Mini-Vac

I actually took a little vacation this past weekend and flew down to Baltimore, MD to visit Rosie, my blind friend. We're very close and are in constant touch with each other via telephone, email and webcam (she can see a little bit) using Skype. There's something about seeing, hearing and touching someone in person, though. There's simply no way to compensate, no matter how many times you talk on the phone or read an email. You just can't hug that way!

Rosie's one of the most talented people I know. I'm amazed by the somewhat weird but incredibly creative projects she undertakes. She's a writer, a seamstress, a comic, and an inspiration to many who turn to her for advice, consolation and protection. In short, she's amazing.

Rosie and Friends

A few years ago Rosie started - and I'm serious - sewing little outfits for cement lawn ornaments in the shape of large and small geese. She has three geese in her house that she dresses up:Lucy, Lucinda and Daisy. Lucinda is sitting opposite of Rosie and little Daisy is in the background. They have outfits that are absolutely amazing: Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day and other holiday get-ups, historic outfits, wedding outfits and more. We spent hours on Saturday night taking pictures of Daisy in scores of outfits. We ran out of time and energy and decided to call it quits until some point in the future. I took pictures and some videos of Rosie dressing up the geese. The portrait above shows Lucinda in her "cave goose" outfit. Rosie sewed a little cloth bone "pin" to hold the leopard skin together and also attached a little club she'd made out of styrofoam. Rosie wants to photograph all her clothes and post them to a blog or website on the internet. I took the pictures and will eventually upload them - with music! - to a blog or website I'll build for her.

Now, mind you, Rosie is 95 - 98% blind. She has a field of vision that's smaller than a dime. She can see only the strongest, boldest contrasts and has all but no color perception. She feels the outfits more than she can see them.