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Last week I discovered that Spam can actually taste good. Four Saskatoon Chefs battled in a Disaster Dining challenge and one even shared his recipe.

National Lifejacket Day – did you even know there was such a thing?  Just before the May long weekend every year, the Canadian Red Cross works to raise awareness about the importance of wearing lifejackets. Each year, my colleagues and I wear lifejackets to work for the day to prompt conversations about drowning prevention. But being wide and busty, the ones I used to wear sat too high and barely closed.
Until recently, the truth is I hated lifejackets.  

My grandpa was... a character.

A retired jail guard, he towered over most people and delighted in giving everyone, especially my new boyfriends, the 3^rd degree.

His catch phrases – more like a series of not-so-subtle common sense reminders – were a running family joke. At the cottage, you frequently heard his booming voice: “Close the door!” “Turn out the lights!” and, whenever we headed toward the water, “Where’s your lifejacket?”

A powerful 7.3 earthquake shook Nepal less than a month after a previous earthquake resulted in thousands of lives lost and significant damage in the country. There are reports of new damage resulting from this earthquake.

Every year, May 8 marks World Red Cross Day to commemorate the more than 150 years of humanitarian actions by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement around the world.

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.

Large-scale disasters like the Nepal earthquake last week continue to remind us of the importance of being ready. Canada is not immune to disasters, as we saw with the Alberta floods and the Lac-Mégantic train derailment in 2013.

We mark Emergency Preparedness Week (May 3-9) here in Canada by encouraging everyone to be ready.