templetonnewsletterfeb2012

“Dedicated to Excellence” Vol. 11, Issue 143 February 2012

4 Birthdays in February…

Coin Toss Game...

Thursday sunny morning… Members of Templeton Stroke Recovery exercise…outside our door...

www.templetonstrokerecovery.com

Templeton Newsletter

Mailing Address:

204– 2929 Nootka Street,

Vancouver, BC V5M 4K4 Canada

Published every month, if possible. Contributions are always welcome. The articles should be in, not later than day 25th day of every month.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in Stroke Recoverer’s Review newsletter: articles, submissions and spotlights are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Templeton Stroke Recovery or the editor of Stroke Recoverer’s Review. Editor reserves the right at any time to make changes as it deems necessary. It is the purpose of this periodical to share a variety of viewpoints mostly

from stroke survivors.

February 2012 Contributors:

Loy Lai

Ollie Stogrin Deb Chow Sue Chalmers

Jim Walmsley

Werner Stephan Jose Suganob

Production of SRR:

Jose Suganob

Email:

[email protected]

Inside this issue:

Recipe– Encouragements 2

Skytrain Trivia 2

Last Month’s Happening 3

Jose’s Notes, Keeping an Open Mind, ….BLAST

4

Personal Ads Romantic Dinner Answers to Skytrain Trivia

5

February 2012 Volume 11, Issue 143

Page 2

“There’s life after stroke”

RECIPE: Bean and Corn Chowder

It’s better to be a lion

for a day than a sheep

all your life.

May the holes in your

net no larger than the

fish in it.

Water is the driving

force of all nature.

Don’t dwell on what might have

been or chances you have

missed.

Don’t wait for the perfect moment.

Take a moment and make it

perfect.

Too often, we are too stubborn

to say “Sorry, I was wrong.”

Be careful who you open up to.

Only a few people actually care,

the rest are just curious.

—submitted by Loy Lai

Templeton Stroke Recovery

SKYTRAIN TRIVIA

1. Name three of the five Skytrain

stations that begin with the letter B.

2. Which is the newest station on the

Expo and Millennium Lines?

3. What is the deepest station on the

Skytrain system?

4. All together, how long are the Expo, Millennium and Canada

Lines?

5. How many stations are on the

Expo Line?

6. How long does it take to get from

Waterfront to Metrotown Station?

7. When you reach this station going East, you’ve crossed from Fare Zone 2 into Fare Zone 3 on the

Expo line. What station is it?

Skytrain Trivia Answers, p.5

ENCOURAGEMENTS

Ingredients: BLAST Heart Healthy

Recipe

2 tbsp ........... Becel salt-free

margarine

2 .................. Carrots (medium)

chopped

1 .................. Onion (medium)

chopped

1 clove ......... Garlic, minced

4 tsp ............. All-purpose flour

2-1/2 cups .... Skim milk

1-1/2 tsp ....... Chili powder

1 tsp ............. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp .......... Salt (optional)

14 oz (398 mL) Kidney beans,

drained

12 oz (341 mL) Whole kernel corn,

drained

2 tsp ............. Dried parsley flakes

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, melt marga-

rine over medium heat. Saute

carrots, onion and garlic for 3 to 5

minutes or until tender. Stir in flour.

Add milk, chili powder, Worcester-

shire sauce, and optional salt.

2. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Stir in

kidney beans, corn, and parsley

flakes.

3. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat

for 10 minutes.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Makes: 5 servings

This the end

of Feb again?

T o b r i n g every-one up to date, our Valerie is still in St. Paul’s Hospital. It

has now been 7 months and she has had 4 sur-geries in that time. Still, she is cheerful and can hardly wait to see all our members when she gets out, which hopefully will

be soon.

In the mean time, Katelyn is filling in for Valerie. She is getting first hand experience, running the Templeton programs which at times has been a challenge. For a ‘fill-in coordinator’ lately as we have new people signing up as members plus new volunteers that have finally ‘found us,’ for which we are very grate-

ful.

Olga is to leave Holy Family Rehab in the coming week. She says she misses all the Templeton members. She also is looking forward to seeing every-one again, as I’m our members will be happy

to see her.

We are so lucky to have 3 volunteers now, Francisca, Halima and of

course, Trevor, that has been with us for almost a year. Our Trevor is an all ‘around man.’ He can fit in, almost in any part of



Page 3

LAST MONTH’S HAPPENING —by Ollie Stogrin, Templeton Stroke Recovery

the program whether, it’s cooking, games, table and chair set-up, you name it, he’s available.

Thanks, Trevor.

Francisca and Halima are new volunteers and have adjusted so well to our group. Volunteers are so valuable to have with our stroke survivors program, though, we are very fortunate that our members are very help-ful which is what the Stroke Recovery program is all about. How to improve our way of life after having a stroke. Each of our members is able to help out each other. It’s more like a ‘family affair,’ at least at Templeton Stroke

Recovery.

Our new members are Don and Larry. Welcome to our group! We hope you will enjoy our

program.

I am hoping that many of our members will try to attend BLAST! It is on

Easter weekend. Many people find it difficult to come because of the holiday, I can understand that, only it’s such a great experience for all members. A long week-end that wil l be remembered for a long time. We do have many repeat attendees. The Easter Retreat Camp was established many years ago then SRABC didn’t have the fund to keep it going

plus it is a lot of man hours to get it organized. We at Temple ton convince Deb that she

should attend which wasn’t an easy task (for someone who couldn’t even ride a car) getting her to the camp. Sold her on attending the camp. She believes that every stroke survivors should have a chance to attend the Easter Retreat Camp in Easter Seal’s Squamish Camp. It opens up a new world for stroke survivors. Because of that one weekend in Deb’s life after her stroke, she has now put all her efforts in reviving the Easter Retreat Camp (now 100% volunteer driven), once again for all stroke

survivors.

Our members will be going bowling in March 15, 2012 at Commercial Bowling Lanes. It’s an outing that our members enjoy. April is BLAST weekend. May is Coquit-lam Branch Luncheon, June is the ‘Stride for Strokes-Port Moody,’ July 26 is our annual picnic at Trout Lake, looks like another busy

summer.

In the mean time, our members have their ‘Monday night monthly dinner.’ Only last month,

we all went to Vancouver Community College –Downtown, for lunch at

JJ Restaurant


which our members enjoyed very much. VCC is a training center for student chefs and Hospi-tality Managers. This March, our members have chosen Chinese food, I won’t be there for that dinner as I’m leaving for Down-Under for a month. They tell me, it’s

‘sunny weather’ there!

Well, Key and I survived ‘our birthdays’ this Sun-day, Feb. 26. Mine was Feb 14 and Key on the 28. We both turned 60!!! ahhhh. Key’s family threw a party at Templeton. I think there must been 100 people there! Key’s sons, Brad & Bryan took charge of the arrange-ments. It was a potluck affair. I’m sure they could had have fed another 100 people. I didn’t know Key was related to half of Vancouver!!! ahhhh. Any more people and Templeton would burst at the seams. Quite a few of our members attended the party; Deb-bie, Josef & Louise, Joe & his son, Jonathan, Nancy, Jose, Gabriel, Jeanie & her sister, Julia, Constantino & Angela, Joann (volunteer for Xmas & picnic), Gina, our former volunteer (now, will be a nurse), Trevor & Lorraine, volunteers, and Inga that also volunteer for our group. It was a great p a r t y . T e m p l e t o n

donated the space...

Continued p.4



Page 4

2012, it’s the year that I

become a Senior citizen

and I started to join

Seniors groups like

Mult icultural Seniors

Singers in Tuesday

mornings. It is a group of

Seniors of d ifferent

ethnic ity; Canadians,

Europeans; Chinese

(Cantonese and Manda-

rin), one guy is from

Malaysia, and, of course,

Filipinos. We meet every

Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30am

at Mt. Pleasant Commu-

nity Center (#1Kingsway,

Vancouver, BC, Tel. 604

-257-3080), a gleaming

multi-service civic center

with virtually everything

under the roof. The heart

of the building is the new

Community Center, 24%

bigger and only one kilo-

meter away from the old

site, featuring a gym and

climbing wall, a fitness

center, dancing studio,

multi-purpose rooms and

outdoor space. A new

Vancouver Public Library

on the ground floor, café

and Child Development

Center. —Jose Suganob


JOSE’s NOTEs: KEEPING AN OPEN MIND

Recently, I had the

pleasure to meet the

dynamic Jean Hamil-

ton, who lives locally and

started a new career

path at age 87. You may

have seen her in

commercials advertising

Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.

The advertisers were

looking for an older

woman with attitude!

When Jean was asked to

audition, she was sure,

at the start, she didn’t

want to try out for the

role, however, a couple

of persuasive phone

calls later, she agreed.

Jean was flown to New

York for still pictures,

followed by a week in

England to make the

commercial. Her punch

line in the advertisement

came after the ‘Queen’

ask, “How does one

make such delightful

cucumber sandwiches?”

Dressed in a black and

white uniform, her

response to the question

is:

“Frank’s Red Hot

Sauce, your majesty,

I put that _____ on

everything.”

The ad is tastefully done,

funny and available on

You Tube.

Jean had fun with her

new experience, which

shows us by example

that regardless of age, if

we keep an open mind,

new opportunities may

become a real possibili-

ties.

—by Sue Chalmers

North Shore Stroke

Recovery Center

(I met the actress

two weeks ago at a

Consignment store

called McGillycuddys

on Lonsdale, North Van, BC. The

owner introduced us (they are

neighbors!) Jean turns 90 this year.

She’s in fantastic shape. Her brain is

sharp, has a great sense of humor

and, yes, she does have an attitude!)

—Sue...

“Building Life After Stroke Together”

Good Friday to Easter Monday April 6th - 9th, 2012 www.TurtleTalk.ca

Dual camper households may apply for $100 discount. The fee for BLAST has been set at $225. Ask your loved ones to give the gift of BLISS (Better Life In Stroke Survival)

For more information: Go to TurtleTalk.ca

604-943-3206 Days 604-253-2390 Evenings


Last Months Happen con’t

...for this party because

we have been there

since 1996. Probably the

o l d e s t g r o u p i n

Templeton??? Oldest

meaning (Key & Ollie).

Key’s family is unbeliev-

able, they say ‘party’ and

it happens. Don’t know

how but it happens.

Guess that’s part of

having lots of relatives.

Mine are all out on the

prairies, somewhere???

Except for my son which

lives here in Vancouver.

Even the weatherman

cooperated. It didn’t rain

and it snowed a little.

Thank you all for the

cards, flowers & care

package, $$$. It was a

wonderful day with great

people attending. A birth-

day that I will remember

for years to come.

Hoping I will be here for

years!

Next newsletter report?

Guess, it will be written

by Key, thanks Key!

—Ollie Stogrin


PERSONAL ADS —Werner Stephan, North Shore Stroke Recovery Center - West Vancouver Group

Did I think of

P e r s o n a l

Ads because

of Valentine’s

Day in mid

F e b r u a r y?

I don’t think so, because

these ads are traditionally

linked to lonely heart

columns and online

dating. They are gene-

rally meant to generate

romance, friendship or

casual encounters. And,

all that is long behind us.

Right? I think that it was

in 2006 that I read a book

review, which highly

recommended reading a

collection of personal ads

as being both amusing

and witty. The ads had

appeared before 1988 (in

1966) in the London Re-

view of Books’ (LRB).

Then, these ads were

certainly witty and were

collected in a book

named They Call me

Naughty Lola. I must

agree, the book is quite

amusing and the title is

quite titillating. I tried to

borrow the book from the

local library, they said

that they did not have it,

maybe, I guess, the title

was still too titillating.

These ads in the book,

although they meant to

be witty, are documents

of humor, that can still be

found among men and

women longing for love

and now roam the

Internet and search for

speed dating. Absurd?

These ads are meant to

be! A few samples will

show you what I mean:

Last time I had this

much fun, I was on 40

tablets a day. It’s all

downhill from here, so

reply to edgy woman,

36, before the good

times come to an

abrupt halt and the

prescriptions finally dry

up. Box no. 2596.

Your age is immaterial,

your looks irrelevant,

your bank balance, on

the other hand—let’s

not joke about with that.

Grabbing F (28). Box

no. 3652.

Bald, short, fat and ugly

male (83), seeks short-

sighted woman with

tremendous sexual

appetite. Box no. 9612.

Love is strange—wait

‘til you see my feet, F,

(34), wide fitting boots,

Box no. 5973.

In an age of false adver-

tising, the men and

women who wrote these

ads, where not hindered

either by the accusation

of being overly positive or

having an excessive

opinion of themselves.

On the Internet are

definite rules, to be

followed, when writing a

Personal Ad:


Page 5



Write it around conver-

sation starters

If you are in a big city,

describe your looks; in

a small city emphasize

emotions and hobbies.

Select the publishing

media carefully, like

websites, specialized

online services or

printed publications.

Always ask for a photo.

Not providing a photo

can make people think

that one only has an

attractive mind, but little

else.

But who cares! The ones

that I like are the ones

which clearly state:

Age unimportant, but

must be still breathing.

—by Werner Stephan,

North Shore Stroke Recovery Center

West Vancouver Group

ROMANTIC DINNER jokeonly

ANSWERS SKYTRAIN TRIVIA

1. VCC-Clark (opened Jan 6, 2006)

2. Granville Station (25m down)

3. The five stations are: Braid, Brentwood Town Center, Burrard, Bridgeport, Broadway-City Hall

4. About 68 kilometers. 5. 20 6. 18 minutes 7. Scott Road Station

A man and

woman were

hav ing a

quiet, roman-

tic dinner in

a fine restau-

rant. They were gazing

lovingly at each other.

Their waitress, taking

another order at a

table a few steps away,

suddenly noticed the

man slowly sliding down

his chair and under the

table, but the woman

acted unconcerned.

The waitress watched as

the man slid all the way

down his chair and out of

sight under the table.

S t i l l , the wom an

appeared calm and

unruffled, apparently

unaware her dining

c o m p a n i o n h a d

disappeared.

The waitress went over

to the table and said to

the woman, “Pardon me,

ma’am, but I think your

husband just slid under

the table.”

The woman calmly

looked up at her and

said, “No, he didn’t. He

just walked in the door.”

—submitted by Jim Walmsley

Delta Stroke Recovery

We’re all stories in the end.

Just make it a good one, eh?

templetonnewsletterfeb2012

Documents

stroke recipe

stroke survivors

skytrain trivia answers

skytrain stations

skytrain system

expo line

deepest station

newest station