A moment of pride: My dinner mystery event

On February 23, 2018, I held my latest dinner mystery event and I had such fun hosting this. I am so grateful to all of those who helped me to pull it off.

This event was meant to host a dinner mystery evening for my fellow blind and vision impaired co-frères.  However, like anything else there were some glitches to deal with but for our next event I am confident that we will do much better.

There was dinner, a game show, and then a play that I had written and produced myself.  Everyone had a terrific time and now it is on to the next evening.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

This is a growing concern: The challenge of communicating when it is a second language

As a vision-impaired person it is always doubly difficult whenever I need to communicate with someone whose second language is English.  I think that it is difficult for all of us, the communicator and the communicatee.

We find it difficult to understand each other and it only makes things more challenging because I cannot read facial expression, am unable to communicate visually, and then there is the additional barrier of various cultures who are not used to interacting with persons who have a disability. 

There is no fast and hard solution for this except to continue to persist and build awareness. In addition, to find ways to better understand each other.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit 
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A tedious challenge for me: Guessing when there is no speech

This does not happen very often but whenever either my computer decides to play tricks on me or my screen-reading technology decides to take a break, this is what happens.

I am left stranded with no voice output to tell me what is on the screen and it is the same when I type. I do not hear what I am typing.  So, when this happens I have to guess or rather make some educated guesses in order to get things back on track.

How do I deal with this?  If the offender is the computer I would shut down my computer and start all over again. If it is my screen-reading technology I would need to uninstall and install once more.

I have three screen-reading pieces of software installed on each of my computers and this certainly helps me to troubleshoot.  Most of the time the reasons for all of this are not too difficult for me to solve.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A funny experience: The teller who did not know

I guess that I should take it as a compliment whenever someone does not realize that I am vision-impaired and yes, I sure do!  There are times that I truly enjoy this but on the other hand there are times when I am not too happy about it.

I guess that you cannot have it both ways.  It is either going to be that the person in front of me realizes that I am vision-impaired and they adapt accordingly.  Or they do not realize and then I need to improvise.  Or that they do and then they are not sure what to do and then here is where I become a trainer.

Tellers usually fall into any of these categories and I'll say that, for the most part, they take things as they come.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

The return of a bad experience: Pneumonia once more

At the best of times, pneumonia is not a very nice thing to have to deal with and for me this was the second time that I contracted it. The first time being in 2011 and now, again, in 2018. 

I am not sure if it is worse when you are vision-impaired and everything seems so very difficult to deal with.  Things around me are unreachable.  I am anxious that I am unable to cope and on and on. 

It is probably not much different for a sighted person but I am just expressing my frustration and anxiety. 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit 
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A continuing challenge: When my clock's chimes fooled me

This is something that is becoming more and more of a challenge for me. When I am unable to see the face of my clock, it is next to impossible to know whether or not the chimes are matching the time. 

For example, if my clock chimes 5 times then how can I tell that it is indeed 5 pm?  This is all due to the era of the digital clock and the inability to remove the cover of the clock and then feel the face.

There used to be a time when I could do so, with the older clocks.  I could remove the cover and voila!  I could feel the dots and the hands but I cannot do that now with those digital clocks. 

So I need to depend on sighted assistance to tell me if chimes and time are in sync.  Just another challenge for me to deal with.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Thank God for Mom: When my leather jacket acquired white spots

Trust me when I tell you that I would never have known this were it not for my mom.  Yes, once more, there was Mom to the rescue!

I had just come home from a function and had taken off my leather jacket.  I hung it on the back of my chair and then had gone on about my business.  I think that Mom has a very interesting habit of checking out my clothes every time I return home and it is a great way for me to make sure that I have not put stains or spots on them.

This time it was no different because shortly after I had hung it up, there she was informing me that there were white spots all over my jacket.  Nothing too serious but I had to take care of business or should I say that Mom had to take care of business for me.

She took care of things with a damp cloth and soon the jacket was back to its good old self. 

Ah, yes!  The challenges of someone who is vision-impaired, but let's face it!  Sighted people also face these same issues but they are able to see them while we need others to tell us.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Memories for a lifetime: Playing in the puddles

It has been and will always be one of my very special things to do whenever I have nothing else to do.  If this makes any sort of sense to you then I invite you to read on.

As a child I remember purposely looking for puddles outdoors each time it rained.  I would either step in them and swish the water around with my feet or I would simply stand there looking down at the water and just enjoying the images in it.

Vision or no vision, it continues to be such a pleasure for me.  I simply think that puddles are one of the extra enjoyments of nature.  They are placed there for a reason!  For people like me to enjoy and mull over. 

I don't seem to get enough of playing in the puddles these days, and why?  Because I am just a wee bit too busy these days but this needs to change and change soon!

I miss my puddles!  I miss hearing the sound of my swishing feet, whether with or without shoes! I can no longer see the images in the water but I have my memory to help me out here.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit 
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Carelessness is not for me: Paint on my favourite coat

I know that I have always tried to be very careful whenever I am around paint. But, when a sighted person is unusually careless and does not even take the time to see how his carelessness has affected someone else, or even what he has done, it certainly concerns and upsets me.

This is what happened in the fall of 2017 when Mom and I were exiting our condo building.  There were no notices cautioning us against wet paint, no notices telling us that anything was being painted and absolutely nothing else. 

So, when we got to the outer door, there he was painting the top of the door with no signs to tell us.  This silly fellow dropped paint on the sleeve and pocket of my favourite jacket and when I brought his attention to it, he never even had the courtesy to respond. 

So what did he do?  He simply went on painting without even a word in response.  I don't usually get upset very easily but on this morning it took everything for me not to simply yell at him and ask the management office to discipline him. 

There is nothing worse than a careless and discourteous person!  We have too many of them in our world and as someone with very little vision, it makes my day even more challenging!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit
www.donnajodhan.com.

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids with their wide-eyed smiles and infectious laughter is secured forever.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.donnajodhan.com/takeanother5.html

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan