This week was all about the Wine & Dine – our annual fundraising dinner for Friends of the Library. Our theme was vintage valentines and the anchor of the decorating was my vintage tablecloths. I’d delivered a bag of 13 all washed and ready to iron but I got an email mid-week saying they needed more. I spent one morning before work digging through more linens in the basement and delivering them on my way out of town. With the short notice, someone else was on the hook for washing them this time.
I was also in charge of door prizes, which I’d done for years but stepped away from last year only to be unhappy with the low number of prizes so I volunteered again. I may need to rethink that. People cannot seem to follow directions nor stick to deadlines! Each Friend was supposed to have dropped a door prize at the library by Saturday, the 8th, in a gift bag so I could see what was inside. I was still picking them up a week later and one person brought hers to the actual dinner. Sheesh! I also went a bit overboard (Me? Shocking!) and so had way too prizes from my own house to organize and wrap. Some of those were donations from my friends and others things knitted by the knitting group. After a Walgreens run after work on Friday to buy filler candy for some of the prizes that needed a little something, I thought I was in good shape but it seemed to take all afternoon Saturday to get them sorted out, winners chosen (I did a random number generator against the sign up sheet) and the results emailed to the library director who picks who gets what. I didn’t finish until Saturday night and still had them to load into bags for transport.
With all the door prize related errands (I did what I thought was everything Saturday morning but ended up having to go out two more times that afternoon) done, I thought I’d have a relaxing day on Sunday but decided I should cook instead. I stopped the movie I was watching and put on the pea soup. I moved on to ham salad, tabbouleh and sausage and peppers, finishing just in time to load up the door prizes and get dressed. The kitchen looked like a bomb went off but at least I’d have good eats for the week. Bob and Lorri picked me up, which meant I had help schlepping the prizes inside. The night was a success but with a few bumps. The PA system didn’t work and Denise hadn’t pre matched who got what prize, doing it on the fly, which resulted in men getting women’s prizes at the end. The service was slow so we were still eating at 7:30 so being home in time for Downton Abbey at 8:00 wasn’t going to happen. And the prime rib, while well seasoned, was overcooked (medium well when I like medium rare.) But enough of the bumps lest you think it was the Whine and Dine! Everyone had fun and I enjoyed chatting with the people at my table. And since I wasn’t driving, I had a second glass of wine. And the best part of it all – it’s done! I can reclaim my dining room table and get back to normal.
As soon as everything’s put away and I’ve caught up on things, the next thing on the agenda is to schedule the new cleaning lady to come over. Time to cross that off the list just in time to be thinking about spring yard chores. Because while all this door prize prep was going on, the bitter cold finally broke and not a minute too soon. I got my first order of seeds and am waiting for a 2nd. Having bought all new seed, I think I’ll be starting some tomatoes this year. Normally I just take whatever Lorri starts but this year I’ll do a few on my own.
I also finalized everything I could for France. The tickets were bought last week and this week we did hotels. Sue booked the single night in Bergerac and after asking for a recommendation from my boss (3 levels up), I booked 2 nights in Paris at a nice hotel near the Eiffel Tower that’s half the price of what the travel agent suggested. So now all that’s left is to book our train tickets but it’s too early to do that online. It’s all coming together and I’m getting excited. It’s been 28 years since I’ve been in France (I cannot believe that!) so it’s about time. Life is good!
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