The DeafBlind's Musing & a fellow Sjogren's sufferer

ASL for DeafBlind Community

2010-12-21T20:05:00.000-05:00

I have been advocating the use of ASL for everyone. Deaf babies, those who have been CI'ed and especially for the DeafBlind community. I hope you will enjoy this vlog I made and understand why I am very passionate for my beliefs.

Been MIA for quite a while..

2010-11-21T11:42:00.001-05:00

Dear friends,

I've been away from blogging for quite a while. Good friends would follow up with me and ask if I was okay, etc. I appreciated those words of encouragement from those special people. Dealing with depression isn't easy especially when it is a daily basis. I am just blessed to have a wonderful husband who understands and supports me rather than tell me to "take a pill and go lay down". He listens to me and gives supportive rapport.

I am also very blessed to have three overly-affectionate furkids (my little bums) I call them. They just make their place on me or besides me. Currently, Mosey is snuggling besides me under my blanket and Lil'Bit is under the pillow that's supporting the laptop. Hannah is all curled up in her little carrier (minus the door) and she snoozes there when she wants to be quiet.

In this picture, Mosey is curled up on the corner of the couch, LilBit is tucked in a circle on the pillow and wee Hannah just loves to be cradled on my chest. She will walk across the laptop to snooze on the laptop for the heat or sit on the laptop and expect me to pick her up to be cradled like a baby. Yes, they're my little bums as I love spoiling them & they love/demand to be spoilt. It works out just perfectly!

Lil'Bit has a Maman, he loves her so much and will follow her everywhere. Maman is my sweet and close friend named Christina.

A reason for my being MIA is my Sjogren's as it really does hinder my physical abilities to walk and be active.

Sjögren's syndrome (pronounced show-grins) is an incurable, autoimmune disease that affects between 200,000 and 400,000 Canadians. Nine out of 10 people are women - typically over the age of 50 years.

In Sjögren's, the body's immune system attacks the moisture-producing glands. Lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) then attack and destroy these glands causing painfully dry eyes and mouth. Sjögren's can also cause dryness of the skin, nose and vagina. It can affect organs such as the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels, lung, liver, pancreas and central nervous system. It is an all invasive disease.

Sjogren's website - source

Sjogren's has been debilitating my physical well-being as it is very painful to move around about. I am blessed to have understanding friends who will do alternative plans so we all are included in having an enjoyable evening. Bless their hearts!

Christmas is around the corner and today was the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto, ON.

"Parades are set for this evening in Ottawa, Barrie, Orangeville, Bradford, Kingston and Cambridge."

Bundle up dear ones, it's going to be a chilly one today and afterwards as Winter is arriving!!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Pictures of my life

2010-08-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

Hi dear friends,

As you all know I've been using this blog as an outlet to express my feelings. There are times I will pour my feelings into this blog and there are times when I leave very little entries.

Lately, I've been through emotional highs and downs known as depression. It's hit me very hard like a sledgehammer. I find it very hard to pick myself up in the morning unless I set myself up for a strict schedule. I'm at the library and I'm enjoying the beautiful view I see. The trees are dancing with the wind and the clouds are drifting ever so slowly. I love this part of the summer; Indian summer to be exact.

I can just get lost in those "dreamy days" and I love those dreamy days because it helps me recollect my feelings.

I want to share something that I've struggled with growing up. Depression. It was very hard dealing with depression and the only easiest way to cope with depression was to self-comfort myself by over-eating. I'd eat sweets and hide the wrappers out of guilt.

A close friend caught me by finding a bag filled with empty wrappers, naturally she was shocked and worried about me. Out of natural defense, I denied doing this which made things worse. I could have easily admitted doing it but I just couldn't do it.

A nervous breakdown resulted after a series of self-sabotage acts and a marital breakdown. This stirred up the dark demons which unleashed a lot of words that I regret saying and do wish I could take them back.

This has awakened me to another side of me that I didn't realise existed within me. This also made me realise I truly needed pyschological counselling. I did have pyschological counselling which I really benefitted from and will need to go back to it. I benefitted from pyschological counselling on so many lengths & I was so proud of my healing.

I healed within and outside; emotionally. Socially I was aware of how my negative actions ostracized myself from my peers and mentally I gained coping methods which enabled me in so many ways. I matured as an adult and the inner child within me had closure.

I have the gift of the present moment and I do not need to look back in the past because the future is important.

For this I dedicate the pictures of my life to my families and my friends who have impacted my life in so many ways, I love you all.

Patty oxox

An insight into my life

2010-08-16T10:54:00.000-04:00

Been away for a while...

2010-07-26T11:07:00.000-04:00

Hi dear ones!

How are you all doing?

I am doing good and have been away from my blog for a while. I've had no internet at home & we chose to cut off our internet as finances are quite rough for us at the moment. It was either the internet bill or the groceries. We need to eat so it's the internet that had to go.

The summer rolled around with quite an unexpected twist of venegance; the hot-hazy and humid days arrived! I was so sick with several days of vomiting and diarrhea, hubby was so worried and we had to get an air conditioner so I could cope with the heat wave. It's been over 3 weeks now with the heat wave Toronto's been having now. I've improved from the vomiting/diarrhea thankfully from hubby's tender loving care. I truly thank him for being there for me. *bows to hubby*

I am at the library at the moment and will leave a longer journal entry the next day or two. My apologies.

I want to leave a shout-out to Sherry at Word Salads for her words of encouragement! Thanks girl!!

Tactile love to all!
Patty OXOX

Beautiful therapy

2010-05-13T07:02:00.000-04:00

I'm sick at the moment; bronchitis. Meh!

I'm very lucky to have beautiful therapy! Mosey, Hannah and Lil'Bit just heals me with their love.

I have a quilt on top of me and they all just gather around me.

These are my babies.

Lil'Bit

Hannah

Mosey

Take care dear friends!

Hugs,
Patty oxox

He's here.. The Deaf Pianist!!

2010-04-23T07:35:00.000-04:00

A Purveyor of Pleasingly Pianistic Pyrotechnics of Ragtime Music….and of life, too.

All of my life I have been active in and doing many things such as sports, music, enjoying the great outdoors, camping and just having fun in doing the things I love. Of course there is a certain pride and feeling of accomplishments to be on a winning team. Who wouldn’t? Like being on a little league baseball team where we won a championship game, for example. Or be on a soccer team where we won two state championships in a row in Washington State. I did well in wrestling by winning 2^nd place in a wrestling tourney. Other sports I’ve done well include basketball and baseball during my elementary and middle school years.  Soon my enthusiasm in sports took on the form of weightlifting where I began in my sophomore year in high school.  This continued on for 27 years culminating at the peak of my form by winning 3^rd place in the under 200lb category my first ever strongman event in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the May of 2006. Who knew I’d get to the point of flipping 500lb and 800lb tires, and pull a 12,000lb truck? (see http://kokonutpundits.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-first-strongman-competition.html). I’ll certainly have something to tell to my grandkids someday. And during my college days as a graduate student and afterwards I spent several years training in the Japanese martial art of Aikido which is an exceptionally hard art to master. I have been thrown into walls breaking them, attained numerous injuries, including a 7 stitches knife cut in my right hand in one of my rare moments of slip-up in a self-defense exercise (for experienced students only) but we all had a good time laughing over it at the emergency room with my Sensei (instructor) and advanced students. We all pretty much experienced similar injuries. It goes with the territory on learning this hard art of Aikido. I don’t mind trying out in certain sports for fun like one time at Gallaudet University did I try out for the baseball team did I make it for the 2^nd base and short-stop positions but turned it down. I just wanted to see if I could make the cut.  Education was priority number one at the time. Though I took great delight in beating out my (accomplished) racquetball instructor during one semester of racquetball class I took while I was a student at Gallaudet. I believe I was the first student to do ever have done that though I never played racquetball before. After signing up for the racquetball course did I find out later how derisive the teacher was. I soon had the goal in mind hopefully wipe that smile off his face and the teacher’s attitude towards his students. I succeeded at that after a racquetball final exam by beating him at his own game….racquetball. After all that, I have pretty much retired my sporting days to focus on my new career which began at the age of 7.

My music began at the age of 7 when my fingers first touched the black and white keys on our first piano in my parents’ house. I begged my Mom and Dad to get a piano because I wanted to learn how to play the piano thinking it was cool to have a piano. Of the three of us siblings, my younger sister and older brother, I was the only one who continued to practice on our piano. Over the years I had fun performing at piano recitals though many did not realize that I was deaf/hh. In my early teens I discovered ragtime though when younger my first piece was a simplified version of “The Entertainer” - a widely popular and recognizable Scott Joplin ragtime piece. My love for ragtime stayed with me even while as I was absent from ever touching a piano during my college days and while raising a family that took away much of my time the opportunity to even play on piano on a regular basis. But that didn’t stop me from reading books and collect information, ragtime sheets and more. The internet over the last several years has made it easier to learn about ragtime, the people (new and old), the history and the music. My time finally came in December 2008 when I bought myself a piano.  I decided upon a goal to get back into ragtime with fervor and become the first known deaf/hh ragtime pianist. It will take some time, gradually and slowly for sure. I am already capable to make this happen.

When I have a goal, I set my mind to it. It won’t be easy to be an accomplished ragtime pianist. This will indeed take some time since I started my long hours of practicing last year starting January 2009. I’ve been absent from my piano much too long. My fingers and hands would require getting used to playing the piano on a constant basis. Just like when it comes to sports or exercising, one has to build up to it until so you can practice for hours and not have your fingers get tired. At first I was sore and felt clumsy playing it, my coordination was a bit off but with gradual practicing and finger exercises I was finally able to get to the point of practicing 4 or 5 hours a day if I wanted to. Though my normal, ideal, amount of time is about 2 to 3 hours a day. It takes time to get the proper hand/eye coordination in place, have your brain adapt more fluidly to reading piano music sheets, getting the dynamics down correctly, knowing where to place your fingers and hands without looking, learning to listen to the notes and make sure they sound right, get the timing down, using the right amount of application, getting the right melody, and so on…..done automatically. For me, it takes even more practice to get it down right while others are a pure natural at playing the piano. I may be a “natural” in some sense but it sure doesn’t feel like it...yet. There is a 25 year gap I’ve got to catch up on. Though my sight reading on new music sheet pieces are becoming easier nowadays though by no means I can whiz right though them. There are thousands of ragtime songs out there, many of them available over the internet.  I collect them for my growing ragtime portfolio. My goal is to play as many of these songs as possible, even memorizing them. I’ll eventually move into more early Jazz pieces (e.g. Jelly Roll Morton) and stride piano (e.g. Fats Waller) someday soon. For now, it’s all ragtime and lot of catching up to do.

I already have a ragtime blog called “Ragtime Piano!” which can be found at: http://ragtimepiano.blogspot.com. You can follow me there. I’m always keeping an eye open for any deaf/hh pianists out there, too. So far, I already have a company that will sponsor my trip to Missouri to attend the week long Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri (seehttp://ragtimepiano.blogspot.com/2010/04/raggin-my-way-to-scott-joplin-ragtime.html ). I have performed in front of an audience in Portland that takes place once a month. Since I am a member of the Portland Ragtime Society, I plan to continue with this since it will help my performance skills in front of a live audience. So, don’t get surprised if you hear my name mentioned someday as a deaf ragtime pianist.

I have many accomplishments in life, sports, education, music and such; I continue to move forward looking for new things to tackle. Accomplishments and goals are what keep life interesting and challenging. Instead of making excuses, think of a goal you want to try and accomplish. Don’t set your sights too high but make your goal a manageable one. Once you’ve succeeded in accomplishing your goal set another target and go after it. And make it a fun and challenging one while you’re at it, too.

*I am so honoured to have Mike McConnell as a guest blogger and want to really thank him for writing this entry. *

Deaf Pianist to attend Ragtime Festival

2010-04-10T21:00:00.000-04:00

It's a rarity. A juxtaposition. An oxymoron. An unique hobby and for someone to be quite skilled at this one too as well; I admire this.

A Deaf Pianist will be attending the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival amongst 6,000 visitors and many other wonderful ragtime pianists.

Kokonut, of Kokonut Pundit as well of Ragtime Piano is the next guest blogger I would like to have ask to do us the honour of sharing his life experiences. He has an amazing life story to share and I feel it is his story to share.

Smile,
Patty

Guest Blogger - Sherry from Word Salads

2010-04-08T18:33:00.000-04:00

I am so proud to have my very first guest blogger today and she is Sherry from Word Salads.

This is her entry today.

First I’d like to thank Patty for asking me to be a guest blogger. I am honored to be here!

I will talk about what has shaped me the most and it will probably make most of you uncomfortable but it is my hope that some of you will learn something from this post.

My 34 year old daughter Nicole passed away on June 10, 2009 while I held her hand and prayed it wasn’t really happening, that it was a bad dream and she would wake up and say “I am fine, Mom.” Instead I saw her take her last breath on earth. It was a nightmare that came true for me in ways you cannot imagine.

That singular act profoundly changed my life forever. It changed my view on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It changed the way I sleep, the way I eat, and altered my trust and distrust of people. It fractured what was left of my family and my friends vanished into the night. If it could happen to me, it might happen to their own children. It is normal, that fear. Death is not contagious but the fear of one’s child dying is. It is a lonely place to be but I will not chase them and plead my case.

Whenever I start to fall deeply into despair I remember what Alex, my boyfriend told me. “You can visit the past but you cannot dwell there”. On those days I put Nicole in a mental, escape-proof drawer and lock her up. I refuse to think of her because it is too painful. One must regulate this sort of pain, so many milligrams every 4 hours or you will overdose and fall into a hole you might not climb back out of.

I lost a lot of family in a very short time. It was like watching a stack of human/canine/feline dominoes fall down dead. That analogy came from a nightmare I had not long ago. All my relatives and pets were lined up like dominoes and down they went, one by one. That nightmare was my reality and I miss my family and pets. They will not return. Shuttered up in mental lockboxes I have them. I only take them out momentarily and think of them when I feel strong.

But you cannot fold up your wings and refuse to fly again. They say time heals all wounds but when it comes to losing a child, not so true. What really happens is you learn to breathe again without feeling like you will scream. That is not any kind of healing…that is living with the loss. If you became blind due to a virus and recovered from the virus, you would not think you had healed. You would feel changed due to the vision loss. A loss of a child is sort of like that. You are forever changed and never will be the same. I am not comparing the two experiences however, I am talking about healing versus living with a loss.

The death of a child is the greatest loss one can endure.

When I go to sleep I always worry about her. It does not take long for my sleeping medications to kick my brain to the curb so my worrying lasts only a few minutes every night. My thoughts start up like clockwork…Is she okay? Is she around? Can my dad, uncles and aunts see her? Were they surprised? Are they together? Will I see her again in a form that will make me happy? I really want answers. I don’t want to share her with a million other souls, she is my daughter not theirs. I didn’t want to give her back at the age of 34, she was not returnable in my opinion while I was still living. Then medications quiet my brain and all is well until morning. At first light Nicole enters my mind and I say a silent prayer for her. “Please keep her safe”, I pray. I have always worried over her. I still do.

The ghosts of Nicole haunt me all during the day so I have had to change my routine. I seek solace in simple things in order to find happiness. Freshly roasted coffee. No more Folger’s. Alex shows me the barn cat trying to play with the deer. I see the fox run across the front yard. No matter what, I get that hug from Alex. I count on it. Gini the daschie always knows I am crying, she runs from the other room where she is sunning and leaps in my lap to lick off my tears. It makes me laugh. I do not cry long because it hurts too much.

What I would like for readers to take from this post are three things:

Appreciate life. That says it all.

When someone loses a child, be there for the parent. Of course you are “sorry” but go beyond that. Be a friend. You have gone on with your lives but the parent is suffering horribly still even 10 months later. Time stops for the parent. Be pro-active, even months later.

Love your children. And while you’re at it, take lots of photos. You will not be sorry.

In closing I hope as soon as you finish reading this you hug and kiss all your loved ones because it is a blessing that you can do that. Again, thank you Patty for letting me be a guest blogger. I hope everyone will appreciate life more.

Sherry from Word Salads

Hi dear ones

2010-04-07T13:20:00.000-04:00

I am going to invite several friends I know quite well and a few of them I admire for their tenacity, their beliefs and as well as their perseverance.

Some of the friends I am going to invite to be guest writers on my blog because quite a few of my friends have gone through similar life paths as I have.

I would like to invite Sherry from Word Salads to be my first guest writer because I look up to her and her amazing tenacity to be strong. She has gone through so much in a short period of time. Sherry has grace, compassion and best of all, a beautiful heart.

Sherry does several blogs and I don't want to go any further because I want her to share her own personal information at her own discretion.

HUGS!
~me

Sunshine - where are you?

2010-04-07T13:03:00.000-04:00

"Sunshine, where are you?

Hiding away from me,

what can I do?

A cat and mouse game

so cute and vain

Sunshine, I need you

My skin and eyes,

they burn in your presence.

A love and hate relationship

but I ache for you.

I look up for you and you hide

when I need you the most.

Sunshine, where are you?

The cute and vain

cat and mouse game.

Burn my skin and eyes,

I need you and welcome you

like a long-lost toy."

~me

まるの - Maru

2010-04-06T09:13:00.001-04:00

まるの is Maru, a beautiful Scottish fold cat that has attracted international attention. I watch まるの everyday because he brings a smile to my face with his antics.

まるの's blog can be found at this link.

Laughter is the best medicine & it's free!

~me

For fellow Christians

2010-04-04T09:34:00.000-04:00

With His love

~me

Hoppy Easter!

2010-04-04T08:47:00.000-04:00

Hoppy Easter to you and your dear ones, my sweet friends!

"Sweet bunny, furry and soft

come to my loft

Sweet bunny all doffed

with a cute pink bow

just for the Crofts

Sweet bunny, furry and soft"

~me

Tranquility with love

2010-04-03T08:15:00.000-04:00

To be tranquil with oneself is to accept one's faults and allow room for mistakes.

To allow one to have tranquility is to share love and acceptance.

Tranquility is beautiful; share it with a loved one.

~ me ♥

Entertainment and the core value of it.

2010-04-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

Entertainment and what's the core value of it sickens me these days. I turn the TV on; we don't have cable, thank heavens for this. We borrow our movies from the libraries and we get our entertainment news from TMZ and/or PerezHilton as well.

There's a couple that I feel should really get together because they both have an innate need for attention.

Tiger Woods and Gloria Allred just seem to be magnets for negative attention. Those two I can do without when I go on TMZ/PerezHilton or watch the news.

What's even worse, there's a pr0n movie called "Tiger's Wood" with both spoof characters inside this. Eww!

En Fleur Lavender (Lavender in Bloom)

2010-04-01T03:12:00.000-04:00

Hi dear ones!

How are you all doing? I am doing good, very relaxed. It is 2:38 am. Yes I am wide awake at this very early hour as I woke up to two very sweet faces nudging me; one was head-butting me and the other was giving me the all-too familiar "shivers".

We know who gives me the "shivers" as my dear friend Tam calls this, my little girl Koi does this. I call her mine until she perks in and says "No no my PiC, she's mine!!" (PiC is Partner in Crime) Tam is a sweet friend of mine who has gone through so much and still maintains her positivity; she doesn't know this but she's a constant source of inspiration for me.

I've fed the sweet one who gives me the "shivers" and that would be Lil'Bit and the gentle head-butting is Hannah. I love how she really means each head-butt and head rubs. She'll rub her head against mine and say "I messed up your hair with... l.o.v.e!" *purrrs!* THAT is just Hannah, *sighs*

Mosey is right in your face, he will just plop himself right in your arms even when I am typing on the laptop and he will help himself to kneading. He shows his emotions right away after having a quarrel with either Hannah or Lil'Bit. It's either instantly to me to knead to comfort himself or he'll go to the food dish to eat to comfort himself. Mosey is the human me, 100%. If I'm cross with Mosey, he will meow pitifully for hours and make sure I know his wrath. He will not come to me and will only favour Chris (hubby) & this tortures me. Very rarely does this happen because I'm usually broken down to tears when this happens.

As I type this, a particular lavender I use all the time and it's dangerously low in stock at the moment!! I use my good friend J9 's lavender and her lavender products as well. J9 is an abbreviation for Janine Tucker and she owns En Fleur Lavender. If you recall from previous posts, I made a lot of sachets as well as a personalised pillow insert with her lavender; her lavender is potent. They last an amazingly long time. I use the lavender on a "must-daily" basis for both migraines and relaxation purposes.

Lavender has many incredible uses -

Lavender has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy, and does indeed appear to have antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsive, and last but certainly not least - anti-depressant properties.

Lavender I use comes in two forms - the essential oil which is quite costly and the alcohol form as well as the buds. I am very fortunate to have been spoiled by the best lavender grower who takes pride in her product as well. Janine made lavender jelly and let me tell you this; they are heavenly! They're perfect for Afternoon Tea, baby/bridal showers and so on. You can have an assortment of fancy jellies and different teas; oh can you imagine how it would be like to have Afternoon Tea? I guess I inherited my Gma's love for fancy teacups whereas I drink those beakers, eh?

I encourage you all to check out this wonderful site - En Fleur Lavender and you will not be disappointed! I wish this site had scent-o-meter as this flat is very aromatic at the moment with soft lavender. The great thing about warming up lavender, it helps lull me back to sleep which is what I am doing after this.

Take care dear ones,
Love,
Patty oxox

Accessibility found at Kokonut Pundit

2010-03-30T08:16:00.000-04:00

Kokonut Pundit shares something in common with me that we both take very seriously; accessibility.

A snippet of Kokonut Pundit's blog entry -

Accessibility refers to the extent to which a product or service can be used by as many people as possible. In this context,accessibility means designing applications so that people with disabilities or impairments can use the applications on a BlackBerry® device.

When you design your BlackBerry device application, consider the following users:

• blind people

• visually impaired people
• colorblind people
• deaf people
• hearing impaired people
• speech impaired people
• people with motor impairments
• people with cognitive or learning disabilities

Like any other group of users, people with disabilities or impairments have needs, wants, and expectations about the behavior of applications. Some of the reasons to make your applications accessible to as many users as possible include the following possible benefits:
• Social responsibility: Making it easier for people with disabilities or impairments to benefit from the functionality that your application provides can promote equality and is the right thing to do.
• Market share: Ensuring that your application can be used by people with disabilities or impairments increases the number of people who can purchase and benefit from your application.
• Compliance: Addressing the applicable guidelines and regulatory requirements (such as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in the United States) that dictate that your application must be accessible by people with disabilities or impairments can allow you to enter certain markets.
source- Kokonut Pundit

Kokonut Pundit's headline consists of this quote;

Don't use deafness as your crutch. We all face adversity in our life and don't let it become an obstacle but a challenge! Kokonut Pundit, a nationally known professional patriotic purveyor of highly entertaining and informative blogging.

Granted Kokonut Pundit is a controversial blogger and he has his strong opinions as well. Everyone has their opinions and I do respect Kokonut Pundit because we both mutually agree on something; accessibility is everyone's right.

Hop on over to Kokonut Pundit's blog and hang on to your hat, white cane, hearing aid and/or CI .. whathaveyou! (SMILING!) Yes, I am teasing!!

"Accessibility is your right. Deaf, hearing, blind and/or sighted." ~Patty Keen

Easter and the true meaning of sacrifice.

2010-03-30T05:48:00.000-04:00

Easter and the very true meaning of "sacrifice"-

"We live and die; Christ died and lived!" ~John Stott

"And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here." ~St Augustine

"Ye sleeping buds, break
Open your green cerements, and wake
To fragrant blossoming for His sweet sake." ~Margaret French Patton

"The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise." ~Carl Knudsen

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."
~ Pope John Paul II

"In the bonds of Death He lay
Who for our offence was slain;
But the Lord is risen to-day,
Christ hath brought us life again,
Wherefore let us all rejoice,
Singing loud, with cheerful voice,
Hallelujah!"
~ Martin Luther

Nowadays I see a lot of candies, trinkets, toys replacing religious value during Easter time and it is as if religion is "taboo" to discuss. It saddens me because the discussion of descension and ascension of Jesus Christ was always brought up each Easter.

Easter was never complete without watching "The Ten Commandments" portrayed by Charlton Heston and to this day, I still get moved by the movie.

It is unfortunate that advertising has taken over our sacred holidays to the point where we have to fight back and point out the merits of leaving our religious holidays alone for the future generations. We wouldn't want our future generations to be raised solely without religion.
Happy Easter to you my dear ones.
Much love and sending His prayers to you all,
Patty oxox

A new addition to our ever-growing family!

2010-03-18T13:36:00.001-04:00

We have a new addition to our ever-growing family and he's a sweet lit'bit! Get it! His name is Lil'Bit and yes, he is actually a little thing!!

He is just so cute and a real gentleman, I just love ♥ this sweet creature!!

Mosey and Hannah, at first, they didn't want anything to do with a feisty little dog who had a sassy mouth but Mosey took a liking to Lil'Bit. Now Mosey loves Lil'Bit and Hannah just runs to Lil'Bit side when the boys starts to have an argument. It's sweet seeing the boys cuddle up together.

Here's a video of the whole gang together, it's just so cute I tell you!

The beautiful spring weather is finally here and I am just excited! I cannot wait to go outside and just bask in the sunny weather and especially go for long walks without worrying about slipping on a patch of ice anymore. Come on out everyone and absorb all the healthy Vitamin D!! Be sure to slather on the sunblock though! It's just NOT sexy to be burning yourself to look tan!

Your natural colour is the sexiest colour, believe me!! I don't plan on roasting myself, I definitely will be slathering myself with the SPF 50 and keeping my natural colour plus the wrinkles - the laugh lines, let's call them that.

Take care and take care of your eyes and hands!
Tactile smile,
Patty OXOX

I am proud of myself!

2010-02-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

"I am proud of myself!"

It's not often I can sign this about myself. Growing up I have struggled with a very low self esteem; I have finally learned that I do love myself and I really do like love myself as a person, a sister, a daughter, a wife and especially a friend.

It has taken me almost 37 years to arrive at this and it's a beautiful insight into my life. I am able to enjoy my own POVs, debate with others without having to say "We're okay?" Hubby and I have an amazing marriage and what helps this is that we were actually very good friends before we dated. Hubby and I have been married 4+ years now & been together 6+ years as well.

Just recently I left the ALIP program for several personal reasons; I know I will go back to the ALIP program at George Brown College. GBC will be there and so will the ALIP program.

I am proud of myself for accomplishing my life-long goal and dream; to go to college.

Hubby and I are working on accomplishing another one of my life-long dream and that's to be a skin-Mom. I'm already a Mommy; you see, I've been a furMommy to several babies.

My first was to beloved Misty. My Mosey was my first boy. Beautiful Ashy (A piece of my heart went with you my baby girl, you left me a year ago and I still cry for you. You knew Mommy couldn't see at the right and you were my shadow.) My Wooky, the sweet yet feisty rabbit that witnessed Ashy's death. I had to return Wooky back to her furfamily because I wasn't able to deal with Ashy's death. My Wooky was my first rabbit outside of my family; my sisters and I were raised with rabbits as well as my father was.

My sweet Hannah, our first special needs cat, taught me a lot about patience and understanding her need for space. Hannah taught me a lot by scratching my face. She'd bite me, bite my head and most of the time, her claws would get stuck in my nose. Oh it was always painful but I had to stay calm. I knew Hannah was nervous and scared.

Hannah was originally from Niagara Falls and she was found in Hamilton. Toronto Rescue Society, where Mosey and Ashy were from, rescued Hannah. TRS is a no-kill rescue group.

Hannah taught me when it was okay to approach her and it was her decision to come to me for cuddling. Right now, Hannah is a Mommy's girl *bigtime* she is jealous of the new addition to the family- very jealous!

Lil-Bit, a very sweet gentleman, came from a Deaf family that moved to a retirement condo community and they weren't able to take their little boy with them. They were heartbroken because their Lil-Bit was their boy since he's 4 years old. I can imagine their pain as Lil-Bit is so sweet and affectionate. My parents took in Lil-Bit and their Daisy can be a bit too much for Lil-Bit. Daisy can add stress to Lil-Bit because she is anti-social and has anxiety tendencies; it does rub off on Lil-Bit.

I brought Lil-Bit with us to our home and he's getting on along quite well with Mosey and Hannah. Lil-Bit has been by my side since we arrived yesterday but I'm proud of myself as normally I would have gone over my way to make sure he was comfortable. This cute boy is something!!

Tactile love,
Patty oxox

Just me and my cane..

2010-02-03T20:26:00.001-05:00

Just me and my cane

Just me and my cane,
tapping left and right
feeling the wall with my left hand
and the right eye darting in between places.

Just me and my cane,
Feeling the intricate fabric of scarves,
touching the beautiful jewellery,
the saleslady asking if I need assistance.

Just me and my cane,
I motion to my ear,
shake my head and gesture to my eyes
"Just looking, thanks."

Just me and my cane,
my partner in life,
my reassurance, my independence,
Always dependable and always there.

Just me and my cane,
a part of me and a part of who I am.
My eyes, my ears and my voice,
please don't kick my cane.

Just me and my cane,
I am complete with my cane,
complete with full vision
my cane and I.

Just me and my cane,
tall, thin, white with a splash of red,
Fondly called as Dottie by her handler,
Trusty sidekick for life.

Just me and my cane.

School starts today!

2009-09-08T07:35:00.001-04:00

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao Tse

School starts today for me and it has been my continuous journey of personal growth. I especially want to thank my husband for his support & love and my family for their encouragement as well as their love.

I honestly don't ~~know~~ think I would have been able to make it to this point without their encouragement.

You all mean very much to me especially today.

I have vlogged in YouTube under my name as DBadvocate and it's a full 10 minutes. You can see the ~~nervousness~~ trepidation and excitement on my face.

Yes, even my laptop is distorted because I show the furkids on the webcam. All because I am excited, nervous and happy.. all in one!

Click to my YouTube- click here.

I am FINALLY going to college and it is G.B.C!! This proves you are never too old to go back to school!

Classes don't start until 10 am but shit, I'm leaving in half-hour to see several people and drop off several forms. I know I will be tired tonight as my last class finishes at 8 pm. I'll be home around 9:30 -10 pm the latest.

I do live quite a bit of a distance from GBC so it's not too bad for me as I do read on the TTC. I take the streetcar as it's much more quieter for me.

Well, I better shut up now as I have those all too familiar excited feelings in my stomach. I can't eat, had soft poop all night and the same god-damn feelings I had all my life - the day before Labour Day feelings, ALL came back to me yesterday!

I swear to you, I thought I was finished with those when I graduated from H.S but nope, it came back with a vengeance!

Alrighty, I'm going to put my socks and shoes on like I normally do everyday and going to head off for the streetcar. [Cosburn then King]

I love you all and I do miss you all very much.
Love,
Patty OXOX

Christmas crafts

2009-09-07T09:16:00.000-04:00

Hugs all,

I have started on Christmas crafts already.

Yes! You read it right!

CHRISTMAS!

Click on the link to go to a great website for easy Christmas crafts with cheap stuff, think Dollarama! Yes, my favourite place!

This year, I am starting much earlier because I want to personally make each gift I give out to my family. Yes, you all, individually, receive handmade with love by me, a gift.

I already made several and they're tucked away. They took me quite a while to do it but I felt very happy with the effort I put in them.

College starts tomorrow and I am already thinking BIG!

ALIP is 15 months and I learned at Orientation that Ryerson recognises the ALIP credits so I can go to Ryerson for two years to get my B.A.

I would like to get my B.A in Disability Studies. Being an advocate, I strongly believe I will do best in the field of Disability Studies. Ryerson offers this program to critically analyse the morals and values of society towards the disabled people.

After Ryerson, I would like to get my Ph.D in Critical Disability Studies at York University. York offers much more than Ryerson as it is a much more intense study about the disabled community. The socio-economic, socio-psychological and social aspects of being disabled, per se, in society.

How being "disabled" by itself, the quote affects so many people, the label itself affects the human psyche.

This is where I know I will get a lot of personal satisfaction learning more and more.

I look forward seeing you all as I miss you all very much. I do miss tactiling and chatting with you all one to one. Catching up on the news too as well.

Please do keep in touch, much love from me to you all.

LOVE
Patty oxox

Dear loved ones

2009-09-06T19:27:00.002-04:00

Hi family,

My blog is now closed to only family.

I feel it is now time to focus on my blogging only for family so you all can keep tabs on me and my private blog as well.

I have also made my picture albums in Facebook private as well.

Hugs to you all and I miss you very much!

Love,
Patty oxox

Time has flown!

2009-08-22T09:12:00.001-04:00

Well good morning to you all!

I'm sitting down in our humble abode in East York, ON. East York is in Toronto and we love it. It's much more busier granted and we do miss the tranquility Kitchener offered however Toronto offers much more than Kitchener offers us.

We need the accessibility that TTC offers us and accessibility we can get almost everywhere here in T.O. Kitchener is quiet, granted but too boring at times for us. I'd be bored to tears because I grew up living there.

When we first moved to Toronto, we were out all the time, walking everywhere and wanted to eat here and there. The different restaurants we wanted to try but we knew we had to watch our finances.

College starts for me in less than 2 weeks. I have orientation and workshops to go to before classes starts.

Mosey and Hannah just LOVES this flat because of the animal traffic they get all day. We have Anakin, he's a handsome cat that just makes himself at home here at this apartment building. Mosey likes Anakin but Hannah wants nothing to do with him.

He gobbles all the food, pees/poops in both litter boxes and plops himself down in both cats' baskets to sleep. This sets Hannah off in a real tizzy and she'll bite him on his leg but he'll ignore her. Normally when Hannah bites Mosey on his leg, Mosey will run off and nurse his leg or run to me for intervention. [I can't say "What a wimp!" because I always say "Ahh ahhh, no fighting!"]

Our flat is twice the size of the Kitchener flat and we just really enjoy the open space. We have several walls that were painted dark red when we arrived and it really offsets the mood in this flat. The opposite walls are painted ivory. Really relaxing for us.

Next week Friday, we will be in Kitchener as I need to see my family doctor and from there I will ask to be switched to a Toronto doctor. I would like to keep my current doctor and ask if I can see another doctor for temporary visits as I dislike going to walk in clinics. I never get the answer from those walk in clinics, who really likes to sit almost 2 hours to see a doctor for only 5 minutes? I know I don't and have far too much important things to do than sit down and watch other people being sick or whining to the receptionist when their turn is.

Patience is a virtue and whining won't make the clock go faster, I know I tried but still.. no luck!

I am off to do Christmas card making and have a great day everyone!

Tactile smile!
Patty

Long time no blog!

2009-06-13T19:29:00.004-04:00

Hi dear ones!

It's been a long time since I blogged! A lot has happened and I must share news with you all! They're great news you see.. it snowballed in a wonderful way!

We have a beautiful little girl, her name is Hannah. Oh she's a feisty little furball that tells us what to do BUT loves to snuggle with me and it only has to be with me. *sighs* She's a sweet little thang that loves to boss Mosey around and just loves to chew Mosey's tail! Mosey hates it when Hannah just goes for the tail!

I've applied to George Brown College for the American Sign Language Literacy Instructor Program - ALIP and we went to the ALIP open house. I had a wonderful day at the open house, breezed through the screening and the interview process. I suspect because I wanted the program so badly I could taste it.

I am accepted!!

Hubby and I move to T.O this August 1st and we will live in the Cabbagetown area. We love this area the best because it's just beautiful. We're very very blessed because we have wonderful superintendents. We're just moving from the Kitchener location to the T.O location so we don't have to worry about first/last or the deposit at all. We just change building managers, that's all and pretty much we're very set when we move.

It's the same, one bedroom apartment like what we have here. Mosey and Hannah are going to like it because it's more "people/animal" traffic and they get to supervise!

Hubby is taking the Graphic Design program at GBC and his program is 3 years long whereas mine is 15 months fast track. [3 years compressed]

I am really looking forward to all the courses at GBC and the personal growth I know I will learn. The enrichment and the empowerment I will continue to have each day at college.

Tactile smile and 90 Love!!
Patty oxox

Hi all!

2009-04-22T10:16:00.003-04:00

I'm back after a personal leave from blogging for several reasons. I had to focus on several priorities namely my personal downtime and 90 Love. I had to really make time for myself, my downtime and especially hubby and my Friday date nights. We had been sorely missing out on those focusing on 90 Love and other community commitments.

We love our community commitments and have been dedicating ourselves to them. We just love the feeling of fulfillment when we accomplish the commitments as the community really appreciates the efforts.

Back to this blog, I've decided to make a separate blog focusing on 90 Love and you can find this blog at 90 Love.http://90love.blogspot.com/

Tactile smile and have a wonderful day dear friends!
90 Love!
Patty oxox

ILY candles and embeds

2009-02-23T14:47:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, I've been busy making ILY candles and embeds for the 90 Love booth at various locations.

I think they came out great and just love how they smell and look! I made everything you see in the two pictures. They're all for fundraising and safe to say the whole weekend our flat smelled really nice! Green Tart Apple, Blossom Fields, Hawaiian Dreams and Citrus Oil.

I used spring scents so they would rejuvenate the senses after the dull winter!

Those candles will come attached with a leather string and a ILY pendant.

Tactile smile!
Patty

More memory wire bracelets & pendants

2009-02-19T20:18:00.002-05:00

Those are for the 90 Love booth at the Mayfest event that I mentioned about at the previous blog entry. I really enjoyed myself making those and they are great beading therapy.

Tactile smile!
Patty

Pendants

2009-02-16T13:45:00.002-05:00

Today I made pendants as I made one for myself and just loved how they turned out.

Hubby and I will be going to Mayfest and setting up the 90 Love booth with other DeafBlind artists/craftisans.

This is what I've done so far with the pendants, I like how they've turned out. These will go for $2.00 each and I will look for really good quality leather strands to attach with those.

Tactile smile to all!
Hugs,
Patty

More beautiful glass beading products

2009-02-15T17:36:00.002-05:00

$10 USD necklace

$10 USD pet collar

$20 USD bracelet/necklace set

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$10 USD bracelet

$5 USD bookmark

FRONT

BACK

$5.00 USD eyeglasses holder

Beautiful glass bracelets

2009-02-08T19:18:00.004-05:00

I used a different variety of beads in those bracelets this time and wanted to use precious gems. I used jade, hematite, amethyst, red coral, blackstone, tiger's eyes, turquoise and other beautiful glass beads. I hope you enjoy the beautiful bracelets as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

**SOLD**

[glass, jade]

**SOLD**

[very heavy glass]

$10 bracelet

[red coral, blackstone, glass]

$10 bracelet

[turquoise, glass and gold]

$10 bracelet

[hematite, turquoise, glass and silver]

$10 bracelet

[glass and silver]

$10 bracelet

[glass, blackstone, silver and amethyst]

$10 bracelet

[glass, red coral, hematite]

$10 bracelet

[very heavy glass, gold and variegated beads]

$10 bracelet

[jade, gold and glass]

$5.00

[tiger's eyes]

Child's bracelet -$3.00

[glass and silver]

I'd really like to thank my husband Christopher for his amazing photography skills as he truly captured the beauty of the beads in those pictures.

Glass beads and the beauty of them

2009-02-05T20:50:00.005-05:00

I've been doing a lot more glass beads bracelets and making sets as well.

Beading therapy I highly recommend it because it is excellent for hand/eye coordination. Of course I may have the most costliest therapy as I just paid over $100 but I love it! I use glass as it is easiest to work with. The texture is smooth and the seed beads has to be glass too.

It's a personal preference of mine because glass is easier to pick up, handle and manipulate when working with them especially when I'm working with memory wire.

Hubby, bless his heart, he took pictures of the bracelets, necklaces, bracelet/necklace set and a pet collar I've made. They came out great! I am very impressed with the colour choices as they are so vibrant.

The money that I sell will all go to 90 Love, a non profit support group for the DeafBlind community. The DeafBlind community needs to socialise more with the Deaf community so it is my personal goal to use 90 Love as a common bridge for both communities to socialise together.

Enjoy the pictures as I definitely enjoyed making them!
Tactile smile,
Patty

Pet collar $8.00

Necklace/Bracelet/earring $12.00 set [earring not shown]

Bracelets $10.00

SOLD

Child's Bracelet $5.00

Necklace $10.00

Beading Therapy

2009-02-02T10:37:00.004-05:00

Over the week and the past weekend, I've been doing a lot of beading and making memory wire bracelets. It's wonderful therapy I tell you! I call it "beading therapy" as those who are here to view my blog knows I am an "emotional eater" and still struggle with it growing up. It's very easy to "emotion eat" to escape from the issues that bothers me but it doesn't mean I am resolving them.

I had therapy and emotional eating was what I learned that didn't help so I had to find other coping methods and beading therapy came from this. It's beautiful. Quite relaxing and helps me focus, learn to be patient because stress does a lot on your body and if you're all tense, you're not able to hold a bead especially when it is a glass bead.

I love using glass beads because the designs are always beautiful and the texture is smooth. Memory wire I use all the time as I started off using crafting wire a long time ago but couldn't get the desired shape. Some would break until memory wire was what I wanted and stuck with it.

I hope you enjoy the visual aspect whereas I loved the tactile aspect of beading therapy.

Tactile smile to all and with love,
Patty oxox

A cute joke I came across today!!

2009-01-20T19:56:00.004-05:00

Life Lessons

Life Lesson# 45893 = Always check your child's homework before it gets to school!

When asked to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up, second-grader Sarah turned in the lovely drawing shown below. Needless to say, the teacher was a bit surprised -- Mrs. Smith had always seemed like such a conservative woman. So she sent a note home to the girl's mother asking for clarification as to the picture's meaning. (Read Mom's reply below the picture)

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

Today I was killing time making a necklace & earring set and a bracelet as well. I loved how they came out. They're just so pretty and vivid purple as well. Tactile smile!

Cold weather means staying indoors!!

2009-01-19T21:51:00.007-05:00

The weather these days have been just too cold these days! BRRR! As of now it is -12 C with the high windchill making it much colder than it really is.

Hubby and I have been staying indoors lately because it is just too cold to go outside. We've been cooking lots of hearty food to keep ourselves warm, yum!

I've picked up a new hobby and it's jewelery making. A cute hobby for the meantime and I enjoy it. It can be a headache at times because the beads are so tiny so I use a needle to help me guide the beads into the string and it works!

The dollar store is fantastic for the beads, accessories and I've made several items. See what you think! They'll make great gifts for friends.. just for them and because they're special!

Limited edition of candles

2009-01-15T22:50:00.003-05:00

Tonight I was thinking about Valentine's Day and how I could do something to cheer up a sweet friend of mine. She reads this blog and if I mention her name she will know what she is getting. Ha ha ha, you..you, you and you! I'm not going to say what you are getting!

I was hemming and hawwing over what to make for Valentine's Day and what to give to my sweet friend until something popped up in my mind. I read up about this and tried it tonight. Lo and behold, it came up quite nicely for a first time try! I had hubby take pictures for me.

What do you think of this? It's Cheesecake candles and it smells great!

Wooky completes the family

2009-01-15T20:30:00.003-05:00

We've been anticipating the arrival of our sweet little Wooky for quite a while. I've been posting about her on Facebook and Dawn, my good friend would keep us updated about how Wooky and her brothers/sisters were growing up & coming along.

Who exactly is Wooky? She is the most beautiful lop-eared rabbit and probably the most affectionate one I've ever had in my life. Growing up, my family had all kinds of animals including rabbits. Albino and dwarf rabbits were what we always had but not lop-eared ones until I had Wooky. Now I really wish we had lop-eared ones because their ears are just something I love playing with. What I mean by playing with is that I love to kiss and feel the ears. The shapes and you can see the texture of the ears, if you tickle a spot behind Wooky's ears, she will kick her behind legs as it's a sensitive & ticklish spot for her.

At first Mosey and Ashy wasn't sure how to receive their new sibling. Ashy took slowly to Wooky and accepted her. Mosey struggled with dominance issues. I was quite surprised because I thought it would be Ashy with the dominance issues as she bosses Mosey around.

Mosey would stalk and bully Wooky to the point I would pick up Mosey and reassure him he was not being replaced. Poor Mosey would tuck his ears down and I knew he was upset because he was going through this twice already. First Ashy second Wooky. Now Wooky and Mosey are just fast friends. Mosey loves to lick her ears.

All three of them are tuckered out. Ashy is in her cat house, Mosey's sleeping on top of the blue rocker and Wooky's grooming herself on the window ledge. Each time Wooky grooms herself this means she's going to sleep.

A beautiful picture Chris took of both Mosey and Ashy.

Ashy, of course, was hiding in her favourite spot.. under the blue rocker!

Memories

2009-01-13T12:54:00.002-05:00

Memories are what creates & shapes us and our friendships.

Last night I had a great chat with a long-lost friend that I reconnected with. It was really great sharing really fond memories with Jeanine. At first I was a bit nervous, excited and overwhelmed.

It was like the first day of school all over again, you're not sure what to expect but this is the same friend I shared a lot of my life experiences with. Marriage, divorce and a lot of very personal life experiences. Quite a lot of dark paths she was on with me, giving support and I went on a different path by myself because I had to take care of myself.

Through Facebook, we re-connected and it was great.. really amazing to see how we both have gone through so much. There was always something missing in my life and it was that special bond.. the friendship.

We always have our own friendships but it was THAT friendship I mourned when we were apart. Last night it was amazing reconnecting and it was as if we were together in the same room typing in AIM.

A lot of questions were asked and answered. For once, we both were on the same plane and we both related together and now I have a deep profound respect for my friend.

This is for you, dear Jeanine. Remember when I mentioned to you that it hurted to look at you because it was looking right at the mirror.

Here's to you, my twin. I love you.

Happy Birthday J9!

2009-01-11T15:01:00.002-05:00

This blog entry is dedicated to a very special friend of mine as today is her birthday. J9 is a good friend of mine and she not only teaches me braille and intervenes for me.. she's also a good person to be with. She's really funny, she has vim, verve and vitality.

A beautiful aura around her and you just want to be with her and be in her presence. Happy Birthday girl!

Today I was going to do some scrapping but wouldn't you know it, Mosey wanted nothing of it and disrupted everything I did. He'd sit on my lap and purr. He'd either headbutt me or sit on the box where I do the scrapping and then paw on the box so I'd let him inside the box. Sure enough he wanted inside the box so I can flip it over for him.

I just knew my plans for a whole afternoon for scrapping would be out of the window. Hubby said I simply enable him.. true about that. I packed up everything and Mosey was happy to help me by playing with some of the scrapping things. Now where's Mosey? He's sleeping with Ashy. She can do no wrong until I sleep.. ha ha!

Wooky.. we'll wait and see! We have a zoo here but of course growing up, I came from a zoo so what's new!

As I was putting the things away, I asked hubby to help take pictures as he does photography much better than I do. You see, I love sharing ideas and tips with people that's cost-effective and "wallet-friendly", big smiles! Growing up, I knew what it was like to be under the poverty line because my family grew up poor even though my parents would say they weren't.

Hubby and I are under the poverty line and we make do with what we have. We do our Christmas shopping very early and when we do our gifts, we make them rather than buy them.

I decided to do a year of cost-effective gifts starting two this month. Here's the first one with step by step pictures. Quite easy if I can do it, then you can!

All you need are the Christmas bargain clearances from either The Body Shop and/or Bath and Body Works oils. They go for $4.00 sometimes and when they do go for really cheap prices, grab them by the dozen!! You will thank yourself later!

Go to Dollarama (Canada) and/or Dollar Tree (USA) and get several bamboo skewers (they are used for the BBQ) and save some leftover fabric bits and pieces. You can even go to a fabric store and ask for leftover bits, they will gladly give to you for free!

I have Blue Spruce from The Body Shop and they were on deep clearance two years ago. Hubby and I grabbed a whole lot and put them away. We are really thankful we did that.

Cut three skewers in the middle.

Tie a blue ribbon in the middle to hold the skewers together. Make sure you insert the jagged edges inside the jar.

Remove the plastic stopper from the vial at the top with the scissors and be careful too. (Ignore the sink! I'm environmentally friendly and only fill it up to wash the dishes once a day!)

Insert the jagged edges of the skewers into the oil bottle for better presentation.

Ta-da! You have yourself a very cost-effective and wallet-friendly, kid & pet friendly room deodrizer!

Best of all.. the Noel deodrizer isn't all so lonesome by itself now! Ha ha!

Those lasts a good 3 months and when the oil evaporates, it is absorbed by the skewers. The skewers lasts much longer and the scent lasts longer. It is about a good 4 months and I recycle the whole thing.

If I camped outdoors, I would have thrown the skewers into the fire for a fragrant scent.

Watch for my next cost-effective and wallet-friendly project.

Tactile smile!
Patty oxox

Cranky, crotchety, crabby...

2009-01-06T12:21:00.002-05:00

Cranky, crotchety, crabby...

I'm just feeling plain and simple ... Cranky, crotchety, crabby.

Bless hubby's heart. He moved the TV from the living room to the bedroom so I could lay in bed and not be bored out of my mind. We're watching Richard Pryor oldies.

"Car Wash" - watching that & typing this entry.

I'll be honest as this past week has been quite tough on me emotionally. I have to tell myself in my mind to try not to use my emotions to make my decisions. To use my mind to make decisions logically and make decisions wisely, not emotionally.

I am appreciative that I had my intervenor with me, she is what I call my good friend now. Dawn intervened for me at the doctor's appointment and I'm able to fully communicate with the doctor now with no apprehensions.

The doctor agreed with me that my anxiety medication needed to be increased the double dosage. Effexor had been working then my vision diminished and my anxiety had been worsening because I would only go out with people I trusted. People like my husband, Chris, Dawn and other people that I communicated my boundaries/limitations with.

Those circle of people, I would say are quite small... unfortunately not even my immediate family realises how bad my anxiety is. This past Christmas I was not able to be really involved with the conversations and relied on Chris to tactile for me/keep me involved in ASL conversations.

This was what sent me for a downfall because in a way I don't think I was emotionally prepared for it. I was logically prepared, yes, emotionally prepared. I honestly don't think anyone is ever prepared for their own family's disconnection.

The disconnection is never intentional.. it just is.

Usually it takes families the longest time to reconnect as a new unit because communicating is a whole new ballgame.

Yeah, that'd explain why I'm really cranky, crotchety, crabby today....it feels better typing this out.

I know I'm not the only one who experiences this "alienation".

Tactile smile and 90 Love!
Patty oxox

Personal goals and aspirations for 2009

2009-01-02T18:53:00.002-05:00

Hello beautiful people!

I'm terribly sorry for being so tardy with my own blog, you see.. I just have no excuse at all! I'm hopelessly hooked on Facebook and in love with this beautiful thing called "reconnecting".

My goodness, reconnecting with old and new friends just brings back wonderful memories for me. The year 2008 practically flew by and now 2009 has arrived.

Facebook brought a lot of friendships closer and for me, I am appreciative because I was able to meet a lot of wonderful people through this place.

Children I babysat for has now grown up & have children of their own as well. Wow, I tell you this. I feel old. Little children I recall fondly would terrorise the living hell out of me now have moved on to graduate and become doctors, photographers, journalists, computer graphic artists and best of all... parents.

It warms my heart to look into their profiles and their pictures of them with their children. The wee children I look at in the pictures I have to remind myself are the offspring of the children I babysat. They just emulate their parents AND their grandparents so much!

Personal goals and aspirations for 2009.. normally I don't do goals such as losing 50 lbs for 2009 or go on a world-wide cruise trip or so on. I set realistic small goals for myself to accomplish because losing my vision has taught myself to aspire for goals I have always wanted but never set myself to reach for.

I aspired for a support group for DeafBlind people that had no requirements or certain set of expectations such as "Usher's Syndrome". I wanted a support group for both Deaf and DeafBlind to socialise together. 90 Love was built on this common ground for both Deaf and DeafBlind to support each other.

Another personal aspiration for myself was to do more DeafBlind advocacy. Through DeafBlind advocacy I can reach out for more need into Literacy Empowerment.

I grew up with a profound love of literacy. Reading and writing was my escape. My escape from almost everything. Literacy Empowerment I personally believe so many Deaf people can have a beautiful influence in this field.

With both ASL and English, I would love for both DeafBlind and Deaf people to share their life experiences through Literacy Empowerment.

Tactile love to all,
Patty OXOX

The beautiful power of v/blogging!

2008-12-03T10:52:00.002-05:00

The medium nowadays is v/blogging and the power behind it is just so resounding. I want to spotlight this entry on an amazing DB advocate, a beautiful human being, someone who really cares for humanity and travels all over the world.

Miss Coco, known to all as Tactile The World, YouTube'stactiletheworld and to ours (hers and mine) DB family, Miss Coco Chanel.

She's something I tell you. I have never been so moved, inspired, in awe of something beautiful like I was last night. I cannot lie, fib or embellish. Yes, I stood besides the elevator in the Royal Cheshire Apartments Social Room as the OUSA Christmas social was held.

Lord help me, I know I was blocking the elevator access but I wanted first access to Coco all to myself!! As soon as I felt the air pressure change on my right, I knew the elevator door opened, I looked to my right and there she was!

Misty Kehler brought Coco in and I just beelined right to her, well... more like jumped right in Coco's arms!

I properly introduced myself and Coco introduced Misty to me "This is Misty.." and I ended her sentence as " ... Kehler." Coco was surprised and I signed "I remember Misty Kehler from either Xanga or Wordpress.. one of your blogs. Blogging is so powerful!"

If I can recall.. Misty replied "Yes, wow.. so powerful!" Coco and Misty bid their adieus.

Back to the point of this entry, after a great evening with Miss Coco, I arrived at a realisation. I actually had inspired other people at the CNIB's Christmas social. I admit I was bashful and shy at the comments when others came forward to me and exclaimed to me "You wrote all those words in your blog?!"

I'd reply "Yup, I love blogging, great way to express my feelings." Others would say "Wow, you express with those words!"

Now that I think back about it, a few people at last week's CNIB Christmas party were inspired by my blog. I mentioned to them that I am constantly inspired by everyday people doing everyday actions. Those people inspire me.

My DeafBlind family inspire me with their determination to live life fully. Miss Coco inspires me to advocate for equal rights between DB and sighted/hearing people.

This is how beautiful this medium is, the strong power this is. The tsunami effect within the communities. To call it a ripple effect would not do the beauty of the hard work justification but to call it a tsunami effect absolutely perfects it.

Just for you my dear Miss Coco, Namaste.
90 love
Patty oXoX

I did a very terrible thing..

2008-11-20T10:26:00.003-05:00

I really wish I would learn more about patience.

I did a terrible thing to my husband and I feel awful about it. You see, DH has the best intentions at heart.. always. At the heat of the moment, I know I can bite his head off with a scowl, a snap or a bark.

This time, I did the worst. I yelled at him and hollered "WHAT?!" way before he even was going to say or get my attention. I don't like it, I don't even like me or myself now. I don't like what I see in the mirror. It's ugly.

I can't wait for DH to come home from the store as I need to apologise to him.

The real meaning of patience

2008-11-18T20:07:00.002-05:00

Patience- "pay-shunce" as pronounced by me. I "Wiki'ed" up the meaning if patience and got this,

Patience (ˈpā-shənz) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

Sometimes I wonder if my patience is being tested these days. My husband, bless his heart, I know I test his patience when I'm whining or being cranky. Chris, what a real gentleman, he listens and encourages me to think positive.

If you recall the last entry, I went through quite a challenging visit at the hospital as I didn't have an intervenor to interpret for me. Chris was able to interpret for me in between us using the pen and paper with the on-call emergency neuro-ophthalmologist at the E.R.

Today I got an email from the ophthalmologist's secretary as the ophthalmologist was away on holidays but wanted to know how I was doing and how everything was going. It is nice to know that the doctors do care about how things are progressing.

I do have an appointment to go to London, ON to see another neuro-ophthalmologist as the visual fields test I had was drastically different than the one I had less than a year ago.

This does teach me a lot about patience. Movies with subtitles are much more appreciated than movies with Closed Captioning because subtitles are much more easier to read than Closed Captioning.

I love my quality time with Chris and our furkids. When we all sit and relax, this is when I do really unwind. We have a standard bed and it is really small for all 4 of us. We all want a king sized bed and this would be amazing for all of us. We could live in our bedroom!

I'm staying here but my eyes and mind's going places!

2008-11-14T18:18:00.003-05:00

It's been an overwhelming week safe to say. I've been staying put but my mind & eyes have been going places without my permission and I'm not a happy camper about this.

Trying to deal with a constantly racing mind and diminishing vision is something for me to learn about myself and my patience. I can appreciate how I can tolerate how much I can go as far as I can without showing my frustrations. It's hard, believe me.

Wednesday, I went for my ophthalmologist appointment at 2 pm and I thought it was routine. Check my vision using the Visual Fields test and a couple of simple tests with the student teachers and off I was on my way. Nope, it was totally opposite. Since I failed the visual fields test, my left eye compared to the last test I had, it shows rapid progression of my failing eyesight.

The doctors tried a newer prescription that I was going to have filled but decided to wait out because with my history of diminishing eyesight, I elected to wait. It turned out my decision to wait was best. The newer prescription didn't work for me.

I explained to the ophthalmologist that for the left eye,6 months ago it was like looking through sheer drapery, right now, it is like looking through silk drapery. Just so hard to try to make out who is who. Faces I cannot do, shapes I can if they are white shapes.

The ophthalmologist jotted down on paper with such seriousness on his face, "I am very worried about the high intracranial pressure. We must send you to the hospital for more testings now."

I was puzzled because I normally have an intervenor from the CNIB with me at my appointments. My regular one is on her honeymoon and the substitute replaced her called in sick & tried hard to find a replacement but to no avail. I went ahead without no intervenor.

Hubby and I arrived at St. Mary's Hospital around 4:30 pm. A battery of tests and by 10:30 pm, the doctor wanted to transfer me to another hospital for an MRI. I was way past physically exhausted and now to the point of being emotionally exhausted.

I was praying and hoping to be released first before I was transferred to another hospital because I needed to really sleep in my own bed and get a lot of rest as well. I was medicated already with Ativan and a strong narcotic that just knocked the senses out of me.

Hubby and I got home after 11:30 pm and I just wanted to crawl into bed but before we did, he made us something light to eat so I could have something in my tummy.

I slept until 10 am and was exhausted. The hospital called and informed I had an MRI appointment at the other hospital so I had to phone CNIB to make sure I had an intervenor for this appointment. Safe to say, I slept the whole day and night away.

Today, my CNIB intervenor arrived and drove me to the other hospital for the MRI. I was just still tired, groggy-feeling as well. At the hospital, I had to fill out forms, make sure that I was aware of the MRI machine, I informed the technician that I was going to take Ativan because I'm terribly claustrophobic of small enclosures.

The MRI, is a small and tight enclosure for me to be inside!! Ativan and an injection dye into the IV , 45 minutes long, pretty much I just slept inside the MRI enclosure. Today is just an odd feeling of not being present with the surroundings.

Today is Mosey's Happy Gotcha Day and we went to Bark and Fitz to get him presents. I just wasn't feeling well so Chris did most of the things for me. Bless my family! I don't know what I could have done without my husband and our two furkids!

Hubby did a wonderful thing for me to show how my vision is. Before I used to see (both eyes) it used to be like looking through two toilet paper rolls. Now for me, my left eye has no vision. The right eye is so limited. It is like looking at one toilet paper roll right in the middle of the face.

With this setback and all the hospital testings/visits, I hope there's nothing serious with the high intracranial pressure. All I do know from the ophthalmologists, the optometrists and the doctors I saw in the few days, I have been told to take it easy. I am due to go back to London, ON for the Ivey Eye Institute because this is a very serious concern.

Hugs to you all my dear friends. I have been checking you all on your blogs.

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

O'Canada!

2008-11-02T10:37:00.001-05:00

You Are Canada

You are a very tolerant person. You appreciate diversity and consider yourself a multiculturalist.

You are also very community oriented. You think it's important to help those around you have a better life.

You're uniquely you. You have been able to resist bad influences and stay true to yourself.

You are usually confident in who you are, but occasionally you have a little inferiority complex.

What Country Are You?

Christmas is around the corner!!

2008-10-26T14:29:00.002-04:00

Hi friends!

Christmas is around the corner - 59 days exactly! Here's the official countdown.

Wouldn't you know it, I even googled and found Santa Claus' own blog! If the kids aren't listening, sit them by the PC and have them check up Santa Claus!!

I have my own two personal Kitty Claws helping me with Christmas already and boy they are big helps.. NOT! When I'm busy crafting, they're right in my way helping me. Bless their heart, they just want to assist but sneak off with a craft or two to play with!

I have started on Christmas shopping much earlier this year due to financial burdens. I have to admit that this year has been really hard on everyone, not just us but everyone around us financially. Chris and I have decided to do personalised Christmas gifts.

Our families will be receiving personalised gifts as well as store bought. We prefer crafting because that's where the love goes into. We have two more gifts to buy (clothes) and we are all set! It's really interesting to see people at the store buying Halloween decorations when I just can't wait to get out the Christmas decorations! Hubby told me, more like warned me, that he will toss out the Christmas decorations if I put them out before Halloween is over.

It's a tradition in my family that Christmas decorations are up by Nov 1st. Yes, I know it's really early but we just love Christmas very much. Chris and I, being Christians, we firmly believe Christ should be celebrated everyday, not at Christmas time.

(Hubby next to me is griping like Mr Grinch because I'm acting like an immature little girl, ROFL!)

Christmas cooking can be a beautiful time for the family to share. I do grab this time of the year I admit when I see my nieces and nephews. I just grab each and every opportunity I had and have with them. I would do just about any crafting or cooking opportunities with my special nieces and nephews. It was about making memories and creating new memories as well.

Christmas isn't supposed to be about rushing to grab the newest gadgets or fads. It's supposed to be about creating memories, getting together with families, friends and loved ones. Here's a link for easy recipes for children - enjoy!

Christmas crafting doesn't have to be costly. I prefer saving my money when it comes to crafting and you can be very surprised at how easy and cheap beautiful gifts can be when you find things around the house can be transformed into wonderful gifts.

If you have old tshirts laying around, flannel shirts or old pieces of clothing children have outgrown or damaged. Use those and cut them up into long strips. Here in Canada, we use Dollarama. In USA, it is called Dollar Tree. You will find boxes of string lights that are only for a dollar. Grab boxes of those!! You can find them during Halloween times as well, orange string lights. I grabbed several boxes of those at Dollarama (orange string lights and made beautiful festive Thanksgiving lights)

Dollarama and Dollar Tree will carry white or multi coloured string lights. When you cut the long strips of fabric, be sure to tie the strings on the wire. They make beautiful gifts that children can give to their parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles or teachers. It's such a wonderful sense of accomplishment that children can have and feel knowing they made the gifts themselves.

I posted this picture in my last post and you can see what I mean by the string lights.

This kind of craft is wonderful for multi-dexterity as well, it teaches how to use both hands, use their fingers and it is a wonderful lesson in patience, persistence and perseverance. My favourite 3 P's!

Do take care dear ones and I will keep in touch. The cluster migraines have been keeping me away from blogging. Check for me in the next day or two and I have so much to talk about!

Tactile smile with lots of love,
Patty oxox'ies!

Been busy these days!!

2008-09-22T15:00:00.004-04:00

Hi friends!!

I've been busy these days making so many crafts, my eyesight also hasn't been with me for the past few weeks as well. I've not been online as much as I used to because the focus is hard on my eyes.

I've been learning Braille and it's very interesting, something that has been coming in handy for me.

I've been going to be early these days which is a big difference for me. I usually hit the hay around 10 pm and wake up around 6 am.

I spend the whole day making crafts, they are usually OOAKs. One of a kinds, sewing, quilting and I have been sewing lavender sachets.

Oh I enjoy sewing lavender sachets for a friend of mine and I acquired her beautiful homegrown lavender. I sewed a personal size sachet for Chris and I to put under our pillow and we just love the healing effects of lavender. They do help with sleeping.

Enjoy the OOAKs and the craft pictures!

This Saturday I will be doing a Purrfect Scents party and looking forward to seeing people's facial expressions when they smell my products and their hands touching the products as well. My products are meant to be enjoyed by smelling and touching not just by seeing them.

Tactile smile,
Patty oXoX

DeafBlind Accessibility

2008-09-08T08:19:00.002-04:00

I wanted to do a video showing accessibility in my daily life and did a 10 min video however it was cut into 4 minutes, I will have to do the other 6 minutes in two videos. My apologies!

I wanted to share insight into a DB perspective, tactile love to all!

Patty OXOX'ies

New products and silicone molds

2008-08-31T21:30:00.002-04:00

I've been very busy these days making a lot more candle products and now it's time to post pictures to show what I've been making.

Green Apple

Pumpkin Spice

Apple Jack

I also make embeds for the candles. I simply pour extra wax after pouring the wax from candlemaking into an unused cookie sheet that has expired its purpose. I use cookie cutters just for candlemaking. You can get them at Walmart's for only 97 cents or at a dollar store. It's just as good as using a fancy shmancy cookie cutter, you only want to have a sharp edge at the end.

Cut the wax when it is semi-soft, not when it is hardened. If you cut when it is hard, you can expect the wax to break. Cut when it is semi-soft and you can peel off the excess wax from the outside. Don't toss out the excess wax. Put it in a ziploc baggie and keep it for another purpose. Want not, waste not, my dears!!

I was so lucky to get a hold of this beautiful "ILY" silicone mold from a beautiful friend of mine. Her name is Michelle Schoppe Dupre and she does candlemaking as well. She does embeds. You can find her beautiful website where you can find her own beautiful personalised artwork of the ILY sign. I was thrilled to pieces when she sold me her "ILY" silicone molds and she kept 2 to herself. I wanted this kind because it is 3D as well. It is just perfect for fundraising for the CNIB.

Being DeafBlind, texture is so important for me and to learn that this silicone mold is 3D, I just had to grab this. This entry is for Michelle as this mold I just know will bring funds into fundraising. Thank you so much Michelle (deaffreckles) Tactile love to you, girl!

9 cavities each mold and I have two.. still so happy to have ordered it!!

An upclose picture of this mold.

Rosehip & cinnamon wreaths

2008-08-16T20:57:00.002-04:00

Last night and tonight I made two cinnamon & rosehips wreaths, oh the scent is so heavenly! One is "Cinnamon" scented and the other is "Grandma's Kitchen" scented.

These will sell quite well when I get my business license and the Farmer's Market booth in the new year.

Rusty stars & rosehips

2008-08-14T11:27:00.002-04:00

A beautiful sunny day today! (SMILE!) It's 21 C and how are you doing beautiful friends?

Last night I sewed a model apron/smock for a wonderful friend of mind, Laurie, who works with animals. Oh she's a constant source of inspiration for me. Laurie works with rescue animals and she rehomes them after she rehabilitates them. Bless her heart, I'd want to keep them all to myself. You see, Laurie is the perfect person for me to test the apron/smock as I needed someone to try out the durability of the material as well as the comfort. It's very important for me to have feedback.

Front

Back

Since starting Purrfect Scents, I have been doing a lot of sewing and hand-sewing. Last night I hand-sewed two matching doilies to stuff heavily-scented rosehips into the doilies. Oh the scent is so heavenly! I added a plaid fabric string to hang it up. This will sell quickly!

I love rusty stars and hearts. This particular shape I really like very much as you can see it from a distance especially if you hang it up. You can see my sweet Ashy in the picture and who was I to shoo her out of the picture? (smile!)

My sweet Ashy in all her full glory.. this one is not for sale! LOL

Hello beautiful friends!

2008-08-13T11:36:00.002-04:00

Hi hi hi! How are you and your creativity juices doing?

I'm doing very good and have been quite busy lately. My sister and her family visited us & I've been thrilled to see them as it has been a while since I saw them. My nephew Jake enjoyed himself in Newfoundland for the Canadian Youth Deaf Games and my niece Kaylacame back from Argentina since competing for the World Deaf Volleyball Games. My nephew Kyle will be going to soccer camp very soon. They are very busy!

The past few days I have been sewing and doing coffee-staining. I had been struggling with holding and carrying my cane when I am sitting down on the city bus or visiting family/friends. I usually put my cane inside my purse and it can be awkward so I decided to sew a little carry-on for my cane. It has worked wonders for me so I will sew more for other blind people if they need it or not.

I had several doilies and they were too plain white for me. Back in the olden times, women would tea-stain their doilies or tablecloths because of the food stains. I took it upon myself to coffee-stain them rather than tea-stain for more darker colour.

I used a three step process for this. I used instant coffee grounds, boiling hot water and cinammon in the sink. I pretty much allowed the doilies to "marinate" in the sink for half-hour to achieve the colour I wanted. I washed it with cold water and hang it to dry then rewashed it with vinegar to set the stain. Hang to dry and I then washed it again with water and fragrance oil to remove the vinegar-y scent. The scent was Apple N Oak. Oh it smells good and looks really vintage!

I received a huge box of fabric from a friend I had ordered from. I love her stuff as she is the one I order my silicone bulbs from. I had an hour to spare before bedtime so I whipped up an apron from a simple pattern. It looks cute! The pattern was quite plain so I added flowers at the pocket part and now it looks even cuter!

Do share what you have done! I love to "see/hear" what you have done!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Two Things (Tagged by Heather)

2008-08-06T22:03:00.002-04:00

I have been tagged by Heather, a very sweet friend of mine that has fiery red hair, she is such a good Mum!

Two names you go by:
1. Patty
2. Sweet Cinnabuns (hubby calls me this)

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. white shirt
2. green pants

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. candlemaking
2. prims

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. vision back in my left eye
2. some people to be a wee bit more patient about DeafBlind people and the white cane.

Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. Mosey- British Shorthair male cat
2. Ashy- Russian Blue female cat

Two things you did yesterday
l. made Halloween candle tarts
2. cleared up space to organise room for fragrance oils

Two things you ate today:
1. homemade bbq chicken pizza
2. chocolate eggies

Two people you last talked to:
1. Dawn (my interventor)
2. My hubby

Two things you plan on doing tomorrow:
1. make more Halloween candles
2. experiment with scents/colours

Two longest trips taken in the last five years:
1. I flew to see Kootchie from Toronto, ON to Salt Lake City, UT. We drove to several states and enjoyed our time together seeing so many places.
2. Hubby and I drove around to many places together during our honeymoon and we were totally exhausted and it wasn't because of our bedroom extracurricular activities!

Two favorite holidays:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas

Two favorite beverages:
1. Canada's Dry Gingerale
2. Carbonated water

Now it is your turn!

Candles, tarts and canning

2008-07-31T14:45:00.002-04:00

Hello my beautiful friends!

I'm terribly sorry for not posting in my own blog for over a week! Such a bad blogger.. me! Heh heh!

I've been making more candles and now I've also made tarts as well. I've given a candle and few tarts to Dawn, my intervenor, that comes every Wednesday. I have Dawn for three hours every Wednesday and let me tell you this, she is a lifesaver!

Dawn helps me a lot in many ways that I couldn't do with an interpreter. She is both my ears and eyes whereas an interpreter is my ears. Dawn helps me with driving, shopping and this accomplishes a lot more. Dawn is also a good friend of mine now as well. I feel so at ease with her to sit down and chat. This is what I really like. FIKA'ing with her at Starbucks and so on (She has the most incredible animated facial expressions that I adore!) Mosey loves her and if he could, he would pack up his treats and move in with her if he had the opportunity! I kid you not. He lays on his back to invite her for a tummy rub. (Mosey is the cat.. if you were wondering!) :o)~

Yesterday and today I've been doing canning & I just love it. Although the heat in the apartment is hot but I just love the feeling of accomplishment! Yesterday I made 4 plum jellies and today I made 2 crazyberry jellies & 4 crazyberry jams.

I had yellow plums from Food Basics as it was on sale, just did not like the taste of it. It was too sour for me so I boiled the plums to take the skins off and mushed them up to take the seeds out. For 3 cups of plum mush, I used 5 cups of sugar. I also made sure I used lime juice. (I didn't have lemon juice) For this kind of fruit, you do want to use citric juice to prevent fruit browning. You could use Fruit Fresh powder but personally I prefer citric juice as it's much more pure and it's natural. (It's much more cheaper to use any citric juice as well!)

For today I used 2 cups of cherries, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup blackberries, 2 cups raspberries and an apple juice drink box. (Yes, an apple juice drink box!) This way I reduce the sugar content I put inside the jelly and jam. I put only 4 cups of sugar inside the jam/jelly mixture because of the apple juice drink box. The apple juice naturally sweetens when cooked and it is really delicious!

For the jelly, I used muslin cloth to sieve out the seeds and used 2 jars for the jelly. I used the remaining 4 jars for jams but removed the thick chunks and left in the tiny bit of berry seeds.

I'm not fond of chunky jam and seed jams as well. I love jellies more than jams.

The next jelly I will make is cherry jelly and this is very easy to make as I will use apple juice concentrate to naturally sweeten the jelly.

Last week I made candles and tarts. They were quite easy to do. I had Chris take pictures for me because I wanted to show the belly bands I sewed as well.

Belly Bands for incontinent dogs

Front

Back

Velcro Snap

The liner insert

The candles and tarts I made last week

A freebie tutorial for you!

To grubby/grungy up your vases- save metal or glass cans (use spaghetti glass jars)

Wash them up well and let dry. Use Modge Podge as they work best. Coat Modge Podge on your glass really well. Cover the area with unused coffee grounds. (I added cinnamon to the mixture for scent) Do not bang the jar otherwise the mixture will fall off. Allow time for the mixture to adhere. 24 hours is best. Bang jar lightly. Coat Modge Podge on the jar for the glossy finish. Allow 24 hours for the coat to dry. Tie with ribbon.

Hello dear friends!

2008-07-23T20:38:00.002-04:00

Hello my dear friends!

So sorry for the tardiness in my blogging!! I have been quite busy these days sewing and making crafts. I will have to have DH take pictures of my crafts.

I've been sewing belly bands, making grubby grungy jars and tonight I've been making layered candles. I've made 8 layered candles, 4 is Fall theme scent and the other 4 is Winter theme scent. Ohhh, our flat smells heavenly!!

I'm making the candles wickless so the mason jars can be put on the coffee mug warmer. I use the coffee mug warmer to heat up my candles safely.

The mason jars I use, they are for canning but I love the texture on the jars and the "MASON" logo as well. So primitive and fitting for candles as well. Remind me to post directions on how to do grubby grungy jars as they are just so easy-peasy to do.

Grand Opening of Purrfect Scents!

2008-07-20T22:36:00.002-04:00

We are just so thrilled to announce the Grand Opening of Purrfect Scents!! Chris and I have put a lot of energy into Purrfect Scents. We dedicate our philosophy of no animal testing into this and we invite you to check this out.

Thank you so much.

This is how I find my cats!

2008-07-19T20:05:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Daisy!

2008-06-29T12:33:00.002-04:00

My sweet Boston Terrier Daisy is having her birthday and she got a humongous parcel from her boyfriend Stetson, he lives in Arizona. Yes, you read it right. Daisy and Stetson send each other parcels, letters, cards and emails as well. They have such a sweet romance and yet to meet! They look exactly alike only they have different white spots on their face.

DH and I went over my parents' house to give Daisy her parcel and she had a blast inspecting all the toys!

For Daisy from Stetson

"Oh I'm so shy, nervous and excited!"

Fancy tissue paper!

"Woau! Lookydat load of toys! It's my birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and all rolled up in one!"

"Mommy, better help me before I jump out of my skin!"

"Num num, this tastes so good enough to eat!"

*lick lick*

"Better hide my toys!"

"Another one! Dang, I must've been good or something's wrong.. oh heck, who cares! Gimme dat!"

"Tastes good!"

"My handsome man, Stetson"

"Hubba, hubba.. *pant pant*

"Thank yew Mommy for bringing dat parcel for me!" *lick lick*

*suck suck* Dreaming of Stetson...

That's my sweet Daisy, the little sucker.. she still sucks on her stuffies to put herself to sleep. *sighs* Sweet little girl, happy birthday!

A joke

2008-06-22T12:09:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to share a joke with you from this book, "Boots on the Ground", authored by Karl Zinsmeister, that DH is reading.

Noticed DH kept chuckling and he nudged me to read an excerpt of the book and I had to share with you all!

"My senior class was eight. I French-kissed seventy-five percent of the senior class girls before I graduated, and sixty-percent of the girls in the junior class."

"Why Sergeant, I didn't realize you were home-schooled."

This book is authored by Karl Zinsmeister who toured with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Irar for a month to learn about the soldiers' experiences and what they do daily.

What exactly does it feel like to travel with a spirited body of fighting men? To come under fire? To cope with the battlefield stresses of sleep-deprivation, and a steady diet of field rations for weeks on end? Readers of this day-to-day diary are left with not only a flashing sequence of strong mental images, but also a notion of the sounds and smells and physical sensations that make modern military action unforgettable.

Ultimately, Boots on the Ground is a human story: a moving portrayal of the powerful bonds of affection, trust, fear, and dedication that bind real soldiers involved in battle. There are unexpected elements: The humor that bubbles up amidst dangerous fighting. The pathos of a badly wounded young boy. The affection openly exhibited by many American soldiers--love of country, love of family and hometown, love of each other. This is a true-life tale of superbly trained men in extraordinary circumstances, packed with concrete detail, often surpassing fiction for sheer drama.

Boots on the Ground

Catnaps

2008-06-19T18:45:00.002-04:00

Mosey and Ashy just seems to do catnaps the best and when they lay down for their catnaps on our bed, I just want to join them. Usually I do! Their body heat relaxes me and I love how they purr and knead me.

Ashy was a wee little girl when we got her and now she's grown into a little lady. Sometimes Chris has to ask me which one is which! I point and say that's Mosey the little chubby one and Ashy is following suit!

They made great subjects when they were napping, DH went out to get ice-cream as they were still on sale for a dollar. Yes, a dollar! Smarties ice-cream and French Vanilla ice cream! Yummy-o!

If I find them like this, I usually join them! I firmly believe all the world wars would be finished and over with if everyone took catnaps like this. *sighs*

Mosey, my sweet chubby little boy, I love kissing his little feet pads because they're just so soft. I just love cuddling with him and sniffing the feet pads. I'm weird I know. I grew up with Boston Terriers and would always do the same to their feet pads. I guess I have a foot fetish, heh heh!

"Mommy, there's something hiding behind this paw and it ain't a claw!"

Mosey was NOT pleased having his nap interrupted with the constant camera shutter clicking, the light flash in his eyes BUT I wanted to capture the beauty of his eyes.

Ashy, sweet little girl Ashy, she kept her eyes firmly shut!

Of course, being a lady, she sent a much subtle message!!

A picture says a thousand words!!

You can see how much I love my Mosey and Ashy!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Handy tip - credit to Graphic Pretties

2008-06-19T17:54:00.002-04:00

I came across Graphic Pretties from Altered Stuff and I came across a very handy tip!

At the edges of the foil wrap box has a tab on each side that you push in to hold the foil roll to prevent them from popping out when you pull the foil out.

I was reading Graphic Pretties' entry and I was thinking to myself "Must be an American thing" and I just had to go and check it out for myself! Sure enough the foil wrap had that and I was just so pleased to pop those tabs in!

I had to leave an entry in Graphic Pretties to show my appreciation and to share this great tip.

Big thanks and credit goes to Graphic Pretties for this handy tip!

Tactile smile,
Patty

Americana T2Ts

2008-06-17T21:41:00.002-04:00

Tonight I did an Americana T2T in honour of my sweet DH's home. DH is from Dayton, OH and it won't be long until it is the American holidays. I wanted to do something to honour the American holidays and also my DH's country as well.

I came across a paper flag, I just was not going to desecrate a real flag as I am a Canadian and would be upset if someone desecrated the Canadian flag just for a candle.

I had several prims and decided to do an Americana T2T and my sweet Christopher loved it very much.

This beautiful Americana candle has a special place on top of our stove and the light dances quite beautifully at night time.

You`ve been tagged!

2008-06-17T18:05:00.002-04:00

I`ve seen this Tagging going around in some blogs but wasn`t going to wait until I was tagged myself & decided to tag myself.

Here is my twist on the tagging, put down the abc`s of what you like, who you are and what is important to you.

a- aunt,ashy
b- backrubs, brunost
c- chocolate, christopher, communication
d- Vitamin D
e- empathy
f- footsies
g- ghost stories with DH
h- hugging people with throaty hugs
i- intimacy
j- jennifer, janet, jake, joe
k- kayla, kyle
l- loved, love, loving
m- marriage, mein bruder,mosey
n- new things, newfound friendships
o- observation
p- patty with an y, not i, not ie, only a y.
q- quality time
r- relaxation, romance, rediscovery
s- sensuality, sexuality, sweets
t- tactile, touching
u- understanding others
v- victory, vim, verve,vitality
w- wit
x- xylophone - my first toy as a child (the colourful keys, the loud pings)
y- yielding to others
z- zest for life

I am tagging my friends and those who have been tagged, please share your ABCs!

Banner picture credit

2008-06-16T11:55:00.002-04:00

Credit goes out to deafutahhiker for taking wonderful pictures and allowing me to use the clover picture as my new blog banner.

I love nature and animal subjects & using them as banners for my blog headers. Please feel free to drop a comment with your blog link if you want to share your pictures with me.

Alertmaster® 6000 Combo

2008-06-16T10:45:00.004-04:00

I've placed a request with the CNIB for the Alertmaster® 6000 Combo because I have a really important and valuable need for this viable safety model.

The Alertmaster® 6000 Combo has the features I need for the flat.

I will also be getting the personal tactile signaler that comes with the Alertmaster.

Meowy Birthday Daddy!!

2008-06-14T18:22:00.003-04:00

Meowy Birthday Daddy! We sneaked in your laptop when you were sleeping, hee hee! We're not that cute all the time, hee hee.

Purrs and Licks from Mosey and Ashy oxox

Happy Birthday sweetie!! Today's my sweet DH's birthday which is Flag Day in USA. Last night, we had dinner from Lotus Leaf and it was nice. This AM, we got up very early and went grocery shopping at 7 am. It was at the grocers first then at the Farmer's Market. We love going to the Farmer's Market as it's very cheap to get our local fruits and vegetables.

Since our recent scare with Ashy, we have decided to go organic for the whole family's health. Ashy was rushed to the vet's with a badly swollen foot pad and it turned out she is highly allergic to both plastic and household cleaners.

I just made Mexican dinner for Chris' birthday and Ashy & Mosey got Chris two cupcakes with "Dad" on it, it's sweet. I also got Chris a very unique multicoloured rose, it's called "Rainbow Rose".

I wasn't able to take pictures of the cupcakes as they were long gone before I remembered to take pictures, heh heh!

The kids were lounging around enjoying the nice cool air and Chris took this picture, they look like Geminis - Chris' horoscope sign.

A great picture of Chris with Mosey and Ashy, you can see how much Ashy has fattened up since we got her. She was less than 5 lbs when we got her, a real skinny girl and now she's a healthy 9+ lbs lady.

This AM, we saw a "Yard Sale" sign and of course, we just love those and had to stop by. I saw several "T2Ts" potentials but I wanted to barter for the cost first.

The old fashioned clothespins were priced 25 cents each and there were 10 of them. I asked if I make an offer on them, I was glad the lady said sure. I asked if I could get the 10 clothespins for a dollar rather than 25 cents each.

I saw the wood puzzle, they were 50 cents each as well. She gave me the three puzzles for a dollar.

The trees/stars were actually a part of a Christmas sign but broken off. I didn't want the sign but wanted the trees/stars and offered a dollar although the whole sign with trees/stars were still a dollar. Just wanted the parts.

Just paid $3.00 and I have plans to do T2Ts - wind chimes, christmas lights, clothespins lights and I will show you in my blog later on.

I was so pleased to grab them early in the AM as they make great T2Ts potential!

Have a great relaxing weekend and a Happy Father's Day to all fur and skin Fathers!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Uptown Waterloo

2008-06-06T10:41:00.002-04:00

DH and I went to Uptown Waterloo as we love this particular store - Whole Lotta Gelato. We get our weekly treat of delicious concoctions of gelato and I just love the smooth & delicious taste. DH got one scoop last week and I had two, of course, I offered to share but I didn't, heh heh! It was that delicious!

This week DH got two because he wanted the sweet vanilla bean and the oreo gelato. I had the sweet vanilla bean and the cappucino, *drools!*

Are we making you hungry? Good, you're supposed to enjoy those delicious pictures, heh heh! Now feast your eyes on the beautiful background we were able to take in when we enjoyed our gelato.

Many thanks to Whole Lotta Gelato for allowing us to take pictures of their establishment.

We went to Bark & Fitz, (where else!) to get more treats for Princessipia Mia, more catnip for Mosey & Ashy and check out new toys there as well. I just love Bark & Fitz because this store is so bright. They have drapes imprinted with dogs' silhouettes on it and it's just so cute! The aura is so relaxing.

Mosey and Ashy just loves their new toy - it's the laser cat toy and it's $10.00. Worth it, believe me! You point the laser toy to a wall and the picture at the wall is the shape of a mouse. The kids go crazy chasing the mouse silhouette!

You can see how much I love the furkids.. there's a lot of catnip on the carpet! If you see the pink plastic ice cubes, I use them for the cats. I buy them from the dollar store. They make excellent toys for the cats during the hot weather, the cats think it is a toy but it is to cool them down as well. I just wash them after they play and put it back in the freezer and take it out every couple of hours to let the cats play with them. I also put ice cubes in their water to keep them cool. This is a great idea for dogs as well.

DH and I relax for a bit at Starbucks as it was getting a bit hot for me. I needed a place to cool so I pointed to Starbucks as I knew it had A/C. I ordered White Mocha and DH had pop. We shared a dessert. Ohhhh the white mocha, *drools*

DH guzzled his as he was so thirsty!! It was that warm outside with the walking and so on.

Ohhhh taking the time to savour my mocha.. FIKA!!

I asked the gentleman for permission to take his picture and he obliged, was so pleased to be a subject for my photography.

I particularly liked this layout of frames in Starbucks.

Tactile smile to all and have a great day! Do take the time to enjoy a cup of coffee/tea or drink. FIKA!

Patty oxox

Homemade Tea Tree Oil shampoo

2008-06-06T10:23:00.003-04:00

I love the Paul Mitchell's TTO (tea tree oil) shampoo but my wallet does not love the price tag at all!! Each time I visit SIL & BIL, I'd use their Paul Mitchell TTO and I'd stay in the shower practically massaging my scalp with the shampoo. I just love the tingly effect on the scalp and the mini-fingers all over my hair even after the shower.

I would constantly search for the "generic" version but the generic version just didn't have the "mini-fingers" effect that I craved. I'll be honest here, losing my sight so quickly, I start to crave sensation because the remaining senses are so heightened to the point where sensation is quite euphoric for me. Some will say, it's just shampoo!! For me, it's a sensation I enjoy ... tingling and smelling at the same time.

I was able to capture the exact sensation and scent- I found the generic and frugal solution to Paul Mitchell's TTO shampoo!

It's not only Tea Tree Oil, it's also Peppermint Oil as well! Tea Tree Oil adds the cooling effect whereas Peppermint Oil adds the tingling effect.

I use the "personal care" oils as it's cheaper for me, both bottles cost me $8.95 each. The pure and concentrated oils cost $29.99 each and I didn't have that kind of money.

I put 25+ drops of each oils in the shampoo bottle. You can use your favourite shampoo and conditioner. Just make sure you shake the bottle(s) well.

Enjoy your generic and homemade tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Prim as the way I love it!

2008-06-05T21:49:00.002-04:00

As most of you know, I love to prim and do trash to treasures. If I'm not doing T2Ts, I'll be doing Prim. I think almost anything can be primmed up and DH teases me that he is afraid he'll wake up to find out I have primmed up our two cats! Heh heh!

I've done several creative ways to save money as prim can be costly if you want an authentic prim lamp or another prim shelf. I do try to cut corners being on a budget. I also try to use my creativity. If you saw from my other posts, I posted a T2T toilet roll lamp. I once saw a waxed toilet roll lamp, it required the toilet paper being dipped in warm wax. It was around 10 dollars and now I didn't have money for that but I had all the supplies and extras. Presto, I made the lamp and now my two sisters want them and it was the sister that gave me those supplies, heh heh!

This weekend and this week, I did several prims and T2Ts as well. I have to admit I am quite impressed with myself!

I had a gauzy looking peach mini lamp that I used in the kitchen during evenings when I need the extra light so I don't trip or slip. It's this particular lamp that stays in the kitchen because each time I turn the lamp on, the neck of the lamp just wobbles. This lamp has been dropped or toppled over too many times to the point where I tried to repair it but my hand can't fit through the small hole on the base.

I just had the brightest idea to do a T2T lamp makeover! I took a hammer and smashed the ceramic part of the lamp and no, the police did not come over! Heh heh! I saved the lamp plug part. I had been saving a huge pickle glass jar for the longest time because I wanted to do a T2T but wasn't sure how to apply the idea until this one came along!

I had to throw out the cap of the pickle jar because it smelled quite garlicky although I washed the pickle jar with vinegar, lemon and hot water. I used a salsa cover jar because it was black and what I wanted... a dark cover. (You can laugh, K. Heh heh!)

I glued prim fabric on the shade and it looks great. The plaid fabric is tan with mustard, burgundy and hunter green with a hint of navy blue.

A great suggestion for everyone to cut corners and to prim up your jars too. When you are burning your candles and are left with remaining wax. Don't throw out the remaining wax in the trash, cut them up and save them in a ziploc baggie until you have quite a bit to store in a mason jar. Call it chunkies or melties. I was able to save quite a bit of leftovers and store chunks in a mason jar. Part of a Christmas gift, I received a bath and body set. A wooden scoop was included in the bath salt kit so I used that in the prim mason jar. I just used ribbon to tie the wooden scoop to the mason jar to apply the melties idea together.

There is a particular brand of lights I love and it is called silicone lights. I always get my silicone lights from Prim Silicone Bulb Shoppe because Robin specialises in different colours, sizes and shapes. Robin also does scented bulbs.

I order my bulbs from Robin and I'm always satisfied with her bulbs. It's the texture and the colour.

DH and I had the poem "How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning framed and given out as wedding favours and there was a particular recycled paper I got for $4.00 because it was a big size and the colours were vibrant. This particular paper had so many interesting things between two sheets of paper and I wanted it behind the poem in the frame. The bright light picks it up so well. This makes excellent scrapping paper as well.

At Walmart, there's a section of odds and ends materials that I always raid each time I go to Walmart. You can find a lot of prim materials there because it's not a yard/metre but it's great to start off with as it's always less than 2 dollars. It's even good for small sewing craft ideas as well like this one. This only cost me 3 dollars and I have a lot of materials leftover.

This is a plastic bag holder and I have so much materials leftover that I plan to make more.

I'm going to show tidbits of our home.. enjoy!

I had an old cheese grater that didn't grate well and rusted as well. I decided to grate an old candle tart that didn't scent well on it. I put some star ornies around it, raffia and a tag completed it. At night, I use a battery operated mini light and it looks cute in the kitchen.

This is a Martha Stewart basic drape that I have in the bedroom. I wasn't satisfied with the exact one in the kitchen. Just looked ho-hum. It needed some prim to it.

This is how I primmed up the drapes.. I love it!

Just wonder how Martha Stewart would react after one of her drapes being primmed up? ( Eh, K!)Ha ha!

Bark & Fitz

2008-05-25T19:38:00.002-04:00

DH and I went to Bark & Fitz today and let me tell you this, I was in heaven! The beautiful store is just so bright and has a very welcoming aura as soon as you enter in from the door. The staff are just so helpful. You just can't help but go "Ohh! Ahh!" at the vast array of beautiful colours of toys & the amazing lines they have of toys.

Pink, blue, red, orange, yellow, purple and all the colours of the rainbow. They accomodate both our furkids - the feline and the canine. I was able to chat with the owner of the store and it was fantastic to learn that the reason he opened up Bark & Fitz franchise because of his BT/Boxer dog. I just thought it was so sweet. This franchise's ambiance is just so filled with positive energy as when you walk in, you see life-sized portraits of beautiful dogs.

As I paid for my things, the register had the cutest pictures of the dogs, just a great way for customers to see their products being ringed up and view the pictures at the same time.

Oh yes, the staff do pay a great detail of attention at the food, I was able to learn that the birthday cake is made of safe ingredients.

Bark & Fitz even has the Evil & Good Kitty Cuz!! I grabbed that for Mosey and Ashy because I always bought both Evil and Good Cuz for the dogs but this time around, there is a kitty one! The Kitty Cuz bounces in all directions!!! I got the package for $4.00 (2 cuz- good and evil)

DH took those beautiful pictures of Bark & Fitz with permission of the franchise owner.

Trash to Treasures (T2Ts)

2008-05-25T19:19:00.002-04:00

Lately I have been doing quite a bit of T2Ts because I enjoy saving money and materials. I feel it is a waste of money to spend extras on materials when I can save the money to spend on other important things such as food, bills and other important financial needs.

T2Ts are also my great source of constant creativity. I find that I am relaxed when I do T2Ts, I hit the thrift stores and garage sales when I find one. Thrift stores such as Value Village are the best because things only cost $2.00 and I can turn a thrift find to such a treasure!

This weekend I had materials and things around the flat. I googled and searched the prim sites for ideas. There were a lot of ideas so I was able to do a couple of T2Ts. I had an old denim shirt that was raggedy to the point where it was breaking apart at the elbows and the bottom of the sleeves. I couldn't bear to toss it out because it was great for a T2T.

Call me cheap or thrifty but I just knew I could use a part of the shirt for another t-shirt. Lo and behold, there was a heavy white cotton shirt that I just couldn't wear because the shoulders of the shirt kept exposing my bra straps. I took apart the collar of the denim shirt and sewed it on the white shirt. It looks fantastic! I'll be saving the denim shirt for another T2T shirt.

I took a roll of toilet paper and had a battery-operated Christmas light collecting dust. My sister, Janet, gave me two of the glass vases from Dollarama. She had no use for them but I had good uses for those. I used one for this T2T. I had some ribbon, used a rusty star and a scented tag as well. I added some rosehips at the bottom and inside the toilet paper tube for leverage so the light wouldn't jiggle. This looks great in our washroom!

I found an old clothesline pin and this T2T only took me 5 minutes to do. I just added two colours ribbons as well as a prim tag and glued a rusty star to it. I glued a long strip of magnet to the back. So far it is Moses' favourite toy to play with when he sleeps on top of the fridge.

Tactile smile to all!
Patty oxox

Coon's Farm Crafts products

2008-05-21T17:23:00.002-04:00

I had some samples from the Out of The Box Sampler last year and one of the samples was from Coon's Farm Crafts. The samples were Fudge Pop lip balm, Apple Blossom lotion bar and Coon Farm's Exfoliating Foot Soap.

I really like the Fudge Pop lip balm because there's no need for fancy packaging and it suits me perfectly fine. The flavour is *smacks smacks* delicious! I'm the kind of gal that carries lip balm and lotion in my purse/backpack but really hates it when the lotion tube breaks open and spills over to the other items. I was mighty pleased when I got the Apple Blossom lotion bar. It is a little bar you rub between your hands and your hands gets moisturised. There's no greasy feel and the softness lasts a long time. The scent is lovely.

Tonight, DH and I will be trying out the Exfoliating Foot Soap when we watch our shows. We will be sharing the foot tub together and literally playing toesies!

Do check out Coon's Farm Crafts and their lovely products! Thank you Coon's Farm Crafts for the 10% coupon from the Out of the Box Sampler.

Beautiful baby's quilt sewn with love

2008-05-13T21:27:00.007-04:00

This past week I've been doing a lot of sewing as I wanted to do a baby quilt for a beautiful friend of mine. She's a doctor of mine, a pain maintenance specialist, she has been a blessed asset for me since I have met her. My pain level has drastically reduced since meeting her.

She is expecting her first child this fall and I wanted to show my deep appreciation for what she has and is still doing for me.

This is the quilt that I have been working on for over a week.

Tactile smile,
Patty ox

Wigs for Kids

2008-05-03T19:45:00.002-04:00

I am bursting at the seams with pride!! I am just so proud of my sister Janet, I affectionately call her "my little Mum" sometimes even though she is only a year older than me. If I could have another Mum, she would be that one.

Janet grew her hair very long for the longest time and I admit I enjoyed brushing her hair, sniffing the long hair as Janet washes her hair everyday. She uses a specific shampoo/conditioner that a DB's nose would just love to sniff. Her Rapunzel locks are something to brag about, it's long, curly and t-h-i-c-k!

Janet cut her hair quite short and she donated her hair to Wigs for Kids and I'm just so proud of my sister! My niece Kayla, Janet's daughter, did the same as well a few years back. Kayla donated her beautiful long thick blonde locks for Locks of Love.

For some people, their hair is important to them. For me, hair is just hair as I have my hair cut quite short to a pixie style cut. Now for little children and teenagers struggling through a life-threatening disease and debilitating chemotherapy/radiation and to lose their hair, I can appreciate the fact that they want to keep their hair.

It costs a lot of money to have authentic hair wigs made however with the kindness of people donating their hair and other companies donating their time and energy to make wigs, children and teenagers can have the wigs for free. Please take the time to click on the highlighted websites and donate money or consider growing your hair longer to donate.

You will be making someone very happy, emotionally, physically and psychologically.

I'm just so proud of you Sis! I love you LOTS!

Tactile smile with love,
Patty oxox

Trash to Treasure number 2

2008-05-02T22:50:00.003-04:00

Today I found an old tomato basket hidden in my pantry and decided to prim it up with several of my supplies. I wanted a basket that could hold all of my prim supplies such as the tarts/candles, silicone bulbs, tags, rusty hearts/stars and other knickknacks such as grungy odds & ends.

Supplies- glue gun, rusty stars, raffia, prim fabric and tag.

This only took me a good half an hour and I enjoyed primming up the basket to hold all my supplies. It is now in the kitchen on top of the pantry closet.

Tactile smile!
Patty ox

Out of the Box Sampler & wonderful contributors!

2008-05-01T19:22:00.003-04:00

I got the sampler box and what a treat to open the box and to see all kinds of samples!

What a smorgasboard of scents! I am in tart heaven since I'm a tartoholic! DH is in the shower now testing out the Body Mousse from Candle Dippers - Candle and Bath Essentials. We love their tart scent - Garden of Eden.

I was very surprised to get pet samplers in this box! Many thanks goes out to Pets-N-Pewter for the fabulous striped dog leash and the even fancy business card holder! It was just so wonderful to see how some other contributors do think of pet lovers. Thank you so much for the 20% off coupon!

Things That Makes Scents has the wonderful soy tarts and they are even better for those who cannot use regular candles like DH does. I buy soy once in a while for him since he cannot use cologne or anything strong. He does get headaches from strong scents so it was great to get soy tart samplers. Thanks for the free shipping coupon and I love the boxed wacky soy votive!!

Melissa's Specialty Soap & Primitive Wicks has those scent shots that's just made out of bliss heaven. I tell you this.. Melissa is a gal after my nose! Ohhh all those scents she sent to me, they were the food ones! Ohh la la! Rum caramel, Buttery Gingerbread and Orange Caramel Crunch. *drools!*

Hibiscus City Soap Co. is a company I admire already! They sent a sample of their Daily Grind soap- it's scented with espresso, cinammon and peppermint essential oils. The Vero Beach, FL business handcrafts their bars and liquid soaps scented with pure essential oils. There are no animal based ingredients and no animal testing at all. This is what I admire and like already. Thank you for the 20% off coupon!

Country Berry Hotcakes and Gingerbread Goodies.. too good to eat, right! Imagine the scent! Ugly Duckling Designs has the wonderful scents that DH and I just loved sniffing the tarts, he loves the Country Berry Hotcakes whereas I was practically sniffing Gingerbread Goodies. Did I mention that I'm in tart heaven? Thanks Ugly Duckling Designs for the free shipping coupon!

Penny Lane Candles contributed "Bird of Paradise" soy melts and DH especially loves this very much. Thank you so much Penny and I enjoy your website as it is so easy on my limited vision.

Neuse River Candle Bath sent over their new product- River Rock Melts and we already love the scent. We haven't put it in our tart warmer yet, the scent is so relaxing. They shared "Tropical Smoothie" melts and it's quite strong. My hands smells of Tropical Smoothie and I love it!

More Bang For Your Buck shared a photographic calender and I plan to reuse this at the end of the year for scrapping. Thank you very much for the calendar!

Vanilla Hazelnut Mocha *drools!* and Wildberry Zinger Tea *drools!*, I love those two scents from Blue Ridge Candle Co. They sent over the perfect scents for me to enjoy sniffing! Just as I gave up my coffee addiction, I am now starting my tart addiction, especially with food scents! I particularly love the Vanilla Hazelnut Mocha one.

Amish Friendship Bread - a fancy breakable tart or something I should display? French Hill Country sent a fancy tart that I just cannot bear to break apart and melt because it is too "purdy" to use but of course, we all have to use products to test them. Thank you so much for this!

I love this scent since DH tried the body mousse after shower from Candle Dippers, I am going to try the Just Mandarin shower gel from Country Hill.
This one smells lovely already and imagine what it will smell on my skin! Thank you for the $5.00 off coupon, I definitely appreciate it.

Once again, I truly love the Out Of The Box Sampler and encourage people to try this if you want samples of individual companies. Each month, there are different contributors and you are never disappointed! You get samples & coupons and more.. a smorgasboard of everything.

Out Of The Box Sampler works with the businesses personally and get to know them as well. Delivery is quite quick! I ordered last week and living in Canada, I am pleasantly surprised I got my parcel quite quickly.

Thank you all so much for making my day!

Tactile smile,
Patty ox

Prim bulbs & tags

2008-05-01T09:02:00.002-04:00

I got the prim bulbs from The Silicone Bulb Shoppe and I really loved looking at each colour & feeling the texture of each bulb as well. Robin from The Silicone Bulb Shoppe does an excellent job with her bulbs.

You can see how beautiful her work is. She puts in time and effort with her business and it does show. I just love how vibrant each colour is.

I took a lamp base I had and with some raffia & coloured ribbon and a prim tag. I added one of Robin's prim bulb to the lamp base and we have a beautiful night light for the kitchen.

Tactile smile to everyone and have a blessed sunny day!!!
Throaty hugs!
Patty oxox

Silicone Bulb Shoppe

2008-04-26T21:06:00.006-04:00

Photo credit to Robin at the Silicone Bulb Shoppe

If you are a prim lover and love silicone bulbs, you should go to Robin at the Silicone Bulb Shoppe.

Robin makes high quality & scented silicone bulbs of all colours. She prices her bulbs at a very reasonable price on her website. Her bulbs lasts a long time and she puts extra care and attention into her work as she is very conscientious about her work.

Check out Robin's fantastic work and her many creations at her website - Silicone Bulb Shoppe.

Click on this link to go to the website.

Enjoy Prim!

Tactile smile to all!
Patty oxox

Remember Lawrence King 4-25-08

2008-04-25T15:29:00.002-04:00

Today is the Day of Silence and please do your part about this. Blog about this, vlog about this or even educate about this. Please don't hate, educate.

A teenager had his life cut short all because of his sexual orientation. He didn't get to go to his prom, graduate from high school, go to college/university or even meet his life partner.

We really need to educate about how rampant hatred can be. This starts with all of us, inside and how we can affect others. Do your part and be an ally!

Day of Silence website - link

DH's Photography

2008-04-23T14:52:00.002-04:00

I would like to shine the spotlight on my DH and his photography skills. His hobbies are usually with photography, CGI (computer graphics illustration), graphic arts and anything involving with pictures.

We got a Nikon D40 and DH loves his new toy. Well, actually, I love the new camera as well because I don't have to worry about the adjusting of the lenses anymore. With the digital camera, I wasn't able to take good quality pictures. With the SLR, I could see subjects much better and with a new-found passion all over again, we hit the road to quaint towns. You can find some photos we took in previous posts.

DH took a lot of pictures last weekend and he has selected some & posted in his blog.

The banners in both our blogs, he has created himself as well, the pictures he took as well. I love the banner of my blog. The squirrel is so close-up and crystal clear.

This picture I took of my DH and I am particularly fond of this picture, just love the effect this has on me.

Tactile smile to all,
Patty oxox

Sewing and Quilting

2008-04-19T15:38:00.003-04:00

I love sewing and quilting. It is one of my many hobbies as it is incredibly therapeutic. Time does go by quickly when I do sewing or quilting. DH and I did a quilt together and it turned out amazing. At that time, I was losing my eyesight quite progressively and would sew my shirt on the quilt. Oh those were the times I learned to laugh at myself!

Forgive my first time with this quilt, you can see it is crooked but I am mighty proud of myself and my sweet DH. We accomplished a mighty big project together with love and patience. DH even tackled the sewing machine as well.

Hat tip for this entry to the wonderful gnarlydorkette!

Out of the Box Sampler- a fantastic steal!

2008-04-16T16:23:00.002-04:00

Property of Out Of The Box Sampler <--Click on the link to go to the website to order.

I love sampler boxes and I am a diehard fan of them. Sampler boxes- what are they?

They are boxes filled to the brim with samples from individual businesses, it can be from mineral cosmetic samples, votives, dog/cat treats that has been naturally made and others such as bath/body samples. The best thing about sampler boxes is that you get to test and try out samples before buying the bigger units.

I just ordered my sampler box for only $23.95 and S& H is included! (USA to Canada) Better hurry because there's only 9 left! Believe me, it is a big box filled to the brim, I kid you not.

Mosey and Ash (our name for her)

2008-04-16T12:18:00.001-04:00

I love digital scrapbooking very much. It is one of my several hobbies that I just pour my energies into.

Last night I made a collage of both our furkids and you can just see how much they both look alike. The only difference was size and weight. Mosey is bigger and heavier. Ash is lighter and smaller. Mosey is darker whereas Ash is lighter and she has a splash on her face. Just so sweet to see both of them groom each other.

A new addition to the family

2008-04-14T21:11:00.002-04:00

Introducing our new family member.. Ashley.

Today we adopted a new addition to our family making it a 2 adults and 2 cats family. We adopted Ashley, a 1 1/2 year old female DSH, from the Cambridge Humane Society and she is just the splitting image of her brother Mosey.

Mosey, a 2 year old male BSH, from the Kitchener Humane Society, is bigger than Ashley. Mosey and Ashley are "stalking" and "scoping" each other out, it'll take time for them to come around.

Wear Orange today for a good cause!

2008-04-10T19:39:00.004-04:00

photo credit to Weezer's Mom from BostonLove.org

The photo above is a beautiful Boston Terrier named Weezer. His mom kindly allowed me to use her photo for a wonderful cause, the ASPCA. Today, we wear orange to help fight against animal cruelty. Animal cruelty comes in all forms and shapes.

St.Jacob's, Elmira, Elora, Fergus and their highlights

2008-04-08T18:31:00.003-04:00

The morning after we visited Shakespeare and Stratford, we head out to the St. Jacob's Farmer's Market. Keep in mind, the Market is busy during Saturdays although it is open during Sundays. The Mennonite community does not conduct business during God's day.

Picard's Peanuts was our next stop at St.Jacob's. This is a hidden delight and a gem to visit this store. You get to sample the individual peanuts and decide which you prefer. The prices are wonderful because they are actually cheap. A big bag of salted sunflower seeds goes for $1.99 and the same price goes for yogurt covered raisins.

Elmira is famous for the annual Maple Syrup festival where you can expect up to 70,000 people making their visits to Elmira for the succulent pancakes slathered with butter and authentic maple syrup. It is truly a community event with thousands of volunteers. Kudos goes out to everyone who worked for the Maple Syrup festival! Make sure you mark your calendar next year April for the Maple Syrup festival, it's an experience not to be forgotten.

We now head off to Elora, a cosy and quaint community. Elora is famous for the Elora Gorge. I grew up listening to stories about my father diving off "The Gorge" and enjoying himself. Dad would be so proud of me typing this story as he now admits that "The Gorge" as he knew is just not the same anymore. Granted, it has changed. Water levels have rapidly reduced and diving off the gorge is prohibited.

There is a brand new store in Elora that needs to be checked out by people who loves primitives and as well as those who loves to sew with "Americana" fabric. The Olde Crow had their grand opening on Friday April 5th 2008 and this is a wonderful quaint two floor shop specialising in candles, primitives and decorations on the main floor. The top floor specialises in primitive & Americana fabric.

Holly and Carla just set shop recently and you can find their website at this link. Be sure to stop by their store and you will feel right at home when you enter The Olde Crow. I know I did. Carla's favourite scent is Crow Berry, it smells like cranberry. Holly can be found upstairs in the quilting and fabric area. Both ladies are always ready to help you.

I had permission from Carla to post pictures of The Olde Crow and the website's link into this blog. Once again, please respect the local artisans' work and not use their ideas as your own. I thank you for this.

Here are random pictures that DH and I took in Elora, ON. They are fantastic and we had to share with you all the beautiful pictures.

Shakespeare, Stratford, local artisans and stores

2008-04-08T10:20:00.006-04:00

I am shining the spotlight on the locals in this blog entry.

Chris and I love to take drives out into the country and visit local artisans' stores and primitives' stores as well. The past weekend we took advantage of the beautiful sunny & warm weather and brought our brand new Nokia camera with us to take pictures.

People and their furkids make the best subjects I tell you this.. the love and affection they have between themselves are just fantastic! Asking people if I can take pictures of them relaxing, talking into their phones, texting, smoking or just walking.. you would be very surprised if you asked politely, they will be happy to oblige.

I make it a cardinal rule not to take pictures of children because I believe they have their right to privacy and I know their parents just would not appreciate the fact a complete stranger took pictures of their children without permission.

We head off to Shakespeare, ON and Stratford, ON. Those two quaint towns are very beautiful and definitely in dire need to be placed on the map. There's more to Stratford than just the theatre. Granted there is an "English" theme in both cities but if you take your sweet time to walk around and enjoy the ambience, you will get lost in the environment and people just take the time to wave "HI!" to you.

The store employees are very friendly and I'm going to post a few stores I stopped by and took pictures of. Let me remind you, I had permission from individual stores and their staff members. I would also caution you that some stores have local artisans' customised craft and artwork so local artisans would appreciate you not stealing their ideas/works. I thank you in advance for this.

The first store, The British Touch, we stopped by was in Shakespeare, ON. Now this is a must for me to stop by. My sweet tooth is always satisfied each time I visit! This is a British store that specialises in everything British.. A to Z!! Yummy-o! Palma Violets, Cadbury bars and so on, you name it, they have it. You don't even have to go on e-Bay to get the British supplies. This locale can be found on Highway 7 & 8.

We head off to Stratford, ON to the Chocolate Barr's Candies. Ohhh, I tell you, I'm forbidden from this store now! The chocolates are so decadent! They even have the higher percent cocoa content there. The smell of chocolate practically wafts outside and you just float inside.. it is that good! ((DROOLS!))

We walked down the street and took right on York Street to The Clay Cafe. What a bright studio to spend a good two hours of your time. DH and I didn't have the two hours and the time to come back 24 hours later to pick up our finished product. The prices are very cheap. You just pay for the product you choose and the paint(s) & firing in the kiln are included in the cost. If you are in town for the weekend, you should go first thing in the morning on Saturday for a good two hours for a relaxing time.

Next door is the Distinctly Tea shoppe. It is incredibly aromatic outside before you walk in. As soon as you walk in the shoppe, there is an inviting scene. An oversized plush wicker sofa that even I sit on all the time, I'm a plus-sized person and I sit on it all the time without worry. As soon as you sit on the wicker sofa, you face a fireplace. During colder weather, it is a roaring fireplace with a sweet stuffed kitten sleeping on the floor. It looks realistic!

The shoppe is really open, you get to sniff the loose tea leaves and sample tea as well. The staff, oh my!, the staff.. they are extremely helpful. Loose leaf tea comes in different sized bags. There is a shoppe in Waterloo, ON as well however I prefer the Stratford, ON because you get a bigger and better variety in Stratford. It's my personal preference that the Stratford, ON locale has more to offer because in the Stratford, ON locale, you get to sit down and chat & relax as well.

We head off now to the Family and Company, a really cute and quirky toy store that children and even adults will love! Even DH and I love this store very much and have to stop by each time we visit Stratford, ON.

The store accomodates to anyone and they have their own Soda Bar. Anyone really missing out on the particular flavour from the 70's can find it at the store, you can also find candies from the store that has been hard to find as well. This store carries unique toys that I find so interesting. I particularly like this store because I buy games & toys for my little nephew who is 3 years old now.

The last store we took in was Treasures and this one I stress to you all about is the local artisans' skills. I ask of you all please not to abuse the local artisans' skills and use as your own. Thank you for this.

This store is beautiful! I go to this store because Mosey, my sweet cat, loves the catnip stuffed toys from Treasures. As much as I tried so hard to make the same replica, it is just not the same thing. Treasures carries one of a kind artwork and beautiful Mennonite quilts, bonnets as well. It is worth the drive to spend time in the store. You can find primitives, enamelware and so on in this store.

Trash to Treasure

2008-03-23T13:41:00.006-04:00

I enjoy my hobbies with a new passion. Feeling things with my hands, working now at a slower pace as not to burn my fingers with the hot glue gun or snipping the tip of my finger with the scissors as well.

I enjoy scrapping, making customised cards, ATCs and there is a particular craft I love doing the most, prim.

I love finding trash and turning them into treasures. There's a fancy word for this, prim. Prim is my favourite hobby and it is something I just pour all my energies into this because I finally find something I can use my fingers into.

My sister Janet enjoys prim and I tell you this, she is an amazing artist. She does nametags and raggedies. She has her own business that's been thriving since 2004.

Click on the banner and it will take you to her website.

BearyPrimitivesAttic website

Janet has inspired me to do Prim and this is an example of how I turn Trash to Treasure.

With a few objects such as cloth, rusty hearts, a tag, a silicone bulb, cinammon buttons and raffia, I am able to turn a $3.99 find from Value Village into a beautiful lamp!

Before

After

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-23T11:29:00.004-04:00

credit to Shweet Potato Designs

Happy Easter to you all!

Chris and I had a lovely Easter dinner with our family at my sister Jennifer's place. It was a feast fit for royalty I tell you! A lot of love and effort went into this feast as my sunshine worked her hiney off. I brought my scalloped potatoes and ham for this dinner. Chris made his Hello Dolly bars and they were delicious. We brought back home extras.

The table was set really lovely with personalised table cards, Joe decorated the Easter eggs with colouring and stickers. We have an artist here!!

We both arrived earlier and to help set up for the dinner. I also wanted to spend some time with my sister as well. Jennifer, bless her heart, she knows I love my chocolates. She shared something special and sweet with me. Jennifer told me a little bit about this chocolatier, Neuhaus, in Belgium. Her father in law travels to Europe for business and occasionally get her delicious treats. She's lucky!

I tried Caprice from Neuhaus and it was just so sensuous on my taste buds. To bite on the outer chocolate, it's a higher chocolate content. Higher than 70% carob, so rich to bite into and a surprise inside. Crackled toffee and a sweet butter cream inside, just a wonderful sensation that a small piece of chocolate can offer to my senses.

The fact my sister teased me "You had a 50 dollars piece of chocolate!!", I made sure I took my time and savoured this fantastic creation. Chocolatiers should be given their own version of the Oscars, I say! I just would be so happy to judge the chocolatiers' award, heh heh!

You all have a wonderful Happy Easter and enjoy the beautiful company with your families and friends. Enjoy the wonderful times! Be blessed.

Tactile smile with love,
Patty oxox

Vita è bella, La (Life is Beautiful)

2008-03-18T13:54:00.002-04:00

Vita è bella, La... Life is beautiful!!

Life is filled with challenges, do we let it weigh us down? Moan and groan about it or do we channel our energies into our challenges?

The past few weeks has been hard on me physically, emotionally and mentally. It's been because I was switched from Celebrex to prednisone for my Sjogren's. It took a while to get used to the prednisone because it's 20 mg.

Right now, I feel a lot better, I'll tell you that for sure. I am able to move around and my joints don't protest as much as the Tin Man does when he needs his oil can, ha ha!

Yesterday, it was just sooo nice and sunny. I had to go out and sweet Chris was waiting from his boss to send him his other unit to work on. He's now working on an independent contract work and thrives in it. Just makes me smile seeing him working because that's how he loves working. We went out & took the city buses. Sweet Chris has his gait, slow and steady. He's very polite and allows people in and I'll have to tell him to hurry up otherwise we'll miss our connecting bus.

Sometimes I can be impatient and like to walk fast but this is my downfall. Being too rough on myself and walking too fast, I usually end up tripping or crashing into things I don't see. It's either walking eyes down on the floor or walking eyes up monitoring the people. If it's eyes down, I will crash into objects I don't see. If it's eyes up, I will slip or trip over objects and sometimes strollers/pets.

This is where the white cane will come in handy. I have an appointment with the Independent Living Specialist on April 1st. Sabone is from CNIB and he's the ILS specialist and Beverly from CNIB will be my intervenor. I'm quite partial to Beverly because she has the beautiful aura about herself that can relate so well with the DB community.

There is a hard of hearing staff member in the Kitchener Public Library and she goes out of her way to accomodate the DB community in Kitchener. Janet, bless her heart, she makes sure my KPL database has DeafBlind books, DVDs and I receive interlibrary loans. The ILL books are wonderful. I just received an ILL book from Owen Sound, ON.

"Bravo! Miss Brown" from Joan MacTavish, the first DB Canadian to receive an university degree after 12 years of schooling. Just admirable and beautiful to read about Mae Sophia Brown.

After the KPL, we were waiting for our bus, I just saw the most sweetest black lab puppy. I waited, more like inched towards the young woman holding the lead because I wanted to hold the puppy. Sweet little thing was nervous. Just knew it was the traffic noises, asked if I could pick up the puppy. She could see right away I struggled with the squirming puppy and the puppy just loved kissing me. Aww, Cody is 3 months old and still has the sweet puppy smell. Big shiny eyes, so young and it's a different experience now to feel, touch and sniff.

Ahh, it's beautiful! This morning, I had a challenging moment. I used HOVRS to express my frustration about interpreting services and it was unique how both the DeafBlind and hearing people can work together to try to solve a sensitive issue. I expressed my concerns and really wanted to volunteer to help with DBS considering that DB peers really do feel overwhelmed at times.

I did this as well with Kitchener Public Library, I offered some of the large prints, offered to volunteer so they could have DB corner. They have the wonderful magnifier services and they could apply that towards the DeafBlind as well.

June is DeafBlindness month, why wait until June to advocate for accessibility? Usually it is nonstop volunteer work that starts the grassroots work to promote accessibility for all.

Now this is what I call ... Vita è bella, La (Life is Beautiful)

If you remember the movie.. it is just so beautiful!

Tactile smile to all,
Love,
Patty oxox

DeafBlind Images

2008-03-08T16:30:00.002-05:00

DeafBlind images such as my blog header and other images found on this blog has been created by my husband, Christopher. He works as an independent CGI contractor. Right now he does independent Deaf & DeafBlind desktop publishing editing.

His main interest is really making the public aware of other services & features for both the Deaf and DeafBlind.

You can find his unique blog at this link.

I do feel blessed to have a wonderful husband that takes the time, effort and consideration to do personalised artwork for me knowing that I am quite particular about making my DB peers involved. I'm shining the spotlight on the love of my life.. my husband, Christopher and his blog.

Tactile smile,
Patty

DeafBlind's Photo Journal

2008-02-14T20:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I spent a whole day in London, ON at the CNIB and the Ivey Eye Institute.

It was an interesting day, I learned a lot about my resilience although my pain tolerance was truly tested. I had a series of tests done on my eyes. First was the retinal ultrasound. I had the solution which dilates the eyes in order to have the really fine wire to be inserted in both eye sockets to test the muscles in order to determine whether there were retinal detachment or not. I had another dilating solution applied as well. This test had intense strobe lights in my eyes. Truly pushed my comfort levels as I couldn't see afterwards.

I rested for 20 minutes, had both eyes closed. I had another dilating solution and a numbing solution. This test had even further intense strobe lights pulsating into the eyes.

Afterwards, I had pictures taken of my retina to further explore and see the depth of the blindness.

I asked my tactile interpreter and the retinal specialist if I could have my DH take pictures to share my day with my friends. I also wanted to share my DB experiences with sighted Deaf people as well.

On the way to London, ON.. I saw such beautiful scenery. It was so unique to see such barren yet beautiful scenery during the winter. Just had to share them with you.

Returning home to Kitchener, the most beautiful pink/red sunset shone on us on the way home and again, I had to take that picture.

I've learned I "see" the best in each and every situations.

Tactile smile with love to all,

Patty ox

Inspired by DeafReaders

2008-02-11T20:27:00.000-05:00

Hi DeafReaders,

I've been inspired by your comments and feedback. I truly wanted to thank you for the constructive criticism, feedback and your thoughts into this. It does help.

I wanted to post my vlog as well.

Tactile smile!
Patty

Subtitles in Vlogs

2008-02-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

Dear fellow DeafReaders,

This is an open letter to my fellow friends, the Deaf community, within DeafRead.

I enjoy each one of your v/blogs. I start my day off with a good cup of strong coffee and I have the laptop opened first thing to DeafRead. I simply have to have my daily dose of laughter when I view vlogs and I admit I do miss out some of the signs because being legally blind truly restricts my viewing abilities.

Seek Geo was the very first vlogger that subtitled his vlogs. Being dedicated to him, naturally, because of the subtitles. Others followed his path such as Banjo and McConnell. (I'm sorry if I forgot to mention others' names that subtitled their vlogs) There are others that subtitled their vlogs as well.

There has been a personal choice about subtitling vlogs in DeafRead. One say it is a lot of work doing subtitles, another vehemently opposes subtitling with ASL to preserve ASL as a language on its own.

I'm reaching out to my peers here, as a Deaf-Blind person, to make an effort to subtitle their vlogs because I truly do miss out your beautiful and interesting vlogs.

We, the Deaf-Blind community, literally are at the bottom of the totem pole. We constantly struggle and if I may point out, not to make an effort to subtitle the vlogs is an act of oppression.

I honestly hope you will take those in consideration, you all do have this powerful choice to make your vlogs accessible for your Deaf-Blind peers.

Tactile smile with love,
Patty

Chinese New Year 农历新年

2008-02-06T18:53:00.001-05:00

The Chinese New Year 农历新年, the year of the Rat, 鼠 as well as the public holiday for a number of countries and cultures.

The Nian, a man-eating beast from the mountains (other versions has it from the seas) comes out every 12 months to prey on humans. The Nian, easily startled by loud noises & the colour red, led to the custom of fireworks and celebrating with red.

Red packets, known as Ang Pow, laisee, lai see, red packets, hung bao or Hung-Bao are given out as gifts. However, it is given out to juniors and children by married people and elders.

I have learned something, the number 4 is not considered good luck. You would not see 4 dollars in a red packet or a box of tea cups.

Cleaning house during the New Year as well is not encouraged because you risk sweeping away your good luck.

Positive reinforcement through Deafread

2008-02-05T11:59:00.000-05:00

Positive reinforcement is such an amazing ripple effect in Deafread. Whether it be through v/blogging or leaving comments, I feel very inspired to see the Deafread community work together to solve issues.

I would love to use a wonderful example of the powerful ripple effect of positive reinforcement that a Deaf v/blogger has been doing lately. Her presence has been a much needed one , in my honest opinion, for Deafread lately. Her jokes brings tears of laughter to my face to the point where my stomach muscles protests out of ache and it’s all good!

Let’s talk about Terri.. I’ve had the luxury of meeting her only for a fleeting moment. She is such a beautiful woman, let me tell you this. Inside and outside, she is amazing. Terri doesn’t mince words and that’s what I adore about her. Being straightforward, she is the perfect advocate we need nowadays.

Shining the spotlight on you, my girl.. Terri! *hugs* Just so proud my fellow local girl is making strides in Deafread! Please click on Terri’s blog and enjoy her vlog jokes!!

Tactile love,
Patty ox

Travelling and Hiking Abroad

2008-02-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

I love to travel when finances permits me. When I do travel, the very first place and person comes up to my mind has to be my best friend. I have travelled and hiked with Marc to many places in USA and Canada.
Believe me, it’s not the normal “tourist” places we went to, it was the wonderful unique landmarks. It was through Marc I was able to sample a vast culinary of food, explore all kinds of things I would never imagine myself doing all alone (maybe it was because he was my Clyde??) and best of all.. all the wine and cheeses we had at late nights.

I was able to learn certain rules and regulations applying to airports, passports, international travel regulations. This blog is a gem, readers. You can learn a lot from him. I am blessed to have travelled with him. Just a wealth of knowledge and Marc is only more than happy to share with his friends.

I’m shining the light on this blogger and of course bragging about my best friend.

Tactile smile with love,

Patty oxox