It’s an intriguing claim that needed confirmation – a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookie. On a sunny Mother’s Day weekend we decided to serve these cookies along with homemade challah bread, sandwich fillings, cheese, baked crab and cheese appetizers, strawberries and baked goods. The baked goods were chosen to appeal to the children and the savory items were for the benefit of the adults.
Thanks go to the good people at the Guardian newspaper for providing the recipe. The cookies were a hit and we already need to not only share the recipe but also check in with friends who have been planning to try it out.
The dough needs to be made the day before and chilled in the fridge. Since this is a British recipe you will also need a scale to weigh many of the ingredients. Pay careful attention if you are not used to reading a scale to make sure that you have the right measurements. The recipe calls for broken dark chocolate; however, we used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips instead. After it is mixed, the dough will be firm but not too dry.
The next day form golf ball size balls and space them out on an ungreased cookie sheet. If you have parchment paper, you can line the tray. Do not use wax paper as it is not meant for baking and will stick to the bottom of the cookies.
Set the stove timer for two minutes before the recommended minimum time to see how they are fairing. Don’t bake the cookies beyond the maximum time of 15 minutes. Once you take the cookies out of the oven, sprinkle them with sea salt and let them cool for five minutes on the tray. As they cool, they will continue to cook. You will end up with cookies that are fully baked, but still moist.
The challah bread was made fresh and timed to be ready just in time for the tea. We used a recipe from the Canadian Bread Machine Baking cookbook, by Roxanne McQuilkin*. Since this is a white bread recipe, it is not an ideal choice if you prefer whole wheat; however, it works well for a special tea.
As soon as the bread is baked, you need to rub the surface with butter. You can also coat it with sesame or poppy seeds. Since our tea included five young children, we kept it plain.
In this era of Pinterest and gorgeous celebration photos it can feel daunting to put on a tea. It is best to forget the glam photos you’ve seen, choose your favourite recipes and pile everything on the table. You’ll end up with a spread that even Martha Stewart would love.
We’d love to hear from you so don’t be shy! You can comment about this posting using the comment function below or visit us at our Facebook page.
* BCFamily.ca is connected to the Amazon Associates programme. Note that the one review of this book looks a bit spammy. You can find a better review on the Indigo.ca site. The book has many simple and unique recipes that don’t require special trips to the store. If you’re keen on using your bread machine, you’ll definitely want to have this cookbook on your shelf.
* An invitation to contribute your suggestions and feedback is included towards the end of this piece.
Politicians aren’t shy about communicating what they think should be done to address challenges and needs in British Columbia. Yet how often do constituents have an opportunity to communicate with politicians and bureaucrats about their experiences and concerns? People can support ideas and agendas through the votes that they cast and some more politically active British Columbians join political parties, volunteer with organizations or campaign for causes. Unfortunately many people are resigned to feeling that they only get to share their opinions around election time – a time when politicians often discuss the topics that appear to be popular. Haven’t we all heard the term “National Daycare Programme” bandied about decade after decade by federal politicians?
The best time to address issues and concerns is in the quieter moments in between elections. Elected politicians will seek input face-to-face or via social media and constituents have more opportunities, nowadays, to pass on their questions and concerns. As a parent, grand-parent or concerned citizen who cares about families in British Columbia, it is now possible to provide input to elected officials while, at the same time, sharing your contributions more broadly with everyone in the community.
We often have to communicate with politicians we don’t particularly like who come from a different planet, ideologically. It may seem like an insurmountable task to collaborate in this type of circumstance. As Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia points out, to engage in dialogue and reach a consensus we need to know which “intuition buttons” to honour. The five “receptors” include: what’s fair and what amounts to cheating; what constitutes caring or harm to others; loyalty and betrayal; respect for authority or subversion of authority; and concerns about what is sacred or degrading.
Premier Christy Clark indicated in her leadership campaign and has emphasized more recently as Premier that the needs and concerns of families in British Columbia are a priority for her administration. She would like to hear from people like yourself about what is and isn’t working for families here in BC. Regardless of your political affiliations or how you feel about Premier Clark and her colleagues, this is an ideal opportunity to voice your concerns and to share information. All politicians – whether or not they belong to the BC Liberal Party – also have the opportunity to hear what you have to say and consider your input.
The Premier would like to begin a dialogue about the challenges and concerns that parents in British Columbia face and what government can do to make life easier and better for British Columbia. While considering this topic it is helpful to be aware of constraints, inevitable trade-offs and choices that have to be made when policies are developed and implemented. (See page 8 and 9 of the Service Plan referenced in the “Related” section below for background information about current constraints and challenges in BC.)
To further inform yourself about the work that is being done in the province of British Columbia, consult the Welcome BC, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health (Children and Youth section) and Ministry of Children and Family Development (including the Early Childhood Intervention programme) websites. On these pages you will find information about the core programmes that the BC government runs in support of children and families in the province.
It’s your turn to have your say. What would you like to say to Premier Clark about the challenges that your family is facing? There is no wrong feedback or written format, however elaborate or concise your contributions might be.
On the flip side, which programmes and services are working for your family? Which programmes should continue to receive the current level or increased funding? For example, the Strong Start programme has been well received and could be expanded further.
* What is a general topic of concern that affects your family? For example, you might be concerned about services to help children with special needs.
* What is a specific example of the challenges that your family (or someone you know) is facing? For example, a wait list for speech therapy in Vancouver can clear in three months whilst in Coquitlam it can be over two years.
* Can you give a suggestion about what kinds of changes could be made? For example, attention should be paid to how staffing levels of support professionals have not changed in areas that have experienced a population surge, such as the TriCities area in the Lower Mainland. An inability to support and provide early intervention services results in magnified challenges in later school years. More group classes such as the Hanen Programme could be funded to provide up to eight families at one time with speech therapy training while eight children are waiting to clear the speech therapy wait list.
* Can you give an example of best practices elsewhere that could be considered by BC officials? For example, in Italy coordinated and integrated publicly funded Early Childhood Education and Care (ECE&C) programmes address the needs of early education and also care, enabling women to remain in and re-enter the workforce. The Italian example provides quality programmes such as the Reggio Emilia curriculum to children at the infant and pre-school level. Children can fully participate in these programmes irregardless of the work status of both parents. In contrast, much of the 19% rise in unemployment in the United Kingdom is connected to the cuts in child tax credits and child benefits. These British women cannot afford childcare and therefore cannot afford to work. This is not good news for the struggling UK economy. When women stay in and enter the workforce, their presence invigorates the economy. This is one of the primary motivations for promoting and developing comprehensive coordinated ECE&C programmes in Scandinavian countries. The tax dollars in these countries ear marked to support families are well spent.
Here is an example of the types of topics that might come to mind; however, do not feel constrained by these examples. Do focus on the issues that are most relevant to you and your family.
* increased support for childcare, and supports for families to enable parents to choose to stay home with their young children
* a comprehensive poverty action plan that includes a living wage for families
* increased availability of safe and affordable housing for low-income families
* increased investment in prevention and early intervention programs and services that reduce risk for children and families. (This list was posted online by Marilee Peters, Director of Communications, BC Council for Families.)
You’re invited to share your input in the comment section of this page (see below), on the BCFamily.ca Facebook page or by sending an E-mail via BCFamily.ca. Please send your contributions by 9 PM, Sunday, May 6th.
All input will be shared anonymously unless you decide to include more personal information such as your full name and related details, or first name and the initials of your last name in the body of your contribution. All feedback will be shared directly with Premier Clark and her colleagues, on this website, via social media and the #BCpoli and #CC4moms hashtags on Twitter, thereby enabling anyone who is interested to benefit from the information that you have shared.
Your input is invaluable, unique and is most appreciated.
If you were a resident in Kingston, Ontario or a student at Queen’s University in the late 1980s and 1990s, there’s a good chance you ate at a modest cafe called Windmills Cafe. As you can see from the photograph in the image below, it was a casual place where you could find hearty food such as deli sandwiches, baked muffins and coffee. The name of the cafe and the business ownership have changed and the cafe now offers a completely different type of dining experience. Then again, nowadays everything is sleeker than it perhaps once was in the simpler (relatively speaking) days of the 1980s and ’90s.
At the time one of the most famous dishes at the cafe was their veggie burger. What a thrill it was to see that they shared the recipe in the local paper. Here is a scan of the recipe that was clipped out and transported from Kingston to Ottawa, around Vancouver and then off to Yokohama, Japan and back! Keep in mind that you can adjust the amounts for the herbs and mustard according to your taste.
If you are looking for a healthy and affordable alternative to meat or tofu burgers, do give this recipe a try. It is delicious! This is one recipe that you will want to pass along to friends.
We’d love to hear from you so don’t be shy! You can comment about this posting using the comment function below or visit us at our Facebook page.
The following video is from another Windmills Cafe in Lanarkshire, United Kingdom. It is such a heart warming story about how we can do so much more to be inclusive and provide equal opportunities for everyone – including people with learning difficulties and additional support needs. Enjoy!
Spring is well on its way and news of wedding invitations and royal visits to Canada is in the air. If these events aren’t on your agenda, you might be surprised to learn that there are a number of occasions when you could still wear a hat or even a fascinator. “Why a fascinator?,” you ask. Fascinators became a focus of conversations this time last year. You will recall that even Peter Mansbridge, of CBC’s The National, was talking about this popular British fashion trend when hundreds were worn to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (AKA Will and Kate).
(Please see information posted below regarding fascinator and hat making workshops.)
Here are some of the occasions when you might want to wear one:
* wedding;
* outdoor daytime reception or tea party;
* evening reception or cocktail party;
* gala event or formal fundraiser;
* a day at the horse races when a special event is underway;
* cocktails at a luxury car event in a garden; and,
* a summer fete such as the Old Time Summer Festival celebrating 125 years at St. John the Baptist Anglican church, Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island.
If you follow fashion trends you might still be thinking that a fascinator is over the top – best for Pippa Middleton and her single, party-focussed set. With the advent of online videos, there are an endless array of fabulous tutorials that can show you had to make small, discreet fascinators that are not much more than fancy head pieces on combs and clips. They’re large enough to make a statement without screaming “look at me!”. This type of accessory can, realistically, be worn to many events. A fascinator is a headpiece that is typically made of mostly feathers but can also include lacy head coverings, flowers, beads, crystals, wool, lace, loops of ribbons and pearls and other items. It is an alternative to a hat and is set on a band or clip. Sometimes it can be attached to a more structured miniature hat. They can be worn to daytime events such as a wedding, or as an evening accessory, like a cocktail hat. They are usually paired with more formal attire. Brides sometimes choose to wear them as alternatives to veils, in particular with less traditional dresses.
Recently Mackin House Museum in Coquitlam hosted a fascinator workshop with talented hat maker Ilona Marshall. Since the workshop took place around the Easter Weekend, many of the participants were keen to make more dramatic, statement head pieces equivalent to the idea of an Easter Bonnet. Other attendees focussed on fascinators made of flowers and one woman made two delicate, discreet flower fascinators with loops of ribbon, craft pearls and tulle veils.
If you plan to be on Vancouver Island later this week, you are invited to stop by St. John’s the Baptists Anglican church, Cobble Hill for a day of hat and fascinator making with Ilona Marshall. Attendees who live in the region are invited to return to the property at the end of June, wearing their head pieces, for an old-fashioned summer fete celebrating the church’s 125 year anniversary. Local residents will already know that the congregation at St. John’s put on a full-blown, classic country fair each September that never disappoints.
If you won’t be in the Cobble Hill area but would love to learn how to make your own decorated hat or fascinator, do contact the friendly staff members at Mackin House Museum to find out when Ilona plans to hold another workshop at the museum. The most recent event was free, with a suggestion of a donation to the museum. This makes it a most accessible event that is perfect for an adult and pre-teen/teenager to attend.
Here are the details for the upcoming event on Vancouver Island.
Hat and Fascinator Workshop
St. Johns Anglican Church Hall, Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island (Near Duncan)
Thursday, May 3
11:00 AM. – 4:00 PM (Parents and pre-teens/teens are welcome to arrive after school.)
Extraordinary hat-maker, Ilona Marshall, will be joining us.
Bring:
- an existing hat to decorate or a headband or strong clip or comb if you want to make a fascinator
- supplies (eg silk flowers, lace, ribbon,etc. See video below for inspiration.)
- scissors, glue gun
- a brown bag lunch(coffee & dessert supplied).
Admission by donation.
For further information please contact Shirley Hardy: onthego3 via shaw.ca
While the former Kate Middleton is clearly a stylish and lovely women, British Columbian women have their own sense of flair and sparkle too. Please do share photos if you decide to make your own fascinator or summer hat. We’d love to hear from you so don’t be shy! You can comment about this posting using the comment function below or visit us at our Facebook page.
This last rose project isn’t for hats or fascinators; however, once you become hooked on making flowers you might want to make giant paper ones for a party!
Hands up. Do you have friends who carefully chose unique baby names only to find that their choice turned up on the Most Popular Baby Names list? In some households this can happen more than once, despite the parents’ best efforts. Isn’t it fascinating how a couple can choose a name because they like it, or it’s a family name, and it turns out to be a popular name when the child enters school. Olivia the cartoon pig had to contend with the shocking news that there will be a second Olivia in her class. Then there are the names that don’t appear on the top 100 – think Emmett and Wesley – until, without warning, they appear in the hot and rising name category.
It’s a funny business – choosing a baby name – but it’s also lots of fun. Of course there’s also the cross-over possibilities for when you search names to use for your pet. It’s always useful to have a list of favourite names on hand.
Girls: Alice, Charlotte, Frances, Hazel, Leonie, Penelope, Ruby and Wren. Also popular: Fleur, Iris, Ivy, Juniper, Magnolia, Hazel, Ruby and Scarlet
Boys: Elliot, James, Kingston, Silas and Walter. Also popular: Gideon, Isaac, James, Jude, Hezekiah.
Nameberry.com hot names on the rise. Girls: Blythe, Estelle, Aria, Ivy and Adelle Boys: Emmett, Everett, Weston, Wesley, West, Grayson, Gray, Cyrus and Cato
When I first read about image tagging website TheFancy.com, I noted that 60% of their users are male. Compare this to Pinterest where 75% (or much higher, by some accounts) are women. These statistics called out to me as a challenge.
How could TheFancy become more attractive to women?
Why IS it more popular with men?
How does their E-commerce twist work?
Could the ability to buy the products you have “pinned” (“fancied”) be a promising design feature?
Even though I don’t have the ability to buy regularly from local vendors, could I use my “pinning” hobby to help promote British Columbian businesses?
These days I am very cautious about joining new social media sites. So many prove to be disappointing and are a waste of effort. In this case I dived in and have neglected my Pinterest account since then. Or I could say that I have refined my ideas about what I want to put on Pinterest.
Here is what I have noticed so far:
ENGAGEMENT
If you like to open a social media site and see coloured numbers and notifications of interaction, TheFancy is the site for you. The users that are on this site are busy and they’re keen to connect. In two weeks I had one new connection find me on Pinterest. On TheFancy hundreds connected to my profile. In the short time that I’ve been using the site, over 1,000 people have connected to my account! I would love to build momentum that fast on Facebook or Twitter.
THE LOOK
The design of the website is clean and elegant. The image shown above is not from their main page or from Ashton Kutcher’s main profile page. Contrary to one criticism I read, the site does not have a Tumblr feel. The latter, incidentally, cannot make an exclusive claim regarding websites with white backgrounds. There is a good balance between negative and positive space and the feel is quite different from the designs you find at other sites like Pinterest.
THE USERS
There are currently over 300,000 users on this website who, collectively, tag a million images every week. Soon after I joined, the first person who connected with my page was a Milanese man in in his early 40s who has exquisite taste. How can you go wrong with that kind of start?
The largest user group includes people in their mid 20s to early 30s; however, this is a site that could appeal to other demographics. The images, products and locations that users feature are simply gorgeous. If you like to sigh looking at sumptuous photography in the best magazines, TheFancy will meet your needs. There are many ways that the design of this site could be improved. I will write more about the growth areas in another post.
One area needing work is related to member profiles. It can be hard to know where all the users are based, but you get hints from their names and other details. They are an international crowd who have fabulous taste! Every day you will discover something new without having to buy a pricey Wallpaper magazine.
THE SHIFT
This isn’t, for the most part, a website where you tag a photo of cupcakes, an infographic or a photographic collage about making a craft. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for these types of images. Lately I’ve experimented by adding in some of the over 100 quote images I’ve collected while cruising the Internet. Even if they resonate with a few people, it is worth adding them in. What you will find on this site are tempting images of vacation hot spots, sleek architecture and industrial design, and clothing you wish you could own after you throw out everything in your closet. If none of these topics interest you, do take a look because there are many other types of images.
THE GOAL
The founders of this website have been cataloging objects – thousands of them. To quote a recent piece in the New York Times, it is a “new scrapbooking and shopping site, where users can share photographs of covetable objects and experiences — a velvet Burberry trench coat, sparkly gold nail polish, a room at the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong — and, it is hoped, buy them.” The founders at TheFancy aren’t trying to create another Pinterest. They’ve got their sights set on Amazon’s business.
THE TONE
Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or TheFancy, when it comes to tone, I am all about being positive and upbeat when using Social Media. I use a more critical eye on a Twitter account focussed on educational policy research and politics, but otherwise I’m not interested in engaging with people who have unnecessarily sharp, nasty and/or negative attitudes. For the most part, the users on TheFancy are positive and happy in their outlook. There are some design improvements that could help users – especially female users – customize their experience so that they could connect with like-minded, positive individuals. This is a growth area for this site.
THE FOUNDER
Soon after I joined the site, I had to write Customer Service. Within less than 12 hours, the founder, Joe Einhorn, sent me a reply. I don’t care if there are two people in their New York City headquarters or 200. When it comes to caring about your users and customer service THAT is the type of approach that separates the cream from the coffee.
SUCCESS!
My main goal starting my TheFancy account was to promote British Columbian products and services. I decided that if I am going to spend time “pinning” and tagging, I might as well put my efforts to some use. I do not make any money through this account, but it is my way to support small businesses in this province. I love the work of local artisans, artists and entrepreneurs and have discovered many businesses I did not know existed in the Pacific Northwest. Today two of my “finds” on TheFancy were featured on the home page. In less than 12 hours 1,600 people have tagged these images – over 700 focussed on a local Vancouver furniture designer’s work.
.@TheFancy featured 1 of my “pins” RE a #Vancouver furniture company & now 500+ people have seen it. Wow. Thanks TF! bit.ly/IVHONH
It’s ironic that this feature would happen today. I was starting to wonder why I couldn’t create any traction when talking about this website. There didn’t appear to be any interest amongst the women I know online or my friends. The few times that I have mentioned the site to other women – especially women who publish their own sites – I haven’t encountered keen interest. Increasing the appeal to women, who drive many areas of the Internet, is a growth area for The Fancy.
For now I’m happy knowing that so many people are seeing the work of a Vancouverite in the comfort of their homes around the world.
I feel obliged, before closing, to mention that Ashton Kutcher is one of the investors backing this company and keeps a profile on the site. OK – you don’t fancy following what Ashton is up to. Just thought I’d mention it.
We’d love to hear from you so don’t be shy! You can comment about this posting using the comment function below or visit us at our Facebook page.
Daily Dish Archives: Pamela Chan/Publisher, BCfamily.ca
There are many more articles about this website on the Internet and it is hard to pick the best ones. Here is a search result that includes the founder’s name. This will give you more interview pieces. Happy searching!
It is a story that pulled ahead of the pack in the bleary hours of early morning news. Hilary Rosen, a consultant to the Democrats and CNN commentator, has called out Mitt Romney and his wife for comments they have made about women and the economy. While speaking with Anderson Cooper on CNN, Rosen suggested that Romney hasn’t “worked a day in her life”. In the Twitterverse and blogosphere all buttons pointing to mothers, their participation in the workforce and access to affordable childcare are fully engaged. Stay-at-home-dads have also been pulled into the conversation.
Ann Romney responded by sharing her opinion about Stay-at-Home Moms on her new (and verified) Twitter account:
I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.
Romney explained that her “career choice was to be a mother and [she thinks] all of us need to know that we need to respect choices that women make.” Hilary Rosen also shared her response to Romney on Twitter:
@AnnDRomney I am raising children too. But most young American women HAVE to BOTH earn a living AND raise children. You know that don’t u? — Hilary Rosen (@hilaryr) April 12, 2012
In a discussion with Anderson Cooper on CNN, Rosen agreed with the Romney’s belief that women are more focussed on economic issues related to their families than they are on other topics. Similarly, Canadian election-related research shows that women are most attuned to political messages that focus on social welfare and issues that affect the economic reality of their family life.
In OECD assessments, the United States and Canada provide some of the poorest early childhood education and care offerings. Parental leave rights in the United States are a fraction of the 12 months provided in Canada. On this topic, feminist author Jessica Valenti joined the conversation on Twitter:
Since @mittromney & @AnnDRomney value women’s domestic work so much, when will they discuss their plan for national paid parental leave?
The developing story related to this exchange highlights the divide between Republican and Democrat priorities that is also seen in Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) prefers to provide Canadian families with cash in hand that they can use to either pay for daycare or raise children at home. Unfortunately the amount provided barely makes a dent in the costs that families in British Columbia encounter, for example, when they need to use daycare. British Columbians and Canadians in other provinces (excluding Quebec) cannot find daycare even if they CAN afford the fees. Wait-lists for high quality programmes can be three years long. (Two years too long for mothers in the workforce.) In contrast to the priorities of the CPC, the NDP, Green Patry and Liberal Party of Canada political parties are focussed on developing a national early childhood education and care programme. Provisions for parental leave in the United States are less than half of what is provided in Canada. Women cobble together a few weeks leave by adding in vacation time as well. For most women, financial needs dictate that they will return to work. “The United States of America, for example, is the only OECD country without a national paid parental leave policy, although some states do provide leave payments. Available parental leave is short (12 weeks), and only covers some employees (those in companies with 50+ workers). While making changes will involve a cost to employers, there will be benefits not only to child well-being but also the labour market, as evidence suggests that when US mothers take their full leave entitlement, they are more likely to return to work than mothers who do not.” (OECD, Better Life Index) Of 173 countries surveyed, the United States of America, Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland are the only countries were there is no national law requiring paid time off for new parents. Hilary Rosen also suggested that Ann Romney has not “dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of women in [the United States] are facing in terms of how do [they] feed [their] kids? How do [they] send them to school and why do [they] worry about their future?” Rosen’s comments speak more to a critique of an affluent, privileged woman than a woman who is the average stay-at-home mom. Most stay-at-home moms in the United States live on modest one household incomes – or income assistance – and have financial concerns similar to those of mothers in the workforce.
Why is it controversial to say that incredibly rich, elite Ann Romney prolly doesnt understand the economic concerns of most American women? — Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) April 12, 2012
The issues raised by the Romneys, Hilary Rosen and their supporters bring forward many questions:
Why do women choose to stay at home with their children?
Are some mothers at home full-time due to specific lifestyle choices such as religion, intellectual beliefs, homesteading or living off the grid, for example?
Are some women’s choices related to the availability, cost and/or quality of childcare?
Is the choice to stay at home with one’s children an economic luxury in the United States and Canada? Would some parents like to stay at home with the children, but can’t afford to do so?
Are some women staying at home when they would rather, if they could, be in the workforce? (See similar issue in the UK.)
What contributions do stay-at-home-mothers make to the quality of life of their families and, in an unpaid capacity, through their contributions to society?
Are some women, as Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg repeatedly points out, choosing to mentally check out and “leave before their leave” when they could and should be planning a return to work, post pregnancy? Are women who stay at home with their children avoiding or escaping from jobs that are not, as Sandberg suggests, “compelling”?
For women who do want to be in the workforce, what quality of childcare will they encounter in their communities? Are the programmes that are provided stimulating and nurturing for children?
What choices do single mothers – especially those with limited or no extra financial support – have when it comes to raising their children, working and childcare?
How do the provisions for high quality and accessible childcare in states and provinces compare to those in countries such as Finland and Sweden?
How can we encourage the development of government policies that support both women in the workforce and women who choose to stay at home full or part time with their children?
How can we encourage respectful dialogue about the diverse life and career choices that women make rather than focusing on ideas promoted by partisan politics?
How do members of the media keep a spotlight on the needs of children and families in their communities and countries?
Do members of the media focus on the key topics or are they distracted by trending, and not necessarily typical topics such as Tiger Moms?
How do politicians stay abreast of the challenges that their constituents are facing?
Are politicians in the United States and Canada following public discourse about these topics in the media – including their own media? (Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for example, admits that he does not follow the Canadian news.)
How are individual citizens sharing information about their experiences in public spaces such as social media?
The issues this media moment raises are important topics that will not necessarily be addressed adequately during presidential and federal election campaigns. Members of the media will pick up the story today and drop it again the day after tomorrow. It is left to women and their partners to speak up and share their stories on their websites, blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and in their personal and professional conversations.
What is your story? Why did you decide to stay at home full-time with your children, or work full or part time? What quality of childcare have you accessed? Was it difficult to secure a space? What are your thoughts about the cost, availability and quality of childcare programmes? If you could make changes, would you? How have your decisions related to childcare affected your career path, promotion opportunities and pension?
We’d love to hear from you so don’t be shy! You can comment about this posting using the comment function below or visit us at our Facebook page.
What happens when a potential employer accesses your personal information during an interview? Will that information be used to your disadvantage? Who will protect the rights of job seekers who do not have the knowledge or resources to defend themselves?
If you were cruising the Internet or Twitter today you might have come across a story about some potential employers asking people in interviews to pass over their Facebook password. Even though this request is in violation of the Facebook regulations, it seems that this scenario is taking place in some interviews. Some companies have justified their requests by saying that they are in the security business and need to know who they are hiring. Other executives simply ask the potential employee to accept their Friend request.
No doubt you wondered if this was a scam. A quick look at the calendar confirmed that today isn’t April 1st. There are already over 400 comments on the Globe and Mail page hosting this Associated Press piece. It has certainly struck a nerve.
For those who might feel obliged to play along, there are many ways around this request:
- Say you don’t use Facebook, change your profile photo and fiddle with your name
- Give a password to a secondary and less personal account (According to section 4.0, you’re not supposed to have more than one account!)
- Agree to accept a friend request and then change the potential employer’s access to information only with no wall access.
- Say you no longer use Facebook and delete your account if you don’t care about it and really want the job.
Access to your account could reveal all kinds of personal information such as religious beliefs or sexual orientation that an employer does not have the right to know. It is early days for these types of scenarios and there is no established case law precedent, but that will come. Although it should be pointed out that content on your Facebook page can be pulled into a court case against your wishes – similar to how a diary is requested – if officials deem it appropriate. Not providing access to your account does not mean that an employer cannot access the contents in order to make a point. Interestingly, Facebook officials have refused to comment on this important story. One would assume that this is bad public relations for them and their product and they hope the stories will just go away. (Update: On March 23rd, Facebook commented on this practice and warned that they might take legal action against employers asking for passwords.)
Yet one cannot help but feel that this is another example of how use of social media can be tricky. It used to be that journalists would write about taking care to not post items on your Facebook page. Any informed user would know that a company could not access your content unless an employee is linked to your page or you have your page set to public access. Of course the more friends you have, and the less well you know them, there is more likelihood that someone might show your page to a prospective employer.
This story is a particular concern because it is coming out during a time when there is a difficult job market both in Canada and the United States. The youngest and most inexperienced job applicants might feel compelled to follow along with the request. Or they might use some of the job application programmes that provide some companies with partial access to a person’s account information.
Back in the early 1990s I graduated from university in the middle of a recession. If you hear journalists talk about this current recession as being the worst in 20 years they are referencing that slump in the early 90s. At the time social media did not exist, so people had a much more superficial understanding of how that recession was playing out. There is a lot that I could write about meager job prospects in Vancouver at the time, the cost of living and why I eventually left the region for five years in 1996; however, what stands out in my memory is an interview I had at a mining company in Vancouver. The firm is located in the heart of downtown and took place in a cramped, wood paneled office in an historic building.
During the interview I wanted to ask questions that would give me a feeling for the position. One question focussed on any extended health benefits that the firm might offer. When they asked me why I was asking I must have told them that good coverage would be helpful to cover medication payments. At the time I wasn’t taking any medication regularly. I had a strong resume and should have been offered this humble position. When the junior HR person explained to me why I didn’t get the job, I was aghast. A senior company official felt that my health condition would get in the way of my ability to perform the duties of the job! Naturally I could have taken this company to task, but I didn’t. I was 22 and inexperienced. Indeed it could be argued that due to my lack of professional experience, I didn’t know that I shouldn’t have offered any personal information that might jeopardize my chances.
It didn’t really matter that I didn’t get this non-career path position. I was new to Vancouver and simply needed a job to pay the rent while I got on my feet. To this day, however, the reason for their rejection still irritates me. I wasn’t asked to do something that I didn’t have to do; however, I was asked an inappropriate question. I was asked to discuss my personal health situation. Ultimately this information, which shouldn’t have been collected, was wrapped up into an assumption and used against me. While reading this story about Facebook passwords, my heart went out to all young adults looking for jobs who might feel pressured to do something they don’t have to do. Additionally it reminds me that on a daily basis inexperienced junior and senior executives put applicants through the paces in inappropriate ways. (I base this assessment on my own professional experience in a position that had an HR function.)
If you know a young adult looking for a job today, be their mentor and help to protect them from professional abuse – and for goodness sake tell them to not give up their Facebook password!
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This recipe was passed on by Al Hardy, who lives on Vancouver Island. Recently Al shared it with the owner of California-based Buck Oranges, who sells his citrus fruit exclusively to Thrifty Foods. Al appreciates the quality of the produce and products at Thrifty Foods and is a regular Sendial volunteer at Thriftys. Sendial is a wonderful programme that provides grocery shopping assistance to people who are elderly or have mobility challenges. Since Al is an avid chef at home, he enjoys providing informed advice to Sendial clients about the best choice of products and produce to purchase. Al has been cooking for the last 25 years while living in Canada and overseas, and reports that this is one of his most popular dishes when he entertains.
A major bonus of this recipe is that it is made with chicken thighs, which are cheaper than chicken breasts. This recipe can be made with mandarin oranges or regular oranges. For the latter, if you live in the Lower Mainland or on Vancouver Island, use the Buck brand available at Thrifty Foods. If you don’t live near a Thriftys, you will want to choose an orange that is juicy. This recipe also includes a garnish of almonds. Almonds are not included in the photo below.
If you decide to try this recipe, do let us know how it turned out.
ORANGE AND ALMOND CHICKEN
Makes 5 to 6 servings.
Ingredients:
2 ounces of seedless raisins (Sultanas or another type of seedless raisins work well.)
1 jigger (2 ounces) of sherry (If you do not have sherry on hand, you can use a dry white wine. Sherry is the better choice, however.)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (If possible use white pepper.)
12 chicken thighs (Bone-in and skinned. Skinning is important.)
5 tablespoons oil (olive or canola)
5 oranges (4 peeled and in segments and one used to squeeze into the water.)
1 cup water (Top up the orange juice)
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup hot beef bouillon (or chicken if you prefer)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon soy sauce (A light soy sauce is best.)
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ cup half & half cream
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Preparation:
Put Sultana raisins in a small bowl, cover them with sherry and set aside.
Peel four oranges, trim off excess white pulp, cut them into segments and set aside.
Mix paprika and pepper together and coat one side, only, of each piece of chicken. If you are short of mixture prepare another paprika/pepper mix. Don’t overcoat. Spread the spices around on the chicken skin to ensure it’s not too thick.
Pre-heat a frying pan or Dutch oven and then warm the oil. (Watch olive oil to ensure it doesn’t smoke as it can catch on fire easily.) Add chicken and cook on medium heat until the pieces are golden on all sides (about 10 minutes). Some stove tops are hotter than others. Watch that your chicken isn’t browning too quickly.
Cut one orange in half and squeeze out the juice using a manual juicer. Add the juice to a measuring cup and bring the liquid up to the ½ cup mark. Pour the liquid over the chicken and add the crushed garlic. Pour in the hot bouillon.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the raisins and sherry to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes. Then remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon or slotted server ladle and place them on a warm platter.
Blend the cornstarch with a small amount of cold water and add to the sauce. Stir constantly until thickened and bubbly. Season with soy sauce and ginger. Add orange segments and cream. Heat through but do NOT boil.
Heat butter in a small frypan and add sliced almonds. Cook until golden but not too dark. Return the chicken to the pan and ladle sauce over the pieces. Add the almond slices on top.
Serve with rice or another grain such as quinoa that can absorb the sauce.
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The other day three new books arrived at our house by international post from the United Kingdom. It was such a significant event in our day that our toddler figured out how to tell us, later on, that the books had arrived in the mail. We retrieved the package and marveled again over how they had arrived. If there ever was a house that doesn’t need another book, it’s ours. We have book shelves and baskets all over the house. In our family room alone we have three book stations plus a book table.
You could say it’s not a surround sound, multi-media room but it is surround books.
This simple book basket contains delicate three part flip books, pop up books and larger books. It’s located on the floor where the children are always digging into it. It’s also located near their potty toilet so that they can sit on the toilet and read. Don’t worry about hygiene! Not much action happens on said toilet these days, but lots of reading takes place.
All of the board books are kept in this basket on the floor. It’s located in a line up of three baskets that are used to store toys and books. (The other two baskets have lids on them.) All three baskets are located on the floor by the wall. In the evening, after the children go to bed, the toys and books are tucked away and the adults can feel like they aren’t in a playroom. We purchased the basket for 75% off at the Bay in the days before our children were born. It’s never been put to better use. Eventually we will pass them along to another family or a local thrift store. The great thing about board books is that you can wipe them down and clean them up before passing them along. We use Melaleuca’s Tough and Tender to clean board books.
We keep a third stash of books in this leather container. It was purchased for 75% off at Sears and has turned out to be a great purchase as it can withstand a lot of use. It contains early Laura Ingalls Wilder stories, books about numbers and letters and poetry books, for example. We keep it near two child-size leather armchairs that our toddlers use.
The kitchen table has become a book table during the day and evening, when it is not in use. We place beautiful books, recent purchases or books we want to feature on this table. A solar powered owl presides over the books. As the children play with stackable In the Night Garden wood puzzles at the window sill, they stop at the table to flip through the books.
We also have a small container of books in their playroom downstairs and a bookshelf with resource books for mum. Another set of three shelves with hard cover books and other books is used daily. In our office there is also a shelf that contains early 20th century children’s books. Eventually the children will also have books in their rooms.
We are fortunate to have friends and family who either give us new books or pass along books that they no longer need. It also helps if you have a background in Montessori education and a large personal collection of books. Even if you don’t have this scenario going on, you can set up a book corner with a basket or book shelves and put a rotation of library books inside, along with any books you have purchased. Your set-up doesn’t have to be worthy of a Pinterest pin! Book Warehouse, grocery store bins, Liquidation Warehouse, garage and church sales and the second hand section on Amazon are great places to find affordable new or almost new books. At the library you can get books, magazines and even CDs and DVDs for children. We like to check out Puntamayo and French language music CDs from the main library in downtown Vancouver.
For the early reader set we like fiction and non-fiction books about numbers; letters; animals; how the world functions; flip books; books with textures and sound buttons; flap and sliding component books; pop out books; books about the naturalworld and animal kingdom, the life of children and families; and, poetry and spiritual books. We also like books about cooking, art and books that are written in specific parts of the world. For example we enjoy books written in British Columbia, the Caribbean, Africa and Japan. Some of our books don’t have any words at all and some are very old. For the most part the books have detailed, gorgeous illustrations that are realistic. A few of them are fantastical – such as Peter Rabbit books - but most are focussed on stories about real life. Many feature gorgeous illustrations of the natural world. Our favourite illustrators are Beatrix Potter, Jane Dyer and Satomi Ichikawa.
Since we have so many books around, our two year olds are constantly looking at the books, are excited about letters and about reading letters on the page. This has led to an interest in the computer keyboard as it is full of letters. Here is our two year old girl’s contribution which she snuck in while the computer was left on:
A book is the perfect gift in our household and generates a lot of interest and excitement. Books bring so much joy into our home and we feel blessed to have the opportunity to read books as we do.
How do you have books set up at your home and what kinds of books does your child like to read for his or her age level?
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