Dear readers, friends and family,

Thank you for your generous support. Because of you, 120 people will enjoy a Christmas dinner at the Union Gospel Mission.

Your generosity has warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye. Regardless of what is happening in the world, the giving Christmas spirit is still alive and well. Thank you.

I would also like to thank each one of you for your support and friendship throughout the year, and I’d like to wish you the very best for 2012!

Glenda

No matter how lean the year had been, Mom always found four cans of soup and four packages of Jell-O – “This is a meal for a family in need,” she would say – for us four kids to give to the Christmas hamper at school. I felt like an important piece of the Christmas season was missing until I had taken my soup can, my contribution, to school.

On Darrell’s and mine wedding day, Mom and my brother Kevin packaged up the leftover food and delivered it to the Union Gospel Mission. Since then, the UGM has held a special place in my heart.

Three years ago, I decided to do something more than a can of soup and a package of Jell-O. Thanks to you, my readers and friends, we fed 100 people Christmas dinner at the UGM. Since then, we have fed another 100 people or more.

Can we do it again this year?

The UGM is once again offering a hot meal for $3.29 during their Christmas campaign. Reminiscing the good times the six of us Watsons had around our dining table, I can contribute six meals.

Would you join me, please? Click the orange ChipIn button below to give whatever feels right for you at this time. This ChipIn widget expires on December 23rd. I will forward the total amount to the UGM on Friday.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

My most upsetting moment on my recent trip to Austin wasn’t waiting four hours for a wheelchair taxi, getting on stage, or even missing my flight to San Diego.

My most upsetting moment was dropping and breaking my camera on Day 2 of South by Southwest (SxSW). I was lost without it. What is a blogger without a camera?

(Photo credit: Darrell Hyatt)

That devastating lost was soothed this weekend with a trip to Black’s and the purchase of the Olympus TG-310. Being waterproof and shockproof I can now drop it in a puddle without any ill effects. And, the red matches my scooter – colour is an important consideration when choosing a camera!

Yesterday, during a brief spell of quasi spring weather, Darrell and I went on a photo wheel around our neighbourhood. Here are a few highlights:

These three trees are my favourite sign of spring in the neighbourhood. They will be loaded in pink blossoms in a few more days…

Viewing the SkyTrain tracks from underneath is an interesting perspective, kind of artsy…

Our existing Whalley Library…

Our new library to open in the Fall. I can’t wait!

A brightly coloured touch of spring…

Darrell and I ended our pleasant photo wheel at Tim Horton’s, of course…

Enjoying my mocha latte, I looked over at another table where a group of four had just sat down. My jaw dropped and my eyes popped out of my head. There on the table was a camera with, I swear, an 8-9 inch lens. I had instant camera envy! Sigh. One day…maybe… For now, I will enjoy my new red one.

Since buying my iPad last April, I have shared many of my experiences and insights on how the device has impacted my life:

• Giving an Award-Winning Speech on my iPad
• The iPad as an Affordable Communicator: A Follow-up Review
• Giving an Award-Winning Speech on my iPad: Part 2
• The iPad as an Affordable Communicator: Initial Review
• My Next iPad Experiment: Using Proloquo2Go to Conduct Interviews

In preparing to my two upcoming presentations – “The Untapped iPad Market: Is Your Site POUR?“ on March 13th and “The New AAC (Assistive and Augmentative Communication): Cheap and Disruptive?” on March 17th – I have read numerous stories of how the iPad is changing the lives of others with disabilities.

Here are a few of the stories I will share in my presentation on March 13th:

Byron had a stroke, losing use of his right arm and right leg and his ability to speak. After using the iPad and Proloquo2Go – the same app I use – for only three days, he could express his food and drink choices, his name and address, and, more importantly, his personal needs – like needing to go to the bathroom and where he has pain. This minimizes frustration for both him and his wife Cindy as he is now clearly understood and she isn’t trying to second guess what he wants.

Leo is 9 years old with intense autism. His Mom explains, “He is not conversational, he learns very slowly, and he has been prone to violent outbursts.”

Leo had shown interest in the iPod Touch, but its 3.5-inch screen was difficult for his fingers to navigate. Within a month of his Mom winning an iPad, Leo had mastered apps designed to teach spelling, counting, drawing, making puzzles, remembering pictures, and more. The iPad has also been used to teach manners and to distract his attention prior to outbursts.

Leo can’t use a pen or pencil very well, because, like many autistic children, he has problems grasping small items. Before the iPad, his most advanced drawing was a smiley face with legs. Now, using the DrawFree app, there’s ears, hats, arms, fingers, and toes!

At 10am, April 5, 2010, an iPad landed on the desk of American Federation for the Blind’s technology associate Brad Hodges for him to review for an upcoming article. In his “24 Hours with the iPad”, he shares, “On that night, I purchased a book from a book store, exactly as my sighted neighbors and colleagues would. …I believe the advent of accessible iBooks will be viewed by future generations as one of the landmark events in the lives of the blind.”

If you are considering upgrading to an iPad 2, consider renewing  the life of your old one by passing it on to someone who could benefit by having an iPad, and, quite possibly change a life in the process.

Here are a few suggestions of where your iPad may be greatly received:

• A family with a child with a disability: Even though the child may have a communication device at school, oftentimes the device cannot be brought home, leaving the child voiceless during non-school hours.
• A special ed class for several children to use.
• A rehab centre.
• A day program for adults with disabilities.
• An employment program for people with disabilities to aid with their job search. An iPad would have been so helpful when I went for job interviews. Perhaps I may have landed a job.
• A friend or relative who has had stroke or other injury and who may benefit from using an iPad.

The possibilities are endless… Go with where your values are – whether it’s helping people with disabilities, people who are homeless or financially strapped, a struggling small business, a new  non-profit – and give your old iPad a new life, rather than leaving it to collect dust with those other gadgets that you’ve outgrown.

A big thanks goes to Jon Swanson for initiating this idea on Twitter earlier today!

Dear Santa,
I’m writing this while waiting for the flight to Honolulu for a much needed and a well-deserved holiday with my sweet husband.
2010 was awesome and amazing! More than I expected.
I am not in want for anything. I have a wonderfully supportive husband, a cuddly kitty, friends and family around the world, a beautiful home and adequately stocked cupboards. What more do I need?
All that I’d like to ask for is that my friends and family are blessed in the one way they need most.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
love, Glenda

After countless late nights working on countless projects, yesterday I unchained myself from my desk and escaped over to the mall. Actually I headed over to Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Surrey campus, connected to Central City Mall, to watch Mayor Watts officially unveil designs for the new City Hall and Community Plaza.

(Image from City of Surrey’s media kit)

Also being built is a 75,000 square foot library, adjacent to City Hall:

Construction of the library is well underway:

I’m eagerly awaiting the library’s opening scheduled for the fall of 2011. I miss losing myself for hours in library stacks.

The City Hall will open in fall 2013.

This skyline view from SFU will dramatically change in coming years:

I’m excited to see this growth happening in Whalley, our less-than-shiny corner of Surrey. The area is growing up around Darrell and I, making more services and facilities accessible to us within our own community. Exciting!

Maybe I’ll run for City Council now that City Hall will be mere blocks away…

Dear Santa,

Christmas cards have been mailed, gifts wrapped, and dinner planned. All that remains, before tucking myself in for a long winter’s nap, is to write you a quick note.

Once again I am stumped what to write. I do not have a long list of gifts that I would like under the tree. You see, I have everything I could want or need – and then some.

The only one thing that I would like to ask for is that my family and friends, near and far, receive the one gift that they truly need at this point in their life’s journey.

Wishing you and the reindeer a safe trip. Merry Christmas!

With love from, 
Glenda 

My holiday video message to my readers, friends and fans:

For those preferring the text version:

Hi readers, friends and fans,

Thank you for a most awesome year!

I would like to wish you a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

All of the best to you and your family in the New Year!

With the tail end of the swine flu hopefully departing, I am eager to get back into my groove, doing what I do. Yesterday my desk received a thorough de-papering and cleaning and is ready to go.  Now the left thumb needs engaging to get this office up to its full earning potential. After all, any office with a chandelier is destined for greatness!

On this week’s to-do list:

• Write my Fight for Preemies post for Tuesday. This event now has 383 bloggers uniting to raise awareness of our more fragile babies. Awesome!
• Get going on creating the website for a non-profit organization.
• Conduct an accessibility review on a lawyer’s newly redesigned blog.
• Finalize the details for this year’s ebook for raising funds to feed Christmas dinner to 100 people in need. This year, readers will choose which posts to include in “The Best of the Left Thumb Blogger…”. Stay tuned for details!

What is on tap for your week?

Make it an awesome week!