VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND MARCH 2008
Vancouver’s 50+ Active Lifestyle Magazine
RETIRE IN ECUADOR?
Why Not!
Today’s Volunteers
CRAFTY LADY
The many mediums of Peggy Dechaux COVER_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 15
22/02/2008 11:11:05 AM
Smiles are in
your future
LFBCX-012C
It has been said that laughter is the best medicine. At Lifestyle Retirement Communities, we agree that it is an excellent foundation for health and well being, and within our bright, beautiful surroundings, it's natural for residents and staff alike to feel cheerful. At Lifestyle Retirement Communities we make sure there's always someone to share a laugh with you.
www.lrc.ca
Parkwood Manor
Whitecliff
Crofton Manor
Hollyburn House
1142 DUFFERIN ST., COQUITLAM
15501-16TH AVE., SOUTH SURREY
2803 WEST 41ST AVE., VAN.
2095 MARINE DR., W. VAN.
(604)941-7651
(604)538-7227
(604)263-0921
(604)922-7616
E T I S WEB
ARTICLES COMPUTER TIPS CURRENT MAGAZINES BOOKSTORE HOUSING GUIDE READERSHIP CLUB
Latest information about... • the upcoming 2008 Senior Celebration Festival • the development of Senior Living E-TV
COVER_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 16
Visit us online at www.seniorlivingmag.com
New Look New Information
And more coming in the months ahead. Coming in 2008 - more articles, more information, more interactivity, more fun... Special offers and information from senior-focused businesses
22/02/2008 11:11:06 AM
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 1
1
22/02/2008 11:14:19 AM
MARCH 2008 MAGAZINE
(Vancouver & Lower Mainland) is published by Stratis Publishing. Other publications by Stratis Publishing:
FEATURES
• Senior Living (Vancouver Island) • Senior Lifestyle: A Housing Guide for Vancouver Island
4 Community Spirit
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House receives the United Way’s Celebration of Community Award.
Publisher
Barbara Risto Editor
6 Make the Most of Your Photos
Bobbie Jo Sheriff editor@seniorlivingmag.com
Tips for taking better photos on your travels.
10 Crafty Lady
Advertising Manager
Barry Risto 250-479-4705 Toll Free 1-877-479-4705 sales@seniorlivingmag.com
Ladner’s Peggy Dechaux puts passion and creativity into everything she touches.
12 The Story Behind the Name
Contact Information – Head Office
Fraser River.
Senior Living Box 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1
14 Ecuador? Why Not!
Michael and Maureen Garvey sought a retirement haven. They found it in Ecuador.
Phone 250-479-4705 Toll-free 1-877-479-4705 Fax 250-479-4808
17 Cabbage Family Fights Cancer
E-mail office@seniorlivingmag.com Website www.seniorlivingmag.com
One more reason to eat your veggies.
Subscriptions: $32 (includes GST,
20 The Future of Volunteering
postage and handling) for 10 issues. Canadian residents only.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Senior Living is an indepdendent publication and its articles imply no endoresement of any products or services. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. Unsolicited articles are welcome and should be e-mailed to editor@seniorlivingmag.com Senior Living Vancouver & Lower Mainland is distributed free in Vancouver, North & West Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Delta, Twawwassen, White Rock, Surrey, Cloverdale and Ladner. ISSN 1911-6373 (Print) ISSN 1991-6381 (Online)
Cover Photo: Michael Garvey at his retirement haven in Ecuador. Story page 14. Photo: Maureen Garvey
RY/ FEB
RUA RY
200 7
n in Actio s
dnes Love ding kin
2
by Barbara Small
18 Between Friends by Doreen Barber
28 Ask Goldie
by Goldie Carlow
32 Reflections: Then & Now by Gipp Forster
22 Embracing the Journey
Valerie Green shares her personal story of caregiving for her aging parents.
24 The Coal Pits of Wales
Ruth Kozak explores her family’s heritage 90 metres below the earth’s surface.
29 Sniff the Rain
Splashing through puddles.
es a uple tak ters wa ond co Richm on the open chance 7 3:40:44 1/7/200
PM
dd 11
EB07.in
_JANF
OUVER
_VANC
3 The Family Caregiver
Today’s seniors are redefining the ways in which to volunteer their time.
Sprea the world around
COVER
COLUMNS
• VANCOUVER • BURNABY • NEW WESTMINSTER • WHITE ROCK • NORTH VANCOUVER • LADNER / TSAWWASSEN • PORT MOODY • COQUITLAM • PORT COQUITLAM • SURREY • RICHMOND • WEST VANCOUVER
BALL INnGbe fuAn! Gone Sailing! HerAciV sing ca Ex
27 BBB Scam Alert 30 Tasty Traditions 31 Crossword
Senior Living Vancouver is available at most Community Centres, Senior Activity Centres and Libraries in the following municipalities:
D NLAN ER MAI & LOW UVER VANCO
JAN UA
DEPARTMENTS
Call (250) 479-4705 for other locations.
MAGAZINE
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 2
22/02/2008 11:14:21 AM
THE FAMILY CAREGIVER
R
espite is the break caregivers get when they allow someone else to temporarily take over some of their caregiving duties. Used on a regular basis, respite helps prevent burnout and permits those who look after their family members to do so for as long as possible. Respite provides a chance for resting, recharging, running errands or taking a much-needed holiday. Formal types of respite include: • Your loved one attending an Adult Day program. • A Home Support Worker coming to your home overnight to look after your family member so you can catch up on sleep, or during the day for a few hours so you can spend some time on your own. • Scheduling a short-term admission or respite stay for your family member in a residential care facility or other facility that provides respite care. This type of respite can range from overnight to a week or more. Some family caregivers find these respite stays so essential that they book them on a regular basis. You can access these types of respite services by calling the care recipient’s Case Manager or the Home and Community Care department of your local health authority. Similar services are also available through private home support agencies. Although these are the more formal types of respite, there are many other creative ways to arrange a break. Respite is any activity or event, which allows you to feel more rested and experience some time away from caregiving duties. It could include: • A friend, neighbour or volunteer coming over for a couple of hours to visit with your loved one while you go out. • Spending some time in your garden or at the beach. • Going out for coffee with friends.
Respite Options BY BARBARA SMALL
• Reading a book or watching a movie. • Enjoying your favourite hobby. • Going for a walk. In order for respite to be refreshing, you need to be able to quiet your mind and let go of worrying about the other person. If you spend the whole time worrying about whether they are okay, you will not find the respite rejuvenating. Learn to ask for help and share the care. Others may not provide care exactly as you would, but your family member will be looked after and their daily life will be enriched by positive interactions with other people, beyond their primary caregiver. You will come back stronger and more resourceful, and both you and your family member will benefit. Respite does not always mean separation from the person for whom you are providing care. It can mean sharing quality (non-caregiving-focused) time together, perhaps going to the theatre or relaxing at a spa together. These activities help to reduce your sense of isolation and re-establish a balanced relationship between you and your family member or friend. As a caregiver, time spent looking after yourself is precious and hard to come by, but it is worthwhile. Your health may depend on it! SL
Next month: Coping with unexpected changes
Barbara Small is Program Development Coordinator for Family Caregivers’ Network Society.
Made in North America MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 3
3
22/02/2008 11:14:21 AM
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
BY JOAN W. WINTER
W. Winter Photo: Joan
4
with them, they encourage a sense of belonging, communication and participation. To offset any sense of isolation a newcomer may feel, at least one mentor is always present to speak to them in their native language, and Back row: Linda Co can translate what mba, Jose Mendoza , Ange la Paiyizi. Front: Jen others are saying. ny Yu and Maggie La m. Volunteers decide which activities and services they want to lead and participate in. MPNH Program Co-ordinator Linda Comba says volunteers, not previously trained in social services, take a six-week course to equip them with the skills they need to mentor. “Mentors-in-training gain confidence and take ownership of the programs they are developing,” says Linda. After completing the training program, recently retired volunteer mentor Esther Lam launched mah-jong, a traditional and popular game within the Chinese community. Soon, seniors of many nationalities at MPNH enthusiastically joined in. “I wanted to do something for seniors,” says Esther, who acts as teacher and translator to non-Chinese-speaking players. “To serve and help other people is a joy.” Retired nurse Maggie Lam took English and computer courses at MPNH two years ago. She joined the Senior Mentors Making Connections because she wanted to give back. While it makes her happy to see other people enjoy themselves, Maggie feels she also benefits from involvement in the program by improving her communication skills. Jenny Yu sees volunteering “as a way to help others, make new friends and learn about different cultures.” She likes to call friends to join the program and encourages their participation. Sprightly octogenarian Phan Van Quang, a member of the Vietnamese Canadian Senior Society of Greater Vancouver, teaches line dancing to a lively group of toe-tappers on Friday afternoons. He is pleased to share his knowledge and skill with people not native to his community. Photo: Joan W. Win ter
I
n January 2008, Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, part of the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Vancouver, was awarded a Celebration of Community Award by the United Way of the Lower Mainland Community Spirit Awards. The prestigious $2,500 award recognizes Mount Pleasant’s outstanding achievement in developing the Senior Mentors Making Connections for Immigrant Communities program. Seniors helping seniors is a win-win concept, especially when the seniors are of different cultural backgrounds, and speak different languages. While reviewing Mount Pleasant’s existing programs, program co-ordinators noticed that while other demographic groups – children and families, teens, health and fitness groups – participated in the House’s activities, social programs and services, seniors were not. Why? What was keeping seniors away? In spring 2007, responding to the need for an outreach program, the Senior Mentors Making Connections for Immigrant Communities program was developed. Since its inception, the program has strived to reach out to people in the community it serves by developing interesting, meaningful activities for its diverse cultural neighbourhood, made up of Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Latin American nationalities. In the friendly, comfortable social environment at MPNH, the program seeks to combat isolation, language and cultural barriers, disabilities and other challenges seniors face. The new and innovative program brings together volunteer seniors with local seniors, sharing activities, skills and interests. Mentors, interested in volunteering for the program, learn how to actively assist and support newcomers to MPNH and its programs. In connecting
ng class. g’s line danci an u Q an V an Ph LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND SENIOR
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 4
22/02/2008 11:14:26 AM
Pleasant Ne ighbourhoo d House Courtesy of Mount Photo: Joan W. Winter
Interest and membership in the program grew as mentors spread the word, and encouraged seniors from different cultural groups to participate. Language barriers are often an obstacle to full participation within one’s neighbourhood and therefore mentors reached out especially to their communities of origin. They brought friends, family members, people from their church and other multicultural organizations. The Senior Mentors Making Connections for Immigrant Communities program has seen as many as 50 people attend some of the events, which include offsite outings to various places of natural, cultural or historic interest throughout the Lower Mainland. There have been trips to the Vancouver Museum, the Vancouver Zoo, the North Vancouver Waterfront, Reifel Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island, the Westham Island Winery, Steveston Village and Cannery, and the Anthropology Museum. Outings are popular; many of the participants haven’t been to places outside of their home community.
“Many of them are retired, so it’s important for them to be doing something meaningful.” The Spirit Awards are United Way’s most prestigious campaign awards. They recognize “the exceptional commitment, leadership and creativity shown by hundreds of organizations and thousands of volunteers.” “We are thrilled to have been recognized with this award,” says Jocelyne Hamel, MPNH Executive Director. “The Senior Mentors Program reflects many of the underlying values and principles of how neighbourhood houses operate, specifically capacity building, social inclusion, community engagement and the democratic principle. We are honoured to provide programs like these for our community.” In the true spirit of neighbourliness and community, MPNH Senior Mentors Making Connections for Immigrant Communities program is most deserving of its prestigious award. SL
Your experts in senior housing options A game of mah-jong.
Other programs for seniors at MPNH include Seniors Lunch each Tuesday, Computer Training, Tai Chi, Fun and Fitness, and Conversational English for Seniors Drop-in. “The senior immigrants contribute much to the success of the programs,” says Jose Mendoza, Co-ordinator of the Multicultural Senior Mentoring Project. “They give generously of their time and talents. Some have entertained members with demonstrations of Hawaiian dancing, Chinese dancing, Calligraphy and Chinese painting.” Linda Comba says the program has been a lifesaver for the mentors as well.
Home to Home is a senior housing advisory service providing important consultation and advice regarding senior living options. Our goal, for our clients, is to facilitate smooth transitions into senior homes that meet retirement needs, so that more time can be spent with loved ones. Call now to let us help you with our personalized service. T: 604.739.8080 E: info@home-to-home.ca www.home-to-home.ca MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 5
5
22/02/2008 11:14:37 AM
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR PHOTOS
STORY AND PHOTOS BY LYNNE KELMAN
In this two-part series, freelance photographer Lynne Kelman shares her knowledge and experience from behind the lens. She’ll shed light on taking better travel photos and managing them when you get home.
I
n retirement, many of us will travel more – some with photography in mind. In this digital world, the images we bring back are sometimes only the beginning, because to get the images we want, we have to plan and be aware of the process.
What to bring:
I have two copies of my checklist – one I keep permanently in my camera case, the other I use to check off items before leaving home. The one in my camera case comes in handy on departure so I don’t leave anything important behind. My insurance company has a duplicate list. Travelling with equipment: Decide which camera is best for which kind of trip. I canNowadays, flying regulations make life more difficult. In not be without my digital SLR, but find it handy to take a Europe, there is a one carry-on bag rule, which is strictly ad- small point-and-shoot, also, for when the SLR is too bulky. If hered too. At one time, it was easy to throw your camera bag you have a camera with interchangeable lenses, choose which over one shoulder and have your personal items in your hand- lenses to take carefully. And pack cable releases, filters and bag or knapsack on another. Not now – when they say one flash equipment. bag, they mean one bag – so what goes in your carry on and Take spare batteries. In cold destinations, batteries have a what goes in your packed luggage? I recently had to repack shorter lifespan, so take extras. Remember the battery charger, my luggage at the airport counter, unhappily putting my lap- and always charge one battery at night. Check the countries’ top in my suitcase and paring down my photographic equip- electrical currency if going abroad and take the appropriate ment to fit a small carry-on photo bag, while stuffing filters, converter. Bring extra memory cards, even if downloading lens hoods, wallet, etc. into clothing pockets. This is not fun, frequently. The smaller 1GB cards are useful because they so plan carefully if you plan to travel in Europe. download faster. Remember your card reader and/or cables. Peter Trill at the controls. 6
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 6
22/02/2008 11:14:37 AM
If you have your laptop, take portable storage. I carry CDs or DVDs; they’re less bulky. If you are shooting with film, airports tell us the scanners will not damage film nowadays, so take enough with you. In some places, it is harder to find and more expensive. Make sure your camera bag will withstand knocks and weather extremes; a built-in rain hood is always a good option to look for when purchasing a bag. Tripods are bulky and add weight; two good alternatives are a monopod, which can double as a walking stick, or a beanbag you can pack in your suitcase and use on top of your car roof or on rough ground. SPARC P Take lens cleaner, soft cloths and maybe a sensor cleaning res P eter Trill ident device; VisibleDust makes a good one. A couple of plastic tinkers. bags are handy to have if you are shooting in the rain or in sandy or dusty conditions. Storing equipment: So, you have arrived at your destination and are ready to explore. First, find a safe place to store your photographic equipment. You will probably not be going out every day with everything you own, so use a hotel safe or look for a separate place in your accommodation to keep behind extra memory cards, battery chargers and CDs or DVDs. Make sure you
Beautiful photos can be found in unexpected places.
RECOMMENDED BY
Michèle Boisvert, Pharmacist
GOUT? ARTHRITIC PAIN? The solution Natural medication for chronic inflammation Helps reduce pain due to uric acid
RECOMMENDED BY
One tablespoonful to be taken in a glass of water, 3 times a day Complementary to other prescriptions
A Slice of the Louvre, Paris. Paul Johnson amid war memorabilia at SPARC.
For more information 1.800.556.0824 ext. 230 www.homeocan.ca MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 7
7
22/02/2008 11:14:38 AM
use good quality archival media if you want the discs to be readable in the future. Keep in mind that if the worst happens – your photo bag gets stolen – you have your used memory cards, spares, CDs, chargers and the like safely tucked away. Scouting locations:
day pics. Rise early and walk. Get out of the car; when villages and cities are just waking up, storekeepers are setting up their storefronts, children are walking to school and maybe street cleaners are whisking clouds of dust into a fine mist. Foggy or misty mornings are ideal; picture Paris at 7 a.m., a slight mist over the Seine, hot coffee and croissants steaming in the morning light. Roam the streets, take the lanes lesser Sunrise on the Bay. known, sit in fields of popDawn and dusk are ideal pies. Don’t be a tourist – look times to take photos. down, find shadows, reflections in puddles, always be ready to catch the unexpected. Look at your surroundings with an artist’s eye, compose and imagine and you will go home with beautiful photographs. Capturing people: At some point, you’ll want to photograph people. Maybe
The first few days you will probably be familiarizing yourself with your location, taking a few record shots, just enjoying. Make note of those places you would want to come back to in perfect light to get the best images, and scout out where you would get the best shot from – make sure there won’t be a fence in the way, or a vendor setting up his stand right in front of the best compositional viewpoint. A note on perfect light: Early morning sunrise produces a soft pink wash of colour, easy to photograph with soft backlit foregrounds. Late evening and sunset produces shadows, bright reds and oranges, perfect for showing off the ocean with a sun dropping down below the skyline. Avoid, whenever possible, midday shooting. Harsh light equals burnt out, flat, uninteresting holi-
Be thoughtful when photographing people on your travels. 8
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 8
22/02/2008 11:14:40 AM
Handling memory cards: While away, don’t keep a number of full memory cards, download often to a CD, DVD or external drive. Find a local retail photographer, establish a rapport, and take in those memory cards. Even small towns usually have one photographer who can download your cards, either the same or next day. Once downloaded, keep the CDs in a separate place, not in your photo bag. This will guarantee you will travel home with all your images intact ready for the next step.
the locals dress in colourful folk attire, or maybe sombrely, which contrasts with the colourful street markets or flower markets in the background. The challenge is taking images of these wonderful people, depicting their rich cultures and ethnic backgrounds, without invading their privacy. Photographers have to find what works best for them, but I have found that respect and politeness always pays off. If I have even a smattering of their language, I try it out. They respect our attempts to adopt local customs and language, even though we are by no means perfect. I usually try a smile and a nod, point my camera in their direction, and lift my hand in a question, do you mind or could I? The person in question will always let you know, by a smile, a gesture, a wave of the hand that suggests shoo, go away or even an emphatic no! Whatever the response, respect it. Find another opportunity, another subject. Once, I was in a situation in one of the wonderful Mexican cities we visited, when a group of tourists en masse tried to photograph a Mexican gentleman with his donkeys. He was upset, was waving them away, and hid his face and still they followed him. I was embarrassed. The next day upon seeing him, with my ever-ready camera hanging around my neck, I approached him alone and said “Buenos dias sénor, how are you today?” I admired and petted his animals, looked down at my camera and questioned with my hands, he smiled and posed. It’s that easy and respectful.
Next issue: Saving, storing and sharing your digital SL photos.
A sense of security instills a sense of adventure.
Imagine a mature lifestyle that offers a safe and solid foundation for new challenges. At Amica, security for yourself and all you own has been incorporated into the design of one of the finest retirement residences in North America. Nowhere else will you discover such peace of mind and protection of possessions. You can welcome challenges and take chances, knowing that we won't be one of them. Amica at Beechwood Village 2315 Mills Road, Sidney, BC V8L 5W6 250.655.0849 Amica at Douglas House 50 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC V8V 2N8 250.383.6258 Amica at Somerset House 540 Dallas Road, Victoria, BC V8V 4X9 250.380.9121 Amica at Arbutus Manor 2125 Eddington Dr., Vancouver, BC V6L 3A9 604.736.8936
Amica at Mayfair 2267 Kelly Ave.,Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 6N4 604.552.5552 Amica at Rideau Manor 1850 Rosser Avenue Burnaby, BC V5C 5E1 604.291.1792 Amica at West Vancouver 659 Clyde Avenue West Vancouver, BC V7T 1C8 604.921.9181
• Luxury Independent Rental Retirement Living • All Inclusive • Full Service Fine Dining • Wellness & Vitality™ Programs • 24-Hour Concierge • Resort-Inspired Amenities
www.amica.ca
07-0831
Night in the Jardin.
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 9
9
22/02/2008 11:14:41 AM
CRAFTY LADY BY DEE WALMSLEY
10
Photo: Laura Leyshon
P
etite, perky Peggy Dechaux is the craftiest lady in Ladner – and possibly the Lower Mainland. She was born in Smethwick, England on New Year’s Day 1913 to Herbert and Maud Houseman. While Bert fought in the war, along with the 42nd Battalion Highlanders, Maud, a milliner by trade, sewed to make ends meet. Wee Peggy spent hours alongside the rocking treadle watching and learning from her mum. In 1917, Peggy and Maud immigrated to Canada aboard HMS Mauritania via Halifax and on to Montreal, where Maud established herself and her young daughter. Word quickly spread of her sewing skills, which kept her busy until Bert joined the family a year later when, after the Armistice, he was demobbed from the army. Before the war, Bert had apprenticed as a diamond setter for Henry Birks. During his tour, he served under Colonel Price whose daughter married one of the Birks lads. Knowing there were no postwar jewelry trade jobs in England, Bert, through his connection with the Colonel, was offered a position as diamond setter at Birks in Canada or Australia. He chose Montreal. Peg spent her formative years in the English-speaking town of Mount Royal, where she graduated from high school. Her dreams of becoming a nurse were squashed when the family fell on hard times. She did manage, however, to attend O’Sullivan Business School and had a number of jobs; her first at Harland Engineering, where her salary was $10 a month. She then lent her talents to Nesbitt Thompson, a stockbroker, for two years before settling in at a local hardware store as clerk. She eventually became the store’s purchasing agent. By 1936, she had wed Edgar
Dechaux, her high school sweetheart, who owned Dechaux Frères Dyers Dry cleaning business in Montreal. Their son, Robert, was born in 1940; sister Jacqueline followed in 1943. When Jacquie met and married the love of her life at 18, Peggy was free to fulfill her life-long dream. At 48, she graduated from the trained attendant nursing course and did a six-month practicum at one of North America’s oldest hospitals, Montreal General. She worked on their surgical floor for three years. In the late ’40s, a new system of dry cleaning emerged with outlets on every corner; with it came the selling of the Dechaux Frères business. When the
couple later purchased a home in Hudson, Edgar set up one of the dry cleaning outlets, and Peggy turned part of their house into Hudson Creative Arts and Crafts store. There, she showcased local artists and, after taking a few lessons at Candar College, took up spinning, weaving and painting. In 1958, she won first prize from 67 entries in the Westend Women’s Guild in Pointe-Claire for her oil painting “Old Salt.” Inspiration for the painting came from a two-inch black and white photo she saw in an old National Geographic magazine. By this time, Peggy was working as a receptionist for psychiatrist Dr. Elliot Emanuel, in Dorval, 20 miles from
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 10
22/02/2008 11:14:43 AM
Photo: Dee Walmsley
Hudson. Returning home along the lakeshore one slippery night, she suddenly found herself sitting in a ditch in a very muddy Volkswagen. The accident convinced her the time had come to resign from the receptionist job and devote more time to her at-home business. It paid off as Peggy the entrepreneur emerged. Soon, her shop was listed on the tourist’s trail of galleries, spinners and weavers throughout the HudsonComo area of Quebec. Edgar and Peggy lived in Hudson for five years. They spent their 50th wedding anniversary in Bermuda and were
Peggy’s first-prize painting, Old Salt.
bitten by the travel bug. And so, they sold everything, bought a 20-foot trailer and headed for Florida. They were on the road for three years before settling in Surrey and, eventually, built a home in Maple Ridge. Peggy spent hours in her garden while Edgar puttered in his workshop making all their furniture, even the clock that adorns Peggy’s wall. In 1991, Edgar died at the age of 80 in Maple Ridge, leaving Peggy lonely and away from her family. After one year of being on her own, she sold her house and bought a condo in Ladner near Jacquie and her family. But not long after moving in, Peggy, along with several others, had to fork out $45,000 for the leaky condo syndrome. While living in Ladner, Peggy volunteered at McKee Seniors’ Centre, took courses in embroidery and writing with a few pieces published and completed a quilted hanging, while working with the Boundary Bay Quilters Guild. This beautiful heron hanging adorns her workshop wall and is complete with bulrushes, redwinged blackbirds and a pudgy green frog. Once Peggy takes on a project, there is no end to her imagination. When a new seniors’ residence was being built in Ladner, fearing more condo expenses, she made sure her name was one of the first on the list. She moved into Augustine House on December 15, 2003. She lives in three rooms, full of her endeavours including a gorgeous bedspread she quilted using a 25-cent piece as a guide; weaving, painting, sewing, embroidery, the list goes on. Embroi-
Peggy made her own wedding gown.
dery, with all the beautiful colours, is her favourite. A black cushion sports a bright red embroidered Siamese fighting fish. Lampshades are adorned with silk flowers. Hand-crocheted curtains cover the windows. Her gifted hands have touched everything here. Unfortunately, her eyesight is failing. Highpowered lamps and magnifying glasses are carefully attached to each working area. Peggy also grows orchids and has taken spores from her fern to sprout new life. There’s nothing this crafty lady won’t try – and master. Last fall, while out for her daily stroll, she found some walnuts; now they are pickled along with her rummy raisins, her secret for longevity. She soaks the big black raisins in Bacardi rum. When they have absorbed all the liquid, she tops her morning oatmeal with eight juicy raisins and swears they’ve kept her alive to 95. SL
Your gift to Make-A-Wish ensures the wishes of tomorrow. Planned giving enables individuals to make a future gift, lasting far beyond their lifetime.
Bri ti sh Columbia & Yukon Canad a
Hastings Mill Store
Contact the BC & Yukon Chapter : tel. 604 688 7944 toll-free 1 866 277 9474 email: bcchapter@makeawish.ca web: www.makeawishbc.ca MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 11
11
22/02/2008 11:14:45 AM
The Story Behind the Name:
FRASER RIVER
BY DALE AND ARCHIE MILLER
12 12
bled the British Crown to eventually claim the land. Many of those trading posts were built under the direction of the man who would eventually lend his name to the “Mighty Fraser River” – Simon Fraser.
Photo: Archie Miller
T
he Canadian Heritage Rivers System, Canada’s national river conservation program, describes the Fraser River as the largest river in British Columbia and the most productive salmon river in the world. From its headwaters in Mount Robson Provincial Park, it flows 1,375 kilometres (854 miles) to the ocean in the southwest corner of the province. The entire basin drains one third of the area of the province and is home to 2.4 million people – 63 per cent of British Columbia’s population. For thousands of years, many First Nations occupied clearly-defined areas along the Fraser, benefiting from its fish, wildlife and vegetation. Exploration associated with the fur trade provided the first European influence within the watershed. Industries and urban areas grew along the river to the point where today, the economic activity within the Fraser River Basin accounts for 80 per cent of the provincial and 10 per cent of the national gross domestic product. The evolution of the province of British Columbia can be said to have begun with the first colonial trading posts west of the Rockies, which ena-
Two hundred years ago, on May 22, 1808, Fraser, then 32, set off from Stuart Lake with two clerks, John Stuart and Jules Quesnel, 19 voyageurs and two Indian guides. Fraser’s personal qualities of courage, determination and extraordinary insight into human nature would all be tested during the next 11 weeks. The group encountered many First Nations peoples who had never seen Europeans. Without their help and guidance, the expedition would have been impossible, a fact frequently acknowledged by the explorer in his letters and journals. From the start, they were greeted by reports that the river below “was but a succession of falls and cascades,” which they would find impassable. The river was in spring thaw and at one point rose eight feet in 24 hours. In many places, steep, high precipices made it impossible to land, and the canoes would have been helpless if they
had suddenly come across rapids or falls. But because the portages were extremely difficult, Fraser’s crews were often tempted to run the rapids regardless of danger to avoid the mammoth task of carrying canoes and cargo around obstructions. By June 10, Fraser was at last convinced that it was impossible to continue by water and the party continued on foot. But travel on land was almost as difficult as travel by water. “I have been for a long period among the Rocky Mountains,” Fraser wrote, “but have never seen any thing equal to this country, for I cannot find words to describe our situation at times. We had to pass where no human being should venture.” When they finally arrived in the Fraser Valley, they found their greatest threat was now man. The party was only in the Fraser Valley from June 28 to July 8 but, during that time, their lives were in constant danger. Without canoes and with few provisions, Fraser was forced to rely on the natives for both. After several harrowing incidents involving misunderstandings, breaches of native protocol and etiquette, and being caught in the middle of a war between the Musqueam and the Kwantlen people, Fraser and his group ended up being chased back up river from near today’s Point Grey area by Musqueam warriors. Pursued and harassed as far as Hope, Fraser’s men were left completely worn out and dispirited. Fraser himself realized that not only was the river not the Columbia, as he had hoped, but it would be of no use as a travel route. By August 6, they were back in Fort George. The trip downriver took 36 days and the return journey 37.
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 12
22/02/2008 11:14:45 AM
Simon Fraser spent another 10 years in the fur trade, retiring to Ontario in l818. He settled on family land in St. Andrews West, near Cornwall, where he farmed and operated mills. In 1820, he married Catherine MacDonell and they raised five sons and three daughters. Together for 42 years, they died within hours of each other; Simon on August 18, and Catherine a few hours later on August 19,1862. They were buried in the same grave in the small Catholic cemetery at St. Andrews West. The HBC placed a marker and inscription on his grave in 1921. Few feats of exploration surpass Fraser’s journey to the sea and back in 1808. Nevertheless, recognition of his achievement was slow to arrive. A son and daughter received small pensions from the government of Canada in 1890, but there was little popular interest until the government of British Columbia organized a centennial celebration of the journey in 1908. An exhibition was held and a memorial column unveiled on the banks of the Fraser River at New Westminster; a bust by Louis Hébert was added to the column in 1911. That bust is now located on the boardwalk in front of the Westminster Quay Public Market. Fraser’s journey was re-enacted in 1958, the 150th anniversary, during British Columbia’s own centenary. This year, one of BC150 Years’ flagship events, Rivermania, will honour the Fraser River and recognize the 200th anniversary of Simon Fraser’s exploration of the river. A flotilla of boats will leave Prince George on August 24, and arrive in Steveston on September 28, B.C. Rivers Day. The flotilla will stop in several communities along the river, Boundary marker where aboriginal and non-aboriginal
community members will honour the Fraser River and celebrate local history and culture. Each year thousands of visitors travel beside or on the Fraser River. This year, with the bicentennial celebrations, many will learn about the
man after whom the river is named and his exploration – a mixture of determination, courage, cultures and cooperation – and they might remember the name, Simon Fraser. SL
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 13
13
22/02/2008 11:14:47 AM
or several years, my wife, Maureen, and I extensively researched practically every Latin American country, trying to find the perfect place for winter getaways or possibly even a permanent retirement haven. We are not youngsters (I am 81 and my wife a young 72) and we eliminated many possibilities because they simply didn’t meet all our essential requirements. These included: economic and political stability, a year-round pleasant climate, friendly, welcoming people, good and inexpensive medical facilities, clean, fresh air, culture, beautiful scenery, locally grown organic produce, inexpensive housing and a place where the dollar really stretches. Mexico was originally top of the list. We spent two six-month periods, one in the Baja and one on the mainland; we loved the people and their country. Then, there was Panama, but the “baby boomers” were pouring in and prices were skyrocketing. Finally, last June, we found ourselves on a plane heading for Quito in Ecuador, 9,300 feet up in the Andes and the second highest capital city in the world! As it turns out, this little country, slightly smaller than the State of Nevada, has met all of our basic requirements. The four major cities, Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and Ambato are important cultural centres. Quito is a fascinating blend of old and new. This historic town was founded by the conquistadores in 1534 and consists of a maze of crisscrossing, narrow cobblestone streets leading to spacious squares with magnificent colonial architecture – richly exquisite churches and monasteries, fine old governmental buildings, wonderful14 14
BY MICHAEL GARVEY
The author in his yard with a view outside Tumbaco.
ly maintained 16th, 17th and 18th century mansions with ornate wrought-iron balconies and street lamps. Everywhere you turn, a new delight catches the attention of the eye, making it a virtual paradise for artists and photographers. It’s a glorious concentration of the finest architecture in South America, and UNESCO recognized this in 1978 when it named the city its first World Heritage Site. Many people still regard Ecuador as an unstable “banana republic,” as it was
The author with his llamas in Ecuador.
Photo: Maureen Garvey
F
ECUADOR? WHY NOT!
in bygone days. However, the discovery of oil in the Oriente and the adoption of the U.S. Dollar as the national currency in 1999 have led to a much more stable economy and a strong government, which, backed by the people, is determined to introduce major social reforms. There is always dislike of any government, particularly if all the media belongs to the opposition, but this firm leadership intends to introduce sweeping changes democratically. When we arrived in early summer,
SENIOR LIVING LIVING VANCOUVER VANCOUVER && LOWER LOWER MAINLAND MAINLAND SENIOR
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 14
22/02/2008 11:14:52 AM
the daytime temperatures were late 20s to early 30s [Celsius] and, now, in midwinter, they are still in the mid to late 20s. Sweaters are necessary in the evenings, when the thermometer drops, but it’s never really cold because we live in the Sierra astride the equator. The people are the endearing charm of Ecuador – good natured, helpful, and truly welcoming with smiling eyes and friendly greetings. In a land with such low wages and so much poverty, they always appear to be happy, contented and well dressed, no matter how poor their living conditions. The indigenous women are a joy to see wearing beautifully embroidered blouses, colourful shawls and wrap-around skirts, often with a child or heavy load strapped to their backs. It’s a huge plus to know a smattering of Spanish, so we can interact with the locals. Modern equipped medical facilities are plentiful with well-trained doctors (many of whom speak English) and staff, but there are two huge differences here: Fees are very low, by comparison, and doctors care. They listen to you, there’s no conveyor belt and they don’t look at their watches every five minutes. When my wife slipped and seriously hurt her knee, we rushed to the nearest hospital, which is new and beautiful, and were attended to immediately. The consultation, plus three X-rays, came to only $32. Later, a visit to a cardiologist in Quito, with ECG, was $40. Our Chinese acupuncture treatments are $6 each and, at a wonderful alternative medicine foundation in Cotacachi, a one-hour consultation cost $6 and back-up treatments only $2 each. It’s quite amazing how such a small country can contain such a wide range of awe-inspiring scenery. Glorious beaches on the Pacific Coast to the west, dense Amazonian jungle and rivers in the Oriente to the east and then, in between, lies the high Andean Sierra running the whole length of the country from north to south, with snowcapped mountains and volcanoes soaring to al-
most 21,000 feet. Lush green valleys and canyons split the mountains apart and rain and cloud forests, containing a vast assortment of colourful birds, orchids, butterflies and exotic wildlife, such as the spectacled bear, cover the slopes. Above it all lies the precious jewel, the Galapagos Islands, named as Ecuador’s second UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and a World Biosphere Reserve six years later. The malls, even in smaller towns, are superb, with smart and trendy stores and well-stocked supermarkets, including an astonishingly wide range of locally grown fruit and vegetables, many organic, at temptingly low prices. But it’s much more interesting and fun to buy from the small family owned stores and to wander through the wonderful, noisy, sprawling, picturesque street markets. Last week, we bought a huge fresh cauliflower for 40 cents, three cucumbers for 50 cents, a bag of 18 sun drenched medium tomatoes, another of fresh shelled broad beans and yet another containing 12 lemons for a dollar each. Then there are the superbly colourful flower markets – 12 beautiful long stemmed roses for a dollar! Like anywhere else in the world, you can pay a lot for the right location, but for only a fraction of what it would cost back home. A modern apartment in Quito sells for under $70,000, and to rent one on fashionable Gonzalez Suarez costs $750 per month. Houses in the suburbs are advertised from $55,000. Presently, we rent a furnished apartment in a large house on three acres on the outskirts of Tumbaco, a 30-minute drive from Quito, with an orchard of 20 exotic fruit and nut trees, behind which is a meadow meticulously cropped by five pet llamas. There is nothing beyond but open countryside sweeping up the slopes of an extinct (that’s what they tell us!) volcano. For this we pay only $310 a month. Until now, we have only seen the northern and central sierra, which encompasses Quito and the other old co-
»
s d e fi i s s Cla DO YOU FEEL FRUSTRATED over a missed shot, have trouble getting a swing right or have the “yips” in a tournament? In 4 to 6 one-hour telephone sessions learn to use the same skills as Ian Woosnam and those taught at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy. Call: 604-507-9970 or email: changeofheart@shaw.ca
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING $30 for 20 words or less. $1.25 per extra word. Boxed Ad - Small (2.2 x 1.2) $95. Boxed Ad - Large (2.2 x 2.4) $180. Add Logo - $25 extra Plus 5% GST. All Classified ads must be prepaid.Cheque or Credit Card accepted. Ph. (250)479-4705. Deadline: 15th of the month. Make cheque payable to: Senior Living, 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave.,Victoria BC V8T 2C1
ripple effect
��������� �����������������
�������������� ������������
������������ MARCH 2008
15
HOLLY H OCK
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 15
SIXTH PAGE
22/02/2008 11:14:53 AM
16
A magnificent colonial frontage, typical of many wonderful buildings in old Quito.
The author’s wife, Maureen, in their backyard in Ecuador.
Photo: Michael Garvey
lonial cities of Ibarra, Ambato and Riobamba. We have been to the huge and colourful indigenous market in Otavalo (said to be the largest in South America), the leather villages of Cotacachi and Quizapincha (how about a stylish, fitted jacket for $30?), the woodcarving village of San Antonio de Ibarra, the weaving centre of Atuntaqui, and the jeans workshops at Pelileo (a real competitor for Levi’s), all of these selling a vast range of quality products at rock-bottom prices. The mountains are dramatic patchwork quilts of farmland, and the highest and most magnificent is snowcapped Chimborazo (20,700 feet), where, to my surprise, my wife climbed to the second refuge hut at 16,300 feet without breathing problems. We have made several trips to the thermal baths at Banos, a small town threatened by the “Black Giant,” Volcan Tungurahua (16,475 feet), which has spewed out rocks, lava, steam and smoke daily for the last seven years. Christmas was spent in Mindo, a little village nestled amid cloud and rainforest, famous for its birds, orchids, frogs and butterflies. One garden, open to the public, attracts 26 different species of hummingbirds and an official bird count, held one week earlier, produced the astonishing figure of 456 different species in one square kilometre – claimed to be the highest number in the world. Incredibly, Ecuador has more bird species than America and Europe combined. As I write this, sipping coffee on the balcony in the bright morning sunshine, I can see the distant high-rises of Quito across the valley, framed between the hillsides beneath the peaks of Pichincha (15,696 feet), which covered the city in ashes when it erupted in 1999. Behind me is the snowcapped peak of Cayambe (18,996 feet), the third highest mountain in Ecuador. Butterflies meander by and multi-coloured birds constantly serenade me. Iridescent hummingbirds dart from flower to flower and, when evening falls, the frogs will take the stage, pick up their castanets and strike up the band. We feel at home in this delightful country amongst these warmly welcoming people, so much so that we have applied for new visas to stay another year in this beautiful and challenging new environment. Modern communications have opened up SL the world so, Ecuador? Why not!
Photos: Maureen Garvey
Volcan Tungurahua, active daily for over seven years, is a continual threat to the nearby town of Banos.
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 16
22/02/2008 11:14:54 AM
CABBAGE FAMILY FIGHTS CANCER
“C
auliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education!” Leaving aside this fanciful description by Mark Twain, the cauliflower is a member of the brassica family, along with cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprout and kale. They are also known as cruciferous vegetables, since all of them have flowers made up of four petals resembling a crucifix. Cauliflower is indeed a flower, as is broccoli. While broccoli is made up of bunches of green florets, cauliflower has underdeveloped white flower buds, which are packed tight in a head. A cauliflower head is white because as it develops, a thick canopy of green leaves covers and shields it from the sun. Hence, no green chlorophyll is formed. When it comes to cabbages, there are three types: green, red and Savoy. The pigment in red cabbage is what chemists call an indicator, like litmus. It stays red in an acidic medium but will change colour to green in base. So, when cooking red cabbage, always add a little vinegar or lemon juice to maintain its bright red colour. Cooking brassicas releases a pungent smell caused by the sulfur compounds they contain. Steamed, they contain a great deal of nutrients; however, if boiled most of these nutrients are destroyed. Since even blanching followed by freezing causes some loss, it would seem that eating these vegetables raw would be the best way to absorb most of the nutrients. Cruciferous vegetables are rich in vitamins C, A, folates, minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron as well as fibre, antioxidants and important phytochemicals. Ape and human bodies do not create vitamin C, so they have to get it from their diet. Brassicas contain large amounts of vitamin C, especially broccoli. A cup of cooked broccoli has about the same amount of vitamin C as a cup of orange juice. Since both vitamin C and iron are present in the brassicas, the iron is particularly well absorbed by the body. Since ancient times, people have attributed medicinal properties to the brassicas, especially cabbage. Two thousand years ago, Roman healers prescribed a compress of crushed cabbage leaves as a cure for cancerous ulcers of the breast. More recently, drinking fresh cabbage juice is reputed to be a cure for peptic ulcers. These may simply be old wives tales or folk medicine without any scientific merit, but perhaps not! Of the nearly 100 epidemiological and animal studies that have been done to gauge the protective effects of brassica vegetables on cancer, nearly two thirds show that regular consumption was associated with a small but significant reduction in cancer
BY DR. BALA NAIDOO
risk. This was especially true for cancers of the lung, stomach, breast and colon while a new epidemiological study carried out at Cancer Care Ontario in Toronto and the U.S. National Cancer Institute has found that one weekly serving of broccoli or cauliflower was associated with a 45 per cent decreased risk in aggressive prostate cancer. So, how do brassica vegetables exert their protective action against cancer? Brassicas contain phytochemicals of the glucosinolate and indole families, which could explain their anticancer properties. The glucosinolate presence in these vegetables is thought to protect them against attack by pests and microbes. When the vegetables are cut or chewed, the damaged plant cells release an enzyme that hydrolyses the glucosinolates to yield pungent substances called isothiocyanates. The major isothiocyanate from broccoli is sulforaphane. Sulforaphane has been shown to exert its protection against cancer by activating enzymes that free radicals before they can damage DNA and cause cancer to develop. Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone gets an equal benefit from consuming brassicas, since there appears to be a genetic component to it. In addition to its anti-cancer action, sulforaphane also possesses antibacterial properties. In laboratory tests, purified sulforaphane has been shown to kill helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that has been implicated in stomach ulcers and cancers. Furthermore, it has been shown to protect against chemically induced stomach cancer in mice. However, no definitive study has been done to see if dietary sulforaphane from brassica vegetables will be as effective as the pure version. Another of the products resulting from the hydrolysis of glucosinolates in brassicas is indole-3-carbinol. Studies have shown that it can help detoxify metabolites of estrogen, a major female sex hormone. This could result in a decrease in the risk of estrogen-driven cancers, such as breast cancer. A study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden showed that post-menopausal women consuming one to two servings of brassica vegetables per day reduced their breast cancer risk by up to 25 per cent. Other studies, however, give mixed results. The many health benefits of brassica vegetables should encourage everyone to make them a regular part of their diets. So, ignore the smell, learn to like them and stay healthy! Dr. Naidoo’s books are available at the Senior Living BookSL store www.seniorlivingmag.com MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 17
17
22/02/2008 11:14:55 AM
Between Friends T
BY DOREEN BARBER
TRANSITION
he transition from one lifestyle or comfort zone to another is one of the most challenging and difficult events in our lives: a move from one location to another, a career change or loss of a spouse. It is like a personal tsunami that overwhelms us and carries us away because we have no direction, goal or control. The whole experience seems to take on its own persona. “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” –Isaac Asimov How we accept change will determine whether we live in the present with a forward-looking attitude or give way to despair, confusion and negativity. What we leave behind can be pondered, but not altered. It is imperative, therefore, to focus on the future, not the past. An invisible barrier has to be crossed; we must decide, “Whatever happens, I will not be stopped.” “Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.” –Corita Kent
N
The process of change doesn’t need to feel like a runaway train, where we question if there is an engineer in charge. We do have a measure of control dependent upon our decisions and
“We are the transition from one education to the other.” –Alfred Rosenberg
actions. The most difficult step is making a decision to go forward without a clear decisive plan. Once a course of action is determined, the act of going forward is dependent on our tenacity, perseverance and determination. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.’ -Soren Aabye Kierkegaard. Finding a place of peace, acceptance and respite in times of change is a test, but looking at where we have been and
what it has taught us is a valueadded component to our lives that will have immeasurable benefit. Charles Dubois said, “The important thing is this: To be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” What is the worst thing that could happen? Cathie Black, President of Hearst Magazines, and one of the most influential women in the business world says, “You kind of have to have a risk gene. It is nothing to be fearful of.” SL
Embrace Friendship LFCROF-020
Meeting new people is one of the greatest pleasures that await you at Crofton Manor, where laughter, cheer and friendship are always abundant.
Crofton Manor 2803 West 41st Ave., Vancouver (604) 263-0921 www.lrc.ca 18
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 18
22/02/2008 11:14:57 AM
NEW K BOO
To Move or Not to Move? A Helpful Guide for Seniors Considering Their Residential Options
To Move or Not to Move?
To Move or Not to Move? A Helpful Guide for Seniors Considering Their Residential Options
MAGAZINE
Published by Senior Living October 2007
14.95 Buy it now!
REG. PRICE: $
ONLY
$
9.95
If you are a senior who has been wondering lately whether you should consider moving - either because you find the maintenance of your current home more difficult due to diminishing ability or energy, or you simply want a lifestyle that allows you more freedom and less responsibility - then this is the book that can help you ask the right questions and find the solution that is right for you. • What residential options are available? • Define your current situation - What residential option is right for you? • How to research and assess Independent and Assisted Living residences. • What do Independent, Assisted Living and Complex Care facilities have to offer? • How much does it cost to live in an Assisted Living residence? What subsidies are available? • Thinking of moving in with family members? Questions to consider before making your decision. • Are there any other residential options besides Independent, Assisted Living and Complex Care facilities? • If you choose to stay in your own home, what are your options and what should you plan for? • Who can help you decide what you can or cannot afford? • Funding sources available to seniors - tax deductions, housing subsidies, home care subsidies, equipment loan programs, renovation grants, etc. • Selling your home - how to find the right realtor or relocation services to assist your move. • Downsizing - Where do you start? How do you proceed? • Adapting your home to meet your mobility needs - tips and suggestions • Hiring home care services; do it yourself or hire an agency? • Legal matters - how to make sure you receive the care you desire should you not be able to communicate due to some incapacitating condition • AND MUCH MORE Advice from professionals who are experts in the area of assisting seniors with their relocation
questions and concerns. A handy reference guide for seniors and their families wrestling with the issues around whether relocation is the best optionThis 128-page book provides helpful, easy to read information and suggestions to help seniors and their families understand the decisions they need to make.
ORDER FORM - “To Move” Name_______________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________ City_________________________________ Prov ___________ Postal Code_______________ Phone _____________________ Email _______________________________________________ ____ BOOKS @ $9.95 each
= $____________
SHIPPING $3.95 FIRST BOOK, $1.95 PER ADDITIONAL BOOK = $____________ SUBTOTAL
= $____________
GST (5% on above SUBTOTAL = $____________ TOTAL
= $____________
___ CHEQUE (make payable to Senior Living) ___ CREDIT CARD
____VISA ____MC ____AMEX
CARD NUMBER ____________________________________________ EXPIRY DATE ________________
Mail to: “To Move” Book Offer c/o Senior Living Box 153, 1581–H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1 Above shipping rates apply to British Columbia addresses ONLY. To have book mailed to addresses outside of BC, please call Senior Living 250-479-4705 for shipping costs. Please allow 2 weeks for shipping.
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 19
19
22/02/2008 11:14:58 AM
The FUTURE
of
L
Photo: Kevin McKay
il Jones is one of many vibrant volunteers at Kennedy Seniors’ Recreation Centre in Delta. She joined the Centre after her Hudson’s Bay store in Surrey closed its doors in 2000, and she decided to retire. Starting out by joining the fitness classes, Lil hoped to stay healthy and make a few new friends. Soon, she discovered Kennedy was looking for volunteers. So, she agreed to pitch in and lend a hand in the kitchen with the lunch service, and at the monthly special events. Lil became more and more a part of the Centre so when they held their elections for a new board, she agreed to let her name stand; she’s been on the board since. She also volunteers at the annual flea market and helps find advertisers for the monthly newsletter. But, like many of the new wave of volunteers at seniors’ centres across the Lower Mainland, Lil does far more than volunteer at her Centre. Every year, she sets time aside to volunteer at the Variety Club Telethon of Hearts, and she remains an active volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society. Lil also helps take care of her grandchildren: picks them up from school, takes them to their practices, lessons and games, and provides care and supervision until their parents come home from work. Lil’s story is a common one. Society has changed in the last 50 years. When New Westminster’s Century House opened its doors as the provinces first seniors’ centre in 1958, Program Supervisor Ruby McLeod discovered a problem. She had a beautiful new building set inside Moody Park, an abundance of supplies and equipment, and convinced hundreds of senior citizens to pay the 50-cent yearly membership fee. What Ruby did not have was staff to run the centre. How could one person run all the diverse activiLil Jones in the kitchen at the Kennedy Seniors’ Recreation Centre. ties and programs? Ruby set out to find volunteers who would help plan, orBut the wave of change is felt in seniors’ centres across the ganize and run the activities at Century House, with her guid- country. Today’s volunteers are different, according to staff ance. Recruitment efforts were a success and, from that day, members who work at the centres. In the 1970s and ’80s, a volunteers have provided the lifeblood for all the seniors’ large number of volunteers were happy to join centres and centres across the Lower Mainland, helping to run not only serve as volunteers, in many cases, on nearly a daily basis. activities and boards, but also in the kitchens, with special Many considered the centre to be their second home, and events, in the office, at sales and bazaars and in countless oth- were pleased to volunteer in many different ways. er ways. A glance at the newsletters from any of the centres in It was common for volunteers from that era to serve for Greater Vancouver offers a testament to how much each relies years, sometimes decades, in the same position. Many would on their volunteers. come several times a week or would take a regular shift for as 20
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 20
22/02/2008 11:15:01 AM
VOLUNTEERING BY KEVIN MCKAY
long as their health would allow. Volunteers like this still exist, but centre staff are discovering a new breed of volunteers poised to make changes even more pronounced in the years ahead. So what has changed? Why are today’s volunteers more difficult to locate, place and retain? And what will this mean for the seniors’ centres in the future? While not professing to have all the answers, several staff members from seniors’ centres in the Lower Mainland shared their thoughts, each with their own unique perspectives. Today’s seniors who join centres live busier lives than most of their parents. This is due to a variety of factors, not the least of which is a faster-paced world. Many of the younger seniors still work, either full time or part time, and several run their own businesses. With recent legislation doing away with mandatory retirement, there is likely going to be even more young seniors remaining in the workforce and thus less likely to be volunteering at seniors’ centres. Another factor facing younger seniors is increased responsibility to their families. Some, like Lil Jones, provide care for their grandchildren on a regular basis. Others may deal with adult children returning to the nest for reasons such as job loss, divorce, illness or other factors. And with people living longer than ever, still other young seniors provide care for their elderly parents. In some cases, members of this sandwich generation are feeling the crunch from two or possibly all three generations of their family. In addition, many people volunteer for more than one organization. Unlike their parents’ generation, they don’t want to make the same time commitment and be tied down to one project. They tend to be more educated than the volunteers of earlier days and want opportunities that challenge them. Many of them volunteer for specific causes or on committees and boards that serve for a specific amount of time. Many young seniors are taking advantage of their opportunity to travel. According to Laurie Woolley of Edmonds Centre in Burnaby, new volunteers want to have balance in their lives, and don’t want their seniors’ centre to be a focal point. They enjoy their membership, but don’t see it as their only social outlet. At the West Vancouver Seniors Centre, Sylvia Lung says their struggle is to find volunteers for their very busy food services program. It’s difficult to retain people who will stay on for any period of time, taking a regular shift. Many of her
volunteer instructors would rather teach classes that are four or five weeks in length instead of 10, while a great number of professional people are more willing to take on professional roles as board or short-term committee members. Liz Gibson at Kennedy Seniors Centre feels the new volunteers don’t have the same sense of history or emotional attachment to the centre as volunteers did years ago. She feels the newer volunteers do not realize how different the seniors’ centres would look without them playing such a large and significant role. Jill Rowledge, who served as the director at Dogwood Pavilion in Coquitlam for 30 years, and Judy Hamanishi, who took over from her last fall, agree that since the nature of the volunteers has changed, it is imperative for seniors’ centres to look at different models for utilizing volunteers. Centres must get innovative when it comes to recruiting and retaining this new generation of talented professionals. This may mean looking at a different way of offering services; new roles and responsibilities so far unexplored; and tangible rewards and recognition for the volunteers in order to keep them happy and coming back. Today’s volunteers want more freedom, greater flexibility and more challenging responsibilities than those who came before them. The challenge for the future of seniors’ centres across the Lower Mainland will be to find new ways to attract, utilize and recognize the Lil Joneses of the future so they feel wanted, appreciated, rewarded and relevant. They want their contribution to matter. The challenge for future volunteers will be to find a seniors’ centre that meets their needs, while allowing them to live the rich and full lives they seek. SL
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 21
21
22/02/2008 11:15:01 AM
V
alerie Green’s Embrace the Journey grabs readers by the heartstrings and pulls them into a loving daughter’s personal odyssey. The story unfolds Valerie’s touching, sometimes frustrating and painful, journey that follows her parents’ wishes to stay together while they aged in place. “When I started the book, I wanted it to be more clinical and medical, but I didn’t have the medical background,” she says. Her 91-year-old mother’s declining health began with a series of suspected mini-strokes. She eventually required full-time care. Her father was relatively healthy at 92 and able to care for himself. However, worries over his wife, and his own health problems took their toll. The question loomed in the family’s collective mind: “Where could her parents, with their varying needs, stay so they would be together and happy in their remaining years?” A local author of several books on British Columbia’s history, and a weekly columnist for the Saanich News, Valerie wrestled with the idea of penning Embrace the Journey because of its personal nature and its departure from her historical genre. “I hesitated for a long time because it’s a very personal experience,” Valerie confides. “It was more than a year after my 22
BY JUDEE FONG
father died that I thought, ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’ I had written pages of very private feelings in my journal. Once I began rereading it, I started to make notes and all of a sudden, the words just started to stream out of me.” Thoughtfully, Valerie adds, “I thought a book might help others going through the same process of caring for ailing parents at home. I didn’t write it to expose my own life, but it came out that way because this is a family story of how we coped.” Increasingly, baby boomers find themselves in the “sandwich generation” – caught between aging parents and adult children. While still gainfully employed or actively pursuing retirement, this generation must rely on dedicated professional caregivers to help fill the gap. “I cannot give enough praise to our very good friend and devoted nurse, Sharon Henderson,” says Valerie. “Long ago, she had promised my parents she would stay with them until the end – and she did. It was also wonderful having the support and understanding of Dorothy Orr, my Caregiver Support Counsellor.” Because of her experience, Valerie is a strong advocate for the need to keep elderly couples together in their own homes until the end of their lives. “If it’s at all possible, I strongly support the home environ-
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 22
22/02/2008 11:15:02 AM
Photo: Judee Fong Photo: Judee Fong
EMBRACING THE JOURNEY
Photo: Judee Fong Photo: Judee Fong
NEW RELEASE
Embrace the Journey - A Care Giver’s Story
by Valerie Green The very personal story of her own journey as a care giver to her elderly parents. This is a story which will touch many hearts and be relevant for numerous adult children who, in mid-life, are faced with a similar challenge and must make agonizing decisions and choices. It painfully addresses the problems encountered of ‘aging in place’ and the desire for loving couples to stay together in their home until the end of their lives. 96 pages. Softcover. 5.5” x 8.5” Published by Senior Living. Price $14.95
To order, please send cheque for $19.84 ($14.95 plus $3.95 S&H & GST) payable to Senior Living. MAIL TO: Embrace Book Offer c/o Senior Living 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1 Please include your clearly written shipping address and phone number. Allow two weeks for shipping.
Reflections, Rejections, and Other Breakfast Foods Reflection��s,��������
st Foods
and Other Breakfa
Limited Edition
SL
Limited Edition!! A collection of Gipp Forster’s published columns in Senior Living magazine, with other unpublished writings thrown in for good measure. A unique blend of humor and nostalgia, Gipp’s writings touch your heart in such an irresistible way, you will want to buy not only a copy for yourself, but as a wonderful gift for friends and family members. 128 pages Softcover • Published by Senior Living
MAGAZINE
& Unpublished Writings A Collection of Published nist Gipp Forster by Senior Living Colum
Price: $14.95
“Reflections” MAIL-IN ORDER FORM
Name___________________________________________________________ Address_________________________________________________________ City____________________________________________ Prov ___________ Postal Code_______________ Phone _________________________________ Email ___________________________________________________________ ____ BOOKS @ $14.95 each SHIPPING (FIRST BOOK $3.95; ADD’L BOOKS $1.95 EACH) SUBTOTAL
= $____________
GST (5% on above SUBTOTAL) TOTAL
= $____________ = $____________
= $____________ = $____________
___ CHEQUE (make payable to Senior Living) ____VISA ____MC ___ CREDIT CARD CARD NUMBER ______________________________ EXPIRY DATE ________________ NAME ON CARD _____________________________
Mail to: Gipp Forster Book Offer c/o Senior Living Box 153, 1581–H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1
Please allow two weeks for shipping.
ment. This is what ‘aging-in-place’ should be about,” she says. “An elderly person shouldn’t have to be removed from his/her familiar surroundings because I really believe it shortens their life.” Realistically, Valerie acknowledges not everyone would benefit from the choices she and her family made. “Many seniors enjoy being in retirement facilities, where the meals are prepared for you; there are activity programs; and other people around. Yet, there are others who are very private people who wouldn’t enjoy that type of living. I knew my parents would never be happy there. They were happiest with each other and wanted to stay in their own home.” “It’s a huge responsibility for an adult child to accommodate those wishes,” she admits. “There should be some form of [government] compensation given to the family caregiver for keeping their elderly parents at home. There should also be increased government funding for a home support system with more consistent staffing. We were fortunate to eventually have an excellent team of careworkers for my parents.” Embrace the Journey is about more than a daughter’s love for her parents, it speaks to the special love her parents had for each other. Her father, diagnosed with macular degeneration, had to give up oil painting, but remained active in other ways. Her mother, deaf, often became frustrated with her hearing aids and turned them off. Valerie recalls with a smile, “Mom would jokingly say she was Dad’s eyes, and he was her ears.” The book, which contains memories of a dapper senior, working among his beloved roses or sitting on his garden bench, puffing contentedly on his pipe while declaring, “I don’t inhale, I don’t inhale,” brings a smile to the reader. The gentle “Good night” ritual between her parents causes eyes to tear up. “Life isn’t a destination,” says Valerie, “it is a journey where we are faced with many challenges along the way.” SL A journey she embraces.
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 23
23
22/02/2008 11:15:04 AM
THE COAL PITS OF WALES
A Family’s Heritage BY W. RUTH KOZAK
M
y father, Rev. Fred Filer, immigrated to Canada from Wales after he’d lost his mining card – taken because he supported the union movement of the Welsh coal mines in the early 1930s. Mining is part of my family’s heritage. Much of my Welsh family genealogy that I’ve traced is made up of men (and some women) coalminers. My great-grandfather, and even my great-grandmother, worked in the mines from the age of eight. My father started on that path at the age of 14. As a child, I grew up listening to Dad’s mining stories. So, on a recent trip to Britain, I decided to visit some of the sites that were part of the mining history of his family, including my great-grandfather, who was killed in a massive explosion in Senghenydd, Wales the same year Dad was born. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I was able to experience a bit of what that life might be like when I visited the Big Pit Mine in Wales. Kitted out in a helmet, cap lamp, battery pack and a miner’s belt, I entered the pit-cage and descended 90 metres to a world of shafts, coal-smudged faces and underground roadways. Guided by a good-natured ex-miner as our escort, I experienced a real sense of life in the coal pit. My pit-lamp lit the inky darkness. Along the floor, tracks remained from the coal trams. I followed the crowd through the low-ceilinged, dank tunnels and arrived at one of the air doors. The tour guide instructed us to turn off our lamps. My hand, held in front of my face, was invisible; I now know the meaning of “pitch-black” darkness. “That’s what it was like t. n ce when the lamps blew out,” es before her d The author the guide said. “But of course, the real problem was the rats!” The Big Pit Mine, which, until its closure in 1980, was the oldest working mine in South Wales. Sunk in 1860, it forms part of the Blaenavon mine, which is now classified as a heritage site 24
Caerphilly Castle, Wales.
and one of the Mining Museums of Wales. The pit’s shaft extends to a depth of 90 metres and, at its peak in 1913, employed 1,300 men. By 1966, it was the only deep mine left in the area. In 1980, the workforce had declined to 250 and the mine was closed. It reopened in 1983 as a visitor’s centre. I began by visiting the Big Pit National Mining Museum at Blaenavon. Big Pit, located at the head of the Afon Llwyd Valley in the North Gwent uplands, stands on a hillside overlooking the town on the bracken-clad moors. The entire area is covered by early coal opencasts. Iron ore and limestone, as well as coal outcrops, were found here. Evidence of mining activity, in the area, dates back to medieval times. The opening of the Blaenavon Ironworks in 1789 created an ongoing requirement for coal. The town of Blaenavon, founded in the 1700s, is one of the best surviving examples of a Welsh industrial community, and retains many characteristic features from the 19th century, such as terraced housing, shops, chapels and a Workman’s Hall. The hour-long tour of Big Pit Mine takes visitors down in the pit cage to underground roadways, through air doors, to explore traditional and modern mining methods. On the surface, visitors can explore the colliery buildings: the winding engine-house, blacksmith’s workshop and pithead baths. Like all mines in South Wales, coal was cut by hand. Until the child-labour laws came into affect at the turn of the 20th century, even children as young as four worked in the pits. In 1908, a mechanical conveyor was installed at Big Pit and it was the first one electrified. The winding gear was driven by a steam engine until 1953, when a mechanical cutter and loader pulled it along by a chain. Exploring those black tunnels brought the lives of my father and my great-grandfather into a clearer perspective. The guide explained in detail what it had been like both in the past and in present times. In the old days, the miners worked 16-hour days, six days a week. I recall my father telling me how he would walk to the Bedwas Navigational Mine, five kilometres from his village, Caerphilly, to the pit face in the pre-dawn darkness to emerge hours later in the night. The miners always sang as they walked to and from the collieries, their tenor voices rising in the sweet Welsh treble, songs of their labours, and joy-
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 24
22/02/2008 11:15:05 AM
ful songs celebrating another day of life. It helped keep their spirits up. In the bowels of Big Pit, as I stood in the impenetrable darkness, my lamp extinguished, the guide explained how the children, working as trappers, opened and shut the air doors when the coal trams came down the tracks. “There were always rats, running along the walls and floor, over the children’s feet,” he said. “If their lamps went out, they would have to remain there all day in darkness. It was impossible to relight the lamps once they were extinguished, so they stayed there all day in the dark tunnel, attached to the air door by a cord.” Children and women were employed to load the trams and clean the pit ponies’ stables. It was necessary to keep the stables clean because manure created the deadly methane gases
The winding gear memorial in Senghenydd to the miners who were killed.
JANUARY 2008 VANCOUVER ISLAND
Housing Guide for Seniors Up-to-date listings of senior housing facilities throughout Vancouver Island, including Independent/Supportive Living, Assisted Living and Complex Care.
Photo: Ruth Kozak
This guide is an indispensable resource to:
»
that caused explosions. The pit ponies lived in the mines for 50 weeks of the year. When there was a Miner’s Holiday, they would be taken to the surface blindfolded against the glare of the sun. The miners also used caged canaries to detect gas in the tunnels. As long as the canaries sang, they knew the air was clean and safe. Unlike other collieries in Wales, Big Pit has the reputation of never having had an explosion or serious accident. No Welsh mining community has ever suffered such a terrible loss as the village of Senghenydd, the home of my great-
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 25
• seniors looking for alternative housing • seniors moving to Vancouver Island from other parts of BC or out of province • children of seniors who are assisting their parent to select a housing option • professionals who work with seniors or their families • businesses that provide services to seniors.
Listings include addresses and contact information, housing costs, number of units in the housing complex, hospitality services, optional home care services, amenities and security features.
View Online at: www.seniorlivingmag.com/pdffiles/srhseguide.pdf
OR have a copy mailed direct to your home...
Senior Lifestyles can be ordered direct from our office. Please mail a cheque for $5.25 ($5 plus GST), along with your name, phone number and address, to Senior Living, 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1. We will mail you a copy of this resourceful housing guide upon receipt of payment. MARCH 2008
25
22/02/2008 11:15:05 AM
Photo: Ruth Kozak
grandfather. The first disaster was on Friday, May 24, 1901. Between the end of the night shift and beginning of the day shift, just as the last cage full of night shift workers were disembarking at the surface, the men heard a rumble and dashed for the safety of the lamp room. Two quick explosions in succession followed. A column of dust and smoke shrouded the pit, accompanied by the sound of splintering woodwork and tearing metal. A third explosion rocked the village. Eighty-three men, including my great-grandfather and two other family members were below ground preparing for the day shift when the explosion occurred. Only one man, William Harris, an ostler, was found alive but severely burned, lying beside his dead horse. The Universal Steam Coal Company, one of the deepest mines in the coalfield, had a reputation for being a hot, dry, dusty, gassy mine that produced some of the best steam coal. Many inquiries were made after the 1901 explosion and recommendations were suggested, but not put into place. Unfortunately, this became the precursor to a much greater disaster 12 years later when a massive explosion rocked the village. It ripped through the mine, wrecked the pithead gear and shot the cage into the air. Four hundred and thirty-six miners were killed in the blast, but only 72 bodies were recovered. No other mining community in Wales had ever suffered such a loss. Every street in the village mourned the death of a relative. One woman lost her husband, three brothers and four sons. The Universal Mining Company was held responsible for the deaths, but after a long legal battle, the site manager and company directors were fined a mere 12 pounds between them – less than six pence for each death. The mine closed in 1928. One survivor said: “There was more fuss if a horse was killed underground than if a man was killed. Men came cheap. They had to buy horses.” Senghenydd, located in the Aber Valley, south of Blaenavon, was just a small mining village at the time of the explosions, and it has not grown much through the years since the Universal colliery closed. I had no trouble finding information about the mine where my great-grandfather had died. A friendly shopkeeper directed me to a tiny community centre, which had once been the miner’s social club. On the walls are photos of the disaster, and the retired miner at the Centre was happy to provide details. He 26
said there are few visitors who have connections with those killed in the 1901 explosion. I found my great-grandfather’s name listed in the memorial book of the Universal disasters: George Filer, age 73. He was the oldest man to die in the pit that fateful day. Greatgrandfather’s address is also listed in the memorial book, and, amazingly, his house still stands on High Street. My father, Fred Filer, was born in Caerphilly a year after his grandfather died. Caerphilly, a town that has grown to become a bedroom community of nearby Cardiff, was then a poor mining village employing men in the nearby Bedwas Navigational Collieries. My father began working in Bedwas Colliery when he was 14. By 1928, the miners, refusing to take wage cuts, forced the mine to close for two months. It reopened with scab workers and the South Wales Miners Federation, which had sought better wages and improved working conditions in the mine, was banned. There were further conflicts in the early 1930s, including riots. My father, a union activist, was among the miners who had their mining cards confiscated during the dispute. At that time, he immigrated to Canada and later became a Baptist minister. He was sent as a circuit preacher to Estevan, Saskatchewan to work alongside his friend, a young Scottish-born Baptist minister, and future Premier Tommy Douglas, to help the troubled mining communities of southern Saskatchewan. Caerphilly, most noted for its well-restored Norman castle, still boasts many of the original buildings of my father’s time, including the school he attended and the mining chapels where he often spoke. The family home on Windsor Street is now a law office. In the cemetery of St. Martin’s Church are many graves of those killed in the Senghenydd explosion: fathers, sons, brothers and uncles. Members of my family are also buried there. Ironically, one of my cousins lives in what was once the posh district of Caerphilly in a newly renovated mansion formerly belonging to one of the mining bosses. Mining, once Wale’s major industry, is now almost extinct. Only one deep mine is in operation: the Tower Colliery, at Hirwaun, Glamorgan, operated by the Miner’s Co-operative since 1984. There are other small mines still in existence, including Blaenant drift mine, which is located next to the Cefn Coed Colliery Museum at Neath, near Swansea. SL
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 26
22/02/2008 11:15:06 AM
B
BBB Better Better Better Better
A
Business Business Business Business
Bureau Bureau Bureau Bureau
SCAM ALERT
BY LYNDA PASACRETA
CREDIT CARD FRAUD
number of incidents over the past few months have been reported to the BBB and local police, where PIN pads or card scanners were compromised at fast-food restaurants and retail outlets across Metro Vancouver. Credit and debit card machines were swapped with parasite PIN pads, and the numbers with PINs were stolen and used to empty bank accounts or make counterfeit credit cards. During a recent RCMP investigation, debit and credit card skim sites were found in places like Vancouver, Maple Ridge, West Vancouver. Richmond, Coquitlam and Abbotsford. One fastfood site was hit 16 times. The resulting thefts through fraudulent cards were in the hundreds of thousands. BBB recommends that businesses note the serial number of their pin pad and either attach it to the counter or make identifying marks on it, so a substitution is difficult. Staff needs to be aware that the same distraction strategies used by shoplifters are used by data thieves to get pin pads. Consumers need to be careful with their credit and debit cards. Examine the terminal for a serial number (usually missing from fake pin pads) and see if it is secure before using it. Check credit card and bank statements frequently. Inform financial institutions of any suspected tampering or unauthorized charges. BBB encourages consumers to keep a close eye on their credit and debit card statements for suspicious activity. If they find their card has been stolen or notice fraudulent charges on their
accounts, BBB offers the following advice to help consumers resolve the issue as quickly as possible:
Step One: Contact the Issuer. Credit card issuers typically have a 24-hour hotline for consumers to report fraud and theft. By law, your agreement must explain your maximum liability (usually $50) in the case of lost or stolen credit cards, or the unauthorized use of your credit card account number. Visa, MasterCard and American Express have a “zero-liability policy.” The zero-liability policy applies to transactions made on the Internet, by phone or at retailers. However, it may exclude cash advances, convenience cheques, or transactions made on corporate credit cards. If a debit card is lost or stolen, the amount of money people could lose depends on how quickly they alert the issuer – if they wait too long, they could lose everything in the account. Step Two: Contact the Authorities. If a credit or debit card has been stolen or if the consumer notices fraudulent charges on their account, they can file a report with the local police. The consumer will want to get a copy of the police report to confirm the nature of the fraudulent charges with the issuer and the credit reporting bureaus. Step Three: Contact Credit Reporting Bureaus. Trans Union, Equifax and Northern Credit Bureaus, Inc. are the largest credit bureaus providing Canada with credit report services. The three bureaus can
flag, or place an alert on an account for fraudulent activity, which then requires that they contact the cardholder before any new lines of credit are opened. Consumers can also ask to have an account frozen, which means their credit history can’t be reviewed by lenders and prevents new lines of credit from being opened. But, keep in mind, it may take several days to unfreeze accounts.
Step Four: Stay Vigilant. It’s a good idea for consumers to follow up calls to their credit card issuer or credit reporting bureaus with a letter outlining key details and summarizing when they alerted the issuer and bureau to the loss or fraud. As a victim of ID theft, consumers can receive a copy of their report free-of-charge and should review credit reports with all three bureaus for any suspicious activity. Lastly, it is important that consumers continue to keep a close eye on their credit card statements, bank accounts, and credit reports well into the future for any suspicious activity. SL
Lynda Pasacreta is President of the Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C. For confidence in marketplace transactions, contact the Better Business Bureau to check a company report or Buyers’ Tip before you purchase or invest. www.bbbvan.org or 604-682-2711. To contact Lynda Pasacreta, e-mail her at president@bbbvan.org MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 27
27
22/02/2008 11:15:07 AM
ASK
Photo: Jason van der Valk
Goldie
BY GOLDIE CARLOW, M.ED
Dear Goldie: I am a veteran of the Second World War, a widower with no children. Before the war, I had a girlfriend from high school. Our relationship was casual and only that of good friends. Then I went overseas and we lost touch. I married and remained in England until my wife died 10 years ago. I returned to Canada and, after about three years, met my old girlfriend again. She also was widowed. We have enjoyed good times together again and would now like to marry. The problem is her two daughters are opposed to the idea. For some reason, they believe I deserted their mother when I went overseas, which is absolutely not true. We have both tried to talk this out with her daughters, but they refuse to listen. My question is how long should we wait? We are in our 80s, and time is running out for us. –R.C. Dear R.C.: It sounds like you have tried, but failed, to persuade two stubborn people. So now, take matters into your own hands. You are adults, and do not require anyone’s consent to get married.
Perhaps the daughters added a lot of romance to stories of their mother’s schooldays. This is common when family tales are rehashed. Time is precious at your age, so get on with the wedding plans. If you can, include the daughters. They might surprise you with a change of heart and attitude when they get involved. In any case, you and their mother deserve happiness. Best of luck! Dear Goldie: I need some support and encouragement. When I was young, I enjoyed art and was quite successful. Some of my pictures sold for a good price. Later, I married and had a large family, so there never seemed to be time for painting. Now, my family has grown and moved away, so my husband and I have time for our own interests. I am in my late 70s, so I’m feeling a little timid about re-entering the world of art. Any suggestions? –L.A. Dear L.A.: Yes, I do have a suggestion. Don’t waste another day! Start inquiring im-
mediately about training to renew your skills, possibly at a nearby college or art institute. A little assistance might be needed to get you started after such a long absence from the art world. I am certain your former aptitude is not lost. You were successful then and will, no doubt, be again. It would also help to renew old acquaintances you associated with in your previous art period. SL Begin today!
Senior Peer Counselling Centres (Lower Mainland) New Westminster 604-519-1064 North Vancouver 604-987-8138 Burnaby 604-291-2258 Richmond 604-279-7034 Vancouver West End 604-669-7339 Coquitlam – Tri-Cities 604-945-4480
Goldie Carlow is a retired registered nurse, clinical counsellor and senior peer counselling trainer. Send letters to Senior Living, Box 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria, BC V8T 2C1.
Subscribe to Senior Living and bring your favourite magazine right to your door! Purchase a subscription to Senior Living for just $32 and never miss an issue! If you would like the convenience and reliability of having
SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM
Senior Living - Vancouver
mailed to you for a year (10 issues), complete and send this form, along with a cheque for $32, to: Senior Living 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria BC V8T 2C1 28
MAGAZINE
Yes.
I would like to subscribe to Senior Living - Vancouver (10 issues) for the annual cost of $32.
Name __________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________ City ___________________________________________________ Province ________________ Postal Code ____________________
Enclosed please find my cheque for $32. (Includes GST and S & H)
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 28
22/02/2008 11:15:07 AM
SNIFF THE RAIN BY GISELA WOLDENGA
W
hen clouds cover our mountains with fluffy, white or grey cushions, then sink lower until they wrap their veils around the windows of the neighbourhood high-rises, I try to conjure up feelings from the past. As a young child, on a rainy day, I loved to stick my nose outside to – what I called – sniff the rain. Even though I had a hard time determining what rain should smell like, I gave it several descriptions: clean, spicy, sweet and, most of all, green. Our house was surrounded by a variety of trees, bushes and flowers, so it was impossible to separate one green from another. But that didn’t bother me. I could hardly wait to slip outside and take a few deep breaths. The air seemed to clear my head from the warm, stale indoors.
Of course, I ignored Mother’s dire prediction, “You’ll get wet and catch cold.” She knew that puddles were too great a temptation to pass up. Nowadays, when the tall firs are hidden behind ghostly moving grey shrouds, I again need to grab my umbrella and go out to sniff the rain. I still feel the old excitement as I smell the aroma of dripping cedars, yesterday’s mowed grass and sweet whiffs of Alyssums. Although I walk around puddles now, my feet often want to lead me astray to splash through the water for the fun of it. Why not? I have enough pairs of dry socks at home. The birds don’t seem to mind the flying raindrops, either. Their voices are just as strong and joyful as in
sunny weather. By the time I get home, a mysterious light inside and out has lit up the drab day and the hope for sunshine – surely tomorrow – is rekindled. If rain can make things grow outside, shouldn’t it be able to dilute some of our anxieties SL inside?
Senior Living Vancouver & Lower Mainland - Distribution Locations Following is a selection of Senior Living distribution locations
BURNABY
EASTBURN COMM CENTRE BURNABY LIBRARY BOB PRITTLE BURNABY LIBRARY STATION SQUARE MEDICAL CLINIC BONSOR COMMUNITY / SNR’S CTR BURNABY GEN HOSPITAL BURNABY PUBLIC LIBRARY BURNABY PUBLIC LIBRARY EDMONDS COMMUNITY CENTRE EILEEN DAILEY REC CTR MCGILL BRANCH ~BURNABY LIBRARY CONFEDERATION COMM CTR WILLINGDON HGHTS COMM CTR
CLOVERDALE
CLOVERDALE LIBRARY
COQUITLAM
POIRIER COMMUNITY CENTRE CAMERON RECREATION CENTRE COQUITLAM LIBRARY SOCIAL REC CENTRE CITY CENTRE AQUATIC CENTRE COQUITLAM CITY CENTRE BRANCH PINETREE COMMUNITY CENTRE
NORTH VANCOUVER
RON ANDREWS REC CTR PARKGATE LIBRARY PARKGATE COMMUNITY CENTRE LYNN VALLEY LIBRARY DELBROOK RECREATION CTR HARRY JEROME RECREATION CENTRE JOHN BRAITHWAITE COMMUNITY CENTRE NORTH VANCOUVER CITY LIBRARY NORTH VAN PUBLIC LIBRARY/CAPILANO LIB LYNN VALLEY REC CENTRE MEMORIAL REC CENTRE SEYCOVE COMMUNITY CENTRE SEYLYNN REC CENTRE WILLIAM GRIFFIN REC CENTRE
PORT COQUITLAM
TERRY FOX LIBRARY PORT COQ REC COMPLEX/ WILSON REC CTR
PORT MOODY
PORT MOODY LIBRARY PORT MOODY SOCIAL REC CENTRE PORT MOODY PUBLIC LIBRARY
RICHMOND
PINEWOOD LEISURE RECREATION CT N DELTA REC CENTRE PINEWOOD REC CENTRE LADNER (PIONEER) LIBRARY SOUTH DELTA RECREATION CTR
THOMPSON COMMUNITY CENTRE W RICHMOND COMM CENTR SOUTH ARM COMMUNITY CENTRE RICHMOND PUBLIC LIBRARY BRIGHOUSE LIBRARY CAMBIE COMMUNITY CENTRE IRONWOOD LIBRARY
NEW WESTMINSTER
SURREY
DELTA
NEW WEST LIBRARY WESTMINISTER QUAY CENTENNIAL COMMUNITY CENTRE QUEENBOROUGH COMMUNITY CENTRE
WHALLEY LIBRARY NORTH SURREY REC CENTRE SURREY REC CENTRES ~ FLEETWOOD NEWTON LIBRARY NEWTON COMM REC SERVICES STRAWBERRY HILL LIBRARY
GEORGE MACKIE LIBRARY CLOVERDALE RECREATION CENTRE SURREY REC CEN-SOUTH SURREY OCEAN PARK LIBRARY GUILDFORD RECREATION CENTRE SURREY LIBRARY SURREY PUBLIC LIBRARY- SEMIAHMOO TOM BINNIE PARK COMMUNITY CENTRE SURREY PUBLIC LIBRARY-PORT KELLS FLEETWOOD LIBRARY
VANCOUVER
KENSINGTON LIBRARY KENSINGTON COMMUNITY CENTRE COLLINGWOOD LIBRARY RENFREW COMM CENTRE RENFREW PUBLIC LIBRARY KILLARNEY COMMUNITY CENTRE VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - CHAMPLAIN HTS CHAMPLAIN HEIGHTS COMM CENTRE VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY- FRASERVIEW VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY- SOUTH HILL MAIN & MARINE MEDICAL CLINIC LANGARA - LIBRARY VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY- OAKRIDGE VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY- MARPOLE CHOICES MKT~ KERRISDALE MARPOLE COMMUNITY CENTRE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE WHITE SPOT KERRISDALE COMMUNITY CENTRE SUNSET COMM CENTRE TROUT LAKE COMM CTR BRITANNIA LIBRARY MT PLEASANT COMM CENTRE RILEY PARK BR LIBRARY RILEY PARK COMM CENTRE VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY- HASTINGS THUNDERBIRD COMM CENTRE
HASTINGS COMM CTR RAYCAM COMM CENTRE STRATHCONA LIBRARY STRATHCONA COMM CNTR MOUNT PLEASANT LIBRARY VPL / CARNEGIE CENTRE FIREHALL LIBRARY FALSE CREEK COMM CENTRE VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY-KITSILANO UBC HOSPITAL CAFETERIA VANC PUBLIC LIBRARY- WEST POINT GREY VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY- DUNBAR DUNBAR COMM CTR DOUGLAS PARK COMM CENTRE DENMAN COMMUNITY CTR JOE FORTES LIBRARY DT LIBRARY ~ 2ND FL (ENTRANCE) ROUNDHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE WESBURN COMMUNITY CENTRE CITY SQUARE FAMILY PRACTICE 411 SENIORS CENTRE OAKRIDGE SEN. CTR - OAKRIDGE MALL SOUTH GRANVILLE SENIORS CENTRE O’KEEFE SENIOR LIVING APARTMENTS KITSILANO COMMUNITY CENTRE BARCLAY SENIOR’S CENTRE
WEST VANCOUVER
WEST VANCOUVER COMMUNITY CENTRE AQUATIC CENTRE GLENEAGLES COMMUNITY CENTRE WEST VAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY
WHITE ROCK
BUENA VISTA LIBRARY WR/S. SURREY PUBLIC HEALTH UNIT KENT SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTRE IHOP
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 29
29
22/02/2008 11:15:08 AM
TASTYTraditions
BY GINA FALVO
FALVO FAMILY’S TRADITIONAL BISCOTTI
B
iscotti is a familiar staple at most coffee houses and trendy cafés. The custom of baking the slabs of cookie dough, then cutting into diagonal slices and baking again, allows the cookie to keep longer. When the Falvo family are all home, the delicious home-made biscottis coming from the kitchen of Mama Savarina and her daughter Gina are eaten as quickly as they are made. “In Mama’s hometown of Amato Cantanzaro, in the Calabria region of Southern Italy, the “Traditional Biscotti” is often eaten for breakfast. The Chocolate Hazelnut is another family favourite and can be eaten anytime,” says Gina.
Ingredients: 2 eggs 2 egg whites 1 cup(250 ml) white sugar 1/4 tsp almond extract 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 Tbsp (15 ml) lightly crushed anise seeds Zest of 1 lemon 1 cup (250 ml) toasted chopped almonds 3 cups (750 ml) all-purpose flour 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt
30
Method: Preheat oven to 165 C (325 F). Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and egg whites until foamy. Add the sugar and beat until thick and creamy. Beat in the lightly crushed anise seeds, lemon zest, almond extract, melted butter and chopped almonds. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing well. If the dough is too sticky, work in a little more flour. On a floured surface, divide the dough into two equal portions and roll into flat-shaped logs. Place 4-inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets (or parchmentlined sheets). Bake for 25 minutes at 165 C (325 F).
Variation: CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BISCOTTI Replace: 1/4 cup flour with 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa Almond flavouring with 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract No anise seeds or lemon zest Toasted chopped almonds with SL toasted chopped hazelnuts.
Please send us YOUR favourite Heritage Recipe along with the memories it evokes. Without your contributions, Tasty Traditions doesn’t exist. Contact us at editor@seniorlivingmag.com or 153, 1581-H Hillside Ave., Victoria, BC V8T 2C1
Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven to 150 C (300 F). Slice each cooled log into 1/2 inch diagonal slices. Arrange the slices on two ungreased cookie sheets and bake again for 20-30 minutes (until golden). Rotate each tray halfway through the baking time. Let the biscotti cool on wire racks and store in a tightly sealed tin. Makes: 24.
SENIOR LIVING VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 30
22/02/2008 11:15:09 AM
Mind GAMES
Crossword PUZZLE Across 1. W coast area 11. Go away! 12. S Ecuador city 13. Agitate 14. Intelligence 16. Culture media 18. Janet ----, ďŹ gure skater 19. Team 20. Pallid 21. Pertaining to a radius 22. Fail to hit 26. Mothers 27. Shady recess 31. Ridge over the eye 32. Shed tears 33. Drag 34. Sealed document 35. Former German capital 36. Legal charge
37. Aggregate 40. Club-like weapon 42. Without a head 43. Lame movement 45. Snorted 46. Lovers 47. Rail 52. Solely 53. Make indistinct 56. Refuge 57. Obese 58. Portals 59. Zest 60. Highly excited 61. Hats 62. Elderly person
Down 2. Wan 3. Keep away from
4. Wind instrument 5. Electrically charged atom 6. Having three dimensions 7. Shredded cabbage 8. Garment of ancient Rome 9. Mythical Greek hero 10. Noxious weed 13. Ascend 14. Woman who has lost her husband 15. Tantalize 17. Growl angrily 19. Missile 23. Male name 24. S Quebec city 25. Hog 28. Parallelogram 29. Trite 30. Unit of weight 36. Stagger 38. Indifferent 39. ReďŹ ne metal 41. Pitchers 44. Peer 48. Tear down 49. Ardent 50. Game of chance 51. Engineer 53. Wet areas 54. Spoils or plunder 55. Exhort 58. Father
ANSWERS
MARCH 2008
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 31
31
22/02/2008 11:15:09 AM
Reflections
BY GIPP FORSTER
I
ICE
like ice. If I have a drink, I like the glass to be packed to the top with ice and then have the beverage poured over it. Summer, autumn, winter and spring, I like ice. I don’t drink hot beverages like coffee and tea – never developed a taste for them. Now and then, I’ll partake in a mug of hot chocolate; but not often. I always seem to spill some on my shirt. And I won’t wear the bib my wife made for me. I don’t care what she thinks. I won’t wear it! What’s strange is, as much as I like ice, I do hate the cold. My wife thinks I’m an enigma, but I’m actually pretty regular. I loathed Ontario and Quebec winters while growing up: huge icicles hanging from eavestroughs, packed down lumpy snow on sidewalks, temperatures that threatened to freeze our lungs, hardened crusts across fields of snow. Give me good ol’ Victoria every time. “Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.” But for some reason, I like loads of ice in my drinks. From water to my Diet Pepsi. I remember as a kid, a few hundred years ago, chasing the ice wagon down our street. It wasn’t really a chase - a tired old horse pulled the wagon. In the back were blocks of ice covered in sawdust. There were only iceboxes back then. No fancy refrigerators with freezers and double doors and lights that went on or temperature gauges. Just a plain old icebox with a compartment on top for a chunk of ice chiselled to size and a lower compartment to keep a few things fresh. After a day or so, when the ice had shrunk in size, a bottle of milk or a slab of wrapped butter might be pressed in close for that extra chill. The iceman was an artist. When he’d get that old ice pick out and start to work on a block of ice, you could be sure by 32 32
the time it reached your icebox, it would fit perfectly into the compartment. I can still see him chiselling the ice down, pouring water over it to clean off the sawdust, hooking those big ice tongs in and carrying that block of gleaming ice up the stairs. It was because of these chips of ice, which he cut away, that we would follow his wagon. Too big a chunk wouldn’t fit into our mouths, so we would toss it from hand to hand, taking the odd lick, waiting for it to melt down to size. It was a great adventure! We didn’t know the icebox would go the way of the horse. But we didn’t think we would ever not be kids, either. Perhaps, it’s a leftover from those days, that makes me an ice fanatic today. You sure couldn’t get ice-cold drinks back then. There was no diet-this or diet-that either. Orange Crush, Pepsi and Coke in the corner stores were water-cooled. I can still see the cooler with the bottle opener on the side and the cup underneath to catch the caps, the liftup door on each end of the cooler and the bottles of pop sitting in about five inches of water. The labels were paper then, and I can remember the loose ones floating around in the water. You’d pull your favourite beverage out, wipe it on the cloth tied to the side of the cooler and pay your nickel if you were going to drink it there or seven cents if you were going to take it away. Most drinks were six ounces, but Pepsi-Cola’s radio jingle still tickles my mind: “Pepsi-Cola hits the spot/12 full ounces/that’s a lot!/Twice as much for your money too/Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you.” No mention of it being cold. In those days, pop was wet on the outside, as well as the inside. Now, cans of pop
Photo: Krystle Wiseman
THEN & NOW
are packed in ice. Few are bottled these days. Mostly cans. Ice remains the same, though. It’s still frozen water. My wife just commented that nothing “slips by” me! I love her encouragement. Although I like ice in my drinks, I don’t like cold showers. But I don’t think my wife believes me! More than not, when I take a shower, she turns on both taps in the kitchen and a hot shower suddenly becomes a fount that immediately turns me into the polar express. It’s amazing how fast one can get out of the shower without even opening the door. My wife’s such a kidder! People think me strange when I come in out of the cold and want a drink chock full of ice. My dad used to say I didn’t have the sense to come in out of the cold. I guess I’ve shown him! But I’m not strange. Oh, for heaven’s sake, there goes my wife in a fit of giggles again! I’d like to know what causes that. Anyway, I like ice. In my drinks, I mean. I’ve never had one of those fancy refrigerators that makes its own ice and dispenses its own ice water. I might get one if they come up with one that dispenses Diet Pepsi. Until then, I guess ice cubes will have to do. However, when I open the refrigerator door and a light comes on and I see so much sitting there staying fresh in the cold, I think of our old icebox. I open the freezer section and see all kinds of things, but no block of ice. In a way, that’s kind of sad. But all in all, I guess I have my icefilled drink to keep me warm. That – and memory – is enough. SL
SENIOR SENIOR LIVING LIVING VANCOUVER VANCOUVER & & LOWER LOWER MAINLAND MAINLAND
SL_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 32
22/02/2008 11:15:09 AM
Visit Senior Living’s Online Bookstore Discover a Selection of Books by Senior Authors and on Topics of Interest to Seniors NEW RELEASE EMBRACE THE JOURNEY - A Care Giver’s Story
by Valerie Green The very personal story of her own journey as a care giver to her elderly parents. This is a story which will touch many hearts and be relevant for numerous adult children who, in mid-life, are faced with a similar challenge and must make agonizing decisions and choices. It painfully addresses the problems encountered of ‘aging in place’ and the desire for loving couples to stay together in their home until the end of their lives. 96 pages. Softcover. 5.5” x 8.5” Published by Senior Living magazine, div. of Stratis Publishing Ltd. Price $14.95 To arrange a book signing or interview, contact Valerie Green at (250) 477-7438 or email valerie_green@telus.net
TO MOVE OR NOT TO MOVE?
A Helpful Guide for Seniors Considering Their Residential Options
If you are a senior who has been wondering lately whether you should consider moving - then this is the book that can help you ask the right questions and find the solution that is right for you. Advice from professionals who are experts in the area of assisting seniors with their relocation questions and concerns. Published by Senior Living October 2007. 128 pages. Softcover.
Price $9.95
THE SEARCH FOR JACQUELINE By Patricia O’Connor
This book tells of the search for the truth behind the reported death of the mother of top model Annie O’Hanlon. Annie receives an urgent call from journalist Dermot Moore who believes her mother Jacqueline is still alive. She joins him in his search for the truth regarding Jacqueline’s disappearance. Their hunt for answers almost costs Dermot his life as they try to solve the mystery of what happened to Jacqueline! Published 2005 by Starcast Publishing. 195 pages. 5” x 8” Softcover.
Price $23.95
THE SPOILS OF ANGEL’S WAR By Dave Sheed
The story unfolds in England at the beginning of the Second World War. Angela Gibson, affectionately known as Angel, was taught by her grandmother to “Know your station in life and never go above it”. Angel finds out that it isn’t always the plans that we make for our life, sometimes it’s the plans that life makes for us that determines the course of our life. Published 2007 by Publish America. 144 pages. 5.5” x 8.5” Softcover.
Price $20
GIPP FORSTER’S COLLECTED RAMBLINGS by Gipp Forster
A collage of over 150 anecdotes and insightful ruminations on life’s experiences, first aired on C-FAX radio, now provided in print format for your reading enjoyment. Published 1989. 188 pages. 5.5” x 8.5” Softcover.
Book Price $10
NUDE ON A FENCE
REFLECTIONS, REJECTIONS AND OTHER BREAKFAST FOODS by Gipp Forster
A collection of Gipp Forster’s published columns in Senior Living magazine, with other unpublished writings thrown in for good measure. A unique blend of humor and nostalgia.128 pages. Softcover. Published by Senior Living October 2007.
Price $14.95
MY PATCHWORK LIFE by Patricia O’Connor
After training as a fashion model in Dublin Patricia O’Connor travelled Europe and the US, working for many top designers including Yves St. Laurent, Pierre Cardin, and Ralph Lauren. An audition led to several years as a popular TV presenter. Part of this work covered finance and real estate, and Patricia studied in her spare time, qualifying as a stockbroker and real estate agent. Published 2006 by Publish America. 182 pages. 5.5” x 8.5” Softcover.
Price $14.95
NATURE’S BOUNTY: Why certain foods are so good for you by Dr. Bala Naidoo
A collection of articles on fruits, vegetables, beverages and other miscellaneous topics, covering the latest research on the health benefits of fibre, omega-3 fats, folates, antioxidants and other phytonutrients. It shows how to reduce the risks of heart disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes and obesity by choosing your food carefully. Published 2004. 176 pages. 5.25” x 8” Softcover. Price $21.95
NATURE’S BOUNTY: More about foods for a longer and healthier life by Dr. Bala Naidoo
A collection of articles on fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and other foods. It shows how, by choosing your food properly, you can reduce the risks of heart disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes and obesity. Published 2005. 168 pages. 5.25” x 8” Softcover. Price $21.95
by Eliza Hemingway
Fourteen short stories about people in compromising situations similar to being caught nude on a fence. Some are humorous, others poignant. Published 2006. 269 pages. 8.25” x 5.25” Softcover. Price $17.95
COVER_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 17
GST and Shipping Costs will apply. Please allow 2 weeks for delivery
Purchase these items online at
www.seniorlivingmag.com 22/02/2008 11:11:06 AM
COVER_VANCOUVER_MAR08.indd 14
22/02/2008 11:11:02 AM