Showing posts with label BarbRad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BarbRad. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Sleep Better with the Amtooch Sleep Mask: A Review

The Amtooch Sleep Mask Really Does Block Light


I'm a night owl who generally tries to sleep between 2 am and 10 am. I have a rechargeable power failure nightlight in my room and lights from many electronic helpers which charge next to my bed at night. One of these is my new Galaxy Note 9 Smartphone. I charge it next to my bed because its Relaxio App helps me block out noise and get to sleep faster. In the morning when the sun rises, it sends bright light through the mini blinds over my east-facing window.

Sleep Better with the Amtooch Sleep Mask: A Review
Amtooch Sleep Mask and Ear Plugs with a Case for Storing Each


I finally bought a sleep mask a couple of years ago that helped block out most of that light. (See A Review of Products that Help Me Get a Good Night's Sleep.) I used that Bedtime Bliss sleep mask for three years, but the elastic in it finally got so weak it no longer fit snugly enough to do its job properly. So this year I decided to replace it. I choose the Amtooch mask instead because it does an even better job of blocking light.

What I Really Like about the Amtooch Sleep Mask



  • It has a really snug fit. 
  • It's comfortable
  • It does a great job of blocking light
  • It comes with a convenient attractive carrying case
To completely block light, a sleep mask has to have a snug fit. Although both the Bedtime Bliss mask and the Amtooch mask are contoured to be three-dimensional, the nose opening is different. Unless your nose is the exact size as the indentation in the Bedtime Bliss mask, it will let a little light seep through no matter how snugly the elastic strap fits. 

The Amtooch mask doesn't attempt to fit your exact nose size. It has a slit for the bridge of a nose to fit through. When you adjust the mask properly, the indentation adjusts so there is no space for light to come through. Look closely at the top photo in the image below. That mustache-shaped foam around the nose helps seal the light out. The Bedtime Bliss is flat around the nose and some light seeps in. (I increased the exposure on that image so you could see the nose spaces in more detail. The bottom part of the top photo shows the inside of the Amtooch mask and the outside of the Bedtime Bliss mask. The outside view of both masks shows in the bottom photo. 

Sleep Better with the Amtooch Sleep Mask: A Review


I was really impressed with how snugly the Amtooch mask fit me without making my head feel like it was in a vise. The masks use two different types of elastic and have different ways of adjusting. The Bedtime Bliss strap closes with Velcro with no way to make it tighter. When the elastic starts to go, you can't adjust it any tighter.  The Amtooch strap adjusts by pulling the elastic through metal adjustment slides until the mask fits your head exactly. Because it is tight enough for a firm hold to my head, it doesn't slip and let light in when I sleep on my side and the mask connects with my pillow.

Who Needs the Amtooch Sleep Mask?


Anyone who needs a darker sleeping environment needs this. That includes day sleepers, those who need to sleep in a work environment or in a hospital. I used my Bedtime Bliss mask when I was in the hospital after surgery in 2014. I still had a problem with noise, but at least it was dark enough to sleep, and that helps. This also would have helped when I shared a dorm room with someone whose habits were different than mine. (Or helped my roommate when she went to bed first.)

I take both the sleeping mask and my Marpac noise machine if we need to sleep in a motel when we travel. Motels often have lights coming through the window and doors banging in the hall or outside in the parking lot. There is also electronic light in motel rooms from the television, a charging phone, or, in my case, my husband's CPAP machine he needs to help him breathe when he's asleep.

Maybe you know someone who needs a sleep mask as a gift. There's no gift quite like better sleep. Get one for someone you love. 

A Note about the Ear Plugs Included in the Package


Before there were any alternatives, I think I tried every kind of ear plug available to sleep through my husband's snoring. It was so loud that when we were at family camp on Catalina Island, I could find my way in the dark to the cabin from the beach, a walk of at least a block, late at night, just by listening. I always was a night owl.

Mack's Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs, 12 Pair – The Original Moldable Silicone Putty Ear Plugs for Sleeping, Snoring, Swimming, Travel, Concerts and Studying | Made in USAMack's Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs, 12 Pair – The Original Moldable Silicone Putty Ear Plugs for Sleeping, Snoring, Swimming, Travel, Concerts and Studying | Made in USACheck Price

 


 The only ear plugs I ever found somewhat effective were the Mack's Silicone Putty Earplugs. I could mold them to the shape of my ear and they stayed in. Eventually all ear plugs began to cause pain in my left ear and I stopped using them in favor of white noise. I never found any ear plugs that completely blocked noise. The best just lowered the volume.

I tried the ear plugs that came in the package with the Amtooch mask by putting them in my ears for a few minutes. I realize that's not a really fair trial. But they are made of foam, and foam ear plugs have never done much to even lower the volume of the noise a little. These didn't do much either. I just consider them an extra that was in the package so I could get the mask. You may have better luck. If you really need to get rid of disturbing noises at night or any other time, either use the Mack's EarPlugs if you prefer ear plugs, get the Marpac white noise machine, use the free Relaxio app on your smartphone, or find another source of white noise. White noise not only covers up most annoying sounds, but it often is soothing and relaxing.

I wish you a great night's sleep. 

Sleep Better with the Amtooch Sleep Mask: A Review
Have Mask, Will Sleep. My photo edited with PicMonkeyBasic




All photos not included in Amazon's ads were taken by me of products I have purchased. I used both PicMonkey and Fotor editing programs to assist in editing these images.



Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review from a First Time Smartphone User

Why I Finally Bought a Smartphone 


I have been using a flip phone since the 1990's. I only bought it because  I traveled on business and needed a way to communicate on the road. There weren't any smartphones then. The little phone fit easily in my purse or pocket and I used my landline whenever I was home. I only gave family members and very close friends my cell number -- and, of course, services that insisted I get two-step verification by text message. I don't really text anyone myself -- yet.

Almost everyone I know seems to have a smartphone and  many seem addicted to them. But I didn't want one. I hate typing on tiny keyboards with my arthritic fingers. I like to work on a desktop where I have it all. So I happily blogged on and resisted the smartphone. I processed my photos nicely without one and took a digital camera on my photo walks. Then came Instagram and I couldn't join the party. Unless I got a smartphone. So five days ago I finally got one.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9  Review from a First Time Smartphone User
My Galaxy Note 9 with Accessories


Why I Bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Instead of an iPhone


My brother and many of my friends have iPhones and love them. My husband has a Galaxy S7. I've seen people do amazing things with smartphones and I thought they were using iPhones. One day I was at a winery with a friend and had forgotten to bring my phone. I borrowed hers and it took fantastic photos. I had seen my nephew scan a document by taking a photo with what I thought was an iPhone. I was all set to get an iPhone. But when I double checked with my nephew and my friend, I discovered they both had Galaxy phones. The camera I had borrowed was on a Galaxy Note 8 or 9

I wanted to buy the phone with the best camera. My plan was to start making more videos where I could just talk to people, so I needed a front-facing camera. I also wanted to get great nature and product photos and videos for my blogs and for making Zazzle products. And, of  course, I wanted to be able to post to my Instagram account with my own phone -- not Hubby's. I was using my PC to like and comment on posts from my friends, and I wanted to join the fun and post more. Now I can. If you like nature, books, gardening, or a simple lifestyle, you can follow me on Instagram and see the quality of what I've posted so far from my new phone. I'm barbradis on Instagram.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9  Review from a First Time Smartphone User
Cyclist in Riverbed of Salinas River in Paso Robles Taken with Galaxy Note 9


I decided on the Galaxy Note 9 because it had great cameras. Yes, the iPhone camera is also a good one, but for my purposes, the Galaxy Note 9 tops it. There is also a lesser reason. I have both a Windows PC and an iMac. Both have been sick. While my PC was really sick, I used the Apple almost exclusively, even though it was really slow. I couldn't find anything. I called our local guru to come fix it and he confirmed that Apple just hides things and you have to know the tricks to get around that. I like a clear file path. I think in Windows, not Apple. I understand Google better than Apple. I thought over the long haul I'd be happier with Android.


The Learning Curve


If I had already been a smartphone user just trading up or getting a different brand, I don't think the learning curve would have been as steep for me as it's been these last five days. I'm used to the space and options I have with a desktop. I work with forty tabs open in Chrome, four notepads to cut and paste from, and several Windows Explorer windows open at once. Although the Galaxy Note has a larger screen than many phones, it doesn't come close to the 21 inches my computer monitor has.

The Note 9 lets me open several apps at once and flip between them, but I had some trouble getting an email with a pin I needed to put in a registration form for Verizon or Samsung -- I forget which. Once the email came in through the GMail app, I couldn't get  back to the form where I was supposed to enter it. I think that would have happened on any smartphone. So most of my learning curve is just learning to use a smartphone instead of a PC -- not something unique to the Galaxy smartphone. It's a totally different way of working. It will take time to really get good at this.

The thing that bothered me most was that tiny keyboard. It's hard for me to hit only one key at once -- even though the Galaxy Note 9's keyboard is larger than most. I have two work-arounds for that. First, I use that little microphone on the keyboard and talk instead of type when I can. I also have a small wireless keyboard I bought to use with another device. It plays nicely with my Galaxy Note 9, as would just about any portable Bluetooth keyboard. So if I'm free to talk without disturbing anyone, I make my Instagram captions and hashtags with my voice and correct most of my mistakes using the keyboard. The speech recognition does confuse to with too or two. I have to speak slowly. It mistook my friend Celia's name for silly. But I can live with that as it learns to better understand my voice.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9  Review from a First Time Smartphone User
What Happens if You Hold the Volume Button Down Too Long  While Taking a Photo

What I love about the Galaxy Note 9

  • The large 6.4" screen
  • The ability to type with my voice instead of my fingers
  • The quality of the front and back cameras
  • The way the phone camera handles lighting differences -- what's in the shade shows better than it does in my Canon PowerShot photos if the photo subject is partially shaded. 
  • When I shoot videos while walking, they are less shaky than the ones I shoot with my Canon PowerShot SX410 IS. I'll show you one of my photo walks below.
  • Easy updates for software
  • Ease of installing the apps I want
  • Easy flipping between apps
  • The ability to take multiple photos in quick succession by holding down the volume button. I learned this accidentally. 
  • Clear voice reception on calls. I called my landline and my husband just to make sure.
  •  Easy contact management, but I confess that I used my little bluetooth keyboard to help enter the names and numbers.
  • Fast charging and long battery life.
  • Flaps that cover the ports for the charger and headphones to help keep them safe from water and dust during everyday use. 
  • The S-Pen with its many amazing features, only some of which I've tried so far. I can't do it all in five days. So far I've found it very handy when I have to use the keyboard since I can better control what I click. A video I watched showed many more pen features I have yet to try. The S-Pen can even control some phone features remotely. 
  • The ability to make a monitor act like a PC if you have the right cable, monitor, and the S-pen. It will work with your monitor if it has an HDMI port and you have an HDMI to USB Type C cable 
  • I can use the Do Not Disturb setting to keep away all notification sounds during the hours I sleep. While I'm trying to fall asleep I can play relaxing music for as long as I set the timer for -- all while my phone is charging.  


A Video of a Photo Walk I Made Yesterday

I made this video with the Galaxy Note 9 in the morning during a lull between rainstorms. 


Here's the Camera and Accessories I Use With It

This is my phone color. I also bought the case and screen protector to keep my investment safe. I already had a portable keyboard to use.



What I Didn't Love as Much

Much as I love my new phone, there are some things I don't love as much.


  • The phone is somewhat heavy because of its size.
  • The shape of the phone, though similar in shape to most other smartphones, is harder for my arthritic hands to hold while trying to take a photo than a camera is.
  • If I want to take a horizontal photo, it's really easy to press the button that will make the phone take multiple shots in a row as long as the button is held down. I'm learning to be careful how I hold the phone. 

Selfies

image of a cell phone showing edit screenI have never yet found a camera that made selfies I liked. I'm afraid the problem is not the camera but the subject. Nevertheless, I made a selfie so I could photograph the screen for you. The weird colors are the result of the artificial lighting in the room that my Canon couldn't handle well. Flashes leave light bursts I didn't want. You do see the editing icons here. I don't normally edit photos except to crop them or add text, but I think I'll learn to use some of those available apps that remove wrinkles, etc. 

Since I haven't learned to use those apps yet, I'm hiding behind the camera. The editing icons are above the circle-shaped camera icons. The bottom row of icons are for the whole phone. The quality of this photo has nothing to do with the smartphone camera, since I didn't know how to use the Note 9 to take a photo of itself. It probably would have done a better job with the lighting. I think I  did use one filter and kept it because it changed my hair from gray to the blond I was born with.

Apps

Once I got my Note 9 smartphone, I started adding more apps. It's almost impossible not to when you see all that's available to play with. The thing that's hard is organizing those apps so you can find them again. The Note 9 gives me the Apps Edge. Most of the time it sits almost invisibly on the right edge of my screen, but I can slide it out whenever I need it. I can choose ten apps to put there, so I included what I use most. I guess they are also put in files. If I click the files icon (far left under open apps screen below) it will show me every app that's currently open and I can go back to working in it. Handy! I love both these features. Perhaps other smartphones also have them, but I only have experience on this phone.

So far my favorite free app besides Instagram is Relaxio. It gives me a choice of sixteen kinds of white noise I can listen to alone or combine with other sounds. I can choose from city traffic noises, falling rain, ocean waves, birds, crackling fire, wind, a flowing brook, night nature sounds, coffee shop, and a few other white noise sounds I haven't figured out. I love this app for falling asleep, since I can set a timer for how long it will play. I let it play beside my bed while the phone charges at night. 



cellphone apps

Comparing Photos


This morning I decided to photograph some books in a bookcase in my office. The only light source was across the room and partially blocked with my iMac monitor. I made the shots as identical as I could except I used a flash for the shot from my Canon PowerShot SX410 IS. The phone, of course, needed no flash. I didn't guess accurately the number of books included in each shot, but I think it's close enough for you to get the idea. Except to crop and size these for Instagram and add a background color in PicMonkey, I did no photo editing to change tone, lighting or anything else. I added no effects. Here are the shots, as I will post them to Instagram later.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9  Review from a First Time Smartphone User


Samsung Galaxy Note 9  Review from a First Time Smartphone User

As you can see, I didn't edit as much extraneous stuff out of the phone shot as I did the Canon shot. I'd never tried putting backgrounds on before in PicMonkey and I wound up using FotoJet to crop the photos when I hadn't gotten the images the right size for the background. I've never used layers before and PicMonkey just added them to their app. In the end I put the wrong photo in the shot above, not the one that trimmed the lower shelf out. I think you still have a fair comparison between the Canon and the Note 9 cameras.

My Recommendation


If you need a phone with an outstanding camera, I can't think of a better one than the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. I bought it for the camera, but also love the pen and the ability to use it to  turn my phone into something very much like a PC should I ever need to. Just tonight I downloaded the Amazon Music app and discovered I also get great sound quality for the songs I love when I play them on the Note 9.

Now if my Note 9 could only take a selfie! There's probably an app for that, but I still need to find it. My advice? Get yourself or someone you love a Galaxy Note 9.


Don't miss our other contributor's reviews of electronic products on this site. 



Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Review of California Plant Field Guides by Matt Ritter

Who is Matt Ritter?


Matt Ritter is a biology professor at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, very near my home in Paso Robles, California. I'm very interested in the plants that grow in my area, the ones I see in the streets, in the parks, and in the yards of my neighbors. I like identifying them and photographing them. That's one reason I decided to take a guided tour of the trees in City Park at the art festival there a few years ago. Matt Ritter led that walk. I saw how knowledgeable he was.  Afterward I visited the native plant booth where his book, A Californian's Guide to the Trees Among Us, was for sale. I purchased it. I've never been sorry. I've owned the book since 2011 and I use it several times each month.

Review of California Plant Field Guides by Matt Ritter


Why I Like Dr. Ritter's Trees Among Us


I have many field guides for trees. So why did I buy yet another one? Dr. Ritter's book has gorgeous overview color photos of most of the trees. You see the tree's shape and usually a closeup of the bark, the leaves, and even the fruits or seed pods. Most tree pages have an inset that gives information about other trees that may be confused with the tree pictured. If a tree has many different species living in California, there may be an inset that helps you see the differences and identify the individual species.

Whereas my Peterson Field Guide to Western Trees has maps, color photos of trees and fruits, and detailed plant descriptions, it doesn't have the same kind of photos of entire trees. Trees Among Us shows photos of some of the large trees next to buildings so one can better see their actual size. The descriptions of the trees also are more interesting to those of us who are not botanists. In some cases we learn about the tree's history in California -- how it got here, how it's been used, or something else special about it. The introduction provides classification and other scientific information. If you live in California and love trees, you really need to get this book.

Review of California Plant Field Guides by Matt Ritter
A Catalpa Tree I Identified with Help from The Trees Among Us


California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora


Our Country Registrar has an office above the Atascadero Library, and my husband decided to fill out his early ballot in the library and then take it to the clerk. I had already turned my ballot in, so I checked the new books on the shelf. That's how I found Matt Ritter's California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora. I was quite excited and checked it out immediately to look it over. I fully intend to buy it when I have to return it.

This book describes the native flowers, trees, and shrubs one will be most likely to see when exploring California's forests, trails, and scenic routes. Habitats range from shrublands to beaches, desert, forest and everything in between. Plant entries are arranged by their habitat.  There are over 1000 color photos and photo collages (showing various parts of plants), along with maps showing the range of most pictured plants. You may see a field of wildflowers along with a close up shot of a single plant. As in Trees Among Us, there are stories and background information on the plants and their origins (if non-native) and their uses by native peoples. I did not find a lot of duplication between the trees in this book and the trees in California Plants. Trees Among Us concentrates more on urban and suburban trees than those that are uncultivated.

Review of California Plant Field Guides by Matt Ritter
California Plants has a lot to say about this wild mustard.


 At the back of the book there's a section featuring non-native plants. It includes many of the weeds I've found in my garden. You will also find a glossary, bibliography, list of online resources and botanical gardens, a tree identification flowchart, a wildflower identification color chart, and an index.

Although I have other wildflower books, The Audubon guides cover too much territory, have smaller photos, and separate photos from their descriptions. The Peterson Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers is arranged by color, form and detail. Most of its drawings are not in color but black and white. There aren't any photos. And there aren't any trees or shrubs. Dr. Ritter's book has everything -- not just flowers.

Plants of San Luis Obispo: Their Lives and Stories


This is similar to California Plants but limits itself to 206 plants found in and near San Luis Obispo. Like Ritter's other books, it has full-color photos, but no range maps. I have compared the entries for some of the plants that appear in both books, and they are not identical. Others I have compared are identical but an identical photo may be of better quality in one book or the other. In some cases the photos are different. If you have to choose, I'd go with California Plants, since it's more complete.




My Recommendation 


These books are all wonderful additions to any California nature lover or gardener's library. I'm a nature and gardening blogger and find them the most useful books I have for identifying what I see when I go on photo walks. These books are beside me when I start trying to figure out the names of the plants I've seen and photographed. These books would be welcomed as gifts by California hikers, campers, nature photographers, and gardeners who like understanding what they see.

You may also be interested in my review of Nature's Everyday Mysteries. See all Book reviews on this site here.

Review of California Plant Field Guides by Matt Ritter
I identified this redwood by using The Trees Among Us




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California

A Review of Some Notable Oak Trees in Paso Robles


The name Paso Robles literally means Pass of the Oaks when translated from the Spanish. And, of course, Paso Robles was Spanish before it was American. I'm guessing the oak tree population was greater than the human population before the town began. Some oaks are three times higher than the homes and businesses they live beside. Photographing them can be a challenge because of their size alone.

Although you can't walk far in Paso Robles without seeing at least one oak tree, certain areas seem to have some of the oldest or most unique oaks. I'd like to show you where to find them and show you some photos. Some of these oaks are so huge and so surrounded by buildings that it's hard to get far enough away from them to get their entirety in a photo.

Downtown Paso Robles


Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
The Oak in the Road, 5th and Vine, Paso Robles


The Oak in the Road


All of our downtown area is not commercial. There are some residential areas only a block or two from the commercial part of downtown. One of the streets there has so many oaks they named it Oak Street. The reason why is obvious if you take a stroll along it. This residential area often has deer in its crosswalks at dusk a block from the commercial area.

It appears when they built Fifth Street,  the city fathers left the oak you see above intact. This tree was measured by Phil Dirkx in May, 2015. At that time he found the trunk was 23 feet around at five feet above the ground. He estimated it was ten feet in diameter. A photo taken in c. 1886  shows a tree that appears even larger than this one at a Paso Robles picnic. So we know these trees have been around a long time.

Here are some other photos of the Tree in the Road.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak Tree on Corner of 5th and Vine, Paso Robles, Looking South

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak in Fifth Street. Notice Branched Trunk
The photos above  give you an idea of how huge this tree is. Compare it to the cars and the houses. You can also see how the tree has been pruned and trimmed over the years. These photos were taken in the last week of October when both leaves and acorns were dropping onto the street. There is room on both sides of the tree for cars to drive past. Think of the tree as a unique center divider as cars enter this block or leave it.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Looking up at the Sky through the Leafy Branches of the Oak. 

In the photo  above I aimed the camera straight up to look at the sky through the tree's canopy.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Details in the Bark of an Old Oak, Trimmed through the Years
Above you can see every detail in the bark of this old oak. It has been trimmed and pruned as needed through the years. You can see some fresh scars where smaller branches have been removed, as well as older scars where there were once large branches.

When I left to photograph these trees, I expected to also get photos of another tree in the middle of Oak Street between Fourth and Fifth Street that I have often driven around in the past. Sadly, this time there was only a stump. It appears the tree recently was removed.

Show your friends this amazing tree by sending them the postcard below. Just click on the image to get purchase information at Zazzle. Oak in the Road in Paso Robles Postcard


More Oaks Near Downtown Paso Robles


These photos were taken on 12th Street, one of the main east/west streets downtown. My dentist has an office there in one of the old homes. Both businesses and residences locate on 12th Street. I have focused on the oak trees near residences in these photos. This photo was taken in spring. I couldn't help the fact that it was trash pickup day the day I went walking after my dentist appointment.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Tall Oak on 12th Street West of Spring Street

The sheer size of the these oak trees makes them hard to fit into one shot because there's no way you can get far enough away from them unless they are on a corner. The house above isn't.  The house below is, but it's still hard to get all those branches into the shot. Some of these oaks seem to have tentacles rather than branches and they seem to reach everywhere as their branches curve. 

This photo also presents one of the other problems with getting ideal shots of anything tall or high, such as a sunset. There are wires almost everywhere downtown. It's hard not to capture them because they always seem to be in the way.


Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak Trees on 12th and Chestnut in Paso Robles

Oaks Right Downtown

We have oak trees right next to some of our most important city government buildings in close proximity to the shopping center of downtown. Here are some of them. I have captured many of them on my Zazzle products. Some of our most beautiful oaks are in the parking lot of the train station. I have photographed the one on Velta Circle many times. You can see some of the best in this blog post: Photos of North County Transport Center Buses.  Here's another of some different oaks in the parking lot. 

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak Trees in Transport Center Parking Lot in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

The tree below is also very close to the train station on Pine Street, though not in its parking lot. Below is the larger view of this unique oak tree. 

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California


Below you see more of the tree in a smaller size. 

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Arching Oak Near Train Station in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic


The oak below lives next to the Paso Robles Library entrance. You will often see patrons reading in its shade or homeless people napping on the benches. The library building is two stories tall, so that gives you an idea as to the size of the tree. 

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak in Front of Paso Robles Library, © B. Radisavljevic


The Zazzle postcard below shows the courtyard in back of the Superior Courthouse building downtown. Just click on it for more information. You can see it has its share of old oaks. 




These are in an alley downtown. Sure wish they'd put those wires underground, but they can't afford to.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak in Paso Robles Downtown Alley, © B. Radisavljevic

Oak Lane in East Paso Robles


Oak Lane is a rural street that's right behind the tract where I live. It is full of small farms and amazing oak trees. It is just past the intersection of South River Road and Charolais Road. It runs between South River Road and the property next to the Salinas River. It's a nice walk for those who like to see farm animals of all kinds and some gorgeous oak trees. And oaks aren't the only trees you will see -- just the most impressive. Here's one of them. As you can probably tell, this tree was taken in winter. That's my favorite season for photographing deciduous oaks. I like seeing their "bare bones."

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Oak Tree on Oak Lane as Sundown Approaches, © B. Radisavljevic


Linne Road Oak Trees


Linne Road is accessed from Sherwood Road in Paso Robles and twists a bit before continuing east toward Sculpterra Winery and other farms and vineyards. It is worth the short drive from the city for those who love oak trees. I have featured some of my photos of a damaged oak on Linne, what I call a tree with character, in this post, Looking at Deciduous Oaks in Winter. Here I will just show you one shot I took on this country road. The oak tree itself is so huge I can't get it all into the shot. It was this owl metal sculpture that made me notice it first.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California


You can see the tree has already done a number on the fence. I guess the owl is keeping an eye on it. The tree extends far behind and next to the owl on the other side. Even the eye can hardly see the entire tree at once.

I did notice another oak not far from this one. It was just outside one of the farms. It appeared to be hollow. So I looked inside.

Where to See Photogenic Oak Trees in Paso Robles, California
Hollow Oak Tree on Linne Road in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

The Tree That Lives Across the Street


I hope you've enjoyed this brief tour of some of Paso Robles' most  interesting old oaks. I never get tired of discovering and photographing new ones. Of course my favorite is the one that lives across the street from me. I like to photograph it best at sunset. This was taken in winter.

purple and yellow sky with tree silhouette in foreground
Bare Oak in Winter Sunset, © B. Radisavljevic

Below it is not  so bare.

tree silhouette
Not So Bare Oak in Summer Sunset, © B. Radisavljevic

Which tree did you like best?

Fellow contributor Mary Beth Granger also loves photography and is very good at it. I especially enjoyed her post Explore St. Louis: The Gateway Arch. 

See all reviews here related to photography. 



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Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Hoarders' Daughters Tell Their Stories: Book Reviews

Two Hoarders' Daughters Tell Their Stories 


We've all heard about hoarders or seen documentaries about them on television. Few of us, however, have grown up in a hoarder's house. The children of hoarders have no choice. I'd like to introduce you to two of those children, now adults, who have written their stories.

Hoarders' Daughters Tell Their Stories: Book Reviews
A Hoarder's Living Room Probably Looks More Cluttered than This
By Maschinenjunge [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons


My myLot friend, Lori Moore, wrote The Hoarder's Daughter: Memories of a Life in Chaos. Her mother was not only a hoarder but also an emotional abuser. Lori wrote her book to show others what the life of a hoarder is like and how it often destroys the hoarder's relationship with family and friends. She hopes to help people distinguish between a real hoarder and a messy or really disorganized person that keep a lot of clutter around. She also wanted to finally expose her family secret. She says "Toxic family dysfunction has to be acknowledged before it can be fixed."

Izabelle Winter's father also hoarded his possessions. Izabelle had left home as a young woman to escape the house.When she was married with eight-year-old twin girls and a ten-year-old son, her father fell from a ladder while pruning. He had turned his backyard into a garden all his neighbors admired, but most had never seen the inside of his house.

Izabelle's mother had died nineteen years earlier, after a mental breakdown. Isabelle's brother Ant still lived in the house with his father even though he was long into adulthood. He suffered from learning disabilities that hindered his ability to make decisions and take initiative. Isabelle knew she would have to take charge of getting the house ready for her dad to come home to, probably unable to walk. She wrote Diary of a Hoarder's Daughter to help others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

Lori's Story of Living with Emotional Abuse in a Hoarder's House


Lori writes as an abuse survivor. She dedicates her book to her brother whom she calls "my sibling survivor of the lying, manipulating, stealing, and hoarding person that we un affectionately referred to as 'Mean Mom.'" In the book she calls her mom Louise, though it's not her real name. Louise had so perfected her skills of  intimidation  and inducing guilt that Lori was fifty before she realized she was the abuse victim -- not her mom. Although her brother was also a victim, Lori believes his story is his to tell, not hers, so she tells only her part of it.

Growing Up in a Hoarding House


Lori recalls that the house she grew up in smelled so bad that people almost gagged when they walked in. The house was already full but her mother kept accumulating and the possessions had to go onto the backyard patio. Lori called the junk at the entrance "Mount Trashmore."

There were also health hazards. I won't go into all the horrifying details, but here are a couple to give you an idea. Trash was strewn everywhere. There was an air force of flies and gnats. There were maggots in the toilets and sinks. A stray cat had become part of the household, but no one cleaned the litter box, so the cat stopped using it. I think you've got the picture. It was so bad that Lori's brother, who had inherited the house, had to evict Louise from it after she'd lived there for 19 years.


Trying to Help Louise

After the eviction, Lori and her brother found a low-rent apartment for senior living and Louise didn't even pack since she resisted moving. Lori and her brother had supplied the new residence with clean furnishings and clothing and stocked the apartment with food. Louise had already begun to hoard again a month after she had this chance to start fresh. After four months she had done no cleaning, dishwashing or laundry.

How This Affected Lori

Lori's parents divorced when she was eleven. Her father and brother were now a hundred miles away and she missed them. Her mother neglected her and she was often hungry. This probably is part of what led to Lori's eating disorder. Lori also suffered the lack of love, security, protection, and approval she craved. She believes her mother was incapable of providing it. 

Because of the emotional abuse and the secrecy the hoarding behavior required, Lori was socially isolated. She could not have friends over.  She has been through years of therapy to deal with the abuse she has endured.  

In spite of what she suffered during childhood as a hoarder's emotionally abused daughter who struggled with guilt, lack of parental support, and social isolation, Lori has had a successful adult life. She has four graduate academic degrees and has been an adjunct professor and an upper level manager for large corporations. She has also written several books besides this one. 

Things I Learned from Lori's Book


Besides just telling her story, Lori did a lot of research on hoarding and emotional abuse. She covers some of these areas:  
  • Ways in which emotional abuse and hoarding are related. 
  • Manifestations of Antisocial Personality Disorder
  • Symptoms of a Cognitive Disorder
  • Cognitive Symptoms of Depression
As I was reading through the behavior of someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder, something hit me like a bolt of lightning. I believe that's what my daughter suffered from. It may be part of the reason for her suicide as an adult

Izabelle's Efforts to Clear Space in a Hoarder's House


Izabelle Winter, a busy mother with a part-time job, had to completely disrupt her life for over a month to suddenly deal with what she saw as her "personal Everest" that she had to climb -- alone! She even refers to the clutter in her father's house as "The Mountain" whenever she writes about dealing with it. Because she found around sixty pairs of shoes in the clutter she went through, she calls her father Imelda in the book, after Imelda Marcos.

Climbing "Everest"


Izabelle had a deadline to clear enough space in the house for her father and visiting outside help to function. He could not be released from the hospital with a broken back until this was done. Wheelchair or walker access might also be needed.  He needed to be able to get to his bed and an accessible bathroom.

The problem with clearing space in a hoarder's house is that there is no room for sorting. Every available space in Imelda's house was filled with junk from floor to ceiling -- every room, every cupboard, and every path through the house. The kitchen, bathroom, and stairs were also full. None of the items were organized. Junk mail mixed with shoes, clothes, spare parts, broken items, unopened packages of children's clothes, money inside magazines and receipts, trash ... well you get the idea. Izsabelle describes her feelings here:

I felt as though I was at Everest base camp, all  alone, wearing just flip-flops and a woolly hat. I was totally unprepared for the nightmare I faced; totally terrified by it and afraid I'd fall on the way up the mountain. I just wanted to go home and hide. 

Health Issues


To add to Izabelle's problem, she had severe dust allergies and asthma. She sometimes had been unable to breathe when around too much dust. This often sent her to the hospital and she almost died there once. How was she to attack clearing the space Imelda needed?  Even on her visits to him she always talked to him outside in the garden.

After he fell, whenever she entered the house to work she had to wear a dust mask, trousers, and long sleeves. When she started the clearing project, she had to recruit help, often from her brother Ant, to carry boxes of stuff outside so she could sort there.

Helpful People Who Told Comforting Stories


You can just imagine Izabelle's life, caring for her children, working on "The Mountain," and visiting Imelda in the hospital every afternoon just before going to work in the late afternoon. I will leave the details for you to read in the book. She attacked the junk piles methodically and searched through every pile or box before throwing anything from it in a trash bag. Close friends and neighbors often helped her, and they told her stories about her mother from the good years. She appreciated that. She also unearthed diaries her mother had written that showed how the hoarding had affected her.

It's Hard to Cure a Hoarder

In videos, watch a woman choose her stuff above her relationships. She just can't let go. But we do get a feel for why some people hoard and why they can't stop even with professional help.


Success?


When Imelda was finally released from the hospital, Izabelle had cleared enough space so he could come home and sleep in his bed and take care of his needs. She and her friends had worked almost nonstop in every spare minute. Later Izabelle and Imelda were approached to participate in a BBC documentary show on hoarding. After much soul searching and discussion with the producers, they decided to participate. Later they did a follow-up episode. Before that episode, professionals came to clear the living room enough to allow Imelda's grandchildren to get to the sofa so they could sit there together to interact. The camera view of the room was clear, even though some stuff still remained outside the camera view.

The idea was that they took everything out and were hoping Imelda wouldn't want to bring it all back in, but he did want to bring most of it back in. Izabelle didn't visit much that first month. She wanted to see if her father would actually clear anything he had said he would.

Six months after the program was filmed, Imelda's stuff was creeping back up the stairs and into other places Izabelle had cleared. She decided it's his house and she would let him live as he chose. It's hard for a hoarder to change -- even with professional help. She accepted he'd never change at 83. Ten months after the fall, at the time the book was written, the house was filling up again.

Diary of a Hoarder's DaughterDiary of a Hoarder's DaughterCheck Price

 



Contrasting These Memoirs by Hoarding House Survivors


Both books discuss these topics.

  • Some reasons people hoard
  • Broken family relationships due to hoarding
  • Experiences of family members trying to help hoarders
  • Descriptions of hoarder house conditions
  • Health hazards of hoarding and living with a hoarder

Unique Content in The Hoarder's Daughter by Izabelle Winter

Izabelle had a deadline to meet and had to act quickly to meet it. She emphasizes the emotional and physical struggles of clearing rooms without harming her own health. She goes into more detail than Lori about the mess and the clearing strategy she used. Izabelle was less socially isolated than Lori appeared to be in clearing clutter, and her friends and neighbors supported and helped her. Lori and her brother seemed to do most of the work in helping their mother themselves. 

Izabelle goes into much more detail on the thinking process of a hoarder. A hoarder's perception of value is different than that of someone who is just messy and accumulates more clutter than neater people do. Because Izabelle understands the process, she realizes she won't be able to change her father. Since he seems to be able to function in the mess, once he heals, she leaves him be and resigns herself to the condition of the house going back to what it was. 

Although Izabelle doesn't analyze her father's mental conditions as much as Lori does her mother's, she does mention the ways that her father still treats her like a child. She goes into detail about his selective hearing and not caring about what she and her children have to say to him about everyday things unrelated to the hoarding. She feels dismissed because she is female. She gives examples of conversations that make her point. She doesn't label this as emotional abuse, but Lori probably would have. 

Isabelle's story is primarily about dealing with "The Mountain" and her relationship with her father in that context. While clearing she also unearths her mother's diaries that reveal the effect the hoarding had on her mother's mental health. 

Izabelle seems to have a better relationship with her father than Lori did with her mother, in spite of the past and continuing problems caused by the hoarding that affected her life. Example: Izabelle visits her father and brother often, but she doesn't visit with them in the house because she can't breathe inside the house. I don't know whether her visiting is also primarily because of her brother. She did want her children to have a relationship with their only living grandparent. 

Note: One thing that took some getting used to while reading this were all the uniquely British terms Izabelle used that aren't in American English. Izabelle lives in Wales. 

Unique Content in The Hoarder's Daughter by Lori Moore

Unless Izabelle left out some of the worst details in the hoarding, it would appear that Lori's mother's hoarding was more unsanitary than that of Izabelle's father. Perhaps that is because Ant, an adult child, still lived with him to see that it didn't get to the place where feces -- both human and cat -- were scattered around. Louise's house didn't deteriorate that much until Lori and her brother had moved out and she lived in the house alone. 

Lori shares, as noted above, many of the facts and symptoms of the disorders that turn someone into a hoarder. She points out that secrecy is a factor in both emotional abuse and hoarding. In her research she discovered that hoarding is a distinct genetic subtype of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The best chance for changing the hoarding behavior appears to be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the hoarder's home. A hoarder needs a lot of help in developing new habits. You can see this process in the videos I shared above. 

Both Lori and Isabella struggled with their duty to their hoarding parents. Lori shares Billy Graham's suggestions for how to honor a parent engaged in such behavior without enabling the behavior itself. Lori alone provides a list of helpful resources and things to read for those who want to dig deeper. 

More Resources

Here are some additional resources if you want to get more information not included in these memoirs. Amazon Prime has several videos on hoarding and helping hoarders. Click here to see the list.  At least some are free for Prime members to watch. 

The product page for the book below has an informative series of clutter rating images by Randy Frost and Gail Steketee, experts in dealing with hoarding. These images can serve as a guide in identifying the difference between normal clutter and a hoarding disorder. 

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of ThingsStuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of ThingsCheck Price

 


The books below are aimed at those who fear they may be headed toward hoarding and want to deal with it now, those who want to help a loved one with a clutter problem, and those who want to understand and help those close to them they suspect may have a hoarding problem. The two memoirs I've reviewed here are also included for convenience.



Whether you have a tendency toward hoarding, want to help someone with a severe hoarding problem, or just want a better understanding of hoarding, I hope this post has helped you. If it has, please share it. People who hoard tend to keep it secret. You never know whom you may be helping by giving them this information.


Hoarders' Daughters Tell Their Stories: Book Reviews

The image above is credited as follows: By TheDoctorMo [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons, modified





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