introduction, what happened to Art You Wear

The error code is fixed, hooray! Life moves on, and so I am finally getting back to what I couldn't publish in October--my original introduction:

Hello everyone!
I'm finally able to dip my toe in the pond again and start writing about all things wearable art and sometimes about me. I stopped publishing my paper newsletter, Art You Wear, some years back when my husband's illness became overwhelming. He's still here with me, though we had another episode with life support early this summer. If I've learned anything over these last years, it's that trauma comes and goes and you just pick up the pieces and go on again. So this last time, I bounced back much faster and have more faith in my own strength.

When nothing was working in previous years, I went off to Houston to get away and find objectivity. There's nothing like gazing at fabulous Bernina fashion show garments and fantastic quilts to get your mind off your troubles. (Note that you can see the 2008 garments and quilts at www.quilts.com--click on the ruby red slippers.) By the end of that week I had analyzed what had to be done. For my husband's health, and maybe my sanity, we needed to move to clean air. He had to take early retirement and I had to find something near my aging parents. Craigslist saved the day! It took a few months but I found us a home in a gated community with a lake, emergency personnel at hand, hospitals nearby, and a studio for me. It's farther north from San Francisco and quite rural but I can still get to the museum fashion shows, quilt shows, and even Thai Silks on occasion.

We're on the side of a "foothill," and as I sit at my sewing machine, I can see deer resting in the shade of the oak trees. We and the cats love it here! Old Chessie takes his time climbing up from the neighboring house but has never looked so fit. Muffin loves climbing the trees and kisses with the fawns in spring. With all the stairs inside the house, and everything on a steep slope outside, I'm somewhat more fit too. That's a hooray! I'm including photos of the house, taken last spring after a rain; the view of the lake from our deck and kitchen window; and the same view at sunset when the air was full of smoke from the local wildfires. This view does wonders for the spirit every day! More later, Rosalie (Sorry, I don't yet know how to place the photos correctly. Have to study up on html again!)