April/May 2008

Just in case your wondering…I completely forgot to take any photos during the party, so I have posted some flowery photos from the 2008 Flower Show instead. Our “Spring Fling” Pokeno was held at my house. There were flowers everywhere! I even decorated the outside of my house so it would be lovely when everyone showed up. It was a drama filled evening. Half the ladies were running late. Missy called at 6 to tell me that John just left to go get fishing supplies. Kate G. was scheduled to arrive late. Patt called frantically around 6 because she was lost…again… We finally directed her in, but she needed a while to decompress from her family outing prior to arriving for Pokeno. If you’ve ever been “blessed” with meeting our family, you can understand why she needed to sit quietly for a few minutes to gather her thoughts. We didn’t start playing until after 7. We played 2 rounds & were done around 10. Maybe next month we can aim for getting in 3 rounds! When Missy got here, we figured out how much she had to put in to square up. She did that, sat down & the first card called was her center! When it was Missy’s turn to call (for the first time since she’s been back), she was shuffling & flung all the cards out of her hand all over the table.

As usual, we ate well! Marge made super cheesy lasagna, Kate G. brought cupcakes, Kate L. brought snacks, Phyllis made some really great punch, Patt brought margarita mix, and I made a giant cookie that was topped with cool whip & fresh fruit.

Marge gave out goodie bags with scratch off tickets (don’t think there were any winners), bumblebee garden stakes, and birds nest candleholders. Debi gave everyone little butterfly/floral candleholders.

The night we played also happened to be the first night of Flyers playoff hockey. In case you’re new…Ian & I are huge Flyers fans. Ian was parked square in front of the TV completely oblivious to us being very noisy and talking about balls in the next room. I had a spot staked out on the corner of the table so I could watch too. I know I missed a LOT of stuff. Not sure if it was from watching the game, or from the numerous shots I did throughout the evening. Speaking of missing stuff, I didn’t feel so alone on the last cover all of the evening when most of us missed at least 1 or 2 cards, therefore completely missing our chance at the pot. Oh well. We don’t come here to get rich, that’s for sure!

MYSTERY BOX

Patt was responsible for the April Mystery. She already had one well before game time, however, she left it in Pennsylvania & didn’t realize until she was already over in Jersey. So, her & Debi made a mad dash around Wal Mart before they came over. They managed to put together a lovely garden themed box. Inside the Box was a bag of potting soil (that’s why the box was so damn heavy!), gardening gloves (proceeds benefit breast cancer research), gardening tools, small pots with herbs (ready to plant), seeds and a scratch off ticket.

Kate G. was the winner! Missy is upset because she is now the only one who hasn’t won a Mystery. Maybe next time…

JUNE POKENO

After much debate & trying to plan a day for everyone to get together in May, we just couldn’t do it. Too many people had prior engagements. So, we decided to skip the month of May all together & aim to play as soon as possible in June.

June Pokeno will be held on SUNDAY, JUNE 8TH @ 1:00 at Patt’s house. This party will have 2 themes (since we’re skipping a month). It will be a Birthday Tea Party. Think party hats (or fancy lady tea hats), noise makers (Phyllis..ha, ha, ha), balloons and birthday cake.

For the tea party, everyone needs to bring their favorite tea to share and the food will be fancy tea party food. Please be sure you eat your tiny sandwiches with that pinky out!

We did a Pollyanna so everyone will get a gift. After the debacle at the Christmas Pollyanna picking, I made sure all the ladies took a minute to check the paper to be sure it wasn’t her name on there. This made it go much smoother! Don’t forget there is a $10 limit on your gift. If you’re really stuck for an idea, please remember that cash is always accepted 

Here are some tea party tips I found online. They should help you out:

1. Its okay to eat with your fingers. However, if an item is particularly messy, then use a fork. (I guess real fancy ladies don’t get messy?)

2. If all the courses are laid out on the table, eat them in this order: first the scones or muffins; then the tiny sandwiches, and last the sweets. (Screw that, I say dessert, dessert & more dessert!)

3. For scones or muffins, break off a bite-size piece, then put a small amount of jam or butter on it. (Geez, they must really think we’re sloppy)

4. Take bites of the tiny sandwiches. Never stuff the whole thing in their mouth, even though it's small. (And certainly don’t try to stuff more than 1 sandwich at a time in there!)

5. If using sugar, be careful to not dip the sugar tong or sugar spoon into the tea. (Nobody likes a sugar coated spoon)

6. Stir sugar and/or milk with their teaspoon, and then place the teaspoon on their saucer. (I’m getting confused…how many spoons are we supposed to have? Do I have to bring my own?)

7. When drinking tea, hold the cup and saucer near your chest then take the teacup off the saucer and bring it up to their mouth to drink. (It is not acceptable to use your breasts as a “table” to hold your cup & saucer)

8. If the tea is hot, do not blow on the tea. Leave your teacup on the table to cool. (How about adding an ice cube?)

9. Do NOT stick your pinky out when drinking tea. Just hold the teacup normally. (Ok, I take back the pinky thing mentioned earlier)

10. Hopefully, the tea will be served from teapots, rather than having individual tea bags, which can get very messy. If there are tea bags, then there should be a small dish at each place setting on which to place the used tea bags. (Also, do not try to fling your tea bag for distance after removing from the cup)

Ok, that will wrap it up for this month. I hope everyone has a great month off. See all y’all in June!