Friends of Forsaken Animals: Rescuing Cats
Story and photo by Dana Kenedy Sonia Trettin is no crazy cat lady. She is the founder of Friends of Forsaken Animals, a cat rescue organization catering to the Uxbridge, Blackstock, Brampton More »
Snow F.A.Q
Winter north of Hwy 7 and the Ridges (usually) means lots of white stuff, those sometimes fluffy, sometimes sleety, sometimes blizzardy flakes of snow. We gathered some neat snow facts to celebrate, More »
Vegetarian Tostadas
One of my food resolutions from a few months ago was to start serving more vegetarian dishes. I’m not a voracious meat eater anyway (and don’t eat red meat or fish unless More »
Faces of Uxbridge: Nicole Vos
Story and photo by Randy Loewen It might seem odd for someone to decorate their car with zebra stripes, but for Nicole Vos it makes perfect business sense. With a family of More »
Staying Warm and Cozy
On this very cold day where it feels like -27°C, check out our local products to help you stay warm and cozy including items from Elemi Organics, Presents Presents Presents, On the More »
Friends of Forsaken Animals: Rescuing Cats
Story and photo by Dana Kenedy
Sonia Trettin is no crazy cat lady. She is the founder of Friends of Forsaken Animals, a cat rescue organization catering to the Uxbridge, Blackstock, Brampton and Orillia areas.
Trettin’s need to care for animals started when she was a little girl during the Second World War. Forced to leave her home in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1940, Trettin and her family fled to the mountains while bombs dropped on her city.
After returning a few years later, large bomb craters filled with rainwater were scattered throughout the city.
“It was common practice to throw kittens in there,” Trettin said. She would do her best to fish out as many kittens as she could and care for them. Even though there was barely enough food for people, she still gave some of her bread to the cats wandering the city.
Moving forward a degree in physics and two patents in silicon solar cells later, Trettin was living in Scarborough as a high school teacher in 1996.
There she stumbled upon Benny, a friendly stray cat, and handed him over to a local cat rescue. She later learned Benny escaped from the rescue centre and devoted eight weeks to searching for him. Thankfully her hard work paid off and she found him. He lived for 18 years, Trettin recalls.
“In the process I noticed how many homeless animals exist,” Trettin said. She also met other ladies who dedicated their time to feeding the stray cats in the area.
Trettin too fed the cats, but took it one step further and began taking them in for spaying and neutering and did her best to find them homes.
Friends Of Forsaken Animals was born.
After her retirement in 1998, she moved the organization to the Uxbridge area with her shelter based in her property in Brock.
“I don’t have a personal life,” she laughs. She and her husband maintain the two heated school portables on her property and care for the older cats that stay in their home.
Nicola Ransom-Brown, a volunteer of several animal organizations who moved to Uxbridge from England, heard about Friends Of Forsaken Animals two years ago and just had to get involved. The organization thrives because of Trettin, she says.
“I think she’s amazing. She’s a very hard working lady,” Ransom-Brown says. “She’s tireless.”
If you are looking for a new, furry companion, the organization hosts regular adopt-a-thons at Uxbridge’s Pet Valu, 4 Banff Rd., each lasting about a week during the store’s regular hours. However, you can give a friendly feline a new home any time of the year, as well as taking part in a month-long fostering program.
The next adopt-a-thon will be from Jan. 21-29, 2012.
To volunteer, to adopt one of their many cats or kittens, or for more information call 905 852 4286 or email friendsofforsakenanimals@gmail.com.
“Helping animals is the starting point to helping society,” Trettin says.
Snow F.A.Q
Winter north of Hwy 7 and the Ridges (usually) means lots of white stuff, those sometimes fluffy, sometimes sleety, sometimes blizzardy flakes of snow. We gathered some neat snow facts to celebrate, share and perhaps bemoan over a hot cup of hot chocolate:
- In an average year, one septillion snowflakes fall in Canada. That is the number one, followed by 24 zeros
- The biggest snowflake recorded in Canada fell in Halifax on Feb. 22, 1986. The six-sided crystal measured 5 cm in diameter. But it was dwarfed by snowflakes the size of small pizzas that fell near Fort Keogh, Montana, in 1887, according to the Guinness Book of World Records
- Snow is white because visible sunlight is white. The crystals in a snowflake reflect white light off each other and what little light that is absorbed gives snow its white appearance
- We have our very own snow sculpture team! See them at www.snowsculpture.com
- Thought that blowing snow and drifting snow were the same thing? Nope. Blowing snow is lifted by the wind from the earth’s surface to a height of two metres or more. Drifting snow is blown to a height of less than two metres
- Winter storms and excessive cold claim more than 100 lives every year in Canada, more than the combined toll from hurricanes, tornadoes, flood, extreme heat and lightning. Many of those who die are killed trying to get rid of the stuff – stricken by heart attacks while shovelling snow off their driveways
- The word for snow blindness is niphablepsia
- The largest snowball fight on record had 5,768 participants in Leuven, Belgium on October 14, 2009
- The louder the crunch of snow, the colder the temperature. At -15C, snow underfoot squeaks; below -18C it makes a hollow sound
- Icicles are more common on the south side of buildings because that exposure tends to receive more daytime sun. Snow is more likely to melt on the south side of a building. It then re-freezes during the night to form icicles
- Care to know the difference between snow flurries, blizzards, snow squalls and more? Check out cbc.ca/news/background/forcesofnature/snow.html
SOURCES: cbc.ca, torontostar.ca, suburbantourist.ca, www.themagazine.ca
Vegetarian Tostadas
One of my food resolutions from a few months ago was to start serving more vegetarian dishes. I’m not a voracious meat eater anyway (and don’t eat red meat or fish unless it’s made friends with a deep fryer), but was almost always serving chicken something or other each night. While browsing the ethnic aisle at the grocery store, I came upon a bag of Mexican corn tostadas – and so was born a new family favourite. This is super quick for weeknights, protein-rich, tasty, includes all four food groups and can easily be adapted for any ingredients on hand (even meat, if you must!). ~Carly
Ingredients
2 c. canned beans such as kidney, pinto, navy
1/2 c. each diced onion, red pepper and corn
2 tbs. olive oil
Your favourite barbecue sauce to taste (I love PC brand Smokin’ Stampede)
Package corn tostadas
1 1/2 c. chopped baby spinach
Salsa or chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheese such as extra old cheddar or Monterrey jack
Sour cream
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Fresh lime juice (optional)
Directions
Saute veggies in olive oil until tender, then add beans. Add sauce until a consistency you like is achieved; bring to a low boil over medium low heat (OR pick up a can or three of President’s Choice Southwest Beans and you can skip this whole step).
Place tostadas on a plate, overlapping as necessary. Top with hot beans, then cheese, then sour cream, then spinach, then tomatoes. Top with a sprinkle of cilantro and squeeze of fresh lime juice if desired.
Faces of Uxbridge: Nicole Vos
Story and photo by Randy Loewen
Nicole Vos and her five daughters. L-R: Katrina, 7, Serena, 4, Victoria, 10, Michelle, 8, Alexis, 11.
It might seem odd for someone to decorate their car with zebra stripes, but for Nicole Vos it makes perfect business sense.
With a family of five daughters between 4 and 11 and running a growing business full-time, life can sometimes be a bit of a zoo. But the zebra stripes are a carefully crafted brand for Vos’ business: Petite Chic.
The concept for her business came to her about six years ago while on vacation in Florida. Vos learned to make a bracelet for herself, and upon returning home to Uxbridge, she was approached by others asking her to create more. With a creative flair and an entrepreneur’s heart, Vos realized the business potential, and thus, Wild About Beads was born – a company specializing in mom and baby fashion products.
“The zebra stripes branding came about as a result of the business name: Wild About Beads,” explains Vos. The stripes play a prominent role in marketing. In fact, Vos’ five daughters play an active role and are often seen wearing some sort of striped garment to help put the company brand out in the public.
As demand for other items started to increase, so did Vos’ product lines, and in January 2010, Petite Chic was created to better represent the business.
Vos is in the process of launching a wholesale division of her business. In addition to The Cuddly Bunny Co., a Port Perry business which she now owns, her products can be found in 13 different locations in Toronto, Hamilton, Markham, Ottawa, Quebec and B.C., and have appeared in Canadian Living, Chatelaine, and The Mompreneur.
The rapid growth inspired her to audition for Dragons’ Den, a television series where entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a panel of experts for potential financing.
Vos had just returned from Florida this past April when she was asked to show up at the CBC building in Toronto to audition. Very much a “country girl,” as she puts it, Vos felt intimidated about driving to Toronto. With her five girls in tow and desperately seeking convenient parking, she discovered the CBC building had underground parking and drove down the parking ramp. “I still had my cousin’s roof rack on my car, and as I drove in, it was crushed by the top of the garage,” she grins. “I just wanted to go home!”
As fate would have it, the irritating parking incident gave Vos that added bit of chutzpah she needed to pull off what she feels was a very solid audition. Sworn to secrecy, she and the girls are not at liberty to discuss the outcome. However, it is hoped the details will emerge in the near future, and the wild life of Nicole Vos will continue to flourish.
Staying Warm and Cozy
On this very cold day where it feels like -27°C, check out our local products to help you stay warm and cozy including items from Elemi Organics, Presents Presents Presents, On the Lamb, The Passionate Cook’s Essentials and more…
