Located in Port Credit, Verve Senior Living is pleased to announce the upcoming Grand Opening of a new and exciting senior living community. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in September and the Retirement apartments and Residence is expected to open mid-2020.
The Shores of Port Credit is a multi-residential, fully integrated community of Adult Lifestyle housing and consists of:
Phase 1
- 16 luxury Condominium Townhomes with private elevators.
Phase 2
- 8-storey, upscale, concierge-style rental apartments; Independent 1-bedroom,
1-bedroom plus den and 2-bedroom suites with full gourmet kitchen, ensuite laundry, pool, fitness gym and entertaining space. - 8-storey, personalized, full-service Retirement Residence; Independent, Supportive Living and dedicated Assisted Living and Memory Care neighbourhoods.
- The residence offers substantial amenity spaces.
Hello. My name is Jack and my wife Velma and I live at The Credit River Retirement Residence at Streetsville, Ontario. We take great pleasure to introduce you to a very remarkable young man who created the Lucky Iron Fish. For those of you who have not heard of it I would suggest that you go on the Internet and click on luckyironfish.com This will give you a much better explanation of its Health and Medical Benefits. First, I must reveal that Dr. Armstrong just happens to be our Grandson.
Read our original post about our grandson’s accomplishments.
UPDATE
Recently our grandson appeared on the hit television series ‘Dragon’s Den’ to pitch Lucky Iron Fish to the panel.
Click here to watch his episode!
During a recent visit to The Lodge at Valley Ridge Retirement Residence, Denise Kato came across a resident carrying a box of glasses. As it turns out, the gentleman, Richard Wilcox, a resident of The Lodge at Valley Ridge, was collecting them for his granddaughter who is currently attending the University of Waterloo for optometry. Each year she takes these glasses around the world (Peru, Haiti, Nicaragua, etc.) to provide free eye examinations and provides the donated glasses to those in need. Denise was inspired by this project and spoke to Richard about how Verve could assist. Richard set a goal of 300 pairs of glasses but we moved the goal to 600.
Verve is excited to announce that we surpassed the goal of 600 by more than 3 times by collecting over 2000 pairs of eyeglasses!
Congratulations to Canterbury Place who raised the most pairs with 438 glasses! A special thanks to the Canterbury team!
A huge thanks to everyone who participated as we could not have done this without all your hard work and dedication. We have really shown that we stay true to our Verve Values!
Summer squash, aka zucchini, is every home gardeners dream and then nightmare all at once. In the beginning of the season they long for the large yield of zucchini and summer squash, as it takes so little effort to cultivate, but come harvest when they are knee deep in zucchini, eating it for breakfast lunch and dinner and leaving zucchini gift packages on their friends doorsteps they vow never to grow it again….but then come spring they remember the plentiful bounty with fondness and start the process all over again!
History
It is generally accepted that summer squash is native to the Americas. Remains have been found in Central America and Mexico dating back as far as 7000 BC. From its southern origin, squash spread throughout North America.
Canadian Statistics
- 2827 hectares of summer squash are planted across Canada each year, resulting in a harvest of 30,000 tonnes!
- 53% are grown in Ontario with Quebec and BC share the remaining bulk of production.
Varieties
- Green & Yellow Zucchini: have soft, thin skin with firm, mild-tasting, white flesh. These varieties are really versatile and can be eaten raw or cooked.
- Yellow Squash: two varieties straight neck and crook neck. Both varieties have fatter bottoms and taper towards the neck. When picked young, yellow squash are nice eaten raw.
- Costata Romanesco Zucchini: has pale and dark green stripes with soft, thin skin and a rich, nutty flavor.
- Pattypan Squash: Flying saucer shaped, this variety is just as much fun to look at as they are to eat. Pattypan squash come in a variety of shades of green, yellow, and a mixture of the two, and all have scalloped edges. They’re slightly denser and have a little more crunch than other varieties of summer squash. Use them in a salad, slice them for a quick sauté, or you can stuff the larger ones.
- Cousa Squash: shorter and squatter than classic zucchini, with a mix of pale and medium green striations. It has thin skin with a light texture and slightly sweet flavor.
- Zephyr Squash: a hybrid between yellow crook neck, delicata, and yellow acorn squash. It has firm flesh and a long, cylindrical pale yellow body that’s slightly tapered at the neck, with a distinct bottom portion that can vary in hue from pale to deep green.
- Eight Ball Zucchini: round shape with the same mild taste as classic green zucchini. These short, fat veggies are ideal for stuffing.
Health Benefits
- One half cup of cooked summer squash contains 16 calories, 1 gram of protein, 3 grams of carbohydrates, some vitamin A and C, and some fibre.
- Zucchini is high in the antioxidant vitamin C, which may help the lining of your blood cells function better, lowering blood pressure and protecting against clogged arteries.
- One cup of sliced zucchini has 20 milligrams of Vitamin C, about 33% of your daily value.
Fun Facts
- A zucchini has more potassium than a banana.
- The flower of the zucchini plant is also edible.
- The world’s largest zucchini on record was 69 1/2 inches long, and weighed 65 lbs. Grown by Bernard Lavery of Plymouth Devon, UK.
- The word zucchini comes from ‘zucca’ the Italian word for squash.
Living Loving Local Recipes:
This month our Verve properties throughout Canada will feature the following zucchini recipe:
Native to the Americas. It outstrips both rice and wheat in terms of global production. In Canada, it is our third most valuable crop after canola and wheat. Corn has been fed to humans and livestock for centuries and with todays advanced processing technologies it is now the base for pretty much every product you use in your daily life. From fuel to shampoo, baking mixes to orange juice, candies to pharmaceuticals, corn provides a cheap and stable ingredient base.
History
Also known as maize, grain corn was a chief source of nourishment for thousands of years, sustaining the Mayas, Aztecs, Incas and the Indian peoples of North and South America.
After the early settlers arrived in America, corn was introduced to Europe and is now cultivated in Africa, China, Russia and many other parts of the world.
Plant selection by farmers resulted in changes in the genetic makeup of the species over time. In North America two types of corn emerged from this genetic selection, field corn and sweet corn. Field corn is mainly used as animal feed or for industrial uses while sweet corn, with its higher sugar content, is used for human consumption.
Corn is unique among Canadian grain crops because of its North and Central American origin. With the exception of wild rice, all other Canadian grain crops have originated in Europe.
Canadian Statistics
- Sweet corn is grown on over 20,000 hectares of land, making it the most extensively planted vegetable in Canada, grown in all provinces.
- Sweet corn is one of the major field grown vegetable crops in Canada, with a farm gate value of $72 million in 2012, placing it third in crop value behind carrots and tomatoes.
- Maize (grain corn) is the number one cereal crop worldwide with 885.3 million tonnes produced in 2011.
Health Benefits
- Corn is good source of folate and contains fibre, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin C, niacin and thiamine. An average ear of corn has 83 calories. Corn is a source of two antioxidants that are good for our eyes, zeaxanthin and lutein.
An Ingredient for Daily Life
- There are over 3,500 different uses for corn products
- While some products are made from the whole corn kernel, other products use only one component. The kernel can be broken down into four components: bran, gluten, starch, and germ.
- The bran is a good source of fibre and used to increase fibre levels of many commercial food products.
- Gluten is the main protein in corn and is used as feed for beef and dairy cattle, poultry and hogs and human consumption.
- Starch is used as a thickening, gelling, and binding agent for a variety of products, including puddings and pie fillings, wallpaper paste, aspirin, chalk, drywall panelling, and biodegradable plastics. It is also converted to sugar and used as a sweetener.
- The germ produces oil for cooking as well as a source of power.
Fun Facts
- There is one strand of silk for each kernel on a cob.
- On average there are about 800 kernels on an ear of corn.
- An ear of corn always has even number rows.
- Corn is grown on every continent except Antarctica.
Living Loving Local Recipes:
This month our Verve properties throughout Canada will feature the following corn recipes:
July 6th, 2018 marked a special day as family, friends and library staff gathered at the Parkview Village auditorium to celebrate the graduation ceremony of the Seniors Intergenerational Tech Training course.
One by one, faces beaming, the seniors walked proudly into the room dressed in black graduation gowns and caps. They are among the first group to complete the eight-week program offered by the Whitchurch-Stouffville library and supported by the federal New Horizons for Seniors grant. The program pairs seniors and teens one-on-one in a classroom environment with a professional instructor to teach seniors how to use iPads and to encourage new social connections.
“It was incredible to see and feel the excitement and sense of accomplishment amongst the seniors as they progressed throughout the eight-week program,” said program instructor, Brian Freedman. “So, capping all of this off with a formal graduation ceremony seemed the most appropriate and natural way to mark this amazing milestone.”
Feedback submitted by the senior participants expressed how important and meaningful the program was to them.
“I can use an iPad and be alive,” exclaimed one. “Gave me the feeling that I’m not really that old,” said another.
Other comments included, “Thank you so much for the opportunity to have this learning. Children get to learn and we want to learn too.
“It means so much to be able to chat and have face time with my relatives in Australia, especially my 97-year-old aunt.
“There are lots of things to discover and do research on. I can find more and make connections with people to stay in touch, exchange ideas, information and thoughts.
“The interactions with the students make this training special. I made friends with a student and we talked about many things and it is amazing that we did not feel the age difference.”
Click here to read original article from the Stouffville Review
Meet Me at the MoMA is an art program utilizing prints, sketches, and photography from the Museum of Modern Art. An art lecture series will accompany all art modules in the Meet Me at the MoMA program. Residents will enjoy working with art in different mediums and have the opportunity to engage in intellectual conversations about art history, the artists and their works. Art alone can be fun and experiential but is not limited to just an artistic endeavour, but residents will also enjoy the many health benefits associated with art and will be encouraged and supported in their artistic expression and creativity.
This is a program designed to engage all resident populations: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care. Families are welcome to join their loved ones who reside in Memory Care to experience Art first hand.
Benefits of the Meet Me at the MoMA Art and Lecture Program
There are many reasons to pick up a paint brush and begin to paint but it is not just limited to being an artistic endeavour. Painting is extremely therapeutic and calming and the following are the most common benefits:
- Helps individuals relax
- Assists with critical thinking skills
- Reduces depression and anxiety
- Assists in socialization
- Improves cognition
- Offers sensory stimulation
- Fosters a stronger sense of identity
- Nurtures spirituality
- Reduces boredom
- Develops and sharpens fine motor skills
- Boosts creativity: Creative seniors visit the doctor less, take less medication, and have higher morale
- Improves concentration
Ron Freckleton, Resident at Trinity Lodge Retirement Residence and Ambassador to the 2018 Investors Group Walk and Run has once again generated tremendous success from a project called “Adopt a Dahlia”.
More than $1400.00 has been donated to the Alzheimer Society of Calgary to date. A substantial portion of these funds have been donated by residents, staff members, family and friends of Trinity Lodge.
We are honoured to be a part of Ron’s vision and our community expresses our gratitude for all the hard work that he has put in to this project. We are very proud and overjoyed to have Ron as part of our Trinity Lodge Team!
If you would like to donate to “Adopt a Dahlia” fundraising, please call the Alzheimer Society at (403) 290-0110. (more…)
We Canadians love our blueberries. We enjoy them fresh with cream or milk on cereal, ice cream, in pancakes, muffins, scones, cobblers, pies, cakes and savoury dishes too.
It’s no surprise then, that Canada is the world’s second largest producer of blueberries and the world leader in wild blueberry production.
Wild vs. Cultivated:
- Wild blueberries (also called lowbush blueberries) are native to Eastern North America and grow best on treeless land or on land that has been burned over. Wild blueberries are unusual because growers do not plant them, but instead manage wild stands that spread naturally by means of underground runners. A very perishable berry, it is most often used for processing vs fresh sales. A crop is harvested every second year from wild blueberry plants.
- Cultivated (aptly called highbush blueberries, as they can grow 5 to 7 feet tall!) were developed from the wild variety in the first half of the 20th century. British Columbia grows most highbush blueberries (93 percent) of all the provinces but they can also be found in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. They are larger and less perishable than the wild variety, which makes them highly suitable for shipping fresh to retail markets.
Health Benefits:
- Blueberries are an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C and have more than twice as many antioxidants as most other fruits. Blueberries also contain proanthocyanins that may help prevent urinary tract infections, and anthocyanin-a natural compound linked to reducing eye strain.
- A “Superfood”, blueberries may have applications in fighting cancer, and high cholesterol, and may contribute to heart health since they appear to act as an anti-inflammatory. They may also slow the effects of aging, particularly the loss of memory and motor skills.
Why Are Blueberries Blue?
- Blueberries are one of the few “true blue” foods. It receives its colour from the high levels of the flavonoid anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a water-soluble pigment that can range from the colour blue to red. Pigmentation is at its height during the first six days of colourization, this symbolizes the berry’s early stage of maturity.
Does Size Matter?
- Just because they’re bigger doesn’t mean they’re sweeter! Look for the bluest fruit, they are the sweetest.
The Buzz About Bees:
- Bees are often “imported” from other farms and even other provinces to pollinate blueberry fields. From mid-May to June depending on location, trailer loads of honey bees can be seen moving around the province as they are delivered to blueberry fields to pollinate. They are then returned to their honey farms to harvest the blueberry honey.
Living Loving Local Recipes:
Here is just one of the many delicious recipes we are celebrating cherries with this month:
Shelley Snoulten of Holland Gardens Retirement Residence, left, presents a cheque to Danube Seniors Leisure Centre President, Gertrud Erdenberger. Miriam King/BradfordToday
Members of the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre look forward to July, and the Salad Days Luncheon.
They dress up in their summery best, with floral shirts, capris and straw hats, and come out to enjoy a lunch of cold ham, roast pork and turkey, and an array of salads.
“There’s three bean, potato, pasta, carrot, Waldorf, green salad,” said Elke Pitkin, who co-ordinates the event.
Plus, there is a Jell-O mold and deviled eggs, rolls, coffee, tea, fruit punch, and dessert. With ice cream.
Seventy-six members attended the luncheon — “Not bad for summer,” said Pitkin, who put in long hours with a team of volunteers, to ensure that everything was a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.
“You don’t want to disappoint. It’s a matter of pride,” she said.
No one was disappointed with the meal, or with the announcement made by a special guest.
Shelley Snoulten, from Holland Gardens Retirement Residence, came to share news of the new facility now under construction on Holland Street West and to present a donation of $500 from Holland Gardens and Verve Senior Living.
The gift was meant “to help offset the costs for these delicious lunches,” Snoulten said. “I want to thank you… We’re very excited to become a member of the Bradford community.”
The next luncheon for members will be a barbecue in August.
Watch for details, or call 905-775-0612 for information about membership in the BWG seniors association and the Danube centre.