Im going to leave the elegies and biographies to other writers. Bettie Naylor was friends with everyone and an iconic activist whom I first met at the inaugural Gay Pride Parade in Houston a thousand years ago. She was among the first people I met in Austin when I returned in 1999; we became fast friends. She called me her boyfriend, and I loved it. Shed always blush when Id tell her she was the best-dressed lesbian I knew. I went to her for some political advice during voting season one year and her answer was, Darlin, vote the entire Democratic ticket. There isnt a damn Republican out there that deserves your vote. I loved her for that and still heed her advice. I stand by something I wrote about her almost 10 years ago: Bettie Naylor cant wear miniskirts, because her balls will show. God bless you, Bettie, and thank you for making our lives so much richer. And thank you to Betties life partner, Libby Sykora, for making Betties last years happy ones for her.

Working Women

The Women amp; Their Work benefit was a glorious piece of event planning. Held at the home of Karen and Rick Hawkins, the party absolutely sparkled with energy, bold-named faces, and of course beautiful art, which appeared to be raising a small fortune for the gallery. Someone had apparently made a deal with God to provide divine weather while guests wandered around endless rooms, terraces, pools, and the upstairs deck where I held court on an Indonesian wedding bed while receiving treats from Word of Mouth Catering (so scrumptious) and other attentions from the WaTW volunteers, who helped make the party a true joy.

Showtime

I attended last Thursdays UT Fashion Show, Contour, with my consort Jacki Oh at the Erwin Center. It can be called the biggest, most well-attended, best-produced show in town. The production values are stunning, and for a few minutes you can actually imagine youre at a couture show in New York. The clothing keeps getting better every year. Just because I wanted to feel young again (and get more mileage out of a fabulous outfit), I let Neil Diaz talk Jacki and I into going to the official Contour afterparty at Elysium. Year after year, Elysium owner John Wickham runs the edgiest club of its kind. Hes such a great host; while Jacki and I held court on the patio, a lengthy assortment of people we knew and people wed never met stopped by to admire our fashion show ensembles. We chattered and appeared very gay, like those skinny rich women in Kathy Womacks paintings.

The FS Update

Our hometown boy Ross Bennett made another sale on last weeks Fashion Star with womens lingerie. The styling popular in Austin for sometime seemed familiar and was snapped up by Hamp;M for a cool $50,000, bringing his total earnings to $230,000. The competition is getting tough, so I imagine Ross has a few tricks up his sleeve for the next episode.

Quick Reminders

Tonight, Thursday, April 26, 6:30pm, is the Umlauf Sculpture Garden Party yes another glamorous pit stop on my annual social calendar. With so many restaurants providing a huge array of food, its lovely to stroll through the grounds of the Umlauf and enjoy the nibbling, the setting, and the terrific music of the Nash Hernandez Orchestra. See all info at #10;www.umlaufsculpture.org… Friday, April 27, 6:30pm, at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the center celebrates their 30th anniversary as well as the centennial of Mrs. Johnsons birth. Cant guarantee youll be whooping it up, but I can guarantee this lively and lovely event will make you very proud to be a Texan (even if youre just a temporary one). Go to www.wildflower.org for details… Saturday, April 28, is the Hill Country Ride for AIDS. Dont walk, run to www.hillcountryride.org and sign up, even if its just to volunteer.

And so do those pet foodbags.

When Lexi Saeger, 14, needed a project for a Future Career and Community Leaders of America competition, she found inspiration at home. “We have two cats and one dog,” shesaid.

Saeger, a freshman at Freeman High School, had joined FCCLA at the urging of her adviser, Jennifer Fees. “She knew I liked design,” saidSaeger.

The recycle and redesign category caught Saeger’s eye. This individual event requires participants to apply recycling and redesign skills learned in family and consumer sciences courses and create a display using a sample of their skills. Participants must select a used fashion, home or other post-consumer item to recycle into a newproduct.

That’s when Saeger’s mom, Janna Saeger, suggested she use the empty pet food bags they had around the house. They did some research and discovered that many of the bags are made from polypropylene and aren’t accepted for recycling by the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be repurposed andreused.

Lexi knew immediately that she wanted to make clothing items from the bags. “I started to like fashion and stuff in fifth grade,” she said. “I started to draw designs onpaper.”

However, her first pet food-bag design, wasn’t a success. “I made a tank top, but it didn’t fitBetsy.”

Betsy is the dress form Lexi got for Christmas thisyear.

The bags have no bias and therefore no give in the material. Her second attempt – a camisole, worked better. Lexi said, “I just left it as a square and sewed spaghetti straps made out of bias tape toit.”

But she wasn’t done there. She created a high-waisted skirt from a dog food bag and then accessorized the outfit with a belt and a necklace made of aluminum can pull tabs. Not satisfied with merely letting Betsy model the ensemble, Lexi tried it on, too. She said, “It fit me like a glove – I couldn’tmove.”

Her project was ready in time for the regional competition. Total cost: $2.78. Total time spent: About 14 hours. “I had to make a storyboard and write aspeech.”

While she scored high enough to make it to state, her speech was too short. Lexi needed to add to her project. “My mom said, ‘Why don’t you make shoppingbags?’”

So, they turned the pet food bags inside out and ran them in their washing machine. They allowed the bags to air dry and then went towork.

Lexi hemmed the bags and sewed handles to them. “It takes me about a half an hour to makeone.”

The shopping bags were a hit when she competed at the FCCLA statewide event, last month. She earned the right to continue on to the national competition in Orlando, Fla., inJuly.

Meanwhile the practical, reusable shopping bags featuring pictures of cute pets are drawing attention everywhere she takes them. In fact, a manager at Albertsons on Highway 27 and 32nd Avenue liked them so much, she invited Lexi to set up a table at the store and sell them in honor of Earth Month. She sold 15 at Albertsons at $15 per bag, and also sold several recently at Earth Day festivities in downtown Spokane. The bags are available at Sun People Dry Goods, 32 W. SecondAve.

Fees, Lexi’s adviser, is a big fan of theproject.

“Lexi tied in fashion and is doing good for the Earth,” she said. “She’s going to be able to pay her way to Florida by selling the bags. It’s great for a freshman to be able to dothis.”