January 13 - Peeling Potatoes

When I told Lyle that this week I was going to write about peeling potatoes, he laughed.  “What can you say about that?” he wanted to know.

Personally, I think that it is kind of neat that someone with no sight can peel a potato just as well as someone who can see. Lyle was surprised at the concept, but I told him that I often peel the potatoes without trying to squint and see what I am doing.

This is how. When you hold an unpeeled potato in your hand, the skin is rough to the touch. When the skin is removed, the surface is smooth. You can even feel the little rough spots if you have missed something. I would encourage those of you who can see, to try this as an experiment. It works better if you use a potato peeler rather than a sharp knife.

I have found that the method works equally well with carrots and parsnips. Of course, you can always cheat and buy those nice little clean new potatoes that don’t need any peeling at all!

January 7 - Friendship

Last night Lyle and I watched the last of our recorded, but syrupy Christmas movies. The plot as usual was fairly predictable and although the focus was on romantic love, in all the movies we watched there was also a general theme of friendship. I am reminded of a verse a school friend wrote in my autograph book – yes, I am old enough to remember the days when autograph books were the in thing, but I guess that could be the topic for another post. The verse went like this:

Old friends are like diamonds,

Treasured and rare.

New friends are like autumn leaves

Found everywhere.

I treasure my friends. They are indeed gems in my life. I was interested this year to find that same thought expressed in several of the Christmas letters I received. In one note, Beth-Anne wrote how much she enjoyed the weekly visits of her friend, Mary Jean. On Friday afternoons, Mary Jean would bring her crocheting and together the two women would sit, knit, crochet and chat for an hour or two. They have enjoyed this companionable afternoon for many years now.

There are many ways to express friendship. Our friend Tom used to have a weekly coffee date with his buddy, Glen. When Glen was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, Tom continued the weekly visits only then he sat beside Glen’s hospital bed, sometimes chatting and at other times simply being there and perhaps reading his book or the local newspaper. Tom said that he had always set aside the weekly time slot to be with his friend so he just decided to continue the friendship but in a different location.

Then there was this email message from Sue. She wrote: 

I am blessed with a trusted friend who lives only a walk away from our house. She is my go to for recording from the TV, iPad lessons, extra baking for my visitors, shopping sprees, and above all, a listening board for my sad days (which are few). It is hard to receive so much but I believe that by receiving gratefully a person also gives back. A vote of thanks to those wonderful people. May everyone have a trusted friend in their lives.

I was touched by Sue’s words, but they also reminded me that to have a friend, one must also be a friend. It is perhaps a little more difficult to think of ways to give back when faced with some of the challenges of vision impairment. For instance, I can’t offer to drive anyone anywhere or to take a friend shopping. However, I do have a phone which I can use to send birthday wishes or get well messages or just have a friendly chat. Perhaps I just need to indulge in some creativity when it comes to my part of the friendship. I also agree with Sue in that being a gracious recipient of offers of friendship is a gift in itself. For those of us who have lived a previously independent life, this is sometimes the hardest lesson of all.

In this coming year,  my wish for you is that each of you enjoy the gift of friendship from someone who is special to you.    

Happy New Year to all!

January 3 - Holidays and Food

Those of you who read my A to Z post of November 11 might recall how I like to alphabetize things. When I thought about holidays and food, several words came to mind – fun, family, friends, fat and frustration.

The fun, family and friends are easy. Holidays are often great times for enjoying a meal with friends and family. The food is good and the company great. Laughter flows as good times are remembered and even sad times take on a sort of nostalgia. I definitely associate holiday food with fun, family and friends.

Unfortunately, because I enjoy this so much, I also think of my waistline and that nasty little word, fat, comes to mind. I am quite cautious when I step on my bathroom scale. Maybe this is why we have New Year’s and a time for resolutions!

Did you find the last word puzzling? Actually, frustration has nothing to do with the weight issue. It has to do with going down the line of a buffet or smorgasbord. I simply can’t see food on the table when I am standing up. Sometimes I can’t identify food when I am seated and it is placed on the table in front of me. With even the short added distance to the buffet table from a standing position it is nearly impossible.

I write this knowing that I am not alone with this frustration. In the early days of our local support group we discussed the difficulties of going out to a buffet. Mostly people had a sense of embarrassment and a few worried about their food allergies. In the end, we decided to go out to a restaurant as a group and see if we could put some of our fears to rest.

The night was a huge success. Those with food allergies came with a guide and the rest of us just tried portions of everything. When we sat down to eat, the fun was in trying to identify what we were tasting. There was one dish that even our sighted guides couldn’t put a label to. When we asked one of the waiters what it was that we were eating, he too had to retreat to the kitchen to ask the cook.

These days, I try to remember this experience when I am invited out to a buffet style meal. Fortunately, I don’t have food allergies although there are foods that I prefer over others. I try to remember the fun part of the experience and leave behind the frustration.

For me, there are still some holiday food events coming up. Tomorrow, Lyle and I have been invited to yet another New Year’s luncheon and then at the end of the month, there is still Chinese New Year to celebrate. I hope that all of you have enjoyed the festive season with specialty foods enjoyed with friends and family.