Saturday, November 03, 2012

Catching up - November 2nd

Last night the dayschool at my church held its annual silent auction.  This is a big deal and the major fundraiser for the school.

I went last year by myself and had a ball.  The food was Mexican, the band was great and the weather was quite lovely.

This year, the food was Cuban, the band was the same one from last year (still great) and the weather was even better!  The weather part is important because the event is held outside.  November is a bit of a gamble - it can be cold or rainy but for the last two years, early November has been just gorgeous!

I bought tickets last week for both me and my husband, but he had to go work in Valdosta, so I invited my friend Suzanne to take his ticket.  We work together and she's such a fun person, I knew she'd enjoy this.  Since she was finishing up before going on vacation next week, she came directly from work.  Unfortunately, President Clinton was also in town stumping for Obama.  That's not a bad thing but it does mess with the traffic flow around town - especially between work and the church.  Suzanne was kind of late, but there was still plenty of food and sangria to be had.

One of the things I love about events like this is that you never know who you're going to wind up sitting next to at the table.  I knew three of the people fairly well, but I got to talk to 5 NEW people.  It was fun and interesting (sitting with people you don't know means the sky's the limit as far as topics of conversation are concerned).

The food and music were great, but the main event really is supposed to be the Silent Auction.  It was pretty good this year - a wide variety of items up for bid.  Last year I managed to win a gift certificate for an annual examination for one of my pets at the vet we use.  This year I bid on some art classes (for Boy), a turquoise necklace and earrings (because I liked them) and yoga classes (because a friend of mine is just LOVING her classes and I thought it might be cool to try it too).  I set a limit in my head but the other part is visiting the item you're bidding on and upping your bid if someone outbids you.  That's the part I'm bad at.  I go in when I arrive, place my bids, then spend the rest of the evening eating, talking and drinking.  At the end of the evening, I find that most of what I bid on has gone to someone else.  That's okay too.  It's all to raise money for the school.  This year, I didn't win anything I bid on. 

I do, however, enjoy watching people leave with their treasures.  Charlotte made off with a huge basket of hair care stuff thatwas nearly as big as she is.  Another friend got some books, wine and a party basket from the University.  Some left with big items that can't be carried.  One such thing was a week's stay at a mountain log cabin in North Carolina.  The opening bid was a wonderful $200 which is a heck of a deal, but at this point in time, I can't really afford to do that.  Maybe next year I can save up  little and get that cabin so I can run away from the heat in the summer!

3 comments:

Jill said...

sounds like fun. I am terrible in bigger groups getting to know people. self conscious I guess. My aunt used to live in Valdosta and I visited there once many moons ago. The piggly wiggly was awesome.

PinkPiddyPaws said...

In the classic words of Animal House: YOGA! YOGA! YOGA! Ha...ha ( well, close enough). Sorry you didn't win it but I love that your interest has been peaked.
Xoxoxo

Karmyn R said...

I always end up spending too much at the Silent Auctions. I suddenly realize I've bid on way too many items! They are fun.