March Mah Jongg Madness

I'm declaring March the "Mah Jongg Month."  It's not an official holiday, as far as I can ascertain, but since the National Mah Jongg League chooses March as the month to issue the annual version of its Official Standard Hands and Rules card, it seems only fitting that March be the designated month in which to celebrate this great game (besides, I like the alliteration).
          In 2009, I was finally able to check off an item on my Lifetime To Do List.  After nearly 45 years of wanting to learn how to play Mah Jongg, it happened.  My neighbor, Joann, invited me to join a group that met about once a month.  At first, it was difficult to find more people who wanted to learn the game, but in less than a year, Joann and I have recruited at least a dozen new players.
          If you are already familiar with American Mah Jongg, you need read no further. I'm an amateur, writing to other amateurs and to those who've never encountered the game.
          If you've never played or never even heard of Mah Jongg, please consider learning, no matter how old you are.  (I'm about the same age as dirt, and I just learned the game last year.)  I suppose it's possible to learn Mah Jongg by reading the rule book, but many people agree that the best way to learn is by playing the game under the tutelage of a Mah Jongg Maven, one who is experienced and knowledgeable.

I was lucky enough to meet Marie Davis, our Pocatello Mah Jongg Maven. Marie's a great teacher; she's patient, funny, and meticulous about the rules. She's been playing American Mah Jongg for most of her life (she's in her 90s now), and she likes to spice up a game with amusing stories and exclamations, most often, "Oy vey!"

Ready to play Mah Jongg in the Red Kitchen

          Mah Jongg is a blend of skill and luck, so even beginners have a chance of winning, while more experienced players can continue to perfect their strategies.  If you've played the solitaire "Shanghai Mah Jongg" that's available online or as a computer game, you should know that "real" Mah Jongg is rather different.
          In the next posts, I'll describe the basic game equipment, rules, and strategies.  When I was first researching the game, I found a great disparity in all three of these areas.  Not only is American Mah Jongg different from Chinese Mah Jongg, but it appears that there are several versions of Chinese Mah Jongg.  It's sometimes difficult to avoid thinking that each Mah Jongg group simply makes up its own rules as it goes along.  What I offer here is American Mah Jongg as I was taught by Marie, my Mah Jongg Maven (Oops! More alliteration!).

Happy Valentine's Day!

26" x 30"
To see other examples of my glass pieces, go to: http://encoreglass.blogspot.com

Happy Valentine's Day to all family, friends, and blog visitors!

Love, Cheryl

Pocatello Co-op's 2010 Valentine's Day Art Sale

On February 7th, the Pocatello Co-op held its annual pre-Valentine's Day arts and crafts sale. More than a dozen artists and crafters displayed their work. This was my first year as a participant, and I really enjoyed talking with people about my windows (and I even sold a few).  
To see a gallery of my glass pieces, go to: http://encoreglass.blogspot.com
Here's my display:

Other artists/crafters:

Chicken Project, Part VI: Chickens Hanging Out

Here are some pictures of the chickens hanging out in the yard and on the back porch. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

The chickens like to stand on the back porch and look into the kitchen through the glass door.

Chicken Project, Part V: Nests

Although we were warned to not expect eggs until the chickens were 6 to 9 months old, they began to lay when they were 4 months old. The first hen to lay an egg was one of the Golden Sex-Links.  Naomi said she heard a "different kind of crowing," went outside, and found an egg in a makeshift nest in the foliage next to the foundation of the house.  The Golden Sex-Link hung around the nest for a while, loudly announcing her achievement.

When the chickens pecked and ate some of their first eggs, I was shocked and a little repelled. The motherly "awwwk" the chickens made as they milled around my feet took on a sinister note.  Even the way they eyed me seemed slightly menacing.

We decided to make a "roll away" nesting box.  Calling upon our knowledge of engineering and physics principles, Naomi and I built our version of a roll away box, which wound up looking like a miniature hen house, complete with slanting roof.  My neighbor, George, came over to witness our egg-rolling experiments.  He must have thought we were nutty, but we could see that too steep an incline caused the egg to roll too fast and break or crash into another egg and break it, but too slight an incline and the egg didn't roll at all.  Ultimately, only a couple of eggs were laid in the roll away box, but the hens enjoyed sitting (and pooping) on its roof.

We had planned to provide 12 nesting boxes (one for each chicken), until we learned that chickens prefer to share just a couple of nesting spots.  Each day, when the hens lay their eggs, they queue up for their turn on the shelves that hold the nesting boxes.  Recently, two Rhodies were scrabbling over who would be first in one box (the most desirable box appears to be the one on the middle shelf), and they both wound up crammed in the same box, one facing inward and the other outward.