[Ag-eq] off topic question

[nfoster at extremezone.com]

Tracy, thanks, I'll have to check out the Blind Mice Mall.

Sorry to hear about your terrible burn.  Fortunately I've never seriously burned
myself, but have lots of tiny scars from very small burns.  I don't know how
many times I've bumped my fore arm with a cookie sheet as I pull it out of the
oven.  I guess that's why I should use longer mitts!

I don't know how many times I've put the tea kettle on only to forget to turn on
the heat; it's hard to burn myself that way!

Like you I go by time a lot.  I do check some things with a fork or by very
lightly touching with my finger.  I'm sure some of the rehab teachers wouldn't
approve of my techniques.

Nella



Quoting Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>:

> 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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