Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice “without pictures or conversation?”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I agree.  Pictures are an important part of our daily lives.  We look at the pictures on the front pages of newspapers.  We browse the covers of magazines.  We see pictures on television, on billboards…everywhere.   A lot of people take pictures, too.  Digital cameras are all the rage.  You can get a really good one for under $100.  Just check out the Nikon Coolpix on Amazon.com.  But what to do with all the prints?

Scrapbook them.  A lot of people don't realize that scrapbook is now a verb.  In its simplest definition, it means to put together a scrapbook, which is a decorative photo album with journaling.   To a group of women from Anderson and surrounding areas, it means more than that for the second weekend of January each year.  Since 2007, the Creative Memories Polar Express Scrapbooking Retreat, organized by local Creative Memories Consultant Joy Finley,  has left for Bonclarken, in Flat Rock, NC,  to “eat, sleep, scrap.”  This “Sisterhood of the Traveling Scrapbookers” has made more than decorative photo albums.  Bonds between new friends have developed and those between old friends have grown stronger.  In the process, thousands of scrapbook pages have been completed!

I have attended all the retreats.  I have braved a broken foot (due to an accident days before the first retreat), rain, a head cold, and this year, the threat of snow and ice.  But I would not ever consider not going to the retreat.  It is a yearly pleasure that has been the focus of a personal countdown for several weeks.  Everyone who knows me knows that I am at Bonclarken this weekend.  Work schedules were adjusted.  Bags were packed well in advance.  

“So what do you girls do up there?”  is a common question.  The answer is simple:  whatever we want.  Most of us are wives; many are mothers; some are grandmothers; most juggle career and home.  A three day reprieve, especially right after the hectic Christmas holidays, is a welcome indulgence.  We do spend most of the time putting pictures, paper, stickers, journaling and other decorative items together.  But we also go out to eat, stay up late, sleep late, take walks, listen to MP3 players, eat decadent food and enjoy the company of other scrappers.  We talk about things that have happened in our lives since we were last together.  We share memories of our families and friends as we go through photos and re-live special times.  For me, over the past three days, I have re-lived all of 2009.  There were some things I had forgotten.  Tragedies transformed to triumphs during my life last year.  I was glad I had the pictures tucked away to remind me of things that happened.  After all, our memories help sculpt us into who we are.  It's important to know who you are.

It is a blessing to get to go to Bonclarken.  It is blessing to spend time with ladies I do not see outside of the scrapbooking part of my life.  And it's fun to put the pictures in the books!  I have more than 75 pages completed this weekend!

As any good scrapper knows, a picture is worth a thousand words.  So please enjoy these shots from the 2010 Creative Memories Polar Express Scrapbooking Retreat.   You might see someone you know.  Maybe you will be inspired to become a scrapbooker!  The Creative Memories Polar Express Scrapbook Retreat will leave for Bonclarken again soon!

TOTAL HOURS SPENT AT BONCLARKEN:  70
TOTAL SCRAPBOOK PAGES COMPLETED:  2550 (as of this writing)
TOTAL MEMORIES MADE or RECALLED:  COUNTLESS