OK, the big game is over. For this major league football fanatic, I'll miss the season.
But I had a wonderful send off at the winter home of Supreme Court Judge Loren Brown and his wife, Veronica.
The couple entertained a few local snowbirds and their neighbors at a great Super Bowl party. The talented Loren brought out his chef skills and made a delicious lasagna that was served at halftime along with all the fixins brought by the guests.
Beforehand, Veronica loaded the dining room table with a great feast of everything from pigs-in-a-blanket to jumbo shrimp and ended the night with the ever-popular cupcakes and coffee.
No Super Bowl party would be complete without a wager or two. Because of the small crowd 50-cent squares paid off only at halftime and at the end of the game. My hubby won $20 at the half and the hostess Veronica took the game finale at $30. Very well deserved for all her hard work.
Most of the ladies, who are not football fans like me, chatted about every topic imaginable. But the men were very attentive and there was a mix of who they were rooting for: Green Bay Packers (the eventual winners) or Pittsburgh Steelers.
The men couldn't have cared less about the commercials (the ladies did) or the halftime show. However, we were all paying attention when Christina Aguilera flubbed the lines of the "Star Spangled Banner." What is it with these celebs? It's happened more than once. Remember Roseann Barr's horrendous rendition? Get it right or don't get up there in the first place.
OK, that's off my chest.
No matter who won the game, everyone was a winner. The Browns neighbors were Mike and Jackie Hyland from Greenwich, Conn., and Jim Lambrios from Clifton Park, an economics professor at Union College in Schenectady.
The locals there were Dinda and Fred McNeary, Mary and Rod Sutton, Helen and Harry Snyder and Norma and Frank Quinn and their daughter Tracy, who was visiting.
Hooray for the Green Bay Packers!