The Friends dinner/auction

I have had a cold since Friday, so am seeing life through a bit of smog. It is improving, thank goodness. Saturday was a busy day so I just went through it as best I could, and Sunday I spent most of the day goofing off. Saturday was the annual Friends of the Library winter banquet and auction at the Knights of Columbus hall. We gathered at the library at noon to load up all the auction items and had a caravan up to the hall where we set them out in numerical order. They had all been packed as well as possible, so the organization took a bit of concentration. We had 70 silent auction items and 12 "live" ones, including an original etching, greens fees, a cruise on Lake Champlain, a lovely granite bench. While we were doing that, other Friends were setting the 16 tables and decorating with Pinocchios, historical photos, and other Italian goodies.

After we got things set up, Paul and I headed home for a nap before Pauline and Bob arrived. It was very cold and the wind was blowing terribly, but we saw some of the snow sculptures being made downtown as we headed back to the hall. The dinner was excellent - Northern Italian fare with tiramisu for dessert - and with lovely music by the former HS music teacher, everything seemed very relaxed. People bid on everything but one item, and for the most part, the prices were very fair. Pauline was determined to get my Wonky Cats quilt, and I promised to make her a bed-sized one for the lake house this year. We bought the cruise tickets and will take Bob and Pauline with us this summer, and Bob promised to take us all to dinner at Soup 'n' Greens with the gift certificate he "won." So it was a successful event, and I hope the bottom line reflects that, too. We'll find out at our next meeting on the 8th. All the funds we raise go to library materials and programs like the summer author programs and monthly events for seniors and young adults.

So Sunday we crashed, and even Monday was a little slow. Today I put together two quilt backs so that I can sandwich two quilts at Saturday's day-long retreat. I hope we can get downtown tomorrow to see the snow sculptures - they look fabulous. Will try to remember the camera.