Make a list, use it

Friday April 1st was F's Jr Recital.  We had offered to help with the reception. We spoke on the phone and F gave me a list of things she wanted us to bring, which I jotted down on a piece of paper. I followed up with an email stating what we would bring. Friday I put everything we were going to take on the kitchen table. Then I went and checked the list in my sent email. Ah, I'd forgotten the crock pot. And the cutting board.

Our friend Pam went with us. She was under strict orders to be on time, and she was early.  But we were ready early too, so we all piled into the car.  She had bought the most gorgeous flowers for F.  I got out a vase that F had left behind that I thought would work perfectly, and off we went to Sacramento.  It was a gorgeous day.  Over 80 degrees.

Even though we had been to her friend's recital and reception, the details of setup had not all sunk in.  In retrospect I would do two things differently.
1) I would buy some cheap plastic or paper table cloths so that we didn't have to put everything on the not overly clean tables.
2) I would bring stuff for the cleanup afterwards, containers to put left over food in, and some extra napkins for the cleanup.  F and her friend had made the most wonderful cheesecake and I really would have liked to swipe a few pieces.

The recital was great.  F's performance was flawless and she looked beautiful.

The reception setup looked good, helped immeasurably by Pam's flowers.  We got many thanks from the attendees, which was funny since F and her friends did most of the work.  Finished up w dinner for F and D at the Elephant Bar, which was really noisy.

That was 2 weeks ago now.   Feels like it happened much longer ago!