Retreat!!

I could put a whole page of exclamation points - that's how great the retreat was. See the slippers? Not mine, but that should give you a general idea how relaxed the atmosphere was.
Day One:
I arrived a little before 10am, after getting the kids off to school and stopping by my mom's for a quick visit and birthday wishes. I spent a few minutes getting settled in my room and saying howdy to the rest of the group, then I was off and running on my new story "Deadwood". Spent the day writing, with breaks for meals, chatting and much laughter. Then a much longer break while we waited for Natalie's exciting news, dinner, Supernatural watching and a trip into town for celebratory drinks and embarrassing tales. We were back at the retreat center by 11 and by midnight, I had 35 brand new pages. I'd just finished a spooky scene when I decided to call it a night and ended up totally freaking myself out.
Day two: Lots more writing. A walk to the nearby cemetery where Natalie conjured up a strong wind by saying "Bloody Mary" and standing in a dead circle of grass. Lots of talking and then back to the pages. We broke for our annual game - a riot and fantastic break after so much mental work. More Supernatural watching and then back to work. By this time, it was around midnight and I'd just polished off a large energy drink. Which meant I didn't go to bed until 2:30 am. But also gave me one of my highest page count days, if not the highest count ever, of 50 pages.
Day three:
Needless to say, getting up in time for breakfast was difficult. I'd just gotten out of the shower when Vicky B. knocked on my door. (The acoustics are kind of strange there and my reply of "I'm naked" was heard throughout the entire 2nd floor.) Breakfast, and then the prize drawings - which were awesomely cool. We didn't have to check out until 11am, but since my brain had started misfiring I packed up and headed home.
I can't wait until next year. Somehow, I am now the retreat chairperson for 2008. I'm excited and a little nervous. But the retreat runs itself, so my job will most likely be an easy one.
That's all for now...