Knitting Retreat

[First of all, I really don't think I was contageous. I'd had this cold for more than a week, as of last Friday when the retreat began. And I tried to stay pretty much off to the side of the great room and away from the rest of the ladies. Except during meals when we all sat together. So if any of you come down with this cold, I am truly, truly sorry.]

A friend of my friend Betty, named Darcy, put together a wonder weekend. She found a lovely lodge north of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, on the eastern shore of Pipe Lake. There were a couple bedrooms upstairs with room for four plus a bunk room downstairs with 3 double bunks. We could see Pipe Lake on two sides of the lodge. There was a large screened porch and a deck in back; a great room upstairs and another downstairs, both of which had large fireplaces. Those would be very nice in the winter.

And there was a large, well equipped kitchen. She got lots of yummy food from a caterer, in Lakeville I think; several lovely meals which she prepared for us. Her husband also fixed a few of the side dishes. Some of the women who attended also brought snacks and things to share. There was cake and pie and cookies, wine, water, soda, assorted breakfast and lunch foods.

In all there were 10 women, Betty, Ann, Ann, Marna, Darcy, Kate, Shauna, Lynn, me, and Pam (in no particular order). I knew some of them from elsewhere and met some of them for the first time at the retreat. All were very nice people, indeed. Knitters are like that; yeah, they are.


When we arrived, there was a lovely bouquet of roses waiting for us. The upstairs great room had many spotlights in the ceiling so we had more than enough light. It rained for most of the weekend, but we didn't mind. We were warm and dry and knitting.


We took a field trip to a local yarn shop and found several kinds and colors of yarns I'd never seen before. The lady who owns the shop opened specially for us. It's not the tourist season any longer. I think we made it worth her while to take a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon.

The bunks down stairs were quite comfortable. Rumor has it the upper bunks were somewhat difficult to get into.






Once or twice the sun came out.









More often it rained. But if you look carefully, you'll see the leaves turning orange across the lake.

Marna brought this jigsaw puzzle of yarn and knitting.

Everyone seemed to get a long well. There were no smokers (yes, I'm prejudiced against smoke--I grew up with a smoking mother and am very sensitive to it). Everyone pitched in at meal time and clean-up time. Those who knew more than the rest were quite willing to share that knowledge with us.

There's probably a lot more to say about this weekend. However, this cold is not responding to the sign-away-your-identity-pseudoephedrine I bought at a 24-hour Walgreens and I think I just need to try to go to bed and get some rest. I forgot to mention the thunder and lightening that kept me awake for quite some time in the middle of the night Saturday.