Meeting new friends

I was a little worried about going to retreat because we had heard that it was full and I had only met Becca, Jennifer and Carol, Jennifer's mom, before heading up there. Well, I had met Bonnie Hunter, also, but I didn't expect her to remember me from a couple of classes more than a year ago. I was also pretty excited to meet Judy L because I love reading her blog!

This is Sally, Becca and me. Sally came all the way from Minnesota and didn't know a soul! Ruthie asked me and Becca if we would share a room with her and we gladly said yes. She came with us to dinner on Thursday night which was the only night that we went anywhere and when we went shopping, she gladly joined us! She was a lot of fun and a very sweet gal! (Hi, Sally!!!)

(Sorry for the terrible picture - this was with my phone after my camera battery had died.)

These gals are from Wichita, Kansas and sat across from me and Becca. Donna is on the left and Vera is on the right. We had great chats about Guilds and serving on the boards. Donna told me about her husband who traveled to Cincinnati on business and just raved about some of the food here. (Donna!!! I hope that you gals made it home OK! Leave me a comment or send me an email!) Becca and I sent Donna and Vera to Caroline's and Donna came back with a tiara!



These gals from Grand Rapids, MI sat to my right and were just a hoot! They have been friends since kindergarten and the 2 on the left will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries next year. At least, I'm pretty sure that is what I heard. From left to right, there's Nellie, Arliss, Joan and Jean. Most of the time during the day, they went out and roamed the town and shopped and then would bring everything back and show it off. I really enjoyed just listening to them tell stories and banter - their voices were just so lovely to listen to! And we had quite a bit of laughter over some of their antics!



And then there was Judy! I was really worried that Judy was not going to be as great as I had expected her to be after reading her blog for several years. You know how sometimes when you meet someone famous in person and you tell them how you follow them and watch what they are doing and they give you the brush off? Well, Judy is very much NOT like that! She is just as wonderful in person as she is on her blog! She didn't recognize me when I got there and the gals at her table had to point me out to her and she just kept saying, "That's not Jill!! That's not Jill from Ohio!" and once I smiled and said it was me, I think she thought maybe it was me, but still wasn't too sure. Once I freshened up for dinner and took my ponytail out, I walked back into the sewing room and she said, "Well, Jill's here!!!" We spent the weekend chatting about our pups and sewing and quilts and Vince. I was just so tickled that she has been reading my blog and knows about what is going on with me!! That was one of the best parts of my weekend!

Again, crappy picture from my phone and I think that is Donna's finger! :)

I also got to meet some other great gals, but I don't have pictures of them.

Karen from San Francisco flew into Chicago and Judy brought a machine for her to use during retreat. Karen was my breakfast companion on Friday and Saturday and we had some nice chats!

Deja is from Maryland, I think, and I would pass her on the way to the room in the late night hours. What a sweetheart! And Saturday night, she was part of the group that stayed up late sewing with me!

Teri was a spit fire! She probably worked on 20 different projects while we were there and she got most of them into flimsies. The amount of energy she had was amazing! She finally posted on her blog this week after an 8 month hiatus and she is looking for fabric. Please check out her blog and see if you can help!

And Janet! I think that Janet was a local gal with Ruthie's group and she was a hoot and a half! Lots of silly times with her around. You will see that in a future post!

And of course Ruthie and Subee! There were so many other gals who were just super nice! I hope that I don't hurt anyone's feelings by not mentioning them! :)

I just have to add that this retreat was one of the best ones that I have been on. It was so peaceful and relaxing and yet full of laughter and energy that you can just feed off of to continue working longer than you thought you could have. And meeting all of the fellow bloggers who I have been reading for a while and the ladies who have been reading my blog... It was like instant friendships popping up left and right!

I can't wait for next year!

Maisy thinks that friends and retreats are nice, but so is staying home to cuddle!