The second annual Franciscan Silver and Golden Fancier's Show, held April 23rd and 24th was a huge success! We came fairly close to filling and we did have a lovely showing of quality silvers. The Ribbons were awesome as well as the charming trophies generously donated by Ute and Dieter Kunkele of Germany. Everyone had a wonderful time and I hope everyone can make a point to join us next year so we can have even more fun and really wow the judges with huge classes of our gorgeous Silvers and Goldens. Your support is crucial to the success of our specialty shows. On to the report!

Friday: Set up day. Imagine if you will a bight sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, hopes high for a fun weekend. Sally Daniels (Shadedknoll) and I pull into Centennial Hall at the exact same time even though we drove from different directions. Pam and Fred Hill were already there along with Dave Hill. Soon after Kathy Zennaiter arrived and our set up began in earnest after we unloaded all the supplies and stuff from our groaning cars. Now we were groaning--getting older is not fun!

Diana Bowles created this wonderful composite of the Winners of the 2005 Franciscan Silver and Golden Show.

Our theme again this year was Silver Threads and Golden Needles, so our own very talented decorator Kathy Zennaiter, set about to turn each judging table into a darling sewing box. Lovely swags of silver and gold hung from the larger tables held with darling huge buttons. To decorate the light poles, Kathy generously donated yards and yards of this gorgeous tone on tone pink fabric, which Pam Hill (Echo hill) had so diligently hemmed for us. She swagged each light fixture with clouds of pink fabric which coincidentally perfectly matched the ribbons I had ordered. Pink, white and silver are our clubs colors.

Everyone worked hard on myriad of chores that need to be done before the show. I know it took me all day just to hang all of the ribbons in their proper order. We could not have gotten all of this work done without the help and support of husbands Dick Daniels and Fred Hill and our soon to be new member David Hill. We were all dragging, backs aching by the end of the day. Many hands do make light work!

While we were hard at work setting up, Vicki Blandford (Peerage), Gail Persinger (Kittikamir) and Teresa Bailey (Hastings Hall) in Gail's mother's motor home were making their way up the State of California heading toward Hayward. They met in Dallas and drove together from Dallas, to Hayward, CA to attend the show. By 5:00 pm they were close. I stayed at the hotel to meet them and guided them via cell phone from the freeway to the La Quinta Inn. I think they arrived at about 6:45, and then quickly checked in and changed clothes. Within the hour we were off to Pam and Fred Hill's home in Lafayette, CA for a wine and cheese party. Pam and Fred prepared a lovely selection of wine and various cheeses and other wonderful goodies to tempt our palates. Cheryl Riley (Cherrybirdie) and her husband Dave were there already. We toured Pam's cattery and Fred's marvelous collection of antique cars - Packards are his specialty. We were all sagging and needed to be up early the next day for the show so called it a fairly early evening (before midnight).

Saturday: The First day of the show. Sally and Dick, Pam and Fred and I scrambled to Centennial Hall as early as we could to get all of the last minute details (coffee!) taken care of and to start receiving our guests. Despite jangly nerves, everything went fairly smoothly and the judging rings soon started calling numbers to start the show.

Silver and Golden Breeders present included Teresa Bailey (Hastingshall), Vicki Blandford with CH Peerage Pavlova, Gail Persinger with GP Kittikamir Redeemer, Elise Scafani with CH Jade River Summer Rain and CH Jade River Diamond Dust, Cheryl and Dave Riley with Labrese Cupie Doll of Cheerybirdie, CH Kittikamir Rosie of Cherrybirdie, Diana Frailey with CH Kimberlite Golden Touch, Shirley and Doug Crawford with CH Sanmar Rosebud, Anita Kimberlin agenting Ultamint Imagine, Kathy Zennaiter with CH Jenew Passion Bloomed at Last and CH Silvereste Masterpiece, Sally Daniels with GC Shadedknoll Bijou and me (Karol Cummins) with GC Dalee Special Edition of Wyndcreste. Saturday night, we all met at Horatio's in the San Leandro Marina and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Sunday: The second Day of the Show. Again Sally and Dick, Pam and Fred and I scrambled to Centennial Hall as early as we could to get all of the last minute details taken care of and day two started without a hitch. We all had a lot of fun visiting on Sunday as the jitters have melted away and there just seems to be more time. Diana Frailey was the winner of the day winning one raffle prize after another!! I think everyone had a ball winning ribbons left and right cheering each other on, soon the winners emerged as often the results of the judging differed from ring to ring to ring as it should.

Best in Championship: GC Dalee Special Edition of Wyndcreste, Second Best: GC Shadedknoll Bijou, and Third Best: CH Jenew's Passion Bloomed at Last Best Kitten: Ultamint Imagine and Second Best Kitten: LaBrese Cupie Doll of Cherrybirdie Best in Premiership: GP Kittikamir Redeemer

Thank you Teresa (Florida), Gail (Texas) and Vicki (Georgia), Shirley and Doug and Cheryl and Dave Riley, Diana Frailey (Southern California), Elise Scafani (Northern California) coming such a long distance to support our show!

Immediately following the show, Gail, Teresa and Vicki followed me home to Napa, so our merry caravan made the trek northward to Napa. My home was a disaster, as I had been working on getting ready for the show for the prior two weeks, oh, well, what is a little clutter, dust and inattention between friends? That evening we ordered a yummy pizza, devoured it and called it an early night so we could be fresh for our adventures the following day.

Monday: We were all slow to rise Monday morning but did manage to put ourselves together ready to tour the Napa Valley, once I got the ok from my boss to take the day off. Obviously we did not have a plan so I wracked my little blonde brain to figure out what would be fun and give us a chance to see a lot in little time. We headed north on Highway 29 with no particular destination in mind. We called Sally Daniels (Shadedknoll) but she was out at an appointment. The day was gorgeous and bright with pretty puffy clouds dotting the sky. I pointed out this winery and that winery as we drove North. We came upon the charming town of St. Helena and made our first stop and then we realized we were getting hungry so I made reservations at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville for a noon lunch. We had 45 minutes to kill and all of these lovely little boutique shops to explore and we did just that. Shopping, every woman's favorite pastime!

Then we headed back down Highway 29 to the lovely little town of Yountville and arrived at Bistro Jeanty, one of my favorite restaurants and recognized as one of the most highly regarded restaurants in the Napa Valley and beyond. We enjoyed a scrumptious lunch. Sally returned from her appointment and reached me by cell and we planned to go directly to her home, but were naughty and stopped at Sterling Winery in Calistoga first before we headed west over the hill to her home.

Sterling winery is located on top of a hill in the middle of North end of the Valley. To arrive at the winery we rode a little gondola to the top of the very steep hill, but from the top we had panoramic view of the Valley. We took a quick self tour and had a quick tasting and then left for ride back down the gondola to my car.

When then headed over the hill to Sally's home in Santa Rosa. It is a very steep and winding rode, but very beautiful. Sally and Dick were there and all of us were really dragging as we had gone nonstop for days now. We admired Sally's lovely home and beautiful kitties for a while and relaxed until it was time to head back over the hill and down the Valley for a light dinner and much needed sleep!

The following morning I headed back to work and Vicki, Gail and Teresa started on the long journey back to Dallas. We had a blast! I hope everyone can join us next year!