- [Niamh] You can't see? - Oh yeah, I haven't told you? - [Niamh] No. - Yeah, no, I can't, it's
just my eyes don't work. (cat meows)
(dog barks) Hello. And welcome back to this
cozy corner of the internet. By the way, everyone's always afraid I'm going to hit the cactus. I hate to break it to all of you. She fake. She's very fake. All of my plants are fake
because I kill real ones. I don't try to, they just die. It's beyond my control. I have like the green finger, the green thumb of death, apparently. Not spons, but if you're wondering all my fake plants pretty much are from a company called Nearly Naturals. Literally everyone thinks they're real. So if you're looking for good fake plants, that's my recommendation. And then I have like one from
Target and one from a company called Struck Tube. But like my big ones are
all from Nearly Naturals. And I definitely plan to get more because I really love them. And they fill the space
with fake greenery. Also I have a cozy little candle lit and I have these funny little, it's like this container of matches. What does it say again, mom? Of course she runs away. - [Niamh] I'm having some water. - To selfishly get a glass of water. How dare she? We are filming. How dare you have your own needs? - [Niamh] In the middle
filming for Molly, no less. I can't, how dare I. It is beautiful to light a
candle than to curse the dark. It is better to light a candle
than to curse the darkness. - I thought it was very funny. They had multiple different
ones with like different phrases on it, but I thought that that was- - [Niamh] That is so perfect. - Yes. - [Niamh] And your brother gave you that? - Yes, well- - [Niamh] And girlfriend. - My brother and his girlfriend gave me the money and I bought it. - [Niamh] Yes.
- They live in Europe so they definitely didn't
go out and purchase that. But I love it, so cute. Anyways. I would tell you what company
that is, but I have no idea. Not the point. This is a haul of a bunch of
things I've recently bought because I'm blind. (machine dings) Excuse me, filming is in progress. - [Niamh] That was a
little sound effect, eh? - Yeah, it was really well timed actually. Anyways, this is probably
like, not relatable for most of you, because most of you probably aren't blind, but for the percentage of you that are, I thought I'd share
with you all the things that I have recently purchased,
procured into my life, because I can't see. These are all things that
have been super helpful. - [Niamh] You can't see? - Oh yeah, I haven't told you? - [Niamh] No. - Yeah, no, I can't. It's just, my eyes don't
work the way like yours do. You know how you get to just like put glasses on? Those don't help me. - [Niamh] Oh. - Yeah, it's this genetic defect because my parents were awful
people so they got cursed. - [Niamh] Gotcha.
- With me. Or blessed. - [Niamh] Couldn't be better. Blessed.
- Depends how you look at it. - [Niamh] Blessed! - Okay. See, I tell you, my
parents and I joke around about my blindness all the time. And when I make jokes about it, everybody's like, "Ooh! Your parents must be so hurt when you say things like that." And I'm like, "Who do you think I got this sense of
humor from? My parents!" We're Irish. We're very blunt, dry people. And we cope with humor. Highly recommend. Okay, so let's start with my cane. I've been using, you
know, my cane a lot more than I have in seven years because my guy dog is
transitioning to retirement. Anyway, so I've been
using my cane a lot more so I've been trying different things out. And I got this rolley tip. I already had this classic
cane, I've had it for years, Just the red and white. I do also have a hot pink one, but I do use the red
and white one more often than the pink one out nowadays. The pink one's like my fun cane. This one's like my
realistic, everyday cane. But the tip is a like rolley tip. It's called the Omni Sense Tip. I will tell you where I
got all of these things. The Omni Sense cane tip I
got at The Low Vision Shop. I'll link it below. And yeah, it's just a rolling tip. I believe the company
comes out of Australia. And the only thing I would caution you on it does make your cane even heavier. And the problem is the weight
is at the bottom of the cane. So your wrist up here, which, okay. I have tiny wrists. I have very small wrists. I'm really petite. I'm the size of an average 11 year old. So just picture an 11 year
old girl, I'm that size. So my risks, granted, are weak. You know, like I don't
have super strong wrists, so I find it quite heavy,
but I do really like it. It adds extra audio kickback. It glides really easily
over rough surfaces. So yeah, I feel like it's like my off-roading cane tip if you will. Would recommend. I do like it. Since we're talking about
The Low Vision Shop, I'll just show you the other
things that I got from there. I got this guiding guard. I don't know what they call it. I don't know why I called it a guard. It's not a, it's not a guard. It's like an aid. Here, there's braille on the package. What do they call it? Okay, it says Ramble Tag. That's the brand is Ramble Tag. This is a Scottish company. I have a couple of them, but they're floating around somewhere. This is the only one I
have still in the package because I've used the other ones. It comes in different sizes
for different sized arms and different colors. Which color is this one, mom? - [Niamh] Oh, sorry that one's orange. - Okay, this is the neon orange. It does come in a more subtle black. These are really, really cool because basically you would
strap this to the upper arm above the elbow or to
the wrist if you wanted of somebody who was going
to give you sighted guide, and then you hold this handle
instead of holding their arm. I think during the times like Covid, when we all don't want to
really touch each other, this is super useful. Here, I'll show you how it works. So the inside has like this grippy stuff. So it doesn't slip off the person's arm if they're getting sweaty. Also just makes it a little
bit more comfortable. And then it has these two
adjustable Velcro straps that just strap around the upper arm. And there's a left side
and right side ones, depending on what side
you like sighted guide on. Some of the handles are
more like flush to the arm. And then some are more like wide or have a little bit more
distance like this one does. What I like this for 'cause like, if I'm like with my family or
friends, like I don't mind, but just doing like a regular stroll. I don't mind just grabbing their arm, but what this is good for I
feel like is things like hiking or just super hot sweaty
days when you're like out at an amusement park all day or something, because there's nothing more icky than when like your hand is sweating and their arm is sweating and it's all a whole sweaty mess and you're touching each other and everybody's hot to not have to touch somebody's sweaty arm and do this instead seems luxury to me. Also things like hiking, where it's really bumpy
and it's easy to lose grip on like an arm, which is
wider, versus this you have, because the thin strap, you just can have such a good grip on it. Usually when I do like hiking or anything that's a little bit more tricky I'll hold onto somebody's backpack handle, like the handle on top of the backpack. But this is so much easier
than holding onto the handle of the backpack or I've even been known to attach my guide dog harness to a backpack to hold the handle. So this kind of is like an
easier way to replicate that. So love this, excited
to have that in my life. What do I want to show you next? Oh, okay. All my blind folk already
know about these, of course, just Clear Bump Its. They had like orange, black, and clear. I like the clear ones,
so I got the clear ones. I just got these from the CNIB store, but I believe they sell them
on Maxi-Aids as well, I think. But yes, they are just small. I got just the tiny small
sizes and it's just a strip of these sticky dots. So basically if you don't know, you unstick these tiny little bumpy dots that are like a rubbery texture and stick them to things to indicate maybe what it is or what have you
so got some more of these. They're always good to have in my life. If I haven't been able
to get my hands on these, I've been known to use Velcro stickers, just like the ones you get
at like a department store or not a department store,
like a hardware store and just use like either
the soft side of the Velcro or the rough side of the Velcro. So that's also an easy option
as an alternative to the actual Bump Its. Ooh, next also from these CNIB store, I got a ID cane. - [Niamh] Have you been
using that when you go out? - I haven't yet, but I need to. Let me show you guys. She tiny!
- [Niamh] She's so cute. - She's a tiny little baby cane. I used to be so jealous. I've always been way too
blind to use an ID cane. So for those who don't know an ID cane is an identification cane. And basically it's a mini version of a regular cane that a
blind person would use. And this is usually for
people who can see enough to not need an actual mobility cane, but would like to have
something to identify themselves to the public that they
are visually impaired and may need assistance. So I've had a couple of friends growing up who used ID canes. And I was always so jealous
when they'd just be like standing there with their
cute, tiny little cane. It usually comes up to
like belly button height or hip height. And they just be like holding
the slim cute little cane. And I was always like, "I want one." So now I have one and I mean,
I'm way too blind for this. But the reason I got
this is because recently I've been doing orientation
and mobility lessons in my new neighborhood. And I have a path nearby,
which is a walking path, which I would really
love to be able to walk just on my own or with my guide dog. The problem is to get to the walking path you have to cross over a biking path. When I'm walking with my guide dog, unfortunately vast majority
of people don't identify me as being a blind person with a guide dog. Can't tell you why, but they don't. And so, especially when people are riding on a bike really fast, they're not like looking at like, "Oh, is that a blind
person? I should stop." Maybe if I had my cane, my
regular cane, they would, but with my guide dog,
that doesn't happen. And because bikes move really quick, I'm always really, really fearful trying to cross that path on my own without a sighted person to help because they just move really quick and I don't want to get hit by a bike. And so I was talking to my O and M or orientation and mobility instructor about this and asking her
what she thinks I should do. And she suggested that I get an ID cane, which is, they're super tiny and I can just keep it in my purse. And then when I'm going to go cross, I can take it out. And then even though I
have my guide dog there, again, so many people are
out walking with dogs. People on bikes are moving
quick, even when they aren't, nobody ever freaking seems
to clue in that I'm blind. So I need to take it into my own hands to make sure it's clear that I'm blind. So even though I have
my guide dog on harness, if I hear a break in the bikes
or I'm not sure if there's a bike coming, what I
will do is take this out and literally stick it out in
front of me across the path like I am conducting traffic. - [Niamh] You're scaring me. - I am a train coming through. So I will put the, put
the train stop down. And no traffic and cross
it because I am crossing. Again, this was not my idea. This was my O and M instructor's. So you're going to get mad at
me and tell me that's not what you're supposed to do. That's what my specialist told me. I'm just doing what my specialist told me. If your specialist tells you
something else, you do that. This is what mine told me
so this is what I'm doing. It's something I plan
to just keep in my purse when I'm going out places
that I haven't been before, especially because if
you recently saw my video about guide dog discrimination, basically I'm facing it
constantly more than ever. It just keeps getting
worse year over year. And I just would like
to be able to, at times, hold a symbol in one hand that is more identifiable as blindness, which are red and white cane here in north America does
more so identify blindness to people then a service dog at this point because service dogs are so used for so many different reasons. And so misused by selfish people. Okay, next thing. Ooh, sticky braille paper. I also got this at the CNIB shop. This is a whole pack of
sticky braille paper. They do sell this at
Maxi-Aid as well, but yes, I am excited to have this in my life. I don't have a braille label
maker and I tried to get one, but they didn't have any in stock. So hopefully I'll be getting
a braille label maker soon. And yeah, so basically what this is, is it's paper that I can
make braille labels out of. So I will just put this
into my Perkins Brailler. Can you pass her on over, mom? - [Niamh] Yes, here she is. There. - Here's one of my two Perkins braillers. This is my more new modern one. This is my red Perkins Brailler. So basically I will use this hefty machine and I will stick this sticky,
clear braille paper into it. And then I'll be able to make
labels and like label things around my apartment and whatnot. And then what I will do it's so, okay here's the thing you guys, I've needed and wanted all
of these things for years, but I've literally been so
busy traveling and never home. - [Niamh] It's so ridiculous. - I've literally never
been home for years, hardly ever home. So I just have never had
time to like restock. I used to have this, I used it all, and never had time to restock
and rebraille label things. So I'm very excited to have
this back in my life and yeah, I'll just be making some
labels for different things that I need to refresh and label, and then I'll be able to like cut them and then peel off the back. And for those who can see, you can see that it is a clear sticker that I can now stick to
things and have braille labels even though I don't have
a braille label maker. What else is over here? Ooh, ooh, these are exciting. AirTags. I got a set of four AirTags. I only have three here cause
I already set one of them up, but I haven't set up my other three. I got mine custom done with the emojis because your girl likes
to have fun in life. We know this. What's this one, mom? - [Niamh] That is the cat,
representing Lavender. - This is Lavender. - [Niamh] Turned it around slightly too, no, the other way. There! - This is my cat Lavender on
my AirTag also because I use both an iPhone and a Samsung, these pair well with my iPhone. And then I'm thinking of getting
some of the Samsung version to pair with my Samsung device. So if any of you have
tried the Samsung ones, let me know what you think of them. I, the one I set up already
was the unicorn emoji, that emoji right there. And I put her in my wallet. - [Niamh] Turn it the other way. There we go, the unicorn. - There's my unicorn, she's in my wallet. So I just put her in the coin
purse and I can ask my phone, "Where's my wallet?" And it'll be (mimicking ringing). - [Niamh] Brilliant. - Very exciting. Very exciting. And obviously these are useful
for sighted people as well, but being blind, they
are like extra useful. - [Niamh] Isn't this
called universal design? - Exactly, Niamh! Well done, well done. - [Niamh] You're teaching me well. - If you'd like to learn about accessible versus universal
design of beauty products, check out that video I did. And then we have this one. What's this one, mom? - [Niamh] The upside down dog. - [Molly] That way? - [Niamh] Yes. - Okay. So this is dog to represent
Galloper Gooseman. - [Niamh] And any future guide dog. - And any future guide dog, whoever is meant to be, whoever is meant to fly into my life. Okay. And then we have. - [Niamh] Wait now, Oh,
that is a, the poop. - [Molly] Is the right way?
- [Niamh] Yeah. - Boom, smiling pile of poop. Now I was on the phone with
somebody from the Apple Store ordering these and I was telling him like what emojis I wanted. And he like burst out laughing when I said I wanted
one with the poop emoji. And he was like, "You've
literally made my day. I never thought I would
ever get to make an AirTag with a poop emoji on it." So I'm going to use one
of those for my keys. I just needed to get
one of the key holders to be able to put it on my keys. And then I don't know what I'm going to do with the other two. So let me know any of your ideas. I would say my purse, but
Lord knows, I have many. Okay. Then I purchased this,
"The Black Book of Colors." Is it the right way, mom? - [Niamh] Yes.
- Great. I got "The Black Book of Colors"
and I got this on Amazon. It was like 18 bucks. I was really excited. I made a TikTok about
it that went like viral. Crazy. People were real excited
about that TikTok. Now this is a book that kind
of describes how blind people see color or think of color. Obviously every single blind
person is unique and different. So you can't make like blanket statements, but this is kind of the idea
or the inspo behind the book. It's really cool. The one thing that makes me
really sad is that like the braille and the images are quote tactile, but it's kind of like basically a gimmick for sighted people to enjoy. - [Niamh] Can you show it higher up? There we go, yeah. Yeah. You can see the braille there. - [Molly] Braille there
and then an image there. - [Niamh] Yeah, that's good. - But so it is tactile, but it's like so faint that
it's not really legible for actual blind people. And I've heard a bunch
of blind people say that. - [Niamh] Oh, you forgot about your doll. - Oh yeah, you should grab her. - [Niamh] And the braille's
really good on that. - So that's kind of sad, but I did pick this up and I do think it's a beautiful kids book. With "The Black Book of Colors" I'm thinking of doing a video where I personally describe how I think of each color. So if you are interested
in seeing that, please, I'm going to pin a comment
and asking for colors that you would like to
hear what I think of when I hear those colors as
somebody who can't see them. And I think that would
be a really fun video. So comment your color suggestions and I will film a followup
if you guys are interested and thumbs that up pinned comment up if you want to see that video, cause I'm only going to do it if you guys like actually show interest in seeing me describe color from my personal blind perspective. Check this out, Amazon 18 bucks. Then I got! My Hellen Keller Barbie! I got my Helen Keller Barbie! Little blind Molly is so happy. So yes, actual Barbie, the
actual Barbie brand came out with a Helen Keller Barbie. They worked with the NFB on creating it. Basically, I feel like
I don't have to explain who Helen Keller is. I will link information
about her down below if you want to educate yourself because sadly there are so many myths and misconceptions about her, but she was a deaf blind
educator and so incredible and definitely an
inspiration to me growing up and the box has braille on it that's really well done
and super easy to read. It is in unified English Braille, I believe which I haven't
learned yet, but I do plan to, and it's fully brailled
on the back of the box. I don't plan to take her out of her home because she's just perfect
living in her little braille box. But I'm really, really excited
that I got my hands on this. It is a part of the Barbie
"Inspiring Women" collection. Okay, what else do I have to show you? What other blind girl
things have I gotten lately? The final thing I have to show you is from Freedom Scientific and they were kind enough
actually to gift this to me. So I'm very grateful
and this is the Focus 4- Nope, I already own the Focus 40. This is the Focus 14 Braille Display. I'm really excited. This is very cute and tiny
compared to my Focus 40. And so this braille display
is definitely going to be my like travel braille display. Now a lot of my blind
folk were shocked to hear that I'm 27 and I have
never had a braille display of any kind. I've never had any kind
of digital braille device. Unfortunately like that
was just not something I was given access to growing up. And every blind person
has a different experience and different access to opportunity and equipment growing up. And this was never something
that I was provided and it was never something that was really given to my family as an
option for me, unfortunately, which I was a braille and voiceover user. So I really am the perfect
candidate to have used this. And I am not sure why it was never offered to us as an
option, but it never was. And I've wanted one for
about eight years now, but could not afford it for
the first couple of years. I couldn't afford any that
were on the market at the time. And for the last few, again, I've wanted one and I have
been so busy traveling that I knew I could buy one and then I would never
have the opportunity to actually sit down
and train and learn it because there is a big learning
curve to use these devices. And so finally I do have time
'cause I'm not traveling. So it was the great time
to get a braille display. And I've now procured two into my life in the last like six months. So I'm very excited and
because I got the same two, just different sizes, I can like, it's the same to use on both
devices, which is great. So I only really have to
learn how to use it once. Yeah, I'm really excited to have this. For those who are sighted and
have no idea what this is. I've always explained it
as like a braille computer. There's going to be some
blind people that are like, "That's not what it
is. That's misleading." But that's how I like conceptualize it in my head as somebody who
didn't understand for years, that is how like I understood it. If you were also blind, I would love for you to
comment and help a girl out and tell me how you would
explain a braille display to sighted people. And I feel like there are
some that truly are like standalone, like the BrailleNotes with the like a touch screen and stuff. The super big fancy ones. I feel like those truly are
like standalone computers, no? That's how I've always understood it. Anyways, this Bluetooth
connects to my smartphone or my computer and then
displays in braille what is on the screen in print. So I don't want to use the
voice I can use braille, which for me, the reason
I've always wanted one is for memorization. I memorize a lot of speeches. I memorize a lot of scripts. And so for me, I memorize better by feel than I do by hearing, which I think a lot of
sighted people could relate that they would memorize better by reading visually than they do by
hearing something read to them. And so that is why I've
been wanting one for years. And I'm just very happy
that I finally do have one. That is what this is. If you want me to do some
videos about my braille display, let me know. Yeah, I was basically, I was always told, and like let me know as fellow blind folk, when you got your first braille display and how you got it and
like what the process and system you went through is, cause I know every state,
every province, every city, every school board, like
all have different rules around getting assistive technology. I was always told that
when I went to college, they would prescribe me a braille display. Well, I never went to college. I started working straight
out of high school. So that was always what my
family was told is like, "Molly can get a braille display when she goes to college." And I never did. So that's why I never got one until now. And I'm just very excited to have one. Actually, very excited to have two. And then finally, where's my cane Niamhy? - [Niamh] Here it comes. - I know I teased this in this video when I use my cane for a day, is this the right way? - [Niamh] Nope. Other way. There we go. - But I got the, WeWalk Smart Cane. This is the only cane of its kind. This was also very kindly gifted to me. So very appreciative of that. This was, they sell this
at The Low Vision Shop. I'm not sure where else they sell it, but this is a very expensive cane. She's over $500 depending
on what currency you're in. And it is a UK company. I'm really excited to try it out. I haven't yet because I've
been waiting to do a video where I try it for the first time. If you guys are excited
to see me give this a try, you know, give this a thumbs up. Let me know you're excited
and want to see it. It comes with this lightweight, super lightweight cane with a rolling tip, but I could probably switch
it out for my Omni Sense. And then you screw the handle on. This is an all white cane
'cause it is a UK company and in the UK all white
is the standard cane and the red and white is
for deaf blind people. I believe, that's what I've been told. Then it has the actual smart cane handle. Now of course, this is
going to add extra weight to the cane, but the
difference between this adding extra weight to the
cane and the Omni Sense one is that this is adding it to the handle. So the weight is being added to the top versus the weight being added to something that's really far away from your wrist that you're trying to move
really far back and forth. So yeah, I'm very excited to try this out, but I'm waiting to do a video on it. So hopefully you guys are
looking forward to that, but this is the last thing. Come on, get back in there. There we go. That I have brought to my life recently to help make life a little bit easier. That's why we walk. And that is everything. Comment down below and let me
know if you are also blind, please let me know other
things that you've purchased or gotten that like absolutely
helped make a difference to your everyday life as a blind person, whether it's like in your home
or just using out and about in the real world. 'Cause I'm always looking
for just like ways to make life easier and
to accommodate myself. So let me know. And if you're blind, or sighted, let me know if any of these
things were interesting to you and if you'd like to see
more follow up videos on any of them or would
like more information on any of them. And that's all for today. That was fun. I'm glad we did this. This was a good talk, you guys. All right, if you would like
more Molly in your life, you can click over here to hear me talk more about guide dog,
service dog discrimination, and you can click over here to hear about my recent loss in more vision. Okay, see you next time. Bye.
