4.20.2012

Happy Friday!

This song - Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric - came on my ipod today while I was driving and it put a big ol' smile on my face. It always reminds me of this scene from Stranger Than Fiction, which is a favorite movie of mine. Hope it makes you smile, too...

4.18.2012

The Coral Sea

The opening few paragraphs of this book gave me chills.

     "The first time I saw Robert he was sleeping. I stood over him, this boy of twenty, who sensing my presence opened his eyes and smiled. With few words he became my friend, my compeer, my beloved adventure.
     When he became ill, I wept and could not stop weeping. He scolded me for that, not with words but with a simple look of reproach, and I ceased.
     When I saw him last we sat in silence and he rested his head on my shoulder. I watched the light changing over his hands, over his work, and over the whole of our lives. Later, returning to his bed, we said goodbye. But as I was leaving something stopped me and I went back to his room. He was sleeping. I stood over him, a dying man, who sensing my presence opened his eyes and smiled.
     When he passed away I could not weep so I wrote. Then I took the pages and set them away. Here are those pages, my farewell to my friend, my adventure, my unfettered joy."

-Patti Smith on Robert Maplethorpe


I love the way she writes about her relationship with Robert. I feel like I can relate my own experiences with certain people to the friendship and love that they had for each other. 
Some people, you just love no matter what, unconditionally. And that's that. You can go away for a while, mentally, emotionally, or physically, but sooner or later you find each other again 
and it's just...good. Maybe the context of your love has changed. It doesn't always have to be romantic love. Perhaps it has morphed into a beautiful mutual friendship or maybe it's just a quick loving smile between you two in passing. This person, this presence, is a strange comfort, but a wonderful comfort nonetheless. 

{Patti and Robert}

4.12.2012

Roommate.

An evening with Ms. Peanut...

Actually she does this almost every
 time I sit down at the table. 
She's so cool. 

4.06.2012

Cure Cystic Fibrosis. Cure Izzy!

 
My 6 year old niece Isabel, or Izzy as she is called, has a disease called cystic fibrosis or CF. Every year since she was diagnosed, we (her family and friends) have been involved with The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides Walk. It is a great time to come together with others who are dealing with the same kind of struggles as Izzy and her parents. Each year we are appropriately named Team Izzy and wear matching shirts that Izzy herself designs. Last year we wore a kitty themed shirt along with cat ears and tails! :) We walk with the Northern California Chapter of the foundation to raise money for the funding of medications and hopefully someday, a cure!

Here are some pictures of past walks:
All of Team Izzy 2010. 
In this year Izzy wanted us all to be butterflies. 

Izzy with her mom (my sis) and dad.

Izzy's drawing was the t-shirt design for 2011. 

Walking to cure CF! 
Please notice the grown man sporting 
a furry cat tail for the cause. :)

Izzy and I at the end of the 2011 walk.
I love this amazing girl so much!!

YES!
_________________________________________________________________________

This year, my sister's friends made a short clip about Izzy to spread the word about what it's like for a kid to have CF. As you can see in the video, she is a brave and special little girl who has been through a lot of pain but she loves to jump, run, and swim despite! :)

 Please take a minute to peek into Izzy's world. And please 
consider joining our fight against CF with a donation to
Team Izzy with the link below:



Let's make CF stand for Cure Found!


More info about CF and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation can be found at their website: http://www.cff.org/