Something new: The joys of texting

I am not sure why it took me so very long to become a part of the texting crowd but now I have to admit that it is fast becoming a habit for me.

No more having to spend time composing emails on the fly. All I need to do now is to text simple messages. Then I know that it will be more reliable than sending emails, providing technology cooperates.

The joy is that I can either dictate or speak my texts or even type them. Whereas with emails I only have the choice of typing.

I still am at the stage where I do not abbreviate words and sentences and hopefully it will stay this way. I really do not like those abbreviations.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Laughing as we go: Running through the rain with Mom

I have to admit that this was, indeed, a very amusing day. Here we both were, doing our best not to get too wet in the rain. Mom was actually running; doing her best not to fall and to go a bit more quickly than usual. Then here I was, doing my best not to fall and to make sure that we stayed in step.

The rain was coming down pretty hard and we needed to scurry out of the supermarket and then to run across the parking lot. I had to put all of my trust in her guidance because I could not see where we were going.

It was a matter of the blind leading the blind, in a way, despite Mom having full sight. My trust was severely tested but at the end of the day we did just fine.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Meet the A team! The hearing aid and the seeing eye

I am the hearing aid and Mom is the seeing eye. I hear for us both and she sees for us both.

For the most part, our team of two works very well together. She tells me and describes everything to me as we walk around in the mall or eat in restaurants. She does not miss very much and her descriptions are complete. She is the seeing eye.

She describes what people are wearing, what is on the display racks, and whatever else she sees as we travel around.

For me, as the hearing aid, I do my best to tell her what people are saying and asking. My job is to ensure that she knows what is being said and what is being asked but I need to ensure that she hears me. This means that I need to go very close to her and articulate as best as I can.

This is hard work but I do not see any other alternative. This is the hearing aid and the seeing eye at work.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A wonderful opportunity: A priceless gift from Seneca College

I can only describe this as a priceless gift; a gift from staff and students of the Camera and TV Program departments at Seneca College in Toronto.

Thanks to Professors Richard Fisher and Julia Patton, my CCB Mysteries chapter will soon be receiving a huge shot in the arm as these very talented folks will be producing some exciting videos to help promote my chapter's activities.

As they always say: a picture is worth a thousand words. As someone who once had enough vision to appreciate and understand this statement, I am just brimming with excitement.

So, hats off to these wonderful people and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their commitment.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Time to think: At 3 a.m. in the morning

I do not think that too many folks would consider the hour of 3 a.m. to be a good one for them. For it is probably the hour when most of the world is either still asleep or getting ready to do so.

For me, it is the perfect hour! The time when I wake up, hear myself think, and then start my day by reading and digesting the latest news. Then I read my emails that have come in overnight and finally it is time to get down to work.

As most of my clients live in Britain, this is probably the best time for me to catch them. Their work morning has just begun and my emails will probably arrive in their inboxes at just the right moment.

As mentioned above, I can hear myself think. I can hear myself breathe. Most of all, my brain is awake and ready to work. This probably no different for anyone, vision-impaired or sighted.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Just another way: Removing the nail polish

I think that I simply stumbled across this very easy solution out of pure luck.

Some time after I had been to the spa with my friend Gabriella to have our nails done, the nail polish had begun to flake off and I had asked my mom how I should remove it. She suggested that I should use some polish remover to do the job but for the lazy person that I can be at times, I decided to seek an easier way.

So, one night while lying in bed, I used my nails to remove it. For example, I took a fingernail from the left hand to remove all of the polish on each of the fingers of my right hand and then I repeated the process for the left hand. It worked.

At least I was able to do this quite easily and quickly and the polish came off quite easily. I simply had to use my sense of touch to do the trick.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Putting a smile on my face: Playing chess via Skype

Over the past few months I have made a concerted effort to play chess on a more frequent basis. This has included playing chess with Mark Kirkham who lives in England.

I met Mark at the Windermere event at the end of January, 2019, and he was kind enough to play me some friendly games when I had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness.

Since then we have been playing via email and a few months ago we tried a Skype game but I have to admit that it was not one of my favourite experiences.

Mark is very patient and a great teacher and I do my best to keep up with him. However, I need to develop more patience and confidence in my chess skills. Just another hobby for me to work on.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Just another routine: Navigating Mom's remotes

At the best of times, working with a television remote is not the easiest thing for me. I say this because any slip of the finger and the television will simply either stop working or go haywire.

Each time I return to visit with Mom I make very sure to learn how to re-familiarize myself with her remotes. Once I get the hang of things then the rest is very easy. All I need to do is to ensure that I know where the most necessary buttons are located. This would be the power button, the channel changer button, and the volume button.

All in a day's work.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

They are nothing but a pain! Dealing with those persistent lizards

For me it is very difficult to deal with these creatures who do not seem to know when they are not welcomed!

I remember once seeing what they looked like as they crawled along the banister of our balcony and that was quite enough for me. Today, I can no longer see them but I can certainly hear them!

They make a clapping sound when they are around us. I do my best to chase them away by either shouting at them or clapping my hands whenever I hear them. Sometimes it works but at other times it does not.

For me it is extremely difficult to deal with situations where I have no idea what is close by and I only discover something whenever a noise is made.

Lizards are definitely not my favorite friends. They are not welcomed and I just want them to go away.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A new and exciting experience: Working with Aaron remotely

This is probably one of my most challenging experiences; working remotely with anyone, at best. Aaron is probably one of the best developers/support persons that I have ever had the chance to work with. But still, for me, it always makes me so very nervous.

On this particular very early Monday morning, we got together with me in the Caribbean and Aaron at his post in Ohio. Aaron was so very patient! He guided me to set up Teamviewer and then he installed Malwarebytes for me.

After this Aaron performed all of the updates; from updating Windows 10 to Google Chrome and Firefox. Then he cleaned up other pieces of software for me.

This took two sessions and each session lasted for about an hour. What an experience, but at the end of it all I was extremely grateful to an ever-patient Aaron!

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

A cherished childhood memory: Remembering Stephen in his stroller

He was six years my junior but my aunt trusted me enough to drive him around in his stroller. For not only was I that age but I was also vision impaired and she never seemed to mind me taking him for little rides up and down our hallways.

There he was in his stroller! Very quiet and minding his own little business, so to speak. Sometimes he would be asleep but sometimes he would be drinking his bottle or even humming to himself. He never gave me any trouble and I was always so careful to make sure not to bump into things.

I had two paths to choose from. The first took me from our kitchen, into my parents room, around the bed and out again and then up the hallway to the door of the living room and back to where I started in the kitchen.

The other path would be one where I would travel up the long hallway going past the laundry room, the bathrooms, and rounding the corner past the little area that held the ironing board, clothes baskets, and couch.  Then through one of our larger bedrooms and through the doors to another hallway where there were three more bedrooms.

I stayed clear of going into the bedrooms, choosing instead to drive Stephen in his stroller down the very long hallway. I will say that this was indeed my favourite path. Then back on the return journey to the kitchen.

I don't really know which of the two paths was Stephen's favourite but nevertheless, he enjoyed it all and so did I!

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Another interesting experience: Navigating Mom's bathroom scale

I guess that every scale is a bit different when it comes to being able to navigate it in order to know exactly where to place one's feet when preparing to get weighed. For me, I have a talking scale which I find to be just the right size.

There is a bar at the top of the scale that is in the middle of it. I place one foot on each side of the bar and wait seconds to hear the results. I can hear the results in either pounds or kilos.

In the case of Mom's scale, I need to depend on Mom or sighted assistance to get my results. True it is that her scale is quite a bit smaller and there is also a small bar in the middle of the scale at the top of it, but the trick is to place my feet in the correct position or else my weight will not be accurate.

Then Mom also needs to ensure that the scale is on and working before I get onto it. She needs to ensure that the batteries are functioning before we start our weighing session.

Just another scale to learn about.

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Frustration! Difficulty accessing my phone messages

Just imagine when I discovered that I could not access my phone messages while traveling out of Canada. I simply could not do it.

I could not even get to the option to enter my password in order to access my messages. So I had to elicit help from my dear friend Gabriella to do this.

I had to give her my password and that was just fine. She did the rest but this was a new experience for me.

She had to send me emails with the contents of each message and it was strange for me to read my phone messages instead of hearing them firsthand. 

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 http://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.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan