pets – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

Daily Food Diary – Day 46 of 365

February 16, 2025June 25, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025

It is Sunday morning and I am celebrating 46 days in, eating more mindfully by tracking and posting my Daily Food Diary.

Dan, Molly, and I are also celebrating Molly’s third birthday! We aren’t doing much but Molly is going for a ride out to the cemetery for a visit with Dan’s dad, Nick who would likewise be celebrating his birthday today.

I can’t believe how fast these past two years have gone since Dan has been home full time. The first year of Molly’s life, Dan was working thirteen hour shifts, twenty four seven. That year lasted forever! I felt a profound sense of relief and gratitude for every day that we survived and counted the days until Molly would be a year old and capable of reining in her attitude and exuberance. (Spoiler alert – I’m still waiting, but things have improved now that Dan is retired. Dogs choose their own pack leader and Molly chose Dan to set some boundaries.)

**Cooling off. Also…. Wet fur is great for collecting sand, dirt, leaves, branches – pretty much anything she could drag into the house.**

**Molly going through her lapdog phase.**

**Having her first bath – thankful for Pet Smart bathing centres!**

**She loved company – especially if it was the grandkids**

Over the past two years, Molly has dialed it back a bit.

**With the grandkids…(Primrose & Molly)**

**Running at the dogpark (until four feet of packed snow turned the fence into a suggestion) 🤦**

**And just being our big, beautiful, goofy, girl MOLLY!**

Food Diary – Day 46

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Shreddies with milk and sugar (247)

(21) Tater tots (300)

(24) oz water

(1) c tea (1)

(25) Ripple chips (270)

(4) oz dark skinless turkey meat (183)

(1 1/2) c macaroni & cheese (350)

(1 1/2) c steamed brussel sprouts with butter, salt & pepper. (120)

(1) Side salad (150)

(12) oz carbonated water

(2) mini chocolate cupcakes (200)

Total calories: 1822

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

Day 2 – Pawsitively Adorable

June 2, 2021June 6, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

I couldn’t get too deep into my June ‘Accent the Positive’ challenge without sharing some moments with our precious Cavalier Kat. Our lives would not be the same without her. 💞

When Dan and I decided (ok Dan agreed😂) to get another dog, I wanted something small and manageable. Dan wanted a ‘real dog – not a pocket-size accessory’. We decided on a Cavalier – sight unseen. When I picked her up, she was so tiny. She could fit in the palm of my hand. I was a little leary about Dan’s reaction to her size, but she snuck right into his heart – and she quickly grew into a fair size dog (15kg.)

Kat’s first ride home. *Early June 2013*

Kat & her big sister – the late and so great Casey. (Casey was an American Eskimo/Pomeranian. She was intelligent, empathetic, and protective of our grandbabies, our elderly parents, and anyone human or animal who was sick, injured, or fragile in any way).

Discovering the garden planters. I have no idea how she got up there. 🤷

Taking a dip with Genie, Dom, and I in one of our smaller *monster* pools.

Who let the dogs out? (*Song of the day*🎶). Visiting at our son Dan’s with Baccardi and Cornelius

Out walking – sort of. We have to stop to check out every tree, gopher hole, fence post and the like. 🙄

And, Kat’s favourite pastime – **nap time**. 😴

Thank you for dropping by! Have a great day💞

Two days down! Twenty-eight to go. See you tomorrow. 🌞

Taking Care of Kat

February 2, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in family

Like most people, we are responsible pet owners, so today we made that painful trip to our veterinarian.

To be clear, Kat is fine – for the most part. She had her annual check-up, received her rabies shot, got a deworming pill, renewed her city dog license and got a bottle of Aventi Omega 3 oil (which is amazing stuff for keeping her nose and paws soft and healthy).

Then the painful part of the visit kicked in with a $220.00 bill.

I do not really believe the bill was unreasonable, all things considered. Most everything Kat received is good for at least a year – the Aventi only five months – but well worth the price. And of course, as clients, we have to pay our share of office and administration costs.

The painful part kicked in with an estimate we received for getting Kat’s teeth cleaned (under anesthesia) – which was recommended. All the bells and whistles included, we are looking at twelve to fourteen hundred dollars.

Yikes! Sadly this is far from the first surgery we have sprung for over the years and chances are it will not be the last. But YIKES!

Pets are such an important part of life (at least in North America). They bring love, companionship, security and joy to our lives. It is unconscionable that anyone would have a pet and not provide proper healthcare but how do most people afford it?

Kat and our very special Casey (who was the most caring and empathetic dog 💗).

Learning to Retire

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in retirement

Before I retired, I was determined not to waste the best years of my life by sitting in front of a television, letting my life slip away… I have been retired for three months now.

During my first few weeks of my retirement, I cleaned and polished every nook and cranny of our house. Then I started to cook and bake, which of course messed up the house, so I had to clean and polish all the more. 🤷

I could see this becoming a losing battle, so I backed off on the cooking and started to focus on my dog. I was walking her, bathing her and grooming her. And there was dog hair and wet dog smell everywhere! Which meant more house cleaning and polishing. 🙄

Finally spring arrived and I was able to get out in the yard – with my dog! I tidied up the yard, planted plants, and painted flower beds. Kat was at my side, in the house, back out, back in. There was now pine needles, sand, leaves and muddy pawprints throughout the house. I cleaned up the house. Polish – not so much😒

With spring planting behind us, I am looking at doing a couple of small renovation projects and getting back into a few hobbies I once enjoyed. I have a sneaking suspicion that renovations and hobbies are going to circle right back to more housecleaning. 😟

Maybe I should just rethink my original retirement plan, curl up on the couch with my dog and check out some daytime television. 😉

Wishing everyone, retired or not, a great day🌞

Kat the Cavalier

October 10, 2019October 12, 2019 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

My husband and I share our home with our Cavalier. That’s a toy spaniel and like most spaniels, she has her quirks.

I’ve been told that dogs cannot watch television. No one has told, Kat. She will watch anything on television, although often it is half heartedly, until she sees a dog. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a dog. Any animal vaguely resembling a dog gets her attention.

Kat’s favourite television show is Mountain Men. There is one guy with a pack of hunting dogs. (I don’t know his name – I don’t really watch the show. I watch Kat watch the show) Anyway, my favourite part is when those dogs tree a mountain cat. Kat is there! She comes flying off the couch, crouches under the television and goes full on hunting dog. It’s like some kind of virtual reality for a spoiled little lap dog who is terrified of snowflakes in real life. Once the situation is under control, Kat swaggers back to her pillows on the couch and settles down until the pack needs her again.

Other than her television fetish, Kat is a fairly normal little dog. She loves to go for walks, as long as there is zero rain or snow. She will only do her business as we are crossing a road. Yes, our dog is a traffic stopper. My favourite part of that is stopping to pick up her poop while hoping I don’t get hit by a bus.

Kat loves to eat. As much as she loves meat, she prefers vegetables. She loves eating miniature tomatoes and beans off the plants in the summer. She used to eat jalapenos and Hungarian peppers until the summer we planted ghost peppers in the pepper patch.

Of course, like most dogs, Kat loves to share our bed. Actually she likes our pillows and isn’t terribly fond of sharing them with us.

For all her quirks, Kat is a pretty good little dog. She’s a good size for a small house or apartment. I don’t see us ever getting another pure bred pup, as they all seem to be a bit high maintenance and neurotic, but if you are looking to share your house with a small pure bred, Cavaliers are pretty entertaining and sweet.💖