Thank God It's Monday!

Hey Friends,
  I thought weekends were about R & R.  Not THIS weekend apparently!  Here's how it went;

  Saturday morning was the 4th annual OkC Mah Jongg Tournament.  Mah Jongg is a game of skill & luck originally from China & imported to the US in the early part of the last century.  You can read about it here; http://www.nationalmahjonggleague.org/  I've been playing with a group here for a little over ten years now.  This was my year to host the tournament along with my co-host Trent.  Up to Saturday that just meant securing the space, purchasing prizes & sending some emails.  Trent is "techie" so he took care of graphic design & talking me down off the roof when I would get panicked about the details :).  Our players provided an amazing pot-luck lunch. We held the event @ the IAO Gallery  http://iaogallery.org/wordpress/ 

   So, early Saturday Trent, Rod (the original organizer of the event & local Mah Jong GURU!!!) & I arrived at 8:30 to set up.  At 10:00 our players began trickling in for check in & to bring their yummy dishes.  Most of the entrants came out of two of the groups I play in on Mondays.  A few I had only communicated with via email or phone so it was nice to have a face to go with a name.  Ernesto was on hand to substitute in the event we needed an extra player.  You should have seen the look on his face when he was told he wasn't playing.  It was the same look I've seen when he gets hooked on a slot machine in Vegas!

   Play began at 10:30 and there were two rounds then we broke for lunch.  After lunch, one more round then it was time for the awards; beautiful hand made glass plates designed by Tracey Bewley, a local artist. http://www.artfusionstudio.com/  So a big shout out to our winners (for those who value their privacy I use first names only)  Norma from Edmond took first place, our own Marcy (who is coincidentally remodeling her kitchen so won't that plate look nice in her new space?) won second & Norma's daughter Debbie got third.  An honorable mention goes out to Bryan who actually tied for third & the winner was decided by a roll of the dice.  Laura got the coveted "golf award" for the lowest score & won a handy new Mah Jongg bag in which to store her winnings.

  It was a fun day & we walked out the door about 4:30.

Ernesto & some of the cutthroat competition!

  I then went home to lie down for about an hour before getting in costume to march in the Gazette's Halloween Parade.  This is also an annual event locally & one of my favorites!!  This was our second year to march & we were with the Dead Center Film Festival group this year.  Their theme was Fairy Tales gone wrong & we went with a Mexican themed Day of the Dead Catrina look.  I didn't carry a phone or camera :( so here's our only image. (Thank You Bryan!)

  

  We were running late so just had time to find a parking space, locate the parade route & hop in place.  Everyone looked so great both in the parade & the spectators.  Everyone out in their spooky best!!  The most gratifying thing was the look of recognition & appreciative comments from the many Latinos in the crowd.  Afterwards we tucked in the Iguana Lounge for some food to match our costumes.  We actually made it home by 10:30 but it was the end of a LONG DAY.

 But our weekend wasn't over yet!  Sunday evening we invited a group of friends for what is ALSO an annual event; Pumpkin Carving in The Wayback.  This is usually our last harrah of the year.  Once it gets cold we aren't back out there again until Spring.  We fixed a big ole vat of soup, some cider then let the creativity begin...  

  So here it is Monday & I for one am ready for the rest!!!