SFO – uh-oh

I messed up yesterday. I had to get an order of pashminas delivered to an embroiderer in Oakland and was late picking my niece Natalie up at the airport. Baaaaad move! I could have had Kerin deliver the pashminas or had Michael go to SFO, but these were two tasks I felt I had to do myself.

The 100 pashminas are to be gifts for the members of a nonprofit women’s garden group at their annual retreat. The director, a tad eccentric even by California standards, chose camel, my closest shade to earth itself, and a very loopy (extinct) flower design to be embroidered in more colors than I usually recommend. The director has an eye for luxury as well as blooms, which is why she chose the Red House pashmina – twill weave, two-ply, 100% cashmere.

All these years in design taught me to plan ahead and so I made sure I had the embroiderers booked early with a week to spare. But yesterday, the director called me and asked if we could please have these done 3 weeks early–in time for the ladies to wear them to the SF Flower and Garden Show on March 12. (!!!) Apparently this is a see-and-be-seen event for the horticultural elite. I said I would try, not knowing that every California spring sports league had booked the embroiderers solid for the next month. So I begged, and brought orchids for the staff when I came to discuss the project yesterday.

And it all worked out with plenty of time to get to the airport. Except for one thing: the worst traffic ever. I may as well have walked! When I did finally arrive, park, and run to the terminal (why did I have to wear spike heels that day?!) I had some trouble locating Natalie. I thought she might be browsing the gift shops. Instead, I found her having a drink in an airport bar! Can you believe it?! She’s 19! And speaking of being thrown for a loop, she had three nose rings, plus a belly ring with a dangling charm that appeared to be an angel and devil locked in battle, possibly for her soul. And if you recall how Jodie Foster dressed in Taxi Driver I won’t need to describe the skirt she was “almost wearing”. I hope my shock registered as indignation over the hellish traffic, which I nervously ranted about while trying not to stare. The good news was that she didn’t seem upset that I was late. The bad news is that I was about to take her home to Napa… THIS was going to be interesting!