I am wondering how seeding is going across the Prairies. Due to nature’s calamities, such as too much moisture in some areas this year and last, some producers will be finished and some barely started, if at all: challenges on
every corner.
I am also thinking about weddings. Our second daughter, Marla, and her high school sweetheart, Ben, are getting married on Aug. 5.
Many readers will also be having upcoming marriages in their families. We often come across books about planning a wedding but few about planning the marriage.
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Our daughters recommended The Hard Questions by Susan Piver, which I wrote about in an earlier column. It has 100 thought-provoking, engaging questions that challenge and inspire couples to gain a deeper understanding of one another. For more information, visit www.thehard questions.com.
A similar book is Before We Say “I Do.”
Author Nomi Whalen from Alberta is a provincial marriage commissioner, often referred to as a justice of the peace, and has conducted more than 5,000 wedding ceremonies in the past 20 years.
Nomi is a former high school teacher and Calgary city councillor and has a master’s degree in psychology. She has designed and taught a well-received marriage preparation course, prompted by personal concern over the high divorce rate in North America of 50 to 60 percent.
Her book contains more than 1,000 questions for couples to ask one another before they get married. The aim is to help couples achieve a deeper knowledge of one another and make their love even more meaningful.
No matter how long a couple has known one another, there are sure to be issues that have never been discussed and that can have a big impact on a relationship if they are not aware of their partner’s views and feelings.
Subject areas include finances, religion, sex, culture, roles, habits, feelings, family, work and leisure, other relationships, communication, health and medicine and general attitudes.
One of the questions in the work and leisure area involves a list of 75 to 80 different activities and then asks, “should we do these things separately, together or with others?”
These are good questions because we are often unaware of our own assumptions. There is even room for your own questions.
Also included are a sample pre-nuptial agreement, tips for blended families and suggestions for keeping romance in the marriage.
It is a small 92-page paperback and is distributed for $15.95 by Temeron Books Inc., Suite 210, 1220 Kensington Rd. N.W., Calgary, Alta. T2N 3P5, 403-283-0900, fax 403-283-6947 and e-mail temeron@telusplanet.net. For more information, visit temerondetselig.com.
Weddings, funerals and family reunions are a time for people to gather together. If you are planning a summer reunion this year, you might want to recognize and meet the needs of the following groups:
- Babies and toddlers who always need extra care.
- Teenagers who get unreasonably and easily bored.
- Spouses who do not have family memories to talk about and often feel left out.
- Immediate family members who need time to visit and reminisce.
In Fun Family Reunions in Eight Easy Steps, sisters Shelley Loewer and Melody Cahoon make these suggestions for organizing family gatherings:
- Decide upon a theme and highlight it.
- Find an appropriate location and time of year and then reserve the facilities.
- Delegate the job of finding addresses and sending invitations or give this to the “family historian” who probably has most of the names, phone numbers and addresses.
- Delegate fundraising to the family moneymaker. Underline the fundraisers you think will go along with the theme. Reassure them that they can do anything they choose, but these few ideas will help them get started.
- Delegate activities and crafts to a family member who is organized and likes to have fun. Plan for optional crafts for different ages.
- Someone needs to be in charge of planning the food. They might buy all the food and split the costs or assign families to bring different food based on the number of hours of travel they will endure.
- An entertainment co-ordinator allows for a plan to accommodate needs of the different ages and interests.
- Someone needs to be in charge of cleanup because this can sometimes be left to those living closest to the site. Advance planning prevents disgruntlement. You might use games as a way to encourage the cleanup.
Fun Family Reunions in Eight Easy Steps was printed in 1993 by Lions Den Publishing. It is full of ideas for party themes, food, games, crafts and activities. It is ideal for groups, family get togethers and reunions of any kind.
Soy flour
Dear TEAM: Could you please find a recipe for soy flour? So many people in our seniors lodge are diabetic and I would love to make a treat for them, such as bread, cake or cookies. – K.F., Woodlands, Man.
Dear K.F.: My husband, Don, has adult onset diabetes, so I, too, am interested in diabetic recipes. This recipe may work for those who can have the occasional diabetic treat. For those who cannot tolerate gluten, you can try substituting other flours, such as soy flour. Soy flour is a high protein flour with a nutty taste. It is not generally used on its own in recipes, but when combined with other flours is successful as an alternative flour. It can be used
to thicken recipes or be added as a flavour
enhancer.
It needs to be carefully stored because it
is a high fat flour and can go rancid if not stored properly. A cool, dark environment is recommended and it can even be stored in the refrigerator.
Chocolate chip cookies
1/3 cup butter or margarine, 75 mL
softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla 5 mL
1/3 cup Equal Spoonful 75 mL
(I used Splenda)
1/3 cup firmly packed light 75 mL
brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour 175 mL
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 mL
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
1/2 cup semi-sweet or mini 125 mL
chocolate chips
Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until blended. Mix in sugar substitute and brown sugar until combined.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix into butter mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated
350 F (180 C) oven eight to 10 minutes or
until light golden colour. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Makes about 12 large or 24 small cookies.
Source: The Diabetic Bible by Dana Armstrong, R.D., C.D.E. and Allen Bennett King, M.D., F.A.C.P, F.A.C.E, C.D.E, Publications International, Ltd.
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
