Tag: saskatchewan

Week 35 – I’m Back!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, October 2022

After a week or so of questionable health issues, I have finally shaken off whatever was bothering me. The timing could not be better as yesterday we had our first blast of Saskatchewan winter. It was wet. It was windy. Fortunately, it was not terribly cold, with the temperature hovering at about the freezing point.

It was a perfect day to get out and practice some serious snow removal and to watch Molly zig, zag, and zoom through her first snow of the year. Unlike our little Kat who was not a fan of the white stuff, Molly loves the snow. She loves to slide around on our icy patios. AND… She loves to race into the house soaking wet and grinning ear to ear from her adventure.

As for my thirty five week update – I am back to my full workout, my meditation, and my weights (starting with the nine sets – again!). I didn’t walk Molly yesterday and today may be the same. We did get lots of outdoor exercise yesterday and there is more snow to move today, as it snowed off and on during the night. I am not sure how icy the streets and sidewalks to the park are, so we will have to see before I decide on a walk. By tomorrow, it should be safe enough, as we are due to see some sun and warmer temperatures that should clean things up to a safe level.

Genie and I did take Molly for a walk a few days ago, and for a run in the park. Genie put together a short video of our outing. It is a first effort, but she did catch a few of Molly’s runs!

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

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Signs of Summer

by annemariedemyen, posted in June 2022

It has been a long time coming, but we are finally seeing  signs of Summer in Saskatchewan. 

These are a few of the photos I took yesterday while wandering around.   If I had a theme for our yard this year, I am not seeing it yet.   The bits and pieces of colour seem pretty random.

Wild Flowers surrounding the bird bath.
A Pansy
A Petunia blooming in the welcome basket.
Marigolds to keep mosquitos away.  We’ll see?
Petunias from Unique Garden Centre.
A Primrose for our granddaughter ‘Primrose’
More Pansies
A perennial we have had for years.  I have no idea what it is but I move it every few years and it blooms wherever it goes.
A Petunia overlooking the pond.  I am totally impressed with all of the petunias I started from seed this year.  😉

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

One Extreme to the Other

by annemariedemyen, posted in March 2022

I haven’t had much happening this week, so thought I would spare everyone the non-details.

We did get another foot or so of snow in the past few days. We are running out of place to put it – as is everyone else.

Front yard
Started shoveling out
Back yard – Kat’s path is a bit snowed under.
Seems like a good time to start seedlings.
Waiting to see some greenery…🙄

The snow is a lot deeper than it looks. It is the way the shots were taken. I got quite a few seeds started – mostly flowers but I did start a few peppers, tomatoes, and onions.

Anyway, that’s the excitement in my life for now. Take care and have a great day!💞

February 11th – For the Love of Trees

by annemariedemyen, posted in Updates - February 2022

Back in June of 2020, I shared a post dedicated to the trees around our neighbourhood. For my update today, I give you – more trees!

https://seclusion101withannemarie.com/2020/06/17/for-the-love-of-trees/

There is nothing more perfect than the beautiful imperfection of trees. 🌲

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

January 24th – Sunday Supper

by annemariedemyen, posted in Canadian Meal Options

The mercury took another major dip this morning.  It is a good day to stay inside and do laundry.  Unfortunately for Dan, we also need groceries so he is out into the cold and onto the icy roads to go shopping this morning.

With our weather as mild as it was yesterday, the snow on the patio packed down considerably before I got out to shovel a path for Kat.  Needless to say, it weighed a ton – and I have to throw it about six feet over a pile of snow to get it off the patio and onto the garden area. Kat got half her path cleaned, I got a sore shoulder, and it is what it is until until our weather moderates again.  🙂

Yesterday, being Sunday, seemed like a good day to make a real meal for supper.    I took out a generous  package of stewing beef to make gnocchi stew.  After defrosting the beef for a couple of hours, I realized we were out of gnocchi, so….. stuffed pork roast it was.

Spreading out the stuffing…
Rolled up and oven ready… (Have I mentioned I love our new stove?)
Making gravy – I only mention it because I really like my gravy mixer.  It came free on a bottle of wine, but it was worth the price of the wine.
Stuffed roast pork with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables – and another glass of the Pelee Island Merlot.

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day!

January 12th – Hotdog!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Canadian Meal Options

We are still enjoying the break in our weather with the mercury reaching temperatures on the positive side today. It is only here for a few days, but we will take anything we can get.

Since I made a relatively hearty breakfast yesterday morning, we opted for another quick, easy supper.    We enjoyed the last of the smoky beans from a couple of nights ago, served up with hotdogs and a handful of potato chips.  For desert, we finished off the last of the saucy butterscotch pudding that I made earlier this week.

I am not a fan of condiments but a little of my homemade garlic dill relish on a hotdog definitely kicks it up a notch.
With all that cooking time I saved last night, I was able to finish the puzzle I have been working on. 😉

Now all I have to do, is find myself a new winter project. It is bit early for bedding plants, but I could spend some time perusing seed catalogues! This warm spell has me seriously dreaming of spring. 🌱

My 2021 Seedlings

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞

December 23rd – Christmas Elves

by annemariedemyen, posted in A Time To Celebrate - December 2021

Today I am celebrating a visit from a couple of Christmas Elves (or angels).

Last night we received another dump of the white stuff , along with strong winds. Dan is working today and of course shoveling a ton of snow is not on my recommended post-op activities. Dan left for work this morning, anticipating shovelling when he got home, as our snowblower is presently not inclined to blow snow. For those who have never owned a snowblower, they are seldom inclined to blow snow. 🙄

Here we are snowed in. 😏

So, obviously I felt bad for Dan – until this lovely couple about our age showed up, shovels in hand. They offered to clean all of our walks and the city sidewalk for twenty dollars. I offered a bonus if they cleared a little path for Kat on the garden side patio.

Clean & clear! ❄️

They did an amazing job. They practically cleaned off the patio – I told them it was plenty good. I gave them each twenty dollars and was happy to do it. I have no idea where they put the snow. I went out to check after they left, just out of curiosity, and found that they had even shoveled off the cement in the back yard! Our entire back yard is practically cement. I can hear our neighbour out shovelling now. I sure hope our snow didn’t go over the fence, even if they aren’t our favourite neighbours. Naughty elves? 😏

Anyway, that is it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞

December 5th – Snowing❄️

by annemariedemyen, posted in A Time To Celebrate - December 2021, Uncategorized

‘The weather outside is frightful’ so what better way to celebrate the season than by sharing a few photos of our authenticcally Christmassy landscape.

Looking out our backdoor
Out to feed our furry and feathered friends
Different trees and bushes sporting their winter look
Ground cedar by our front steps
Snow covering the neighbourhood
Temps are celcius so yes it is as cold as it looks!

With a few more inches of snow to come and winds picking up, this will be an excellent day to curl up in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea or a glass of wine, a good book, and a warm dog. Celebrating the season the Canadian way. 🌨️☃️🌨️

That is it for today, folks. Take care and have a beautiful Sunday! 💞

November 22 – Faith

by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Faith is one of the most powerful gifts we can possess and yet one that we seem to struggle with our entire lives. Personally, I tend to access this power when things are either great in my life or when they are terrible. When things are great, it is relatively easy to have faith. When things are terrible, it takes more effort to have faith but having attained that mindset, the results can be nothing short of miraculous. I have seen the miraculous. Today, I share some ‘words of wisdom’ on faith. I hope they can inspire us all, regardless of our current circumstances.

“Your faith can move mountains and your doubts can create them.” – Unknown

“Faith, it’s all about believing. You don’t know how it will happen. But you know it will.” – Unknown

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“Let your faith be bigger than your fears.” – Hebrews 13.6

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.” – Margaret Shephard

True faith is not a leap into the dark; It’s a leap into the light.” – Eric Metaxas

“Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness.” – Unknown

“That’s the thing about faith. It works.” – Lauren Oliver

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

November 18th – Politics

by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

My challenge for November is to find ‘words of wisdom’ that I find particularly insightful on a variety of subjects. Some subjects are obviously more challenging than others. That being said, these are the words from the wise and the erudite that I have chosen to share on the subject of politics.

*** Erudite – “having or showing great knowledge or learning” (new word for the day)

“Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.”

– Nikita Khrusshchev

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.”

– Groucho Marx

“Instead of giving politicians the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.”

– Doug Larson

“One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

– Plato

“I don’t think we should go to the moon. I think maybe we should send some politicians up there.”

– Ron Paul

“We believe that to err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.”

– Hubert H. Humphrey

“Voting is like choosing your favourite mosquito out of a swarm.”

– Unknown (but it was probably a Canadian)

“The problem with political jokes is that they get elected.

– Henry Cate VII

That’s it for today folks! There is plenty to say about politics these days so there was no shortage of material to choose from – unfortunately a lot of it just isn’t fit to print in a family friendly blog. 🤷‍♀️

Family news update – Logan and Mom have scored a couple of more days in hospital due to a couple of minor complications, so Dom will be coming for some Grandma and Grandpa D. time tonight. Fortunately our new stove arrived yesterday so Dom and I will be making pizza for supper. 🍕

Take care and have a great day! 💞