Maytag Moments
08.o5-08.14
ALOHA, CAPTION CALL, & PARKINSON’S
08.05.2020:
ALOHA isn’t about Hawaii. It’s Adult Loss of Hearing Association. With a major in Speech Correction at Pepperdine College (Yes, it was a College in Los Angeles before it moved to Malibu to become a University.) I earned my audiometrist certificate in California. That is the first step to becoming an audiologist.
Plans change. After the Navy, I entered the University of Arizona planning on getting my Master’s in Audiology and Speech Therapy.
Plans change. I switched to a Master’s in Education, which I received in 1967. I wound up teaching elementary and middle school for thirty-five years. I enjoyed it!
We were having difficulty hearing enough that I had us get our hearing checked. We had minor losses in the high range, but enough that I knew getting aids early would train our ears (and brain) to get used to them before our hearing got worse. We bought our first aids in 1999. Just like your computer or TV, the aids need to be upgraded every five or six years. A few years later, we began attending the Aloha support group meetings. We got our questions answered and found friends who were struggling with similar disabilities and were able to learn from different members. ALOHA is located at 4001 E. Fort Lowell Road. (520) 795-9887 www.alohaaz.org info@alohaaz.org.
It was at Aloha that we learned about Caption Call phones. We found that our hearing disabilities qualified us to receive our two sets in 2011 at no charge. Having voice-to-print on our phone screen increased our clarity and levels of understanding instantly. I told the Audiologist, “I don’t care if I have to wear a red box that says SPEAK INTO THIS – I want to hear.” Our first hearing aids were behind-the-ear devices.
Do you remember when you received your first set of glasses? If you were in grade school up through high school, it may have taken a few weeks for you to feel comfortable wearing them. But if they helped you see better, if you realized that wearing glasses wasn’t all that bad, you soon adjusted and often forgot you had them on.
The same thing happens with hearing aids. If you leave them in your dresser drawer, or the glove compartment, or your pocket, you are isolating yourself. They don’t work if you don’t wear them. Others may not notice or they may be used to seeing aids just like they get used to glasses.
Eventually, you might even forget that you are wearing them. Just like your cell phones, hearing aids are continually being upgraded. PJ’s new aids will be synced to her cell phone so that she can get voice-to-print instantly.
Walk into a movie theatre and you can get captioning units free of charge. It took action by the body of HOH (Hard of Hearing) folks to have theatres supply this service. Now, it is a law that, just like handicap parking, theaters must provide this service.
That’s why you can get a Caption Call phone free. Since PJ and I have marked hearing losses, (This comes from our shouting at each other for over sixty years.), we have phones in our two offices.
Do you have to be a member of ALOHA to get a Caption Call phone? Of course not. Just contact Judy Katz Esbit by calling 520-247-6892 or email at jesbit@captioncall.com
Judy is the Arizona Account Manager for Caption Call. www.captioncall.com
Another way to meet Judy and other members of ALOHA is to attend the group support meetings on Tuesdays at 1:00 to 2:00 through their ZOOM program. You don’t even have to worry about noon-day traffic. Just contact Aloha and they will send you an invite to the Zoom meeting. You need a laptop or a computer with audio/visual. My PC is so old it doesn’t have a camera. I bought an attachment from Best Buy for under $15.oo that plugged into a USB port. I also bought a pair of Logi earphones for under $30.00 with a microphone attached and I am good to go. It’s a business expense.
On another side of our news: This is the Mahi-Mahi dinner. I’m used to a one-pan stirfry where everything is tossed in. This recipe calls for three pans! Rice – carrots – Mahi.
Notice on the lower right corner, it says Difficulty Level: Expert. Ha! Joe (our son) is a professional Chef; Ana (an ex-student of mine) is a Chef; Jennifer (an ex-student of mine, now living in Colorado) is a Chef. They might have been able to do it in the 35-45-minute preparation time and have the plated results looking like the picture.
Swombo is no slouch when it comes to preparing a meal. I can usually follow her directions. It took us over an hour of frantic mixing and checking which burner was on, stirring the rice, stirring the carrots, and finally, frying the Mahi-Mahi. This is our result: The added Mandarin oranges and cilantro are a tasteful touch. We wound up with enough leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
Before I forget: at 1030 we took a short, 1200-steps walk in Park Place Mall. First time in four weeks that we’ve walked anywhere. I’ve been the hold-back with IBS. My new meds are giving me a little more freedom.
08.06.2020:! PARKINSON’S + Slept until 0600: My left arm needs strength. A tremor in right.
1230: We walked the Mall again for a total of 1387 steps. Not much, I’ll admit. But we walked. Tresha would be proud of me. My gait is spot on. Maybe we can double those steps tomorrow. What does this have to do with Parkinson’s? Everything has to do with PD. It lurks off-stage each day. Sometimes, it’s a tremor. Sometimes, it’s the slow walk. Sometimes, it’s the gas in the gut…or not. Today, as we walked the Mall, I felt comfortable that I wouldn’t have to rush to the restroom. Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have considered attempting anything more than fifty feet from a restroom.
08.07.2020: 0445: Up and filled the birdbath. 0700: I had a delightfully long conversation with Sara (of Yiska fame), this morning. We’ve known her for 23 years through The Compassionate Friends, with the loss of her son. She’s a Leukemia survivor. She’s a survivor period! Last year, she walked the 500-mile trek in Spain. Google this journal by Malcolm McKay.
Walk of a lifetime: Why the epic Camino trail across Spain is a route to true happiness By MALCOLM MCKAY
PUBLISHED: 13:50 EDT, 15 June 2012 | UPDATED: 06:44 EDT, 20 June 2012
- For the past thirty days, Sara has been producing calligraphy art with illustrations.
I’m new at this Instagram thing, so here are three sites:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm#inbox/FMfcgxwJXLfqrGqTWWhzThkgDzKPXXfq She’s going to travel to Washington State later this month to visit family. Then to Croatia and Italy.
I’m new at this Instagram thing, so here are three sites:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm#inbox/FMfcgxwJXLfqrGqTWWhzThkgDzKPXXfq She’s going to travel to Washington State later this month to visit family. Then to Croatia and Italy. She has some fantastic art on Instagram and the Redbubble.
https://www.redbubble.com/people/SaraThereseArt/shop
She has some fantastic art on Instagram and the Redbubble.
I can see some of her designs on flip-calendars, or wall hangings, or shower curtains, T-shirts, clothing, or quilts maybe, Margot? Virginia? Barbara? Flo? Sabrina? Helena? Gailian? Corinna? Brett? Swombo? Anyone else? What do you think?
1045: PJ and I walked the Mall today: 2480 steps= 90% of the halls. We walked past the ice cream without stopping. (Yes, it was open.) We cleaned up the leftovers for lunch and dinner. Watched PBS News and Arizona 360, and went to bed by 2100.
08.08.2020: 0600: Slept late again (I was awake from 0200 to 0300 thinking about Maytag Moments, and my CIP and the upcoming A/C installation.) The problem with that hour is that I don’t write it down – I used to – so the first (or second or third) thing when I get up is come into my office and write the list.
1000: I’m trying to attend a ZOOM meeting of RWA. I fouled something up and couldn’t get on. Finally made it after 45 minutes of grumbling and saying colorful words to the Spirits. Another member came to my rescue and gave me access for the final 15 minutes. I am sorry I missed it. 1415: We’ve had lunch, and PJ is reading. I’m working on my CIP.
Dinner was a challenge. Panko-Crusted Chicken Breast and White Wine Demi with smoked Gouda mash and roasted bacon over asparagus. (Prep & Cook Time: 40-50 min.) Maybe for the expert or an Intermediate. I’m sure glad PJ was there to supervise. We managed to mash the potatoes but forgot about the asparagus baking at 400º. Remembered them five minutes too late. Long, toothpickish, and crunchy. It was still edible. We had great fun! (I think.) You don’t need to see the picture of the results.
08.09.2020: 0415: We had breakfast at 0800 and watched the church service while eating. We had everything planned so that we could walk the Mall at 1000 and be home in time for the church talk-back at 1045. Discovered that the Mall isn’t open to walkers until 1100 on Sundays! Drove home and received an important call from Lucy in San Diego. She will be out of the hospital this coming week, we hope. Lucy sang at our wedding. Our prayers are for her.
Julie delivers groceries to us most of the time. At 1400, she showed up with supplies purchased from Albertson’s. She and Phyllis have a common grocery list on their cell phones so when Julie goes out she just takes a look at the list and she knows what Phyllis currently needs. Saturday, we discovered we were out of milk. We drove to sprouts wore masks, of course, walked in. There might have been 12 people in the store. Everyone was wearing a mask. We were inside about 10 minutes, got the milk, and two or three things additionally.
I think we’re adjusting to this lockdown situation. I’m certainly glad I’m not a teacher. I would not go to class until they pandemic totals registered zero. I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Which brings me to the next topic: Quail Run Writers.
Our last meeting as a group in a home was in January or maybe the first week of February. Originally, the idea was as soon as the pandemic was over (ha!), we would meet in the homes again. We could hug each other and enjoy talking the first hour before we got to work. That’s not gonna happen in the near future. Since we don’t have to worry about setting the table for six or seven or ten of us to sit around and eat chocolates (not really). Most of the samples were truly healthy. Therefore, our group can expand in size. We now have two members from the state of Georgia and one from Northern California. We are not yet using Zoom or Google Meet so nobody even has to worry about combing their hair. So far we’re doing 10-minute assignments once a week. Tough! In a couple of weeks, we’ll expand our challenges. In the next MM, I’ll print some of the results so you can see how frighteningly difficult the challenges are. Eventually, we will be writing memoirs, or mysteries, or stories with chapters (of which we will read short segments). Ten minutes opening and then a free-for-all of individual choices or projects. Deadlines will be each Monday at midnight. (open to change)
If you feel something
calling you to dance,
or write, or paint
or sing, please refuse
to worry about whether
you’re good enough.
Just do it.
~Glennon Doyle~