Thursday, July 02, 2009

happy canada day...



belated...but still well meant...
the weather was not great
but the rain held off til the end...
cold orange creamsicles
on a pink fluffy blanket
by the water...
giggles and anticipation and
running into people you haven't seen
in too long of a time...

it was a good canada day.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

rain, clouds, showers, wind...gah.


weather gripes aside,
i am in love with these pictures...
truly...
what an adorable little girl...
with piercing blue eyes...
this was just an impromptu walk along the boardwalk...
i can't wait to do more photos with her!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

snapshot saturday...





Friday, June 26, 2009

you might think this is a post about michael jackson.

but it's not...

it is about my boy...9...

who met me at my car door last night
to tell me that MJ was in a coma...

who told me once that
when he is scared at night
he just says
"micheal jackson"
in his head in a snappy, superstar kind of way
and that it helps...

who cried on my shoulder
and held my hand tight
when he heard that MJ
did in fact die....

he had none of his cds...didn't listen to
hardly any of his music...didn't know any
of the "media" drama that surrounded MJ
but had somehow turned MJ
into an odd sort of talisman for him...

he told me last night
that he would do this
{insert micheal jackson "hooohoooo" like scream here}
to remember him by...
and today
randomly broke out into a few
micheal jackson moves...
grabbing himself and trying to
moonwalk.

when i took him to the dentist this morning,
she asked him if he still wanted to be MJ
when he grew up? and did he hear about
what happened? apparently she was
at 9's school for cleanings a month ago
and 9 told her then all about his obsession...

i tried to share my story with him
of how i felt when mr hooper died
on sesame street...but i'm not sure it's the same.

i was older than 9 when that happened
and i didn't want to be mr hooper when i grew up...
instead i felt i had lost a piece of childhood
where i think 9 feels he has lost something else....
and he is fixated on the "only 50" part...
everyone says "he was only 50"...
and i know in 9's mind
he is thinking
grammy is past 50, so is nana and pepe...
and so on and so forth...

and again...
there is no protection...no bubble wrap
no box i can put them to keep them from harm...
there is only hugs..and understanding...
and listening...and letting him know
it's ok to cry.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

it has been a long time


since i have shown myself here...
i come here
but i make sure i am not in the pictures,
i make sure you can't see me...
my ratty camo pajama pants...
worn in/worn out favorite cable knit hoodie...
hair not done in days
much less dyed...

this "not working" is great for me...
for creativity and me time...
but not so hot for the ego...
i think i need to shake this up a bit...
get back into an exercise routine,
get dressed in the morning,
maybe even run the brush through my hair....

or maybe i'll just make another piece of toast....

Monday, June 22, 2009

school comes to an end...


the kids school year
ends this week...
13 is done today,
9 is done on thursday...

no more lunch crisis's
no more homework....
no early morning band
or waking 9 three times because
he is a night owl...

instead,
they will be home...
with me.
hmmmmm....
this is the first summer that
i have not been working...
what to do with all our free time?
especially when they are hitting the age
that hanging out with mom
is just. not. that. cool.
:O)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

today...


there are purple flowers
in a mason jar
on my kitchen table...

there is the sound of kid's voices
and the squeak of the trampoline
as they wrestle dragons,
perform acrobatics and exact
precise recon exercises involving
long whittled tree branch rifles
and gatorade grenades...

the smell of barbequed ribs drifts
in the open window
while motorcycles roar by
in the distance...

and i wait to hear your tires
on the gravel
to complete the picture,
to complete the day,
to complete me.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

the shining sun...

summer is happening here
finally...
sun shining, birds singing,
mosquitos the size of small airplanes...

meat defrosting for a tonight's bbq'd supper,
lawn mower ready for action,
a freind coming in town to meet up for lunch,
lilacs in the backyard.

things are good, very very good...
cold sliced watermelon in the fridge...
enough change in my pocket for an ice capp...
bring on summer...i am ready.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

you may kiss the bride...







the wedding photos are finished...
it was so much fun...
stressful and fast,
but cool to be on the outside
just watching for those moments
that i would want documented
if it was my wedding...

this wedding had so much emotion...
sadly, the bride's mother passed away recently
after a lengthy illness...
but she was still with them in mind and heart.
often members of the family were tearful,
as shown in the bottom picture above
as the bride read her speech...

and this, this photo tears at my heart...
the bride's father, helping the bride's little daughter
get ready to be flowergirl...
his wife's name tattooed on his hand...
breaks. my. heart.
with. sweetness.

and in the end, i have decided,
i like weddings...i like being
on the outside looking in,
i like being the quiet observer.

more pics available on my website
and here

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

shades of blue


not sure what is wrong with me today...
just feel
sad
and quiet
and
on the verge of tears...
for no apparent reason.

frustrated and tired and messy inside...
a tornado built up
of shades of blue
whirling and tearing and ripping at me...

and i don't know why.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

and the winner is....



and the winner of the prints?
spread your wings!!
email me, leslye,
with your address
and i will send the photos {and surprises} out to you!
{arlenegiddings AT hotmail DOT com...}

thanks to everyone that played...
that was fun...
i think i will do it again
very soon...
:O)

Thursday, June 04, 2009

happy thursday-giveaway time!


this week is flying by...

maybe because it's been all sunshine and
good news and planning for the wedding saturday
and getting a call to do another wedding in august...
so excited...

have been working on this "pretty little teacup" series
and am liking how they are turning out...
and yet, at the same time, my mind is churning
"what next, what next?"

does that happen to everyone?

in honor of thursdays and sunshine and good news
and karma and just starting to bloom lilacs,
i am having a giveaway...

visit a blog in my sidebar {there are lots to choose from}
and leave them a comment...then leave me a comment
telling me who you visited...
the winner will get a set of 3 photos from the
clementine series...and a couple of sweet surprises!!

contest closes sunday night, june 7, 12 pm my time...
winner to be announced monday june 8th...

{link back to the contest and get 2 extra entries!!}

happy thursday
:O)

Monday, June 01, 2009

new items in the shop...



i have been stuck on pink lately...and hearts
and love and faltering and missteps and wonder...
maybe because my 13 has her first boy
and i'm happy that she is happy but scared
for the first broken heart...
{and not to mention worried about other things
that come with the territory of teen-love}

so a painting and a card...
new in the shop...

fast cars...





the last couple of days have been a blur
of editing photos of fast cars
and motorcycles and snowmobiles...
and then resizing them all to fit on my website
{which in hindsight, i should have done
as i was taking them}

worried about photographing the wedding
this weekend, wishing i had an external flash...
wishing i had a wide angle lens...
wishing, wishing and wishing
along with the worrying.

sent out a proposal today to a company
that advertises local festivals and events...
have never proposed for anything before...
scared and nervous and wondering if i charged
too much or did i charge too little...

and yet...
loving it all.

Friday, May 29, 2009

friday i'm in love...{links!}

sometimes i am just smitten with what other people
can do, create, imagine, design, pull forth....
here are a few of the things that
have been blowing my mind recently:

~i stumbled across this blog and found this amazing
giveaway
in which everyone wins (!!) and it has
been extended until june 10...how great is that!
i totally love the dandelions and want the swirly tree
and would put polka dots on my new computer
and bubbles in my bathroom....sigh...gorgeous!!


~i have always been a faithful reader
of this talented uber-cool sweetie
and she recently brought this to my attention...
how exciting is this!!
i LOVE real mail...love, love, love...check it out...
there is still time to sign up!

~and wow...this just blew my mind...and unfortunately,
i didn't write down whose blog i saw this on yesterday...
but i will add it if my memory gets jogged...
but this artist blows.my.mind. this is awesome
and imaginative and whimsical and wow.
it makes me gush. seriously. amazing.

~and so cute...how could anyone not adore this?
so tiny, so sweet, that little dress...sigh.

have i totally linked you all out yet?
happy friday!!