Ten Great Retreat Memories

It's Monday morning, and staff and attendees are all recovering from a fantastic weekend at Retreat! Here are a few of the things from the weekend that made me happy . . .

1. Food. I didn't have to wash a single dish, and the food at the hotel and convention center was delish! Now that I'm home, I'm making up for it.

2. The view. The hotel was right on the Fox River and I enjoyed watching the sunrise over the water every morning. Well, with just one eye open before I rolled over and went back to sleep.

3. Zwick's workshop. It was great having Terri Zwicker back on our teaching team this weekend. She designed and taught a super-fun workshop with a unique approach to her project interspersed with her silly sense of humor. The rest of our teaching crew did a fantastic job, too! I'm so proud and thankful for them all.

4. Newbies. What a wonderful thing it was to welcome first-time retreat attendees to the fold. They were all adopted by members who have joined us in the past, and we're pretty sure they'll come back and see us again! Pretty sure.

5. Accomplishment. Many guests approached me to say they learned so much and created things they never thought they'd be able to do. We love it when that happens.

6. Lighting. Every venue has its advantages, but I appreciated how the convention center had large, spacious classrooms with excellent lighting and helpful technology. Crafting in the dark is fun but iffy. We used cameras to project our work surface to students, which really helped clarify the techniques.

7. Matthew. We all adored the waitstaff that took care of us throughout the weekend, but Matt went above and beyond. He mentioned on Sunday morning how much enjoyed our group. He even stayed up until 1:30 am with a few late-night croppers.

8. Gifts. Our staff spends quite a bit of time selecting, wrapping and preparing gifts and surprises for the weekend. Everyone seemed to love the choices. Yay!

9. Theme parties. We had exceptional participation in our theme nights. They were easy to pack for and made great opportunities for photo ops.

10. Friends. Wow. This is the best part of all. I'm in awe of the close friendships that have been formed as a result of our time together. For me, the most incredible thing was watching the CS Staff work tirelessly in tandem to create a terrific experience for everyone. I'm so proud of each of them and blessed to have a team that is second to none. Thank you, Brenda, Karen, Jacqueline, Deb, Beth, Kay, Kristin, Ron, Julie, Mr. Scott, and Singer!

We can't wait to do it all again in October. Well, we can wait . . . we're a little tired. But we'll be ready for you when the time comes!

Tricia

P. S. We joyously welcome a new member to the Club Scrap family. Congratulations to Kristin and Mark on the arrival of their beautiful son, Elliott Mark Erdman. Kristin worked harder than all of us during retreat weekend!

Retreat in Progress

Not to make you jealous or anything, but Retreat is in full swing, and we are having a fabulous time.

I can't give away too many secrets, but here are a few photos from the activities so far.

Julie, Kay and I hosted an optional wine tasting on Wednesday at Fratello's for early arrivals. We were thrilled with the turnout.

Fratello's brews their own beer.

Wall 'o wine.

Our  enthusiastic group of 21 Retreaters.

After registration Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed cocktails and dinner by the Fox River.

Carmen, Crystal, Keri and Kim at our stunning river side location.

Tammy and Kenda gettin' their geek on.

Oops, that's about all I can share without getting into some serious trouble. Having a great time, wish you were here!

Karen