May 2017

Delma Taylor and her husband Ed have been attending our Senior Program for longer than anyone. Delma was the one who’d lost her sight, and Ed came for support and to give it as well. A few years ago Ed’s sight failed too, and they kept coming.

Ed passed away in April and, the day after Memorial Day, Delma and her son Ron came with family to plant a Peace Rose in our Legacy Garden. Duncan and some of the seniors came out to the garden as son Ron and great-nephew Isaac (shown in the photo above) did the digging and the planting.

We send our sympathies to Delma and the taylor family for their loss, and thank them for the honor of having Ed’s memorial rose in our garden!

Who can resist a 2-for-1 deal? Steve called it out at morning announcements – Ashley for her support drop (meaning she spent the morning with Steve), and Julie M. on her solo drop! What a great deal – and they both made it back successfully, and with more confidence in their independent travel skills!

Limit one coupon per Travel Instructor, please.

It’s still too chilly for tender basil and eggplant and jalepeños, not to mention tomatoes and tomatillos and thyme, but it was a great morning to plant seeds in our Legacy Garden with Arapahoe County’s Master Gardeners! So that’s what happened – Jen and Carina’s 1st hour Braille classes went out first, followed by Tech classes with Chip, Chris and Showe.

By next week, the night airs will be considerably warmer, and we’ll be able to put in our plants. For now, it’s exciting – the growing season is definitely underway!

While Center staff hold an educational and planning day, students are excused from classes, though not from learning.

No, it’s the annual scavenger hunt that CCB alums will recall. Students are divided up into groups and given a list of 30 items they must find or produce today, and bring to the Center tomorrow. Items on the list involve a lot of Braille, traveling to various locations to get such things as menus or business cards or other unusual items. There’s also a baking item on the list, and some research on the Internet can help, but everything is required to be in Braille or have a Braille label.

That way, there’s something that everyone can do. Thus, students work together and use the skills they’ve been practicing in class.

And yes, it’s a competition. The winning group will receive a gift card for a popular place to eat.

Spring rock climbing with NSCD is underway, and Group 2 made their way on Tuesday to Denver PAL’s indoor climbing wall for their introductory climb, and lessons in harnessing up, tying knots and belaying. NSCD fittingly hung a bell at the top of each route so climbers can ring it loud and proud when they reach the top! We’re good with ringing that bell with confidence!

In addition to the introductory indoor climb, each group does two outdoor climbs in Clear Creek Canyon as well, though Group 2’s scheduled outdoor climb on Friday has been rescheduled because … Well, it’s snowing again in Colorado in May!

Ashley took the practical desire to know how to sew on a button several steps further after signing up for the after-school sewing class, and turned her new sewing skills into tactile art!

Moms, along with Dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends and of course spouses and children, regularly attend the graduation ceremonies of our students. The clips that make up this video are from three 2017 graduations – those for Jackson, Trevor and Brittany, during which their respective moms (and one grandma), shared their feelings and hopes for their now-grown children.

Last year’s gardening season, with the Arapahoe County Master Gardeners from first to last spade, and Kimberley giving us historic background.

By Thursday, Jessica was challenging herself to travel independently between classes while wearing sleep shades.

We want to give a farewell wave to Jessica Edmiston, who spent Monday through Thursday here at the Center, not just observing, but working under sleep shades all week, going to classes with student mentors and working on the basics of Braille, Assistive Technology, cooking and travel. And as it happened, she was here to witness three graduations, including partaking of the meals prepared for 60 by the graduates, and the awarding of their Freedom Bells!

It’s no small deal for Jessica to take a week to do this, since she’s the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind Birmingham Regional Center Director. That’s a long title, and it has a lot of responsibility to go with it, but her center contains a recently established Structured Discovery program, which is (the methodology and philosophy we employ here at CCB, called the Alabama Freedom Center for the Blind.

Well, yes! And a geek who is blind can be too, as David describes how he’s come from being only able to warm up frozen French fries to making Shepherd’s Pie for fifteen people.

Safe travels to our friends from Rustin as they head back to Louisiana on Friday! Two faculty members and five graduate students in Orientation & Mobility from Louisiana Tech University spent this week in the Denver area, observing and working with our staff, exploring the Metro area and testing out the RTD system.

We have three graduations this week – Courtney, or C.G. as she has been known in her time at CCB, graduated on Monday, Suzie today, wednesday, and Ellen finishes on Thursday. All of them finished excellent wood shop projects last week. Ellen built a very nice bookshelf, and both C.G. and Suzie made the first sets of wind chimes students have made here. There must be something in the air … Well, the ringing of Freedom Bells, naturally!

Another Martial Arts group finished up on Tuesday, earning their orange belts from instructor Rachel. At the start of the ceremony, Rachel commented that each time she comes she is more aware of the spirit of independence and confidence that students and staff at the Center embody. From left to right are Travis, Ceci, Mike, Serena, David, Showe, Chaz and Rachael. Graham graduated from the Center in late April, but was part of this class.

“Is Suzie here this morning?” asked Daniel yesterday at morning announcements.

“No!” protested Suzie

This is how it goes sometimes near the end of a student’s program – things can get bunched up a bit. Suzie will graduate on May 10. On Tuesday this week, she completed her Monster Route – traveling to four places she’d never been before in four Metro-area cities. That’s a big, big day, and her protests were certainly as much about the fact that she was still a little tired as it was about the fact that it was raining yesterday morning.

You wouldn’t have needed to be told that Dorine’s Cinnamon-Pudding Cake was an award-winner if you had been anywhere near the Center’s kitchen this afternoon. It’s our spring Seniors in Charge week, and we have five dynamic seniors determined to keep living the lives they want. This afternoon, of course, they were cooking and baking under sleepshades, and the smell of that cake had mouths watering out in the lobby and beyond!

Sleepshades are optional, though encouraged, in the five-day training for seniors. This group is pretty game though, and all are giving them a good workout this week.