3 Ways to Custom ID Your Keys

Pictured: Four keys on a silver key ring. Two of the keys have brightly painted tops, one white and the other pink. The two remaining keys are unpainted.

How many keys do you carry with you? I have four keys on my key ring. Sometimes it is hard to tell which key I need in the moment.

My four keys can be distinguished by size and shape. There is one small key, two medium sized keys, and one large key. Unlike the others, the large key has a square shape to it. It is the two medium sized keys that often pose a problem. Left in their original state, It is difficult to distinguish them due to their similar size and shape.

There are a number of ways to customize keys so that they can be distinguished by touch and by sight. Your vision can impose more specific needs. So here are some ideas.

Pictured: A selection of customizing materials. There are bump dots of various sizes, colors, and textures, two jars of nail polish (one white and one pink), and a braille label maker.
  1. Place a bump dot at the top of the key used most often.  A second key might have two bump dots, and a third might have a bump dot on the front and back of the top of a key.  Bump dots are available in different sizes, shapes, colors, and textures,so finding what works bests for you offers many choices.
  2. Add braille by using a braille label maker. A brailled F for front door and a B for back door or M for mail might prove helpful. These are just suggestions to get you started.
  3. Paint the tops of your keys with nail polish. Nail polish is very durable. There are lots of colors to choose from, even glow-in-the-dark types. I painted my 2 medium sized keys with nail polish to differentiate them – one white, one a dark pink.

Customizing the look and feel of your keys could be your key to success.

A Way to Weigh

It is so quick and easy to put on a few pounds, and so very hard to take them off.  So  I like to keep track of my weight.  I weigh myself at a set day and time every week. By doing so, I can catch any weight gain early on and work to reverse that trend before it is out of control.  But it is so hard (admittedly impossible) for me to see the scale when I stand on it.

I like to keep my weight private.  So asking someone to read the number to me is not my first choice.  It may also be an inconvenience or an imposition for the sighted assistant.  An alternative could be a talking scale, but that is expensive and the darned battery needs changing far too often.  The talking scale is not the most accurate scale around either.

I figured out a way to weigh.

Scale 3
Pictured:  The camera screen is displayed.  The second button from the top along the right side of the screen is the self-timer button.  If you are using your iPhone, the self-timer button will be at the top of the screen.  The red circled area shows the choice of OFF, 3 seconds, or 10 seconds for the self-timer.

I place the scale on the floor next to a counter or table.  I open the camera on my iPad and set the self-timer to 3 seconds.  Then I place it on the table with the camera lens extended over the edge of the table.  I check to be sure that the scale is visible on the iPad screen.  Then, while standing steady on the scale, I gently push the START button on the iPad’s camera.  Voila!

Scale 4
Pictured:  The iPad in on a table and on the floor to the left is the scale.

Scale 2
Pictured:  My tootsies on the scale. The image is captured by the iPad camera.

The iPad’s camera now has the image of my scale with my current weight displayed.  Now I can pinch and stretch the on-screen image to enlarge that portion of the screen.

I can see it!  I can see the image of the scale with my weight displayed.  On, so easy!  I found a way to weigh!

Tush Lights

I saw a report on TV yesterday (see the whole video report below)  about public restrooms.  It is not something we often talk about, but like it or not, we need them.  Apparently the coranavirus is making various establishments more aware of the pitfalls and hazards of these conveniences.  The prediction is that these facilities will be redesigned to address health and safety concerns.

I hate public restrooms.  They are dirty places, usually, and there is a total lack of privacy.  Add to that the modern features that are included making each public restroom work differently.  Automatic dispensers for soap and even water vary in how they operate.  Drying hands is usually such an ordeal for me that I often end up flapping my hands to air dry them.  Surely I look like a mad woman doing so!  And, of course, there is the automatic flush – sometimes.  Other times the flush is a handle, or a button – somewhere, or what?  I don’t know.

Worst of all, I hate standing on line in a large busy restroom to wait for an empty stall.  I never seem to know when a stall is available or which one it is.  Some impatient soul will nudge me or urge me on in a most unfriendly way.

Introducing Tush Lights.  Someone figured out that a red or green light in front of a stall could more easily signal the in-use status.  The one that was demonstrated in this TV report was a large light, not a tiny dot of light somewhere.  Now that got me excited!  Maybe someday we will get past this COVID era and I will get out of the house to see one in action!  I look forward to that.

Imagine getting excited about seeing a light in a public restroom!  A tush light.

Below is the video report as seen on TV.  Please forgive the commercial that comes first.

OMG – Zoodles

Zoodles

Zucchini spaghetti – also known as Zoodles.  They are quick and easy to prepare.   Delicious and nutritious.  And low calorie too!

Zoodles GIF
Pictured:  A series of 5 shapshots that change every 8 seconds.  The first shows a spiralizer, bowl, and 2 zucchini.  The second shows a zucchini inserted into the spiralizer held over a bowl.  The third shows the zoodles spread out on a cutting board, and a knife.  The fourth shows a bowl of cooked zoodles.  The fifth shows a plate of crab cakes and a bowl of zoodles – ready to eat.

Ingredients

  • 2 Zucchini
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil


Directions

  1. Wash zucchini.  Do not peel.  Cut off ends.
  2. Insert zucchini into one end of the spiralizer and hold over bowl or cutting board.
  3. Twist zucchini until there is nothing left to twist.
  4. Generously salt zucchini noodles and blot dry with paper towels or tea towel.
  5. Cut zucchini into smaller strips with kitchen shears or knife.
  6. Add zoodles, oil, and spices to pot or pan and saute for about 2 minutes.  (A pot will keep any spatter away from you and will keep contents from spilling out.)

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Crab Cakes recipe can be found at RECIPES > DINNER.

Spiralizer is available on amazon.

 

Yes, I Can and You Can Too

Lockdowns and social distancing sure made me take another look at my life.  I faced a new-found awareness of a need to do something productive and gratifying, and alone.

After considerable thought and investigation, I discovered pastel painting.  I call it finger painting for grownups.  I have begun studying the art, grateful for the Internet and the availability of so much new-to-me information.

I started with The Great Courses and took an academic approach to learning to draw.  I learned about line and space, value, media, perspective, dimension, and a little more history than I really felt I needed.  From there, I turned to youtube tutorials and actually spent a whole hour learning how to sharpen a pencil.  (It is not as easy or as simple as you may think.)  I am still watching youtube videos to learn more about types of pastels, techniques, tools, styles, and even more history.

I have thrown myself into this new endeavor.

I finished this one today.  I call it “Ruby Throated Hummingbird,”  because that it what it is supposed to be.  I will encase it behind a mat and inside a clear protective casing and then hopefully find a place to hang it. 

So what do you think?

Ruby Throated Hummingbird cropped
Pictured:  Pastel painting of a ruby throated hummingbird,  with green wings and body and red throat.

BOOK REVIEW: A Brush with Darkness

A BRUSH WITH DARKNESS: Learning to Paint After Losing My Sight by LISA FITTIPALDI - FIRST EDITION - 2004 - from Gian Luigi Fine Books Inc. (SKU: 037026)
Pictured:  Book Cover – A Brush with Darkness

by Lisa Fittipaldi

What happens when you lose your sight? How do you feel?  What do you feel?  How do you go on?

Lisa Fittipaldi lost her sight.  It was unexpected, unplanned. She was thrust into a world without sight and suddenly everything was different. Even the simplest acts, like brushing her teeth, became an overwhelming ordeal, one event among countless others that had to be relearned and conquered.  It was her husband who  put paints and brushes in her hands and told her to go with it.  I suspect she had painted before, or at least expressed an interest, but this was different.  This was learning to paint when she did not even know how to walk.

Lisa Fittipaldi articulated so many of my experiences.  I could relate to her trials and tribulations, her awarenesses, her triumphs and failures.  Yet I was born that way, always having to learn to do things my way, all the while dealing with people who just do not get it.

This book is inspirational. A must-read for anyone who has lost their sight, or hearing, a finger, a leg, or anything else that others may label a disability. You just may find an inner strength that makes you even better.

 “Being blind is like being blond. It just is.”    (p. 125)

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Available through BARD and bookshare:

Physical Fitness the Audio Way

Stay fit.   Stretch, strengthen, tone, condition, and relax your body with a series of FREE downloadable exercises from Blind Alive.   The series is called Eyes-Free Fitness.

Blind Alive has put together a series of 22 downloadable audio files that provide physical exercise programs that are fully audio described.   The variety of audio exercises include meditation, balance, yoga, pilates, cardio workouts, strength training, and more.

Click on the following link to access the Blind-Alive Eyes-Free Fitness downloadable audio exercise files:

Eyes-Free Fitness

Or copy and paste the following into your URL bar:

https://www.blindalive.com/?bblinkid=213411442&bbemailid=20306423&bbejrid=1431532610

 

 

Count on This

I need a pedometer.  A pedometer will help me focus on staying active and healthy.  The search is on!

iPhone XR
Pictured: iPhone XR with step counter app displaying large, clear step count.

But first a confession. I actually already have a step counter, and I use it all the time.  My iPhone has a step counter, a good one too.  The screen is large, bright, and easy to read. Using it, however, means keeping the phone with me at all times.  I even bought a holster that clips onto my jeans pocket to host my iPhone, keeping it with me every step of the day.

There’s a problem. The iPhone is heavy.  Add the weight of the holster and it really is a drag to carry around all day every day.  After months of doing so, decided I need a tiny gizmo to count my steps.  My phone can stay in my purse or at my desk, or wherever and just be my phone.

WiWoo MP3
Pictured: Tiny MP3 player by Wiwoo about 1.5 inches square that includes a pedometer.

I studied the market.  I need a simple step counter that is small, lightweight, and can live unobtrusively in my pocket.  I finally selected a tiny MP3 player that includes a pedometer, made by a company that calls itself Wiwoo.  The screen is clear, and backlit, and the whole thing is less than two inches square.  I soon learned, however, that the screen is too tiny to read and getting into the pedometer part of the gizmo is a major hassle.   So I returned it.

VoiceZone
Pictured: Talking pedometer by VoiceZone, about 2 inches tall.

Next I tried a talking pedometer by VoiceZone. With that, I don’t have to worry about screen size.  After all, the gizmo will read the step count aloud to me.  Since that is all this gizmo does, it appeared to be easy to operate.  It disappointed me big time!  First, it was difficult to hear and understand, especially outdoors with street noise, or even indoors with the TV on or a pot boiling on the stove in the next room!  The screen  (no backlighting) is impossible for me to see.  Finally, it did some crazy step-counting!  I could easily reach 5,000 steps in about an hour with this thing.  So I returned it.  This company, by the way,  doesn’t accept returns, they were quick to tell me.  When I responded that I understood and would simply write an honest review on amazon, they immediately granted me “an exception” of a full refund.

Omron
Pictured: A pedometer by Omron, about 2.75 inches long, with tiny screen and no speech.

Finally, I ordered a small pedometer from Omron, a healthcare company.  They offered free shipping and promised accuracy.  Remarkably it turned out to be the least expensive of the three gizmos I tried.  And I love it.  So I have to hold this pedometer close, up to my nose, and then squint to read it.  I can do that!

 

 

The Door Did It

broken
Pictured: Broken eyeglasses, one lens out, frame broken.

Last night I walked, full speed, face first, smack into a heavy glass door.  BAM!  ! I was stopped dead in my tracks.  Well, not dead dead, but, well, you know what I mean!  I was stunned! I was hurting.

Still standing, I was trying desperately to figure out what happened.  My husband at my side  pointed out that my glasses were broken.  I was actually glad to hear that, because all I could see was blobs and blur.  One lens was retrieved from the floor.  Did glass shatter into my eyes?  The orbit around my right eye was sore.  Was I bleeding?  Did I crack the door?

Once I realized I was essentially okay – I was still standing, after all, and there was no gushing blood – I started to feel embarrassed.  I was standing in a glass enclosure – the well-lit entry vestibule to a busy restaurant.  I was clearly visible to passersby on a busy street, seated diners within the restaurant, and lots of wait staff.  Surely the loud thud caused people to look.  But no one approached.  No one checked on me.

We had dinner.  Yes, we really did!  I sat in a hazy blur and ate dinner.  We weren’t as chatty as usual, still processing what the heck happened there!  I had two thoughts running through my head over and over again: how am I going to get home (a half-mile walk in the dark of night with street lights and car headlights creating huge albeit beautiful starbursts and no practical vision otherwise),  and maybe I should order a scrumptious dessert – you know, comfort food!

Once home, I checked a drawer where I keep a few pairs of old eyeglasses in case of emergencies such as this.  My eyeglasses are extremely expensive and they take weeks to make, not an hour as advertised on TV, so I only get new glasses every 4-5 years or so. The glasses in that drawer could be 5, 10, even 20 years old.  I had apparently saved two old pairs that undoubtedly were better than nothing.

I opened each eyeglass case and uncovered a pair of glasses that looked practically brand new.  Where did these come from?  Could they possibly help now?  It seems they work remarkably well!

So aside from a little bruising and soreness, I’m good now.  I walked into a heavy glass entry door last night…

BOOK REVIEW: Memoirs of a Geisha

Image result for memoirs of a geisha book
Pictured: Book cover

by Arthur Golden

Don’t be confused by the title. The main character Chiyo (also known as Sayuri) is not a real geisha, not a real person even. This is historical fiction, not a real memoir. Nevertheless, the history is here, exquisitely told.

At age 9, Chiyo was sold by her father and plucked from a remote fishing village to a geisha house (okiya) in western Japan. There she is subjected to intense and often brutal training to become a Japanese geisha. Her housing and training as well as the initial costs of her being purchased are expenses that she will someday have to repay – expenses that continue to accrue – thus enslaving her. She must prove herself worthy of that repayment and only her work as a successful geisha would suffice. If she fails, she will be a maid forevermore – and then only if she is not first turned out on the streets.

Success means an exhausting life as an entertainer in tea houses, at corporate functions, and such – in short, as playthings of the rich. Chiyo does well, under the tutelage of Mameha, one of the most successful geisha in Kyoto. Chiyo becomes Mameha’s “younger sister” and when she transitions from apprentice to geisha she is given the name of Sayuri.

Sayuri continues her geisha duties while remaining in the okiya and the okiya does well financially by receiving a hefty percentage of Sayuri’s income.

However, Sayuri’s story is one of unrequited love. Her heart belongs to the Chairman (a wealthy businessman), a relationship that is complicated by other relationships and entanglements. (Miss Shapin would love this story!)

After 18 years, things change. Eighteen? This book is written by a student of Japanese history and culture, not a descendant. He writes about the dependence of  geisha upon an almanac, (a calendar of auspicious days) which geisha consult for their daily activities. Perhaps Chai is also present.

This has been a journey to another time and place, a culture so different from what I know. Slavery in the land of enchantment, and I was mesmerized.

Related image
 
Pictured: The 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, chai, symbol of life.
 

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Available through BARD and bookshare.