She was very special to me! Remembering Olive

I shall always remember Olive, a wonderful lady who used to come every Thursday to iron clothes for the family.  Olive was always so pleasant and always had time to talk with me.

I would rush home from school to see her.  I would sit on the couch while she ironed and she always had so many stories to tell me.  We talked about any and everything that we could think of and at 6:30 pm we listened to stories on the radio.

There was Auntie Wendy Price and her fairy tales followed by story time sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.  Each episode lasted for 15 minutes and when they were over it was time for Olive to leave and travel home.

I was always so very sad to see her go.  Olive never made me feel uncomfortable.  She never asked me about my blindness and seemed to accept me for the child that I was: inquisitive, and always looking for ways to make Olive laugh!

Thank you, Olive!  For having made my childhood so rich!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly sight-loss coach and accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and author then I invite you now to visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as a sight-loss coach and 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

I could not contain myself: Anticipating my new doll house

I don't think that I'll ever forget the anticipation of my new doll house before it arrived.  From the day that it was ordered to the actual day when it arrived!

I had always wanted one as I never had one as a child.  So, when my friend Sue told me that it was available online I did not hesitate to ask her to order for me.

A huge box arrived outside my door two days after Sue had ordered it for me and two weeks later it was all assembled and placed in my living room, thanks to Stephanie and Sandra.

Now I can actually visit my doll house whenever I want. I can go there and spend time touching the figures and furniture.  There are the kids, baby and her brother and sister.  Mom and Dad, Granny and Grandpa.

Then there are the pets!  Kitty, puppy, and bunny in their little homes, and bones, fish, and carrot to go along.

My new doll house is a true keepsake and something to pass on to future generations.  It is a heritage piece!

There are four floors. Bathroom and living room on the ground floor. Kitchen and dining room on the second floor.  Bedroom and patio on the third floor. Play room and nursery on the fourth floor.  There is even a lovely staircase and the furniture is all made out of wood and magnificently crafted. Even the family of dolls are all superbly made out of wood.

Now I can use my imagination to help me return to childhood and wonderful times! I am like a kid in a candy shop!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly sight-loss coach and advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and 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

The color of Christmas

As Andy Williams used to sing out each year: "It's the most wonderful time of the year,” and this is certainly the case for me.  It is that time of year when the child in me decides to show itself.  I am never too embarrassed to express my joy whenever I hear Santa's rich laughter and whenever I smell the sweet fragrance of pine.  All of those colorful presents, bows, lights, and other goodies dancing before my eyes!

Now that my vision is down to a bare minimum, I use my imagination to help me out.  I imagine all those mysterious colored packages under a huge tree decorated with blinking lights.  I can almost see those colorful lights dancing in my memory and I can practically reach out and grab one of those mysterious packages from under the tree.

Lights intermingled with artificial snowflakes, all kinds of Christmas figures and at the top of the tree?  The shining star!

I must not forget my angel and my manger with the Baby Jesus lying in Mother Mary's arms.  The animals, shepherds, Joseph, and the three wise men.  All fixed in my mind's eye forever.  

The toys all come alive in my mind!  Doll houses filled with little people.  Furniture, tea sets, and strollers with baby dolls.  Even the racing cars, train sets, and those ice skates dancing just out of my reach.  The skis waiting for me to put them on and the colorful balls and game sets.  

Ah yes!  The color of Christmas and I will forever be a child at this time of the year!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a happy, Holy, and safe Christmas! 

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

Like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

Visit my online store to either purchase or subscribe for unlimited access to our library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html

and you can even take advantage of my free downloads!

Finally, you can subscribe to my free let's talk tips monthly newsletter by visiting http://bit.ly/ADJSubscribe

Fondest memories forever: Remembering Tragarete Rd

Ah yes!  The smells and sounds of the street on which I grew up!  I'll never forget you, my beloved Tragarete Rd!  With all of your interesting happenings at night, traffic during the day, and horns blaring, kids walking and laughing, and dogs barking and chasing each other.

I shall always remember Craig pontificating every night from his soap box and me listening to him before falling asleep.  The smells of the bakery as it baked all kinds of cakes and breads.  Kids laughing and shouting as they walked home from school, and oh yes!  The dogs barking and chasing each other and the overly happy folks who had a bit too much to drink at night.

Believe it or not, Tragarete Rd was once a very quiet street but today it has blossomed into a main thoroughfare.  All kinds of traffic rumble down its landscape on a daily basis and at night Tragarete Rd does not sleep, unlike the good old days when everything halted between 11 pm and 5 am.

Then there was Christmas time!  Tragarete Rd was filled with the sounds of firecrackers going off!  Kids walking and singing!  The fragrant scent of baking goods, and so very much more!

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

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter!
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Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
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Bitter sweet memories: Memories of my roots

As I always say: I have been blessed to have been given the opportunity to enjoy both sides of the world.  My roots lie in a tiny Caribbean island and I like to call it the crown jewel of the Caribbean.

I spent many of my formative years on this tiny island!  I learned to walk and talk there!  I cut my first teeth there!  And I learned to count, read, write, spell, and say please and thank you!

Those days were so very long ago but I can tell you that I'll never forget my roots!  My perfect little island called Trinidad!  Where everything was so very uncomplicated in those days!  Where one could swim so freely in the ocean, sit on the beach and enjoy the fresh unpolluted air, and walk through the botanical gardens and enjoy the greenery!

Those were my roots and I shall forever remember!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, 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 great childhood memory: Hunting for almonds

I have to admit that this was one of my favorite childhood activities at school.  There I was, along with my classmates, hunting for those ripe and juicy almonds at break time and during lunch hour.

We were all vision impaired so accordingly we had to walk gingerly in the grass in order to find them.  We needed to make sure that we did not crush them when we stepped on them as it was the only way for us to find them, by stepping on them.

I do remember having been able to find so many of these sweet, large, juicy fruits and each time I found one it was as good as the previous one or even better.

I know that my classmates felt the same way and we often had competitions to see who would find the most during break time.  Ah, yes!  More memories to cherish and love forever.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, 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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

Memories forever: My little blue rocking chair

I still remember my little blue rocking chair: so tiny, so delicate and so bright.  Oh how I loved it and I can still remember sitting in it and being afraid to rock too hard in it for fear of breaking it.

I must have been only about five or six years old and thank goodness that I was very petite or else I may not have been able to fit in it.  My memories are clear but the one thing is that I do not even know now what became of it.

All of this being said, I definitely have great memories of my little blue rocking chair.  I really loved and cherished it and will always hold these memories very close to my heart.  Those were the days when I could just sit, rock gently, and imagine so many things.  I imagined about fairies, kings and queens, and princes and princesses.  I imagined swimming with the fishes and flying with the birds and I dreamed of flying with fairies and playing with princes and princesses.

Ah, yes!  My childhood dreams and ones that live on in my mind and will be there forever.  My little blue rocking chair sure helped me to imagine.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, 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.

And now my weekly podcast!
From recipes to apps, and 5 minute mysteries to tips for entrepreneurs and scam alerts!
www.takeanother5.com
And available for download from iTunes and Google music play

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

Imagining the dragons and witches

I am not ashamed to admit that my images of dragons and witches were really out of this world when I was growing up. As a kid with very little vision it was so very easy for me to put my imagination to work.

I can tell you that when one's vision is at a minimum one's imagination quickly kicks in to fill the gaps and this was it for me. Boy, did my imagination run freely. I got to imagine so many things and dragons and witches were just a few of the things that my imagination created for me.

Dragons were gigantic things of all colors! Their hands and feet were extra large and fire came rolling out of their larger than life mouths. They possessed extra strength and had the ability to pluck me out of my bed and run away with me!

As for the witches? They were dressed in black from head to toe. They carried huge magical wands and waved them as they walked. They used their wands to cast wicked spells and their faces wore expressions of evil! Their teeth were long and pointed!

Was my imagination far off from the truth as depicted in story books? Maybe not as far off as I thought. Ah yes! Those were my images as a child!

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

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan
Like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan
Visit my online store to either purchase or subscribe for unlimited access to our library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html and you can even take advantage of my free downloads!
Or subscribe to my free monthly newsletter at www.donnajodhan.com.

Dear Readers:
This is a personal request from me for you to join my campaign against bullying (CAB).

In 2012 I launched my own campaign against bullying in response to appeals from friends and associates. I decided to try something new and here it is.

You can support my campaign against bullying (CAB) and in return for your valuable contribution I will send you a thank you gift. Visit www.jodhanmysterybook.club to learn more. I will use all contributions to promote workshops to help others protect themselves from bullying and teach them how to launch their own anti bullying campaigns.

In addition, I will produce blogs and podcasts to help me spread my campaign and to convince others to do the same.

You may also visit my online store at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html and browse through my selections.

Help me to stop the spread of bullying and to show others how to combat bullies.

About my audio mysteries: Patterned after the "Murder, She Wrote" and "Murdoch Mysteries," where mystery is the order of the day. Meet Detective DJ and the Crime Crushers. You won’t want to miss out on any of her audio mysteries! Filled with gripping drama and unbelievable plots, you won’t be able to stop listening until the very end and then you’ll be craving for more – there is mystery behind every mystery!

Detective DJ writes and records her own audio mysteries. She uses the power of words to create and solve her crimes, and then she draws you in and before you know it – you’re all caught up in the plot! But alas, at the end of it all, when you think you’ve identified the perpetrator, she surprises you once more and you’re left absolutely stunned and amazed!