Category: Braille

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.

FREE from National Braille Press

National Braille Press is offering:

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.

Declaration of Independence and Consitution

Happy 4th of July!

6 Best Uses for Dawn Dish Detergent

DIY Dawn Cleaning
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.

     _________________________________________________________

Do you have a favorite Dawn dish detergent DIY?  Please share.  We would all be happy to hear about it.

 

Go back

Your message has been sent

GIVEAWAY: Braille Books

I have braille books to give away.  All of the books I am offering are UEB (Unified English Braille), all used but in excellent condition.

I am restricting this round of giveaway books to US addresses only.  I will be mailing them “Free Matter” and I am not sure how international mail works with Free Matter at this point. My apologies to my international friends.

So, to my US friends, all you need do is fill in the Request Form below with your name, your email address, and which book or books you would like.   Your comments are also welcome.   If you are first to request, I will contact you by email and ask for your mailing address privately.  It is that simple.  So, on to the list of braille books to give away:

  1. The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution – in one volume

  2. Club CSI: The Case of the Digital Deception – 2 volumes

  3. Conundrum – a puzzle magazine (word search, Sudoku, etc.)

Update:  These books have all found new homes.

 

 

9 Ways to Get Free Books

So many choices! Books and magazines in various formats including print, ebooks, audiobooks, and braille. Selections cover every topic and genre imaginable – from current bestsellers to classics, fiction and nonfictioin. Take your pick!

This list is primarily for an American audience. Readers from other countries may find similar services with the help of a little googling and perseverance.

1.     American Action Fund – Sign up to receive in the mail a free braille children’s book – one every month.


American Action Fund
Pictured:  Screenshot of the American Action Fund website, and link.

2.     BARD – Audiobooks and magazines ready for immediate download without limits or wait times from the ​National Library Services.  Membership  required.

BARD
Pictured:  Screenshot of the BARD website, and link.

3.     Bookshare – eBooks galore and braille books in BRF, all ready for download. Currently there are 729,659 titles with more added all the time.  Membership is free to students

Bookshare
Pictured:  Screenshot of Bookshare website, and link.

4.     National Library Services – Coordinates with local talking book libraries.  Membership and eligibility required.  A free digital audio player is provided that is fully accessible.

NLS
Pictured:  Screenshot of the National Library Services, and link.

5.     Project Gutenberg – Project Gutenberg offers over 59,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired.

Gutenberg
Pictured:  Screenshot of the Project Gutenberg website, and link.

6.     ShareBraille – A free service from the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults that facilitates the exchange of Braille books through an online community-run library.

Sharebraille
Pictured:  Screenshot of Sharebraille website, and link.

7.     SightExchange  –  An e-mail list for the free exchange of any blindness-related item.  Braille books  and magazines are frequently offered.  Membership required, as well as requirement to share a minimum of one item per year.

SightExchange
Pictured:  Screenshot of SightExchange website, and link.

8.     YouTube – Complete audiobooks are just a listen away. Go to YouTube.com, or download the YouTube app to your device

 

YouTube
Pictured:  Screenshot of YouTube website, and link.

9.     Your local library – Many local libraries have print books and magazines and audiobooks to lend as well as ebooks and digital books available for download. Most public libraries also have videos and TV shows on CDs for circulation.  Membership usually required and subject to local rules and regulations.

Public Library
Pictured: Screenshot of public library bookshelves lined with books.

______________________________________________

Talk to me! I’d love to hear from you! 

Go back

Your message has been sent

Where Am I

Braille Book 2
Pictured: A braille book with small binder clip marking the page at about 1/3 of the way down the page.

Print Book
A print book with a small binder clip marking the right-hand page about 2/3 of the way down the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you ever get lost?  In a book, I mean.  Do you read a bit and take a break and go back later to continue?  Where did you leave off?  How do you know where to pick up your reading?  How long does it take to find your place?  Where is that word or phrase you wanted to look at again, but later?

When I took my first braille course at Hadley (Braille Literacy 1, uncontracted braille), I was given sheets of sticky felt circles to use as place holders, – bookmarks, if you will.  I found them to be somewhat of an annoyance.   They seemed to stick to my fingers more often than the page.   They were not removable and so added bulk to the book. And because I have some vision, I found them to be distracting on the page.

It was not long before I stopped using those sticky dots and started using Post-It Notes.  Maybe I should have tried the name brand and not the generic, because they seemed to fall off the page all too often.

And then I found my problem-solver  – binder clips!  I place a small binder clip at the edge of the page at the spot where I left off.   The binder clip stays put.  It is easy to relocate, and I always know exactly where I left off – instantly.

Binder Clips
Pictured: Five binder clips in assorted colors and positions. The top 2 are each about 1-1/4 inch wide and the bottom three are each about 3/4 inch wide.

I bet sighted people would benefit from these handy-dandies too.

What do you use to help you find your place in a book?

 

_______________________________

 

Spice Things Up

Let’s spice things up!

3 Spice Jars labeled
Pictured: 3 large filled spice jars – curry, cinnamon, and cumin – all labeled with bold black marker.

So for anyone who likes to cook and for those of us who do not cook at all, spices are essential to making things taste great.  And spices are expensive, too, so we do want to use them with some care.  We want to be able to use them with some inkling of knowing what we are doing, and without any waste.

Label Paprika
Pictured: There are four spice jars – curry, cinnamon, and cumin and paprika has joined the others. The paprika is being prepared to be labeled. The label for the paprika is on the table, ready to be applied to the jar.

I prefer a labeling system.  I take 3 by 5-inch index cards and cut them in half horizontally so that I then have two 1-1/2 by 5-inch strips from each card.  With a bold marker, I write the name of the spice across the strip and then wrap it around its spice jar.  I secure it in place with a rubber band.  With that system, I can keep my spices on the shelf above my food prep area and I can usually make out what each bottle contains. Braille can be added to each card, either alone or in addition to the big bold writing.  The label can easily be removed when the jar is empty and that label can be placed on the new jar.

When you are working in the kitchen, add some pizzazz- with spices, and be comfortable with what you are doing and how you are doing it.  And enjoy!

How do you find the spices you need?

Get in the Game

Brailled Cards
Pictured: Two tactile playing cards.  These two standard playing cards have braille labels imprinted on them – the Queen of Spades and the three of Hearts are shown.

Card games are fun for everyone. Well, maybe not “52 Pickup,” but every other card game I can think of, and there are so many!  Blind and visually impaired people can and do share in the fun. We play with a marked deck!

It is true. The cards are marked!

Any deck of cards can be adapted.  Making playing cards tactile is the way. Just add braille! A few raised dots, inconspicuous to sighted players and likely unreadable also, tell the visually challenged player exactly what cards are in hand.

Add braille to the upper left-hand corner and the bottom right-hand corner (opposite corners). Each card is brailled with the corresponding number or J, Q, and K for jack, queen, and king. In addition, the cards are marked with the corresponding suit. So the 3 of hearts is marked with the brailled 3 and brailled H for hearts. The 4 of spades is marked with the braille for 4S, the 9 of diamonds will be 9D. The only exception is the number 10. Because the number 10 requires 3 digits including the symbol for the suit, and all other cards have only 2, that might be an attention-getter. So, the 10 is labeled with a brailled X instead.

If you are blind or visually impaired, it is fairly easy to learn just the braille that is used on playing cards if you do not already know braille. There are only a total of 17 different braille symbols to a standard deck of cards and all 52 cards are uniquely identified with combinations of just those symbols.

A slate and stylus is all that is needed to turn an ordinary deck of cards into a tactile deck. Or you can  spend a few dollars and buy a brailled deck of cards. Your choice.

There are 17 braille symbols used to mark a deck of playing cards, making the entire deck tactile and accessible.
Pictured: Chart shows the 17 braille symbols used on tactile playing cards. Symbols include numbers 1 through 9, a special braille character for number 10, the four card suits, and the J, Q, and K for the picture cards.

_________________________________________

Links to items mentioned: