For those of you that have attended my retreats in the past you know the drill and the rules! But this year we have a great group of new ladies joining us so I thought I would run a few reminders past everyone.
~ Ok, I guess I'll get the biggest and meanest rule out of the way first! NO MUSIC EXCEPT ON PERSONAL DEVICES WITH HEADPHONES. There I said it and now everyone can be happy or mad at me! With 50 people in one big open room with 50 different music tastes it just gets to be too much. So if you enjoy listening to music please bring ear phones and keep it private. I will however make an exception to my rule. Music can be played out loud between the hours of 1:00 AM and 6:00 AM. Most people will have retired for the evening and those that haven't probably need a good pick-me-up!
~ Retreat begins at 12:00 pm on Friday and ends at 6:00 pm on Sunday. Show up earlier than noon on Friday and you will meet crazy Jinger. Stay later than 6:00 pm on Sunday and you will meet grumpy Jinger. Don't say I didn't warn you.
~ Friday night is Potluck starting at 6:30 pm! See previous post for Potluck Points in case you need a suggestion on what to bring. All food needs to be prepared AT HOME. Last minute touches (quick reheat, etc) can be accommodated but don't plan to assemble or cook your dish at the retreat. Space in the refrigerator is EXTREMELY LIMITED. That is an understatement to say the least. We will be serving 55 people at each meal for 3 days and both of the refrigerators will be chucked full of food. If it's cold enough you could store your goodies outside or just plan to bring a cooler.
~ We have a good number of people attending the retreat that have allergy issues. If you think about it and don't mind, a quick note about the name of your dish and major allergens would probably be appreciated. Things like contains milk, eggs, soy, peanuts or wheat would be the major ones. Obviously if you bring a cheese platter we'll get it and no note will be required! But sometimes a dash of flour can hide in a soup and could spell disaster for a fellow scrapbooker. Just a thought.
~ Cold pop and water will be available while supplies last at the retreat. I usually have Diet Coke, Regular Coke, A&W Root Beer, Sprite and Mt Dew on hand. If there is a demand for another drink I will certainly add it to the list. But let me know, otherwise this will be the list.
~ Those people sleeping in the Daniel Retreat Center will need to bring linens, pillows and towels. Those people staying in the Private/Semi Private rooms will not need to bring anything except personal care items.
~ Deposit for Fall 2012. The retreat completely filled up this fall and I had to turn away several people. To make sure you don't lose your spot next year I will accept deposits. The $25 deposit not only reserves your space next year but it also helps me to continue offering low cost retreats.
~ Massages will be done on Friday and Saturday to accommodate everyone who signed up. When you arrive I will ask that you sign up for a specific time slot. Still want a massage? It's not too late!
~ When arriving at the camp you can pull up to the Daniel Retreat Center to unload. They have a garden cart available so you can unload in one trip rather than 10! Please try to move your vehicle as quickly as possible so that others can also unload.
~ ORGANIZE AND PREPARE! Spend an hour looking over your photos to get your head back into the game. Take a peek at your paper supply, make sure you have enough tape in your tape runner and if you don't please come see me! There will be a wide selection of Close To My Heart products available for purchase at the retreat.
~ This year I will have a couple of "Challenges" available to motivate your scrapbooking. These challenges are completely optional but they do help to give you incentive to step out of your comfort zone. Tickets will be awarded based upon completion of the tasks and will be used in the prize drawings.
~ Prize Drawing Rules: There will be prize drawings on Friday night and Saturday night. You are only eligible to win once each day. Grand Prize drawings will be on Saturday only and everyone is eligible even if you won a smaller prize that same day.
~ Help For Heather. Chef Heather could always use some help in the kitchen! If you feel inspired to help before or after a meal just let me know.
~ Internet access will be available at the retreat for free. Let me know if you need the access code upon arrival.
~ Lighting. During the day the lighting is wonderful! At night it can get a bit dark in certain areas. I recommend bringing a table lamp if you have problems seeing in dimmer light. I've requested that the camp point all lights DOWN (seems obvious to me?) rather than side-ways this year. Hopefully that will eliminate the issues we had last year.
~ If you plan to bring anything that requires plugging in...Cricut, lamp, computer...bring an extension cord!!!! If you bring multiple electronics bring a plug-in strip. If you end up in the middle of the room the outlets are limited and you will need an extension cord.
~ Limit your supplies. Since we are trying to fit 50 people in the room, space is going to be in short supply! Bring only what is necessary and leave the rest at home. Plus you'll be way happier not having to lug all your things in and out of the car! Each person will be seated at 1 6 ft table.
~ Seating: We have very nice cushioned chairs to sit on for the weekend. Unfortunately the tables are homemade and rather high. In the past we have found that stacking two chairs on top of each other helps tremendously! Some ladies have even made their own extra cushions to sit on top of the chairs.
Well that's about it. I will be leaving for Indiana on Tuesday morning. If you have any questions please send me an email or FB message and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. I'm really excited to see old friends and meet new ones. Plus I can't wait to start working on my album again!! I hope everyone has a safe trip.
Jinger
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