Tag: snow

Daily Food Diary – Day 285 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 285 of my Daily Food Diary! 💖

Today is also our Canadian Thanksgiving. Today as always,  I am thankful that Dan & Molly & I have each other, our family & friends, our health, a roof over our heads, food for our table, a reliable vehicle, and a warm, comfortable bed.   

Yesterday, we had our first snow of the season.  (Which TBH I was not so grateful for).  🙄

After three very busy days, I took a break  to read, relax, and enjoy a quiet day with Dan and Molly.

I don’t have a lot more planned for today.  We got bundled up and took Molly for a walk earlier this morning.  The cold wasn’t too bad but the air was still thick and humid from all the rain and snow yesterday. I struggled a bit, but managed the full walk.

It will be a challenge to get back up to speed with all of my workouts this week.   I am fighting the urge to hibernate until spring returns. 🌷

Daily Food Diary – Day 285

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) potato patties (240)

(1) 2 egg Denver omelet (235)

Snacks:

(36) oz water

(15) raspberries (15)

Supper:

(12) oz carbonated water

(2) servings nachos (975)

(1) PC lemon meringue pie (303)

Total consumed calories: 1770

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1770 = 541 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 36 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness, Uncategorized

I’m thirty six days in with my daily food diary and it hasn’t been going too bad so far.  This month, I am counting calories to add to the challenge.  I am  glad February is a short month because I struggle with this exercise. 

Counting calories isn’t that big a deal if one is eating one pear or a bowl of cereal.  If one is dealing with a plate of homemade stew, chilli, or soup, things get complicated.   Then there is meat!  Two slices of thin sliced bacon is 180 calories – RAW bacon.  So what if you cook it in the oven, drain the fat, pat it with paper towel AND use most of it for later use, when it is microwaved and once more patted down with paper towel to remove extra oil.   Air fried chicken wings are 80 calories each.  What constitutes each chicken wing?  Dan and I get packages that are an equal number of drummets and the other piece with two skinny bones.  Dan eats the drummets and I eat the other pieces.  Is each piece 80 calories? Are all pieces considered equal.  No idea!  It gets so confusing!

Speaking of struggling with exercise, yesterday Dan and I took Molly back to Waterfall Park.  As I was getting her out of the Jeep, I caught a glimpse of a dog coming up behind us.  Trying to keep her from mowing me down and bouncing over to make a new friend, I did not even realize the other dog was her bestie Willie from the dogpark.

It turned out to be a great outing.  Molly and Willie walked together, veered off a few times to tumble in the fresh snow, sat to watch the squirrels playing in the trees AND Dan and Randy had the chance to catch up as they walked their dogs.  I wandered behind and managed to get one shot of our little crew.

Food Diary – Day 36

(1) coffee (2)

(1) c Cheerios with 2% milk (200)

(24) oz water

(1) sm taco salad with 5 Hint of Lime chips (264)

(1) c tea

(1/2) pkg ramen noodles with vegetables (342)

(2) No Name egg rolls with plum sauce (235)

(2) Riblets (60)

(5) Air fried chicken wings, refried with Frank’s Extra Red Hot and Frank’s Honey Garlic Sauce. (400)

(12)  oz carbonated water

(1) c tea (1)

Total calories:   1404

** Yes, two riblets (I’m not a fan but I like to make them for Dan) and it was 10 wing pieces (not the drummet).  And what is that piece of the wing called?  If they even have a name! 🙄

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

Sprinter in Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2023

This past weekend, I put on a sweatshirt and went out to sweep our back deck. I couldn’t believe that spring had finally sprung and our snow was gone. This morning winter sprang back. 🤦

The howling wind woke Molly up at five o’clock. She went to the living room window to check out the commotion and was beyond excited that winter had returned. Naturally, she had to go outside to check it out, so I was up at five to let her out, let her in, and towel dry her off, before returning to bed for a couple of hours. Lucky for me, Dan got up with her at six when she decided it was breakfast time.

You can’t see it in a still shot, but the neighbour’s Spruce trees are dancing like mad in this wind.
Hopefully the grass will be green when this snow melts – maybe? 🌞
I think she just goes in and out because she loves to be towel dried.

We are actually lucky that we are not getting the worst of it. Southeast of us, the highways are closed and conditions are much worse. And… The snow should be gone as fast as it came.

Take care out there and have a great day! 💞🌞❄️

April in Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2023

“Spring has sprung, the grass is riz.  I wonder where the flowers iz?”.   If our grass has done any rising, I haven’t seen it. 🙄

Woke this morning to  fresh falling snow.
Molly doesn’t mind our lingering winter season.
A good day to start the Calla Lily bulbs that I picked up from Dollarama. The packages say they can be started indoors.
Memories of April 2021
And more April 2021 memories.

Since the fresh snow is covering up the areas of treacherous ice and water, it looks like our daily walk is on pause for today. I should get going around here and get some laundry and housekeeping caught up. And… start a few seeds and bulbs, just because it is APRIL. 💐💐🪻

Take care and have a great day! 💞🌸

Changeable Seasons

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2022

Our snow is pretty much melted, the sun is shining, and our temperature is warm enough to pass for late fall or early spring.

While Dan and I have seen enough of the white stuff for this year, Molly obviously loves it. I didn’t manage a You Tube worthy video, but I did get a short clip of her romping around the dog park. Mostly, she just liked to run around in the snow, which was a good thing. I forgot to bring her ball and all of the sticks were buried. I tried tossing some snowballs for her. She would run after them but kept losing them when they hit the snow covered ground. 🤦

We are keeping busy getting ready for winter these days. Dan finished cleaning up the yard yesterday and went out to get a new set of tires for the Jeep. I have been digging out winter coats and boots, and today I kicked off our fall indoor cleaning, starting with the kitchen. It is so nice being retired and having the time and energy to give each room a thorough cleaning. (I never get tired of appreciating my retirement. 😊)

That is about our life right now. Getting ready for winter in the daytime and relaxing in front of the fireplace at night. Despite Molly’s thick coat, she does enjoy being front row centre when the fireplace comes on. Preferably, as close to Dan as she can get.

That’s about as close as she can get. 😂

That is it for today. I will be back tomorrow for my weekly workout update.

Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Week 35 – I’m Back!

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2022, Health and Fitness

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!💞☃️

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!💞

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!

December 23rd – Christmas Elves

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

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!💞

November 11th – It’s Here!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

The time has come. We awoke this morning to find our city covered in snow.

“My favourite (winter) outdoor activity is going back inside.” – Anonymous
“Some people spend their entire lives seeing the snow without ever seeing the magic in the existence of one snowflake.” – Emily Littlejohn

“One kind word can warm three winter months.” – Japanese Proverb

Take care and have a great day!