Tag: spring

Happy Easter!

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. 💐

Easter Weekend

by annemariedemyen, posted in life

We kicked off Easter weekend yesterday with some gorgeous sunny weather. A beautiful day all around!

Tackled some spring cleaning by taking on our fridge. Did some sorting, did some tossing, made some wierd discoveries. For two people, we have a rediculous amount of cheese!
Our little plants were happy for some quality time out on the patio.
Easter dinner Round One.
Kat sleeping off our big walk.

Keep safe and I hope you enjoy this beautiful weekend. 💞

Happy Days Are Here Again!

by annemariedemyen, posted in retirement
Kat Walk

Spring is always my favourite time of year and this one is looking to be a grand one.  Most years, we are up to our hips in snow until at least mid April.  This year, our snow is practically gone and the streets and sidewalks are mostly dry.   Dan and I have been taking Kat for her daily walks this week.  She has been wearing her stylish blue boots for dealing with the unavoidable puddles. 

I heard from our sons this week.   Everything is going fairly well for both of them.  And…  Grandbaby #10 is on the way! 💞

Our seedlings continue to thrive and our indoor plants are starting to bud and bloom.

Have a beautiful spring weekend!

Starting to Bloom

by annemariedemyen, posted in nature

It seems like the flowers are taking their time this year.  I have lots of plants with buds but not a lot of blossoms happening yet.

Grandpa’s Bleeding Heart is doing okay for a first year.
My Mother’s Day geraniums are still fairly prolific
Kat and I found some flowering shrubs in the park on our extra long walk yesterday.
We have tomato plants starting to bloom
This plant has been trying to bloom for a few days now – almost there!
I should probably we pulling the blossoms off of my chives but they are so pretty.🌞
My petunias are being beaten senseless by the wind this year but I love the way Dan painted my little Dollar Store fairy. 💖
Dandelions are not in short supply – I have probably pulled out a thousand of them so far this year – but being a kid at heart, I still find them to be sunny and cheerful.

I hope everyone has a few flowers to brighten their day – today and every day.

Earth Day 2020

by annemariedemyen, posted in life

I had every intention of writing a blog yesterday to honor Earth Day 2020.  However, it was such a beautiful spring day that I spent the day cleaning out flower beds, sweeping patios, walking the dog and starting a few more bedding plants.      Today, I am going to plant some lettuce, radishes and onions. With luck we have seen the last of any major snow storms for this season.

This morning I am relaxing on our patio looking up at our spruce tree. When I moved in here twenty years ago, this tree was no more than a foot tall. Dan’s Mother had brought it over and helped him plant it before I knew him and just days before she passed away. This tree was her final gift to him so obviously it is very special to him, and to me as well.

Today our little tree stands about forty feet tall and a good thrifty feet across. Dan has to trim it back every second year now so we can get down our walk and out our gate. It is home to numerous birds and a stopping off point for the occasional squirrel.

In a few weeks, the trees on either side of us will have their new leaves, the grass will be green, our vegetables will be growing and our flowers will start blooming.

After a long Saskatchewan winter, every warm spring day should be celebrated as Earth Day!

Good, Bad or Ugly?

by annemariedemyen, posted in retirement
Spring has Sprung

I am having one of those super great days that runs along like a roller coaster

1. My meds are kicking in and My breathing is so much easier today! But, I am not loving the pharmaceutical companies that cannot create one single drug that does not cause headaches, vertigo, constipation, and/or diahrea! 🤦

2. Spring has sprung, the sun is shining, the air is warm, and the snow and ice are quickly melting! But, our vehicles are filthy. I get that Dan has been taking my little car to work and there is no avoiding the puddles, mud, and steel dust out at Evraz. No idea why the Jeep is so bad. It has not been going anywhere! 🤷

3. I went to the bank this morning. Banking is good! But why do so many (obviously retired) seniors want or need to go to the bank at ten o’clock on Saturday morning to pay all of their monthly bills – one at a time?!  (Like they did not know they had six of  them going in 🙄).  Seriously, once I am retired, I am never leaving my house on Saturday.  Wednesday morning sounds good. 😒

4. With all this springy weather, our streets are melting and drying off. I love dry streets! But why do dry streets bring out every lousy driver in the city? I put my signal on to move into the left lane. Some dough head took that as a challenge to boot it so he could cut me off – just so he had to slow down because he was turning left RIGHT THERE! 🤯

5) And finally…  Spring has sprung, I am feeling much better, I have places to go and things to – life is good. 😊. But, I have to return to work on Monday and with the way things have been there for the past two years, I would definitely rather not.  😢. 

153 DAYS TO RETIREMENT 😊😊😊

173 Days to Retirement

by annemariedemyen, posted in life, retirement
My Hibiscus

Only 173 more days to go! I wonder if I am going to make it. It is not that I do not enjoy my work. For the most part I love what I do workwise. I am just tired! Tired of going to work in the dark, tired of being cold, tired of looking at dirty snow, tired of winter in general and tired of ongoing issues at work that are really hard on morale.

Today I decided I had to pull myself out of this funk so I started a new bucket list. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Bucket lists are good. Looking forward is good. Challenges are good. I got as far as 1. Defrost my freezer. That was not good. 🤦

In lieu of a new bucket list, I decided to go through some pictures of spring flowers in our yard over the past few years. I cannot wait for the months to go by so I can start planting again! I love spring!