holidays – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

January 28th – Take the Cake!

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Canadian Meal Options

Yesterday was one of those days that just does not recover around food. Dan brought me a Robins raisin bran muffins for breakfast. A huge muffin! It kept me going until supper. For supper, Dan and I both had leftovers. He had the leftover seasoned ground beef from nacho night, mixed into a dish of Spanish rice. It looked and smelled amazing. I had the leftover roast pork, warmed in a pan with butter, sliced onions, and fresh mushrooms, with a generous side of buttered brussel sprouts. It was delicious but not as photogenic as it sounds

Our less than heroic kitchen efforts yesterday, left me lacking anything for my January Canadian food blog, so I did what I had to do to stay on point. I assembled some historic photos for today’s cheat day.

Welcome to great cakes through the years!

**Celebrating my 4th birthday with sisters Denise and Elaine and brother Pete. My mother made delicious birthday** – **often angel food made from scratch – and a lot of eggs**!

**Salted caramel cake from the Co-op bakery. OMG!**

***Another July birthday cake for me.***

**Those were cakes that Jen made for Maddy & Prim💞**

**The German Chocolate cake that Dan made for his and Amanda’s wedding. Best chocolate cake EVER!**

That is it for today – I could fill a month of posts with cakes that we have enjoyed over the years. Lots of birthday cakes, wedding cakes, Christmas cakes, chocolate cakes, white cakes – you name it, we take it! It isn’t a celebration until the cake comes out. 🎉

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! (And if you get the opportunity – have cake!)

Happy Easter!

April 4, 2021April 4, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in family

Easter has always been my favourite holiday. I grew up in the Catholic faith and I loved the Easter services filled with joyful, spiritual music in a church decorated with beautiful spring flowers. Outside of Easter Mass, the holiday marked the arrival of spring – warm sunny days, pretty summer dresses (with hats and purses and shoes to match), gathering for a feast of ham and turkey with all of the trimmings, brightly painted eggs decorating a basket of chocolate eggs and bunnies. Easter was always a happy family holiday – far from the stress and commercialization of any other holiday.

This year, Dan and I are alone for Easter. Churches of every denomination are closed here due to the pandemic. Likewise, family gatherings are prohibited. Easter dinner is an ongoing affair that started with baked ham on Friday, appetizers and turtle cheesecake last night and turkey supper tonight. (Our house smells so good!)

My pan was a bit big for the recipe but it tastes like chocolate turtles and cheesecake.

It is a little windy and cool today but when the sun comes out it is nice enough. I put my little plants out for some fresh air – in baskets that would protect them from the worst of the wind.

Other than that, we have been having a quiet day. We enjoyed seeing pictures and videos of Dan and Amanda’s boys gathering Easter eggs. Son Mark sent a pic of Dom dressed as the Easter dinosaur. 😂 I guess as long as he was an egg laying dinosaur. 🤔. Genie sent a photo of herself and her siblings. They are all growing up so fast!

Happy Easter and all the best to you and yours on this beautiful spring Sunday. 💐

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2020March 17, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in life

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a Few Years Ago

People are going to have to get creative when it comes to celebrating holidays this year. My effort for St. Patrick’s Day so far has been to send some stickers and temporary tattoos over to four year old grandson, Dominic. Apparently, they now have shiny green and gold stickers everywhere and the cats are hiding from the little tattoo artist.

On a side note, Happy Birthday Dad! You would be a young 111 years old today. As pure French as you were, you always made the leprechauns proud!

Christmas Tradition

December 28, 2019December 29, 2019 by annemariedemyen, posted in family

Finished my Christmas jigsaw puzzle. Actually I got a box of eight smaller puzzles this year but with Danny and family coming tomorrow I may not get them all done before January 2nd.

Growing up, we were not wealthy by any means but all the stops came out at Christmas. There were chocolates and candy, nuts and oranges. There were endless buns and pies, cookies and squares. There was turkey and ham, cabbage rolls and tourtiere, salads and a dozen side dishes. My mother was a phenomenal and prolific cook and baker! There were stockings filled with small treats and toys, always including a new coloring book and crayons. There were dolls, and teddy bears and trucks under the tree. Last but not least, there was always a new jigsaw puzzle. After Christmas dinner, the card table was set up, the puzzle came out, and we all took turns visiting around the puzzle, doing a bit here and a bit there, until the family puzzle was complete. It is a tradition I am sure we all maintained with our children and they carry it on today. 🎄