February, 2021
The Hull Foundation’s
February 2nd is Groundhog Day. Picture is of a groundhog which is about the size of a cat, medium brown short, soft fur, barely discernible ears, short stub of a tail, elongated face with a flat nose and dark eyes. The story is that groundhogs normally hibernate during winter and if they come out of their ground burrow on February 2nd and see their shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter. If no shadow is seen, then spring has sprung!Sight Loss Monthly News
503-668-6195
www.hullparkfortheblind.org
“The publishing of this newsletter is a service of The Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind and is not an endorsement of any of its contents. All products, items and other information may be used at the sole discretion of the reader.”
Editors, Hull Foundation Staff
Contents
Mission Statement …p. 2
Valentine’s Day, Love it or Leave it! …p. 3
Walk Across the United Kingdom …p. 7
Tip of the Month: Heartmath …p. 9
Gadget of the Month: ScripTalk…p. 12
Reading in the Dark Book Club …p. 14
Hull Foundation Presents Zoom Meetings– 2021 February Zoom Schedule…p. 15
Jokes to Keep Us Laughing …p. 21
Our Mission Statement:
The mission of the Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind is to provide programs, facilities and services including social, educational, and recreational activities for people who are blind and visually impaired.
“Keeping Hope & Dreams Alive!”
*If you would prefer to receive this newsletter by email, or to unsubscribe, please call the Hull Foundation at 503.668.6195 or send an email to: oralhull@gmail.com Address: PO Box 157, Sandy, OR 97055, 43233 SE Oral Hull Road, Sandy, OR 97055
Valentine’s Day, Love it, or Leave it!
It’s an interesting fact that Valentine’s Day, the day of “love, roses, candy, and cards” actually commemorates an execution. The unsubstantiated story goes like this: While the Roman Emperor Claudius II was trying to bolster his army, he forbade young men to marry (because apparently single men make better soldiers). In the spirit of love, St. Valentine defied the ban and performed secret marriages, as History.com reports. For his disobedience, Valentine was executed on February 14th. That pretty much puts a damper on this day of celebrating love, doesn’t it? Other “fun facts” you may or may not know are:
Candy hearts were originally medical lozenges. In 1847, Boston pharmacist Oliver Chase invented a machine that simplified the lozenge production process, resulting in the first candy-making machine, according to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. After identifying an opportunity to revolutionize the candy business, Chase shifted his focus to candy production with Necco wafers. Even more interesting, Necco wafers are Monica’s (in our office) favorite candy.
Valentine’s Day is not just for humans.
People really do love their pets, because according to the National Retail Federation, 27 percent of people celebrating Valentine’s Day in 2020 say they are also buying gifts for their pets. Spending on Valentine’s Day gifts for pets has also grown significantly, going from $450 million in 2010 to more than $1.7 billion in 2020. We all know that chocolate can be deadly for dogs so that means more chocolates for us!
It’s typical for couples to celebrate this day of “love” in various special ways. But what if you don’t have a “love”? Do you: (a) ignore the day (b) schedule your colonoscopy on this date (c) decide to deep clean your bathroom? None of these things sound like fun or loving.
If you happen to be single on this day, why not “love” yourself? Some exciting and fun ideas might be: a) Have a single’s party, where you can watch movies, eat unhealthy food, and diss all the things that have perturbed you lately (if that is your thing). b) Unplug for the day – ditch your phone and
binge watch Netflix, eat unhealthy food, leave the dishes in the sink, and wear comfy clothes, or no clothes, all day. C) order flowers to be delivered to yourself. Jump up and down and act surprised when they are delivered.
We are sure there is so much more to make you feel special and loved on this day. Most of all we hope that you will make every day Valentine’s Day, by being kind to yourself and those you meet. Valentine’s Day isn’t only about romantic love; it is about love in general. You can do your own share of loving by making someone else’s day, and the consequent joy that you will derive from making them happy is an unparalleled feeling, possibly even greater than being in love. Simple random acts of kindness go a long way in making others and you feel loved. Phone a friend, give extra cuddles to your pet, send a “missing you” email, bake some cookies for someone, or go through your closet and give away clothes to a homeless shelter. Oh, and don’t forget…your Hull Foundation Family loves you! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Walk Across the United Kingdom
Our second virtual Walk-a-thon is taking us to the United Kingdom; Scotland, England, and Ireland. We are currently in stage 3, Ireland-where we are enjoying all things Irish by exploring castles, caves, Irish music, villages, old and new culture, fabulous food and meeting interesting people! Kat Rogers is our guide as we travel though Ireland. Each day we receive a narrative of the places and sites we have visited, based on the virtual “miles” we have walked. We will be in Ireland through the end of January, when we will find our transportation back to the U.S. just in time for Groundhog Day, on February 2nd. We came over by dragons and whales and if you have not traveled on this kind of transportation, you’ve missed an experience of a lifetime!
Want to join us? Anyone can join our walk at any time. We are hoping you will find a sponsor for your walk, and any amount of money is welcome, but it is not mandatory, and no one is turned away.
All you need to do is call the office at 503-668-6195 and let us know you would like to join our next virtual walk. Australia? South Africa? India? It’s within reach! Each night by 6 pm leave a message as to how many miles or hours you were active. Every 20 minutes equals 1 mile. Activity is the key. Any active movement counts whether you are cleaning house, walking or doing yard work. Please phone with any places or things you would like to see or do along the walk. Each day you will get a daily email write up that starts like this… **Day 15 Stage 3 Ireland… for the previous day’s narrative.
Come join the fun with us and keep moving as we walk our way, virtually, across the world!
Tip of the Month: HeartMath
Our first Hull Foundation Presents, Zoom meeting of January, featured one of our board members, Jeanne Marie Moore, talking about her experience with HeartMath. If you did not attend, you missed a great presentation. Jeanne Marie, wrote a follow up of her presentation topic, at the request of those in the meeting. We wanted to share it with you!
HeartMath is a scientifically validated approach based on over 26 years of research with over 300 peer reviewed articles. The techniques and/or technologies are used by hundreds of hospitals, schools, corporations, and humanitarian organizations globally.
“We discussed the Quick Coherence technique at the last Zoom meeting presented by The Hull Foundation. This is a trademarked HeartMath technique and the tools have been researched for over 30 years to assist people in dealing with stress and unplanned events in their lives. I have studied and used the techniques for 10 years.
Quick Coherence:
Just one minute of Quick Coherence can change your state of being and help you have a clearer brain and potential access to what your heart wants you to know.
Sit or lie comfortably and breathe a little slower and deeper than you normally would. If it is helpful, you can count to five as you breathe in and five as you breathe out.
As you breathe, bring a regenerative feeling of appreciation, gratitude, compassion, safety, loving, and joy… into your heart with each breath.
“Here is the HeartMath equation that I remember every day,” says Jeanne:
“Events in life plus
Our perceptions of those events
Plus, our reactions to those perceptions
Equals the outcome.”
If you want to explore HeartMath further the website is listed on the next line.
This site has a lot of free material including a downloadable audio tool. Creating an account does not obligate you to anything. This is the nonprofit arm of the organization. Thank you for the honor of your time! Jeanne Marie Moore, LCSW and
Hull Foundation Board Director”
Gadget of the Month: ScripTalk
The Hull Foundation has talked about this great product to many people and thought it worth repeating for our new guests. ScriptAbility is a suite of products designed to help pharmacists meet the needs of their blind, visually impaired, or print impaired patients. It offers multiple solutions: ScripTalk talking labels, ScripTalkprescription reader, large print labels and Braille labels with translation into 17 languages.
People who need accessible prescription labels can request them from their pharmacist. As part of En-Vision America’s Pharmacy Freedom Program, the ScripTalk Station Reader is supplied on loan to patients at no cost. Scrip Talk uses special talking labels that have the prescription name, dosage instructions, and other label information encoded on Radio Frequency ID (RFID) chips smaller than a grain of rice. Whenever you place a talking label on the Scrip Talk Station, the information contained on the label will be spoken aloud. For more information you can check out this link: https://www.envisionamerica.com/scriptability-support or phone to: Phone: 309-452-3088
Toll Free: 800-890-1180 En-Vision America, Inc. 825 4th Street West Palmetto, FL 34221.
“Reading in the Dark” Book Club
When: Tuesdays, February 9th and 23rd at 10:00am.
In January we read “Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult DB 85761 and “The Blind Doctor” by Rosalind Perlman DB 64720
Summary: The amazing life of a remarkable man who was born blind to poor parents. By the time he was thirty, he was one of the top heart and lung specialists in Chicago.
Join us for a fun hour of discussion and comradery! We also talk about other book suggestions. Come prepared with ideas for our next books!
Hull Foundation Presents Zoom Meetings
Our Zoom meetings in 2020 have been very well received by those new to sight loss as well as those who have had sight loss for years. Here are February Zoom topics …
If you see one (or all) that you are interested in, be sure to contact the office via email or phone at 503-668-6195 to say you are attending. Sometimes we will send out “supplies” for classes and we need plenty of time to get items to you. Also, when attending, remember to log on 5-15 minutes early as we close the class 5 minutes after it starts.
FEBRUARY
Tuesday 2/2/21 10am-11am
Medications and you – Tips on getting medications, taking them and being safe.
Tuesday 2/2/21 1pm-2pm
What’s in the Kitchen? Kitchen appliances, tools/gadgets, and organization.
Wednesday 2/3/21 10am-11am
Food for Thought. Tips on eating out and at home.
Wednesday 2/3/21 1pm-2pm What’s so Great about an iPad?
3rd weekly class of 4 to a better understanding of the power of the iPad.
Thursday 2/4/21 1pm-2pm
Group Chat- Music can soothe the savage beast – How has music played an important part in your sight loss journey? Sing or play instrument? Please share your talents with us!
Tuesday 2/9/21 10am-11am
“Reading in the Dark” Book Club
Tuesday 2/9/21 1pm-2pm
Keep Reading and Learning! Where to find all your reading materials in the way that best fits your reading interest, including magazines.
Wednesday 2/10/21 10am-11am
Grocery shopping – a lost art?
Best practices for a sight loss person to shop. Assistive devices to make it easier. On-line delivery information.
Wednesday 2/10/21 1pm-2pm
What’s so great about an iPad?
4th and last class to a better understanding of the power of the iPad.
Thursday 2/11/21 1pm-2pm
Group Chat – Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Share your Valentine’s day experiences, good, funny, embarrassing!
Tuesday 2/16/21 10am-11am
Staying connected to the people you love
How to stay engaged with family and friends.
Tuesday 2/16/21 1pm-2pm
Web browsers and emailing- How do I access the web? How can I be safe with emailing/best practices?
Wednesday 2/17/21 10am-11am
Thinking about putting in a vegetable garden or a flowerpot or two?
Hints, tips and devices to put together a planter or more, for veggies.
Wednesday 2/17/21 1pm-2pm
Trains, planes, and automobile transportation. Best practices for and traveling short and long distances.
Thursday 2/18/21 1pm-2pm
Group Chat – Who was Oral Hull?
59 years ago, we received a gift of 22 acres of land to be used for those with blindness and low vision. How it all began.
Tuesday 2/23/21 10am-11am
“Reading in the Dark” Book Club
Tuesday 2/23/21 1pm-2pm
Why is a vision assessment important
Wednesday 2/24/21 10am-11am
Eye Health and Nutrition
Wednesday 2/24/21 1pm-2pm
The iPhone and you – 4 weekly classes
First of 4 weekly classes to a better understanding of the power of the iPhone
Thursday 2/25/21 1pm-2pm
Group Chat- Two Truths and a Lie! Come ready for us to learn more about you! Tell us two things about you that are true and one that is false. We get to guess which is the false one!
Remember to keep in mind that you will need to contact our office to confirm which (or all) meetings you want to attend. The Zoom meeting will be closed at 5 minutes after the meeting starts.
Jokes to Keep Us Laughing
1. Q: Do you have a date for Valentine’s
Day?
A: Yes, it is February 14th
2. Q: Can February march?
A: No, but April may.
3. Q: How many seconds are there in
a year?
A: 12 seconds
You: (shocked) how come?
Me: Jan 2nd, Feb 2nd, March 2nd, etc.
4. Q: What is a ram’s favorite song on
February 14th?
A: I only have eyes for ewe, dear
5. Q: What did the toast say to the
butter on Valentine’s Day?
A: You’re my butter half!
6. Q: When is your Birthday?
A: February 20th
Q: And what year?
A: Every year!
Stay well, stay safe, stay happy!
The Hull Foundation Family