The Bee Man
Winnie the Pooh and I have a lot in common, we both love honey. “I eat my peas with honey; I’ve done it all my life. It makes the peas taste funny, But it keeps them on the knife”. I have always loved honey. I love its texture,its smell and its taste. Each jar when its opened takes me on a journey to where the bees first started the journey of turning pollen into the nectar that we generically know as honey. One smell can take me to the fireweed covered sunny slopes on a mountain or the tangled brambles of a river estuary. The magic of...
Read MoreJust a Fling
If not for his eyelashes, the problem would never have arisen. But there they were, long, feathery, dark; framing eyes so brown, they looked black. He ordered coffee and paid the barista. Ruth watched him out of the corner of her eye while she pretended to eye the baked goods. When he walked away, she actually turned to watch, earning a dirty look from the woman behind her. She was tempted to say “Seriously? You aren’t watching him too?” The barista gave her a grin that said she understood completely. Coffee in hand, Ruth sidled over to the table beside his. They faced each other. He...
Read MoreVancouver Island University
Education is available to most of us. Online, or bricks and mortar, mentors, teachers, visuals, in person, webinars, to listen and absorb our curriculum. Most of us can access and achieve our heart’s desires in the upper echelons of learning. Here on Gabriola, the Nanaimo based Vancouver Island University is about an hour away. Easy transportation from my place to there and back, I usually go by car. However, a friend of mind is a Professor in the VIU Faculty of Management, using shank’s-pony to the Gabriola ferry, then hope on the Nanaimo bus system, disembarking at the hub of...
Read MoreGrace and Decorum
For those who haven’t guessed, I am a mature woman of a certain age that will remain confidential. Let’s just say that I now introduce my daughter as my little sister and my granddaughter as my daughter, much to their chagrin but my delight if I am believed. The three of us-daughter and granddaughter-had looked forward to our trip to Seattle to see Mama Mia at the 5th Ave. Playhouse. It was my granddaughter’s very generous treat. Fortune was with us when the long awaited day arrived. It was crisp and clear, beautiful. As foot passengers, we boarded the Bainbridge ferry...
Read MoreB.C. Seniors Advocate Reminds
It is tax time again and the B.C. Seniors Advocate is reinforcing the need for seniors in the province to file tax returns, even if they think they do not make enough income to file. “Seniors may not know that there are several subsidies and tax credits they may be eligible for that are dependent on completed tax returns,” said Isobel Mackenzie. “This is particularly important for low-income seniors who may be missing out on subsidies and tax credits that could help them financially,” Mackenzie added. “The good news is, most government programs that are income based are linked to...
Read MoreB-20 Stress Test
What is it and what does it mean to you? If you have applied for a mortgage or a preapproval since January 2018, you will have been affected by B-20. Prior to rule changes, Canadians could qualify to borrow approximately 22% more than now (other debts and creditworthiness aside). This impacts borrowing capacity of everyone, first time home buyers, those looking to refinance to take some equity out of their property; possibly to pay out higher interest debt or fund a large purchase. If you have an existing mortgage that will be maturing, these new rules will affect you also. Currently, most...
Read MoreAdelaide Hunter Hoodless Award
Ruth Fenner richly deserves the Award. The following article outlines the dedication that Ruth has shown to the principles upon which the Women’s Institute was founded and which are still the focus of our organisation. The Women’s Institute was formed to support and encourage women, individually and collectively, as the role that they played in their families and in their communities. Through education and shared experiences the W.I. has been a leader in promoting health, nutrition and safety in communities around the world for over one hundred years. This role is as vital and...
Read MoreUnstructured Time
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Divination means “…the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by the interpretation of omens, with the aid of supernatural powers & insight or intuitive perception.” The art of Divination has been practiced around the world for tens of thousands of years by all cultures. Some of the earliest human records at ancient archaeological sites point to the use of tools created to predict the future or to better understand the present. Pieces of bird bones or special rocks or shells have...
Read MoreThe Glass Blower
I do not know where my mother’s ashes are entombed. I could not lead you there. I like to think she isn’t there either, that she could not be trapped like that in unforgiving marble and polished glass and gold. That was not the way of my mother in life. I doubt somehow that death could hold her down. All through my own long years, I melted sand to make glass that sang like crystalline roses, on a journey custom-made for me, and I never questioned why. Now, as old age bends my bones, as fire and smoke take the sight from my eyes, sand rushes through my fingers, miniature boulders turning...
Read MoreAll-Female Taxi Service
This is a really appealing concept. The goal is to help women feel comfortable Driving around in her taxi, Tammy Hogg feels she’s in her safe place. Over the past two years, since she started driving a taxi for a company in Sooke, she’s encountered a range of people on a daily basis. Transporting customers to and from their destinations has brought the self-professed introvert outside of her comfort zone and has made her more outgoing. Being in the cab is like her safety bubble and she enjoys making others feel safe as well. Now, the Sooke resident, alongside Shelley Evans and Balbir Rai,...
Read MoreTo Touch, Or Not To Touch
Touching – Essential to the human condition. Today, I was listening to Senior Rabbi,Baroness Julia Neuberger on the radio. She spoke for a few minutes as part of the regular program that accompanies me through my days at home. I find her jolly sensible, down-to-earth and invariably a message in her words that ring true. Her subject today was touch…simply that, the touch of a hand. Its power to be used for the good, or in these days of mis-conduct and inappropriate-ness, if that’s a word, for worse. She spoke about how so many of us today, live with loneliness, and that’s...
Read MorePerennial Food Plants
Have you ever stopped to consider the benefit of adding perennial food plants to your garden? Unlike most food plants that are annuals, which rotate around the garden, perennial food plants require a permanent location where they will increase in size and production over time. They are best planted at the edges or the corners of the garden, to keep them from interfering with annual crop rotations. Here are some of my favourites. Globe artichokes Cynara scolymus are native to the Mediterranean, but given the right situation, they can be long-lived in temperate climates too. Plants grow to...
Read MoreTaste Preferences Change
Recently I facilitated a nutrition workshop at a senior community centre about managing chronic disease symptoms. It was a diverse group of seniors and adult children of seniors, and there was no shortage of interesting questions. One daughter and mother team stated that it was hard to cook in the household, because mother does not enjoy what I cook like she used to. This comment resonated with more participants in the workshop, and therefore I like to share this topic with you. Taste changes are common. In our infant years, the ability to recognize and enjoy flavors is developed. As we...
Read MoreLooking For The Hidden Signs.
When families get together during festive seasons after a long period of separation, it often becomes apparent an aging loved one may need help. January is often one of the busiest months for senior care organizations, largely due to an influx of phone calls after family members witness some troubling signs over the holidays. Last year, Home Instead Senior Care saw a 64 per cent jump in service inquiries from December to January. Driving Trouble: Have a look for dents or fender scrapes on your senior’s car. We all have an occasional driving incident but be aware one or several occasions...
Read More4 Ways to Stop Cravings
If you’re feeling like your cravings are controlling you, you’re not alone. Getting control over cravings is something that I’m asked for help with by almost all of my clients. While there’s all sorts of anecdotes and myths about cravings circulated by word-of-mouth and on the internet, the scientific literature doesn’t have a very thorough understanding of cravings – why we get them or what they mean. So, I’m going to share with you two ways to stop cravings from the literature and two ways that I’ve discovered in my many years of nutrition counselling. Stop Craving Tip #1:...
Read MoreMEDITATION
The following piece comes from a 20 minute writing exercise in our Thursday writing group. Sometimes I have to tear myself away from the hustle and bustle of my busy life to attend the group. Often my effort is rewarded by some self discovery that I may have missed had I not overcome my resistance to leave the hectic pace behind. This exercise was one of those times for which I am grateful to have made the effort to be present. Meditation does not come easily to me. This busy life tends to bring on the monkey brain that chatters away incessantly, either planning something or reviewing and...
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