Seniors Care Falling Behind.
The BC Seniors Advocate holds an important role in supporting our province’s seniors and through close communication with seniors and key stakeholders in BC senior care/supports, compiling information, making recommendations, and initiating action on key items. Just this month the Seniors Advocate for BC, Isobel Mackenzie, released her annual report which detailed the current state of senior care and seniors housing in BC, amongst other important issues facing seniors in BC as well. Out of interest, some of the key highlights from the report are summarized below….see if you can spot...
Read MoreMindfulness:
Mindfulness generally refers to the ‘practice and capacity of being fully engaged in this moment without any judgment of what is present, either in consciousness or in form’. There are also many mindful practices which stem from Buddhism, including compassion, generosity and reverence for life. Being mindful, or present, is a starting point to becoming more self- aware. Most people tend to carry on with their daily activities without much awareness of what is going on in their thoughts and emotions. Thoughts are very powerful and unchecked, can lead to anxiety and depression. ...
Read MoreTrying on a decision
In my last post, we talked about intuition, where it comes from and why it’s a useful tool to develop. If you missed the last edition, click on “All posts by Erin Lee” below. One of the most valuable ways we can use our intuition is in decision making, and I’d like to share one of my favourite exercises, “Trying on a Decision”. Trying on a Decision is kind of like shopping for jeans. Most of us don’t take a pair of jeans off of the rack, look at them and say, “yup, these will look good!”. No! We take several pairs of jeans into the change room and try them on. Have...
Read MoreArtisans of Gabriola
In the clearest, broadest sense, Arts Gabriola “A creative, engaged, and inclusive community sustaining Gabriola’s vibrant island culture, oversees the importance of arts in community and individual development—both social and economic”. When I was scanning the scape looking for gifts for buyers and sellers of real estate properties here on Gabriola, I discovered right before my very eyes, Allana Thorne, creator of The Thorne Crate Co. Established in 2012 as a start-up she focuses on quality Gabriola-made juicy items stuffed into nifty baskets, all wrapped up spiffy so you can see...
Read MoreFind “Hidden” Money
Investing regularly is important. If you’re going to achieve your retirement and other financial goals, you should consistently contribute to your registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) and non-registered investments. “Paying yourself first” through monthly contributions is an excellent strategy to build an investment portfolio. If you’re like most Canadians, however, you are not sure where to look to find the extra money needed to invest. There is a way – in fact, there are four good ways to perhaps uncover “hidden” money you already...
Read More“Dear Little Buttercup”
With a quote from Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore many a gardener could well agree: “I’m called Little Buttercup – dear little buttercup, though I never could tell why”. It’s that word ‘dear’, likely the very last adjective to come to mind as on hands and knees, we try to extract, eradicate, and remove forever the creeping scourge of Ranunculus repens. Although the buttercup has its tame and cultivated cousins, it’s the one that fills our spring fields and garden beds that earns the title of an aggressive major weed. A favourite walk down the back lane where I can...
Read MoreFresh from the Cowichan Valley!
The 8 ½ Acres Farm is located just North of the Highway 18, this family farm has it all. Mike Shelten and Talyn Martin grow various seasonal fruits and vegetables all year long. Among their usual products you may find garlic scapes, greens and beans, berries, herbs and many more! Although farming isn’t an easy job and working in this line of business means constantly facing new and unpredictable challenges, adapting to fluctuating weather conditions, and working long hours, these charming farmers enjoy the lifestyle farming offers. The fact that they are able to spend their days...
Read MoreObesity – Why it is so BAD
If your dog is 10 percent over his ideal body weight, he is overweight. If he’s more than 30 percent over his optimal weight, we call him obese. Unbelievably, obesity strikes more than 30 percent of dogs, and the incidence is rising. Obesity is partly due to ignorance – owners not making the right choices about diet and exercise for their canine friends. However, even owners that recognize their dogs are obese often do not think it is an issue. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Fat isn’t just a layer under the skin. It is in every crevice of the body. If you were to cut a fat...
Read MorePunishment Without trial
I was, and remain, outraged to learn of the additional, mental and physical hardships women prisoners are faced with on the Island because there are no holding facilities here for women. The women we are talking about here are awaiting trial, they have not been convicted of anything. They are being taken away from family, friends and any support they may have here to await trial. They are being unduly punished by the lack of facilities for women on the island caused as the result of economic cut backs by a heartless, mean spirited provincial government. This is wrong and should be rectified...
Read MoreMiso Marinated Ling Cod
I came across this fish dish working for Oceania Cruise Lines, We originally used Black Cod, it was the second course in a 5 course promotional luncheon put on for the Italian press in Venice that visited the ship while in port – Yes Cruise Lines promote their ships when ever possible. I really liked it because of its simplicity, the Miso marinade really complements the Fish’s natural flavour. In the original it was served wrapped in a banana leaf with Sticky sushi rice as a side Miso Marinated Ling Cod & Spiced Vegetable Couscous for 4 Ingredients 900gr Fresh Ling Cod filet...
Read MoreSuccessful Doctor Visits
When my mother had stomach cancer, I flew back to Toronto to give my siblings a reprieve and support my mom post-surgery. The procedure to remove her tumour was long and very painful. Post-discharge, my mom experienced severe stomach pains, difficulty sleeping and digestive problems. Heavily medicated (not me, her!) to reduce the pain, I drove her to a follow-up appointment with her physician. My mom thought it was a good idea to have me sit in on the appointment with her. Pen and paper in hand, I was ready to be my mom’s advocate! I nearly fell off the chair when my mom smiled and told...
Read MoreLawn to Food
It’s a very unsuspecting location to find Lynda Smith’s business. In the middle of a Comox neighborhood where homes sit on lots not much larger than a quarter acre, an active vegetable farm is in production year-round. Lynda, founder and operator of Lawn to Food, is immersed in a small business that not only brings fresh, organic and plentiful food to her family’s table, but allows her to educate and coach others to do the same all while sharing the fruits of her labour for others to enjoy. “We had always gown food but I was always the one doing it and the one preparing it and I...
Read MoreSigns our body is giving us
How can we overcome the fear many aspects of our life are causing in us? Unfortunately there are many things in our world that are affecting our health negatively. Only to a certain degree we can protect ourselves from ElectroMagneticFrequencies – Chemtrails – Genmanipulated (GMO) food – Herbicides, Pesticides and Toxins. During my studies I learned from the MD Mary Lynch the vibration of DNA is nearly the same as the vibration of LOVE. This means when we are experiencing LOVE our DNA is better able to repair itself. JOY, LOVE, and PEACE have nearly the same...
Read MorePregnancy and Reflexology
Woman have come for treatments looking to conceive, to support their bodies throughout pregnancy and finally to induce birth. After care treatments also remain an important element in bringing mom’s body back to equilibrium. Pregnant women have found reflexology helped with: Headaches Constipation High blood pressure Shortness of Breath Tiredness Heartburn Backache Sleeplessness Anxiety Oedema (fluid retention, often in feet) Morning sickness It’s amazing what this gentle form of massage and acupressure can do. I have worked with women applying reflexology...
Read MoreAn Accidental Pilgrimage
Rose Spit was on our list of adventures, and we were running out of time. A few days before, we were blessed to have been two, of a dozen hearty souls who shared a zodiac expedition through Gwaii Hanaas to the site of Sgang Gwaay. But that is a story for another day. My traveling companion, and sister, and I had been asking around Massett for a couple of days, hoping to find a ride out to the spit. There were a few possibilities, but nothing actually firmed up. We were told that Rose Spit was a 15 km return walk. We could see it in the distance. How hard could it be? We would be challenged,...
Read MoreVancouver Island, 1941
There were four crockery barrels on our back porch. I was four years old. We all had jobs. My job was to get things from the crocks. One held eggs preserved in water-glass; one was filled with oolichans (eels) in salt; one, my mother’s concoction of lye, oil and I don’t know what, which was the soap used for dishes, the floor, the laundry, the dog and our Saturday night baths in the tin wash tub; and one, goose grease, the salve of all bad things from cut fingers to leg-aches and whooping cough. When I see an episode of the TV show, “Survivor,” featuring people touching or...
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