I thought blindness was seeing nothing at all. I didn't even know I was blind! Nobody ever told me. So I marched through life like everybody else. Sharing my life, and seeing it my way.
Summer of ’99. Four neighborhood teenagers gather, all children of affluence. They meet in a wooded enclave, titillated by their find – a gun. The revolver had been uncovered at the base of a bent tree, reburied and recovered by the group for play. A new boy happens upon the group, but to join them, he must play Russian Roulette. Tragedy unfolds and the kids are saddled with a secret.
Poor Kyle. The victim of a prank that went terribly wrong. But was it a crime? They were just kids, kids having fun. Maybe it was meant to happen. Kyle had issues, and his story had come out in the newspapers earlier that very day. The whole thing sure smacked of suicide. No one will know otherwise.
Twenty years later, they meet again, this time at the funeral of one of them. David has committed suicide on the anniversary of that fateful day. Now just three, they talk, they remember, they rehash. They quickly learn that memory is not always accurate or complete. And so they speculate, accuse, and threaten. Carrying this heavy burden has altered the lives of each of them. They quickly discover their memories do not line up.
As the secret is laid bare, each of the three is forced to grapple with the events of that awful day and the consequences. That secret, deadly at its core, has become deadly again, now even more than before.
Five teenagers and a gun. Add some arrogance, some affluence, and some alcohol, and question whether there has been a crime, acts of immorality, or simply youthful recklessness. Twenty years later, all of the inner turmoil comes spewing forth.
I normally read audiobooks. The choices available on BARD are extensive. The quality of each and every book is outstanding. There are no robtic voices but instead are human readers who give professional performances. Many of the offerings are commercial audiobooks that have been adapted for the National Library Service. And it is all free!
Every now and then, a book comes across my radar screen that I really want to read but it is not yet available on BARD. Granted, it does not happen often, but it happens. Most of the time I simply hope that book will be made available in the near future, but sometimes I just want it now.
That happened to me this week. Someone We Know by Shari Lapena was recommended to me but was not available on BARD. So I downloaded it from bookshare. I downloaded the book to my Voice Dream reader app on my iPad.
Voice Dream provides many options. I can choose to read the print or have the print read to me. I can even switch back and forth – reading some of the print and having some of it read to me – at my discretion. Either way, everything is customizable from font size to tone of voice, and so much more.
When I choose to read the book in print on my iPad I have found that Arial or Helvetica work best for me, using font size 60. I set the bold also. I am most comfortable with standard black letters on a white background, but there are times I prefer to invert the colors, and that is an easy accommodation to make.
Pictured: A screenshot of the Voice Dream Reader as it displays on my iPad. This image shows Arial font in bold, size 60, black lettering on a white background. One sentence is highlighted in blue. Controls along the top and bottom of the screen are displayed.
Voice Dream will read to me, if I so choose. Sometimes I set Heather to read, sometimes Paul, and sometimes Salli. There are so many to choose from. Each of these speaks in a manner and style that is comfortable for me.
Voice Dream is not just a reader. There are additional features to help the reader get around the book or document, such as highlighting, setting bookmarks, a dictionary, and writing notes. Everything is searchable, too.
A light tap on the screen will expose controls along the top and bottom of the screen. At the top are speech and audio settings as well as other controls. At bottom are the playback audio controls.
Lots of hand gestures are available to help the reader move quickly and easily through every book and document.
Last but not least, Voice Dream imports books from various sources like bookshare and Gutenberg. It imports articles from web addresses and from scanned documents.
Voice Dream is assistive technology that puts everyone on the same page.
Pictured: A screenshot of Voice Dream Reader as it displays in the App Store.
Pictured: A thick fuzzy crocheted dusting mitt is shown swiping dust from window blinds.
Sometimes things look way better than they really are!
Several years ago, I saw a youtuber demonstrate the use of a kind of yarn I had never seen before. It was Bernat Tizzy yarn. (Apparently, this particular yarn had been recalled in 2015. Nevertheless, similar yarns are available.) This is a chunky yarn with lots of little ends hanging off the main strand. The yarn is also variegated – a fuzzy yarn that changes colors too. This funky yarn was designed to create a product with lots of texture and color. It looked like fun. I ordered a skein.
I was excited when the yarn arrived and I began to work with it right away. I had never worked with any fancy yarn before so the whole thing was new to me. I tried to create the foundation chain, ripped it, and tried a few more times. After some time, I managed to complete that foundation chain and went on to try and work a single crochet in each chain stitch. After numerous attempts, I dropped the project. All I had created was frustration.
The other day I watched another youtube video, this one using a similar crazy yarn. The youtuber had made a dusting mitt. She raved about her project. The crazy yarn made a great duster, she said. It looked cute.
So I pulled out my skein of yarn that has been tucked away for years and decided to try again. I simplified the youtuber’s pattern though, and made a dusting mitt in the round – just one piece – no sewing, no fuss. And after an hour or so, it was done.
Pictured: A single strand of funky yarn in varying shades of pink. There are small pieces of yarn coming off of the main strand for the purpose of creating a thick fuzzy knit or crochet project.
This yarn is difficult to work with and I would never spend hard-earned money on such a type of yarn as this again. However, today it worked. Because of its thickness, I was able to feel my way even though the stitches were buried beneath the fluff. If there are errors, no one will ever know! And it is a dusting mitt; if there are errors, who would care!
My dusting mitt turned out great! It picks up dust easily from tabletops to window blinds. It goes in the washer and dryer. Best of all, I got rid of some crazy yarn that, until now, was just taking up space.
The pain wakes me from a deep sleep. It is the worst pain I can ever remember experiencing. My eyes flood with tears, but I cannot open them. The tears stream down my face like a flash flood. My eyes are clenched shut but the tears escape. The pain continues without letup. I feel for the box of tissues on my nightstand and blot what I can, tissue after tissue. I flail and toss and turn without purpose. After some time, the pain is lessened, just slightly, but enough to give me a glimmer of hope.
Hours later, the pain is mostly gone. I can open my eyes but everything is very blurry – much blurrier than my normal blurry. My eyes are now hypersensitive to light. I cannot be outdoors, I cannot look at a computer screen, I cannot tolerate a glowing light bulb. And so I wait.
By evening, probably 12 hours from the start of the episode, my eyes seem back to normal, normal for me. I can finally resume my activities.
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That was the first time I experienced a dry eye attack. Since then, I have taken steps to try and avoid such events, but still they occur, a little less intense – just a few a year. JUST a few a year!
I have described these episodes to several ophthalmologists and even more optometrists, as well as other eye care specialists. Sometimes my messages never even reach a doctor. Most listen and shrug. They have no advice, no recommendations.
Once I said to an eye doctor, “it feels like the top layer of my eyeball is being ripped off,” and she responded, “yes, that is exactly what is happening.” She told me the medical term for what was happening. That was the end of our discussion.
Not all dry eye sufferers experience what I do. Some people experience itchiness, redness, blurry vision. Symptoms and their severity vary.
So here are 5 things I do to try to help myself:
Avoid looking at devices before bedtime.
Blink intentionally and frequently.
Use over-the-counter artificial tears.
Apply warm compresses to closed eyelids.
Gently massage the closed eyelid.
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Do you have a dry eye story to tell or home remedy to share?
This is a psychological thriller. It is told by not one, but two narrators. The reader hears the thoughts and spoken words of both main characters – Dr. Lydia Shields, psychiatrist, and psychological study participant Jessica Farris, initially known as Subject 52.
Jessica, is a makeup artist who is struggling to make ends meet. She finagles her way into a psychological study about ethics and morality. The creepiness begins right away. Not only is the scenario fraught with irony, mischief, and deceit, but the reader gets the immediate sense that the subject is secretly being watched. Just a sense; we are not really sure.
There is intrigue, long-held secrets, seduction, marital discord, mayhem, murder, and suicide. There are lies, deceptions,and plot twists. It is all here.
I love a tightly woven psychological thriller. Yes! It is here.
Choice Magazine Listening (CML) is a nonprofit organization that provides audio recordings of memorable articles, stories, interviews, essays and poems from outstanding current magazines, completely free of charge, to blind, visually impaired, physically disabled or dyslexic adults in the United States. Based in Port Washington, NY, CML has proudly served the blind and print-disabled community since 1962.
Every winter, spring, summer and fall, thousands of eligible people in the United States receive Choice Magazine Listening in a specialized format exclusively for use by people with disabilities. The special digital talking-book player needed to listen to CML is provided, free of charge, by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress. The player is portable, extremely easy to use, and offers outstanding sound quality. These audio selections will not play on just any computer, phone, or portable player because special formatting is required for them to work. If you are already a member of the National Library Service, then you are well on your way to even more interesting reading.
New recordings are made available four times a year. All eligible people can download complete and unabridged selections from the CML website or, by choice, have a digital cartridge mailed to them.
For more information, please visit their website. While you are there, sign up for their newsletter. Enjoy!
The Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States in one volume. UEB Braille. And it is FREE! Just click on the following link and fill out the form.
Pictured: DIY Shower Cleaner, bottle of Dawn dish detergent, and DIY All Purpose Cleaner.
Original blue Dawn has so many uses. It has been tried and tested and proven to be safe and effective. For people who are blind or visually impaired, it is best to minimize the toxic cleaners we think we need in order to keep our homes clean and manageable. Of course, this is best for everyone, not just the VIP community. Instead of a shelf full of assorted bottles and jars that can be harmful and confusing, try paring down your cleaning supplies with a few very effective nontoxic cleaners.
Remember to label all of your bottles containing homemade cleaning products. Use a bold indelible (permanent) marker and/or a braille label maker.
Be safe and save money!
1. All Purpose Cleaner
Keep a bottle of all purpose cleaner handy. Wipe fingerprints from walls and dirt and spills from tile floors. It is great for removing grease and scum from kitchen cabinet doors and hardware, and cooktops too.
Spray all purpose cleaner in pots and pans after cooking and let stand while you enjoy your dinner. Then wash pots and pans as usual, but with amazing ease.
Ingredients – Fill a spray bottle with 1/3 Dawn, 1/3 distilled vinegar, and 1/3 water. For more difficult jobs, spray and let stand for 10 minutes, then wipe clean. Note: Vinegar does not behave on stone (porous) countertops including marble, granite, etc., so use Dawn without vinegar on such surfaces.
2. Carpet spot cleaner
Apply a few drops of dish detergent to the soiled carpet area. Scrub with brush, even an old toothbrush. Let stand for 5 minutes or so. Rinse with just a little clear water. Blot dry.
3. Shower and bath cleaner
Prepare all purpose cleaner as above. Spray down shower walls, bathtub surfaces, and especially faucets. Let stand for a few minutes. Then rinse and wipe clean. I leave a filled spray bottle in the shower and spray faucets and known problem spots at the beginning of the shower. At shower’s end, I just wipe clean. The shower practically cleans itself.
4. Ice Pack
Fill a good quality zippered sandwich bag ¾ full with Dawn. Remove excess air. Place in freezer. This DIY ice pack will be soft and malleable and will remain cold longer.
5. Clean your eyeglasses
Just place one drop of Dawn on each eyeglass lens, rub with fingertips over both sides of the lenses, and rinse clean. Dry with a microfiber cloth.
And my favorite…
6. Unclog the toilet
Pour about a cup of Dawn dish detergent into the clogged toilet bowl. Let stand for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then flush. Repeat if necessary, but it probably won’t be necessary.
BONUS:
7. Bug spray
Fill a spray bottle with water and add just about 2 teaspoons of Dawn. Shake. Spray directly on targeted insect. Bugs do not die instantly, but still quickly.
This simple crochet project helps to keep all of your crochet accessories in one place. It is portable, pretty, and handy. It requires only some leftover yarn.
Are you thinking gift yet?
Pictured: Crochet Caddy in a solid forest green color. It is about 5 inches wide and 10 inches tall. It is held closed by a small strap with a decorative 1-inch diameter white button.Pictured: Crochet caddy in open position. The inside is in view. It measures approximately 11 inches wide and 10 inches tall. Two stitch markers are in place on the upper left and a small scissors is tied in place next to them. Three threaded embroidery needles are in place on the upper right. Seven crochet hooks are held in place by weaving them vertically through the crochet fabric.
A longhand pattern for newbie crocheters and for ease of access with screen readers is available. Click on the link that follows:
Legally Blind 