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Sight Loss Monthly October 2022

October 2022

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

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.

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One Day Fun Day

First of all, I want to thank all of you who came to our One Day Fun Day in September, the trip to Tillamook was fantastic.

Our next Fun Day is fast approaching it will be on October 5th, where are we going, you’re asking? Our next trip is to the Fruit Loop! The Fruit Loop is a 35-mile scenic drive past local farms filled with produce. Gorgeous pear, cherry, apple, nectarine, and peach orchards, where you’ll find farm stands, wineries, breweries, alpaca ranches, lavender farms, and great jams, jellies, pies, and more!

Please call the office 503-668-6195 to reserve your seat on Big Red, the cost will be $50.

Will the West Coast “Ditch the Switch?”

By Marja Byers – Sight Loss Instructor

In 2018 Oregon and Washington law makers started a serious debate to end the twice a year time changes in their own states and adopting year-round daylight savings time. In 1966 the federal government passed the “Uniform Time Act” that would disallow any state from switching to permanent daylight savings time without federal approval. The conversation then became interstate, it also followed logic that if two of the west coast states make this change that California needed to join the discussion. Law makers on the (continuous) west coast decided that it should be all three states or none.

Federal law allows any state to choose to not change their clocks from standard time, as Hawaii and most of Arizona have done (with the exception of Indian lands in Arizona). States that want to change to year-round daylight savings time require approval by the federal government. The Senate has approved this west coast change, but it still requires House and presidential agreement.

In March 2022 the US Senate voted unanimously to pass the “Sunshine Protection Act” which would allow states to make this their own decision without federal approval. There is a real possibility that after next March 2023 those of us in Oregon, Washington, and California will no longer be changing our clocks.

There are positives and negatives to this change, in my mind, these are the biggest arguments in either direction, using the example of the mid Oregon coast.

Positive, on December 21, 2022, sunset will be 4:37 pm PST, the change would put sunset at 5:37. More time to get home in the daylight after work, school, shopping…!

Negative, on December 21, 2022, sunrise will be 7:51 am, with the change that would be 8:51 am. That would put many students going to school in the dark. With budget cuts, more and more students are having to walk or bike to school. Would I feel comfortable sending my kids off to school in the dark? Hmmm

Marja

Meet Jewel!

By Jewel Gaspard – Sight Loss Instructor

Greetings from the Newest Sight Loss Instructor. Hi! My name is Jewel Gaspard and I have just joined the Hull Foundation team. As a child, I had vision problems that were correctable to 20/40 and did not think much of it being an issue. However, my ability to walk around the house at night without bothering with my glasses and get round a swimming pool when I could barely see (they didn’t have prescription goggles at the time!) gave me a hand up when I needed the skills most. When I was 23, a man put drain cleaner in my face. It caused severe damage to my eyes and less severe damage to the skin of my face. Within a few years, I went from driving and working full-time as a special needs nanny to only light perception in one eye. It was truly a life-changing event as I’m sure people are aware blindness is. I went through a divorce and learned to live alone for the first time in my life while teaching myself grade one and some of grade two Braille as well as jaws and the use of the long white cane. I attended a few mini centers before an opening became available at the North Carolina Rehabilitation Center for the Blind, where my skills were vastly improved and I met my husband-to-be, who also had low vision. 

During our years in Raleigh, my husband and I worked with the Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat, teaching blind youth transitioning to college and the workforce how to be independent and advocate for themselves.  Over the ten years working with the retreat, we saw it go from a five-day event with ten participants to a two-week affair with so many applicants we had to cap it at fifty. 

Due to many circumstances, including homelessness and becoming a widow, 2020 and 2021 saw me move four times and nearly 4500 miles, finally settling on a small homestead in a rural part of Kentucky, where I manage a house, cook meals from scratch, and maintain a small garden. I never thought I could be so productive!

During my time working with the EYE retreat, I found two categories of skills helped our students the most, independent living skills and technology. Thus, these are the two categories I have focused the most effort in learning and teaching and what I will continue to concentrate on. I hope you all will look forward to many tips about independent living and the technology that can make it happen going forward because I know I am looking forward to sharing these tips!

Make Donations Without it Costing a Dime

Did you know Gresham Ford has a program they call “Contribute to the Community”? When you visit the Gresham Ford Service center or purchase any new or used vehicle you can ask to have 10% of the repair order or purchase price donated to a charity or non-profit of your choice, up to $100. They have also established “Drive 4 UR Community” to better serve local non-profits, we are excited to partner with Gresham Ford.

It’s an easy way to donate without costing you a dime!

In the Garden with Kat

By Kat Rogers – Sight Loss Instructor

Summer is over…. boohoo.

Time to get our gardens put to bed for the winter. If you are still harvesting those pumpkins and squash, no worries, you can do this later. For those who are finished, rake out all the fruit from under your tree’s and feed them to your livestock or give them to a neighbor to feed theirs. This will cut down on the amount of fruit/apple flies next year. Whatever you do with them, do not put your apples in your compost pile.

As for flower/vegetable beds, cut off all the dead stocks and rake out the area. You can cover the dirt with fallen leaves or grass cuttings, then the next spring you just rototill them into the soil prior to planting.

If you have any hanging baskets or pots that are more temperature sensitive remember to bring them inside or put them into a greenhouse before the first hard frost.

Always remember that if you have an excessive amount of produce, there are always neighbors or families in need.

Recipe of the Month!

By Jewel – Sight Loss Instructor

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 40 min Servings: 16 Source: recipeland.com

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup oats, quick cooking

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

For filling:

16 ounces can pumpkin purée

1 can evaporated milk

2 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

Directions

Heat oven to 375℉ (190℃).

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and margarine in a bowl.

Mix until crumbly, with a pastry blender or with an electric mixer at low speed.

Press dough into the bottom of an ungreased 8-by-12-inch baking pan.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a mixing bowl or food processor.

Beat or process well. Pour into baked crust. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until a sharp knife comes out clean from the center.

Cut into squares and serve with Chantilly Cream.

Hull Foundation and Learning Center Book Club

Our book club meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month on Zoom at 10:00 am, PT. All of our book selections are determined by our group and are available on BARD through the National Library Service. We welcome all who would like to join in, sighted or not so much, regardless of whether or not you’ve read the book. Our discussions often go far deeper than the printed material!

In September we read “The Maid” by Nita Prose, and “Run, Rose, run” co-authored by Dolly Parton and James Patterson.

Our selections for October are:

10/10- “3001: The Final Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clark, DB44314, 6 hours 40 minutes. This is the final book in the “2001: A Space Odyssey” series.

10/24- “Where the Crawdads Sing”, by Delia Owens, 12 hours 14 minutes.

Where the Crawdads Sing is a 2018 coming-of-age murder mystery novel by American author Delia Owens. The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine. The first timeline describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated in the marshes of North Carolina.

We hope you join us soon!

Facilitated by Marja Byers, Sight Loss Instructor.

Tech Tip

By Michael Babcock – Sight Loss Instructor

The BlindShell Classic 2 is a physical push button phone that speaks everything on it.

 

The face of the phone consists of two rows of function buttons. The top row going from left to right has a button that has a dot on it. This is the info button where you can check in on your notifications and review your battery status and other pertinent information on the device. To the right of the info button is a horizontal line, this is your up button and allows you to go to previous items in the menu or to go back while editing text. To the right of the up button is another dot button. This is the repeat button and allows you to repeat the last thing the phone spoke. If you press and hold this button it’ll spell the last thing the phone spoke.

 

The second row of buttons consists of the following from left to right. A larger green circle button, this is the OK or confirm button. You also use this button to answer calls and access menus. To the right of this button is another horizontal line that is your down button. This allows you to go to the next item in the menu, or two move forward while editing text. To the right of this button is a slanted line, it is red and is the back or end button. Press and hold this for about 2 seconds to turn your blind shell classic two on, press it once to hang up the call, or press and hold to go to the main menu.

For more instruction check out these videos. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36fbdYzeZ60&list=PLNC7pndw1rKOpgBJVrx6a6mAKJE9BvxHm

Walk in the Park

October 23rd at 1:00pm PT we will be hosting a 5k Walk in the Park to bring awareness to vision loss caused by diabetes. Join us for a 3 mile walk around the beautiful property here at the park and enjoy all the fall colors. We will be picking up passengers at the Cleveland max station at noon if you would like a ride. There will be vendors, snacks, information, and fun! Please join us in bringing awareness to diabetes and blindness.

Monster Mash!

By Kat Rogers – Sight Loss Instructor

Just around the corner is MONSTER MASH! The corrected dates are Oct 24-27th. The theme for this year is the “Monstrous Monsters of the 60s” so do some research on monster movies of the 60’s. There will be a test! Tina is our Trivia Queen, try to guess as many correct answers as possible and you’re the winner…

Hurry and sign up, call the office at 503-668-6195.

Upcoming events at the Hull Foundation

-One Day Fun Day to the Hood River Fruit Loop October 5th.

-Hull Foundation Board meeting will be October 14th at 3:00pm PDT via Zoom.

-Lions Walk in the Park for Diabetes and Blindness, October 23rd 1:00pm PT.

-Monster Mash October 24th – 27th

-Introduction to Sight Loss Seminar November 9th – 11th

-The Oregon City Lions club is wanting to put together a VIP Fishing Derby for guests with sight loss in June 2023 at Clackamette Park, if you are interested, please email them at

Hull Foundation Presents Zoom Meetings

October Zoom meetings will include some new topics brought to us by our new sight loss instructor Jewel. She will be teaching independent living skills, crafting, and Making your Home Smarter. We will also have a National Beep Ball Association Q&A, and even a Zoom Halloween Party! 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 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 1

October 4th Tuesday 10-11am PDT

Tech Class with Marty and Michael

October 4th Tuesday 7-8pm PDT

The Chat Café with Teresa and Marja

October 5th Wednesday 6:30-8pm PDT

Independent Living Skills with Jewel

October 6th Thursday 1-2pm PDT

Sight Loss and Hearing Loss, A group Chat with Jael

October 7th Friday 7-8pm PDT

First Friday with Marja

WEEK 2

October 11th Tuesday 10-11am PDT

Book Club with Marja

October 11th Tuesday 10-11am PDT

Tech Class with Marty and Michael

October 11th Tuesday 7-8pm PDT

The Chat Café with Teresa and Marja

October 12th Wednesday 6:30-8pm PDT

How are you Doing and How are you Dealing?

October 13th Thursday 1-2pm PDT

Crafting with Jewel

WEEK 3

October 18th Tuesday 10-11am PDT

Tech Class with Marty and Michael

October 18th Tuesday 7-8pm PDT

The Chat Café with Teresa and Marja

October 19th Wednesday 6-7:30pm PDT

Making your Home Smarter with Jewel

October 20th Thursday 1-2pm PDT

Sight Loss and Hearing Loss, a Group Chat with Jael

October 20th Thursday 6-7pm PDT

Navigating Social Situations with Marja

WEEK 4

October 25th Tuesday 10-11am PDT

Book Club with Marja

October 25th Tuesday 10-11am PDT

Tech Class with Marty and Michael

October 25th Tuesday 7-8pm PDT

The Chat Café with Teresa

October 26th Wednesday 1-2pm PDT

NBBA- National Beep Ball Association with Jael

October 26th Wednesday 6:30-8pm PDT

How are you doing and How are you Dealing with Marja

October 27th Thursday 6-7pm PDT

Halloween Party

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. Where do pencils go for vacation?
A. Pencil-vania!

Q. What is cheese that doesn’t belong to you called?
A. Nacho Cheese!

Q. What is one way we know the ocean is friendly?

A. It waves!

Q. What candy do bumblebees love the most?

A. Bumble gum!

Stay well, stay safe, and stay happy!

The Hull Foundation Family
Phone: 503-668-6195

Email:

Website: www.hullparkfortheblind.org

Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/OralHullPark/?notif_id=1631758417290618&notif_t=page_user_activity&ref=notif

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hullfoundation_learningcenter/

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