annemariedemyen

July 5th – Magical Meds

July 5, 2021July 5, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Magical Moments - July 2021

Medically speaking, my husband and I are relatively fortunate. Dan has a couple of prescriptions that he takes on a regular basis while I have a handful of inhalers that I use. Typically, this bit of magic keeps us on our feet and out of our local health facilities.

Occasionally, our health issues are more acute and at times have been life-threatening. At those times, antibiotics, blood thinners, antihistamines, and oral corticosteroids have been life savers. On very rare occasions, prescription strength pain killers have helped us through the likes of kidney stone attacks or dental surgery.

While our health issues are relatively mild and manageable, there are countless others dealing with health issues (physical and mental) that are far more serious. Without the magic of modern medication, many lives would be short lived and/or unbearable.

Finally, unlike medications that manage, treat, or cure disease, vaccines prevent people (and animals) from even contracting a disease – or at least a severe case of the disease. That is some serious MAGIC!

Whether our medications are preventative, life enhancing, or life saving – they are modern day magic that we are fortunate to have access to when we need them.

**A magical summer** **moment that I was able to experience and enjoy because of respiratory** **inhalers**. 🤗

That is it for my magical moment today. Whether you are searching in your medicine cabinet or elsewhere today, I hope you find your own magic!

Have a great day, stay safe, and see you tomorrow! 💞

July 4th – Everyday Magic

July 4, 2021July 4, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Magical Moments - July 2021, Uncategorized

One of the most magical moments in my life occurred when I was about five years old. The town I lived in built a water tower, installed the infrastructure, and for the first time ever, my parents got indoor plumbing. I don’t think I ever – EVER – saw my mother as happy and grateful as she was on that auspicious occasion. I have never forgotten that and to this day, sixty some years later, I never turn on a tap, flush a toilet , or pick up a garden hose without feeling the magic.

I vaguely remember not having indoor plumbing. I remember my grandmother having a hand pump by her kitchen sink. I do not remember us having one. I do remember having an electric kettle that we used to boil water for doing dishes. I also remember being alone in the house the night someone forgot to unplug it. The electric cord caught fire and it was spewing millions of sparks across the kitchen – between me and the door. 😳🥺😢

**A hand pump like my grandmother had.**

We did have an indoor washroom. I do not remember the sink or the bathtub or how they were filled or emptied. I remember the toilet. It was basically a BIG can with a toilet seat on top. Inside the can was a metal five gallon pail. I do NOT remember anyone emptying it and I have no idea where it was emptied because I do not remember us having an outhouse. If we did have an outhouse, I have no idea how that was emptied. I remember my grandparents had the same arrangement except that they they lived in a small two story house and their washroom was upstairs.

We would go to visit my grandparents for a full week every summer. I do not once remember their five gallon pail ever being emptied. Nowadays, if any of my grandchildren saw me tottering down a steep narrow stairway carrying a five gallon pail of poop, I am sure they would notice – and remember.

Living in a country like Canada, we are so used to taking conveniences like indoor plumbing for granted. It is unfortunate, because having simple access to an abundance of fresh, clean water is so much more than magical. It is a true blessing. 🤱

That is it for my magical moments today. I hope you have a great day and that you have plenty of your own magical moments to celebrate.

Speaking of celebrating, Happy Fourth of July to our family, friends, and neighbours in the USA. 🇺🇸

July 3rd – Warming Up 🌞

July 3, 2021July 3, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Magical Moments - July 2021

We are getting our share of the heatwave this week. It is a little warm to get motivated but I have a few July ‘Magical Moments’ to share today. I hope you enjoy.💞

**The magic of modern technology yesterday when I headed out to the store. Brian Adams and air conditioning. I even tried the seat butt cooler. Jury is still out on that. 😂**

My Coral Bells (Heuchera) are starting to bloom! The blossoms attract butterflies and produce seeds which I can use the to start new plants next year. Because the seeds from a plant can be any color, irrelevant to the parent plant, next year I will have a rainbow of Heuchera plants.

**And our cucumbers are finally starting to take off 🤗**

***Best magical moment for the day*** **– our granddaughter Gabby is celebrating her sweet sixteen birthday today. Sweet she is – especially when she is doting on her little brothers!** 🎂

I hope you enjoyed our July Magical Moments of the day and here is wishing you all a bit of your own magic today! 💞

July 2nd – Summer Has Arrived

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Magical Moments - July 2021

Yesterday was Canada Day, my husband was home, and I was being too laid back to spend much time looking for magical moments. Fortunately, a few of them came looking for me.

We have so many yellow flowers this year, I think Mom had a hand in planting them – ***especially the Brown Eyed Susans***.

About 50 of our lilies bloomed yesterday. I don’t know where they came from but they let us know they are here.

Close up, lilies provide so much elegance and dignity to a flowerbed.

A perfect pink blossom is always magical💞

This photo is from a few days ago but I love it. Our squirrel has discovered that he can avoid Kat by hiding behind the nut basket while he eats. ***Sneaky….***

Kat’s first swim of the year – pure magic 😂

Thank you for dropping by! I hope to see you soon.

Have a great day and if you are in this heatwave zone – keep safe!

July 1st – Magical Moments Begin

July 1, 2021July 1, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Magical Moments - July 2021

In June, I had a great time ‘Accentuating the Positives’ in my life (current and past). For July, I have decided to embark on a new mission! This month, I am going to celebrate those magical moments that make my difficult days better and my better days beautiful. I will be sharing these moments with you on this blog. I hope that when you stop by over the course of the month, that my magical moments will add a smile to your day.

This may not seem like an overly ambitious mission, but I do plan to go out of my way to find magical moments to share. There are any number of places in and around Regina that I plan to visit plus I am tentatively planning a road trip for Kat and I. (If Dan goes on his annual golf trip this month). We would be visiting, Gravelbourg – the town where my parents were born and where they returned for their retirement years. I want to check their gravesight and bring them some new flowers. I also know, there will be much magic to be found and shared in Gravelbourg as it is a uniquely French town for this province (for any province outside of Quebec). As a bonus, I would also stop in Moose Jaw to visit Mac the Moose and a few other magical sites.

Plus, there are a couple of dates that Dan and I celebrate at the end of July, so they will be magical blog worthy. The first is my sixty-sixth birthday! 🥳 The second is Dan and my twenty-second wedding anniversary. 🥂💞

I hope you will enjoy sharing in my July ‘Magical Moments’. If you missed out on June’s ‘Accentuate the Positive’ posts, you can click here and scroll through them at your leisure.

Keep safe and have a great day! If you are Canadian, Happy Canada Day! This year, many of the celebrations will be scaled back and subdued but I am trusting it can be a happy, healing, hopeful day for all of us. 💞

My little cactus did not disappoint this morning. **Magical moment #1**

DAY 30 – This Is IT!

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

It is Day 30 of my thirty day June ‘Accentuate the Positive’ challenge. I have been officially retired for a solid year and I have proven to myself that I can still pull together the focus, the capability, and the inspiration to succeed – on time and on budget! 🤣🤣

I have thought about this final post for pretty much the past month. I was pretty confident the entire post would ‘Accentuate’ my sense of accomplishment. However, “the best laid plans of mice and men” has declared that today I must share the spotlight. Last night I received a text from our granddaughter.

After seventeen years of filling our lives with hugs and kisses, giggles and ladybug liberties, our Genie has graduated – along with her partner in cuteness, Alec. Congratulations you two!

Genie & Alec’s pandemic graduation. (Notice how color coordinated they are?)

Genie was also officially diagnosed with h-eds this week. That may not sound like a positive but it so is. You cannot deal with, access the treatment and therapy you require, or get your physician to consider that you have, an all-encompassing condition, until you have a legit diagnosis on your medical records. I know this because Genie’s siblings are affected, her mother (my daughter Jenn) is affected, I have been affected, and my Mother was affected. Lack of a proper diagnosis has caused enough unnecessary pain and issues for our family. So yea, this is a positive!

Back to me… I have thoroughly enjoyed this challenge that I set for myself. It has helped me to appreciate the positive in my life. For those who have been following, or dropping in from time to time, I hope that your moments with me have been enjoyable and a little bit uplifting. I genuinely appreciated your comments, compliments and thumbs up (likes).

The reason I chose the “Accentuate the Positive” challenge for June was because there has been so much struggling and suffering around for so long. Covid, difficult economic times, political issues, crime and violence, anger and frustration, mental health issues, racial issues and the like, are all wearing people down. I felt that posting a little warm and fuzzy every day was just a nice and timely thing to do.

I know that my June blogs have not fixed all that ails our world. I did not expect them to. But, I am no quitter! 🤣 Tomorrow I am starting a new series of blogs. It will not be a challenge (because I know I’ve got this). It will simply be my mission for July. I hope you will drop by from time to time to check it out.

That is it! June challenge complete!

Have a great day! 💞

Day 29 – Canada

June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Today is the 29th Day of my June ‘Accent the Positive’ challenge and today I am celebrating my country ‘Canada‘.

Although Canada is not immune to the issues currently affecting most other countries in the world, there is much to celebrate if one is Canadian.

In my mind, we are the perfect blend of nature’s glory and modern convenience.

**We have publicly funded state of the art health centres. (University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton)**

**Manicured gardens backed by natural forest. (Canada ranks third in the world for total forest cover!)**

**Modern shopping centres offering variety and abundance at affordable prices**

**Four distinct seasons – winter is not Kat’s favourite!**

**We have more surface area covered with lakes than any other country. #1**

**We also have the longest coastline of any country in the world.** #1

**Virtually every type and size of sports arena that any athlete or fan could hope for!**

Canada truly has virtually anything one could hope for – from vibrant city life to laid back country living. We have coast to coast highways and your choice of international airports. We have a vibrant economy and extensive social programs. We have strong support for arts and sciences.

I feel very fortunate to be Canadian. I may hope to travel to other countries one day, but I will always want to come home to Canada! 🇨🇦

That is it for today! Twenty nine days down and only one more to go!

Have a great day and I hope to see you tomorrow! 💞

Day 28 – Sunday

June 28, 2021June 28, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

It is already Day 28 of my ‘Accentuate the Positive’ blog challenge. My positive for today is all about the Sunday! Every day is special but for myself and I am sure for many others, Sunday is extra special.

Sunday is typically a day of rest and relaxation, gratitude, and healing. My yesterday Sunday was fairly typical.

**Since Dan worked nights** **this weekend, he brought me a treat for breakfast with my coffee.**

**It was beautifully warm out so I relaxed in my outdoor rocking chair to do my morning meditating. I was a bit distracted by all of the little birds who were around** **me chirping and peeping but they kind of added to the ambiance.**

**I visited with my plants and** **garden critters.**

**I had** **time to do some work on my crocheted blanket. It seems to be a horizontal overachiever. I may have to dismantle it and reassemble it as something more manageable – like a crocheted tent.**

**I watered the vegetables and I broke my plastic watering can. I do have a super nice bronze metal one that I will switch to.** 😉

**The sand between the planters and around the pond was great when we had grandbabies playing in the yard. Now it is an ongoing sifting project – but the perfect relaxing past time** **on a warm summer evening.**

**Nothing like a good book on a warm Sunday afternoon. This one is about fishing, family, and life. It is available on Amazon** for the Kindle Reader and the author can (Allen E. Rizzi) can be found on WordPress.

**Sunday’s are perfect for** contemplating life in general – like why Dan’s weeping pussy willow tree (Tree of Enchantment) seems to be shrinking instead of growing. There is a ton of new growth on it – the branches pretty much fill and spread out of a 6′ x 6′ planter and the trunk is getting super thick – but it is vertically challenged!

That was my Sunday yesterday – and that is it for Day 28! Only two more days to go. I think I’ve got this one. I have not really found this too challenging, but enough so that I have thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

Have a great day and I hope to see you tomorrow! Have fun and take care – especially if you are in the path of this heatwave that is moving our way. 💞

Day 27 – In His Own Mind

June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Day 27 of my June ‘Accentuate the Positive’ Challenge. I couldn’t get through this month without devoting one day to Dan. He is my husband, my best friend, and a definite positive in my life!

I hope you enjoy these photos from Dan’s phone. I think nothing says so much about a person as the pictures they carry with them.

Bonzai trees at Devonshire University of Alberta gardens outside of Edmonton.

That day Genie got her ladybug tattoo to match Grandpa’s – the one he got for his ‘**ladybug**‘ Genie.

Dan’s late Aunt Helen and his Aunt Ethel. **Amazing, strong** women. Aunt Helen raised three deaf sons and two daughters. She was predeceased by her husband, two sons, one daughter, and a son-in-law. She lived on smart, capable, and independent until she was ninety-five. Aunt Ethel is one of those women I aspire to be. She is **always** peaceful, happy and so very kind. Two very special ladies!

Garden produce last summer. That Silent Sam was **pure** hot. The carrots were just very affectionate.

Garage spider ‘Fred’ (he lived there **forever**)

Five hundred year old Mystic Oak at Souris, MB.

The old and the new Souris Swinging Bridge. One of those times when **new** is definitely much better.

Hopefully he was going through a car wash but since he **always** hand washes our vehicles I am thinking he was driving to work through this. 😳🥺🙄

I hope you enjoyed Dan’s photos. It was pretty difficult to narrow his gallery down to these few but I think these ones do say a lot about him.

Twenty seven days down and only three more days to go! I (kind of) can’t believe I have made it this far.

Wishing all a delightful Sunday and I hope to see you tomorrow. 💞

Day 26 – Electronic Innovation

June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

This is Day 26 of my ‘Accentuate the Positive’ challenge. Today I am going to put the accent on the electronic tools and toys in our lives.

Back in the days when my boss traded in our adding machine for a calculator, when another boss added a fax machine to our office equipment, and even when my (then) two year old grandson swiped my new iPod Touch to watch You Tube cartoons under his blanket, I knew I was on a steep learning curve. I had no idea how steep the curve could get – or how much our lives would be altered by electronic innovations.

**Electronic tools** **that keep us feeling well – and confident that we are indeed so**!

**And some to take care of us from fingers to toes.**

**There is nothing manual on** **our Jeep. We didn’t even know we had a key for it until Jen showed me there was one hidden in the keyfob.**

**Electronics to keep us in touch and informed**.

**This is one of the older examples of electronic equipment in our kitchen but it has a special place in my heart. Everytime I use it, I am reminded of the morning that I taught my Dad how to** **make easy peasy** ***real*** **oatmeal.**

**What’s a home without television, satellite, and an electronic fire (which gets surprisingly warm).**

**Nothing escapes electronic innovation, not even our garden. From tools to turtle riding gnomes, they are there for us to use and enjoy**.

Today, electronics in business have advanced even further than those in our homes. What started off with a calculator for me, morphed into computers, scanners, accounting packages, electronic planrooms, and the rest – not to mention all of the electronic tools that have made there way into the production department.

Our lives in business and at home have been irrevocably changed by electronic innovations. Sometime the challenges they present can be a little daunting or frustrating, but all in all, the good outweighs the bad. When it comes to electronics, we have a lot to appreciate and enjoy. 😉

That is it for today! Twenty-six days down and only four more to go!

I hope you enjoy your electronically enhanced day today! See you tomorrow.