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Friday, 2 February 2018

HOUSEWORK IN THE DARK BY FIONA CUMMINGS


Good evening Bloggets. Oh, I’m glad it’s Friday. Time to wrest I hope. It’s been a busy week. Right now, I have two snoring dogs one by my side, one in their bed. Guess which one is by my feet? The one and only Wagging one of a gal, Waggatail. LF is feeling it after he’s had a busy week too. Hub is obviously not feeling tired, though he says he is, but committed one is in our gym I can hear his feet on our treadmill. Me? Sadly, not today, I shall resume tomorrow. I have just been out and I won’t write about it now, but will do if it still is of concern by tomorrow night…. Let’s just say one word. Bike.

 

So out to do the dog run. Gosh, our dogs can poop! I wouldn’t mind, but they don’t get a lot of food. They get fed once per day and a couple of dog biscuits and that is it apart from when I am peeling carrots. They love them.

 

My Son is at work again. He’s doing many hours this week. He’s hating work right now. so sad. As I have written about before he needs constant mind work and right now there’s not enough clever work going on and too much every day stuff so his brain is getting bored. I have a feeling he won’t be there in a few months.

 

I have received a few emails this week asking questions to which I shall attempt to answer

And a question I have never understood but it’s one worth asking as I have received so many questions like this one.

“How do you make sandwiches?””  

That is something I have never thought about and something I didn’t struggle with even when I first went blind. As long as I know where everything is before I start. So, like obviously bread, butter possibly mayonnaise or whatever accompaniments you require or desire.

Prepare the ingredients and on another plate, butter your bread. Some people butter one-way top to bottom and then the other way, left to right just to make sure you have totally covered the bread and then put your cheese, cucumber or whatever on the bread. Just learn to look at what you used to be able to see inside your eye lids. Sounds strange and it took me a few years to learn how to do this. I treat my blank eyes   like a TV screen, so I see in I guess my mind the bread and it really helps to know where to put the food but put it on a plate then if there is any food that has missed the bread it will fall onto the plate for you to put back on your bread. My Husband and Son are not fans of my triangles, but I like to cut my sandwiches into triangles I smile and tell them they look nicer. Again, it’s just something I do, I wonder if some people panic at the thought of doing something like that, but seriously if you measure your lidded sandwich and just cut one way then the other keeping your fingers out of the way of the knife, that is something you just have to learn sometimes the hard way. When you are slicing something, use your spare hand like a bridge above the food you are cutting. Never cut into your hands.

 

I had a nightmare when I first lost my sight to fry an egg. Firstly, cracking the egg into the pan. Where was the pan, in relation to the egg? Always use a heavy frying pan. Less chance of you knocking it off the hob. Some people crack the egg into a dish then transfer the egg into the pan. I don’t, I just feel with a kitchen tool the edge of the pan and move my hands into the centre of the pan, or, where I think is the centre, I have never cooked a egg without the egg being in the pan, I have struggled finding the egg though, so, if you can make sure the egg is in the middle of the pan, then just wait twenty seconds so your substance has become more solid, then you can feel with your tool where it is to splash it. You will really get used to this it’s the thought of it all that makes it all scary.

 

Cooking meat. Same as you used to do it. Time, it. As long as you know the weight you could use the iPhone and the App Seeing A.I. that may read instructions. Or, ask someone who can see. But in general, if you time it how long you think, same time as when you had sight, and put your fork into it. If it goes in easily and comes out the same, then it’s cooked.

 

Try to remember two things, if you are preparing food for people, just because you can’t see it, doesn’t have to say others can’t. but also remember, it goes down the same way and will taste the same no matter what it looks like. Smile…

 

Ironing. When my Mum wasn’t too well I used to do her ironing and she used to watch me through her fingers. She hated it. I used to laugh at her response. Always keep your iron on the same part of your board. Never face the hot metal towards you. Always face it at the back of the board. Looking for your iron as you are now finished folding and preparing the clothes, feel for the wire. The wire will lead you to the back of the bottom of the handle of the iron. And if you keep the wire at the same side of the board as you are standing, with the metal facing the opposite way, you will be fine.

 

Use your fingers to feel for creases, but obviously keeping the iron well away. Remembering to put it onto the safe place on your board. You will get so used to doing that one day, you will remember the days when you had to remember and it will have just come natural to you.

 

Just iron from one end to the other, I use the point of the board a lot. If doing shirts, don’t iron the button section from the button side. Do that small part from the inside of the shirt. And, always remember to feel your clothes first for emblems or those awful transfers you need to avoid ironing.

 

Windows and glass? Don’t use a cream to clean I find they leave more smudges. Use a spray and after cleaning use a fresh chunk of kitchen paper towelling remembering the corners and go left to right then top to bottom and if someone comments on your smudges, tell them they must have cataracts. Haha.

 

Finally tooth paste. Hold your brush in the palm of your hands and four fingers and with your thumb, put the top of your thumb on the bottom of your brush touching the top of your thumb with the paste. As long as your thumb is just touching the bottom of the brush, you will get your paste on no trouble or, pop some paste on your finger and transfer the past from your (clean) finger to your brush.

Again I now just do it, it’s amazing how it just all clicks into place one day. And you will be the same.

 

I will answer more of your questions in my next blog. Take care. Have a blessed weekend.

© Fiona Cummings

 

 

 

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