Just another Wild West Knitting Retreat

It’s Labor day weekend. I’m really looking forward to having an extra day off. Well, I’m looking forward to an extra day off, but I won’t actually get one. Our 3rd Annual Wild West Knitting Retreat is taking place this Labor Day weekend.

I usually am not invited to or involved in the retreat, but this year was different. I was invited to the retreat. I had a job and everything.

I’ll tell you how the retreat works and what my job is. On the first day, the retreaters (is that a word?) meet at the Your Daily Fiber store. They are then transported (or they drive) to Cherokee Park Ranch in Northern Colorado, where they check into their rooms or cabins. Once they are checked in, they are invited to a wine and cheese Meet-n-Greet. Classes start the next day. I offered to teach a class in how to carry heavy stuff, but Elaine thought no one would sign up for it.

In the past, my job was to purchase the wine and cheese. I feel this is a very important job. I believe that is why it is left to me. Usually, Elaine and Ivy have been very busy with last minute plans and travel arrangements and one of them will say “Hey, we forgot the wine and cheese. We will need to send Monner!”

I am the perfect person to pick wine and cheese, since I am not fond of either. I have this thing that I think most wines and cheeses smell and taste like sweaty gym socks. (I don’t think we need to talk about that right now, We can talk about that some other time.) I should mention that I am told to pick up grapes and berries, also.

Personally, If I was forced to have wine and cheese, I wouldn’t want to Meet-n-Greet anyone. That’s why I get the grapes.

This year we (Elaine and Ivy) decided that I (Monner) should go to the ranch and help set up the looms and the Meet-n-Greet. I was pretty excited. Not only that, I was going to lead a caravan of cars from the store to the ranch.

Truthfully, I don’t think Elaine or Ivy really wanted me to go to the ranch. We had a couple retreaters from California having trouble getting to Colorado. Ivy needed to stay behind to make sure everything was in order when they arrived.

Somehow, I was successfully leading a caravan of seven cars through town and heading the 50 miles towards the ranch. (OK, we lost one car for awhile but they found the caravan, before we needed to panic.) And then it happened

We were thirty miles into our trip when Elaine said, “Ivy doesn’t have a way to the ranch.” I thought for a minute and said, “Sure she does, she has a car at the store.” That’s when I noticed Elaine had the keys to a car in her hand. ”Those are the keys to the car. Does Ivy have another set?” Elaine simply replied, “Nope, this is the only set.”

A decision needed to be made. Either stop the caravan and go back to drop off the keys, or get everyone to the ranch and go ALL the way back to drop of the keys. (I did think about calling a locksmith and having a new key made.) We chose continuing on. I would miss the Meet-n-Greet.

I wish the story ended there. I went back to the store, helped Ivy load the car of the things she would need at the retreat. With the car loaded, I left Ivy and started driving home. Fifteen minutes into my drive my phone rang. It was Ivy. ”Monner, check your pockets! Do you have the keys?” I turned my truck around.

*********

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I’ll be working. Elaine and I leave for the Western Design Conference show in Jackson, Wyoming, Wednesday. I am behind and have things I need to do. Imagine that.

Our crazy lives!

Monner