Wouldn’t it be SO cool to have a Blog Friends Retreat??
And wouldn’t it also be SO cool if we all got together AND everyone got to stay in one of these:
(I am obsessed with this image. My inner Amish hippie pines at the sight of it.)
Isn’t it gorgeous?
All right. The Blog Friends Retreat!
Everyone gets their own teepee-yurt thingie.
Oh, bonus: Cullen will bring his guitar for campfire sing-a-longs. (Sweet mammy. Campfire sing-a-longs! I am hot and bothered already.) Jayne will cook for us and we won’t care that we leave lugging an extra 30 pounds because every morsel that goes in our mouths will be so so worth it. Maggie May, life-saving goddess, will do our taxes — I cannot overstress how much we will love her for this. Sarahk will teach us how to shoot a gun and be gluten-free. I will teach people how to pull an espresso shot and force them to play drama games. Sheila will lead us in Jeff Bridges appreciation sessions and Ulysses readings. Ricki will explain the entire natural world to us. Nightfly will bring The Official Puppy for us to smother with love. Sal will teach us — meaning me, especially — how to sew. Kate P, Young Adult Librarian, will a bunch of the most angsty books from the Young Adult section and we will read from those as well, over S’mores at the campfire, with much overwrought emotion.
And every night, stuffed from Jayne’s cooking, high on S’mores, humming Kum By Ya, we will stumble off to happy sleep under the moonglow in our cozy magic teepees.
Who’s in?
I am in love with that teepee. HEAVEN.
Does it have wifi?? electrical power?
Because I am already planning my Ben Marley film festival.
Well, hm, if we make use of hamster power …..
Yeah, you know — I don’t know! I can’t remember where I even found this image; I came across it months ago. I don’t even know where it is! But I don’t care. It’s perfect. I want to move in right now. I want to wrap myself in Indian blankets, sleep under the moon, bathe in a creek.
Oh, let’s just go completely off the grid, ‘mkay??
I’m in.
I bet there are some cob cottages similar to this image somewhere in Oregon or Washington.
“Sheila will lead us in Ben Marley appreciation sessions and Ulysses readings…”
I can see it now, as she describes her latest pitch to Paramount Pictures: “Ben Marley IS Stephen Dedilus (or Bloom??) in ULYSSES!, The Movie”
…or maybe not…
Not only would I come, I can cook lasagna or creme puffs, and Ladybug (School Librarian) can bring more books!
That is a first-class wigwam, too.
The image of all of us crammed in that teepee with a bunch of racing anxious hamsters keeping us in electricity is hysterical.
I’ll bring wine.
Lisa’s bringing booze! And, hopefully, pictures of that SKIRT!
NF — How could I forget you like to cook? YUM-O.
sheila — Yes. I hate to tell you all, but: We will have to share hamster duty. It’s just the way it is. It’s a brave new world, pippa, and you need to climb on board. Yes, yes, the constant sound of the whirring wheels will keep us up at night, but that is life now, okay??
Okay. So here is the (unofficial) invite:
WHAT?: The Blog Friends Retreat Which Needs A Better Name, Hello
WHERE?: Wherever THAT teepee is.
WHEN?: ASAP!!!
WHY?: Because we need to escape reality. Duh, O Grand Inquisitor. I just assumed this was obvious.
WHAT TO BRING:
Booze
Marshmallows
Ben Marley
YA Books
Chocolate
Graham Crackers
Guitars
Tambourines
Triangles
Uhm, our taxes
GUNS
Abacuses
String
Oh, fine, CLOTHES, I suppose
Ooh! Feety pajamas
No, I am not making this list up off the top of my head
Marmalade
Hummus
Extra Hamsters
Small children in case we run out of hamsters
Phew. I cannot think of ONE OTHER THING.
Anybody?
I will bring my crazy new dog, Dingo*, to help run the wheel (she has way too much energy for my own good), AND I will glady do all of your taxes as long as all the others do their thing and we get to stay in those cool digs! Therefore, I will also bring my laptop…but only for taxes!
I can’t wait to sing! And read! And eat! And…
*We WILL keep Dingo from tormenting the official puppy. I promise!
MM — I love that you have a dog named Dingo.
She looks like one too. And yes, I HAVE said “The Dingo ate my baby” way too much since we got her.
But I would so love to do this retreat. Too bad it has to exist in the realm of fantasy.
I’m in. And I’m bringing my keyboard & amp and my Martin guitar to be Cullen’s backup or just to provide lovely piano music at dinnertime. 🙂
And a case of Riesling.
I have no blog, but I would love to come. I could be the dishwasher, if you let me in!!
MM — Maybe someday we can make it for reals!
GraD — Keyboards! Woo hoo! Perfect. (MB plays keyboards, too.)
Beth — Oh. You are SO coming. I will DRAG you there myself if I have to.
I actually have about 7 silly dress-up hats. I think I’ll bring those, in case we need them for charades or something like that.
I can supply small children, too.
Yay!
As long as there’s indoor plumbing, I’m there.
‘Cos ricki don’t do latrines…
Oh YAY! You have no idea how much I want to own a yurt, so this will be the ideal locale! I’ll bring the overly-crunchy GF graham crackers, and can I sing with Cullen and GraD?
I’ll also bring lots of ammo, because it’s not as fun playing with Mr. Shiny unless he’s loaded. And if one of those hamsters or small children gets out of line…
I’m definitely in! I’ll start cooking now. And I can bring a couple of very energetic small children in case the hamsters go on strike! Can’t wait!
How ’bout I teach you to knit, ’cause it’s hamster-free? Or hand-spinning? Which is fiber crack, and very yurt-appropriate.
Oh, and dibs on making breakfast, to give Jayne a break! if anyone’s up for breakfast after Joycean charades and wine…
Joycean charades! HAHAHAHAHA! “Ok… 725 words. 336th word… sounds like…”
Maggie, I’m certain that Dingo and the Official Puppy will get along fine. Our little shmooper keeps up with her boxer “cousin” just fine. And we can hook her up to the wheels in a pinch – it’d be like the Energizer commericials… “Break out the Official Puppy!” [long shot of wigwam glowing like the Griswolds’ house in Christmas Vacation]
Tracey’s invite almost made me snort milk out my nose. (Seriously, I’m drinking milk with lunch today. I wish someone had warned me.)
/“Ok… 725 words. 336th word… sounds like…”/
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
One charade takes all night.
There isn’t enough wine for Joycean charades.
Seriously though, I live in the middle of the country. I’m the center point. (Well, Ricki too, but she doesn’t have the Clinton Library to go and mock.)
The lots across the street from me will never be sold apparently, so we can erect the yurts in them and y’all can use our pottys when you need to. I will, of course, sleep on my own Tempur-pedic mattress because I am a delicate flower.
/There isn’t enough wine for Joycean charades./
Hahahahahahaha. Like, in the supply that you’re bringing, Lisa, or in the world?? Hahaha.
And I’m just imagining what your neighbors would think of the sudden yurt commune across the street.
You know, as we emote from YA books and shoot guns.
In the world.
Hey, I’m pretty middle, too. And I have Graceland.
I heart you, Lisa. Hahahaha.
Cullen — Ooh. Okay. I’m now working on a way for us to have a traveling commune …. you’ll see.
/You know, as we emote from YA books and shoot guns./
Hahahaha. I’m picturing us in our yurts in the middle of Lisa’s neighborhood, emoting from one of the Twilights, of course, and every now and then, after a particularly good part, we all raise our guns in the air, shout, “Yee-haw!” and fire a round into the air. Blanks, of course. We’re not stupid.
Oh, that’s right, Cullen DOES have Graceland. And Rendezvous ribs for when the cooks are sick of cooking.
Rendezvous, Corkey’s, Interstate, BB King’s, Pig-N-Whistle … ad nauseam. No shortage of awesome BBQ. We’ll definitely have the be mobile.
/Blanks, of course. We’re not stupid./
No. Clearly, we are not stupid. Everything on this blog is the opposite of stupid.
ME: (reading with sarahk) “You are exactly my brand of heroin.”
SARAHK: Oh, uhmm … wait. (wipes gluten-free graham cracker crumbs off lap, gets up, shoots gun) YEEE-HAW!
The image of all of us emoting from YA books and then shooting guns off …
seriously.
It has done my heart a world of good.
But it is also tragic. Because I NEED this to happen now!!!!
The Joycean charades bit is KILLING ME!!!!!! “725 words” I am howling.
And lisa: “in the world”.
hahahaha You know what, I agree.
I’d like to invite Oliver, if it’s okay with all of you??
Sheila- OLIVER!!! AHAAHAHAHAAHHAHAH!!! He can come only if we make him the hamster!! (he can run, while we FORCE him to watch footage of Ben Marley!!!)
TRACEY: I love you.
OLIVER: I’m LEAVING unless we can read Breaking Dawn.
SHEILA: F-U!
SARAHK: You are my life now. [Shoots Oliver in the butt, from seated position, as she can’t be bothered to get up, keeps graham cracker crumbs firmly in place.] YEE-HAW!
Sheila, if Oliver comes, he has to ride on the roof of the psychedelimobile, and yes, as Beth said, he is required to memorize and recite from Square Pegs every night around the campfire.
okay hate to sound like a broken record on the Colorado thing. But you can all come here. They have Yurts in Colorado state parks all over. They are cheap to rent. I know my links don’t work but here it is …….
(yeah, the link didn’t work, CV, sorry, ed.)
Have fun and if anyone decides they need a real bed, I’m close by.
Oh, this just sounds like HEAVEN. I will bring tons of angsty YA books–hey, I just swiped a hardback copy of “Speak” from the book sale (the reason I am getting to the computer so late tonight)! And I will host the Twilight debates, because YOU KNOW there are plenty of issues to squabble over- I mean, discuss.
It’s called Beyond-the-Blog Retreat ’09, of course. We can call it BOB R for short. 🙂
Oliver Schmoliver. Do I need to restate my position on him again????
Please, sarahk, shoot him nice and good in the butt. He ain’t cool enough for the psychedelic caravan.