Financial Elder Abuse
Isolated adults are vulnerable to elder financial abuse but conversation can help drive change. Elder financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse. It is defined as the unlawful or unauthorized use of an elderly person’s financial assets. It is also the act of pressuring an elder to authorize consent or use of their financial assets. How to Recognize Elder Financial Abuse Personal relationships are often leveraged to perpetrate investment fraud. To gain the trust of an older adult, a fraudster will often offer help or become a close friend. Learn more about the ‘trust...
Read MoreWhy Wool For Your Footwear?
In recent years wool has enjoyed a great surge in popularity. Not only is wool an environmentally friendly and renewable resource, the material is durable, naturally therapeutic and ideal for footwear. This is because wool acts as a natural insulator, keeping your feet warm in winter, and cool in summer. Wool fibres have a crimped shape, producing air pockets regulating temperature and absorbing more moisture than any other fibre — 30 to 40% — keeping skin dry, healthy, and odour free. Wool is naturally bacteria-, mould-, and fungus-resistant. Nearly all footwear is made...
Read MoreHow our lives changed in the blink of an eye..
because of Covid-19 “Be strong now because things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever.” Unknown When life knocks us down, we can stay down, or we can get up and be a force to be reckoned with. We will not be the same after this storm, we will be stronger. Life will always be tough. Everyone of us will face misfortune and calamitous events in our lives at one time or another. When adversity happens, we can choose to hide our heads in the sand. We can pretend that what is happening around us will not happen to us personally or we can be proactive and do...
Read MoreStuffed Portobello mushrooms,
stuffed tomatoes, twice baked potatoes, fresh berry shortcakes Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms 4 large portobello mushrooms, tops washed, stems removed and reserved, gills scraped clean Sprinkle of salt pepper for each mushroom cap ½ cup short grain rice such as Arborio 2 cup water ¼ tsp salt 4 strips bacon, cut into thin strips ½ small onion, finely diced 1 clove garlic, finely chopped Reserved mushroom stems, finely chopped 1 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped 1 cup finely shaved parmesan cheese Cook the rice in the salted water for until cooked to desired degree of doneness. Set...
Read MoreOn Their Own Terms:
True Stories of Trailblazing Women of Vancouver Island I am delighted to introduce and welcome Haley Healey to Island Woman Magazine. Island Woman was started and designed for just such women as Haley; to promote and feature Island women writers. What makes Haley’s first book so special is that it features the achievements of other Island women. Thank you Haley for this wonderfully written book and we wish you every success for this and for the other books that I am sure will follow. Best regards, Trish Summerhayes Owner/Publisher Island Woman...
Read MoreMortgage deferrals
Ten more timely tips I hope you and your family are enjoying good health and finding some measure of happiness in this strange spring. Certainly, many Canadians are feeling the financial pressures mount as we work together to conquer this pandemic. The good news is there are strategies that can help. The Mortgage Deferral Program has been the first line of defense for thousands of homeowners looking for immediate financial relief. A Mortgage Deferral is not payment “forgiveness” that allows you to simply miss payments. While you don’t pay anything at all during the...
Read MorePoor Darling.
Upon hearing my screams of terror coming from the bathroom as a small child, Mum would rush up the stairs knowing there was a gigantic human eating spider in the bath tub, it’s black shape more prominent against the white enamel. Picking it up, she would say, “Look at the poor thing, no one loves it with all those hairy legs.” We would walk downstairs and out the front door where she would carefully place it on the grass saying, “You can’t live here, poor darling.” My mother also believed in fairies and when it would rain, she would bring in the ceramic ones from the flower pots...
Read MoreProsciutto wrapped asparagus
with a sun dried tomato dressing, spaghetti Carbonara with roast tomatoes, strawberry tarts with a vanilla custard cream Prosciutto wrapped asparagus Serves 4 28 spears of fresh asparagus, trimmed 10 thin slices of prosciutt Carefully wrap approximately ⅓ strips of prosciutto around each spear of asparagus trying to wrap as tightly as possible and trying to get as much of the asparagus wrapped with the prosciutto as possible. Set aside. 6 pieces of oil packed sun dried tomato cut into thin strips 1 tsp sun dried oil 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar ½ tsp sugar ¼ tsp...
Read MoreScience Lesson
My son Will was the kind of kid that just had to investigate everything in his path.My other two, his older sister and brother, when I would tell them, “no”, they stopped what they were doing. With Will, that word was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. “No, you say? Well let’s just see about that!” With Will, it was necessary to invest in those nifty little plastic plugs that would prevent two-year old would-be electricians from sticking things like bobby pins or even fork tines into electrical outlets. We also invested in those door-knob-thingies that prevented him from...
Read MoreHerb and garlic chicken sauté,
gnocchi with a fresh tomato basil sauce, Chicken with a herb and garlic sauce 4 large chicken breasts Salt and pepper to taste Place the chicken breasts on a secure cutting board. Use a sharp knife and cutting at an angle, remove a slice of chicken from the breast. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken breast. Each slice should be approximately 2 oz each. Place the slices on a sheet of plastic wrap leaving approximately 3 inches between each breast. Use a mallet and very carefully pound out each breast so that the breasts are an even thickness of approximately ¼...
Read MoreBack Pain
Back pain has to be taken as a serious warning sign. The body is always giving warning signs long before a serious health problem will show up. Too many are taking for their back pain from time to time painkillers. When one has pain in the back then this can be caused by an impingement of the chi flow in the spine. This can be caused by constant wrong posture when standing, walking, or sitting. Another reason can be caused by specific strong emotions we have, like anger, fear, worry. These emotions have a connection to specific areas beside the spine. This is also the reason why many have...
Read MoreSWITCHED AT BIRTH
It never did seem quite right.I just do not resemble in any way anyone in my family.I feel at times my father is a little suspicious of my origins, however he has not suggested a DNA test yet. Easy for him to get a sample of mine, we share the same bathroom. I do not appear to be loved less than my brother and sister, although they do joke when looking through family photos and say things like ”Still can’t find a match for Lenny.” It is unnerving at times, although I really seldom think of it. I am taller,smarter, and better looking than my siblings. Not bragging, it is...
Read MoreThai chicken curry,
coconut rice, vegetables in a lemon grass broth, sautéed banana with lime over coconut ice cream Coconut Rice 2 cups jasmine rice 3 cups water 1 tsp salt ½ cup dried coconut 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger Rinse the rice twice in water and then drain. Put the rice in a heavy bottomed pan, add the water, salt ginger and coconut, cover and bring to the boil over high heat. As soon as the rice comes to the boil, lower the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. After 20 minutes, remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork and serve. Red curry chicken 1 tsp...
Read MoreLost Sisters.
Why had no one ever mentioned Mum’s twin? After she passed away last month, we daughters had the job of going through the house and finding things family members had requested, sorting clothing that likely would all end up at the Thrift Store, and finally shredding all those old house bills that she and Dad had kept for the last thirty years. Why? We could never answer that question but it was common to believe they might come in handy one day, or someone might call to verify the bill had been paid. Lots of people felt they were important papers and should be kept. It certainly kept us...
Read MoreLong Term care of Seniors
For those of us that have worked in and around the Long-term care system here on the Island have known since day one that contracting out the care and food services was wrong. The quality of medical, personal and nutritional care has suffered greatly. In fact there is very little effort or time spent on the individual personal needs of those in care or the families. The following report and overview of this chronic scenario is long overdue and I congratulate Isobel Mackenzie for having the courage to tackle it head on. Thank you. Trish Summerhayes. Owner/Publisher Island Woman Magazine....
Read MoreSlow cooked ribs
oven roast fries, wilted red cabbage and apples, profiteroles with chocolate and toffee sauces Serves 4 people generously 4 racks of pork back ribs cut into 2 rib sections 2 large onions, roughly chopped 1 cup tomato ketchup ½ cup Kikkoman sodium reduced soy sauce ¼ cup yellow mustard ½ cup rice vinegar ½ cup brown sugar Water as required Place the ribs in a large enough roaster so they are no more than 2 layers deep. Add the remaining ingredients and add enough water to completely cover the ribs. Cover the ribs pan with a lid and place in a preheated oven. Bake just...
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