Heather Stefanson made history last month when she was elected leader of the governing Progressive Conservative party. She will becomes Manitoba’s first female premier.

The only other current female premier in Canada is Caroline Cochrane, government leader of

Northwest Territories since October 2019.

Rita Johnston was the first female premier in Canadian history. She served as Premier of British Columbia for seven months in 1991 after she won the leadership of the governing party. The second woman to become a premier was Nellie Cournoyea, government leader of the Northwest Territories 1991-1995.

Other female premiers have been:

• Catherine Callbeck, premier of P.E.I. 1993-1996
• Pat Duncan, premier of the Yukon 2000-2002
• Eva Aariak, premier of Nunavut 2008-2013
• Kathy Dunderdale, premier of Newfoundland & Labrador  2010-2014
• Christy Clark, premier of British Columbia 2011-2017
• Alison Redford, premier of Alberta 2011-2014
• Kathleen Wynne, premier of Ontario 2013-2018
• Rachel Notley,  premier of Alberta 2015-2019 and now leader of the Opposition.

The Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell is the only woman to have been Prime Minister of Canada.

Locally, one of our first female politicians was Ella Muzzy who was a Prince Albert Alderman 1937-1942. Marion Sherman was Prince Albert Mayor July 15-Sept. 24, 1975.

Women have slowly been attaining seats in the various levels of government across Canada. But it appears to be an uphill battle.

Charlotte Whitton, first female mayor of Ottawa, is oft quoted: “Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.”

The female politicians of the 21st Century have built upon the strength and courage of these political pioneers:

    •   Hannah Gale was elected to Calgary City Council in 1917, becoming the first woman ever elected to any municipal office in Canada. However, women had previously served as school trustees since 1890.

    •   Louise McKinney was the first woman elected to a provincial legislature. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1917.

    •   Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons. First elected in 1921,  Macphail was reelected in every subsequent election until 1940. She was the only woman in the House of Commons until 1935, when she was joined by Martha Black.

• Mary Ellen Smith was sworn in as Minister without Portfolio in the British Columbia government on March 24, 1921. She was the first female cabinet minister in the British Empire.

• In 1936, Barbara Hanley in Webbwood, Ont. became the first woman ever elected as a mayor in Canada.

Wearing a poppy in advance of Remembrance Day has become an important part of Canadian culture. We’ve been doing it for so long that we might have forgotten some of the five Ws about the poppy.

Who: Anyone can wear a poppy to commemorate the servicemen and women killed in conflict.  Remembrance poppies are mostly used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand,  the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent in the United States.

Where: The poppy distributed by the Royal Canadian Legion should be worn on the left side over the heart. The Legion website states: “However, wearing a Poppy is a personal expression of Remembrance, and how someone chooses to wear a Poppy is always an individual choice.”

When: Poppies may be worn from the last Friday in October until Nov. 11. Again, quoting the website:

“The Legion encourages the wearing of Poppies at funerals of Veterans, and for any commemorative event … As well, it is not inappropriate to wear a Poppy during other times to commemorate Fallen Veterans and it is an individual choice to do so.”

 A poppy can be stored carefully for further use or disposed of respectfully. The Legion says: “We encourage anyone who finds a Poppy that has fallen to the ground to pick it up and brush it off so that it can be kept or disposed of respectfully.”

How: Poppies are distributed free by the Legion but a donation is gratefully accepted. The Poppy Fund directly supports Canada’s veterans and their families. Donations can be made online at legion.ca.

Some people are frustrated when their poppy falls off so easily. I have seen a Canada lapel pin used to secure the poppy to a coat or blazer. However, nothing must obscure the centre of the poppy.

Likewise, the Legion seeks to protect the trademark of the poppy.

“The Royal Canadian Legion has been entrusted by the people of Canada to uphold and maintain the Poppy as a symbol reminding us to never forget the sacrifices Veterans made to protect our freedom.”

During the poppy campaign the Legion now sells black poppy-centre pins that hold the poppy in place. Price is $5.

I have a lovely beaded poppy with a sturdy moose hide backing and a strong safety pin sewn on it. It is a work of art, but is not an official poppy.

Why: According to the Legion, the poppy is a symbol that dates back to the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th Century. Canadians adopted the poppy because it grew thickly over the graves of soldiers in the Flanders area of France.  “Fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. During the tremendous bombardments of the war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing the “popaver rhoeas” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.”

John McCrae, a Canadian medical officer in the First World War, wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields” in May 1915 on the day following the death of a fellow soldier. The poem was published in Punch Magazine in December 1915 and became enshrined in the hearts of generations of Canadians.

On New Year’s Day 2020, I began a gratitude jar. Each Sunday I wrote on a slip of paper something for which I was thankful. My goal was to open the jar at the end of the year and read all of the things for which I was thankful. Little did I know that three months later we would be in lockdown, frightened and alone in the face of a monstrous pandemic about which we knew practically nothing.

It became increasingly difficult to find things for which I was grateful… indeed I missed a few Sundays as the weeks rolled on in grey sameness. By Thanksgiving 2020 I opened the jar because I needed so badly to remind myself about why I was thankful. I couldn’t wait until the end of the year to grab hold of some gratitude.

And then my son died.

I started to slip into a feeling of emptiness and abandonment. I got stuck in my grief and loss. I forgot to look for things for which to be grateful.

And then my mother died.

I told people I was okay and I stepped up my activities. But I was anxious and depressed. I was tired all the time. I injured my knee repeatedly and ended up in the emergency room. I let an infection get out of control and again required hospitalization. I was going downhill fast.

Now, on the anniversary of my son’s death, I am beginning to be thankful for the blessings my son brought into my life.
He was a miracle from the start. He was born blue with the cord around his neck but he recovered quickly. He was a loving child … so sensitive and open that he was also easily hurt. His greatest joy was helping and giving to others. For example, he bought two large bags of potatoes directly from the farmer and then gave away half of them. (And I pouted because he bought them with money I had given him to fix his car.)

I am grateful that he lived, that he made a difference in the world and that he gave me a wonderful grandson and two daughters-in-law.

As my pastor, Nora Vedress, reminded me this Sunday: “There are many studies that show that … expressing our gratitude regularly, especially in times of stress and trauma, makes us healthier and stronger as individuals and stronger as a community.”
Forgetting to be thankful has hurt me … body, mind and spirit. Perhaps I need to start a new gratitude jar so that I will not forget to be thankful. My health depends on it.

My father tells the story of my first (supposedly) existential conversation. He held my hand as we walked out into the farmyard.

“Why are we here, Daddy? Why are we here.”

Children often ask the big “why” questions on their journey to making sense of the world around us. Of course, sometimes the barrage of “why, why, why” is just a ploy to engage the adult. They don’t really want to know “why”, they just want you to talk to them.

I have moved beyond the “why, why, why” that my grandchildren exhibit during their welcome visits. However, the method behind the madness of the world has continued to intrigue me throughout my life. I am frequently stymied when I try to make sense of the chaos that is the universe.

Here are some of the questions for which there seem to be no answers:

• Why can you arrange the wire hangers neatly on the clothes closet rod but when you return they are mating in a pile on the floor?

• Why is the third hand on the watch called \the second hand?

• Why are pizza boxes square when the pizza is round?

• Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

• Why can’t I put on eye makeup with my mouth closed?

• Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp?

• Why is it called pineapple, when’s there neither pine nor apple in it?

• Why is it called eggplant, when there’s no egg in it?

• What was the best thing before sliced bread?

• Why is an electrical outlet called an outlet when you plug things into it? Shouldn’t it be called an inlet?

• Why is it that when a person tells you there’s over a million stars in the universe you believe them, but if someone tells you there’s wet paint somewhere, you have to touch it to make sure?

• What would you use to dilute water?

Although this list is meant to be amusing, it suggests that we enjoy exploring the essential irrationality of the world. Ain’t life funny!

As this pandemic stretches on, and on, and on, it’s easy to lose hope. However, being thankful can transform our lives, shifting our focus from loss to hope. 

My family has a Thanksgiving dinner tradition of going around the table and saying one thing for which we are thankful. Usually, “family” is at the top of the list of our thankfulness. With the forced separations created by the pandemic and, in my case, two recent deaths, there are fewer opportunities to share our thankfulness. 

We don’t have to wait for a Thanksgiving Day to be thankful. Just listing the things for which we are thankful can help push back the darkness to reveal the light of hope.

Perhaps you will add to this list of things for which I am thankful this year:

1. Family provides a feeling of connectedness that is comforting and centering. Intergenerational family gatherings position us in the flow of humanity throughout history.

2. Friendships are one of the greatest gifts of life. Friends fill a part of your heart that no one else can. 

3. My mind is a big part of my happiness and my life. It holds my thoughts, opinions, memories and emotions. To exercise my mind I will fill it with nourishing thoughts. As Abraham Lincoln said:  “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” 

4. My body moves me, helps me, heals me and takes me places I want to go. After a recent hospitalization I am reminded to be grateful for my body and treat it with the respect it deserves. I pledge to fuel it with proper nutrition and care for it accordingly. I will be gentle with it because it is getting older. I will challenge it so that I will retain my strength. I can enjoy living in my body no matter its shape or size. 

5. Health is a profound gift, and not something to be taken for granted. Often I don’t appreciate my usually good health until I become sick.

6. Children live in the moment, without much regard for what has happened in the past. They love openly, without restriction, and they take pleasure in everything they do. I can learn much from a small child.

This Thanksgiving, challenge yourself and others to add to this list. Count your blessings.

“I had a cat and the cat pleased me

Fed my cat under yonder tree

Cat went, “fiddle-i-fee.”

This folk song delights preschoolers because they already “know” that cats definitely do not go “fiddle-i-fee”!

In kindergarten, the cat goes “meow” and across the hall in French immersion, the cat goes “miaou”. In fact, most languages have similar sounds for our beloved kittens: German “miau”, Italian “miao”, Swedish “mjau”, Russian “myau”, Vietnanmese “meo” and in Estonian, a nasal “nau.”

English is a language that freely borrows and assimilates words from many languages. For example an “English speaking” dog might go “bow wow”, but it could just as easily  go “woof woof” like a Hebrew dog or even “ruff ruff.” (Perhaps it is a Scotty.) The French poodle goes “ouah ouah” and the Finish version is “vuff” or “rouf”. The German dog goes “wuff wuff” and his Spanish cousin says “guf guf”.

Sometimes the sounds animals make vary greatly from language to language. A North American pig goes “oink” but in Japanese it says “buu,” and in Swedish a pig gives a rather logical “noff” at the trough. In German a pig grunts “grunz.” In Albanian the chunky pig goes “hunk.”

Although English ducks merely quack, Danish ducks go “rap”. A French duck goes “coin” and a Turkish duck says “vak.”

Frogs have a bewildering variety of sounds: English “ribbit”, Turkish “vrak.” In German frogs croak “kwaak” and in Hungarian “brekeke.” Chinese frogs go “guoguo”, Korean frogs say “gae-gool.” In Japan frogs say “kerokero”  and Thai frogs say “op op” as they hop. A Polish frog calls “kum kum” and Italian frogs say “cra cra.”

Young children seem to delight in imitating the sounds of animals. Of course, older “kids” sing out, “What does the fox say?”

My days often have a grey sameness; things that once held charm have become ordinary; things that were exciting and new have become routine.

My granddaughter helps me to see our world through new eyes. When I have been shuffling sleepily through life, she wakes me up to the wonders of our world. 

On the walk home from school a few years ago, she exclaimed excitedly over some bright yellow “flowers” growing on the boulevard. When the new sidewalk went in, the boulevard was backfilled with soil that contained canola seeds. A fine crop of canola bloomed along our city street. To me they were weeds but her young eyes appreciated the beauty of their blossoms.

By the time we had walked three blocks I had been presented with a bouquet of brome grass, canola and Manitoba maple leaves. It made a lovely nosegay that had to go into a tumbler of water before it graced my dining table. Some would say I had brought weeds into the house, but I was pleased that someone had given me flowers.

Each day we encounter things that are so ordinary they are almost weeds in our eyes.  But when they are discovered with joy and assembled with care, they become a thing of beauty. Each day we have the option of creating a bouquet of moments with which to decorate our lives.

A guidebook for parents suggests we “make the ordinary come alive” for our children. We can admire the Wooly Bear caterpillar as it wriggles across the sidewalk. We can throw a pebble into a puddle and watch the ripples we have set in motion. We can lie back and watch the fluffy clouds creating pictures in the sky. 

On a crisp September morning I paused during my yard work to catch the unique calls of cranes flying high. It took several seconds to find the flock of birds riding the thermals. I followed their flight for a few seconds until I was distracted. When I looked up again they had disappeared into the clouds. I could still hear them, but they were no longer visible. Many of life’s special moments are as fleeting. It takes only a few seconds to stop and appreciate them but if we miss that moment, they are gone.

Each day we have the opportunity to make the ordinary come alive. We can cherish everyday moments. We can be grateful for each treasure of living. 

Each morning, wake up to wonder. Taste the coffee, smell the roses, breathe the air. 

Sneezing in public has become a big no-no. With the pandemic raging, we shudder if someone coughs or sneezes near us.

People shrink away if you exhibit any of the symptoms of Covid-19. But sometimes it is just an innocent sneeze.

I wondered, what causes a sneeze and what happens inside your body when a sneeze sneaks up on you?

Sneezing can be triggered by irritants such as dust, illness, emotion, and even sunlight. While the exact reason for the sneezin’ is different for every scenario, the mucus membranes in your nose and throat are to blame, because they control the sneeze response.

When you sneeze, your chest muscles forcefully compress your lungs, which send a burst of air upwards.The throat shuts tight, which then sends the air shooting through your nose at speeds up to 160 km/h. That jet of air is filled with 2,000 to 5,000 germ-laden droplets.

Have you noticed that we often sneeze in threes? With its great force and velocity, a single sneeze is sometimes enough to clear an irritant out of your system, but a triple sneeze happens when we need to get deeper irritants out.

According to Laura Geggel, on LiveScience.com, the first sneeze likely breaks up the irritant, while the second brings it into the nose, and the third shoots it out.

Geggel says sneezing is unique from person to person like our individual laughs are. What causes you to burst out in chuckles is likely different for someone else, which is also true with sneezing, though multiple sneezes are likely all caused when your body is trying harder than normal to clear your airways.

There are many interesting superstitions surrounding sneezes. For example, while vacationing in Costa Rica, many years before the pandemic, I sneezed twice at the breakfast table and the waiter sneezed a third time for me. When I enquired, he told me that the three sneezes were for the Christian Trinity … Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Basically, it was unlucky to only sneeze twice without completing the trinity.

Why do people say, “God bless you,” when you sneeze? Some say that Pope Gregory the Great started doing so during the Plague of Justinian, in the hopes that people wouldn’t die after sneezing.

Some people thought you might expel your soul when you sneezed, and saying “bless you” was a way of keeping the devil from taking your soul. And then there are those who thought your heart would stop when you sneezed and saying “God bless you” would keep you from dying.

So if you feel a sneeze coming on while you are grocery shopping, keep your mask on and do what the kids are taught in school: sneeze into your elbow. But don’t be surprised if people give you a sharp look before they back away. These days they aren’t afraid that your soul is escaping… they just don’t want to share your germs.

We’re back! It’s back to school and back to regular fitness programs. Chances are the pandemic has curtailed your fitness program, so now is the time to get back into the groove and keep your body healthy.

Beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 8, I will be leading a program for older adults each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 a.m. at the Margo Fournier Centre. This drop-in program, called Easy Adult Fitness, is suitable for adults of all ages. The program is designed for people 55 and older, but several of the regular participants are in their ninth decade. At our age, we don’t have anything to prove, so we work at our own level to the best of ability and gently support the efforts of other participants.

Canadian guidelines suggest we get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week plus muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week. That’s why every session of Easy Adult Fitness includes exercises that strengthen the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms.

If you have a chronic health condition such as arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease, talk with your doctor to find out if your condition limits your ability to be active. I’m not a physiotherapist or a personal trainer, so I can’t prescribe specific exercises for you.  But I can offer you an hour of fun on weekday mornings that will ramp up your metabolism and get you ready to take on the day.

Every Monday we do strength training using hand weights. Then we stretch  and strengthen with relaxing chair-assisted yoga. You don’t have to get down onto a mat to reap the benefits of yoga.

The Wednesday and Friday classes rotate through a series of time-tested programs that provide aerobic activity, strength training and stretching. Because the class is drop-in, you can skip the classes you don’t like and only pay for the classes that you attend. It’s a win-win situation.

Bring your water bottle and gym shoes to class; all other equipment is provided. You will be offered hand sanitizer at the door but masks are optional at this time. You will sanitize your own chair and exercise equipment before and after class.

The City of Prince Albert offers many fitness options for senior fitness on its website citypa.ca.

I’m excited about getting back into the routine of regular group fitness classes. I look forward to seeing you too!

by Ruth Griffiths

Sultry summer nights practically beg for informal outdoor gatherings. Friends and family relax around a fire pit and lounge in the cooling air as the setting sun paints the sky in spectacular reds and purples.

But just as you are getting some relief from the heat of the day, disaster strikes in the form of a squadron of hungry mosquitoes! And they are all coming for you!

It sounds like a nightmare or a Hitchcock movie but it’s a reality for Prairie people.

I wondered, “Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others?”

There are a few factors that could contribute to why mosquitoes are more likely to bite some people:

1. Type O blood — In a study reported by the Journal of Medical Entomology, the bugs landed on people with blood Type O nearly twice as frequently as those with Type A.
   
   The researchers noted this has to do with secretions we produce, which tips mosquitoes off on a person’s blood type.
   
   Mosquitoes pick up on some cues we give off that make the bugs more likely to land on certain people.
   
2. Carbon dioxide – Jonathan F. Day, an entomology professor at the University of Florida, commented: “Perhaps CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the most important. The amount of CO2 you produce, like people with high metabolic rates — genetic, other factors — increases the amount of carbon dioxide you give off. The more you give off, the more attractive you are to these arthropods.”
   
   Day says mosquitoes also look for lactic acid — the stuff that causes our muscles to cramp during exercise. Lactic acid is released through the skin, telling mosquitoes we are a target.
   
3. Body heat — After it has landed on you, a mosquito also takes in “tactile cues” such as body heat. When mosquitoes land, they’re looking for a place where blood is close to the skin.
   
   That means a person whose body temperature is a little higher is more likely to get the bite.
   
4. Alcohol consumption — Melissa Piliang, a dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic, says lifestyle choices are also a factor in how we attract mosquitoes.
   
   “If body temperature is higher, you’re exercising and moving around a lot, or if you’re drinking alcohol, you are more attractive to mosquitoes,” Piliang said.
   
   “Being pregnant or being overweight also increases metabolic rate.”
   
   One study showed that people who consumed just one can of beer were more at risk of attracting mosquitoes than those who didn’t.
   
   “If you’ve been moving around all day doing yard work and then you stop around dusk and drink a beer on your patio, you’re definitely at risk of bites,” Piliang said.