It ain't all a bed of roses...

traca

Well-known member
So, to counter the rubbing elbows w/ celebs stuff, how 'bout this. Yesterday I had a BBQ. I'm housesitting and they say I can have a party there. I don't bat an eye before the planning begins.

I went home to check in on the cat and bake in my own kitchen. Lost track of time and raced out of the house, realizing that if I speed, I just may make it before the party is supposed to start! (I comfort myself thinking no one shows up on time to a party, right?)

The race is on.

I leave with my purse, laptop, a pyrex of blondies...and manage to trip on the top step. Me & my dish go crashing to the ground. The dish shatters. I've got skid marks on my knees and arms and had the wind knocked out of me. (Keep in mind I'm running late to my own party.)

Enter the stream of curse words.

Luckily, I did a riff on the Smitten recipe and lined the bottom of my pan with parchment. It's all still in tact, with the exception of a giant crack across the top. I pick it up, dust myself off, and race to the car.

If I were only attending the party, I would have bailed but no...I have 30 people coming over. I find myself crying the entire drive over there.

I get to the house, put my poker face on. See a good friend of mine. One look from her and I let loose again. Meanwhile, people are starting to show up (2 others who I don't know well are there already.) Oh good God.

I pull myself together and come down stairs. More people have arrived. I've got my composure now, joke about my wounds, slap on a Superman bandaid and make myself a stiff drink. Festive, festive, let's get festive here.

My friend is BBQing on the grill. The smoke alarm in the house goes off, repeatedly. This is not my house so we can't find the main smoke alarm. After the third time the alarm goes off, one industrious friend of mine manages to find the battery and pull it out.

Moments later, a new-to-me friend who was close to Julia Child and was a frequent caterer for the Academy Awards shows up with her assistant. Yipes!

Suddenly, something shifts and everything comes together. I even manage to have a good time. But oof! It ain't all a bed of roses in my world.

Not to mention I've got an event that's going completely sideways right now. Just lost the venue and the sponsor pulled out citing no money. I've been scrambling to move the event all day today. I've got a 4 person panel and a screening of a just-released documentary that is scheduled for next Tuesday. And no venue. Ha ha ha!!!!

What the heck am I going to do? It's a mystery to me....

 
You'll pull off the event just like the party--with grace and humor. There's something about

a shared disaster like the smoke alarm that gets a party going.

Sorry about the wounds, though!

 
You have reserves that the rest of us can only dream of, T. (And probably also preserves.) smileys/wink.gif

 
Here's to another mound of rabbits for you to pull out of a hat!

so sorry about the beginning of the BBQ, I'm glad you were able to have a good time and we not seriously hurt.

Ah, Traca, the pickles we get into sometimes! Hang in there sweetie!

 
Success!

After two days of being on the phone, cajoling everyone I could think of, I thought to myself, "If I don't have this thing in the bag by noon, I'm calling it quits."

Little did occur to me that I was seized by a stroke of genius yesterday. I have all these PR companies calling me, hoping I'll write about their clients, yadda yadda ya. Well, I turned it back on them and said, "Okay, I need a favor from YOU."

Lo and behold, one of the PR peeps came through with smashing success! Originally I was thinking a college auditorium (partitioned, not the whole thing...it is summer in Seattle after all and rallying that many people just ain't going to happen...not in the summer.)

What PR Goddess came through with was 2 fabulous rooms at the W Hotel, complete with seating, screen, projector, mikes, AND tech support!

And to add icing on the cake, she's throwing a little love to her chef. He's preparing a bevy of seafood appetizers.

We managed to get fresh King Salmon, Copper River Sockeye and Halibut donated. And another guy I know is donating his fabulous smoked King and Sockeye Salmon. Oh, and a wine vendor is considering donating wine.

Clearly ya'll were sending some good vibes my way! I can't thank you enough!

***
In case you were wondering...here's the event I've been slaving away on:

WHAT: Screening of the new documentary "End of the Line" followed by a panel discussion on worldwide sustainable seafood issues from regional experts.


PANNELISTS:
Casson Trenor - Author of the Sustainable Sushi Guide. Casson is a sustainable seafood advocate and restauranteur (San Francisco and soon to be Seattle)

Jon Rowley - A legend in the seafood world. Jon is a James Beard Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America recipient for his work improving seafood quality. He spearheaded the marketing of Copper River and Yukon River salmon and has worked closely with Taylor Shellfish for 20 years. Jon was among Saveur magazine's Top 100 list of influences in American food, dubbed "America's Disciple of Flavor" and serves as Contributing Editor to Gourmet magazine.

Becky Selengut - Chef, author, cooking instructor and founder of www.seasonalcornucopia.com. Becky is a writer for Edible Seattle and is currently working on a sustainable seafood book.

Shauna MacKinnon - Living Oceans Society, British Columbia. Her areas of specialty include: open net-cage aquaculture and implementation of sustainable seafood programs (for retailers & food service operations).

 
And I am grateful for the effort toward sustainable fishing. Well done, Traca. See..this is why

people think you are "media".

 
What an awesome lineup, I would kill to hear those folks!

and a big score on getting your venue. See? Rabbits everywhere! (((hugs)))

 
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