annemariedemyen

February 16th – Chronic Illness

February 16, 2022February 16, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

Chronic illness is no stranger to me – I have suffered from respiratory issues for the better part of my life. It affects me every day and there are cases of bronchitis and pneumonia that are debilitating. Since early 2020, my respiratory issues have been acute and ongoing. I have gone from asthma to COPD to bronchiectasis as I discussed in this blog post from November of 2020.

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/11/26/chronic-illness/

As much as my lung issues are frustrating, there are definitely things that I can do to make them less detrimental to my overall wellbeing. Keeping physically active is important, as is managing my weight

Being physically active is pretty doable – especially since I retired and am no longer tied to a desk nine hours a day. It is just a matter of getting up and getting active. It’s not always what I want to do – but it is something I should and can do.

Managing my weight is a different story. I have two basic weights – underweight and overweight. I was my ideal weight for fifteen minutes in 1986. 😉

When I am underweight, I feel terrible and it is a battle to do anything. Taking out a bag of garbage, shoveling snow, or pushing a lawn mower are herculean tasks. When I am underweight, nothing I do, or eat, adds bulk to my scrawny frame.

More often than not, I am OVERWEIGHT. When one is 5′-1″, it takes very little extra weight to make a big difference. Thirty or forty extra pounds makes a huge difference and when I am carrying it around – it is not going anywhere. I walk, I exercise, I live for weeks on lettuce and lean meat and nothing! Well not nothing – the last time I went on a mission to lose weight I gave myself a hernia and gained five pounds. 🙄

Right now, and as has been the case for a number of years, I am overweight. Being a little stubborn and not one to back down from a challenge, I am once again on a mission to rid myself of the extra poundage.

As incentive, I started by purchasing a neoprene work out body suit. I have had it for a couple of days now. If nothing else, I should lose a few pounds getting it on and off. Any other activity I engage in should be a bonus. 👍

As an incentive to eating healthier (ie lettuce and lean meat), I have been washing down my supper with a glass of red wine. For entertainment, I have been using the silicone wine glass that came with this bottle of wine Dan bought. I can’t imagine who would have thought a silicone wine glass would be practical, but it is definitely amusing. (It bounces – much like I would if I fell over in my neoprene body suit).

So, that is my update on my journey with chronic illness. Having recovered from my hernia surgery, I am back on track to do what I can to manage my respiratory issues. 🙂

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞

February 15th – More Lessons (finally) Learned 🤦

February 15, 2022February 15, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

This month, I have been working to review and update some of my previous blog posts. I have added new thoughts and revised my thinking completely in some areas. Life changes – we change.

Last night, I came upon this post from October of 2020. Like many of my posts from that year, it focussed on my thoughts on peace

Peace is something I have been struggling with lately. Despite my best efforts, it has been hard to keep from dwelling on people and events that have been disturbing my peace of mind. It is my peace of mind, I should have more of a handle on it. Right?

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/10/15/more-lessons-finally-learned-%f0%9f%a4%a6/

Except, that is not the conclusion that I came to in 2020 – after struggling and giving it much thought. So for my update today, I need to look back and learn from the past.

The thing I realized back in 2020 is that peace isn’t something that we can just hoard for ourselves or share with those who are in our good graces. Peace has to be shared with everyone – especially those disruptive influences in our lives.

I don’t know if the peaceful thoughts and prayers that I devoted to those who were stressing me out back in 2020 changed them in any way. I do know they changed me. They made me more peaceful, tolerant, and compassionate. I know, I have to get back on track with this, because with all of the chaos in the world these days – contributing more chaos is not an option. 🙄

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞

February 14th – Parenting 101 version 2.0

February 14, 2022February 14, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

Like most parents, I thought I had a pretty decent concept of parenting while my kids were ‘kids’. The one area where I really struggled was my tendency to worry about them, much like my Mother worried about my siblings and I, and her Mother worried about her and her siblings. It is a Mother thing that is harder to overcome than most mother things, as I mentioned in a September 2020 blog post.

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/09/19/parenting-101/

My sons and my daughter are now in their fabulous forties and amazingly I have my maternal worrying somewhat under control.

It is funny how young parents worry about the terrible two’s and the terrifying teen’s. Those were too easy. Toddlers are adorable – regardless of where they are stuffing the marachino cherries and grilled cheese sandwiches. Teens are a hoot – a constant source of amusement and delightful drama.

I won’t deny it. The forties are ugly. (My mother definitely worried as I approached mine!)

I have one son who seems to be dealing fairly well – he keeps busy and has an amazing wife and family. His twenties were seriously trying, but he seems to be handling the forties.

The other son is well into his forties. He has made a lot of changes in his life in the past few years. It remains to be seen how they will go for him.

I manage to forgo the worrying for both of my sons these days, and just send them warm and fuzzy feelings on a regular basis.

I still tend to worry about my daughter (and her family). I know that is not good. Just as Jennifer is responsible for her family, for the decisions she has made and for the consequences of her decisions, I am responsible for my own mental health and well being. I am responsible for creating a happy, peaceful home for myself and my husband. I am responsible for living my best life. I raised all of my kids to the best of my abilities. There comes a time to let go and trust that they have whatever it takes to live their own best lives.

So, there you have it. As a mother, I still worry – but I am gradually getting better and I am getting better about holding myself accountable.

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞

Valentine’s Day 💞

February 14, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in life

Happy Valentine’s Day! Wishing Love & Joy to everyone today. Valentine’s Day is a holiday that is typically marketed towards couples. This year however, I am thinking of the singles in our society who have been particularly affected by the isolation that has been a part of this lingering pandemic. For anyone who is alone today and feeling a bit stranded, I am thinking of you and sending hearts and huggs and smiles your way.

Have a great day! If you cannot be with the ones you love, think of them often and do something special for yourself to brighten your day. Thinking of you. AnneMarie 🌞

February 13th – My Path is Peace

February 13, 2022February 13, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

When I retired, I started to walk – a lot. I started walking in an effort to improve my health, but I found other benefits. One of the best of these benefits was that I found it particularly calming. As I walked my favourite path in Patricia Park, I thought of it as my path to peace. After months and miles of walking, I was at a place where I felt that wherever I was, peace was my path.

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/08/08/my-path-is-peace/

Update 2022
I have found the path of peace quite easy and pleasant and have managed to generally stay my course.
I have drifted over to and even straddled the paths of love, happiness, hope and faith. That was nice.
I have occasionally zigged left, when I should have zagged right and have found myself on the paths of fear, resentment, anger, or the like. They were unpleasant, so I returned to my path of peace.
I have been drawn to a sparkly path, alit with party lights, and decorated with balloons and streamers. I soon realized that this festive path was a meandering pity party filled with blame games and that it would take me nowhere. I returned to the path of peace.
I have stumbled on the horrific paths of hate and righteousness. I did not last long on those paths. They were too exhausting!
I have learned that life is filled with paths, some hard, some easy, some better, some worse. You have to pick your paths carefully and you have stay alert – because as simple as it is to get sidetracked, getting back on track is seldom as easy as it seemed it would be.

**That one could lead to something sketchy 🥴**

**Confidentially walking the** ***straight and narrow*** 🙂

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!

February 12th – Note to Self…

February 12, 2022February 12, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

Back in July of 2020, there were difficult situations in my life. My fractured family, my failing health, issues with our house, concerns of a global pandemic, living in a province where I strongly disagree with the politics and the attitudes of much of the population … All things that really matter deeply to me. In response, I put together this blog post – filled with butterfly photos and reminding myself that regardless of how difficult life can be, there is always hope and peace and beauty to appreciate and to carry one through the difficulties, disappointments, and the disasters in our lives.

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/07/09/note-to-self/

Nearly two years later, it is time for an update!

My mother used to say. “Cheer up, things could be worse! So I cheered up and sure as hell, things got worse.“

That pretty much sums things up, with a couple of notable exceptions. Our weather is considerably worse this February than it was in July back then. AND… our country has gone to hell in a hand basket thanks to those who have decided that their rights are more important than anyone else’s right to live in a peaceful, functional, law abiding country … and the politicians who relate to and support their lawlessness … and the politicians who do not step up and deal with this nonsense.

One thing has not changed – my belief that hope and peace and beauty will carry me through. Sometimes we do not get to control situations that affect us. Sometimes we can only control how we react.

So…. Here is me reacting with hope and peace and beauty. 🌿🕊️🌹

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day. 💞

February 11th – For the Love of Trees

February 11, 2022February 11, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

Back in June of 2020, I shared a post dedicated to the trees around our neighbourhood. For my update today, I give you – more trees!

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/06/17/for-the-love-of-trees/

There is nothing more perfect than the beautiful imperfection of trees. 🌲

That’s all for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞

February 10th – I Was Right!

February 10, 2022February 10, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

I am very happy to be in a marriage with my husband Dan. He is a good man. He is a responsible, hard working, intelligent, hilariously funny, caring man. But he has his less attractive qualities. First and foremost, he is annoyingly right way too often when we disagree. This is particularly true of his gut feelings about people and his opinion of the latest gizmos and gadgets. That obviously means that, in these disagreements, I am typically the one who is WRONG. 🥴

Back in May of 2020, I finally had reason to celebrate an infrequent case of righteousness. Today it is time to update my post on ‘lightweight expanding garden hoses‘ and set the record straight.

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/05/31/i-was-right/

For some time, I had seen advertisements and displays calling me to invest in one of those handi-dandy lightweight hoses with the awesome functional nozzle. Finally, I had the chance to grab an economical model off a shelf in a discount store and manage to skid through the checkout with it before Dan could disuade me.

I brought it home and it was amazing! I loved my new hose. No more struggling with heavy, unyielding, rubber hoses. No more trying to operate lousy spray attachments. And my favourite… no more fighting and losing to our miserable automatic hose retractor. (Supposedly automatic 🤦).

For a good two weeks, I loved my new garden hose. I even dedicated a blog post to it – and happened to mention that I had indeed been right for once.

Then it happened. My wonderful hose sprung a little pinhole leak – and another – and another, until it resembled one of those sprinkler hoses.

This was at a time when my health was feeble at best. Dan, being the good man that he is, decided we should increase the odds for success and went out to buy me a much better quality, much pricier lightweight expanding garden hose. It lasted quite some time before Dan decided to use it to top up the pool one day. He was keeping an eye on it, when he noticed it was expanding in one concentrated area – much like a water balloon. He ran to shut off the water, but he did not run fast enough. The balloon burst. 🙄

**At this time, I should have taken a cue from Genie…**

Dan was able to shorten the hose, re-attach the spray nozzle and things went well for a few more weeks. Then the sprinkles started, became leaks, became larger leaks, until it lost all control of itself and caused a flood situation on the sidewalk and into our basement.

So.. that is that. Update on the lightweight expandable garden hose and my premature celebration… I was WRONG. 😧

Watering our front acre of lawn may not be particularly doable with a watering can, so obviously it is back to heavy, unco-operative rubber hoses. At least my health is considerably better now, so it will be more of an inconvenience than an all out crisis.

**And I can almost always open jars with my handi-dandy jar openers – without dumping the contents of the jar down my shirt. So, I was** ***RIGHT*** ***about*** **these gadgets.** 😊

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞

February 9th – For the Love of Elephants

February 9, 2022February 9, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

It is beautiful, warm, and sunny in Saskatchewan. 🌞 Despite the sunny skies, it is hard not to be dragged down by all of the disturbing news in our province, country, and around the globe lately – but not today! Today I am going to update a post on one of my favourite subjects and then Kat and I are heading out to clear off more of the patio.

Today I am updating a post on elephants!

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/04/26/for-the-love-of-elephants/

The herd has continued to grow slowly but surely over the past couple of years.

***Super elephant isn’t really a ‘new’ addition. He just moved home to his place in the herd, from the spot he had on a shelf over my desk at work.*** ***He retired with me. 🤗***

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!

February 8th – Spring Update

February 8, 2022February 8, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

My update today will no doubt be one of favourites to do as it the subject is such a joy to me. On March of 2020, I put together a collection of my favourite spring photos to celebrate the kickoff of my favourite season.

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/03/20/spring-2020/

This post was written on the last day that I was gainfully employed. Much has changed in the past two years, much has changed for the better, and one of the best changes has been the amount of time that I now have to enjoy and appreciate SPRING.

For my update to this post, I add photos of some of the special springtime moments that I have had the privilege of enjoying over the past couple of years.

***A new bath for our feathered friends 🐦***

***Walking the paths in Patricia Park 🚶***

All heartwarming memories of warm spring days. I am so fortunate that events conspired to move up my retirement plans. I love all of the opportunities that retirement has brought – but I particularly appreciate these days with yet another spring on the horizon. 🌞

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day!