What happens after workmen leave?

Normally, it is a mess at the best of times after workmen leave, but think about this additional challenge for a blind person. Workmen have just left your house. The place is a mess, things are out of place, and everything needs to be cleaned up.

Of course, they did not tell you where they put things, but you know that they need to be put back in place. They did not tell you that they left dust all over the place, on the floor, on the counters, and on your furniture. You know that you need to put back the furniture but you now have to go carefully fumbling around to find the furniture. You are careful enough but it does not stop you from crashing into an unexpected piece of furniture.

It simply cannot be helped. This is the scene for me each time workmen leave my place. I try my best to tell them to put things back, but no go. Ah, well! All in a day's life.

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

Those expiry dates

For me personally, keeping track of expiry dates on labels and on prescriptions, bottles, and tubes is one of the greatest challenges in my daily life. No use trying to remember it all. I have to find ways to remember and I am always asking for suggestions. For food stuffs, I do my best to arrange them in order of expiry dates if I can, but then again this does not always work and I end up having to put Braille labels on my boxes and tins. It is the same for those little tubes and bottles in my medicine cabinet. I am constantly updating and making sure that I have those expiry dates all correctly labeled.

For a sighted person, it is relatively easy for them to look at the box, tin, can, tube, or bottle. For me, it is more than this. In fact, it is a different process. I have to make sure that I label correctly, then place that all-important Braille label on whatever I need to place it on.

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 blogs. Visit www.maxiaids.com to learn about some of the devices that blind persons use when labeling their various objects.

Learning to knit

A few months ago I decided to take up knitting because I wanted to find an outlet to learn a new craft. I contacted a store that sells knitting supplies and the instructor decided to give me some lessons. She was very kind and extremely patient but I knew that she was very apprehensive. She had never taught a blind person before so she kept looking to my friend for ways to explain things to me. For me this was something entirely new, so I had to be patient and find ways to be innovative in my thinking. I had two lessons with her and then I stopped because I wanted to think things through for myself.

I am still thinking today but I do plan to take it up again. A new venture for me: learning how to hold the needles, when to cast off, and pull through, getting into a routine for myself. Hopefully I will resume my knitting soon.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and tell others about my knitting experience. Visit
www.afb.org to learn more.

Waiting for Gabriella

In years gone by, I used to be able to see Gabriella's car as it approached my driveway while I stood outside waiting for her. If she came to pick me up at night, she would flash her lights three times so that I could see her approaching, and if she came during the day she would blow her horn three times so that I would have a warning of her approaching. I was also able to see her bright red car lumbering towards me.

Now we have a bit of a change in our signals. She still blows the horn three times if she comes to pick me up during the day, and if it is at night, she would either blow the horn or call to me after she has stopped her car. We often joke that we do this so that I don't end up going towards the wrong car.

Sometimes, if she gets there before I do, she stands outside and waits for me and calls to me as I step outside of my door. Just right for us both and it is how we do it.

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 blogs. Come by and visit me any time at
www.sterlingcreations.ca.

When the lights stayed on

I can probably laugh at it all now, but at the time that it happened I was probably not in a mood to laugh. In fact, I was just a wee bit scared. You see, as I am no longer able to see the lights in my condo; I take very great care to ensure that they are off before I go to bed. I still turn on the lights every day, despite not being able to really see them, and I turn them off before going to bed. I guess that you can say that old habits die hard.

On this particular night, I missed turning off the kitchen light and lo and behold! At 11:00 p.m. I heard my kitchen clock chiming. At first, I was a bit confused as I thought that I had overslept in a big way, but soon enough I realized what had happened. My kitchen clock chimes
whenever the kitchen light is on and accordingly, this is what happened. The kitchen light was on so the clock chimed.

I was out of bed in a flash and raced to my kitchen to turn off the light. Ah, yes! My exercise for that night.

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

Where did I put my cup?

I am constantly losing sight, or rather contact, with my cup and I have to be very careful whenever this happens. You see, whenever I am not sure where I have left my cup, then this is where I have to stop, think, and then carefully feel my way around my counter space and my table top. If the cup is empty it may not be so bad but whenever it is full or even has some liquid in it, then this is where the difficulty comes in.

In times gone by, I used to use my limited vision to find my missing cup but with precious little vision now, I have to start the process with first trying to remember where I have left it and then next go to the spot where I think I left it and then start feeling gingerly around.

Yes, it could be a challenge but once I get used to the fact that every now and then this is going to happen, then this is half the battle won. Ah, yes! My elusive cup!

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

My vivid dreams

Please do not ask me to explain but this is what happens when I dream. They are vivid, colorful, and in as much detail as I was able to see when I had my vision. Truth be told, I enjoy those vivid dreams because they give me an opportunity to see things so well.

It is the best of both worlds for me in many ways. I can still dream in technicolor, so to speak, despite not having very much vision now. When I dream I can see, and boy do I ever enjoy these precious dreams. Colors come to light. Shapes dance in front of me and faces all come to life. They are simply all in color for me.

Skies are once more blue! Sun shines again, grass and flowers are so vivid in color, the beach is of a golden sandy color, and those gentle waves are as white as lace. I am ice skating around a rink that is decorated with Christmas lights and my beloved Montreal Canadiens are playing hockey right in front of my eyes.

I love dreaming every night; it gives me a chance to see once more in my dreams. The best of both worlds for me!

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 my vivid dreams.
Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.