I’ve been to Massachusetts this past week where I had the pleasure of teaching and lecturing for the Rhodendendron Needlers. They were an energetic and receptive group. Show and tell on Wednesday night was great. They all brought their first quilts to share. It was a perfect equalizer…we all start in pretty much the same place.
Because I arrived early I had the rare pleasure of being a tourist for a few hours. My generous hostess, Diane Piechowski, drove me to see Waldon Pond, which is the subject of Henry D. Thoreau’s classic volume about nature and self-understanding. It was a calm, clear day. The water was like glass and it reflected the beautiful red-orange beginnings of autumn in the trees along the shoreline. Visitors were few and the peace of the place was palatable.
After a lovely lunch at an old pub on the town square of Concord, Massachusetts, we toured the famous Old Manse. Our tour group was small and our guide, Warren, was enthusiastic. It was a rare treat to be in a place where national change was plotted, classic literature was written, and regular people were born, lived and died. I came away with the impression that great things are accomplished through the efforts of every day people who have a passion for something and pursue it.
