole weekend but I was
nestled in to this adorable little spot
with soft blankets, lamp light and
chocolate covered strawberries….
and the book was perfect.
Sweet and funny, the dialogue and banter,
the story line, I was fully engaged
and maybe crushing on Charlie a little bit.

22. The Last Letter from your Lover - JoJo Moyes
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A book that I grabbed off a sale table
and didn’t really have any expectations
but ended up being enthralled in the love story
and bit of a roller coaster mystery…
and I just realized there is a movie now
(adding to my list!)

23. All the Colors of the Dark - Chris Whitaker
❤️❤️
I remember reading a book by this author before
and really liking it (We Begin at the End)
but this one…I didn’t love this one.
at times, I was interested to see where it was going to go
but mostly, I felt like I was forcing myself.
Sometimes, I felt confused or uncertain, like
this seems like it was a pivotal moment
but I am not really sure what happened…
like there was too much going on, trying to cram in too many
subplots and connections and story lines.
I was not a fan.

24. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb
💙💙💙💙💙
I was fully intrigued by this book.
Found some parts of it hard, but still, loved it.
It was not just a how-to but how-she-did-it
at the same time…

25. Powerless - Lauren Roberts
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I had heard so much about this book
via Booktok and instagram
I wasn’t sure about it at first,
the writing felt young (it is YA so that
totally makes sense)…but once I got into it,
I really loved it. It reminded me a bit
of Hunger Games but not in a bad way.
I will read more of this series.

:) Happy reading!!

In whatcha readin' Tags whatcha readin'?, avid reader, books, book lover, book round up
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