Sounds Like a Deal!

Each summer we go to The Independence Place fundraiser, "The Sounds of Summer".  For a $40 donation per person we are treated to a meal, over 2 hours of live entertainment, and have the option of bidding on donated items in a silent auction.  Every year I bid and every year I am the high bid for a couple of items.  I am very selective about bidding on "things" mainly because I have enough "things",  and any services or gift cards I bid for have to be something I will seriously use.

This year I found a few things I genuinely wanted. The first was this print by local artist Don Stewart.
I have 2 other prints by him in my house and thought this would be a nice addition to those. He calls his works "The Visual Humor of Don Stewart" I love an artist who does not take him/herself too seriously. This title is "Fast Food". In his usual style the components of the picture are made of elements of the title of his work.  It is kind of like looking at a Highlights Magazine's hidden picture, except every single pen stroke is something altered and morphed to create whatever he is currently seeing in his mind's eye. Look carefully and you can find it! He even includes a cheat sheet in the packaging so you will know what to look for. I had rather just study the print and enjoy the process. I just really like his style, sense of self, and perception.

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 So yay me for learning how to stalk whoever is bidding against me  navigate a silent auction successfully!

My second win was this hand carved Santa. I bought him for my granddaughter and I hope he becomes part of their Christmas tradition, though it is entirely possible he will wind up in the bottom of her toy box, instead of being carefully placed in the perfect spot each year. (cringe!)

 And my third and final silent auction "win" is a 40 dollar coupon to my local Carmike Cinema. It was good for only the theaters in my little burb, which worked out great for me. It is less than 2 miles form my house!  I bid the opening bid which remained the only bid for the entire evening. The community that houses Independence Place is about 35 miles across town from my house and most of the attendees were from that area.  They couldn't see bidding on tickets to a theater so far from home.  Score!  15 bucks bought me 40 dollars worth of movie time. I am going to start using them tomorrow!