I wouldn’t change your writing style, Carrie. You are well within accessibility guidelines. I’m sorry; we should have been more specific. It should have read, ALL screen-reading programs don’t tell you when a word is hyperlinked. I believe the most recent version of JAWS lets you know it is a hyperlink with a pause. I’ve even heard users of the newest edition of JAWS talk about skipping from link to link as a way of scanning a page. I’m not sure about Window Eyes, but since it is more expensive than JAWS ,I bet it has a similar feature. ZoomText doesn’t tell you in any way. "this is a hyperlink.". But, ZoomText is a screen-reading AND screen magnification program combined so you don’t get all the bells and whistles on the screen reading part of the program. I use the form I do on Amargia’s blog because I know the Amargia blog has readers who are struggling along with ZoomText or free reading programs when a dedicated screen reader program might work better for them. ZoomText cost about $400 or $500 less than JAWS. It is easier for older people with less computer experience to use. And, of course, it allows you to use any residual vision you might have to the absolute max. I’m considering stepping up to JAWS or Window Eyes. I continue to use ZoomText because it allows me to see formatting. I may not actually be able to read the text at 2X or 3X and I can’t really see photos as anything more than blurs of color. But,with ZoomText and a little imagination, I can still check the overall page layout. Humans are visual creatures by nature. If you remember being able to see and if you were a highly visual person then, you remain highly visual as a blind person. You don’t stop caring about such things. Vision just becomes more and more of an internal process as your eyesight fades. It is still important to me that something I write looks good on the page. The rest of the world isn’t losing its sight just because I’m losing mine. lol. Perhaps, when Nadi has mastered page layout and I can fully trust her judgment, I will go to JAWS. I know it would be a major adjustment for me to work without any visual input though. As far as I know, I01 and I are the only DG customers with screen reading programs. Hyperlinks aren’t a problem for me because I can set the magnification part of my program on high contrast. I can still see the piercing blue color hyperlinks show up as. (Jim and Nadi say the high contrast is so bright it hurts their eyes.) I believe I01 has less residual than I do so she might know more about what dedicated screen reading systems can and can’t do. Hopefully, she will drop back in at tomato growing time.
Thanks, Debra. One more plant ID done! Jim finally got the ID. I thought it was a snow drop too. But, Jim said the photo didn’t match. He re-examined the possibility when you also said snowdrops. He said, "Well, why didn't you tell me there were different kinds of snowdrops." ROFL. He thinks it is Leucojum aestivum. What a mouthful! I think they will go by the common name "dewdrops" around here. Maybe, in zone 4 they are "SUMMER snowflakes." They were only a couple weeks early this year. k*
This message was edited Feb 5, 2012 9:38 PM
#14: Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners
Thanks for the clarification, Kay, I had the Writers team up in arms! They'll be happy. But just because you and IO1 are the only people you know of doesn't mean we should assume they're the only people out there!! That's discrimination!!!
Nadine, the first article ("Snags" I think) was published by a self-recruited writer today, Sunday. That button isn't going to be there forever......
This message was edited Feb 5, 2012 10:22 PM
I was putting myself in the role of “average blind computer user. (And, unfairly, IO1. I really don’t know if she is an “average” computer user or not. She may be quite extraordinary for all I know.) The goal of most websites is to make themselves accessible to the average blind computer user. DG is doing fine, as far as I know. How many garden sites can say their plant profiles include the work of a blind photographer? ROFL. One of my photos is in PlantFiles.
If a blind user came to you and said, “Look, I’m using a free screen reading program I downloaded and I can’t access the hyperlinks. Would you change your writing style so I know where the hyperlinks are?” And, your response was “No.” without any rational reason, That would be discrimination.
The Amargia blog is different. I would recognize most of the people who read my stuff on the street. I probably even know their dog’s name. I write for the audience I know I have. I adapt things so it is easy for them because they have asked me to. To me, it is not discrimination until I refuse their request.
At the moment, I’m having trouble with a cooking site because, I suspect, they think they are helping people. Even when I turn off my ZoomText their typeface is huge. The larger you make typeface the less you can see on the screen. It makes navigation harder. All it does for me is gives me a large blurry image I can’t see, instead of a small blurry image I can’t see. High contrast, not size, is the key for someone with my type of vision loss. I can’t use the color contrast I find easiest unless I take the time to reset my default settings. Unless I do that, I’m stuck with what they assume I need. I now frequent a different. Less helpful cooking site and I won’t renew my membership to the helpful site. Being too accommodating can backfire. It isn’t like a mobility accessible issue. Ramps and elevators are good for everybody. (Even the able-bodied, just ask anyone who is moving furniture.) When dealing with blindness issues, my advice is, “Unless someone complains that it don’t work, don’t t try to fix it.” Some http’s are incredibly long and look and sound plain ugly on the page. Even on “Different Shades of Green” we hyperlinked those to some obvious word. That blind computer users have trouble with hyperlinks is something to keep in mind, but I wouldn’t do anything drastic about it unless DG gets a member who has a real problem. It’s a tech problem and tech will eventually take care of it. Just don’t get me started on captcha codes. Those are the bane of ALL blind computer users. GR-R-R!!!
Thanks, Kay. I tried putting in the http blah blah code where I would ordinarily just put in a link and it looks FUGLY! (A bad word I learned from my daughters, I'm ashamed to say. It's worse than ugly.) Now I can change it back to a nice, neat link. Sallyg (Sally G. Miller) suggested that my VI friend may be able to get a text reader from the Library of Congress.
http://davesgarden.com/contest/daves-garden-writeoff
Nadine, or Faye, or whoever you are, this is your next chance!
Mama Kay really put her foot down and wouldn’t let me work on the porch roof today which is what I had planned. We put a white sealant on the tin every year to keep the porch cooler and prevent leaks. It’s like painting with a super thick latex paint. I still think I could have done it, but MK said my BP was too low.
P.J. has gotten into the habit of taking everyone’s BP every day. Mine was 85/65. MK said that was way too low to be working in high places. It can make you dizzy and your mind sluggish. She gave me some concoctions she used before they put her on medication that increase thyroid function and it was normal by this evening. It has never been so low at the doctor’s office. I’ve started keeping a record of what I do and how my BP response. Maybe, the doctor can use my record as a diagnostic tool and I will finally get a real diagnosis. MK has me slated to go without my high potency energy drink tomorrow to see the effect that has on my BP. I know it is necessary to get a clear picture of what’s going on. The stimulants in the drink could be masking symptoms. I’m REALLY not looking forward to this experiment. I know that I’ll feel like a zombie without my “Monster.” ;-) That’s why I drink them.
MK is grumbling about “crazy T.A.P.s and her knees hurting, but we agreed if she was going to start putting the sealant on the roof, she mustn’t stand up. If she worked on her hands and knees there was little chance of her falling. If the seat of her coveralls is any indication, she quickly gave up the hands and knees agreement and developed her own method of moving around without standing up. Lol.
Luckily, we haven’t planted much outside even though it looked and felt like spring. Temps are predicted to dive down into the 20’s over the next few days. PJ potted the tomatoes up to larger containers and there are violas popping up in the seed trays inside. ~N~
Nadine, I know it will be unpleasant and low BP is no more to be messed around with than is high BP. If you get symptom data and can correlate it with activities or other external influences, I think you are right that it can help come up with a diagnosis.
I have low blood pressure, Nadine. It runs in my family for one thing, and it goes with MS also. Where I don't stand much (lol) I don't faint anymore, but I used to.
Hypo- and hypertension have many of the same symptoms. Hypotension doesn’t pose the immediate dangers hypertension does though, if you stay off roves and ladders, that is. . It usually indicates either a hormone problem or a common heart condition called a mitral valve prolapse. Hopefully, the record will give the doctor a better idea of which direction to look. My bet is hypothyroidism because she responded so well to treatment with sodium. . When the treatment I used to combat the dizziness she had yesterday is out of her system, they should be able to validate or eliminate that idea with a simple blood test. Hypotension is much easier to treat than hypertension, if you can find the cause.
Jim’s new back doctor thinks that if they treat his arthritis more aggressively they can eliminate much of the pain and he want require so much pain killer. He thinks the arthritis is causing more pain than the back injury. The only bad news Jim got is that the same doctor will be doing the discography who blundered the procedure before. He is understandably nervous about that. His new back doctor says they can give him medication before the discography that will decrease the likelihood of complications so Jim is willing to go through it again, but a new MRI comes first. Jim isn’t the least bit claustrophobic. MRIs don’t trouble him. He’s looking at the idea of going back to work as a tech assistant if he can decrease the meds enough they don’t fog his brain. You know, one of those people who talk you through computer problems or how to program your new phone.
Hopefully, the cold snap will pass through quickly and not do much damage. How long the cold stays seems to be more of a factor than how cold it gets. Most locals view Valentine’s Day as the start of our growing season and do little before that date. Traditionally, V-day is potato planting day. Think we will try the potatoes in a garbage can method IO1 mentioned here once. Potatoes in cans, tomatoes in strawbales, peppers in e-buckets and every other annual vegetable in tabletop planters. . It is going to be a highly experimental year in the vegetable garden.
Sounds fun. :-)
Is there a Jim anymore, now that Kay turned into Armagia? (mourning the loss of kudzu--well, not kudzu, but kudzuone the poster, deeply)
lol. I'm still around. I've just been flying under the radar. All that has changed on forums is "kudzu1" is now "amargia." On forums the user name, amargia,will always be Kay. Nadine and I kept our own user names. We discovered a long time ago that keeping 3 separate and mostly redundant tradelist and journal records was a waste of time and energy. We started transferring it all to Kay's "kudzu1" account. I guess because we saw it as Kay's account and, thus, Kay's private space, Kay ended up doing all the data entry. It's her ploy to get Nadine and I to help keep up the records. Nadine and I just enter data into the journal and help keep the tradelist up to date. Because it is "amargia" now, it doesn't seem so much like Kay's private space. We decided that was less expensive and less confusing than adding a fourth account. (Jim)
I liked kudzu1 for Kay, because they both start with "K" and because even I, up here in the frozen north, know about kudzu! Seacane and Sansai are new to me as pesky plants. I'm going to try loading up to 5 images. OK, some fairly random ones came up! My HD is a mess.
This message was edited Feb 12, 2012 11:46 AM
beautiful pics! I'll go ahead and wish you a happy valentines day. I bought 2 minature red roses at Wally World.More so to assure myself that spring is on the way than anything else.
I had thought kudzu was a worthless weed till Kay got me to look it up. All these 2012 planners should be planting it. Just think how important it would be. You could eat it,animals could eat it,make woven baskets and it makes a perfect defence barrier.(Watched a program on surviving 2012 last night.) Nope not intrested in tryng to survive.I've got ANGELS!
Ooooh, mini-roses, what a nice idea! Thanks for the brain-wave, Vickie!
And HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!
This message was edited Feb 14, 2012 10:43 AM
Yeah, angels are all you need. I agree. Oh-h-h, miniature roses. There are even some fragrant varieties. Keep us up on your mini rose growing experience, Vickie. I loved playing among the pots of mini roses my uncle grew on his patio when I was little, but I’ve never tried to grow them myself.
We are prepping sites for some new additions today. A couple of weeping willows, two persimmon trees and honeyberry. I have my doubts that we can successfully grow honeyberry. (I associate honeyberries with the colder parts of Russia and have a hard time imagining them in our summer heat.) Some new cultivars have recently come out, however, that are a little more heat tolerant than the straight species. Jim really likes the taste of honeyberries so he is determined to, at least, attempt growing them. (Some of us may have descended from apes, but I’ve long suspected Jim evolved from a bear as much as he loves berries.)
Red creeping thyme will be a new one for us this year, as well. The fairies must have shown up in droves to check out the thyme sampler you sent, Debra, because thymes have done so well ever since we are adding more. I swear I couldn’t get them to grow before. Maybe, there were fairies hidden in the box. lol. k*
Shhh, that wasa secret. :-)
Kay, Jim, Nadine--you guys stay safe!
Fairies? You sent them FAIRIES? Or am I being too loud?
I may have, might be, kinda sorta "invited" some fairies to see if they might like living at Amargia. Seems they accepted... :-}
I'd live there or somewhere similar if I could. My first cousins, with whom I spent every summer growing up, built a co-housing community from scratch and for $20,000 I could have moved there--lots of neighborly help and built-in friends and lovely community--but they didn't build a single house with a ramp; they're all two story. Outside of Washington dc but I SO would have relocated....it's like they didn't want me, or that's how it felt.
When are people going to realize ramps are a good thing for everyone.
We are waterlogged, but otherwise okay. Electricity was if-y for awhile, but I haven’t heard that any people were hurt. A little scared to check and see what erosion damage we suffered. Decided not to spoil my Sunday by looking. Dealing with stuff like that is what Monday mornings are made for.
Kay’s book reading equipment has battery back-up so we have had something other than the storms to occupy our minds. I couldn’t download, however, so we were limited to reading what she had on hand. I would never have imagined I would be so bored I would read a book on the history of the pencil, but I did…and actually liked it! I never knew Hennery David Thoreau funded his writing addiction by working in his families pencil making business. When I thought of Thoreau at all, I thought of him as having his head in the clouds. Henry David Thoreau, the practical engineer, was a view of him I had never had. I must admit though I have never actually read Thoreau‘s books. I just had a basic idea of who he was and had read a few quotes from his work.
I also discovered our humble red cedars (juniperus virginiana) have uses other than as a traditional southern Christmas tree. According to the book, more than one local farmer switched to the then-new barbed wire fencing when suppliers of raw materials for the pencil industry wanted their red cedar fence post. It is still considered the absolutely best wood for quality pencils and was over-harvested to the point it became rare in many parts of the south. The research and development departments of pencil manufacturers scrambled to find replacement woods, but red cedar is still consider the most superior wood for pencils. Don’t know why, but it gives you a deeper appreciation of the common things around you when you know their stories.
Nor do I know where Kay digs up these obscure books or why she reads some of them. I mean, really, PENCILS? She hasn’t been able to see well enough to use a pencil in years. Some of them aren’t as dry and dusty as their titles would lead you to believe. I enjoy learning when it isn’t a frustrating boring process. Mild dyslexia spoiled my early learning experiences. I’m beginning to understand what motivates the life-long students and autodidacts I’ve met. Who knows, when there is another power outage, I may even read that world history of money book she has. lol. I’m doing my taxes. It might be interesting to know how it all came to be such a mess. (Jim)
A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete, but dry, list orf all the fauna and flora in a town. (Henry David Thoreau)
I've often wondered (seriously I have) how Thoreau could afford to be Thoreau. I mean it's all very well to live in the woods and be a Transcendentalist and be kind of mystic about how much it costs to build your shack, but SOMEBODY had to give him some money somewhere! We're big into Thoreau back here--Walden Pond is not far--but nobody ever talks about the pencil factory. I should write an article about Walden Pond, no?
I think that is a good article idea, Carrie. Writing about Walden would mean you get to write about both Thoreau and Emerson. It was actually Emerson’s property, wasn’t it? Few places were as well described. It would be interesting to have a double vision on the place. What it looks like today compared to what it looked like in the 1850’s . I knew about the Thoreau & Son pencil Co., but I didn’t know before reading “Pencil” that he developed a new graphite compound or that he had his own land survey business. Measuring everything was evidently a quirk of his
If I ever decided to take everything I’ve learned at Amargia and create a disabled writer/artist community from scratch, the first thing I would do is have it surveyed for it’s topographical levelness. We seem to spend an inordinate amount of time making and keeping things level. . Then, I would visit the property again after a heavy rain. Starting out with a level piece of property would have made things so much easier. But, Amargia started out as a land reclamation project and we are still working at that.
The erosion was BAD. I’ve heard this area called part of the coastal plains, but the coastal sandhills is more accurate. I’ve been teasing MK about creating “the Amargia Plateau” with all her earthmoving. PJ has expressed the theory that there is some genetic imperative that drives those descended from the mound building tribes to move dirt from one place to another. He and I are both 200% behind the retaining wall building project now. You can clearly see how much bigger the problem would have been without the walls by the amount of soil that built up behind them in the course of the storm. Melinda tells me I am a highly visual learner. I guess she is right. I would never have believed that rain could have moved so much soil so quickly short of a landslide. until I saw it. But, I still want to come up with ways to make this practical necessity more visually appealing. Now that I fully understand how necessary terracing of some sort is.
It was the roadway that was hit worst. I wonder if MK has a book on the history of road building. :-) Honestly, I liked the pencil book too. It was a book on engineering as told through the development of the pencil. I think it was very smart of the author to use pencils, instead of the default subject for engineering, bridges. Anyone can grasp pencils, literally and figuratively.
The wood anemones are blooming…in PJ’s deck farm. Ah-ha, that’s where they disappeared to. :-) ~N~
Yes, I think when I'm done with these stupid olives I may do Walden. For something with local religious and historic significance I really should know more about it--Nadine knows more than I do! But then, olives have religious and historic significance too. It's just....after I work on an article for a while, the metaphoric paper starts to get smeared and grey, even though no paper touches my fingers, ever.
Glads from Amargia. (photo taken yesterday) It certainly has been a warm winter... :-)
Getting Jim set up for surgery is frustrating. The doctor who will be doing the discography will do the procedure next Monday if VA will sign off on the fact that Jim’s blood pressure is under control. The VA doctor says she can’t sign off on it until she can examine him. Okay, that sounded reasonable. Then, she said she can’t work him into her schedule until AUGUST!! I’ll see tomorrow if his civilian doctor is willing to sign a paper saying his blood pressure is under control. The doctor who will be doing the discography is very cautious after things went so terribly awry last time. When I was little, we played a game called Hot Potato. The object was to get the ball (hot potato) into another players hands as fast as possible. Who would have guessed doctors still played that game. ;-)
That sounds like it would be an interesting article to write, Carrie. How far are you from Concord?
How are you recovering from the fall, Vickie?
Since it is obviously warming up there, Debra, I’ll put your tea olive in the mail first of next month. K*
Thank you, Kay. :-)
Think maybe I'm back again. Have a beautiful house but I did get sick. Don't know what was wrong.Weak,some stomach upset,hard time breathing.OK again now.Have GOT to make an appointment at UAMC.
I love my angels.I keep them close at all times. They make great "Worry Stones" too." Since I did'nt feel like doing anything.I just sat and crocheted and watched TV.I was so depressed.What is so bad....I have no reason to be depressed.Anyway am on the mend. Have missed you.
Vickie
Vickie, even if it is a good one like the renovation, any big change can bring on depression. Glad you are mending and happy you are back. :-)
Raining again, but it is a gentle rain. Parrot tulips are blooming.
The discography on my back is postponed until August. VA controls my blood pressure medication and they won’t sign off on the surgery until they have monitored me for awhile. I think they are being overly cautious. But, the med they gave me after the botched discography that dramatically reduces most people’s BP didn’t have much effect on me. It bothers them they have no effective means of bringing it down if it happens again. I think it is mostly just a matter of putting the ball firmly in my court by saying it was caused entirely by my BP problem and had nothing to do with their clipping a horsetail nerve. The pain from that is so bad it would skyrocket anyone’s BP. Doctors live in fear of lawsuits these days I suppose and shielding themselves is a high priority.
Nadine is taking a course for her medical transcription certification and got a call back on an application she put in a long time ago so she has been focused on that. Kay’s been doing her mound building ancestors proud by the amount of earth she’s been moving to correct the erosion damage and prevent future problems. Even started on an earthen ramp to the barn entrance. Wish we could trade some of our sandy loam for some of your rocks, Vickie, to keep our shifting sands in place. As it is, we use whatever we can get our hands on to build retaining walls and Kay just faces the different materials with rustic concrete to create a consistent look. .
Seeded Lavender for the sunny portion of the embankment. I hope that works. I like that idea a lot. We are trying several varieties to see which works. Kay says her money is on the Spanish lavender, but it w as English lavender (Lavandula vera? Lavandula angustifolia?) we seeded. If Nadine doesn’t get around soon to asking that question about botanical name synonyms on the “Ask a Gardener” forum, I will. The seed package said Lavandula vera, but Google took us to Lavandula angustifolia and Plantfiles listed l. vera as a synonym. (Jim)
Oh, boooh, Jim, that's a long wait! And I dunno about A-a-G; that's just people no smarter than I with their thinking caps on. Maybe Melody or hmmmmmm maybe Melody knows, but I don't. It's kinda like if a dog will answer to it then that's its name; if a plant will grow for you call it what you will.
Sorry, Jim.
Happy about Nadine.
Wish I could send you some rocks, Kay. Lots of demo around here from which to reclaim concrete chunks.
Agree with you, Carrie. :-)
Debra, I have had MS for more than half of my life now. :(
Carrie, I am very sorry. I can only imagine how tough just everyday activities can be for you. My fingers are crossed that a cure is found in our lifetimes. Thinking of volunteering for UT Southwestern's research programs. Have all the contact information, just haven't made the call. I am lazy enough that even driving to their location seems like too much effort :/, but, my sister wants me to go and it might actually be of some benefit to someone somewhere. So what have I got to lose but some time?
My girls (now that they are both over 18, eek!) are giving DNA swab to a genetic study here. My parents are both still alive but too old for the study parameters. (1st degree relatives ages 18-65.) Is that the best place in Dallas to go? DH had his interview today and didn't feel it went especially well. So we may be settling in here for a few more years. I hope I can keep him alive!
Hi - Just want to let you all know that I'm hanging in (and out) even though I haven't posted much here.
Am in the midst of a rough trip to san diego - car trouble, friend now former friend) trouble, rain on (and in) my leaiy van, money problems. and I'm fine. will have money tomorrow to buy stuff I need so I can then head home. I've lost thirty-five pounds and my doctor thinks I'm wonderful. got the calls made so surgery for my left knee replacement will be scheduled soon and probably done in May.
I managed to stay warm and dry and sleep well while most of my stuff got drenched - a miracle. I've handled everything with the help of a few very good friends. twenty-six years of sobriety helps.
carrie, excellent news on dd dumping the bf - belated congrats.
hugs,katie
Glad you let us know, Katie. Got some worry 'boutcha. :-)
Good to hear from you, Katiebear. We were beginning to worry about you.
One of MK’s great-nieces has decided to specialize in neurological research. She thinks if the blood brain barrier is fully understood, it will help with a big handful of health problems including MS and Depression. She is a little younger than me and only pre-med, but what she says sounds logical. If it were possible to get the chemicals the brain needs passed the blood brain barrier, you would have a truly effective way to treat Depression and if you could prevent a damaging agent from crossing the blood brain barrier you would have an effective way to treat MS.
Everything has started blooming and MK has the seeding bench packed solid with little seedlings. Tomatoes are even in the ground. We figure if there is another cold snap they will still be small enough for cloches. MK was working outside today in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, but I refuse to believe spring is really here until the bridal wreath spirea blooms. That usually isn’t until mid-March.
The situation with PJ and the discography is beginning to remind me of a book I read once, “The Castle.” By Franz Kafka. Or, maybe, “Catch 22.” The doctor who would be doing the discography says VA has to sign a paper saying his BP is stable before they will schedule the procedure. The higher ups at VA now say signing such a statement is against their regulations. His GP says he would be willing to sign such a statement, but he can’t because PJ gets his BP meds through VA. For his part, PJ is beginning to wonder if the powers that be are trying to tell him something. MK is going in to see the doctor with PJ next time. PJ is too nice sometimes. Mk has no such problem. :-) ~N~
Wonderful sign of spring, a tulip.I'm happy with crocus.
Am glad Kay is going with Jim. Sometimes Doctors simply have to be told-"How the cow ate the cabbage."LOL
hugs and prayers Jim.
Rocks! did someone say rocks!LOL