Giving Thanks For Canadian Citizenship This Thanksgiving

The Certificate

Hi There, VivBounty here to share with you my gratitude this Thanksgiving season and on the 6th anniversary of our arrival in New Brunswick. In my case returning home to Canada after 17 years living abroad.

On October 9th, my hubby became a Canadian Citizen. There were 39 new Canadians taking the oath of citizenship at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton that day from 17 countries: New Zealand, Scotland, England, USA, India, Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Congo, Russia, Haiti & Romania, for example. Some had family with them, some had friends as guests and one that we know of seemed to come alone.

ICC, The Institute for Canadian Citizenship, a national non-profit charity that engages Canadians in active citizenship hosted a most enjoyable informal pre oath-taking roundtable discussion. Volunteer facilitators under the management of Mandy Joseph (ours was Irina from Romania of Hungarian descent who became a Canadian Citizen 20 years ago) asked questions like, "when did you first feel Canadian", "what makes you decide now to become a Canadian Citizen"? Our MC for the day, Marshall Button, the artist-in-residence at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton, the man behind "Lucien" , kept us entertained with Canadian anecdotes like having Tim Horton's coffee intravenously as initiation to being a Canadian. Tim Horton's coffee, tea, cake and of course, TimBits (TM) were provided for our enjoyment. He welcomed us on behalf of Moncton City Council Mayor, George LeBlanc and the other dignitaries.

Marshall Button (left) joins our roundtable with Irina (right)

As the volunteer spokesperson for each table stood to share in short what we discussed we heard words in both French and English like freedom, clean air, space, opportunity for employment, security, ability to vote, random acts of kindness, importance of education, and a sense for wanting to work for Canada, our land "True North Strong and Free", things many of us take for granted.

The Hon. Herménégilde Chiasson, former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick presided over the oath-taking ceremony in English and French, in a very welcoming and moving way. He thanked the new Canadians for choosing Canada as their home, shared some of Canada's history, welcomed them home, acknowledged the struggle for many to make it to this point while affirming that they would thrive here as positive additions to the diversity of Canada's population. The oath was taken en mass, and we were told each new Citizen had to be seen saying the words for it to be official. If you chose to use a religious book, you began your oath with "I swear", alternatively you would begin with "I affirm". Finally, each Citizen would go up on stage to receive their official Certificate of Canadian Citizenship.

 

Brian received certificate

I stood at the wrong side of the theatre because that's where the press box was, so only got a picture of Brian's back, but managed to get a video of his oath.

In a gift bag to each new Canadian Citizen, besides various small souvenirs of the day, was a Cultural Access Pass which provides complimentary admission to more than 1000 of Canada's cultural treasures from coast-to-coast-to-coast. The Cultural Access Pass creates opportunities for Canada's newest citizens to discover our rich cultural history, world-renowned artworks, historical figures and stunning parks, including discounts on Via Rail. Thirty five years ago when I became a Canadian citizen, our gift was a bible and in the absence of the pre-oath discussion, seemed a shorter, more solemn, albeit momentous occasion for my mother and I.

Marshall Button interviewed several new Canadian Citizens, including Brian, for his Friday morning show on CBC radio, which we were able to get the link to here. The auto start audio was a bit loud, so we provided the link instead of embedding the show below:

Citizen Marshall Button interviews New Canadians - Click here

Although our family and friends were not present at the ceremony, they were with us in spirit, in our hearts and evident in the cards and messages of congratulations and pride we received. My dad did not live to see this day, but he was represented by the bible upon which Brian swore his Canadian citizenship oath, which was given to my mum by her employer in his memory at the time of his passing.

After all was said and done, Marshall asked Brian what was the first thing he was going to do as a new Canadian Citizen and he said, "I'm going across the street to have a steak, mate".

Bountiful blessings and a very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

VivBounty

5 Steps I Follow For Good Sinus Health Before Flu Season And For Allergies

Hello There, VivBounty here to share with you my tips for using my neti pot, nasal flushing routine to avoid seasonal 'flu bugs, allergies and even postural vertigo.

My friend, John emailed me yesterday to say he was too ill to hold his weekly meeting. He went on to describe how he had sat outside on his deck the night before in the cool Fall breezes of Southern Ontario, Canada and managed to catch a chill which became full blown tonsillitis. I remember having this same reaction to sitting in a cold draft. I suffered with tonsillitis most of my life. That is until I discovered my neti pot and oil of oregano.

I too have to watch for drafts or I get ear/nose/head/throat infections. I even had seasonal allergy congestion in the Spring which caused me postural vertigo. Having traveled to the UK in March, being run down, not getting enough rest, an earache kept signaling the threat of an ear infection. Knowing I had to fly again to return home at the end of the three-week bereavement trip, I increased the frequency of my oil of oregano dose and used my neti pot as I described to my friend, John below:

My fastest cure is my Himalayan Institute Ceramic Neti Pot + pure non-iodized salt.

It seems an alien concept for us westerners, but it's been used for 1,000's of years in the far east by yogis and natural alternative medical practitioners. The trick is to breathe through your mouth when using the nasal pot to cleanse your sinuses.

I have not had to take a sinus pill or antibiotics in the 6 years I have been using this.

I combine nasal cleansing with daily immune maintenance dose of Pure Mediterranean Oil of Oregano (3-5 drops in a shot glass of water or orange juice). Keeps cold/flu/chill bugs away and maintains good health in the digestive tract and bowel so that you eliminate toxins and flush these bugs out regularly to heal faster. 1oz Oil of Oregano, Super Strength 83-85% Carvacol, Pharmaceutical Grade. Wild Oregano From Greek Mountains is anti fungal, anti infection, anti virus, it is just wonderful stuff and so easy to take.

Pharmaceutical antibiotics can create mutant strains of bacteria unlike pure natural oil of oregano which naturally fights the flu/sinus/cold/cough bugs. Not to get too personal, but for us women, having too many antibiotics can kill the good "soldiers" or "flora" in the bowel tract and then we get all sorts of nasty discomfort when yeast (the invading free radicals) takes over. Some antibiotics can be taken with yogurt to add probiotics to the intestinal tract but some violently react with dairy products to make you more ill, so unless I absolutely have had to take them for serious events like major surgery, I avoid antibiotics.

NOTE: Use only pure sterilized water (tap water can contain extremely harmful bacteria and contaminants) in your NETI POT:

Step 1 - I put 4 oz or 1/2 cup of sterilized water in a clean glass.

Step 2 -  I then stir in 1/8 of teaspoon of the pure non-iodized salt. I fill my sink to half-way with hot water and stand the glass in sink. This is to warm the solution up to body temperature. By the time I cleanse my face and brush my teeth it's warm enough and by now the salt has diluted into the water.

Step 3 -  I test this like you do a baby's milk, just take the teaspoon and scoop out some of the solution to drizzle on inside of your wrist. You should NOT put too hot or too cold water through your sinuses as it can irritate the mucous membranes, not to mention, when you have infection, hurts like heck!

Step 4 - Keep tissue box nearby. Give a quick stir to the water and pour 1/2 of it into the neti pot. Breathe through your mouth bend over sink, tilt head to the side and pour the 2 oz solution into your nostril, soon it's flowing out your other nostril. Give a very gentle blow. Discard tissue. Repeat step 4 for the other nostril tilting your head the opposite way, of course. Pour the rest of the solution/water into the neti pot. Now pour into other nostril. Breathe through mouth. No you won't drown :) I'm still here, aren't I? LOL :) Blow your nose very gently with tissue and discard.

Step 5 - Make sure to wash your neti pot out with anti bacterial soap, rinse thoroughly and leave out to  dry completely. Wash sink with antibacterial soap. I always have some in a pump on bathroom counter. Make sure your neti pot is dry and put away for tomorrow morning.

There is a video official 'how-to' video about nasal irrigation with a neti pot, but there are several things in it I disagree with (mainly the use of tap water), so I will not post it here.

Warning: Make sure you only use sterile water, and follow advice in the article below as you can open yourself up to worse things than a sinus infection.

I am very happy with my neti pot and keeping my immune system healthy with my oil of oregano while being sensible to take all precautions to use each according to strict instructions.

Until next time, take charge of your health and do your due diligence when beginning any new health regimen.

Healthy blessings to you and yours, 
VivBounty

Addendum to My Friend Emma Awarded Queen's Jubilee Medal blog post

Hello There, VivBounty here to add to the story of my friend, Emma Cormier being awarded the Queen's Jubiliee Medal.

It turns out my friend, Cathy Consentino of Timber River Farm Country Antiques was also awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal, but I did not find out until weeks after I attended Emma's ceremony. I certainly would have been there to celebrate with Cathy, had I known she was to be awarded or even if she had been invited to receive the award in person in a special ceremony like Emma's.

Cathy and Emma are just 2 of 60,000 deserving Canadians recognized during the year of celebrations, by being awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2012 for significant contributions and achievements, and as I have since discovered, not all recipients are invited to receive their honour in person in a formal ceremony. To my great disappointment, Cathy received her medal in the mail without any pomp, circumstance or pageantry and so I felt I must post this addendum in her honour.

I would be remiss if I did not share with you how much Cathy does for the region. Not only is she an antique dealer, with not one, but two antique stores, but she also finds time to be the President of PEDVAC, the Port Elgin District Voluntary Action Council, a registered charity which serves the surrounding district which runs from Cap Pele to the Nova Scotia border and from Halls Hill (Jolicure) to Cape Tormentine, on which board of directors Emma and I also serve, amongst others. PEDVAC offers a wide range of services including Food Bank, Christmas Boxes (food and gift boxes to families and individuals in need at Christmas), School Lunches, Boutique (A used clothing and household goods store which provides items from 25 cents to $4), Income Tax Preparation, Literacy, Youth At Risk, Advocacy, and Employment Opportunities (employing at least 3 people to make and sell products for social enterprise which makes mittens, pillows, and other items from recycled woollen and fleece items).

Cathy Consentino's volunteer experience and causes further include secretary of Port Elgin Housing Inc., a Social Services agency offering subsidized housing, she is board member/vice chair of Port Elgin Public Library and liaison member to Provincial Library Committee. Credit for content to Cathy's LinkedIn profile.

Manning the Timber River Antiques Shop in Summer 2012

The biggest reason that I write this post is to celebrate my friendship with this amazing lady who in addition to employing me from time to time in her shop with pay calling it a favour, has made me promise that I would never drive behind an ambulance alone again if ever, God forbid, my hubby (as it once happened) had to be rushed to a hospital in an emergency situation. She further clarified that it didn't matter what time of day or night, whatever weather, that I must call her and she would come with me. I would without a doubt do the same for her.

Congratulations Cathy, my friend on a well-deserved honour for your extraordinary service to our community, region, and like I mentioned in Emma's tribute, ultimately to Canada like Her Majesty The Queen who has been an extraordinary servant of her country, so are you to ours.

Please leave me a comment below and be sure to subscribe to this blog feed for more lovely stories about the joy of country living.

Bountiful blessings to you and yours, 
VivBounty

My Friend Emma Awarded Queen's Jubilee Medal

Hello There, VivBounty here to share with you the story of my friend, Emma Cormier being awarded the Queen's Jubiliee Medal. Emma is one of the first friendly faces we encountered in the community when we arrived here 5 years ago. As my husband was emigrating here, aside from the myriad of forms to fill in, medical tests were a part of the process. In those early days we spent a lot of time at the library printing forms and as much time between our local clinic and hospitals. More often than not, we met Emma at one or more of those places. As part of the same worshipping community, Emma, her sister, Emerise and I often met at church where they were ever so welcoming with smiles and Emma giving the warmest, tightest hugs making us certain that we had picked the right community to settle in. At the time, names were secondary and we only knew each others' faces from the village.

Left to right: Brian and Vivienne Edwards, Vina McGraw,
Emerise Cormier, Emma Cormier, Marc Cormier, Patsy Murphy,
Jeanine Cormier, Bernadette McGraw
Photo credit: Joan LeBlanc, Writer / Journalist / Photographer

At Mass one Saturday as we hugged Emma let me know about her impending award. I was thrilled at the news, assuring her that she certainly deserved it. She then invited us to attend the special ceremony, and to say that it was an honour would be an understatement! We were 2 of 7 guests permitted to witness the ceremony for each of the 6 recipients from our area, held at the Marshland's Inn in Sackville, NB.

Emma's list of volunteer efforts within the village for many years includes Treasurer of PEDVAC, where I have the pleasure of serving on the board with her, Church community work, local housing association, Scouts Canada and in our case, a warm welcome to a lovely village in the Maritimes. We didn't know this lady from a bar of blue soap and yet she has always treated us like family. It did not surprise us then that by command of Her Majesty the Queen, the Diamond Jubilee Medal was presented to Emma in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of her Majesty's accession to the throne and in recognition of her contribution to Canada.

The Ark, Safari Lodge, Aberdare Mountains, Kenya

Incidentally, this is even more special to me as Her Majesty's accession occurred while she was visiting my birthplace, Kenya. On vacation at the Treetops Lodge in Aberdare National Park, she received the news of her father's passing. The affectionate phrase often used to describe the transition was that "She was the young woman who went up a tree as a princess and came down a Queen". My mother as a young woman remembers Her Majesty's visit to Kenya, standing amid the crowds along the parade route in Nairobi for this auspicious occasion, awaiting a glimpse of the beautiful then-Princess Elizabeth in Kenya in 1952.

Officiating were recently appointed Liberal House Leader,
  Liberal Foregn Affairs citic, Beauséjour MP,  Dominic Leblanc,
NB Senator Fernand Robichaud, and representing RCMP
was the dapper Constable Yoan Comeau
Photo credit: Joan LeBlanc, Writer / Journalist / Photographer

The Queen has been an extraordinary servant of her country and likewise has Emma of our small community. Small communities like ours all across this great nation help to make Canada the wonderful country that it is and make me proud to call it my home. Emma's fellow recipients of the medal this year were Shirley Buck, Carolyn Carmichael, Doreen Richards, Francis Sweeney and Michael Dean. Without these hard working volunteers and so many others like them, our communities simply would not have many services taken for granted in larger towns and cities. Congratulations to all the recipients of the Queen's Jubilee medal and thank you all for your selfless contribution to make the world a better place.

Congratulations to my friend, Emma Cormier! We love you and thank you for including us in this celebration of Her Majesty the Queen and yourself, who are both such a large part of the fabric of our lives.

Article addendum: 

Please leave me a comment below and be sure to subscribe to this blog feed for more lovely stories about the joy of country living.

Bountiful blessings to you and yours, 
VivBounty

We Got a Moose

Hello there, VivBounty here to share the exciting story of our friend Rob's moose hunt.

Rob's moose 40 years ago

The last time Rob shot a moose was 40 years ago. 1972 was a big year for him and Angie. First they bought a 200 acre farm, then he shot a moose and to put the icing on the cake, their daughter was born. That year Rob called his childhood friend Roger to help him drag the moose out of the woods.

To obtain his coveted moose-hunting license this year was literally the luck of the draw for Rob. Over the years since he shot his first moose, his name has been "in the hat" so to speak from time to time with about 60,000 other hopefuls. Imagine the excitement when he knew this year he was awarded one! For each license awarded 2 shooters are permitted to hunt for the moose, commonly referred to as the 1st gun and the 2nd gun. Rob chose his friend Ronnie, a born woodsman around these parts as his second gun. It is only fitting that his boyhood friend, Roger was invited to go along just as an unarmed observer.

Rob's injured knee played a big part in the hunt this year. Ronnie must be given much credit for his preparations going into the woods days ahead for several runs on the ATV to find a trail with a good line of sight, scouting for moose tracks to decide on the best place to build a blind on the ground where Rob could perch safely and comfortably to take aim and from which Roger could observe. To say New Brunswickers are passionate about moose hunting is an understatement and Ronnie's own childhood friend, Donny, although not part of the actual hunt, helped him to scout and build the blind for the comfort and safety of all concerned.

On the day of the hunt the drive-bys and preparation had not been in vain as Ronnie went walk about to circle the area hopefully getting a moose to walk out into Rob's line of sight on the logging trail. This is not an exact science, the general consensus being if you see a moose and you are licensed, you best take your shot or you may not see it again during your 3-day permit and fines are steep not only for shooting a moose out of season, but also for keeping moose meat in your freezer without a permit. Well Ronnie's preparation and instincts paid off, the moose appeared and he took his shot.

Now the moose had to be field dressed in the woods. This involves removing the organs which can get quite messy if you don't know what you are doing. Depending on the ethnicity of the hunter, the liver and heart may be kept for later consumption.

The next thing was to drag the moose with the ATV from the mile or so into the woods out to the main road where Rob's truck was parked. He says, "Real men manhandle the moose onto the truck but why work hard when you can work smart?" One of the few hunters in the area with a winch on his truck, they hoisted the moose up onto the bed of the pick up.

That evening Angie looked at her watch about 9:30 thinking to herself  "It's kinda late to be out in the woods." Dare she hope they got one? Well indeed they had! The proud and exhilarated hunters returned with their prize moose all shiny and white inside on the bed of the pick up truck. Angie took these wonderful pictures and the moose was carefully placed where it could cool naturally without the worry of spoiling until it could be examined by the biologist the morning. It is against the law to skin the moose before the biologist has examined it. Fortunately weather conditions were ideal with our local temperature being only 3°C overnight.

The next morning the biologist removed a tooth from the lower jaw which indicated the age of the moose to be about 2 years and a male, commonly called a bull.  Rob's guestimation by the size of his prize moose was that he was too small to have been born in the spring 2 years ago but larger than if he was born this past spring, making him approximately 16 months old, young enough to yield approximately 485 lbs of tender, less gamy, more beefy tasting meat for the consumption of 2 very happy families.

Rob with what's left of the poor fella

There is much cause for celebration in Rob's, Ronnie's and Roger's households this year on this momentously rare occasion. I'm so grateful to Angie for sharing your great pictures with me for this blog as I'm sure are your children who were unborn the last time their dad got a moose. Congratulations to Rob on getting the license, Ronnie for being chosen as the 2nd gun and shooting the moose and Roger for being the fortunate witness to only the 2nd time in 40 years his friend got a moose. 

Until next time, be sure to subscribe to this blog feed for more lovely stories about the joy of country living.

Bountiful blessings to you and yours, 
VivBounty

Making Tie Fleece Blankets As Physiotherapy For Stroke Survivors

Hi There, VivBounty here to share with you a wonderful way for stroke survivors to get some physiotherapy and have some fun too in the process. My eldest sister is a stroke survivor, a simplified description which doesn't even begin to cover what she endured and has overcome.

When we moved to the country, out here in the beautiful Canadian Maritimes, Juliette had just started an in-home physiotherapy program where she learned how to make tie fleece blankets. Her occupational therapist, Debbie would come once a week to work with her, help her cut and let her tie the knots to keep and improve the dexterity in her affected hand and arm. Read more about her story at the link below.

Making Tie Fleece Blankets As Physiotherapy For Stroke Survivors - CLICK HERE

While she was visiting with us last Spring, we made my birthday present from her together. The zebra is my favourite animal so she brought the printed fabric with her and we bonded over this beautiful labour of love. I snuggle with my "blanky" every evening in front of the wood stove, wrapped in my sister's love remembering our evening walks, drives along winding country roads and those many moments we shared making lovely memories. Aren't I lucky that we get to do this all again next month? I'm so excited I can't wait for my mum and sisters to arrive so that we can top up our love, hugs and giggles tanks! When you read her story at the link above, I'm sure you'll be as amazed by her as we are.

Until next time, hug someone you love,
VivBounty

Another stroke survivor, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D tells her amazing story below in the book My Stroke Of Insight - A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey:

6 Things We Found Out About Buying Firewood

Hello There, VivBounty here to share with you 6 things we found out about buying firewood.

Being city slickers and globe trotters, we were somewhat clueless about how to go about finding this firewood and soon learned a lot. Needless to say the maritimers around us spent a lot of time shaking their heads with well-meaning smiles. Read more here ->>>>> 6 Things We Found Out About Buying Firewood

Stay tuned for the wonderful hospitality and generosity of spirit of our new-found extended family of helpers in my next article, "Firewood Arrived Just In Time".

Until then, remember that a friend in need is a friend in deed.

Prosperous Blessings,
VivBounty