A Feast with Friends

Omar & Christine Lee and Cathi Hatch

Last week, Ken and I were invited to join Christine & Omar Lee at their elegant lakefront home on Mercer Island for wine and hors d'oeuvres before accompanying them for dinner to their Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant at the Great Wall Shopping Mall in Kent.  It was a beautiful, sunny evening on the lake and after sampling a number of white wines from countries around the world, we toured their custom 86 foot yacht, The AquaVilla.  Also joining us were Dianna & Bill Fieldstead, Barb & Dale Rasmussen

and Teresa & Arlan Collins.  

The AquaVilla is an exquisite piece of art built in China with every amenity and feature that I have ever seen on a boat; beautiful polished woods, embedded mosaics in the floor, carefully designed staterooms taking advantage of every square inch of space available, a motorized retractable automatic docking and launching design for the dinghy in the lazarette, a pilot's house with enough salon space and a

Dianne & Bill Fieldstead

second galley to serve as the heart of the boat, locking, sliding mirrors in the heads and dozens of other custom details that make the design so fascinating.  See related blog post here when Omar & Christine hosted a boatwarming party for Omar's 60th birthday in 2010.

Following the boat tour, we headed to dinner where we were seated in a private room around a vast round table.  Omar had brought a magnum of Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon which they had

Dale & Barb Rasmussen

acquired on a previous visit to Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla, signed by both son and winemaker, Eric Dunham and father, Mike Dunham.  With Mike Dunham's passing just a few days prior, we all raised a glass of wine in remembrance and toasted him and his family.

Omar and Christine were the most gracious of hosts.  The first course served was an eye-popping dish that resembled individual bird nests surrounding a carved daikon radish bird, which we named for the evening, the Phoenix Nest.  It was delicious with a crunchy rice cake topped

Arlan & Teresa Collins

with a shrimp and scallop mixture in a savory sauce.  Course after course followed including potstickers, two whole fish baked with vegetables, a light pineapple fried rice, chicken and lettuce wraps, a spicy beef dish and others which I now cannot recall.  Every morsel was delicious!

We took turns going around the table, telling the stories of how each couple met and savoring each food course as it arrived.  When we positively could NOT consume one more bite, Christine had

Cathi & Ken Hatch

the leftovers boxed up and sent them home with us.  What a delightful evening!  Next time, it will be our turn!       

Volunteer Extraordinaire, Patty Barrier

Patty Barrier with her giant bouquet of flowers in honor of
her Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Award

Last night, a full contingent of friends and family attended the Junior League of Seattle May Celebration when Patty Barrier received her Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Award which recognizes outstanding community volunteer leadership.

I was one of Patty's supporters attending last night and was so pleased to be asked to introduce her.  In addition, Patty's support group also included husband, Jimmy Barrier and son Kjell Schei, Katerie Laughlin, Ken Hatch, Patti Payne, Susan Brotman, Pat Wallace, Betty Rubenstein, Debi Giannola, Tara Stepenberg, Micki Flowers, Kathy Randall, Marla Moss, Janet Grimley, Sheri Salo, Ellen Bakke, Karen Roed, Gail Richards and many others. 

Patty's remarks were personal and she was

Patty proudly sharing her "Follies" video.

excited to share the video of her tap dancing prowess from her earlier days in Junior League of Charlotte when she chaired their major fundraiser, "The Follies".  But her list of past leadership positions and committee served on in Seattle is even more impressive because of the depth and breadth of what she has supported from serving on multiple boards and supporting capital campaigns (Benaroya Hall, Leo K Theatre, Seattle Humane Society, etc.) to chairing fundraising Galas (Pilchuck Auction Gala, PNB Nutcracker Ball) to the adventure of bringing back a plane load of abandoned dogs and cats following Hurricane Katrina, to committee work in the primary areas of the arts (both visual and performing) and animal welfare and rights, but health, human and social services too.  

Her primary message to the Junior League members in attendance was her advice to "lead by being a good follower".  This fit perfectly with my introduction of her because I have always said that she is the BEST committee member that you could ever ask to have on your committee.  She steps up and offers to help, thinks of specific actions that should occur, and successfully executes them to make a difference on every committee on which she has ever been involved.  She really knows how to be a key player and valued committee member, even when she is not the leader.

We have worked on dozens of projects and committees together over the past 28 years since she arrived in Seattle and we became friends.  One of my favorite funny memories is when Patty and I worked together when I served as PONCHO President, and Patty being the good friend that she is, offered to chair the never-before-done PONCHO Garage Sale.  It was a huge effort that required dozens of volunteer hours as she sought donations from our entire network of friends and associates.  My favorite part of the story is when she cleaned out Jimmy’s closet, thinking she was getting rid of 2 dozen old shirts that looked just alike, when in reality, she took his just-back-from-the-laundry, never-been-worn, brand-new collection of shirts and sold them to raise funds for the arts!  Actually, my husband Ken still continues to complain about both Patty’s and my overzealous attitude during the PONCHO Garage Sale adventure, though Ken primarily lost only ultra suede jackets in leprechaun green and jack o' lantern orange from his closet (what a relief)!  

Consummate volunteer and leader – and amazing friend as well – I salute Patty for truly having made a difference in the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest and especially in the quality of my life.  She is one of those brilliantly shining stars that I treasure and I congratulate her on receiving this much deserved award.

  

Celebrating Junior League of Seattle Volunteer Award to Patty Barrier

Previous Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Award winners with current honoree, Patty Barrier

This coming week will be a big celebration at MOHAI for the Junior League of Seattle.  It is the May Celebration when the current JLS President passes the gavel to the new President.  It seems like only yesterday, but was really in 1991 when I accepted that same gavel from my predecessor.


Another big focus of the celebration is the Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Community Service Award, for a lifetime of volunteer achievement which this year will be awarded to my dear friend, Patty Barrier.  

The Junior League of Seattle created the Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Community Service Award in 1989 to recognize outstanding achievement in the area of community service. Dorothy Stimson Bullitt was a charter member of the Junior League of Seattle, civic leader, women’s advocate and the founder of the King Broadcasting Company.

The Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Community Service Award honors an Active or Sustaining Junior League member who has enriched the lives of her neighbors and community at large through extraordinary volunteer public service. The Junior League of Seattle award is the only award Mrs. Bullitt allowed to carry her name.

Last week, there was a luncheon at the Sunset Club for all the past Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Award winners to celebrate the upcoming announcement of Patty as this year's recipient hosted by last year's DSB award winner, Kathy Randall.

We are all looking forward to this coming week when Patty will receive this very special recognition award.

We were Winners!

The "animal team," Cathi & Chloe

I played hooky this morning and played in the Member-Guest Tournament at Overlake Golf Club with friend, Chloe Mueller.  Chloe and I (without consulting with one another about our wardrobe choices) showed up in our animal prints so looked like we had planned a team outfit.

The format was a scramble and we were teamed up with Jayne Zogg and her daughter, Jessie and friend Julie Patrick.  We began on hole number 7B and with Chloe's strategic coaching and incredibly long hits, we ended the nine holes with a 37, only one stroke over par. Each of us contributed at one point or another throughout the round by either sinking a long putt,  hitting a long drive or nailing an approach shot.

On hole number 3, both Jayne and I got on

Jayne & Jessie Zogg, Julie Patrick

the green with our drives though we were a long distance away from the pin.  My ball was just a couple of feet closer to the pin but so far away that I would never have measured it for the "closest to the pin" competition, if Chloe hadn't noticed that no one had yet put their name on the chart.  When we measured, my ball was 39'1/2" away from the pin, but we entered the distance on the chart anyway.  You can imagine my surprise when the round was over and my name was the one listed as "closest to the pin"!

And we also were the winners of best score, beating one other team by only one stroke.  I had to capture this amazing news with a photo since I may not ever see my name atop the leader board for golf again!