FALL RETREAT 2016

We are at the one week mark! Only one more week until the Fall Scrapbooking Retreat!

You can begin arriving at Amish Acres on Friday, November 11th at 10:00 am. We will be scrapbooking in The Wine Loft which is located in the Restaurant Barn. There is an artist rendition map of Amish Acres on their website http://amishacres.com/historic_…/historic_farm_buildings.php

We are located at #41 and parking is #45...if that helps anyone!

FRIDAY
10:00 AM Arrive at The Restaurant Barn
LUNCH ON YOUR OWN
3:00 PM Check in at The Inn at Amish Acres
6:00 PM Supper - Hearty Supper
11:00 PM Scrapbooking Room Closed for the night

SATURDAY
6:30 - 9:30 AM Breakfast in Geranium Room at Inn
8:00 AM Scrapbooking Room Open
LUNCH ON YOUR OWN
6:00 PM Supper - Threshers Dinner
11:00 PM Scrapbooking Room Closed for the night

SUNDAY
6:30 - 9:30 am Breakfast in Geranium Room at Inn
8:00 AM Scrapbooking Room Open
12:00 PM (Maybe 3:00 pm) Departure

Sunday departure was scheduled for 3:00 pm. I just noticed on my contract that it states 12:00 pm. I've sent an email off to the coordinator to get clarification on the time. Unfortunately the coordinator I've been working with over the past 6 months is no longer with Amish Acres. So I'm having to rework a lot of previously scheduled times. (And the new girl doesn't return emails!)

WHAT TO BRING:
~Scrapbooking supplies and Photos!! Just remember this important rule: YOU MUST CARRY UPSTAIRS EVERYTHING YOU BRING. So pack wisely!
~Clothing and personal care items
~Desk lamp. We are working in an old barn that has mood lighting rather than task lighting! So if you need to see details I would strongly recommend bringing a desk lamp.
~EXTENSION CORD WITH STRIP PLUG-IN IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you have multiple devices that need electricity then you are going to need these items! This barn was built in the 1870's and evidently they didn't put in adequate electrical. So plan to use an extension cord!
~SMALL extra table. I believe we will have 6 extra tables on hand but if you know you need extra space and you don't want to fight for an extra table, a small side table might he helpful. Not necessary but perhaps helpful? I know some of you like to spread out! But once again...think small 'cause you have to haul it upstairs!
~Music...headphones/earbuds only please. There will be a radio tuned into a general music station but I ask that individual music be kept personal so as not to bother other people.
~Snacks. We are NOT doing a snack table this year! I don't think Amish Acres was too thrilled about a bunch of food sitting around on a table when I mentioned it. But you are more than welcome to bring snacks for your own table to munch on to your hearts content!
~There are loads of activities to do at Amish Acres. If you need a break from scrapbooking you will be able to find plenty to do! The town is only a few blocks away and filled with all kinds of cute shops and unique restaurants. Plus there is a gift shop, museum, coffee shop and ice cream parlor on site at Amish Acres.

That about covers everything. If you have any questions please ask away and I'll do my best to answer! See everyone next week ~ Jinger

REGISTRATION

I'm back!!! (But only because the ragweed has me trapped inside my house and I can't be working on the farm!) The last two months have been a busy season of friends, family and farm. But now it's time to get this retreat finalized and start the countdown to scrapbooking!

This is the final push to get everyone registered and organized. Amish Acres is going to want final numbers within the next two weeks for meals as they bulk order months in advance for their food service. Want to know what is on the menu?
FRIDAY NIGHT SUPPER
Seasoned Grilled Pork Chops
Fresh Garden Salad
New Potatoes
Vegetable du Jour
Hearth Bread with Butter and Apple Butter
Assorted Pies
Lemonade, Tea or Coffee

SATURDAY NIGHT SUPPER - THRESHERS MEAL
Broasted Country Chicken
Tender Roast Beef
Thick ham & bean soup
Hearth Bread with butter
Seasonal Relish
Sweet and Sour Cabbage salad
Country Vegetable
Beef & noodles
Potatoes
Bread dressing & gravy
Tins of fresh fruit pies and cream pies
Shoofly pie and vanilla date nut pudding
Coffee, Hot Tea, Milk, Lemonade and Iced Tea

Yummy right? I can already see that we will all be napping after dinner!

FINAL PAYMENTS FOR THE RETREAT ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 1. $25 deposits are non-refundable.

REGISTRATION BEGINS!

Get ready...get set...register!

1.  Select which type of room you would like...QUAD, TRIPLE, DOUBLE, SINGLE.

Please keep in mind that there are only double beds in each room.  Our coordinator, Susan, said she does have groups that opt to sleep four people per room.  You better REALLY like your bunk mate 'cause that's some close sleeping quarters!  But if the budget is tight then this is a great option for a group.

2.  Select which type of payment best fits you!!  If you paid a deposit then pick PAY IN FULL REMAINING.

Need to split your payments?  Then pick PAY HALF.  There is an extra $5 per transaction added to the Pay Half payments.  First half of the payment holds your spot and the second half of the payments will be due September 1.

If you plan to have a room-mate (Quad, Triple or Double) please email me with your choice.  The hotel requires that I have detailed lists of where everyone will be sleeping and who will be in each room.

If you do not have a room-mate but would like one I can put you on a list.  There is no guarantee that I will be able to find you a room-mate, but I'll do my best!  If I can't find a room-mate you will need to pay for a SINGLE room.

I will be monitoring registrations and once we reach 35 guests registration will close.  I will put any remaining guests on a waiting list.

2016 FALL RETREAT

After two months of searching, emails, on-site visits, phone calls and headaches...

I HAVE A CONTRACT!!!  

I don't think I've ever worked as hard to obtain a contract as I have this time.  Amish Acres is very organized and detailed with their events and our coordinator, Susan, is an amazing person.  She knows her stuff and has worked extremely hard to make sure we get an experience that we all will enjoy.   BUT...there is a difference between what we've always done in past retreats and what we are about to do this time!  Hopefully you will like all of the changes.

This retreat will mark our jump into adulthood.  No longer will we be in that awkward teenage years of scrapbooking retreats.  Plastic covered foam mattresses,  sleeping with 10 strangers in one room, eating frozen and reheated processed food, scrapbooking on rustic doors that someone thought would make a great table.  We've grown up and Amish Acres should fit us well!

NOVEMBER 11, 12 & 13, 2016 AMISH ACRES NAPPANEE, IN

Introducing...the Amish Acres scrapbooking retreat experience!  We will be using the Barn Loft Wine Tasting Room (sorry, wine not included!) for our scrapbooking area.  This is an authentic barn complete with beams, wood floors, quilts and even a canoe suspended from the rafters!

The Loft with outside access doors at end

Awesome eh?  The loft is accessible from the outside of the building next to the parking lot or from the inside staircase which has a nice landing to break up the steps.  There is no elevator so less might be more when packing for this trip!

Back entrance from outside

Each scrapbooker will have use of a roughly 4x4 ft table.  Yes, this is different from the 6 and 8 ft tables we've had in the past.  But evidently it is "impossible" to add or remove tables to the loft so beggars cannot be choosers!  My dear Auntie sat at a table for me and agreed to allow me to share this photo. (Thanks Auntie...you're the best!)

Auntie at a typical table

As you can see they are a nice deep table for storing supplies while still giving you enough space to work.  We are also allowed to bring small side tables if you feel you might need a bit more space for your cricket, computer, paper stash (yeah, I'm talking to a few of you!!)  The loft has enough room to move with ease so we shouldn't be crowded like in years past.

This is an authentic barn that was built well over 100 years ago.  Evidently they didn't take into account that in 2016 thirty-five women would descend like locus with their Crickets upon this barn!  With that being said please plan to bring an extension cord WITH a power strip if you plan to bring any electronic devices.  It was also suggested that you will want to bring a desk lamp.  The barn lighting is beautiful for a wedding...but probably not the greatest for doing scrapbooking tasks at night.  There is a lot of natural light from the windows during the day.  But twinkle and rope lights probably won't be enough for us once the sun starts setting.

Your overnight stays will be at the Inn which is a hop, skip and a jump from the barn loft.   This photo was taken from the parking lot and shows the Inn in the distance.  It's not far and can be walked or driven to depending upon the weather!  Each guest can choose to sleep one, two, three or four friends per room.  A standard room will include plain, pine furniture, replica Amish quilts on the beds and hand-signed autographs on the walls--this is what sealed my deal.  (who advertises that?)

The Inn and Round Barn

Anyway...each room has two double beds which are extra long.  So you can sleep up to 4 people per room and save money!  Or if you want this to really be a vacation then get a single room and pay a bit more.  If you plan to split a room you must find and list your room-mates when you register.  Since this is a regular hotel everything is included...towels, sheets, soap, coffee makers, ironing board, etc. plus a private bathroom.

Our meals for this weekend will include two Continental breakfasts at the hotel.  They have waffle irons, cereal, bagels, donuts, fruit...your standard continental breakfast.  Lunch will be on your own either at the barn restaurants or in town.  There is a restaurant below our scrapbooking area that has Amish style meals (lunch is $10-12 for soup/sandwich type of meal) or you can go into town (only a 5 minute drive) for anything and everything under the sun!  All the typical fast food places, pizza, local coffee shop fare, grocery stores and local sit-down restaurants are all available.  For our suppers Amish Acres will be doing the catering for us!  Friday night's meal will be a Hearty Supper and Saturday night's meal will be the Thresher's Meal.  Both menu's will be finalized at a later date but they look AMAZING!  The Thresher's Meal is served family style, all you can eat and I know nobody will go to bed hungry that night!!

Dining Room

Here's the bad news...since tables cannot be added to the Loft I am limited on the number of guests that can attend this amazing retreat which would be 35 guests.  I currently have 42 guests that have expressed an interest in attending...and 15 that have placed a deposit.  That means I only have 20 spots available at this point.  Those that have placed a deposit are guaranteed a seat.  The rest of the seats will be given out on a first come first filled basis.  I'll open registration on July 1, 2016.

Amish Acres also requires a 1/3 deposit down immediately to reserve our hotel rooms, the meals and the scrapbooking room.  In the past the deposits have been manageable with $300-500 down and remaining balances due two weeks prior to arrival.  I'm currently looking at a $1300 deposit due immediately so that we can hold our block of hotel rooms.  Since there will be several weddings during our stay at Amish Acres we have to reserve our hotel rooms early.  So I will be opening up reservations immediately so we do not miss out on hotel rooms.

Need a break from scrapbooking?  Amish Acres sits on an 80 acre historic farm that includes farm tours, on-site gift shops, round barn theater (extra costs!) and a fudge and soda shop WITH ice cream!!

Yummy!

We will begin arriving at The Loft on Friday, November 11 at 10:00 am.  This just happens to be Veteran's Day so many of you might have the day off already!  I loved the fact that they can allow us to get started right away so that we have a full day of scrapbooking.  Check-in at the Inn will begin at 3:00 pm.

Each evening we will have supper at 6:00 pm and then the barn will close at 11:00 pm.  They are unable to keep the barn open all night so this was a compromise that we had to make.  But since we have two a half  days of scrapbooking I figured it was a good compromise!

Sunday the barn opens back up at 8:00 am and we have until 3:00 pm until we have to leave.

SINGLE OCCUPANCY
$297

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
$210

TRIPLE OCCUPANCY
$186

QUAD OCCUPANCY
$175

Each registration includes:
Two continental breakfasts,
Two Amish Style Home cooked Meals
Individual Table
Private Hotel Room

So there you have it!  I'm really excited to be offering a special experience for our scrapbooking retreat this fall.  Any questions?  Just let me know!

~Jinger

FALL RETREAT UPDATE

FALL RETREAT UPDATE

Grab a cup of joe 'cause it's a long update. I've been sitting on this info for a couple of weeks and I'm about ready to burst!!

Well it's time to come clean! I may or may not have told Epworth Forest to stick their contract where the sun will never shine and I might have mentioned that Tudor could go with it. (might not have been one of my better moments in life?)

Yep. It came to that! After talking with them on the phone and setting up the entire retreat they mailed me my invoice minus a contract. The invoice included charges for six (6!!) full meals that were mandatory and not optional with our contract. (They failed to tell me this info while I was on the phone setting everything up)

I requested to see the new contract which they mailed off to me. It NEVER contained the clause that stated it was required to use their meal service. When I questioned our friend Tudor (remember him ladies?? oh yeah) he said it was a new policy and we couldn't get out of it even if it wasn't printed. So I went higher up the chain and spoke with the regional manager.

The regional manager said they were going to stick with the new policy of requiring meals to be purchased from the camp...even though she couldn't produce a contract that stated that in writing. I argued about food quality, quantity, allergies and the increased cost to no avail. So it came down to the fact that I could either accept the meals or find another venue. They were not concerned about losing our business.

I thought about just accepting the meals and letting it go. After all...what's a few crappy, over-priced meals? But after doing the math I realized that a three day weekend retreat would cost you at least $225!!! I just couldn't do it. Plus with the amount of stress that they caused me I decided that Epworth Forest did not deserve our business. So we have parted ways.

What does all this mean? I've looked around and to find a venue that can accommodate our size of group and still give us private sleeping/bathing areas is next to impossible to find. We are all just getting too old to climb up into bunk beds!! (ok, maybe it's just me!) So I started asking around and was told to follow up with Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN. They have an incredible conference room, amazing Amish food, private hotel rooms and 80 acres of farm land to relax and enjoy and most importantly they have a manager that knows how to accommodate retreat groups. Plus there are unique shops in town and did I mention the Amish food?? The complete package looks amazing.

Now to make this happen I'm trying to bring in a few other consultants to join our group. We've got a great group but in order to support a venue like this the numbers need to increase! So start talking to your friends, family and even people you don't like. (I promise to put them on the other side of the room from you!)

Another thought I'm tossing around is going to a two day retreat rather than a three day retreat. AA charges us daily for the use of the conference room. I'm currently working on our rental times with the Admin. but if we can get in early in the morning and stay late in the evening that would give us TWO FULL DAYS of scrapbooking and only require one overnight stay. It's a thought but not set in stone.

I think with a two day option we can probably keep the price the same, around $145-155 which will include your own table, 1 night double occupancy hotel room, 2 Amish meals (one of which is a huge buffet!) and two full days of scrapbooking.

The three day plan would increase the cost to around $185-195 and will include your own table, 2 nights double occupancy hotel room, 3 Amish meals and three full days of scrapbooking. With both plans you will receive a complementary continental breakfast each morning you stay at the hotel.

Now these numbers are just a general idea and may change! But at least it will give you an idea of what I'm working on. My goal is always to bring you the high quality of retreat for the lowest price that I can. The coordinator and I are even working on a price if 4 people want to share a room! (she says you better REALLY, REALLY like the people in your room--double beds!)

Now there are quite a few of you that have sent me a deposit for the previous Venue of Doom. If you want a refund as Amish Acres does not appeal to you I can do that! No questions asked. But for everyone else...hang on and enjoy the new ride!! I'll post more info as soon as I can. And as always comments are welcome and will always be considered!

~Jinger

FALL RETREAT 2016

NOVEMBER 10 - 13, 2016  EPWORTH FOREST CONFERENCE CENTER

Registration  are being accepted for the 2016 Fall Retreat!

This retreat usually fills up quickly so grab a partner and reserve your spot now.  Veterans Day is on the 11th so many of you might have the day off making it a nice long weekend for you!

This retreat will feature the extended 4 day option so you can really get a lot accomplished on your scrapbooks.

You can pay in full or put down a deposit and finish paying in September/October.  Deposits are non-refundable and there is also a $25 non-refundable deposit if you pay in full.

Registration Includes:
1 6ft scrapbooking table and comfy chair
Private room with linens--room shared with a friend (leave your sleeping bags at home!)
Private bathroom with towels
Unlimited fountain pop and coffee/tea/hot chocolate/water
Friday night Pizza
Saturday evening full meal
Sunday morning full breakfast

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
3 DAY WEEKEND - $154
4 DAY WEEKEND - $190

SINGLE OCCUPANCY
3 DAY WEEKEND - $223
4 DAY WEEKEND - $259

Thanks,
Jinger

IT'S TIME!!!

Pack your bags kids 'cause we're going scrapbooking!!  The weekend is almost here and it's time to get those photos into an album.

My sister Tiffany will be playing Me for the weekend and be your personal hostess!  Please direct ALL the complaints her way...she will love it.

Here's a quick run down of the rules and important information for the weekend.

The camp will provide bed linens, pillows, two sets of towels per room, shampoo and a bar of soap!

You can begin arriving at the camp at 2:00 pm on Friday afternoon.  Please do not arrive early...I'm hearing rumors  that it's not appreciated!  The parking lot is located in the rear of the building as well as the entrance to our scrapbooking room.  Please plan to unload everything at this door.

Friday supper will be pizza.  Saturday supper and Sunday breakfast will be "provided".  (yeah, that's all code word since Big Brother is probably monitoring me.)

Snacks are welcomed and appreciated.  Remember that there is no refrigerator available to keep things cold. The camp is also extremely picky about crockpots, something about needing proper temps, only running for 4 hours, blah, blah, blah...I lost interest.  So basically forget snacks that require a crock pot or refrigeration and stick with a lot of preserved food snacks!

Music...the camp has a sound system that I'm allowed to use!  We will try to keep it to a neutral station so that everyone can enjoy the tunes.  PLEASE DO NOT PLAY MOVIES, MUSIC OR SKYPE without the use of  personal headphones at your workstations.

The camp has a very strict policy on alcohol, drug and cigarette usage on campus.  NONE of them are allowed.  If they even find use of these products in the trash cans (empty wine bottles or cigarette remains) I will be fined $250 for cleaning and an extra $100 for the violation.  That means I will be passing along those lovely costs to YOU!   So leave the treats at home.

This looks to be a great group of ladies for this retreat!  There will be a lot of new faces so everyone introduce yourselves and have a great time.

Above all...DO NOT FORGET YOUR PHOTOS!