There are normally a plethora of blog-able topics at my house, and there are many more for a suburban Washingtonian to blog about. All this before we even get to the topic of ART!

But the art making had to suspend while I solved a pressing problem. WHAT was I going to wear to the shindig my husband's company's was throwing?The deal here is that wearing the corporate wife and artist hats at the same time has always been somewhat of a trick for me.

On the other hand I can't afford to miss out on an opportunity to say "Hi I'm Susan Reynolds" when we're talking about people who qualify as a "decision makers," thus getting invited to these soirees.

(After all, it was just the kind of event during which I first met Mark Felt, although I'd have never guessed he was Deep Throat, either then or in the time since.)

And although fifteen years ago I could still pull off this slinky backless number for a class reunion, I can't live in denial (or stay forty) forever. But I don't want anyone jumping to the obvious conclusion that I'm somebody's *grandmother who wandered away from the home and into the party.

With something like seven hundred people coming to an event in DC you never know who you will meet. Literally. So after lots of angst - back and forth - hemming and hawing, I bought two dresses.

On "event day" a tailored purple silk option turned out to be just the perfect thing for the weather. And the shade of purple is simply scrumptious enough to be designated by the Vatican to be the patron color of creative people.

I think I was going for the "classy but creative" look, although I don't think I would have been able to vocalize that until after the fact. At the end of the day I felt good, created the opportunity to hand out some business cards, recognized people AND remembered their names. Since I've learned the trick of eating before-hand I could skip balancing a plate and as a result was able to focus on business, both my husband's and my own. I did get a chance to bring up Flat Stanley and my fellow artists' projects on the theme, which is always good for entertainment. I'd call it a success all around. And fun, even if there weren't artists there.

And who knows who the cute young guy from Texas who I was talking Ohio-Texas football with might turn out to be in reality. It is Washington after all.

* Try to ignore the fact that I am somebody's grandmother. Let's just hope that people believe that I and said granddaughter's mother were child brides - even though we weren't.