MILK WITH YOUR TEA?

Good morning Bloggets. I can’t believe its Friday already.

I’m sitting in my back yard the sun is beating down and the fumes from the traffic are battling with the summer buds. What can I hear? Long Chops is staying with her Mummy today as Hub is in cars all day and it’s not a good idea for LC when it’s this hot. So a crackling sound is coming from my left. Last weekend when we went to the pet shop, I bought giant chew sticks really thick ones made from vegetable oil so no additives. Little Waggs is in the house with her Kong toy trying to get a treat out from that. I don’t like giving them treats that last a while in the same area. They would eat them quicker to get to the other ones.

 

My old girl Black beauty, and LC, shared so sweetly. But I don’t think Wagga and LC are quite that connected. Both dogs had great respect for BB. Hub and I still talk about her and oh boy do we miss her. She was my first guide dog, so that is special, but she was so adorable too and the Mother to LC when she came along, when Hub had to travel abroad LC missed him so much and she was still so young, but BB used to cuddle her I’m not joking. When little Waggatail came along, she used to almost be inside of BB at nights. No matter if we put their beds apart, Waggs still managed to squeeze next to BB in the smallest gap.

 

Knowing what we do now, perhaps it was a blessing to BB, as she had cancer for a lot longer than we knew. So perhaps it eased with stomach pains? As Waggs used to lay right into her tummy.

 

I never did see my girl. Not ever so I don’t know what she looked like, but when I think of her, I see a black little chubby lab with huge amber eyes and a bright red collar as that was her last one. My memory from almost eighteen years ago still remembers some images, though it’s getting more difficult now to remember.  I totally struggle to remember my Mum and Dads faces and this is so sad. I think of them most hours of the day and their faces are becoming more vague.

 

For those who still have some sight, but May, lose it, just photograph everything in your mind and store it.

 

Other sounds I hear, the birds, darling birds, always singing so sweetly. They gather in next doors thorn bush which is about eight foot high. At least one of the magpies is honking their horn like sounds on our wall I hope there is another who is just not being quite so vocal? As you may be aware of the saying.

If you see one it’s for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy. And so on up to seven.

 

Other sounds and this one I love. The zoo is having their sports day. Zoo as in school. Haha. They are the little children. Every year they get an entertainer to come and say through a microphone “Ready steady go’o’o’o 

I think he must have said that at least fifty times already. The children are so excited. As I have written about before, I always feel sorry for the child at the back and find it interesting how always every race there is one child’s name being shouted. It’s sad for the children who are not being called for. But the atmosphere sounds great.

 

My neighbours are in their garden. They are speaking in their Mother tongue so I don’t know what they are saying but to be honest even if they were talking English, I would not be able to hear as the traffic is so bloody awful.

 

Oh my word. An enormous motorbike has just gone by too. There is a vehicle every half of a second. None stop. I hate it.

 

Teen isn’t up yet though he is meant to be going out.  He is meeting someone. Yesterday he was out all day. He drove there and back. It’s about an hour and fifteen minute journey. He spent all of his money and he now is asking for his allowance early. Em. No.  No can’t do.

 

He gets a great amount of pay from his job especially for a person of his age. He has to learn to handle that. It’s a good lesson. Perhaps we are hard. I do feel like that sometimes and I wish I had more money to give him, but at the same time, he’s not a spoiled brat and he understands money, just his lifestyle runs away with him.

 

This weekend? Well a lot of preparation to be done. And believe me; this is going to be a summer of blogs after next week. I will let you all know as soon as I can.

 

I bet I know what you are all thinking?  Hehehe. No, it’s not that. Not yet anyway and if it was, I wouldn’t be preparing. Confused? Old Bloggets will know what I mean, as will you all in time.

 

So the subject I was asked to write about many of a time and I have touched on it before this is why I have not written about it yet but a lady in a group I’m in online spoke of this and I thought I will write about it.

 

It’s the difference between everyday things with blind and sighted people.

A sighted person needs a bottle of milk. They put on their shoes, take their card to pay or money look around to see if everything is turned off locked and leave the house. Get into their car and drive to the shop. Walk to the milk they need and pay. Leave. Car and home.

 

A blind person? Firstly they have to stop to remember what they have turned on that day as far as electrical make sure that the window they may have opened is closed before they go to their money or card. If its money and it’s a note, what nomination is it? A £5, £10 or more. As for the card, normally we leave our card we use the most in the same place of our purse wallet, but sometimes in a busy shop they get mixed up.  So feel the card. Is it the right one? We don’t always want to take a bag with the full purse/wallet in, so we like to have a hand free so we put cards money in our pockets. Then shoes are they matching? No? Oh where is that other shoe? It was in the shoe rack yesterday, it’s been knocked out and kicked somewhere. But where? You find it and then you have to let your guide dog out to do her business as you don’t want that happening on the way there as to pick it up is awful especially when you are going in a shop? You can’t run to the bathroom to wash your hands. A little tip, you can buy a huge box of disposable gloves from Amazon may be put one in your pocket? I used to put the bag over my hand, but that can be awful, if you have a glove, pick it pop it and your hand is clean, put the glove in the same bag. Same goes for cleaning the dog run at home. You get a much better job done.

 

Luckily our dogs are on dry food so unless they have an upset stomach, you are OK. But if you let them out before you go anywhere, they very rarely let you down. They are trained that way, or they should be. And on the way back from the shop, you have your right hand full of shopping your left with your dog’s harness; you don’t want to be picking up.

 

Of course if you have a white cane you don’t need to worry about all of that, just remember where your cane is? Tip. Always keep your cane near the front door. Same as my keys, so I don’t lose them. Not in the door though, but on a shelf.

 

So you need a bag for doggy doodles just in case. Check, Money, Check, card, check, mobile, is it charged? Check. Always carry a phone if you get into trouble. Try to have a few neighbours’ numbers I have and what a difference it makes to have that comfort. I mean, I have never ever phoned them when out, but to know I have that blanket is great. And I’m grateful to them for that.

 

What is the weather like? We can’t just glance out of the window, so do we need a coat? Is it icy? We never know that unless it’s too late normally. But for rain and so on when we let our beastie girls out, we learn.

 

 crossing the roads, will our dogs stop? Get us across safely? Well, that is partly up to us. We are in charge of our dogs. If we say left, they go left, and right they go right, so we have to know, but if we are on a crossing, we can’t hear cars because they are the new awful silent kind, or there is abike coming towards us with silent wheels. We tell our dogs to go forward thinking it’s clear. Now LC won’t any way, she will protect Hub when she won’t move, he doesn’t either. As for Waggs? Well, its hitty missy and almost hitty Fifi but thankfully missy.

 

We get to the shop and we then have the joys of trying to get assistance. Then if it’s a shop we don’t frequent, we have a dance as we just need to take them by the arm. They want to grab us and do that funny thing with our hands in the air. Haha.

 

Then for milk.

“What do you want love? The green top, blue top or red?”

Semi skimmed whatever colour that is.

 I reply, get to the till; oh I won’t bore you with queues. They are a nightmare. Get to pay,

You stand there, the shop assistant looks at you, and well you think she is as the silence is dreadful. People in the queue look at you. I mean, how can this blind person pay? You still stand there, then I ask, is the machine ready for my pin? Answer, oh, yes. You do your number. Because you have waited so long, your card has to be removed. When I say long, I mean a minute. I do it deliberately now I think no, you can speak to me you ignoramus. So card out, in again and this time, the assistant has learned she has to tell you when. Haha. Then she will say.

“Press the green button…..

I told you after our local shop worker kindly assisted me all round the shop then asked me if he could carry my bags to my car? Hehehe. He has never forgotten that.

 

Even banks still tell us to press the green button. I mean, where are the brains? It’s like when the lady told us we needed the blue bus.

 Really?

 

So there you go the milk is there in plenty, now I will go for a cupper. With love until later. X