Mardi Gras in the Mountains

I just got home from the retreat. We spent 3 wonderful days full of fun, food and friendship. The theme of the retreat was Mardi Gras in the Mountains. We go to a local state park and rent a group shelter. Some of the guild members stay at the lodge and some go home for the nights. Mary and I were the leaders of the retreat and had a wonderful committee that did most of the work.

We started on Thursday morning and served lunch and dinner for all three days. The food was wonderful and each member only had to work in the kitchen only once - for setup and serving or for cleanup.

This was the sign over the kitchen entrance. We also had Mardi Gras beads and beads and beads! We had a small Mardi Gras parade around the room and ended up near the goodie bags. Of course they also had beads attached. Once we opened them, we found a few surprises.

Dave had filled a jar with cotton candy, which was a jar filled with little pieces of fabric and a pattern to make a quilt. You need to add black and white fabrics but it turns out to be a great quilt. He actually made the quilt and gave it away. He had put numbers on the bottom of each jar and pulled a number for a prize - it turned out to be the quilt.

Here are the goodie bags

Here is the overloaded snack table. It was constantly filled and refilled over the three days. There were a few healthy items on the table but there were lots more that had nothing going for them except they were delicious. Cookies, cakes, donuts, crackers, chips, dips - if you can think of it, we probably had it.

Here is the group the first day. Notice the name tags that are shaped like a mask. We all worked on them before the retreat and there was a contest to decide on the best masks. Of course there were prizes.

Here is the sewing room on the first day. I took lots more photos and will be showing them over the next few days.

I am glad it is over in some respects since it took so much time and energy to get ready for it but I am sorry it is over for another year. I got a lot done but would love to have another couple of dedicated sewing days. Oh well - back to work and the real world tomorrow.