Learning Shades

Zen and the Art of Archery was a popular book in the 1970s among a certain crowd in which martial arts practitioners became adept at hitting the bullseye while blindfolded. What does that mean? Who really knows, other than it was the era of the “Kung Fu” TV series.

Nonetheless, our partners at NSCD arranged an archery class for some of our students, and it took place in the gym last Tuesday.

Dare we say it? It really hit the mark!

Well, the mini-meal is “mini” in comparison to the final Home Management assignment in our Independence Training Program …

And it’s an interim step toward that final goal of cooking for 60 people. See, the mini-meal is only for fifteen!

Here, Suzie, Parker, Ellen and Lyne put their meals in motion and on the table in early 2017. They’re learning how to “take charge with confidence and self-reliance”

We were pleased to have three professionals from Blind Low Vision Services, part of Colorado’s Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) at the Center for training this week. We spent four days together exploring every topic we could think of, including cane travel and cooking under sleepshades. We’ll let them introduce themselves and the meal they cooked on Tuesday for themselves and our staff involved with the training. For the record, it was top shelf, and so are they!

Ryan admits he was pretty happy to be wearing sleepshades as he chopped the 18 onions it took to make his French onion soup. He is also now excited about cooking something other than “meat” since he came to the Center.

Shrimp and French bread … Brittany is cool and in charge of her mini-meal for 15!

Trevor has a degree in Physics, is a bit of an inventor, more than just a dabbler in the maker movement, and he takes his tinkerer’s inclinations to the kitchen. “How does?” and “What if?” are part of what makes us human, so they are naturally encouraged in our training program.

Planning, preparing and serving a three-recipe meal to 15 people is no small matter. Jackson admits at one point he was getting nervous, but he tried to treat the process as a “regular day in class”. He definitely had it going on with his mini-meal!

Classes started today for 2017, and on top of that it’s Tuesday – meaning that Seniors came in to the Center as well! After two weeks off folks were pretty happy to be back in spite of a bit of cold weather! Here is a collection of sights and sounds from the day, and here’s to taking charge with confidence in 2017!

Downhill is great, but rolling with confidence makes it even better. Students worked together today in Mobility class to navigate a decline while safely wrapped in their walking canes and under the guidance of their instructors.

Philosophy bakes no bread. Philosopher Bertrand Russell said that. But a wise man we know once pointed out that no bread is baked without philosophy. Tabea graduated from CCB in 2016 and has gone on to graduate school. She knows that our belief in our blind students is the yeast that leavens the bread of our students’ confidence and self-determination! Indeed, in our Senior and Youth Programs as well!

Please support us tomorrow, COGivesDay, December 6!