This past week, I had to go down to Los Angeles on Thursday morning for work and rather than flying back up to San Jose on Thursday night and then back down to Los Angeles on Friday night, I decided to stay and work some and then go back to the textile district and continue the never ending (well, almost never ending) quest for organza and other fabrics in mass quantities.
Victory is mine! Victory is mine! Happy Dance! Dance of joy, dance of joy! Victory is mine! Exceedingly poor, but very happy, that is me! I am now the proud owner of 180 yards of embroidered and beaded organza, 273 yards of charmeuse in various colors, and 105 yards of beaded and embroidered satin! (Well, okay, I only have one yard of the last fabric, but the rest is on order and will get shipped to my seamstress.) The problem of course is that I had to pay for all this fabric and getting paid back does not happen for months, so really what I have done is turn about $6,000 into dry goods. Of course, that is not even to mention silly little things like zippers and thread and buttons and other miscellaneous notions. But someday the money will come back to me, right in time for me to spend it on something else, I am sure. I am nowhere near done on buying fabric or dresses or outfits or anything close to anything like that, but at least now SOMETHING has been accomplished on this front. And to think that I was just two blocks from where I went shopping last time when I found the stores with this stuff - WOW!
Of course, money has been very much on my mind of late, not only because of the seemingly bottomless list of things that I have to either pay for or front money for to get back later, but because it turns out that spring is budget season in our Order and everyone needs to have one. I have discovered a difficult little twist in the budgeting process which probably needs to be addressed, but I am not sure how just yet.
What I have found is that now, meaning March, April, maybe May of this year, is when the budgets are prepared for the fiscal year that starts October 1 and runs to September 30. So these budgets are really for my year and not for the current year. However, and here is the snag, my partner and I are not currently part of most of the committees and groups preparing these budgets, so when these groups go into their "executive" session to review, approve and vote on these budgets, my AGP and I are not in the room to take part in the discussion or explain what we are trying to accomplish. Instead, we give all that information to someone who is on the committee and hope that nothing is lost in translation. We were invited to come talk about one or two things, but they just listened to what we had to say and then tossed us out again before the group talked about our presentation. Also, it seems to me that if you don't already know pretty much everything you want to do by February or March, you can't get your stuff into the budget so that there will be money to support your projects, but if you wait until the previous October, which is what people seem to want you to do, to start sounding out the members and fleshing out your plans, you can't really be ready to know what you want to go with and what you are going to do by February. And once the budget is done, if you don't have funds in it for what you want, too bad!
So it seems to me that at a minimum, the people whose year it is should get to be in the room for the discussion of their budgets, so that if something is not approved, at least you will know why and maybe there will be a chance to find a fair compromise. All I can do now is hope that everything we asked for is approved in which case, no harm, no foul, but it still doesn't taste quite right.
Next weekend, I am in West Virginia for the Tri-Line meeting with our Right Worthy Associate Grand Matron (boy I hope I got that title right!), who is the head of our Order on the international level, so I will miss being in Fresno.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Spring? Really?
(Note: This was the March 20 post, but I guess I really need a new browser or something because it keep burping.)
They say that today is the first day of spring, but you can't tell looking out my window. How ironic, I keep thinking, that winter should arrive just in time for spring. I must say that formals and rain are a bad combination. So you find yourself trying to decide whether to wear your street clothes to the hall and then change in the ladies' room there or change before you get to the hall and try to keep your skirts out of the water and the muck even though they are floor length, so you are ready to go when you get inside.
Of course, as with any problem, there are layers here. If you show up at the hall and are not dressed yet, it can be hard to break away to get dressed unless you are very determined because people want to talk to you and you want to talk to them and you don't want to interrupt them, but you really, really must get changed! On the other hand, if you change before you arrive at the hall (and by that I often mean in the bathroom of the restaurant where you grabbed lunch or dinner before the OV, which can vary in quality anywhere from a nice steakhouse to Taco Bell), then you run the risk of doing serious harm to your dress and since the dress has to last you for months, this is a problem.
With most formals, they will only take so much dry cleaning before they sort of give up the ghost. Now there is a trick you can use, but you have to be careful to test the fabric in a VERY inconspicuous location before you do it. What you can do, AFTER you test the fabric to make sure it won't discolor, is spray Scotch Guard on the bottom foot or so of your dress all the way around. That way, if you do go through a puddle or something, the water and dirt won't stick and ruin your hemline. Or, if your dress is a bit too long, you can always take it up half an inch about halfway through the time that you have to wear it. But it is always better to keep it clean in the first place.
Well that was hard last weekend, because it just kept raining off and on everywhere. I even went down to Santa Cruz to a friend's office on Saturday to do my taxes and it rained down there. He is an awesome friend who has the really cool tax software and he lets me use his machine and I get my taxes done in about an hour and a half or so. I was happy that I was going to get some money back until my escort was kind enough to point out that it was my money in the first place and that I was just getting my own money back, but after telling him that he was a party-pooper, I decided to go with the "found" money theory, like a bonus you pay yourself because I would rather have more money taken out and get some back, than to have to pay even more money at the end. But to have taxes and rain did seem a little depressing. Each year I always try to take my friend out for lunch after I do my taxes, to thank him for letting me use his machine, and each year he somehow manages to get the check before me. I think sometimes he catches the waitress on the way to the table so I never get the chance to pay.
Anyway, after doing taxes, on Sunday was another OV and yet more rain. But the cool part about Sunday was that we were at the hall in Richmond and I got to check it out as a possible place to hold a Northern Event to benefit our Eastern Star Home and it looks great! The hall holds 220 people for dinner and there is a nice stage for entertainment and a big lobby where we can have tables set up. We are excited about trying to have this event next year because we always have our Summer Festival (by other names over the years, but same basic event) down in Yorba Linda, which is a long way to go, and it will be fun to be able to have our Northern members able to participate in a benefit event for our Home and our Outreach program. So we killed two birds by getting to see and visit with our members in the area and also check out the hall for next February.
Next weekend, I will be in Los Angeles and San Diego.
They say that today is the first day of spring, but you can't tell looking out my window. How ironic, I keep thinking, that winter should arrive just in time for spring. I must say that formals and rain are a bad combination. So you find yourself trying to decide whether to wear your street clothes to the hall and then change in the ladies' room there or change before you get to the hall and try to keep your skirts out of the water and the muck even though they are floor length, so you are ready to go when you get inside.
Of course, as with any problem, there are layers here. If you show up at the hall and are not dressed yet, it can be hard to break away to get dressed unless you are very determined because people want to talk to you and you want to talk to them and you don't want to interrupt them, but you really, really must get changed! On the other hand, if you change before you arrive at the hall (and by that I often mean in the bathroom of the restaurant where you grabbed lunch or dinner before the OV, which can vary in quality anywhere from a nice steakhouse to Taco Bell), then you run the risk of doing serious harm to your dress and since the dress has to last you for months, this is a problem.
With most formals, they will only take so much dry cleaning before they sort of give up the ghost. Now there is a trick you can use, but you have to be careful to test the fabric in a VERY inconspicuous location before you do it. What you can do, AFTER you test the fabric to make sure it won't discolor, is spray Scotch Guard on the bottom foot or so of your dress all the way around. That way, if you do go through a puddle or something, the water and dirt won't stick and ruin your hemline. Or, if your dress is a bit too long, you can always take it up half an inch about halfway through the time that you have to wear it. But it is always better to keep it clean in the first place.
Well that was hard last weekend, because it just kept raining off and on everywhere. I even went down to Santa Cruz to a friend's office on Saturday to do my taxes and it rained down there. He is an awesome friend who has the really cool tax software and he lets me use his machine and I get my taxes done in about an hour and a half or so. I was happy that I was going to get some money back until my escort was kind enough to point out that it was my money in the first place and that I was just getting my own money back, but after telling him that he was a party-pooper, I decided to go with the "found" money theory, like a bonus you pay yourself because I would rather have more money taken out and get some back, than to have to pay even more money at the end. But to have taxes and rain did seem a little depressing. Each year I always try to take my friend out for lunch after I do my taxes, to thank him for letting me use his machine, and each year he somehow manages to get the check before me. I think sometimes he catches the waitress on the way to the table so I never get the chance to pay.
Anyway, after doing taxes, on Sunday was another OV and yet more rain. But the cool part about Sunday was that we were at the hall in Richmond and I got to check it out as a possible place to hold a Northern Event to benefit our Eastern Star Home and it looks great! The hall holds 220 people for dinner and there is a nice stage for entertainment and a big lobby where we can have tables set up. We are excited about trying to have this event next year because we always have our Summer Festival (by other names over the years, but same basic event) down in Yorba Linda, which is a long way to go, and it will be fun to be able to have our Northern members able to participate in a benefit event for our Home and our Outreach program. So we killed two birds by getting to see and visit with our members in the area and also check out the hall for next February.
Next weekend, I will be in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
A Caring Heart
This past weekend started in Yorba Linda. The Grand Officers made their Official Visit to our Senior Living Community. It always seems like a bit of a misnomer to me that we call this event an Official Visit because usually at a Traditional Official Visit, we are visiting and see the local people perform the Ritual work for us, but the tradition for the OV to the SLC is that the Grand Officers take their stations and perform the work on behalf of the Residents. It is fun because the Residents enjoy seeing the work performed by the Grand Officers and it is nice to be able to provide them with the opportunity. We have a lot of very wonderful members living in our SLC and it is very warming to be able to perform this little service for them.
Of course, it means that we have make sure that we still know our own work, since we haven't done it in the past month or two when we finished the Instructionals. That isn't quite accurate for everyone though, because when you have a Traditional OV and there is an office for which there are no officers for a particulart station in the entire District, then the Grand Officer takes their chair for the evening. We had a few of those instances occur in the past month, so SOME of the officers had practiced more recently, but the rest of us had not. I have not had to take my station so far this year, but if I make it all the way to the end without taking it, it will be the first time since I sat in the chair at least once every other year so far.
Anyway, the theme was based on the musical Wicked, which I understand is a favorite of our WGM, so there were green tinted glasses and beads and green scarves and many other things that were green. Even some of the refreshments were green.
The next morning, I got up to go back to the SLC for our Home Board of Trustees and Finance meetings and was doing fine until about mid-morning, when I thought that something I ate did not agree with me and I didn't feel well. I made it through the first part of the Finance meeting, but then they booted my AGP and I out of the room for an executive session. I would have gone back to the hotel to lie down, but we had to hang out at the SLC until the Finance Committee was ready for a little bit of a presentation about next year's budget and while I hoped it would not be too long before they were ready for us, it turned into quite some time. Finally we were asked back in and fifteen minutes later, we were on our way back to the hotel. By that point, I really didn't feel well and didn't want to think about what I ate at dinner Friday that could come back to bother me so much, since I didn't think I ate anything particularly weird. But boy, whatever the something was didn't like me AT ALL.
When it came time for dinner, I didn't feel up to it, but my AGP and his escort, who are AWESOME at taking care of me brought me back a little dinner and I did eat some of it, but then we were supposed to change and go to Escondido for another OV and I knew that I wouldn't make it there and back again in any kind of decent shape, so they went without me and made my apologies. I felt really bad about missing, but given how the rest of my evening went (and I shall spare you the details that you DO NOT WANT!!!) it was absolutely the right decision.
The next morning I was feeling better and made the OV in Hemet and then had a small bite to eat before heading to the airport and back onto my plane home. But what was particularly interesting to me was the graphic example of the "small village" nature of our Order and the caring heart that goes with it. Because on Sunday, pretty much every person I spoke with knew that I hadn't been feeling well the night before, even people who hadn't been in Escondido the night before. That's how fast news spreads! But on the other hand, every person who spoke to me asked me how I was feeling and not just as a matter of form but because it really mattered to them.
That is why I do this.
Next weekend, I am in Oakland and Richmond, but will miss Ukiah and Sebastopol.
Of course, it means that we have make sure that we still know our own work, since we haven't done it in the past month or two when we finished the Instructionals. That isn't quite accurate for everyone though, because when you have a Traditional OV and there is an office for which there are no officers for a particulart station in the entire District, then the Grand Officer takes their chair for the evening. We had a few of those instances occur in the past month, so SOME of the officers had practiced more recently, but the rest of us had not. I have not had to take my station so far this year, but if I make it all the way to the end without taking it, it will be the first time since I sat in the chair at least once every other year so far.
Anyway, the theme was based on the musical Wicked, which I understand is a favorite of our WGM, so there were green tinted glasses and beads and green scarves and many other things that were green. Even some of the refreshments were green.
The next morning, I got up to go back to the SLC for our Home Board of Trustees and Finance meetings and was doing fine until about mid-morning, when I thought that something I ate did not agree with me and I didn't feel well. I made it through the first part of the Finance meeting, but then they booted my AGP and I out of the room for an executive session. I would have gone back to the hotel to lie down, but we had to hang out at the SLC until the Finance Committee was ready for a little bit of a presentation about next year's budget and while I hoped it would not be too long before they were ready for us, it turned into quite some time. Finally we were asked back in and fifteen minutes later, we were on our way back to the hotel. By that point, I really didn't feel well and didn't want to think about what I ate at dinner Friday that could come back to bother me so much, since I didn't think I ate anything particularly weird. But boy, whatever the something was didn't like me AT ALL.
When it came time for dinner, I didn't feel up to it, but my AGP and his escort, who are AWESOME at taking care of me brought me back a little dinner and I did eat some of it, but then we were supposed to change and go to Escondido for another OV and I knew that I wouldn't make it there and back again in any kind of decent shape, so they went without me and made my apologies. I felt really bad about missing, but given how the rest of my evening went (and I shall spare you the details that you DO NOT WANT!!!) it was absolutely the right decision.
The next morning I was feeling better and made the OV in Hemet and then had a small bite to eat before heading to the airport and back onto my plane home. But what was particularly interesting to me was the graphic example of the "small village" nature of our Order and the caring heart that goes with it. Because on Sunday, pretty much every person I spoke with knew that I hadn't been feeling well the night before, even people who hadn't been in Escondido the night before. That's how fast news spreads! But on the other hand, every person who spoke to me asked me how I was feeling and not just as a matter of form but because it really mattered to them.
That is why I do this.
Next weekend, I am in Oakland and Richmond, but will miss Ukiah and Sebastopol.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
A Material Girl
Last weekend, there were two events on Saturday and Sunday was open, so I had some more time to look at fabric and to find out all sorts of interesting things and get interesting results.
Saturday morning was the Orangebelt event at Benedict's Castle, which is a home for Teen Challenge, a great program that assists youth with various problems and issues to get control of their lives and learn life skills that allow them to do well in the world. I have been there two or three times before. The food is usually good and the grounds are beautiful. But it seemed like there were less people there than last year and no one was quite sure why. Of course with the economy the way that it is, maybe the ticket price was an issue, but that was the same last year and from what I have heard, while the area around Riverside is still very hard hit economically, it is no worse than it was last year according to the locals. We also wondered if it was because last year was a themed event or whether more entertainment would help boost attendance. We also talked about maybe inviting the local Lodges and other Masonic Family groups to attend next year because it is an open event, so anyone could be asked to come enjoy fun and fellowship with us. It will be interesting to see how that all comes out and I can't wait to see what my very clever Dragon Riders come up with for next year.
Saturday evening was the Official Visit in Coachella. I've been in that hall a couple of times before, especially for Hands Across the Border events with Arizona. It is a great Chapter room although the lounge and bathroom set up can really confuse you the first time you go in there. If you go in the door marked Ladies, you don't end up in the room with the fixtures and if you go in the lounge, there is also a door marked Men and then it gets really weird from there. But the lounge is enormous which is always awesome for people to change clothes before heading home. The Chapters did a great job with a lovely "heavy appetizer" spread that made for a very nice meal before the OV and road snacks afterwards, which was good because lots of us had two or three hours to drive after the OV to get home or to hotels, etc.
So then on Sunday, it was time to get measured for dresses and get a form put together that I can give to my eventual Grand Officers so that their dresses can be put together. That all was pretty easy, but then we drove down to the LA textile district to start looking for fabric and that was an adventure.
Now I have to digress from my story for a moment to admit that I have been given the most amazing example of the old saying that no learning is ever wasted. One of my guilty pleasures (big admission time - please do not think too much less of me) has been watching Project Runway over the past few years. The episodes are saved on the On Demand function of Comcast cable so I can watch them for free whenever I happen to be home, since there is no way that I could ever watch any show at the same time every week. Heck, I can't even seem to get home at the same time on any day of any week. But with the On Demand function, I can watch the episodes in order whenever I am home. I don't really care for the "drama" part of the show, where the designers talk about all their "stress" and make catty remarks about each other. But I do enjoy seeing what they come up with and, as I have mentioned earlier, I get to learn that I have no "fashion forward" sense whatsoever, because I often find the winning design to be something unwearable by any woman who has a shape other than "thirteen year old boy with plums in his front shirt pockets."
However, the one thing that I have learned from watching the show over all these years is different fabrics, which is why I knew the difference between embellished net and embroidered organza which I mentioned last week. So as we went through the shops in LA (we only made it through about a third of them), I at least knew what to ask for and several times that meant that we popped in and then out. I have also learned to ask "what can you order" and "what do you have in stock" and "how much" meaning yards not price.
So we started out at Joann's, just to get some base line ideas and found a couple of fabrics that could not be gotten in enough quantity, but someone in our group said, well, why don't we just get six to eight yards and we can make you a dress, so the next thing I know, our quick stop to get some base line ideas nets me fabric for two dresses and vest material for two vests for my AGP. If only I had realized that this was going to be a trend!
So as we go through the shops, rejecting the ten billion embellished net fabrics they have, I find two or three organzas that I like, but no one can provide the needed quantities. But someone said, well, why don't you get six yards and we can make it up for you, so then I had another bundle.
I also found the most perfect beaded chiffon that I thought would be the perfect session dress material, but after the gentlemen searched their inventory, it turned out they only had eighty yards of it and they couldn't order more because it was last year's fabric, but somehow I ended up with eight yards, because we can use it to make a dress for you.
Somehow, I spent hours trying to find fabric for other people and now I think that I have fabric for four dresses for me but no final selection for what I was looking to buy. Next week I will be down in LA for a weekday and we will see about searching another third of the textile district to find something that will work, but I fear that I will end up with four more dresses worth for me and zero for what I need. Sigh!
Next weekend, I am in Yorba Linda, Escondido and Hemet, but will miss the Sunday breakfast.
Saturday morning was the Orangebelt event at Benedict's Castle, which is a home for Teen Challenge, a great program that assists youth with various problems and issues to get control of their lives and learn life skills that allow them to do well in the world. I have been there two or three times before. The food is usually good and the grounds are beautiful. But it seemed like there were less people there than last year and no one was quite sure why. Of course with the economy the way that it is, maybe the ticket price was an issue, but that was the same last year and from what I have heard, while the area around Riverside is still very hard hit economically, it is no worse than it was last year according to the locals. We also wondered if it was because last year was a themed event or whether more entertainment would help boost attendance. We also talked about maybe inviting the local Lodges and other Masonic Family groups to attend next year because it is an open event, so anyone could be asked to come enjoy fun and fellowship with us. It will be interesting to see how that all comes out and I can't wait to see what my very clever Dragon Riders come up with for next year.
Saturday evening was the Official Visit in Coachella. I've been in that hall a couple of times before, especially for Hands Across the Border events with Arizona. It is a great Chapter room although the lounge and bathroom set up can really confuse you the first time you go in there. If you go in the door marked Ladies, you don't end up in the room with the fixtures and if you go in the lounge, there is also a door marked Men and then it gets really weird from there. But the lounge is enormous which is always awesome for people to change clothes before heading home. The Chapters did a great job with a lovely "heavy appetizer" spread that made for a very nice meal before the OV and road snacks afterwards, which was good because lots of us had two or three hours to drive after the OV to get home or to hotels, etc.
So then on Sunday, it was time to get measured for dresses and get a form put together that I can give to my eventual Grand Officers so that their dresses can be put together. That all was pretty easy, but then we drove down to the LA textile district to start looking for fabric and that was an adventure.
Now I have to digress from my story for a moment to admit that I have been given the most amazing example of the old saying that no learning is ever wasted. One of my guilty pleasures (big admission time - please do not think too much less of me) has been watching Project Runway over the past few years. The episodes are saved on the On Demand function of Comcast cable so I can watch them for free whenever I happen to be home, since there is no way that I could ever watch any show at the same time every week. Heck, I can't even seem to get home at the same time on any day of any week. But with the On Demand function, I can watch the episodes in order whenever I am home. I don't really care for the "drama" part of the show, where the designers talk about all their "stress" and make catty remarks about each other. But I do enjoy seeing what they come up with and, as I have mentioned earlier, I get to learn that I have no "fashion forward" sense whatsoever, because I often find the winning design to be something unwearable by any woman who has a shape other than "thirteen year old boy with plums in his front shirt pockets."
However, the one thing that I have learned from watching the show over all these years is different fabrics, which is why I knew the difference between embellished net and embroidered organza which I mentioned last week. So as we went through the shops in LA (we only made it through about a third of them), I at least knew what to ask for and several times that meant that we popped in and then out. I have also learned to ask "what can you order" and "what do you have in stock" and "how much" meaning yards not price.
So we started out at Joann's, just to get some base line ideas and found a couple of fabrics that could not be gotten in enough quantity, but someone in our group said, well, why don't we just get six to eight yards and we can make you a dress, so the next thing I know, our quick stop to get some base line ideas nets me fabric for two dresses and vest material for two vests for my AGP. If only I had realized that this was going to be a trend!
So as we go through the shops, rejecting the ten billion embellished net fabrics they have, I find two or three organzas that I like, but no one can provide the needed quantities. But someone said, well, why don't you get six yards and we can make it up for you, so then I had another bundle.
I also found the most perfect beaded chiffon that I thought would be the perfect session dress material, but after the gentlemen searched their inventory, it turned out they only had eighty yards of it and they couldn't order more because it was last year's fabric, but somehow I ended up with eight yards, because we can use it to make a dress for you.
Somehow, I spent hours trying to find fabric for other people and now I think that I have fabric for four dresses for me but no final selection for what I was looking to buy. Next week I will be down in LA for a weekday and we will see about searching another third of the textile district to find something that will work, but I fear that I will end up with four more dresses worth for me and zero for what I need. Sigh!
Next weekend, I am in Yorba Linda, Escondido and Hemet, but will miss the Sunday breakfast.
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