Wow! What a great weekend, both professionally and personally. First things first, Otion sponsored the local Monologue Competition. Here Erik (Otion Store Manager) and I are with the fabulous (and oh-so-young!) winner, Elizabeth.
Erik was so excited about the talent that young Elizabeth displayed that he invited her and her entre family down to Otion for a gratis soap bar. We’re hoping they are able to make it. If she’s this creative with her verbal skills, we’re betting she will make some amazing soap. Elizabeth beat out 17 other (adult) competitors to win the Monologue compeition. Her choice of pieces was excellent. She performed Victor Borge’s “Phonetic Punctuation” piece, from memory with verve and flair.
The highlight of my weekend was meeting the CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally. He is the former CEO of Boeing; a local (Seattle) boy who appears to be on the right path to saving Ford from the financial morass of the other US automakers. He was gracious, happy and incredibly fit. I was buoyed to see his slim and upright stature and inspired to look as good after 40 years in the business. I’m a CEO geek; I brought my Fortune 500 magazine to have Mr. Mulally sign his photo.
One thing that particularly impressed me about Mr. Mulally’s tenure is his commitment to a “One Ford.” He’s working on getting more Ford Cars built on single chassis to help save on customized labor costs. In fact, before he arrived, only 30% of the Ford cars were build on matching chassis. Now, over 80% of the cars are built on the same chassis. Here is our local newspaper’s take on his visit.
We spent the rest of the weekend painting our (hideous) pink house. If you missed that little breakdown, you can read about it here. I am relieved that the new blended color (3 parts Sherman Williams Sand Dollar with 1 part Warm Cappuccino) tones down the pink wonderfully while still keeping the warmth of the original hue. There are only 3 walls to go and our house will be bearable.
I finished the weekend by making a springtime loaf soap. I will blog about the colors, technique and final reveal later this week. I hope you had equally fulfilling, creative (soapy) weekends.
