Remembering the dolls

They are oh so precious to me and my doll collection includes over 85 dolls. I started collecting them as a kid and continue to do so. When I first started out, I had very little vision and had to depend on my sense of touch along with descriptions from others to help me form my memories. Then when I got my vision I had no difficulty in forming my own descriptions. Now, with little to no vision, I have to depend on a variety of ways to keep remembering. I use my sense of touch, my previous memories, and descriptions from others to help me keep on remembering.

I can still remember the faces of many of them, the color of their clothes and costumes, and their hair and eyes. I love my dolls and do my best to preserve memories of them. I often slide open the doors to their cases and run my fingers gently over them.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to learn more about the world of blind persons by visiting www.nfb.org.

What's up with that computer screen?

This is what I always say to myself each and every time my screen reader goes silent. Sometimes I may be accused of being a wee bit too impatient or anxious, but that's me.

Sometimes there is really no need for me to worry and on the whole I have been extremely fortunate when it comes to avoiding such things as system crashes and freeze-ups. However, I have to depend on my screen reader to let me know what is going on in a spoken way or, in short, my only way of knowing what is going on with my computer screen is to hear what my screen reader is saying. So I get anxious whenever nothing is being spoken.

When I had enough vision to see the screen, I could tell if the system was either hung up or waiting for things to happen before continuing on. I could either tell by the color of the screen or by reading the writing on the screen. With these indicators no longer available to me, I now have to depend solely on hearing what my screen reader is telling me. Or sometimes I would lower my ear to my computer and listen as the drive makes its gentle sound.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.sterlingcreations.ca to learn more about me.

Watching the clothes go around

This used to be one of my favorite pastimes as a child. In those days, Mom had a washer with a glass door to the front. So whenever she put the laundry in, I would find myself drawn to the front door of the washer and there I would sit, watching the clothes spin around in the washer.

I had so much fun then because in those days I thoroughly enjoyed looking at colors. My nose would be pressed right up against the glass door in order to see what was going on. I was always somehow able to identify some of my clothes because they were yellow and I always grew so excited whenever I spotted them as they spun by. For some reason I was then and am still now drawn to the color yellow. Not sure if it had anything to do with my blindness in any way but would never know.

Mom never deprived me of my front seat and maybe, just maybe, she used to watch me have so much fun. I should ask her one of these days. In the meantime, I will hold on to this treasured memory.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and share my memories with others. Visit me anytime at www.donnajodhan.com.

Setting the table

That was my chore as a child and oh how much I enjoyed doing it. I especially loved to do it at breakfast because it meant that I had to match the colors of cups and saucers. My favorite color was always yellow and remains the same for today. My brother, Robert, got the blue, Jeffrey, the red, and then Granny got pink, Mom green, and Dad turquoise. Everything had to be properly matched.

Dinner time was easier because all I had to do was make sure that the cutlery was placed in a straight line just like at breakfast time. In those days I enjoyed doing anything that meant working with colors and I had just enough vision to do so. In addition, each of us had our specific place at table. Mom sat at the head and to her right was Jeffrey and beside him was Granny. Robert sat at the foot of the table. I sat to the left of Mom, and Dad sat beside me.

Those were such happy times with so many memories to share with others.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and discover more about blind kids by visiting www.acb.org.

Remembering the beach ball

Oh how well I remember my favourite beach ball! He was a colored beach ball; bright red, yellow, orange, green, and blue. Each time I went to play with him, I had to blow air into him. He was made out of some sort of plastic fabric.

I took such good care of him. I even placed him at the foot of my bed after playing with him and I was always so protective of him. I never wanted to let anyone else play with him and I always had to know his whereabouts.

As a blind child, my beach ball was one of my best friends and truth be told, I went through several beach balls while growing up. You see, each time one of those treasured balls punctured, my parents would go out and buy me another and they did it as quickly as possible. I welcomed each ball with the same love and friendship and each of them brought me such great joy.

Dad would play with me and my beach ball on the beach or in the sea and sometimes my brothers would sneak it away from me and play with it as well. That was just fine as long as they eventually brought it back to me. Ah yes, memories of my beloved beach ball!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my memories with others. Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Window shopping

Ah yes! Window shopping and especially so at Christmas time. How well I remember this activity when I was growing up. Each Christmas my mom and aunt would take us kids to window shop, and at that time my vision was barely enough for me to distinguish objects in the windows of stores. However, I still enjoyed it, especially so when my brothers and cousins took time to describe things to me.

They would all be so excited and went to great lengths to tell my mom and aunt what they thought I should have for Christmas. It was anything from balls, dolls and tea sets to clothes and shoes and oh how I loved it all. I could still remember the bright yellow ball, the bright red top, and the tea set with so many little pieces to it. Then there were the dolls in pretty little outfits. Mom and Auntie would spend hours with us window shopping and no one ever tired of walking and window shopping. Sometimes the window shopping actually turned into a bit of a shopping spree for us kids as the grownups would treat us to things that they felt we were most excited about.

Ah yes, window shopping as a child, a memory forever.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my memories with others. Come by any time and visit me at www.donnajodhan.com.

Remembering the swimming pool

I sure do remember the swimming pool, how much I enjoyed it and how much it meant to me when I had enough vision to gaze upon its calm and peaceful waters. I could sit there for hours on end just gazing into the blue/green nterior. I could still picture leaves floating aimlessly on the surface and sunshine playing on the water. I would never hesitate to jump in and swim around but I always found that the walls would feel so confining to me.

I shall always remember the swimming pool; I do not swim as often as I would like but that's okay.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.acb.org to learn more.

My favourite street

Almost everyone has a favourite street and I am no different. My favourite street, however, is probably based on some different reasons and please allow me to tell you.

My favourite street is favourite to me because of its fragrant smells emanating from bakeries, restaurants, and perfume boutiques. It is favourite to me because of the friendly folks that I often meet as I walk along. It is favourite to me because I know it so well, having traveled its length and breadth for so many years. It is favourite to me because I always feel welcomed there and no one really is afraid to approach me as I tap with my cane as I walk along the sidewalk.

People know me and are always somehow there in the nick of time to lend a helping hand. I know each building on my street. The supermarket with its friendly customer service reps. The cleaners, the jewelry boutique, the hairdresser, and the bank at the corner. The restaurants, the post office, and so many pedestrians traveling along each day as I do.

This is my most favourite street and one that I shall always cherish.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell others about your favourite street. Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca to learn more.

Fingers on the pictures

I always remember as a child using my fingers to trace the outlines of pictures. With not much vision in those days, it was my way of interacting with pictures. In those days, there were not many tactile pictures around and I had to use my imagination and memory to remember the pictures. So I used to put my fingers at the top of the picture and then run them gently along the sides then up the middle.

For pictures of family and friends, this was the best way for me to imagine and remember but when tactile pictures came into my life, then it made things a wee bit easier for me. I had to learn the shape of things and then match the tactile images of these shapes with the description that was given to me. I always enjoyed doing this but when I finally obtained enough vision to see images and colors, what a difference! More things for me to discover and explore.

The one thing that I would say is this: Shapes of things do not really match the visual image and it is often difficult to teach a blind person what things look like.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to come by any time and visit me at www.donnajodhan.com.

With the birds

Oh, how I love those singing ones! I can no longer see them but I can surely hear them and it really helps when I have people around me to describe what they are doing.

I often help my mom to feed them; my part of this comes when I cut up the bread and stand there and listen as she goes out to the trough and puts in the food for them. They are always so happy each time she gives them food and believe it or not, whenever she does not come out at a certain time to put food for them, they actually start to call to her.

Birds are such a joy to be around. Yes, they are timid as they do not really come too close to you but just the thought of them not too far away is enough for me. I can still picture them: birds of all colors, shapes, and sizes. They are grateful for whatever you give to them, they never say no, and they are always happy. They are smart, wonderful friends, and never complain.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others about my experiences with birds. Visit www.acb.org to learn more.

My friend Peepers

You would probably be surprised to know who he is. He is not a kid nor is he a perverted fellow. He is a tiny insect, brown, and extremely quick when he travels. He can fly and he can jump nimbly from leaf to leaf. Catch him if you can but I doubt if you ever could.

Peepers chirps like a little bird and if you did not know then you would really think that he is one. He comes out at around 6 pm and stays up until about 6 am. So, what is so special about my friend Peepers? The minute I heard his voice so clear and so crisp, I knew that he would be my friend forever.

Peepers brings back so many memories to me. Childhood memories of spending times at the beach with my family. Memories of sitting around at night with the family with the lights from the kitchen and dining room shining on us. Nights of quietude when all I would hear as I lay in bed were the sounds of other insects sounding just like my Peepers. Happy and peaceful memories, treasured times forever.

This is why Peepers is so special to me. I know that I'll never be able to hold him or to touch him and I know that he will probably never come too close to me but that's fine. His tiny little voice is enough to keep me going.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and spread the word about my friend Peepers. Visit www.sterlingcreations.ca to learn more about me.

My beloved sea

I will never tire of talking about my beloved sea; its fragrant smell, its calming sound, the feel of its gentle waters against my body, the taste of its salty water, and the memories of it all. When I had enough vision to see this beautiful wonder of nature, I would sit for minutes on end just watching it.

I can still remember those white-capped waves breaking gently against the shore; foam that looked so much like lace. The blue and green colors beyond the breakers, and the sun playing games on the surface of the water. Sometimes I could just make out fish leaping into the air out in the ocean and boats with sails of various shapes and sizes cruising quietly out at sea.

I adore the sea; I love everything about it, and not being able to see it has not lessened my love for it. Truth be told, I would love to live by the sea but who knows what the future will bring me.

In the meantime, I can only remember my beloved sea; swimming in it, playing in it, walking in it, and just remembering.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to share my thoughts about my beloved sea. Come by any time and visit me here at www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com.