Improving Senior Sleep Patterns.
High quality sleep of adequate quantity is a central lynchpin of senior health. Many seniors have one or more of these sleep problems: trouble falling and staying asleep, waking up extremely early, not feeling rested when waking up, falling asleep during the day, wanting to go to bed very early in the evening, craving multiple naps during the day. Lack of sleep can cause falls and other accidents due to drowsiness, poor concentration, and inability to focus. Worse still, undiagnosed sleep disorders such as breathing trouble and sleep apnea have been connected to hypertension, pulmonary...
Read MoreSaudade*
Early spring. The place we called the cottage is still there. Familiar and strange as eye blinks in a desert. Rose of Sharons cut down, confederate with uprooted lilac and pear tree. The building’s paint is freshened – trendy provincial blue with lemon pie trim. No faded white siding or forest green sills for the latest occupants. Won’t do. Bright tile-red shingles christen the roof. Young hands and feet banned from climbing its slick surface. The maple is steadfast where two sandy roads carve out the property line. The catalpa tree will soon spread spade-shaped leaves....
Read MoreLori Iannidinardo NDP
As a three-term Area Director withthe Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), Lori believes consultation, openness and accountability lie at the heart of responsible government and a strong community. Raised in the Valley, she is a life-long community advocate, experienced volunteer and activist. Lori knows a sustainable environment and a sustainable economy go hand-in-hand. She led the development of Cowichan Bay’s award-winning Official Community Plan with its progressive and sustainable vision for the area. She has actively fought the proposed Saanich Inlet LNG project since day one,...
Read MoreLia Versaevel, Green Party.
Poverty, Panaceas & Platitudes Aplenty. There is no isolated solution to poverty issues. No matter who is doing the research, BC’s human population has one of the highest poverty rates in Canada and a lot of these humans are children. The other significant group in poverty statistics is single women, particularly elders. The BC Greens have been exploring the concept of basic livable wages or basic income, and a poverty reduction strategy. My own research reveals an extremely complex set of variables that make up the social reality of “poverty”. A poverty reduction plan has to...
Read MoreTraumatic Kitchen Renovation
Here’s a fast review of my worst winter in 50 years experience. Start with the longest winter ever, add the worst flu I’ve ever experienced, smother with the depressing ‘Trump’ effect, and toss in a full kitchen renovation and you get the idea? Gratefully the sun has just reappeared and spring is just around the corner and we are almost coming to the end of the kitchen renovation, an experience nobody could have forewarned me about! I met up with a kitchen designer employed by a cabinet store in November, and in no time he provided a plan and a shopping list. He was going to...
Read MoreMitzi Dean, NDP candidate.
Standing up for Esquimalt-Metchosin. I am humbled to accept with gratitude the nomination as the BC NDP candidate for Esquimalt-Metchosin. These are big shoes to fill, I know. Maurine Karagianis and Moe Sihota, Frank Mitchell, Ray Rice, Randall Garrison, and so many other New Democrats have stood up for this community for decades. And now I am deeply honoured for this opportunity to follow their exceptional example of public service, and build on their amazing work. Women running for elected office face particular challenges, and I am proud to follow the...
Read MoreThe Salish Sea Trust
With both provincial and federal government leaders emphasizing the need for economic and environmental solutions, and the need growing for long-lasting benefits and employment in BC’s southern coast, a Salish Sea World Heritage Site proposal is being seen as a major economic driver and world-wide attraction for south-western British Columbia. “Just last month, the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, raised the prospect of strengthening economic ties with B.C.,” said Laurie Gourlay, Interim Director of the Salish Sea Trust. “There is also an acknowledgement of the need...
Read MoreDo one thing monthly
from suggestions that follow, and you will most likely find yourself in a better financial position by the end of the year! 1) Manage your debt – pay off credit cards in full monthly to avoid higher interest charges. 2) Renew an upcoming mortgage maturity wisely, contact a mortgage broker before accepting the first rate offered by your institution. Your financial institution typically offers you a higher rate than available if you shop around. That makes the hassle-free option of signing the renewal document a costly convenience. 3) Review your insurance coverages – life, disability,...
Read MoreSonia Furstenau, Green Party
Cowichan Valley. Why I’m Running. I used to believe that government governed for people first. That government served us, the people, and not just vested interests. I believed that government looked out for all citizens – for our collective health, our well-being, our environment, our economy, our education and for our communities. The four-year fight to protect the water at Shawnigan Lake that I was so actively involved in – the one where our provincial government approved a 50-year, 5 million tonne permit to dump contaminated soil above a drinking water source for 12,000...
Read MoreIntroducing Tracie Keene.
A Canadian Designer for Women PatrYka is proud to offer a Canadian designed line of women’s wear out of Vancouver. The company is ORB, and they are committed to a trend influenced design that is both comfortable and practical. One of company drivers is Tracie Keene, a Vancouver born clothing designer who has dedicated herself to customer focused excellence. Tracie joined ORB after an already long and distinguished career as a designer. She got her start, after completing a degree program in design, by working with local clothing manufacturers – first Kensie Clothing, then Narcissist...
Read MoreThe Second Level.
Your External Guides and Energy Beings In the previous article, we looked at our fascination with the concept of Spirit Guides and discussed why it is that it may feel at times that there isn’t anyone listening – because your Guides know how wise you already are and want you to do as much of the work as you can before they step in. In this next article, we’ll look at the Second Level of Intuition where your intuitive guidance is coming from outside of yourself and how you can connect with your Guides to better hear their guidance. When you deny your human wisdom your guides and energy...
Read MoreThe Pink Hat
I know all those faces wild flashing eyes angry chanting voices centuries of walking the great global umbilical road of this long long march yesterday today tomorrow can anyone answer why we have to ask for our rights? why they are not a given? who it is that refuses us? and it’s not over yet we are still marching on those harsh ancient stony roads but we take each of you with us woven into each stitch of this pink hat knit one purl one knit one purl...
Read MoreThree Things Your Puppy Needs
Three things are essential for your puppy. The one most people think about are vaccinations. How old should a pup be when he gets his first set of vaccinations? What diseases should pups be vaccinated against? There are no concrete answers to these questions. Your veterinarian is the best source for information on vaccinations because she will know which infections are a concern in your area and she will follow an established protocol that she trusts. For information on how long they can last, check this out: https://www.dogtraining.academy/newsletter—vaccine-schedules “When can I...
Read MoreSame Desk, New Toys.
This is a second chapter on the foibles of my family room desk and writing corner with a little illustration to indicate only too clearly the dearth of good housekeeping which too often invades that particular space. (Editor – a link to the first chapter is at the end of this one). However, the new year has brought about a few changes; I was going to say improvements, but that’s not exactly the right word in every case. When last year’s computer of a certain age (known to me and a few in the loop as ‘Alvin VI’ ), seemed to be forgetting a lot of what I’d told him and...
Read MoreLia Versaevel, Green Party.
As an active community member, Lia has much to offer as Nanaimo-North-Cowichan’s Green Candidate. Lia declares, “Education, health care and protection of our most vulnerable citizens will be my priorities as your next MLA, through a sustainable economy, respecting diversity.” Her core values are: vibrant economic growth, First Nations reconciliation, ecological stewardship, and restoring our education system (pre-school through post-secondary). Furthermore, Lia seeks to improve care for seniors, the disabled, and children in care. After 27 years with the Attorney General’s Ministry...
Read MoreSeniors & Medicine Safety.
Two-thirds of all seniors take at least one medication each day, and 25 percent take three or more. Many seniors owe their lives—or at least their quality of life—to medications. Of course, medicine doesn’t work if patients don’t take it. Researchers have found that getting older adults to take their medicine is a difficult task—even in those with life-threatening conditions. A new study shows it is almost hopeless to get seniors to take the medicines their doctors prescribe, let alone to follow directions for long periods. “Simple things don’t work and nothing works very...
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