How's Robb?

This summer, I was going to be attending a couple of events that involved wearing 1920s daytime fashions.  I planned to make my own dresses, from an original 1920s sewing pattern, but I was at a bit of a loss for how to find the perfect hat. I wanted to wear a wide brimmed hat, rather than a cloche. It seemed that my light airy garden party frock wanted an equally lightweight hat.  These hats caught my eye. I particularly liked how the floral trim was off to the side of the hats. This dark colored hat, with its billowing scarf was very appealing.  I like how there's no obligation to match the hat to the dress.  White dress and black hat?  No problems. I like the woman on the left whose corsage matched the floral ornament on her hat. It's one thing to know what I wanted.  It's quite another to find anything suitable.  I'd been unsuccessfully haunting the stores, looking for a modern hat I could sculpt into an appropriate s

The Gatsby Summer Afternoon has come and gone. The event was gloriously magical.  And we made a whole lot of crazy nonsense. For those not familiar with this event, it's a day-long lawn party, where all the guest wear clothes from the 1920s and 1930s, and bring over-the-top picnics.  It's about the most insane party imaginable, a sort of Burning Man for the Downton Abbey crowd Of course, someone has to schlepp in all those cucumber sandwiches, champagne bottles and vintage table-settings.  And once you're on site there's nowhere to hide anything that doesn't fit in with the aesthetic of the event.   Robb started dreaming about a rolling cart that would break down flat to fit into our car, and that would also function as a serving trolley. He took his inspiration from the sorts of carts traditionally used at European railway stations. The folks unloading those massive baskets are women, and they're wearing high heels.  This pho

Every year since his spinal cord injury, Robb and I have participated in the BORP Revolution , a fundraising ride for a local organization that uses sports and recreation as a catalyst to improve quality-of-life for people with physical disabilities. We ride with disabled cyclists and their families, and over the years, we've seen some of the same people again and again.  Some folks make such an impression on us, that we remember them even if we haven't seen them in years. We met this memorable father-and-son team back in 2012.  Clearly, the first thing we noticed was Zulu and his purple everything, but what really caught our eye was  Garnett cranking his kids' sized hand-cycle.  He was riding the 20 mile ride, powered by his arms, and a bit of a power-assist from his dad's tow-rope.  There was something about their energy and teamwork that really stuck with me. Seven years later, we bumped into them again.  Zulu is as purple as ever.  And Garnett

Do you remember a time in your life when you were a weird, awkward kid?  Maybe this was a long time ago.  Maybe -- for some of us -- this was last week. And do you remember how it felt to find your people, to find the like-minded friends, and special adults who made you feel like you really belonged?  Didn't it change your entire life, to no longer be an outsider, and to have a community that supported you, and allowed you grow and flourish?  It took a lot of the sting out of life, and made you more resilient.  It made you the person you are today.   Now imagine that you're a physically disabled kid.  You're likely the only disabled kid in your school.  You may not know any other kids like yourself.  Imagine how lonely and difficult that must be. This is where the BORP (the Bay Area Outreach Recreation Program) comes in.  BORP works with physically disabled kids to provide mentoring and community, to help them flourish and not feel like outsiders.  BORP lets