Submitted by: Swan River & District Community Resource Council Inc.
Service to Seniors
We welcome all for coming out this week to the Coffee and a Chat, the weatherman worked with us, there was the possibility of poor weather. We had a good turnout with rural people getting through the country roads to attend. Good for you!
Rod Seib the one and only peer support worker from Swan River entranced us with stories about Well-Being 101. We had a very nice rally of information from the audience and his presentation on how we can stay physically and mentally well. It is true that to be physically well you must be mentally well also. They go hand in hand. There are 8 dimensions of well being:
1. Physical
2. Environmental
3. Social
4. Intellectual
5. Financial
6. Occupational
7. Emotional
8. Spiritual
Your well being involves making an active choice to care for your physical and mental health, it involves deciding what you need to do everyday in order to continue to feel good and maintain a positive state of mind.
*Mental health is a process-not a destination
*Be resilient when life does not go your way today
What is Self-Compassion? To act with understanding and kindness toward yourself when:
• You are having a difficult time
• Fail or make a mistake
• Notice something you do not like about yourself
• forgive yourself first for past indiscretions, no one is perfect, every day!
Caroline Foster had to cancel her sourdough demonstration, hopefully she can come in June. We were sure looking forward to learning about sourdough. Our activity worker Kamden came to Birch River to fill her spot with seated exercises with pool noodles. Exercising with a group and a pool noodle sure does create a lot of fun. Maybe we didn’t even notice we were exercising!
Shannon Gauthier did a live presentation in Swan River on the 26th “lets make Bannock”.
Shannon comes to us with a wealth of information on baking Bannock. She says she has only been making Bannock for a couple of years. She is a quick study, as her Bannock was as delicious as it smelled. Shannon set up right in front of us with her ingredients of flour, oil, baking powder, sugar and warm water. She usually makes a “batch” that requires 8 cups of flour. She did say that the recipe for Bannock can be downsized for every family unit, the measurements can be split in two or even four if you are sure you don’t want to be tempted to each the whole batch. We asked how long will Bannock last before it is stale, she smiled and said, “I’m not sure, I’ve really never had leftovers”! After sampling her fresh Bannock we all agreed, we might eat it all fresh and to heck with the diet today!
Key takeaways from Bannock making is to use warm, (not hot) water, put all ingredients into one bowl and do not stir vigorously, but gently fold the ingredients to form a nice soft ball. Let rest a few minutes while you wash your hands and get your pan ready. Put your Bannock baby on the cookie sheet and pat down to approximately 3/4 of an inch thick, prick with a fork about every 1-2 inches. This helps the steam escape and create lift to the baked Bannock.
Bake your Bannock at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes or until it is a nice light brown. Brush with butter and let the Bannock rest on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then enjoy. Shannon says that it is best torn than cut, as cutting will make the Bannock tough.
We had extra to give away, I wanted to have the extra in uniform pieces, so I lightly cut,(yes, I did cut with a bread knife) the fresh Bannock into pieces. Proof! Listen to your teachers. The torn Bannock was light and airy and the cut Bannock was, just as she said, not as nice. I have learned my lesson.
We have a great plan for our April Coffee and a Chat, we will get together to “chat” and do our mending. Yes I said it, we will take a needle and thread and do some mending. We always have a loose button, a fallen hem, maybe a torn or worn out spot on a shirt. If you do not know how to mend, we will teach you, if you are no longer able to thread a needle, we will do that for you, if you cannot do it yourself, but know how, you can teach others how to do it. We have an open invitation to young and older people, men, women and children to come, bring something to mend and leave with a garment you can now wear with pride now that it is mended! April 28th in Birch River, 29th morning in Benito and 29th afternoon in Swan River
We look forward to seeing everyone in April for a presentation with PEAM, Prevent Elder Abuse Manitoba, this group is coming from Winnipeg, lets show them a warm welcome with a full house. Thanks for supporting Coffee and a Chat.