October 2007

xWHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN...

It has been well over 3 years since I last sat down to write one of these. I decided that maybe I should start it up again in a 21^st Century way. For those of you who are new & have never seen a “Rag” before, this is just a little something I started back in the early days of Pokeno to keep everyone up to date on different things in our lives & stuff that happens at the games (kinda like a diary). I hope you enjoy :)

Lots of stuff has happened over the last 3 years to the original Pokeno crew. Missy had another boy (Nicky) in March 2005. In September 2006, the Raffaele family moved out to Nevada for a job opportunity. Once the real estate market took a crap, John was out of a job & an opportunity opened up here in Jersey. They all came back a few weeks ago. Marge had a stroke last September and was in the hospital for a week while they did some artery cleaning. I had Jacob in February 2005, married Ian & bought a house. Peg is now a massage therapist full time.

Stacy decided about 2 ½ years ago that since Joey was “dying” (needed a liver transplant), she HAD to have Pokeno at her house. She immediately got bossy to the point that it really sucked & people didn't want to come play anymore (that's pretty sad after playing for 10 years). When it got close to baby delivery time, I suggested that we should temporarily move Pokeno to Missy's house so we would be closer to home in case one of us went into labor. Stacy totally freaked out and decided that Pokeno was canceled. We haven't seen or heard from her since.

The summer before the Raffalele's went to Nevada, we decided to get together & play a game before they left. That winter we decided to start up a whole new version of the P.B.I. Now our group includes Kate G., Phyllis, Patt, Debi & Kate L. We play once a month now instead of once a week. We rotate houses so everyone gets a turn at hostessing. And, so far, every party has had a theme. We had a fireside/make-your-own pizza party at Peg's, a luau at the Geib's Tiki Bar (everyone got lei-ed), a 28^th of July party that was hosted by Marge at my house (last minute), a pool party at Phyllis', and a hippie love-in at Marge's. Most recently was our Halloween party at Phyllis'. See below for a full recap on that super fun party. This new version of Pokeno is very relaxed. Everyone brings a dish, we play cards, eat, drink & be merry.

OCTOBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

We're still doing “Mystery Box”. I started it again at Phyllis' pool party. I gave away a “Friends” photo frame. Kate L. won that. She brought a Yankee candle set for the September party. Debi was the winner that time. She brought a gift set of pampering products (I think) which Phyllis won. Phyllis will be responsible for the November Mystery.

I know you probably don't want to think about the upcoming holiday season just yet, but unfortunately, Christmas will be here before you know it. The Christmas party will be held at my house this year. We're going to have it on a Sunday afternoon in December. Date & time will follow soon. We picked our Secret Santa's at the beginning of our Halloween party. This way, you know who your person is & you don't have to run around last minute for another gift. Remember there is a $20 limit & don't forget to bring your present to the December party.

Last announcement is that the Geib family got a puppy. It's a present for Isaac's 6^th birthday. A tiny little shit-zu puppy. Super cute, even when it's pooping on the floor right next to you :)

HALLOWEEN PARTY 2007

Since Halloween is Phyllis' favorite holiday, we knew the Halloween party had to be there. Phyllis did not disappoint! Her hubby Mark specially carved a “Foxy Bitches” pumpkin for us, there was a whole haunted village set up, spooky music, everything down to the china cabinet was decked out for the festivities. Then they tell us, “Oh, this is only half. We still have more stuff to put out!” Wow! It was really great. I think that all future Halloween parties should be hosted at the Heimerl's house.

Everyone was a good sport & got dressed up. There was a “Dirty Dorothy” (Peg); an “Alice in Wonderland” (Kate L.); a “Chip Monk” (Marge); a trashed celebrity (Angi); a football player (Patt); June Cleaver (Debi); an 80's chick (Kate G.); and our hostess with the mostess “Spiderella” (Phyllis).

The food was spectacular as well. Have I mentioned how good the food is now? Back in the original Pokeno days, we would walk down to the corner store & load up on as much candy as we could carry, plus a few 40's of Root Beer. Occasionally we would order a pizza. The only time we had really good food was on a birthday night. Now, it's good food all the time! Anyway, we had grilled sandwiches, oven-roasted potatoes, a Frankenstein cake, mummy dogs, pasta salad, fruit salad, and some other stuff that I forgot about by now. I definitely remember that everything was most tasty!

Ok, so that's all I have to write this time. I hope you enjoyed this new version of the "Rag". I'll be doing a posting here once a month. Until next time, keep saving up your dimes...