The Gala Prep....

Good Saturday morning!  

Our day started with a phone call at 7:00 a.m.  Grrrrr.  I intended to sleep really late today, because we will be at Gala tonight until 1:00 a.m. or so.   Once I wake up, I usually can't go back to sleep.  Oh well.

Our lawn irrigation system has been leaking for months now.  Joe has tried several times to figure out where the shut-off is, to no avail.  He finally called a landscaping company to come and look at it for us.  Of course, we were their first stop this morning.  Yawn!!  Good news is, it isn't leaking anymore.  They will come back next week to put in new hardware, including a shut-off that we can get to.

Joe and I get to dress up tonight, and attend the Gala as 'guests', but I still have work to do.  My job is auction check-out.  The auction doesn't close until 11:30.  When it closes, I have to input all the bidder info, to the computer software, so we can then print out invoices for the people who won the bids.  Fortunately, most people don't hang around.  We let them know on Monday, and they come by for the objects and pay then.  Some take advantage of giving us their credit card numbers ahead of time, and we just go ahead and charge their card and can even deliver the larger objects to them.  After years of experience, we really do have it down to a 'science', but I will still be there until around 1:00 a.m.  Worth, it though.  It is a fun time, and the Museum will net over $100,000.

I took a bunch of pictures yesterday, while the major decorating was going one.  I helped get the linens on the tables, and the proper number of chairs around the tables.  Today, the caterers will be there early to set the tables and get service all set up.  I wrote a check for the catering company, which includes the servers and gratuity, for just under $30,000.  Guests pay $350 each to attend.  Lots of the 'movers and shakers' will be in attendance.

Things to note in the photos:  The theme this year is Alice in Wonderland.  This theme was chosen because of the main exhibit we have in Gallery I, which is photos very Alice-in-Wonderland-Like.  Quotes from the book are hung from trees and run across the tables and walkways.  It is very fun.  The trees are big, the flowers are big, the mushrooms are big...tonight we will enter through a 'rabbit hole' and will all be small once we are inside!  Notice that the centerpieces for all the tables consist of artificial grass, with plates and other serving pieces (each table is different), and is where the desserts will be.  They are putting fresh flowers into the turf today.  I can't wait to see it.   The photo with the Queen of Hearts cards, shows the main bar, which is in a tent, in our sculpture garden.  I'll take a few photos tonight, if I can, but will most likely share the 'official' photos that the Museum's photographer will take.  His will be much better than mine!