ZOOMTEXT BY AI SQUARED

Today I receive a great new "toy" the ZOOMTEXT software by AI Squares. Below is a link to the versions offered on Amazon. It is wonderful for low vision, blind and someone who just needs some help seeing their computer text.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=zoomtext&x=12&y=12

WORLD GLAUCOMA WEEK

March Holidays:Save Your Vision Month; World Glaucoma Week, March 6-12; March 20 First Day of Spring

I received this link from VISION AWARE a site I subscribe to. They have some great information. I take 3 different drops twice a day for my glaucoma. The blood vessels behind my eye are abnormal. Ask you doctor what your pressure is when they examine your eyes. Most time they just say they're ok. It should be in the low twenties. When I have my detached retina in 1989 my good eye was 45 when I left the hospital. After my right eye was detached it bottomed out to 6. At that point I couldn't see out of it anyway and was sent to be fitted with a fake or prosthetic eye. My advice is to take care of the vision you do have and get an annual eye exam. I always would check mine in September when school started. Not I have them check every 3 months.

The definition of glaucoma

glaucoma (glaw-KOH-muh)

Group of diseases characterized by increased intraocular pressure resulting in damage to the optic nerve and retinal nerve fibers. A common cause of preventable vision loss. May be treated by prescription drugs or surgery.

COOKING - CHICKEN SOUP

You have to remember to have a great sense of humor in my condition. I contacted the Commission for the Blind a few months ago to see what was available to help me at work. The people I have met are knowledgeable, caring, and compassionate. The Outreach Home Management Instructor Gwen came to my home for a three hour visit training. Now remember I have always been low vision but without any training. My first year in college I was living in another state and contacted the Commission for the Blind for help. All they did was get my a large print ACT test to take which I score was the same. They also recommended I tell my professors the first day of class that I couldn't see the board and I may need them to re-pete what they wrote on the board.

Gwen opened my world to me with tons of helpful suggestions about how to manage in my home with low vision. She asked me did I have trouble recognizing cans in my pantry. At first I said no but I have. First tip is to only keep a manageable about in your pantry so you can find the items. She said to write on an index can what the item is and put it on the can with a rubber-band.

This is was I remembered what I did the first year I lost my right eye. I bought an Emeril's Cookbook for Kids. I thought it would have simple recipes. Children's books have larger font size too. I was making the chicken noodle soup. My youngest son came in with a friend to eat as they sat there eating my oldest son came in the house. Andrew said "good job mom" as he held up the can of tuna fish I put in the soup instead of chicken, I signaled to him to keep quiet. That is the last time I made Tuna Noodle Soup. As I said a humor is a great tool.

Here the recipe:Emeril's First Alphabet Soup
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

You can use any small pasta shape for this soup - try orzo and stars, too!

Cook Time:

1 hr 0 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

10 cups, about 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 2 teaspoons Baby Bam, recipe follows
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup alphabet pasta

Directions

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and Baby Bam, and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, water, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Add the alphabet pasta and stir well. Simmer until the pasta is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the pot from the heat. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Baby Bam Seasoning:

3 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

PAPER CHASE

Paper clutter has always been tough for me. Let me just say I don't like paperwork. My bills are paid by draft just for this reason. Your bank can give you a large print statement if you call them. I have been working for the past week to throw away, sort and file my important papers. The lists below is some good information on household filing systems. I have not filed anything for several years. My husband keeps up with the really important paper, bills etc. Have you ever heard the phase "the cost of procrastination". It rang true for me over the past month. Here is what the BIG pile of papers cost me.

What I lost and found

* $20 check from 2007 from my sister which I tore up. We got $20 worth of laughs.

* $50 ATT rebate card. This was the one I lost and called to replace. Now worth $0.

* ATT phone rebate box I never sent in. Lost the $50 now worth $0. Let me just say rebates are a scam. They want you to forget to mail them in or mail incorrectly.

* Pictures we ordered in 1989 from our wedding for a couple who were in the wedding. I had a detached retina surgery 10 days after we got married.

* Two jewelry boxes full of out of style jewelry.

That's all I can remember at this point.

Identify and Inventory Important Papers

Now that you set up your home office, the next step is to identify and inventory all important papers. The following is a list of some of the papers to collect:

• Adoption papers

• Advisors and contacts list

• Baptism and other religious activities records

• Birth certificates

• Business ownership papers

• Citizenship and naturalization papers

• Credit card information

• Credit report

• Death certificates

• Divorce papers

• Education records

• Employment history/payroll stubs

• Financial accounts/investment

records/pension plans

• Funeral and burial plans and records

• Household property inventory

• Income and expense records

• Insurance policies

• Marriage certificates

• Medical records and family medical history

• Memberships and subscriptions

• Military records

Net worth statements

• Passports

• Powers of attorney

• Property appraisals, deeds, and titles

• Safe deposit box inventory

• Social security cards and numbers

• Tax records

• Utility records

• Veterinary records

• Warranties, guarantees, and owner manuals

• Wills and trusts

Keep Indefinitely

(Permanent or original records that do not change over time)

Examples include:

• Birth certificates

• Marriage records

• Death certificates

• Adoption papers

• Military discharge

• Citizenship and naturalization papers

Keep for Multiple Years

(Records for proof of payment or transactions)

Examples include:

• Tax returns with documentary proof (keep for a recom­mended three to six years; IRS Publication 552 has more details)

• Title to car until it is sold or transferred

• Receipts and owner’s manuals for major appliances until they are replaced

• Passports (keep until renewed)

• Mortgage contract and receipts for home improvements until mortgage is paid in full and house is sold or all claims of major damage are settled

• Deeds until the property is sold or transferred

• Investment documents (keep records until investment ac­count is closed; keep annual retirement account records)

Keep for One Year Minimum

Examples include:

• Bank and/or credit union statements

• Utility statements (good for calculating average monthly utility costs if you decide to sell your home)

• Credit card statements (even if they are accessible online)

• Other household budget records

Homeowner or auto insurance policies until they expire and new policies are put into effect

Keep Temporarily

(Items that await an action to disqualify their further usefulness, usually less than a year)

Examples include:

• Billings paid in full

• Credit card receipts until they are matched with the bill (keep for 60 to 90 days in case you need to return the item)

• ATM receipts and other bank transaction slips until they are matched with your statement

Setting Goals

Organizing your important papers is something you are not going to do overnight. You need to set realistic goals. Break this task up into smaller, more manageable goals. Here is an example:

Short-Term Goals

(Complete in less than three months)

• Set up your home office. Find your space and assemble your supplies.

• Order a copy of your credit report.

• Rent a safe deposit box at the bank.

• Begin to inventory and organize papers – determine which records you need to replace.

Intermediate Goals

(Complete in three to six months)

• Complete household inventory. Borrow a digital camera if you do not have one of your own.

• Complete your inventory and organization of files.

• Set up an appointment with your attorney to write or review your will.

• Finish replacing important records you have lost.

Long-Term Goals

(Complete in a year or more)

• Develop a system to track your expenses. Consider using personal recordkeeping software.

• Establish a regular annual time to review your records.

COLORS AND SIGHT

I work for an audiologist who is a hearing doctor so we were discussing what colors hearing aid someone with macular degeneration could see better. I found the information below. These are also the color I love and have in my home now I know why I can see them better.

People with macular degeneration gradually lose their color perception. This is because the photoreceptor cone cells, which are most dense in the macula, are responsible for color vision. The rod cells, which proliferate in the peripheral field, provide only black and shades of gray.

Color is interpreted by the brain. The color it interprets depends upon the signals sent by the cone cells. When the cones, however, are weakened by disease, they lose their sensitivity to the lower-intensity wavelengths and are unable to send proper signals. Blue, green, and red (called spectral colors) are the easiest to see. Other (non-spectral) colors are created by overlapping of the spectral wavelengths at various intensities (levels of brightness).

LESS IS MORE

I know you have heard this phase before "less is more". This is a problem I have not dealt with for 10 years. August 28, 2001 I lost sight in my right eyes. I pasted my 10 year anniversary. I know you think of an anniversary to mark a good thing. I don't see my vision loss as a bad thing. I just deal with it. I have been trying very hard in the past year to deal with my clutter, collection of objects, save in an emergency, I can use it someday, ...... but really it's a form of hording. Yes I said the dreaded H word. I've even heard my boys tease my about it. Yes they are right. Most people who go through a trauma like I did can often try to cope in this unhealthy way. Some examples are my loss of sight, loss of a parent, loss of a job, or loss of a loved ones in a
divorce. Because my independence was taken way so sudden I started buying things in twos. Mainly items from the grocery store. I didn't want to run out of toilet paper. What a tragedy that would be. It starts small and grows and grows. Mine is fairly contained to draws, closets, attics and the garage. My niece says I'm always cleaning out closets but I was really just reorganizing my clutter. I have posted a great site called Flylady.net which has been around for about 10 years. My next few post will be tips on cleaning out so there is less in closets, drawers etc. The best place for most clutter is the garbage since I save parts to things I can't find the other parts. Today I cleaned my sons bathroom cabinets. I found my Valentine sock I had the match to. Both are going to the garbage since the one I found is ruined. If you have less, it is much easier to find what you are looking for. Yes less is more.

NEW EYES FOR THE NEEDY

I saw an ad for in a magazine. I had to look at it Jake Gyllenhaa was in the ad. Check out the site. New Eyes For The Needy. It has a video of Jake and the foundation. It has some good information.

BOOKS

From time to time I like to tell everyone I know about a good book I've listened to on my books on tape. I've gotten lazy and will listen to a book even though I can get the large print edition. I can listen to three books a week. Because of my vision and poor reading skills I didn't get to enjoy books before the past ten years. I barely read my textbooks in college. I was better in math. The link is a book by Mary Tyler Moore who is the spokeswoman for the Junior Diabetes Reach Foundation (www.jdrf.org) The title is Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes. She was asked to write this book because a young girl wanted to know what it was like for someone like her who had diabetes. Mary Tyler Moore has many of the similar eye problems I have had. She found out she had Juvenile Diabetes at age 33. This is type 1 diabetes. Diabetics can loose their sight if they take control of their diabetes. When I've been at the retina specialist waiting for the doctor I can here him fuss at other patients because they miss an appointment or just don't take what can happen seriously. My retina detached but they have diabetic retinopathy where the retina deteriorates. This book was a great source of inspiration for me because Mary has lived with a long time disability as I have. She does not drive and her assistant help her with steps like my family and friends help me. Check out both links below.

http://www.jdrf.org/

http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Again-Loves-Diabetes/dp/B002YNS0NU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295913102&sr=8-1

THE MOVIES

My husband and I has started going out for date night to the movies. We are fortunate to have 6 to 8 movies to choose from. We went to see True Grit which is a John Wayne re-make. My tips are to arrive early before the lights go down. It takes my eyes about 15 minutes to adjust to the light if it's dark. Also my favorite spot to sit is the right side near the front. If we get there late the best spots are gone. At our cinema the best seat for me were the ones they removed for the wheelchairs. Oh well! My sons went to a 3D movies last weekend, well since I only see out of one eye those are out. I don't know why anyone wants to see things jump out at them in the movies. I do have a collection of movies at home to watch. Most of the time a watch TV with binoculars I use a 7x25 or 8x21 pair.

SENSIBLE SHOES

Like most women I love shoes. Since we have had snow on the ground for a week I thought I would talk about good shoes being a must. I asked my boss who is a shoe diva to remember her sensible shoes since it snowed. Being raised in the north she just laughed and said she had on rubber sole. I forgot to see if she was wearing 3" heel that day. When my children were small I would buy Pay Less shoes for me. Cheep brand are bad for you feet. Since I have balance problems I only wear quality shoe that I find on sale of course. I prefer Clarks, Naturalizer, New Balance, SoftSole. I can only handle a small sturdy heel. Forget about the trendy walker shoes. I would feel like I'm on a boat. Invert in some great shoes if you have poor eyes like mine.