I'm back, just to say hello and to thank all you lovely people who have questioned my whereabouts, or asked friends if I'm "all right"!
I am all right, but I wasn't for a good part of 2017; I jumped down my hidey-hole and, except for occasional forays on Instagram (mhoutz4) and Facebook, I laid low.
I have continued problems with my foot...not life-threatening, but life-changing. I had a complete rupture of the tibialis anterior tendon, resulting in drop-foot and considerable pain. It's not "fixable", so I have to find ways to live with it. I wear a brace a good part of the time. The psychological fall-out was way worse than the physical part...a good part of my identity is wrapped up in how I move and walk, how I present myself, what clothes I wear...none of this will be a surprise to you who have followed me over the years! At any rate, it hit me like a bomb and it took many months to come to terms with it. But I have succeeded in facing it and am determined to "take my body back" and live as I have done for many years! YAY!
I have not been sewing since early last year; not only was I distracted, but I haven't been able to keep up my years-long 4 miles a day walk, and my body has reacted badly to that...i.e. I can't wear a lot of my lovely clothes! SO...I am starting to walk again, gradually, and am determined to recreate what I can of the best parts of who I "used to be". I am in the process of cleaning out my studio, getting rid of a lot of excess "stuff", and whether I will sew again will be addressed in the future.
Other than that, Dave, Teddy, Micmac and I are all fine..
and wish you all a happy and healthy 2018.
I DO miss having a place to share what new things, books,meals, etc. I am enjoying...
so maybe I will blog occasionally. I'm not making that decision right now.
One thing I would love to share is a new makeup I've discovered (this is my opinion, only) It's LookFabulousForever, started 5 years ago by a lovely 65-year-old woman who despaired of finding makeup items suited to an aging face. The makeup itself is fabulous (I've ordered 3 times) but the very best part for me is a series of wonderful videos showing just how to apply the products and what tricks can be used to look better as you age. Most of the videos are done by Tricia Cusden, the founder, who is a beautiful woman. So part of my determination I wrote of above includes looking the very best I can!
Here's a picture of me on a "road trip" with my dear friend Shams in October as we drove up to Ashland, Oregon, to attend a Design Outside the Lines workshop, put on by Diane Ericson and featuring Kathryn Brenne, a wonderful pattern designer for Vogue Patterns, a teacher of couture sewing skills and a leader of workshops in her own right. What a great time we had! Check out Shams post about it if you're interested.
Best wishes to all of you...thanks for caring! Till we meet again!
TTYL
Margy
