Last night, as I was arriving home late, I saw my neighbors driving out of their driveway; they pulled up behind me as I was getting out of my car. She told me that they were having a graduation party for their daughter. It sounded like she was just giving me a noise warning at first. I mentioned that we would be going to Mick's niece's birthday party in Scottsdale, and she started talking me into coming home early enough to come to their party for Nigerian food, drinks and dancing.
So today, after my agility fun run, we ran some errands. He got his hair cut and then headed to Desert Ridge. We went to the BBQ store so he could see if they had a rack he wants for his smoker. Then we went to Kohl's; he found some shorts and shirts. I got a size 6 (!) dress and capri pants and a couple of size small (!) blouses for work. I tried on about 15 pairs of pants but couldn't find a good fit--I could put on size 4 (!) but they didn't fit well, and the size 6 didn't fit well either. I also tried the size 4 dress but it was too small; the size 6 fits well but needs a little tuck in the middle. Seamstress, oh, seamstress, wherefore art thou?
Sports Authority was having a grand opening, although there is another location about a mile or two east. I tried on about 8 or 10 sports bras. What a buzzkill. Everything fit terribly. I almost bought one, just to have one, but when I told him that it was just to get by, he said that I shouldn't settle. And he's right--I shouldn't settle! So I left empty handed.
We went to Pump it up! for the party. The kids went through two rooms of inflated play spaces while young staff members played with (and policed) them. Then the kids and adults were herded into the party room, where the birthday girl had a big throne chair to sit on and everyone had pizza and cake. I had a Larabar and water.
That was pretty tiring, so we went home and I rested a little before we changed clothes and went next door to the party. I looked up Nigerian food online to see how much concern I should have about eating dinner, and there seemed to be a lot of dishes I could eat, but there is still some use of flour and plantains, which I assume will affect me like bananas.
We arrived to find a huge spread of food. I explained my allergy issues and she went around the island, covered in pans of food, and explained what everything was. I got a plate of food, and realized that she really didn't understand some of what I said, while she got other parts. Starting with the safe food, there was stewed bone-in chicken, stewed beef, rice that looked almost like Mexican rice, and a flour paste that they put in foil shaped like a potato and then eat with their hands with their stews. There was a spinach dish that had something in it that I couldn't figure out, so I didn't eat the rest. There was another stew that she explained partially as something you can't get here; when I tasted it, the texture was like fine scrambled eggs, so I spit it out. I'm not sure I couldn't have it, but I didn't eat it. I tried some of the fish, which whole fish chopped into large chunks and stewed; it was a little difficult to eat as I had to pick through the bones to get the fish, but it tasted good. There was also some beef and bananas that she told me was okay (but it's not), and something like pate with an egg in it that she told me was not okay, and a beef filling in a fried flour triangle which I could not have, but was Mick's favorite. The food I ate was very good, and she was very generous, sending us home with large plates of leftovers.
Everyone was dressed up--all the guys wearing slacks and the ladies in dresses. There was a DJ inside, and ping pong outside. We danced a little, drank a little, and met interesting people. I'm glad they invited us to taste Nigeria.
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