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Retreat, part 3 of 3 - aren't you glad this is the end?

Another half-hour drive took us back to Petawawa for a late lunch, and then back to the motel for a pit stop and a bit of rest before heading out again to Grace’s home for a lovely wine and cheese spread which her husband and a friend had ready and waiting for us. The sections of meat and cheese on the tray were separated by a some ruffled type decoration which looked as though it might be edible also. Some of our more inquisitive types found this to be raw acorn squash sliced very thinly and folded in quarters - very tasty with a nut-like flavor. A bit more show and tell with Grace’s lovely cathedral window quilt; she says she’s ready to make another one of those - it’s a hand labor intensive project, but great for long cold winter days inside. Although the weather was slightly cloudy, cool, and damp, John and Grace showed us very warm hospitality.

Onward to dinner at The Sands on Golden Lake - more food!!!! Mixed greens salad, stuffed pork roast with potatoes and vegetables, and dessert. Certainly no body went away from this retreat hungry - in fact, we were all stuffed to the gills. We were seated in one end of the restaurant at a long table overlooking the lake, warm enough inside to open the windows, and clear enough to see the beautiful fall foliage across the water - bright spots of red, yellow, rust, and orange interspersed amid the dark shades of the evergreens fading into the mist. Grace’s Deaconnaires Choral Group of 12 or 13 women entertained the whole restaurant with several selections of ballads, spirituals, folk tunes, and show music, accompanied by accordion and the spoons. We were invited to sing along, and even had folks on the grass outside the windows chiming in.

Our last activity of the evening was Catherine’s trunk show, and there’s no way all the things she brought would fit into one trunk. This incredibly artistic and prolific quilter is in the process of having a house built and so many of the pieces she brought were quilted on a machine powered by generator. From 12" by 16" small pieces to queen size bed quilts, in all styles from very artsy/craftsy to old-world style album applique to whole cloth and traditional piecing with fantasticly detailed machine quilting, each expressed some facet of her lively personality and boundless energy. Even Celia P. sat quietly in awe of this wonderful talent. It took four people to carry everything back to her van at the close of the evening. Our hour-long ride back to the motel on dark country highways had all of us watching to keep the car in front in sight. Some of us went straight to bed, although the next morning I caught up with the fact that those who gathered in Grace’s suite made so much noise that the management had to call them to quiet down. I’m sure Celia P. was making up for lost time in not talking at the trunk show. Also final decisions were made on the lap quilt for the previous evening’s chef - an Irish chain quilt to honor his Irish heritage, with retreaters contributing nine-patch blocks where the focus fabric was to be food-related, set with unbleached muslin. Grace and her friends would set them together and present the quilt at a later date.

Sunday morning found us all at the breakfast table in the motel once again, preparing for our individual journeys homeward, and already starting to reminisce about the good times. Last minute checks to see that everyone had signed our picture frames, and promises to share photos were completed before Nellie and Clay, and then Brenda and Karen started their long drives back across Ontario. Those of us who remained at the table only had to exchange a look to start the giggles once again as the stories kept coming. I even offered to rent out my knitting needles, but that only set off more giggles. Those who were headed across the Algonquin Park toward Rosey’s were staying another night, and were already planning car games to avoid the inevitable adrenalin let-down from all the excitement. Grace left about 11 to go home and collapse, and Joleen, Celia B., and I left around noon to make our way back to Ottawa airport to fly home. Those remaining were talking about possibly going to see the pumpkin boat races on the Ottawa River, but since I’ve not heard anything about that, I strongly suspect several of them took a long afternoon nap. For those of you whose curiosity is bursting, pumpkin boats are the bottom half of a 1,200-1,500-pound pumpkin, cut and hollowed out to seat a paddler and floated on the river. Going through airline security cost Celia B. her folding scissors that had already flown to Germany and back, but my knitting needles went through without a hitch. We were home around 9:30 Sunday night, tired but happy, and ready to go again to the next one, just not this week.

I know this has been long and for some, boring, but you could have scrolled on by. Oh, yes, I made my block, well actually two, one with grapes, and one with pumpkins, for the chef’s lapquilt. Marie in Maryland

posted by Marie in Maryland @ 1:41 PM