My turn to host again and of course you all know how much I love to do this! It is always so much fun for me to have the OMs over for good food, great laughs, and lots of Mah Jongg. And yesterday was no different…

Lunch started out with Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Condiments (a Barefoot Contessa recipe, of course!)  followed by a basic chicken salad mixed with feta cheese and artichokes (as always, recipes and photos will follow tomorrow).

And then game play began! In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Mah Jongg set we used today was the Pink Ribbon/Breast Cancer set. We played today in memory of my mom who died from breast cancer so many years ago. This very special set came from Where the Winds Blow, in case you would like to have one, too. We all just love this set! Here is a photo of the pretty pink glitter tiles and the special Pink Ribbon Jokers that you order separately:

S1 won the first game with this 13579 hand of 11 33 555 777 9999.

I won the next hand with the LIKE NUMBERS hand – FFFF 1111 11 1111.

S2 was next with a closed CONSECUTIVE RUN hand of 111 22 333 DDD DDD.

K declared Mah Jongg next with a 2468 hand of 22 44 444 666 8888.

X arrived and quickly had a winning 2468 hand of 22 44 444 666 8888.

And then J arrived, sat down, and had a winning CONSECUTIVE RUN hand – FFFF 1111 2222 DD.  

Now that all of the OMs had won a game, it was time for dessert, which was a new recipe I have been wanting to try: Yogurt Parfaits with Cherries and Pistachios, an interesting sounding recipe from The New York Times. I forgot to take a picture but it was good – not too sweet and just the right kind of dessert after the heavy soup.

Game playing went on until after 6 PM and here are some photos of winning hands. We all had multiple wins today – a good day for the OMs! Even Lizzie was having fun! Be sure to scroll down to the last photo to see the hand of the day.

This was the best hand of the day, without question. K pulled off this beautiful 369 hand made up of 333 66 999 333 333 (Any 2 Suits, Like Pungs, 3, 6, or 9). What a great hand! Congratulations to K!!!