February 2023
The Hull Foundation’s
Sight Loss
Monthly News
www.hullparkfortheblind.org
“The publishing of this newsletter is a service of The Hull Foundation and Learning Center Inc. It 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. 3
You are Enough, Lumps, Bumps, Warts and All…p. 4
New Zoom Utilizing remaining sight…p. 6
Introducing
Lyn Lindbergh…p.7
In the Garden with Kat… p. 8
Recipe of the Month…p. 12
Hull Foundation
Book Club…p. 15
Tech Tip…p. 16
One Day Fun Day…p.17
Upcoming Events …p. 18
Zoom Meetings…p. 18
Diamond Jubilee…p. 24
Jokes to Keep
You Laughing… p. 25
Contact Us…p. 26
Our Mission Statement:
The mission of the Hull Foundation and Learning Center is to provide programs, facilities and services including social, educational, and recreational activities for people with blindness and sight loss.
*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
You are Enough, Lumps, Bumps, Warts and All
By Teresa- Sight Loss Instructor
“Be who you are because we need you – but we need the real you.”
Radleigh Valentine
You don’t have to be perfect to be awesome. We want the best and the rest of you, warts, lumps, bumps, and all. Have you ever loved someone or been loved by someone unconditionally? It is a freeing thing to just except yourself or someone else that way. It is a gift of love to yourself and to others that keeps on giving and then in turn, as though by magic, it opens the door for many unexpected gifts to then show up.
“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’
‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.
‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’
‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
—Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit
Stay awesome!
New Zoom-Utilizing Remaining Sight
By Marja – Sight Loss instructor
Have you met people who don’t understand that “legally blind” can mean many different things, it’s not black or white? Do you understand low vision vs. legal blindness and how these impact our daily lives?
This is an opportunity to learn more about living with sight loss, tips for using what you have, learning that when trusting what you see may be dangerous, and your brain just starts making things up-Charles Bonnet syndrome.
Gradual sight loss is confusing to us as well as for friends and family and we welcome anyone to our Zoom classes, it’s a great opportunity to learn, ask questions, and find out that others may be having the same challenges you are.
Our first class was January 26th, our next will be Thursday February 23 from 1:00-2:00 pm PT, 4:00-5:00 pm ET.
This conversation will be led by Sight Loss Instructors Desiree and Marja, we hope that you can join us.
Introducing Lyn Lindbergh
Lyn Lindbergh is the founder of Couch to Active, an online fitness studio that provides fully accessible group fitness and personal training to people who are blind and sighted. She is an award-winning author, and host of the Health and Fitness Motivation podcast. Lyn is an educator. She holds her degree in Education and is a Sports Nutrition Specialist, Aging Fitness Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Pilates Instructor, and Certified Group Fitness Instructor. Lyn lives with chronic illnesses that fuel her compassion for what it really takes to get moving when the body refuses to cooperate. She’s a geeky goofball, who smiles too much, and takes her client’s health and wellness seriously. She has a new zoom class starting February 3rd called “Try it out” Lyn would love you to join her via zoom and TRY IT OUT!
In the Garden with Kat
by Kat Rogers – Sight Loss Instructor
Did a family member or dear friend gift you with a beautiful plant during the holiday season? Keeping these plants happy and healthy during the remainder of the holiday season is easy but getting them to last and even rebloom is the trick. Whether they are poinsettias, Norfolk Island pines, or cyclamens, many holiday plants come with festive foil covering their pots. Through the holiday season, the foil can remain. Just be sure to lift the plant from the wrapper, water the plant and allow it to drain before replacing the foil sleeve. For the long haul you will want to remove the foil and repot it into a permanent container with drainage holes.
Most holiday plants prefer bright indirect light and will do best in a north-facing window. If the only space you have is an eastern, western, or southern facing window, and the light is a bit harsh, just pull the plant away from the window several feet or use light diffusing curtains.
Watering: The foliage of indoor conifers such as lemon cypress or small potted juniper and spruce will feel brittle and dry when the plant needs water or additional humidity. Poinsettias, Christmas cactus and Norfolk Island pine prefer to be on the drier side while cyclamen, lemon cypress and anthurium prefer more water. Orchids are a bit trickier. Avoid overwatering, as constant wetness will cause the roots to rot. Water your orchid just as the top of the soil begins to dry out. Shriveled foliage is a good indication that you are allowing the orchid to get too dry between waterings.
Bulb type plants such as cyclamen, amaryllis and paperwhites, should be watered from the bottom, keeping the top of the bulb dry. Humidity Plants are usually given as gifts during the colder months. The hot and dry air from a furnace can quickly decrease humidity. To increase the humidity, either cluster the plants together, or set them on a tray of wet pebbles. The water from the pebbles will evaporate naturally, causing a humid condition. One holiday plant that requires very high humidity is the frosty fern. Plant this in a terrarium to keep the moisture intact even when the room is dry.
Pruning: To keep your holiday plant looking tidy, you can deadhead spent blooms, pull or cut off yellow or damaged foliage, and trim off any brown tips. Pluck spent flowers from the base of plants such as peace lily and cyclamen. Norfolk Island pine pruning is a bit stricter. Trimming this plant includes the removal of any dead or dying branches, usually on the bottom. Never trim the main upright branch, as removing the central leader will destroy the pyramidal shape.
Potting/Planting: Many of these plants will be happy in their original pot for quite some time. Christmas cactus even prefers to have its roots slightly cramped and root bound. When it’s time to repot your holiday plant, be sure to use a standard, well-drained potting mix in a container with drainage holes. Orchids require an orchid specific bark mix.
Fertilizer: These plants will not need any type of fertilizer over the winter months. You can begin feeding regularly as the day length increases sometime in the spring. A common houseplant fertilizer at the recommended rate should do.
February Recipe of the Month
West Coast Bean Soup
Aaron Parker and Desirée Christian
Makes roughly 10-12 cups, remember you can half or quarter recipes.
Ingredients
2 largish carrots
1 onion
3 sticks celery
3 cloves garlic
1 to 2 cups finely chopped/shredded kale.
1 quart chicken stock/broth
3 15-ounce cans northern beans drained.
2-3 cups thick cut ham
Italian herbs
Crushed rosemary
Garlic Powder
Chicken Stock powder
Method
Dice: 2 largish carrots, 1 onion, 3 sticks celery, 3 cloves garlic
Sauté diced veg in a stock pot.
Add:
1 quart chicken stock/broth to the pot.
Bring up to a simmer and simmer for about 10 min.
Add
2 1/2 cans northern beans drained.
Using a hand blender (boat motor) or regular blender or a Ninja, blend the ½ can of beans. Then add to the soup.
2-3 cups chopped thick cut ham or leftover ham from a holiday dinner.
When soup is simmering again,
Add: Italian herbs, crushed rosemary, garlic powder, chicken powder, and kale.
Cook until kale is tender to your likening.
Notes:
Kale can be found bagged prewashed and prechopped.
Herbs and spices are to taste. If you need a measurement to start at then try a ½ teaspoon of the rosemary and chicken powder, and a teaspoon of the rest.
Chicken power substitutes: Miso, tamari or soy sauce, part of a bouillon cube, better then bouillon. The idea is we are adding flavor and umami along with salt.
Other herbs and spices maybe used, please experiment.
You might try this with red beans and beef.
Hull Foundation and Learning Center Book Club
The Hull Book Club meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 1:00-2:00 (or 2:30) pm PT, anyone is welcome to join us as we have sighted family and friends join the conversation as well! You can join in anytime you’d like, all of the books that we read and discuss are available on NLS BARD (Braille And Reading Download).
Our February books will be:
-2/14, we will be discussing “It’s Okay That You’re Not Okay: meeting grief and loss in a culture that doesn’t understand” by Megan Divine, DB108136.
During this chat we will also be deciding what we might want to read over the next three months so come prepared with suggestions. Title and author would be great but just a title is okay too.
-2/28 Our book will be “What Dreams May Come” by Richard Matheson, 9 hrs. 38 min, DB58019. This was a recommendation by reader Don M. with a couple of others that agreed that it’s a wonderful book and a reader favorite.
We always love to have new faces/voices at Reading in the Dark, hope you can join us!
Marja Byers, SLI
Tech Tip
By Marty – Sight Loss Instructor
To turn on Voice Over on your iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Over and toggle the switch on. Once enabled, you can use voice commands to interact with your phone. To use Voice Over, triple-click the home button, and swipe left or right to navigate through different elements on the screen. To select an element, double tap it. To scroll, use three fingers to swipe up or down. To adjust the speaking rate, go to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Over > Speech Rate.
One Day Fun Days in 2023!
We have lots of fun planned for our 2023 One Day Fun Days! So far we have planned an OMSI trip, Jet boats, Portland Rose Garden, Beach trip, Blue Lake, Ski Bowl, that’s only a few of the fun days we have planned. If you would like to join us for a one day adventure please call the office to get registered for these. Spots are limited so call us today, we would love to have some new friends join us!
Upcoming events at the Hull Foundation
-Winter Retreat February 5 – 11th
-Spring Fling April 4 – 7th
-Advanced Sight Loss Seminar April 19 – 21st
-Friends And Alumni June 13 – 17th
– Sight Loss Seminar August 1 – 3rd
– Summer Adventure Retreat August 18 – 26th
– Monster Mash October 24 – 27th
– Sight Loss Seminar November 8 – 10th
Hull Foundation Presents Zoom Meetings
February Zoom meetings will include some new topics, we have some cooking classes, crafting, and a class on forgetfulness that has been very popular. If you are interested, please join us. Bring a friend or spouse, sighted or not!! If you would like to sign up to receive a weekly email with the Zoom schedule for the week and the links to the meetings, please email the office at oralhull@gmail.com or call us at 503-668-6195. If you are not an email user, then you can call us on Mondays to receive the call-in number and Meeting ID number for meetings you are interested in attending via phone.
WEEK 5
January 31st Tuesday 10-11am PST
Tech Class with Marty and Michael
January 31st Tuesday 7-8pm PST
The Chat Café
February 2nd Thursday 10-11am PST
Cook Along with Desiree
February 2nd Thursday 1-2pm PST
Sight Loss and Hearing Loss, a Group Chat
February 3rd Friday 10-11am PST
Try it out exercise class
February 3rd Friday 6:30-7:30pm PST
First Friday with Family and Friends
WEEK 1
February 7th Tuesday 10-11am PST
Tech Class with Marty and Michael
February 7th Tuesday 7-8pm PST
Chat Cafe
February 8th Wednesday 6:30-8pm PST
How are you Doing and How are you Dealing?
February 9th Thursday 10-11am PST
Forgetfulness tips and tricks with Desiree
February 9th Thursday 1-2pm PST
Crafting with Desiree
WEEK 2
February 14th Tuesday 10-11am PST
Tech Class with Marty and Michael
February 14th Tuesday 1-2pm PST
Book Club
February 14th Tuesday 7-8pm PST
Chat Café with Teresa
February 15th Wednesday 1-2pm PST
Tell us your story
February 16th Thursday 10-11am PST
Wardrobe Solutions
February 16th Thursday 1-2pm PST
Sight Loss and Hearing Loss, a Group Chat
February 16th Thursday 6-7pm PST
Navigating Social Situations
WEEK 3
February 21st Tuesday 10-11am PST
Tech Class with Marty and Michael
February 21st Tuesday 7-8pm PST
Chat Café
February 22nd Wednesday 6:30-8pm PST
How are you Doing and How are you Dealing?
February 23rd Thursday 1-2pm PST
Utilizing your Remaining Vision
Week 4
February 28th Tuesday 10-11am PST
Tech Class with Marty and Michael
February 28th Tuesday 1-2pm PST
Book Club
February 28th Tuesday 7-8pm PST
Chat Café
More
Upcoming Events
2023 will be an exciting and fun-filled year! If you are interested in
any of our recreational Getaway events, One Day events, Seminars and
Retreats, please contact our office and get signed up! The spots can
fill up very quickly, so jump in with both feet and save your spot and
come out to Hull Park in 2023!
Diamond Jubilee scheduled August 20th, 2023!
Welcome back Fun Day celebration at the park. Barbecue chicken dinner, games, vendors, (if you are an artist with sight loss or know of anyone, please let us know.) and music. If you are interested in volunteering or being on the Diamond Jubilee committee, please contact Kat at 503-668-6195 x404, and leave a message as to what is the best time I can call you back, and the best number. This is our 60th anniversary, we are hoping to make this a spectacular one. We are looking for food carts for desserts, ice cream, or cupcakes.
Jokes to Keep you Laughing…or Groaning!
Q. What did the drum say to the other drum on Valentine’s
Day?
A. My heart beats for you!
Q. What do you call a very small valentine?
A. A Valentiny!
Q. What did the Valentine get arrested for?
A. For stealing someone’s Heart!
Q. What kind of flowers do you never give on Valentine’s Day?
A. Cauliflowers!
Stay well, stay safe, and stay happy!
The Hull Foundation Family
Phone: 503-668-6195
Email: oralhull@gmail.com
Website: www.hullparkfortheblind.org
Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/OralHullPark/?notif_id=1631758417290618¬if_t=page_user_activity&ref=notif
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hullfoundation_learningcenter/