[Ag-eq] off topic question

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Nella.
I have a braille timer.  Like you, I judge when things are done by touch,
smell, and sometimes just by time.  I know how long it takes to cook
spaghetti or boil potatoes, and, when the time is up, I figure they're
done. Sometimes I check with a fork, and sometimes not.
I recently bought some oven mitts from the Blindmice Megamall.  They're
made of silicon, or something rubbery, and have a side textured to grip. 
They're pretty thin, so it's easy to feel through them, but they also
insulate well.  My only complaint is they're pretty stiff.  Blindmice
megamall has a lot of cooking things.  Some sound useful, and others sound
gimmicky.  They also, I think, have videos called Cooking without Looking.
Before, I had a mitt I bought from QVC.  It has a gripper side, but the
rest is cloth.  I really like it, but it's getting old and holey, so had
to be replaced.

I had a nasty accident with a gas stove several years ago, so we bought an
electric stove instead.  I was making tea, and forgot to put the kettle on
the burner before I turned it on, then I reached over the burner to grab
something, and the flame caught my shirt on fire.  I got 2 fun-filled
weeks in the burn ward, and some really big scars.  It made me very
nervous of open flame.  But I get on fine with my electric stove.
Tracy

> I work at the Arizona Center for the Blind and one of my responsibilities
> is
> leading the women’s independent living discussion, WILD for short.  WILD
> is a
> peer support group to discuss anything related to women, blindness or
> other
> disabilities.  I’m not a counselor, so I’m just a facilitator for the
> group.
> The group decides what topics they would like to discuss; I will give them
> suggestions if they can’t think of anything.  We have discussed such
> things as
> organization techniques, women’s health issues, physical fitness and
> transportation strategies.  This Wednesday we will be discussing personal
> safety and the following week cooking and food preparation.
>
> Some of the women have asked for easy recipes for people who are blind.
> This
> question makes me grit my teeth, since I don’t think blind people need
> special
> recipes.  They have also asked for techniques and about special equipment
> for
> the blind.
>
> Now, finally for my question; do you have any suggestions that I can share
> with
> my group?
>
> I enjoy cooking, especially baking and use touch and smell a lot.  I’m
> totally
> blind, so have to do everything without sight.  The only specialized
> equipment
> I have are a talking scale, talking thermometer and a Braille timer.  The
> only
> reason I really need the scale and thermometer are for making cheese and
> soap.
>
> I believe all of the women in the group have some useable vision.  This
> may be
> the problem for a couple of them because their vision is so limited they
> can’t
> depend on it, but they’re not ready to stop trying to use it.
>
> I know rehab teachers teach methods for people that are low vision, but
> I’m not
> as familiar with them.  If any of you are low vision I hope you will share
> some
> of your strategies.
>
> Do any of you use specialized equipment, and if so what types?
>
> Some of the women have expressed concerns about using the stove, oven and
> handling hot dishes.  Some of them are older and have other health issues,
> which may be part of the concern.  The rehab teachers I work with
> recommend a
> certain oven mitt that is heavy and goes to the elbow.  When I’ve tried to
> use
> these, they were way too big for my hands and I felt very clumsy and
> unsafe
> with them.  Do any of you have a better oven mitt recommendation?
>
> I believe all the women have a basic knowledge of cooking, but learned
> when they
> were sighted.  Most of them are older and very fearful.  I lost my sight
> as a
> teenager and have been doing things as a blind person for so long I’m not
> always sure what advice to give.  I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions.
> I think there are some wonderfully independent blind women in this group
> and
> I’m always learning from you.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Nella
>
>
>
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