Tag: Forest fire smoke

Daily Food Diary – Day 211 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 211 of my Daily Food Diary.   Today is also Dan and my 26th Wedding Anniversary. 

That was us – with Dan’s Dad and my Mom.  Dan’s Mom & My Dad passed away before we met but I have always felt that they had a part in our getting together.

We are having another nice quiet day today.  I went for a walk with Dan and Molly earlier.  Our air quality was No. 5 again due to ongoing forest fire smoke.  It didn’t seem that bad, so I thought I would be ok.  I was wrong.  A few blocks in my lungs were so congested That I couldn’t keep up with Molly.    I gave Dan her lead and turned back home.   We were at a spot on our route where we could see almost to our house, so Dan and Molly waited until I got to our corner and then proceeded to finish their regular walk.

This afternoon, I am going to make a reservation for our short visit to  Gravelbourg.  Tonight we are going out for supper again.   We are going laid back again. This time we are going to a Fish & Chip restaurant that Dan’s cousin has been recommending for months.  We go out to eat so seldom now since I discovered my yeast issues, that we have to make the most out of it when we do.  Tonight we are going to experience our new favourite fish joint! 😊

Obviously, another day without my daily run today.  Yesterday, I ran on the spot on my kitchen fatigue mat.  I will do the same today.  If I can find a way to actually make running a regular part of  my daily routine, I will look at investing in a fold-up treadmill for our spare bedroom.  I know that come winter, I won’t be running on the snow and ice anyway, so I might as well start looking at options!

Daily Food Diary:

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Honey Nut Cheerios (147)

(1/4) c 2% milk (28)

Snacks:

(4) oz lemon water

(8) Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips (200)

(2) tbsp Salsa (8)

Supper:

(5) oz pork chop (162)

(1/2) pkg chicken ramen noodles (120)

(1) c brussel sprouts (56)

(3) tsp butter (103)

(1) sm side salad w/lettuce, cucumber, green onions, sunflower seeds, dried fried onions, Vidalia Onion salad dressing (256)

(1) piece Caramel Toffee Cake (1050)

Total net calories: 2117

Net calorie goal: 2117 – 1229 = 896 over

*Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significantly  contribute to the production of collagen

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 210 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 210 Days (30 WEEKS) since I started posting my Daily Food Diary.  Thirty full weeks without a single miss. 🤗💞

It is 3 days since I started running daily.   Today our air quality is ‘moderate’ coming in at a number 5.  Dan and Molly walked alone.  Today being a Wednesday, I will do a  weight/cardio  workout after my aerobics.  Tomorrow, hopefully the smoke will clear and I will be able to get in Run #3.

This is summer in Saskatchewan.   Cold, wet, hot, humid, smokey, clear, dry, and windy! This morning it was +6 Celsius when I got up. (42.8 Fahrenheit). 😯

The one positive of having a cold smokey summer day, is that it helps control the mosquitos and other obnoxious little bugs that generally thrive around here.  Of course it also discourages the butterflies and bees as well.  Such is life!

On the upside, I spent yesterday dressing up our patio furniture with the new seat cushions Dan bought yesterday.   If the smoke clears, I am ready to drag out a space heater and blanket to enjoy a bit of fresh air.

In other news, my  Lose It!  app sent me a notice this morning.  For the past 29 days, I have averaged 221 calories over my net calorie daily goal.  🙄

And in more news, Google just noted that I should have written ‘lost it’  instead of ‘Lose It!’  (Google isn’t wrong. 😂)

To be honest… While I have been noting a LOT of extra calories this month, I haven’t taken any credit for extra calories burnt this month.  I do spend as much time as possible out in our yard – cleaning, weeding, watering (much of it with a heavy metal watering can).  And, Molly is into super shedding mode so I also spend a lot of time in the  house dealing with that situation.

It’s exhausting losing so much hair and spreading it throughout the house.

Daily Food Diary – Day 210

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Shreddies (200)

(1/4) c 2% milk (28)

(1) tsp sugar (16)

Lunch:

(1) PC Buttermilk chicken (240)

(1/3) c potato salad w/radish & green onion (113)

(2) Gyoza (90)

(1) egg roll (190)

(1) almond flour/chocolate chip cookie (50)

Snacks:

(1/3) c mixed nuts (216)

(4) oz lemon water

Supper:

(1) sourdough bun (259)

(5 1/2) oz lean ground beef  patty (334)

(1) slice havarti cheese (80)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(1) tbsp bacon bits (30)

(1/2) c fried mushrooms & onions (30)

(10) lightly salted potato chips (52)

Total net calories: 1730

Net calorie goal: 1222 – 1730 = 509 over 👎

*Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significantly  contribute to the production of collagen

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 202 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 202 of my Daily Food Diary.  202 Days without a single miss! 🙌

There is nothing earth shaking happening in my life today, but a few things of note…

First… Molly and I had another win yesterday!  Dan was golfing and we had a repairman come to check out our water heater.   When I saw him pull up in his van, I called Molly and put on her leash so I could ensure control while he was here.  She’s never been aggressive – but she is big and she can show attitude.

No attitude yesterday.. Molly sat beside me quiet and well mannered! 👍

Second… Yesterday, despite humidity of  100%  I had a Molly walk, did my morning aerobics, did weights and cardio and met my Net Calorie Goal.   Today we got up to a Smoke Risk of 11 (Very Bad) and humidity of 94%.  The smoke risk has dropped to a 7, which is still too high for my lungs to handle especially with the humidity.  No walk today. 😢

Third… It has been 18 days since I started taking collagen supplements.  My hands are definitely less crampy and painful than they have been for decades.  I don’t know what other benefits I may see in the months to come, but I do know that when it comes to supplements, vitamins, and medications – they don’t work unless I do.  So, I am doing the best I can to get the most I can out of these collagen supplements – weather permitting.

Daily Food Diary – Day 202

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) tortilla wrap (170)

(2) eggs (160)

    (1) tsp olive oil (40)

    (1/4) c shredded marble cheese (114)

    (2) oz. Piller’s shaved ham (57)

    (2) green onions (16)

    Snacks:

    (1) Pear (103)

    Supper:

    (6) oz water rotisserie chicken DK meat (300)

    (2/3) c potato salad (358)

    (15) BBQ potato chips (103)

    Total net calories: 1179

    Net calorie goal: 1229 – 1179 = 49 under 👍

    * Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significant contribute to the production of collagen

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

    Daily Food Diary – Day 151 of 365

    by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

    This is Day 151 of my Daily Food Diary. This is also June 1st! 😁💞

    In May,  I was tracking my  Total Net Calories – calories consumed minus calories burnt exercising each day.  I was also tracking my Saturated Fats consumption.

    In June, I will keep tracking my calories, but instead of tracking anything detrimental or beneficial, I am going to set a goal of eating 7 servings of fruit and/or vegetables each day.   The recommended number of servings, per Canada’s food guide ranges from 7 to 10, depending on age and sex.  For women over 51, seven is the magic number.

    We will see how that works out!  I love almost all vegetables, but I am no fan of fruit!

    Practice run yesterday morning.  😌

    According to the Weather Network, we can expect another wildfire smokey day today.  Fortunately, it was fairly clear at 6 am so Molly and I were able to spend an hour outside cleaning up, feeding squirrels, and watering the plants and seeds I planted this week.  Molly wasn’t much help but she had fun stealing my mini plastic watering can, tossing it up in the air, batting it around with her paws AND chewing on the spout whenever she caught it. 😜

    Daily Food Diary – Day 151

    Breakfast:

    (1) c coffee (2)

    (1) pear (103)

    (1) peach (51)

    (1/2) c pineapple (42)

    (4) strawberries (15)

    (1) granola bar (160) (2.5 grams)

    Snacks:

    (48) oz water

    (25) onion garlic potato chips (310) (1.5 grams)

    (1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6 grams)

    (1) tsp honey (21)

    Supper:

    (4) sl. Shaved ham (54) (.5 grams)

    (1) oz marble cheese (113)  (5.7 grams)

    (2) devilled eggs (4 PC) (252) (5.2 grams)

    (5) Triscuits (100) (.4 grams)

    (6) Vegetable thins (40) (.4 grams)

    (5) multigrain crackers (140) (.5 grams)

    (5) grape tomatoes (25)

    (1) mini cucumber (10)

    (1/2) c cauliflower (20)

    (1) tbsp Dilly Dip (80) (1.2 grams)

    Total Net Calories: 1445

    Net calorie goal: 1238 – 1445 = 207 over 👎

    Total saturated fats: 13.75 grams

    Saturated fats goal: 20.5 grams 👎

    Summary for past 6 Days:

    Net calories: 318 under goal total for 6 days

    Saturated fats avg per day: 20.5g  (goal 13.75 grams per day)

    Sodium avg per: 1846  mg (goal 1500 – 2300 mg/day)

    Processed sugar avg per day:  23 grams (goal < 25 grams per day but as little as possible!)

    Protein avg per day:   68.1 grams

    (goal 46 to 58.5 grams per day)

    *** By focussing on fruits and vegetables in June my saturated fats, processed sugar, and protein consumption SHOULD drop. 🥰

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

    Daily Food Diary – Day 150 of 365

    by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

    It is 150 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary. 🙌

    It is decades since I was first diagnosed with asthma and five years since being diagnosed with COPD and bronchiectasis.  A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with my most recent bout of bronchitis.  I was given and completed a round of antibiotics and Prednisone – which I completed as usual.

    Follow up x-rays showed that I still had a fair amount of infection in my lungs – particularly in my left lung.  My respiratory specialist assured my husband and I that it would continue to clear up.

    Then we had a round of visits from grandchildren – all from my daughter’s family. Her son Rory came to work up garden planters, her daughter Genie (Genevieve) likewise came to spend an afternoon helping me in the garden, and her daughter Prim came by for supper and a couple of hours of Cribbage.   All in all… I did way too much visiting – specifically talking – and I developed laryngitis.

    Yesterday, the smoke from northern forest fires rolled in.  It wasn’t noticeable when Dan and I walked Molly first thing in the morning.  By lunchtime, despite staying indoors and best efforts (and two air purifiers) I managed to inhale enough smoke for it  to be bothersome.  Not only is forest fire smoke particularly bad for compromised lungs, I am allergic to trees and any part thereof.  The smaller the part,  the worse it is. 

    The bottom line is, I am not dying – I don’t even feel that bad.  But, I am pretty sure this isn’t helping to clear up my lung infection and it certainly isn’t helping my laryngitis. 🤦

    Until this smoke clears, outside work and walking Molly is off the table.   I am doing housework, relaxing, and eating ice cream – for the second day in a row.  Ice cream is high in calories and saturated fats – but it feels good and is helping my laryngitis to ease off.  So… It is not poor diet, it is good medicine. 😌

    *** Thoughts and prayers for all those who are in the midst of these forest fires, those who are fleeing for their lives, those who are losing their homes, cottages, and livelihoods, those who are caught up in forest fire smoke MUCH worse than what we are experiencing.   I truly cannot imagine.   Also, thoughts and prayers for those who have been fighting these fires and those who are on their way to join them in their fight.  💞

    https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/home

    Daily Food Diary – Day 150

    Breakfast:

    (1) c coffee (2)

    Lunch:

    (2) oz pork tenderloin (83) (.8 gram)

    (1) sm. garden salad (100)

    (1) tbsp Kraft French Dressing (60) (1 gram)

    (2) tbsp dried fried onions (33) (1.1 grams)

    (10) No Name BBQ chips (54) (.3 grams)

    Snacks:

    (48) oz water

    (1) Smirnoff Berry Blast (90)

    (1/4) c hickory almonds (186)

    (1) c licorice tea with honey (21)

    Supper:

    (2) cabbage rolls  (166) (4 grams)

    (2/3)  c French vanilla ice cream (183) (5.8 grams)

    (2) tbsp caramel sauce (140) (.8 grams)

    (9) pecan halves (59)

    Total net calories: 1086

    Net calorie goal: 1239 – 1086 = 153 under 👍

    Total saturated fats: 20.9

    Saturated fats goal: 13.75 👎

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