2006 Auction
Every year my church has an auction. People in the congregation donate all sorts of things -- shows, dinners, outings, a week at a vacation condo or cabin, movie nights, just about anything you can think of. There's also a silent auction with tangible items, services (like acupuncture, massage, tutoring, you name it) and goodies. Everything paid by the winning buyers goes to the church.
Here's what I bought this year:
Of course, with my love of natural things, that really made me want those earrings! But I didn't want to have to buy the whole tray of 11 earrings, which I figured would probably be bid up to a sizable amount -- and there were only a couple of other pairs I even liked.
Shamelessly, I tried to make a deal with everyone I could! I asked A if I could buy those separately, and she said it was up to WH (the silent auction chair). W said no, they go with the tray. I bid on them, but as the bids got higher I began to despair of getting those earrings.
I approached the MH, the woman whose bid was highest -- she's not a friend socially, but we've known each other for 20 years -- and told her about how much I loved that particular pair of earrings. I said those were the only ones I wanted, and if I could get them, we wouldn't have to keep bidding against each other and increasing the price of the whole tray! She laughed and said if she got the earrings I could have the antler pair, and I said I wouldn't bid on them any more. Yay! She and I had also been bidding against each other for the item I wanted for a gift, and when I told her how much I wanted it for a gift, she said I could have it and stopped bidding on it.
But when I checked on the silent auction a little later, someone else had added a new, higher bid on those earrings!
CE, the new high bidder, and I were in a small-group-ministry group together a couple of years ago, and I got to know her. I went over to talk to her, and she also said I could have the antler earrings if she got the tray. Now as long as nobody else bid on them, I was all set! But when I went by later, C had crossed out her bid, leaving M as the high bidder when the silent auction closed. A little later, M came over to me in the vocal auction room and said with a smile, "Here you are!" and gave me the earrings!
(This photo doesn't do them justice, because the flash washed out most of the shading. They're bone-color, of course, but there's subtle natural shading that doesn't show up well.)
As the evening went on I had been feeling kind of depressed. The auction is a fun event, but because most of the things in the auction went for really high prices I couldn't afford to buy very much at all -- the only thing I bought that had competitive bidding (the larger events usually have a fixed price that's fairly low, like $10 or $15) was that one "Sunset Soiree" dinner, because it went for "only" $40 (considerably less than most of the dinners and events went for) and the conversation sounded like it would be more interesting than the usual dinner parties.
But getting those beautiful earrings really made me happy! I offered to pay for the earrings -- the tray ended up going for $22, so my earrings would have been $2 since there were eleven pairs -- but M wouldn't hear of it (which is what I expected, but I still wanted to offer).
I don't know what the cutouts are. I had thought they were a natural part of the inside of the antlers -- blood vessel channels, maybe? -- but I looked for pictures of antler earrings on the web, and they're all solid. Maybe they're just decorative cutouts by the person who made them? Regardless, I think they're beautiful -- more beautiful than solid ones would be. The cutouts remind me of a river. And they really called to me from the instant I saw them, so I'm really thrilled to have them for my own!
There was nothing I wanted (or rather, nothing I thought I'd be able to afford) near the end of the booklet, and the noise was really getting to me, so I left early. It's funny how this group, which is too staid to clap or even move during hymn-singing -- even very lively ones like "This Little Light of Mine" -- gets raucous and silly at the auction. But that's encouraged, of course, since one is apt to spend more when they're raucous and silly. The checkout table wasn't set up yet and I didn't go to church this morning, but I'll give them a check next Sunday.
All in all I had a good time. I did buy a few things. The food was very good -- I brought my own sandwich rather than pay $12 for a sandwich and tiny individual pack of potato chips from Panera Bread (!) (and I'll bet my honey-roasted turkey with roasted red peppers and lettuce on 5-Seed bread was as good as any of the catered sandwiches!), but everything else -- pretzels, crudités and dip, and homemade desserts -- were for everyone. And I got those wonderful earrings! So I'm glad I went.
Here's what I bought this year:
- Naked Ladies Tour Thanksgiving Holiday Show: "Do we have your attention yet? Yes, this will indeed be an EXPOSEE of the feminine mystique, or, more plainly said, the mind bending, side splitting, love making, heart rending, wonder-filled world of being or being involved with A WOMAN. This evening will be SLIGHTLY NAUGHTY so if you are VERY P.C. (politically correct) or are thinking of bringing precocious or tender young children, you might want to check with one of us first. Otherwise, DRESS UP and join the fabulously talented [list of members] for a really juicy night out." (This group puts on a show every year on the Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend. It's always fun, and always a really high-quality show -- the performers are all quasi-professionals (i.e., they do get paid to perform but they all have day jobs) or professional quality, and the staging is extremely well done. You couldn't get a show like this for $15 anywhere!)
- Sunset Soiree on Federal Hill: "Come join Blaze Starr and HL Mencken for an evening of food and drink while participating in a discourse on the past, present and future of Baltimorean prose, politics and passion. Location of even is atop Federal Hill, overlooking the Inner Harbor of Baltimore.
- Martin Luther King Day Freedom March Hike: "Relive the March on Selma, Alabama in an afternoon walk around the lake. To celebrate Dr. King's accomplishments (and our own, having walked 2.5 miles), at the end of our hike we'll share a snack of (Egg) Whites Only Angel Food Cake, Bus Boycott Journey Bread (oatmeal cookies with fruit bits) and Black Like Me Cocoa."
- Winter Picnic: "Back by popular demand! A February picnic at the R___s' indoor swimming pool. No sunscreen needed! Highlights include games, music, and swimming as well as customary picnic fare with a few gourmet twists prepared by some of this congregation's best cooks. Dress for a day by the pool -- flip-flops and swimsuits suggested."
- Film Noir Flick #1: "The Maltese Falcon" (1941): Film Noir and Desserts at the C___s'. Humphrey Bogart's signature role as Dashiell Hammett's hard boiled P.O. 'Sam Spade' searching for the fabulous 'Black Bird' in competition with an exceptional cast of international crooks (Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre). Screenplay and direction by John Huston." (This is the family that offered the Classic Sci-Fi movie nights I went to last year. They have an incredible home theater setup in their living room, with a ceiling-mounted digital projector and a big pull-down screen, and LC makes scrumptious desserts to go with the movie. And it's much more fun with 15 or 20 congenial friends and acquaintances. All for a $10 donation to the church.)
- Film Noir Flick #2: "The Third Man" (1949): "Film Noir and Desserts at the C___s'. One of the great suspense films of all time. A writer (Joseph Cotton) tries to find an old friend in post WWII Vienna and learns of a vicious black market organization, making him a marked man. Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles, Alida Valle, Trevor Howard. Directed by Carol Reed."
- Film Noir Flick #5: "Somwhere in the Night" (1946): "Film Noir and Desserts at the C___s'. An early film from Oscar winning director John Mankiewicz. An amnesiac tries to uncover his identity and finds out he might possibly be a murderer. John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Nancy Guild, Sheldon Leonard." (I didn't buy all of them. The others are "Out of the Past," "Wages of Fear" and "Murder My Sweet." I'm not particularly a fan of this genre, but I bought those three because I've never seen them and my cultural literacy is sadly lacking ... and because the evening is fun whether the movie is interesting or not! But if any of these shouldn't be missed, let me know and if there's still space I'll reserve a spot.)
Of course, with my love of natural things, that really made me want those earrings! But I didn't want to have to buy the whole tray of 11 earrings, which I figured would probably be bid up to a sizable amount -- and there were only a couple of other pairs I even liked.
Shamelessly, I tried to make a deal with everyone I could! I asked A if I could buy those separately, and she said it was up to WH (the silent auction chair). W said no, they go with the tray. I bid on them, but as the bids got higher I began to despair of getting those earrings.
I approached the MH, the woman whose bid was highest -- she's not a friend socially, but we've known each other for 20 years -- and told her about how much I loved that particular pair of earrings. I said those were the only ones I wanted, and if I could get them, we wouldn't have to keep bidding against each other and increasing the price of the whole tray! She laughed and said if she got the earrings I could have the antler pair, and I said I wouldn't bid on them any more. Yay! She and I had also been bidding against each other for the item I wanted for a gift, and when I told her how much I wanted it for a gift, she said I could have it and stopped bidding on it.
But when I checked on the silent auction a little later, someone else had added a new, higher bid on those earrings!
CE, the new high bidder, and I were in a small-group-ministry group together a couple of years ago, and I got to know her. I went over to talk to her, and she also said I could have the antler earrings if she got the tray. Now as long as nobody else bid on them, I was all set! But when I went by later, C had crossed out her bid, leaving M as the high bidder when the silent auction closed. A little later, M came over to me in the vocal auction room and said with a smile, "Here you are!" and gave me the earrings!
(This photo doesn't do them justice, because the flash washed out most of the shading. They're bone-color, of course, but there's subtle natural shading that doesn't show up well.)
As the evening went on I had been feeling kind of depressed. The auction is a fun event, but because most of the things in the auction went for really high prices I couldn't afford to buy very much at all -- the only thing I bought that had competitive bidding (the larger events usually have a fixed price that's fairly low, like $10 or $15) was that one "Sunset Soiree" dinner, because it went for "only" $40 (considerably less than most of the dinners and events went for) and the conversation sounded like it would be more interesting than the usual dinner parties.
But getting those beautiful earrings really made me happy! I offered to pay for the earrings -- the tray ended up going for $22, so my earrings would have been $2 since there were eleven pairs -- but M wouldn't hear of it (which is what I expected, but I still wanted to offer).
I don't know what the cutouts are. I had thought they were a natural part of the inside of the antlers -- blood vessel channels, maybe? -- but I looked for pictures of antler earrings on the web, and they're all solid. Maybe they're just decorative cutouts by the person who made them? Regardless, I think they're beautiful -- more beautiful than solid ones would be. The cutouts remind me of a river. And they really called to me from the instant I saw them, so I'm really thrilled to have them for my own!
There was nothing I wanted (or rather, nothing I thought I'd be able to afford) near the end of the booklet, and the noise was really getting to me, so I left early. It's funny how this group, which is too staid to clap or even move during hymn-singing -- even very lively ones like "This Little Light of Mine" -- gets raucous and silly at the auction. But that's encouraged, of course, since one is apt to spend more when they're raucous and silly. The checkout table wasn't set up yet and I didn't go to church this morning, but I'll give them a check next Sunday.
All in all I had a good time. I did buy a few things. The food was very good -- I brought my own sandwich rather than pay $12 for a sandwich and tiny individual pack of potato chips from Panera Bread (!) (and I'll bet my honey-roasted turkey with roasted red peppers and lettuce on 5-Seed bread was as good as any of the catered sandwiches!), but everything else -- pretzels, crudités and dip, and homemade desserts -- were for everyone. And I got those wonderful earrings! So I'm glad I went.