Author: annemariedemyen

Wife, mother, grandmother dogmother - lover of nature, peace and tranquility. RETIRED. Life is good!

Remembrance and Respect

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

People are taking time today to pay their respects to those who have fought for our right to live our lives in peace and freedom. These brave men and women, who have given everything, up to and including their own lives, deserve nothing less and so much more.

My parents were newlyweds during the second world war. While the battlefields were across the ocean, the war was felt everywhere. For the most part, young men fought the battles on the fields, however, virtually all played a part in the war effort. The men and women who were not fighting were serving as medics, field mechanics, drivers and more. They worked to keep factories, stores, schools, hospitals, and more operating at home. They built and maintained training bases for the forces in Canada. Families and friends, at home and abroad, mourned new losses every week. Young wives were left young widows with families to raise alone. Everywhere, people struggled with shortages and rationing of food and other necessities. Even the children and the elderly, were victims of the widespread devastation and destruction, suffered losses, and made sacrifices that we cannot conceive of today.

Today we must remember the reality of war and all that have been affected by it. We must give gratitude and respect to those who have served in any capacity so that we can live the life we have in Canada. We must remember that there are still places in the world struggling for peace and there are those who are sacrificing their lives to fight for it.

These days, there are many in Canada who are promoting an attitude of intolerance, fear, anger and “us against them” . This is an insult to those who we remember and honor today. Today and everyday, Canadians must work together to maintain the peace that so many fought and died for. They deserve nothing less, and so much more.

Chronic Pain

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized
Rory and Grandpa

Chronic pain is part of life for many people. We have a genetic collagen disorder in our family that causes migraines, muscle cramps, IBS and severe joint pain, amongst other things. I, am relatively pain free most of the time. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my mother and cannot be said for my son Mark, my daughter Jennifer and for her children. This was something that was relatively accepted in our family until my grandson Rory became virtually incapacitated from pain as a young tot.

Rory and Sister Genie

When Rory was an infant he was very calm and quiet. Any amount of activity was followed by a nap. He did not complain or act as though he was in any particular discomfort. He was just a very sweet baby. As he got a bit older, it became very obvious that he had major issues. He had trouble speaking, walking, climbing stairs, his eyesight deteriorated, he had poor dexterity and he had very little stamina. During the day, it was obvious that he was always suffering from some degree of pain. At night, he would wake up screaming in pain. Jennifer started taking him to doctors looking for answers and relief for him.

Rory with his sisters and great grandma.

For several years, Jennifer took Rory to their family doctor, who in turn sent him to one specialist after another, who ordered one test or procedure after another. When tests came back negative for potentially fatal conditions, the doctors would advise Jennifer to give Rory pain medication and more pain medication and to be grateful that he was not dying. The fact that the quality of his life was no great hell did not register as an issue with them.

Eventually, it was determined that Rory suffered from some form of a genetic collagen disorder that he would eventually outgrow – not that my mother, who had lived to be 95, or my siblings who are in their 70’s, or my children who are in their 40’s had ever outgrown their chronic pain – but Rory would.

When Rory was about twelve, he was accepted as a patient by a physician who specialized in pain management. With his help, and a lot of work and encouragement from his entire family, Rory was able to work through his pain to the point where he was able to start building up muscle tone, which helped to make the pain manageable.

This spring, Rory graduated from elementary school. This fall, he started high school where he has been managing fairly well despite ongoing issues. He does extremely well academically. We are all happy for him and for how far he has come in managing his pain. However, it is still an issue and it remains to be seen how well he will function as life goes on.

Rory’s grade 8 graduation

The thing is, how long are medical practitioners going to obsess over the length of one’s life with no concern for the quality of that life? If medical practitioners and medical researchers do not feel that severe chronic pain is an issue worth addressing, who does?

Canadian Tire Deals

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Shopping is not my favourite pastime but every once in while I get an urge to buy something for myself. I am not usually looking for anything specific, just something. When I get into an impulse buy kind of mood, my goto store is often Canadian Tire.

Canadian Tire carries everything from tools to small appliances to toys and ‘tires’, plus much more. Despite their wide range of products, the reason I go there is because we buy all of our gas there so generally have enough ‘Canadian Tire’ money on our card to buy anything I want without spending real money. Despite their wide range of products and ‘free’ money to spend, I generally decide not to buy anything, which of course works for Dan because he always needs something from Canadian Tire.

Lately Dan has been out of luck as I have been on a roll.

I got a new kitchen tap this week at an absolutely killer deal. I have been wrestling with the old one for months. Now I need to find a new home for my plant as it is tangled up in my new tap.
I replaced my old bread maker, which I broke at least six months ago. I got this one at less than half the ticketed price.
And finally, I got a new air frier. I wore my old one out so bad, there were parts falling off of it. And, I got another great deal.

I don’t know if it is typical for stores to give deep discounts on older stock to clear their shelves for new models later in the fall but it might be worth checking your local stores. As long as you do not really need the ‘newest’ model you might be able to score some great deals!

National Nacho Day

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized
Homemade Nachos

Now this is a holiday I can sink my teeth into. Making nachos for Dan and I is a pretty simple process. We have pretty similar tastes as far as food goes. It gets a bit more complicated when there are grandkids over. We have to make single serving pans so Maddy doesn’t get olives, Rory doesn’t get hot peppers, Prim gets extra sour cream and Genie gets habanero cheese – and Dom just likes having his own pan. It’s a process😋

Winter is Here

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

4:30 today and things did not look good. I went out to brush the snow off the Jeep. Damn, the new long-handled snowbrush Dan bought me last week was still sitting at home. I grabbed an oversized work-glove off the toolbox and improvised. The windshield was pretty much out of reach so I started the Jeep and cranked up the defroster to finish what I had started. One of the company installers finished clearing off his vehicle and came to lend a hand. Yay Louie! So grateful for good co-workers.

With the Jeep cleared off and toasty warm, I headed out on the icy roads. Driving through the industrial park has challenges at the best of times. Dodging semis, trains, half-tons and heavy equipment, I made it to the main road safely and was on my way.

You would think that living in a city with icy roads six months of the year, people would know how to drive on them. You would be wrong. I passed several gatherings of police cars, tow-trucks and the like. Sometimes there is a garbage truck to help pick up the pieces. If the weather is super bad, the city parks sanding trucks at donut shops around the city to remind people that the roads are icy.

I made it home and stumbled through the snow in my sneakers. In the porch, I passed my winter boots, sitting beside my new snowbrush. As Dan finished supper, I make a cup of tea and relaxed – until I remembered it will still be cold, it will still be icy and I’m pretty sure it is going to dark when I head back to work tomorrow. 😟

Road Trip In Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

My husband and I do not travel very far or very often, but now and then we just decide to get away for a day or two.

I am not a fan of the trip itself, but we enjoy a specific little hospitality chain that has nice hotels in Saskatchewan and Alberta.   If you ever get the chance to check them out, D3H Homesuites are clean, economical, the staff are welcoming, the complementary breakfast is good, they have a pool and hot tub and a small workout room.

We always get the jacuzzi suite with a king bed bedroom, jacuzzi, fireplace, sitting area with nice desk area and bar fridge.

Sometimes all it takes is a day or two, without a care in the world to come home recharged, ready for anything – even a Saskatchewan winter.

My Winter Green Spaces

by annemariedemyen, posted in nature
Little Bit of Summer

We are seven months away from green grass, budding flowers, sprouting vegetables and leafing trees. Although our house is small, I have my areas of greenery to brighten our spirits through the long Saskatchewan winter.

Kitchen Window

Now that I am almost recovered from my outbreak of shingles, I will be returning to work tomorrow. I must make time one evening to work on my kitchen ivy. It is getting a little out of control and becoming a problem when I work at the sink.

Lucky Bamboo

I dusted my bamboo last night. Somehow there is always dusting to be done, even when we are six feet deep in snow. 🤷

Cactus Blossom
Blooming Ivy
Miracle Plant In Bloom

Occasionally, we wake up to random blossoms to brighten our day.

National Cook For Your Pets Day

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized
Kat

Today is a holiday that I can relate to. Today is National Cook For Your Pets Day. Our dog, Kat, gets homemade food everyday but for her it is always something to celebrate!

Kat gets dry kibble but we supplement it with a small dish of homemade ‘soft’ food in the morning. We started this when our previous dog, Casey, was getting up in age and was no longer able to manage enough dry food to keep her at a healthy weight. We wanted to provide her with the best nutrition possible so we studied the subject and started her on a special home cooked diet.  Of course, she had to share with Kat and once she was gone we kept up the practice. 

Casey

We follow the same basic recipe every time – meat, vegetables, and a little filler cooked together with saltless broth and one package of clear gelatin.    (The gelatin is good for her joints.) For meat we generally use a portion from a package we are using for our meal – hamburger, stewing meat, steak, chicken, turkey, or pork loin.  Occasionally we will buy her a small package of lamb or chicken livers.    Kat, like Casey did, loves vegetables and must sample each as we are chopping them.   Her favourites are carrots, asparagus and kohlrabi.  For filler we use a bit of rice, barley or orzo. Then we stew it together with the broth and gelatin, a spoonful of powdered eggshell, seasoned with homegrown herbs like parsley or lemon balm and a bit of pepper. We make a sizeable batch and freeze it in portions that will last her about for days.

Kat, ‘Taste Testing’

Halloween

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized
Dominic at my office

I can’t claim to be the biggest fan of holidays and to be honest Halloween is probably my second least favourite of all. I do however enjoy seeing kids get out and about, as family, just having a good time. Naturally, it is even more fun when it is my family, out with their kids.

Genie taking first place in ‘homemade costume’ grade 9

Being in Saskatchewan, there’s always a question of how co-operable the weather will. This year it will be about 0C and snow. Not great, especially for anyone pushing a baby carriage or wheelchair, but we have had worse.

Maddy & Prim

Here is wishing kids everywhere a safe, happy, warm Halloween. 🎃