17 Days: Super Bowl Replay Party

Saturday (18 Days)

07:00    The alarm rings.  I (eventually) get up.

10:00    I make rice krispie treats, pressing red white and blue stars onto the tops.  Rice Krispies - gone.  2 open bags of mini-marshmallows - gone.

11:00   I hand wash sweaters and dresses and lay them out around the living room to dry.  Nikki later suggests this was not one of my better ideas.

13:00   Nikki arrives for lunch and to help me get the flat ready for Sunday's party.  She brings a portable projector and a bluetooth BOSE speaker.  We put all my electronics into their original packaging and seal the boxes.  We see three remote controls laying on the coffee table and un-seal the boxes.  We test the projector and speakers.  It takes a couple of attempts, but everything is in working order.

14:00    The Sainsbury's delivery man arrives with my grocery order.  He informs us that he considers my address to be a nightmare requiring him to sit in traffic for 25 minutes.  He was early before this delivery, and now he's late.  He doesn't wait for us to check the contents of the order, but leaves as soon as I've signed the delivery slip.

14:30    I cut chicken wings into their component parts and slice a knuckle on my left hand.  Nikki chops carrots without injuring herself.  We discuss how full grown carrots are turned into baby carrots.   Nikki moves on to grating cheese.  She suspects there may be residual finger nails in the cheese sauce and wonders if we should warn any vegetarian guests.

16:00    We walk to town to bring some things to the Cancer Research second hand shop.  We stop at Waitrose to augment the Sainsbury's order and buy food for dinner.

17:30    We haul all of the boxes I have already packed out of the living room and into the back bedroom.

18:00    We begin to rearrange the living room to maximize seating space.  We get the vacuum out and get into some dark corners.

19:30    Marc comes over in search of his wife and his dinner.  He settles the running debate on where the couch should go.  We send him back out to get pizza.

Sunday, Game Day
07:00   The alarm rings.
               I read Rule 4 of the Red Sea Rules. This is one of the many books I'd like to finish - then give away before my move.  Rule 4 is "Pray!"

07:15   I tip bread mix into a bowl and add too much water. I knead with my right hand because of the cut on my left forefinger.

08:00    I make bread dough #2 from scratch.  I get the water right and it is easier to knead one-handed.

08:30     I begin peeling 4 bulbs of garlic for roasting.  It will mix in with Bread #2 to make garlic bread.

09:00      I wonder if I will ever get the smell of garlic off my fingers.

10:05      I walk into Eton to get a ride to church.  I carry a box of paper to be recycled.  Inside are several of my college computer science textbooks.  As I cross the bridge,  I notice the paths along the river have emerged from the flood, slick with mud.

10:10     The textbooks thud against the bottom of the recycling dumpster.

10:30     Church begins.  Our worship leader this morning is American and discovers that the congregation is not familiar with the hymn "Standing on the Promises". I go forward to help lead the singing and wish for a hymnbook with music rather than just words projected on a screen.  I try to remember how the alto part, but find I cannot hear it in my head.

11:15     The scripture this morning is James 5:13 - 18. "The prayer of a righteous man..."

12:30     Nikki and I finish the pizza and clear the dining room.  We chop more vegetables.

15:00     Nikki puts on Creedance Clearwater Revival.

16:00      I start the roux for the nacho cheese sauce. My phone rings.  I ignore it because I am whisking.  The doorbell rings while we are adding the cheese.  I let in our guests who begin to congregate in the kitchen.  My dance partner.  My friends from the London Fellows program.  A co-worker.  The London Fellows friends take over the whisking while I go to do hostess-y things.  The flat gradually fills with people.  I pass around the NFL's Beginner's Guide to American Football.

16:45     Marc  reminds me that for a 5pm kick off, I need to start the video now.

17:00     My laptop refuses to connect to the bluetooth speakers.  I blame Nikki's iPhone.  We fuss and push buttons and re-boot and eventually the stars align and the laptop declares itself "Connected".  Snoopy comes on screen with his Peanuts piano.

17:15     The guests fall into respectful silence as Renee Fleming sings the national anthem.  I resist the urge to shout "Play Ball!" when she is finished.

17:25     Play Ball!

17:30     Guests who have just dropped in to say "Good bye" begin to drift out.  The Americans begin explaining the rules to the international guests.     

18:30     Someone comments to me that American advertising is lost on him.

19:00     A guest mentions that she likes the sauce on the hot wings.  "Pass me that bottle." I say to Nikki, and give the guest an unopened bottle of Frank's to take home.

19:05     By half-time, the number of guests has dwindled.  I sit down on the couch and try to remember what Bruno Mars is famous for.  Nikki tries to educate my pop culture ignorance.  Marc and I agree that Bruno has funny hair.  I promise Nikki I will listen to his music another time when there aren't a dozen people talking over it.

20:25     I am relieved when the Broncos finally finish getting trounced by the Seahawks.  There are about 6 persevering guests left.

20:30    A friend from church leaves with my TV.

20:35    My dance partner is the last to go.  I don't realize until that moment how much I will miss him and our lessons together.  I wonder whether we will keep in touch or whether this is the last time I will see him.

20:45    Nikki and I divide up leftovers.  She goes home.

21:00    Dishes.  Dishes. Dishes.

21:30    I open the fridge and realize to my dismay that I have ended the night with more alcohol than I started with.  I consider whether it's worth having another party.....