annemariedemyen

November 13th – Home

November 13, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

A home is so much more than a building. A home should be where we feel secure, accepted and cherished. A home should be where we strive to make those we love feel secure, accepted, and cherished. Sadly, like so many important things in life right now, our homes do not get always get the respect and appreciation that they need and deserve. Just as a house will inevitably fall from years of neglect, so will homes become nothing more than jaded, faded memories, if we allow them to.

I hope that the ‘words of wisdom’ that I have to share today, will help to revive some home spirit – for the homes we are blessed with today and those that live in our memories.

“Home sweet home. This is the place to find happiness. If one doesn’t find it here, one doesn’t find it anywhere.”
– MK Soni

“Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need.”
– Sarah Bon Breathmach

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
– George A. Moore

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”
– Dr. William A. Ward

“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.”
– Confucius

“Home is shelter from storms – all sorts of storms.”
– William J. Bennett

” No matter what circumstances you leave it, home does not cease to be your home. No matter how well you lived there – well or poorly”
– Joseph Brodsky

Life takes you to unexpected places. Love brings you home.
– Melissa McClone

That is it for today. I hope these words of wisdom triggered some warm and fuzzy feelings of home and family for you.

Take care and have a great day!💞

November 12th – Inspired Life

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Life is so short and precious, that we should always strive to be inspired. Unfortunately, that is not the reality for most of us – or at least it is not my reality. I have days when I am tired or stuck or bored or impatient for something to come along to inspire me. At times such as those, rather than just waiting helplessly, I turn to words of wisdom to re-inspire me.

Today, being one such day, I searched, I found, and I decided to make this my wisdom share of the day.

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud”
– Maya Angelou

“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
– Albert Camus

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
– Leonardo da Vinci

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it”
– Edith Wharton

“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.”
– Eckhart Tolle

“Within all of us is a divine capacity to manifest and attract all that we need and desire.”
– Wayne Dyer

“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”
– Henry David Thoreau

That is it for today! Take care and have a wonderfully inspired day. 💞

November 11th – It’s Here!

November 11, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

The time has come. We awoke this morning to find our city covered in snow.

“***My favourite (winter) outdoor activity is going back inside.” – Anonymous***

***“Some people spend their entire lives seeing the snow without ever seeing the magic in the existence of one snowflake.” – Emily Littlejohn***

“One kind word can warm three winter months.” – Japanese Proverb

Take care and have a great day!

November 10th – Wise words About Learning

November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Learning is one of my greatest joys in life! Definitely the thing I loved most about working, especially in my last position in construction sales and project management/administration, was the opportunity and excitement of ongoing learning. I learned something new every day. Having the opportunity to share such knowledge with others, who were just as eager to learn, was part of the fun.

Anyway, today I have ‘words of wisdom’ about learning, from some terrific masters of the mind.

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”
– Zig Ziglar (Motivational speaker of the twentieth century)

(Probably the one thing I found most frustrating about parenting was trying to explain something of importance to one of my offspring only to have them blow it off with an “I KNOW”. I don’t know how many times I heard that but I do know – they did not know.)

“What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.”
– Alfred Mercier (University Lecturer)

(My sons have never forgotten my driving lessons – obviously they were pleasurable!)

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow”
– Anthony J D’Angelo (American Author)

( And you will never grow bored!)

What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.
– Aristotle (Greek Philosopher)

(Absolutely! Try, try, and try again!)

It is what we know already, that often prevents us from learning
– Claude Bernard (French Physilogist)

(I know. But is so hard to unlearn something one knows! 🙄)

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh the thinks you think up if only you try.
– Dr. Seuss (Author of Children’s Books)

All of our grandchildren are brilliant, but when it comes to original thinkers Madison has always been the master of thinking left, right, low, and high to find her own unique answers.

That is it for today. Take care. I hope you have a great day – and a great time learning something new and fascinating!

November 9th – Canada

November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

I have been Canadian for all sixty-six of my years. Canada is not everything that I was taught to believe. Canada is not what it once was. Regardless, I am beyond fortunate to be Canadian and to live in this safe and bountiful and beautiful country. Today, I chose to share some words of wisdom from and about Canada.

“When I am in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like.”
– Jane Fonda

“Canadian pride may not rest on our sleeves, but it resides deeply in our hearts.”
– Steve Miller

“We have it all. We have great diversity of people, we have a wonderful land, and we have great possibilities. So all those things combined, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
– Bob Rae

“On a positive note, I haven’t seen a mosquito for months.”
– Every Canadian from November to May 🇨🇦

“If you don’t think that your country should come before yourself, you can best serve your country by livin’ somewhere else.”
– Stompin Tom Connors (Canadian singer/song writer)

“You can’t buy happiness but you can live in Canada and that’s pretty much the same thing.”
– Anonymous

That is it for today.

Take care and have a great rest of your day!💞

November 8th – Patience

November 8, 2021November 8, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Patience and diligence, like faith, removes mountains.
– William Penn

There is no doubt great wisdom in those few words, if I had any mountains causing me grief. What I have are molehills, those little bumps in the road that one encounters on a regular basis in life.

These past few days, there have been more molehills than road. Doctor appointments, nausea inducing antibiotics, and an oven that decided it was done doing what ovens ought to do, yesterday – just as I had a pan of brownies that needed some oven time.

Fortunately, we just bought a toaster oven. But since one cannot put a pyrex pan in a toaster oven, I transferred the brownie mix to a pan that came with the oven. A pan which is obviously not built for brownies. I buttered the hell out of it and hoped for the best.

I don’t know if these are the BEST brownies I ever baked but they are pretty good. Getting them out of the pan was NOT – not good at all. I have no idea where the butter went but it was definitely gone. I’m not sure if it was the battle getting the pan to give up the brownies, or if it was the nauseating antibiotics I am on, but I had heart palpitations for the rest of the day yesterday. 🙄

But, today is a new day! I got up, tossed back another antibiotic and Dan and I set out to purchase a new stove. We went through three stores and ended up with a choice of one stove that is in stock and semi close to what we want. When did it get so difficult to buy a new stove? At the last store I seriously considered a stainless steel gas range BUT – we would have had to buy a new fridge to match it. We checked sixteen fridges and there was not one that was relatively normal and functional. Dan liked the one with a digital front panel that would show the contents of the fridge at the touch of a button. 👍

Actually, what struck me in that store, was that half of the floor models looked like they had fallen off the transport truck and been dragged through the parking lot. One stove had the oven handle ripped off, one fridge had a huge dent and scrape on the face of it, another fridge had a latch that was inoperable. I wasn’t comfortable buying anything there. I have no idea why their appliances were such a mess. It was not a discount store by any means.

So, we are back at home. I checked a few more stores online. I found one stove that was doable and it can be delivered as soon as – next March! Apparently, appliances have become the latest casualty of the pandemic. 🤦

That’s is it for today! We are still in the market for a stove with a working oven. We will no doubt find one to serve our purposes in the days to come. One more molehill down.

Take care & have a great day. 💞

November 7th – Nature

November 7, 2021November 7, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

It takes a wise person’s words, to match the wisdom of nature. I think that I come close with the ones I have chosen.

In nature everything is perfect and nothing is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.
– Alice Walker

We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
– Native American Proverb

“Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.
– Louie Schwatzberg

If you love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.
– Laura Ingalls Wilder

The best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
– Frank Lloyd Wright

The amen of nature is always a flower.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Take care and enjoy what remains of this beautiful day. 💞

November 6 – Off Course

November 6, 2021November 6, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Today, I was going to write a post filled with the wisdom that comes with aging and retirement. However, as so often happens in these laissez faire days of my retirement, I wandered off course on my internet search for suitable quotes.

So, without further ado, in the words of the inimitable Phyllis Diller:

You know you’re old when someone compliments you on your alligator shoes and you’re barefoot.
If you don’t have wrinkles, you haven’t laughed enough.
I never made ‘Who’s Who’ but I’m featured in ‘What’s That’.
You know you’re old if they’ve discontinued your blood type.
The doctor looked over my body. I said: Is there any hope? He said “Yes, reincarnation”.
The best contraceptive for old people is nudity.
You know you’re old when your walker has an airbag.
My mother-in-law had a pain beneath her left breast. Turned out to be a trick knee.
I have so many liver spots, I ought to come with a plate of onions.
I was so wrinkled I could screw my hat on.

And in memory of her youth – in the words of Phyllis Diller:

All I learned at my mother’s knee was that she had a bony knee.
My mother hated me. Once she took me to an orphanage and told me to mingle.

That’s it for today. I hope it brought a smile to your face. 😊 For those too young to remember, Phyllis Diller was a classic with her trademark ‘finger stuck in a light socket hairdo’. She was one of the great ones.

Take care & have a great day! 💞

November 5th – Family

November 5, 2021November 5, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

The words of wisdom for today are attributed to Clara Ortega. Unfortunately, I did not discover anything definitive on her, other than she obviously had a deep connection with and appreciation for her siblings, as this was not her only family quote.

“To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.
– Clara Ortega

I grew up at a time when there was respect for family, for parents, and for each other as siblings. I have one brother and four sisters, all older than me. My two eldest sisters and my brother were all grown and gone by the time I was eight, but we were family. They returned home frequently, their own families in tow. As we all aged out of the family home, we went our separate ways, but we kept in touch and reunited for weddings, funerals and the like.

My family was not perfect. None of us, as individuals were perfect. But we were family. Nothing could, or would, ever break that bond. We shared joys and grief, chicken pox and measles, family trips, and countless meals. We have had our fair share of disagreements, feuds and the like. But we forgave and we moved on. We were separated by distance or circumstances, but in our hearts we were always family. Even now, our parents and our family, lives on.

We share family jokes and family memories. Who could ever forget the feasts that Mother would prepare, the jigsaw puzzles that we assembled together, the countless Scrabble Games, or badminton matches, the Christmas that little Brigette plugged in the wagon lamp? (The cord was not yet attached to the lamp. 😬). Or, the day the wheel fell off Lorraine’s car, to be followed by the wayward boiled eggs falling off of Mother’s kitchen cupboard. (I can’t believe she found that more annoying than humourous. 🤭 ). We all remember midnight masses, family evening prayers, and weekday masses where us girls wore makeshift ‘hats’. In recent years, I found one of those ‘hats’ preserved in the family bible. 😂. We share a lifetime of memories unique to our family, because they were shared as family.

Thank you Clara Ortega, for reminding me of my family, all family – parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces and nephews. Thank you for reminding me of a past filled with stories of ancestors and family history.

Today, there are so many who place little to no value on family. There are too many who would rather go it alone, than accept the past, resolve differences, forgive and move on. There are too many families that have been torn apart by those who were welcomed into the family. It is hard to believe that there will ever be Peace on Earth, while so many families remain angry, indifferent, abandoned and estranged.

That is it for today. As always, all comments are welcome and appreciated.

Take care and have a great day! 💞