THE RETREAT IS GETTING CLOSE!!

Is everyone getting as excited as I am about the retreat? I'm really looking forward to seeing familiar faces, meeting new friends and catching up on everyone's photos! We're getting down to the last week and a half before the retreat so I just wanted to touch base with some last minute information.

I want to thank everyone for searching for friends and family to attend this retreat. When I sent out the last email I only had 24 people signed up for the retreat! I can't remember the last time that registrations were so low. But now I am happy to report that we have 40 people registered! Whew.

Here is the list of people that have paid and registered:

Tammy B

Lureen V

Tiffany W

Leona W

Marie O

Sandy S

Karen F

Erica B

Amy P

Kelly G

Marlene S

Christy S

Katie S

Jennie B

Amy W

Tamara N

Crystal W

Susanne N

DeeAnne G

Angel J

Bobbie F

Lori M

Brittani M

Sharleen E

Jane C

Kyndra L

Stephanie B

Tina R

Lori G

DoRena W

Nicholai S

Julie D

Stacey S

There are several of you that are not listed that have checks coming in the mail. I have you on my master list and will check you off once your registration gets to me! (I haven't forgotten about you!)

Now is the time to get your photos ordered, organized and ready for the retreat. Do not wait until Thursday night to order prints! I would also recommend spending this weekend doing some power layouts so you know which direction you plan to take your scrapbooks. It will save you so much time at the retreat if everything is in order BEFORE you get to camp.

You can begin arriving at the camp on Friday afternoon at 12:00 pm. Please do not come earlier as the camp gets spastic about early arrivals. You may pull up to the Daniel Retreat Center to unload your vehicle. There is a garden wagon available to help you unload you bags. The scrapbooking room is located on ground level and the DRC sleeping rooms are in the basement. There isn't an elevator but you can walk down the hill with the wagon and go through the dining room. Supper will be served Friday night at 5:00 pm. If you plan to arrive late send me an email and I'll make sure to save some soup for you!

I will have water, pop and juice available all weekend. If there are any requests on the variety please let me know. Otherwise I will have the standards of Diet Coke, Coke, 7-up and whatever else falls into my cart!

Snacks are welcome and encouraged! We usually end up with a wonderful variety of goodies to munch on all weekend long. From veggies to cookies everything goes.

I will have a limited supply of Close To My Heart Products available for sale during the weekend. If you need something specific please let me know by Thursday morning. If I place an order by Thursday it should arrive in time for the retreat. Go to www.ctmh.com to view the latest catalog.

Well I think that about wraps it up! I'll be leaving Minnesota for Indiana this Friday and spending the week before the retreat with my family. I'll be checking my email and I might be on Facebook occasionally so if you need anything please let me know!

Safe travels to everyone and I'll see you at the retreat.

Camp Map

Don't get lost!

FALL RETREAT 2010

Welcome back! It's scrapbooking time once again. Pack your bags and get ready for some quality scrapbooking time.

This fall we are back at Camp Lutherhaven in Albion, IN. Our retreat will be held at the Daniel Retreat Center which is a new building built in 2002. The facility contains 5 bedrooms that house 6-8 people in each room. Community bathrooms with showers, a kitchen and a small game room are all included on the lower level. All rooms include heat, electricity, a window and carpeting. NO LINENS WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE DRC. Selecting to stay at the DRC means you will eat, sleep and scrapbook all in the same building.

Additional lodging is available in the Lodge. The Lodge contains eight private rooms with either a double and a bunk, a double or 2 bunks. Includes private sink, mirror and all linens. There are 2 community bathrooms with showers. Selecting to stay at the Lodge means you will need to take a short walk to eat and scrapbook. Due to space issues private rooms will be booked completely unless you choose to pay for a single room rate.

The retreat will begin on Friday, November 12th no earlier than 12:00 pm! We will end the retreat on Sunday at 6:00 pm. I will be providing all the meals during the weekend. If you have special diet needs please email me so I can adjust the menu accordingly! Water, pop and juice will be available all weekend at no additional charge.

All lodging will be done on a first come, first serve basis. Please indicate who you would like to room with when you send in your registration form.

DANIEL RETREAT CENTER: Sleep, eat, shower and scrapbook all in the same building. Includes 5 home-cooked meals and all drinks. 110.00

LODGE SEMI-PRIVATE ROOMS: Sleep in a semi-private room with linens provided. You will be sharing a room with one or two other people. Short walk to meals and scrapbooking. Includes 5 meals and all drinks. 115.00

LODGE PRIVATE ROOMS: Sleep in a private room with linens provided. There are only two of these rooms available. Short walk to meals and scrapbooking. Includes 5 meals and all drinks. 125.00

BLUE RIDGE CABINS: Are you here to scrapbook and not sleep? Rather have a massage then a bathroom across the hall? Then the cabins are perfect for your stay! Each cabin is heated and has electricity but no bathrooms or running water. Short walk to meals, bathrooms and scrapbooking. Includes 5 meals and all drinks. 80.00

Can't attend the whole weekend? Come and scrapbook for the day! $25 gets you a whole day of scrapbooking and access to all meals provided that day.

OTHER IMPORTANT TIDBITS!

~Goodie Bags have been eliminated for this retreat.

~Wireless "G" network access will be available at the camp for free.

~Snacks are welcomed and encouraged! Bring on the chocolate!

~Bring a friend.

~Prize drawings will be offered for the weekend.

~I'm working to bring in a massage therapist on Saturday. $25 for 30 minutes and $40 for an hour. An hour...can you imagine getting a massage for an hour? WOW, what a treat that would be! I'll let you know the final details when I get it figured out.

~Registration opens as soon as you get your post card.

~Smile, the retreat will be here before you know it.

~Early bird registration ends OCTOBER 1, 2010. That means I need a post-mark on the envelope to say OCTOBER 1 or it will be counted as late.

~All registrations post-marked after OCTOBER 1 will need to add a $10 late fee.

~If you cancel by November 1st I will refund your registration completely, minus a $20 processing fee. Any cancelations after November 1st will forfeit your registration unless you can find someone else to fill your spot. IF you get sick the weekend of the retreat--please do not come! I will work out a deal with you that is fair to both of us.

As you noticed I didn't mail out registration forms this year. I'm trying something new in hopes of reducing my costs for the retreats. You can mail your checks directly to me and just include a note with room-mates on them. No registration forms to fill out.

I am going to set up a Facebook account specifically for my retreats. If you do not do Facebook then make sure you check my blog, retreatlady1.blogspot.com, often for updates. I do have most of your email addresses or Facebook accounts so I can easily pass along information. If you have not heard from me on either of these formats lately then I must be missing your info. Please share it with me...I promise not to spam you!

Well that's it for now. I hope everyone is able to make it to the Fall Retreat. I'm excited to get to see everyone again and see what you've been up to this past year!

DIRECTIONS:

From Michigan: Take HWY 31 S to SR 6 just past LaPaz, IN. Turn left onto SR6 and go east until you get to HWY 33 S. Turn right on US 33 and go southeast to Wolf Lake. Just south of Wolf Lake turn left at Wolf Lake Rd. At CR 100 S turn right and at CR 150 W turn right and follow into Lutherhaven.

FROM FT WAYNE: Take US 33 northwest to HWY 9. Go north (right) to CR 200 S--turn left, at CR 50 W turn right, at CR 100 S turn left, and at CR 150 W turn left and follow into Lutherhaven.

FROM THE NORTHEAST (OHIO): Take i-80/90, US 6 or HWY 8 West to HWY 9. Go south (left) to CR 75 S turn right, at CR 50W turn left, at CR 100 S turn right and at CR 150 W turn left and follow into Lutherhaven.

SPRING RETREAT 2010 - APRIL 9-11, 2010

Spring is coming faster than I anticipated and so is the Spring Retreat. Due to a "misunderstanding" with Camp Lutherhaven we lost our original retreat dates. But rather than cancel the Spring Retreat all together I decided to just find a new camp. Obviously this isn't an easy task as there are many considerations to be dealt with.

First, is it affordable? You wouldn't believe how much a retreat can cost! Personally I can't justify spending $200 per person for a weekend of scrapbooking. So that eliminated quite a few options. Second, will the camp allow us to cook our own meals? This is almost as important to me as the cost! I'm spoiled and do not enjoy eating frozen meals that are semi-heated by a minimum wage camp chef, er umm, cook! So I must be able to cook and plan the meals myself. Third, what kind of camp is it? Clean, modern and good sleeping conditions are all a must. Needless to say finding all three of these options in one camp is hard to find!

Luckily I came across Camp Friedenswald. It's not as centrally located as I would prefer but it also isn't too far of a drive for most people. The setting is beautiful and I think everyone will enjoy the seclusion of the camp. With over 400 acres, several lakes and lots of woods it really gives a feeling of tranquility.

I have rented the Lakeview Lodge which will house our entire group for the weekend. While it is smaller then I would prefer I figure we can just make due. The entire lodge is an A-frame structure with 4 sleeping rooms on each side of the meeting room. We have a floor to ceiling fireplace on one end and a wall full of windows on the other end. This allows lots of natural light into our scrapbooking space. There will be enough room to hopefully fit 35 six foot tables into the space. It will be tight but I think we can all work together!

The kitchen is a bit of a disappointment because it is located in the same central room. There is no separate dining area so meals will have to be eaten at your scrapbooking station. Good thing? Well, at least it will motivate you to clean up your area throughout the weekend! But regardless of the kitchen and dining situation you will still be treated to five home-cooked meals.

I have to say the best thing about this lodge are the sleeping rooms. Each bedroom contains 3 bunkbeds that have nice mattresses. (thick!) One bunk has a queen sized mattress on the bottom. Each room is a generous size so there is plenty of room for 6 people, or 7 if two people wish to share the queen. Each bedroom also has their own private bathroom! No community bathrooms for this retreat. I took note that everything in the lodge was clean, in working order and didn't smell. (yes, I have smelling issues--I'll save it for another blog)

Since our scrapbooking area is smaller then I would prefer I'm going to have to limit the number of guests attending. I can only accept the first 35 paid-in-full registrations. I do not like limiting my retreats but there just isn't another option this time around. Early bird registration will open on February 1 and close on March 1st. Late registrations, if we still have space, will be accepted until April 1--no joke. It seriously will be April 1st.

Ok, now for the tough news. There won't be internet access at the camp. More than likely there will not be cell phone access at the camp! Yes, that is how secluded we will be. They told me cell phones vary depending upon your carrier and where you stand in camp! Sometimes they work and sometimes they do not. We will have a phone in the lodge so that friends and family can still contact you. If you need to make a long distance call please bring a calling card or call collect.

What to Bring: The camp provides a pillow and quilt/comforter for each bed. You need to bring your own sheets or sleeping bag and possibly another blanket. Bring your own towels, personal care items and scrapbooking stuff. I do ask that you try to limit the amount of scrapbooking items that you bring. The central room will only hold so much stuff! I suppose if you can't do without 15 bags you could always store them in your car or bedroom. If you bring Cricuts, computers and such please bring an extension cord!! I forgot to look at the plug-in situation but I bet there won't be as many as we will really need! Plan ahead.

PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING. I am not responsible for lost or misplaced items while at the retreat.

Retreat Brochures will be coming out in the next week. I just finished them up tonight and hope to get them copied in the next few days. Sometimes what I consider a few days and what the rest of the world consider a few days are two different things. So bear with me! I am also going to try to put the brochure in a PDF (yeah, I'm just quoting my computer geek boy here...I don't really know what that means) so you can download it at home. If this works it would certainly cut down on my mailing and copying expenses. I'll let you know if we can figure it out!

Questions? Just email me at www.jingerw@juno.com and I'll do my best to help you out.

Here's a few photos of the lodge. As you walk into the building from the parking lot the kitchen is the first place you come to. On the other side of the long counter on the left is the central meeting room. (bottom photo) All the couches will removed and the photo only shows a portion of the meeting room.

It's Here!

The official Scrapbooking Retreat Blog. I'm planning to use this blog to keep everyone informed about upcoming retreats. Check back often for updates, deadlines, directions and recipes!