Hi there! It’s Donna and thank you for allowing me to come into your inbox.
Today, I’d like to talk about in the kitchen.
This is part two. You can read part one for the week of July 09.
IN THE KITCHEN part two
Stoves, thermostat controls, washing machines, and other household appliances with dials can be marked with small strips of colored electrical tape (several layers make it easier to feel), small strips of colored or clear embossing (demo) tape,
Locator Dots (available from CNIB) or by filing notches. Only mark essential numbers to avoid a cluttered dial. For example, put a piece(s) of bright colored contrasting tape on the oven dial at the twelve o’clock (top) position when the oven is off. Put another piece(s) of tape on the stove where the 350 is. When you turn the dial and match or line up the two pieces of tape, you will have a 350
or moderate oven. You will easily be able to judge temperatures above and below this point.
A wooden spoon or wooden rack puller (which doesn’t conduct heat) can be used to locate a hot oven rack, a dish on the rack, or to pull out the rack.
When reaching into the oven, prevent burns by wearing long flame-resistant oven mitts which extend to your elbow. (These are available from the CNIB)
Before removing a casserole or baking dish from the oven, make sure the oven door is completely open and the rack pulled all the way out.
If you suspect a casserole or baking dish may boil over or splatter while in the oven, place a cookie sheet underneath to catch the spills. It is easier to clean than the whole oven.
Use large print or raised dot (braille) timers as a guide to know when food is cooked.
You can also use other types of timers. You can also judge the readiness of food by using a combination of sensory clues – touch, smell, hearing, taste or remaining vision.
A muffin tin is ideal for baking potatoes, stuffed peppers, or tomatoes. It is easier to locate and remove a muffin tin than several items scattered on the oven rack.
For even proportions of mashed potatoes and turnip, use an ice cream scoop. A scoop is also useful for making muffins, cupcakes, etc., because it allows you to get equal amounts of batter in each section and is easier than pouring directly from a bowl or using a spoon. Use a small ice cream scoop to make cookies.
To spread peanut butter, or other hard-to-spread foods, use a small narrow spatula.
Use a tray or cookie sheet to organize utensils and ingredients when cooking. A tray catches any spills, making clean-up easier, and ensures small items are not misplaced.
Use measuring cups in graduated sizes (available in department stores and from Tupperware), rather than a one cup measure with small dividing lines marked in print.
To measure a portion of a block of butter or shortening, use a plastic stick which has notches cut for 1/4 cup, etc.
When measuring herbs and spices, sprinkle into the palm of your hand first so you are able to determine how much you are using. This will prevent accidentally adding too much to a dish.
Measuring small amounts of liquid such as 1 tsp. vanilla is difficult. Dipping is easier than pouring into a spoon. You may find it beneficial to transfer liquids you use often into wide mouth containers for easy dipping. Large eye droppers or a small plastic syringe are also great for measuring extracts, flavorings, and colorings.
To separate egg whites from yolks use an egg separator or small funnel (both available in department stores). Or, break the egg into the palm of your hand and let the egg white run through your spread fingers. The yolk will remain in your hand.
Fill a large salt shaker full of flour for dusting baking pans, making gravies, etc. It isn’t messy and saves flour.
A canning funnel is helpful when pouring liquids into narrow-mouth containers. Square-topped funnels are easier to use.
Place a jar lid, pebbles, or marbles in the bottom of your double boiler or kettle. The rattling sound will signal if the water has boiled away.
Prevent ants, flour beetles, or other pests from invading your cupboards by leaving sage or bay leaves on food shelves.
If you would like to become a member of my CCB Mysteries chapter you can do so for the price of $10 annually and in return you will receive unlimited access to any of the following libraries.
Recipes – A collection of hard to find recipes
Audio mysteries for all ages – Comfort listening any time of the day
Home and garden – A collection of great articles for around the home and garden
Or you can subscribe to all 3 for the price of $30 annually.
The Albert A. Ruel Road to Blindness
A 21 year old man stood on the beach at the Sproat Lake Provincial Park with friends early in May of 1977, and upon gazing across the lake found the Gulf Oil sign missing from the dock-side filling station there. When this fact was shared with his companions they glanced at him with puzzled looks and said, “No Albert, the sign is still there”.
That was the beginning of a road through confusion, anger, isolation, loneliness and discovery for me. It all began with a visit to a local Optometrist who could see that my vision wasn’t right, but that corrective lenses wouldn’t help. He then referred me to a General Practitioner, where I received a clean bill of health and an additional referral. This time to an Ophthalmologist. Immediately upon peering through the dilated pupils, Dr. McKerricher was able to see the problem, Retinal Vasculitis.
Now, you would think that all would start to improve at this point, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You see, CNIB, from 1918 until 1985 only served the needs of people who were “Legally Blind”, a level of vision loss I wouldn’t reach until November of 1979. The words of Dr. McKerricher still echo in my mind today, “Albert, I don’t know what has caused this and nothing we’ve tried is helping to stop it, and you’re not blind enough for me to refer you to CNIB”!
In the middle of this transition from 20/20 vision to “Legally Blind” came the Motor Vehicle Branch and it’s rules of the road. On August 3, 1978 I drove a car for the last time as my vision had reached the level at which operating a motor vehicle became too dangerous, further intensifying feelings of fear, isolation and anger. Sadly, through this period the only available guidance and support was through family and friends, but not the experienced professionals I needed at the time. Although these support systems are critically important they can often be smothering and facilitating, rather than encouraging and supportive.
With gratitude, and some trepidation I finally was able to access CNIB services in November of 1979, and the world opened up then. There I was able to meet other blind people and receive the daily living and mobility skills required to live independently in this sighted world. I learned elementary braille and began to discover technology as necessary tools of independence.
Thankfully, in 1985 CNIB’s National Board altered the course of service to visually impaired Canadians forever. They added a third prong to their Mission Statement, “To promote sight enhancement services”. This opened the door to all Canadians who were beginning to lose sight, as well as those who had a fear of vision loss to access the full range of CNIB Support and Rehabilitation Services. So now, whether it’s someone’s Mother who is experiencing Macular Degeneration, or an Uncle experiencing the affects of Glaucoma, all have the ability to seek information, guidance and support as all involved deal with the fear and anxiety that accompanies such life altering experiences.
With the help of professional Rehabilitation Workers and Employment Counselors I was able to continue traveling independently within my own community, and even more remarkably anywhere in the world I desired to go. I managed to attend College in Nanaimo and New Westminster, as well as traveling to the Mayo Clinic and to doctor’s appointments in Nanaimo and Vancouver without assistance. All of this while living with some usable vision, but not yet needing a white cane for travel.
During the mid 1980’s I was a stay-at-home Dad and did all that was required of that challenging work, from changing diapers to preparing meals, and from cutting the grass to maintaining our home. I even took a woodworking course through Alberni’s Adult Education program and built and restored several pieces of furniture. Of course the 1958 Chevy Impala in the garage was my pride and joy, and I devised ways to do much of the work it required.
I also joined and participated in many community activities, like the local Car Club, and a disability support group that catered to the needs of people with many different disabilities. Of course, continued participation in family life remained of critical importance through this period.
In 1989 a secondary condition began to extinguish the vision that remained, which set into motion a new stream of professional rehabilitation services and supports. By the spring of 1990 Glaucoma had turned out the lights completely, and the darkness I had feared so desperately was upon me. Strangely though, I found this to be a great relief rather than the tragedy I had imagined it would be.
Through several professional rehabilitation sessions, and by joining peer mentoring and advocacy groups I was able to come to terms with this strange feeling, and to learn additional skills and strategies for living with no visual cues of the world around me. This is also about the time that I decided to explore CNIB as an employer, and to see if I could provide the sort of guidance and support to others that had been my pleasure to receive. Those 14 years were a wonderful experience of ongoing discovery for me, as teaching may be the best way to solidify one’s own learning. In other words, those we assist through this transition in turn help us all as we develop best practices and improved service.
Following a 14 year career with CNIB I also served the blind community as the first National Equality Director employed by the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC), and as a Basic Computer Literacy Trainer with the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB). Most recently I have enjoyed coordinating the CCB’s newly launched Get Together with Technology Program in Western Canada, which brings to the fore my passion for assistive technology and the power of peer mentoring.
Without sight I have continued to travel far and wide, with trips to Conventions of and for the Blind in Anaheim California and Melbourne Australia, as well as to many events and activities in Toronto and Vancouver. Of course my work has taken me to many communities throughout Western Canada, and most particularly nearly all regions of BC and on Vancouver Island. None of which would have been possible without the services and support of organizations like CCB, AEBC and CNIB.
For most people blindness generates a fear of extended movement, both within one’s home and community, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Independence comes from personal desire and increased skill. Many community organizations can assist with both through their mentoring and skill development programs. I remember always that life has little to do with what happens to me and 100% what I do about/with it. There is a quote I like to use from the National Federation of the Blind in the USA, “With adequate skill development and opportunity blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance”, and nothing could be closer to the truth.
Helen Keller said many years ago, “There is nothing more tragic than someone who has sight, but no vision”. She also challenged the Lions Clubs of the world to become the “Knights of the Blind, and to take up the crusade against darkness”. I too joined a Lions Club in 1992 and continue to work on the crusade that Helen Keller began in the 1920-s.
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