Last week Charley and I attended a really fun event here in Salt Lake – The 9th annual 300 Plates Fundraiser and Exhibition at the Art Access Gallery. This exhibition is held every year to raise money for Art Access. Art Access is a non-profit organization the works to provide inclusive arts programming for Utahns with disabilities and those with limited access to the arts. The 300 Plates Fundraiser and Exhibition is a great event and it was lots for fun to attend. This year 102 established and emerging Utah artists participated (including Charley)…some contributed more than one plate. Each artist created work on an 11- by 10-inch recycled metal printer’s plate. The plates were hung in a large grid pattern – the plate in the first square of the grid was priced at $75, and the prices went up in $1 increment from there – the last plate was $375.
A small selection of paintings were also place in a silent auction, with bids starting at $500. Charley’s plate was in the silent auction…I’m so proud! 
When we arrived at the event we received color coded wristbands (I’ll explain in a minute) and the gallery was open for 1 hour for everyone to view the plates and make a note of which one they might like to purchase.
Then the gallery was only open for three minute intervals – here’s where the colored wristbands come in. So, wristbands were pulled at random from a hat (and actual top hat) and the colors were called out. When your color was called you’d have three minute’s to go through the gallery and place a sticker with you name on it below the plate you wanted…if someone else hadn't gotten to it first. My color was called towards the end, but I was still lucky enough to get one of the plates that both Charley I liked…and great little shadowbox with a robot in it (artist, Derek Mellus, used the plate to form a 3-D box). Charley wasn't so lucky. His color was called dead last and everything he like was sold by then.
There was also live music and food from the Himalayan Kitchen…yum! It was a really fun evening.
Last Monday, after 6 month of sickness, pain and medical tests, I finally had my gallbladder removed. I'm not recommending surgery...but I'm so relieved to have it gone. I started having classic symptoms of gallbladder disease at the end of August, but was originally diagnosed with an ulcer. Then an ultrasound revealed that I had gallstones in December. But apparently my symptoms were not typical enough and my doctor wanted to run many more tests. Which after months of pain and not eating, all lead back to my gallbladder (see my past entries) which is apparently also lazy, meaning it didn't function properly.