Notes from a voice from the past…

Hello to all my dear Mah Jongg friends! It has been over a year since I last published anything on this blog and I must say that I have missed you all. So much has happened since you last heard from me…I am living in beautiful Hudson, NY and teaching high school up here in Columbia County. And I am happy to say that there is a lot of Mah Jongg being played up here in the country! Of course, I’m still playing every week with some of my NYC friends – online – and I look forward to those games and staying in touch with my city peeps.

Today was the last day of school before winter break starts for all of next week. I am exhausted and am looking forward to the vacation. But when I walked into my apartment building lobby I saw a group of my neighbors sitting at a card table and I must knew they must be playing my favorite game! So I walked on over and asked if I could watch for a while and they very graciously said yes. And what a lovely group of people they are! Debbie said to me, “whatever happened to your blog? I looked forward to it and got recipes from it and loved seeing all your gifts and ideas.” Well, Debbie inspired me so HERE I AM!

Now I must say that WordPress, the host of this blog, has changed and I have a big learning curve to catch up with and try to figure out how to get back in the habit of blogging. So, I will leave you here today and hopefully will be back in the habit of blogging most days going forward. I’ve missed you all and send thanks to Debbie for inspiring me to get back on my computer and connect once again with all of you.

And if you have any questions or Mah Jongg news to share with me, I’d love to hear from you. You can always email me at ann@mahjonggandme.com.

May the Jokers be with you! Ann xxo

I’M IN TROUBLE!

My dear friend Sandra has been very busy lately – I just went on her website and couldn’t get over the amount of new and fabulous Mah Jongg-related items she has up for sale. I’m putting together my list of all the things I want and, as I wrote above, I’m in trouble…I want it all!

For example, have you seen her wonderful Mahjong Mask Holders? I can’t decide which one I like best so I might have to order all of them (see what I mean…I am in trouble!) because I suspect we will be wearing our masks for still quite a while.

And how about these great key chains – at their price they are great little gifts for all of your Mah Jongg-playing friends.

Now I know this next piece of jewelry – the inspirational necklace – is not necessarily Mah Jongg-related but I have a feeling they might bring good luck to the wearer at the MJ table! Besides, I just love them…I wonder if Sandra would consider two or three of the charms on one leather cord…

Well, I have a lot of shopping to do on Sandra’s site so here is her Etsy address if you are interested in doing some browsing – and shopping! – for wonderful Mah Jongg jewelry and other types of goodies. BTW, Sandra is the best – you will love her!

TWO WONDERFUL CHOICES!

I have repeatedly said that Mah Jongg people are the best people and now there are two more examples that prove I am right! One is on the West Coast and one is on the East Coast. Check them out…and order from both! No reason to have to choose between the two!

The first choice comes to us from the Central Coast of California, near San Luis Obispo, home to the Hearst Castle. Donna Eschen tirelessly teaches, plays and organizes all sorts of Mah Jongg events. Each year she takes orders for literally thousands of new NMJL cards and donates the profits to the Special Olympics of N. Santa Barbara County. Donna is truly a remarkable woman. This year, due to Covid 19, the orders are down. Let’s help her to reach her goal! Send your order to Donna at puffins@aol.com.

Your other choice is on the East Coast in lovely Hollywood, Florida. Our friends at Modern Mahjong are taking pre-orders  for the NMJL 2021 card to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association. $2.50 from every card pre-ordered through ModernMahjong.com will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

In addition to ordering NMJL 2021cards for you, these women have fabulous products for sale. I am loving this keychain and am hoping I will receive it as a present for my upcoming birthday…(although I doubt that I will need any commemorative reminder of this past insane year)!

Brass keychain

Modern Mahjong offers many other wonderful Mah Jongg-related items to purchase including their wonderful dice and also beautiful and very special Mah Jongg sets, including a beautiful replica enrobed set.

Again, I encourage you to order from both choices – most people order two cards each year so why not split up your order and help out these two wonderful organizations…you will feel so good about these charitable donations!

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN…

It’s January 1st and once again we look forward to our new National Mah Jongg League card arriving in our mailboxes sometime in late March/early April. But, in order to have that happen, you must order your card(s) and the earlier you order it, the sooner it will arrive. So, head on over to the National Mah Jongg League‘s website to place your order now!

And I know we are all so happy to give 2020 the boot so I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year. Welcome 2021!!!

STAY SAFE AND DON’T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR MASK!

MAH JONGG IN THE TIME OF COVID-19…

I hope you are all well and safe and looking forward to the day when we can play Mah Jongg in person again with our friends. With this in mind and in preparation for that day, Jill Fox has come up with a brilliant product line for sanitizing not only our hands but also our tiles! Yesterday my order arrived and it is just the cutest packaging ever  (the flower is mine just to help you visualize the size of the packaging – and I have no idea why the flower’s water looks black…I promise you that it isn’t!).

After unwrapping the cellophane I found the following items – tile wipes, a hand sanitizer spray and a darling little Mah Jongg tile on a hook and wire that I will use (delicately) as a zipper pull on a sweatshirt or on a chain for a necklace! I immediately let Jill know how much I love this product line and she was kind enough to offer the readers of this blog a nice discount of 10% off all orders over $20 by using the code Mahjonggandme.  Jill is selling all of these terrific items at www.mahjonggwipes.com.  There are wipes, a wipe combo, sanitizer, wipes and the sanitizer alone. I know the holidays are a ways off but honestly, these are great hostess gifts and something to bring along to your Mah Jongg group when we welcome everyone back in person. In the meantime, I am using all of these products to keep that nasty virus away!

There is a disclaimer: This product has not been tested on and is not approved for use on older and antique Mah Jongg tile sets. These wipes may contain harsh chemicals that could result in damage to such items. Do not attempt to clean your Mah Jongg products that you believe are highly valued or sentimental. Nevertheless, I have had no issues using these products on my hands and the newer manufactured sets, racks, and other accessories. And both the wipes (which can be used as a hand sanitizer) and the spray bottle of hand sanitizer are small enough to carry around in one’s purse.

Incidentally, Jill’s story is a tear-inducing one…I love how she gained inspiration from loss…

“In February of 2019, my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My family knew the statistics of the disease, but we were still hopeful he would be the one to defy the odds and survive. My parents, having been married for 50 years had the perfect love story. After my father passed away my mom had a very difficult time. Through the grief, we managed to spend many moments together, making the best of a dreadful situation. She devoted herself to her children and grandchildren, we took a few short trips, and of course, we played Mah Jongg, both with her friends and mine. My mom was quite the Mah Jongg maven. In addition to teaching me at a young age, she explained the game to her grandchildren and my close friends. My mom passed away suddenly in February, just one year after my father’s diagnosis. My mother and father were the inspiration for this business. I started Mah Jongg wipes in honor of my parents, two of the most amazing people in the world.”

In memory of Jill’s mom and dad:
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MAH JONGG MONDAYS!

 

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Fern Bernstein, the author of Mah Jongg Mondays: a memoir about friendship, love, and faith.

But surely Fern was not calling me about her book…no, Fern was calling to ask if I would be a guest on her podcast, Mah Jongg Mondays. I was so honored to be asked! Fern has been doing these wonderful Mah Jongg-related podcasts for a while now with a new version airing each Monday. As Fern writes, “A podcast where we talk about all things mah jongg. Informative discussions and exciting guests help me create a fun and engaging podcast. Whether you are a new player or have been playing mah jongg for decades, this podcast has something for everyone. Bam! Crak! Dot! Let’s talk about mah jongg!”

So, I digress. As I said, Fern had called me and asked if I would like to be interviewed on her podcast. A date was set up for us to do the interview which would then be sent off to her producer for editing. Fern asked me to send her my bio and, at the same time, she sent me an outline of the interview. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated her professionalism.

At exactly the time on the date we were scheduled for the interview, my phone rang and it was Fern. The interview followed the outline and there were no surprises. Fern is a skilled interviewer and I enjoyed the entire process. And so, I hope you will listen to and enjoy Fern interviewing me on this podcast called – what else?!! – Mah Jongg and Me

P.S. Take a look at these Flowers…don’t be fooled into thinking they are Winds! Even though they have NEWS on them they are definitely the Flowers from this set!  I talk about these beautiful Pung Chow tiles on the podcast!