news – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

Marching On…

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in March 2022

I have been rather MIA on WordPress for the past few days. There was nothing specifically wrong. I just got caught up in real life.

1) Pet News… Kat and I paid a visit to the vet yesterday. She received a vaccine and a clean bill of health. Yay!

2) Politics… have been the subject of virtually every article I have read lately. 🙄 It is amazing how so many people feel that they have all of the answers to all of the issues locally, nationally, and globally. I understand that people have opinions and are free to express them… But it is obvious that the people who are most adamant about what is being done wrong, and how it must be done, have half the facts and have twisted them to suit their purpose.

3) Bizarre…The world watches the Russian/Ukraine situation – the destruction, the devastation, the danger of it spreading to global conflict. In North America, there are still those vehemently protesting health mandates that have for the most part been dropped. 🤦

4) Anger... I grew up in a peaceful home. There was never screaming or physical violence of any sort – not from my parents and not amongst the siblings. It just wasn’t done, so I definitely was not prepared for it in the real world. I used to be terrified of angry people. I felt that they were attacking me with their anger – often for something I did, something I should have anticipated would upset them. A couple of years ago, I realized that it isn’t about me. Angry people spew anger because that is what they are – angry. I still do not understand how or why some people can be so angry. I do not trust angry people. I think they are irrational, unstable, destructive, and unpredictable. There are a lot of angry people in the world these days. They are virtually impossible to avoid altogether without shutting oneself off completely. Since that is not terribly practical, I have been spending a lot of time focussing on building up my inner reserve of peace, happiness, and love. I doubt that I will ever figure out how to affect how angry people feel (or express themselves) but I am hopeful that I can get to a place where they do not change or affect how I feel. That would be nice. 🤗

5) Taxes.. I have completed and submitted our taxes. Yay!!! Due to a small glitch in the program I was using, I received an email from the government advising me that they had revised my math and that our refund was $500.00 higher than I expected it to be. More Yay!!!

***Not quite spring but at least it is MARCH***

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

Royalty Watching

March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in life

I am not a diehard monarchist, nor an anti-monarchist for that matter. I don’t scour magazines and the internet for news on the British Royals. I will read an article on them if it seems interesting, but I tend to judge the content with an open mind.

This week, there seems to be a number of articles popping up about Harry and Meghan returning to Britain to attend a few functions. The articles I have seen have focussed on the apparent fact that they are not bringing Archie with them. To believe what I have read, the royal family is crushed that they will not have the opportunity to spend time with the little tot. In rather a subtle way, journalists are using this as yet another opportunity to point out how selfish and disrespectful Harry and Meghan are.

Personally, I am pretty sure the royal family understands. It is not too surprising, in the midst of this coronavirus situation, that young parents would be leary about exposing an infant to days on end spent in crowded airports and confined to airplanes with travellers from around the world – for very limited opportunity to spend time with extended family.

If Harry and Meghan were taking Archie to Britain, the news would be full of nonsense about their reckless parenting ways. People would be up in arms about them taking unnecessary risks with their son’s health and well being.

I understand that people have an interest in the royal family. I certainly don’t mind reading about the events that they attend, the charity work they do, even the highlights of their family life. Personally, I do not feel that they need to be judged for every bloody thing they say, do or wear.

The Queen and her family, for the most part, seem to be fairly intelligent, rational, caring, considerate people. I trust them to make their own decisions on day to day matters without this constant chatter from the peanut gallery. In my opinion, it is time for people to back off already. 🤷

Top Stories of 2019

January 3, 2020January 3, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in life, Uncategorized

Tonight I watched the news with my husband. I generally avoid watching our news as it tends to focus on politicians, social issues that are never resolved and news that never happened. Our newscasters once interviewed a golfer who did not get hit by lightning during a storm. That was special. We also heard of Regina’s connection to the Concord that crashed years ago. Fyi – there was no connection. That was the story. 🙄

One of our news segments tonight was looking back at the top five news stories in Saskatchewan in 2019. I do not know who chose these stories but for what it is worth, here we go.

1. Fighting the federal carbon tax. For the record, our premier argues against anything the federal government proposes. Personally, if the carbon tax cost us anything this past year, it was not noticeable and we got a rebate of about $750.00 on our taxes last year to cover it. We spent it on a new patio set.

FYI we have a real patio – the grandkid’s pool is on it🙄

2. Federal Election. It was painful to watch but ultimately hardly newsworthy.

3. Saskatchewan farmers terrible season. I don’t remember a year when that one did not make the top five news stories for the year.

4. Regina Bypass Opens. Government spends billions to solve a problem that could have been solved with a couple of traffic lights – but it would not have been nearly as impressive. 🤷

5. Mac the Moose from Moose Jaw received a new rack to regain his title as tallest moose in the world after a moose sculpture from Norway took him down.

Personally, I would not have rated all, or probably any, of these stories as top newsmakers in 2019. Regardless, I do think these choices reveal something. In Saskatchewan we are blessed. We see news from around the globe – news of devastating floods, fires, famine and violence and it is unimaginable to us .

In Saskatchewan, we have social issues and there are personal tragedies that affect families and communities, but as a whole, we live in relative peace and security. That should be noted this year and every year – noted and appreciated.