Hello again. Guild members who attended the meeting in October were entertained by Dianne Stephenson’s informative and stimulating presentation. Sorry I missed it!

I want to thank Debbie Barrett for assuming the presidential responsibilities for the month, and filling my shoes. My feet were elsewhere, callused from walking the cobblestone paths and roads in both France and Spain.

Leslie Rutledge did a fantastic job coordinating our first ever quilt display at Amica Centre. The residents and visitors were thrilled. Leslie was helped by her capable team including Betty Clarke, Carol Piercey, Colleen Bohan, Debbie Barrett, Joan Elliott, Joan Gold, Linda Dunlop, Rita Douglas, and Sonia Milanez. One example of teamwork.

While in France, I visited the fourteenth century Château de Pau, perched on a rocky spur overlooking a ford across the Gave River. Once used by Napoleon as a holiday home during his period of power, it has a small garden that was tended by Marie Antoinette. Today the building houses room after room of immense detailed original tapestries made of wool and silk. No wall is left uncovered. The rooms are dark, to keep the tapestries from fading. The tapestries were used to heat the rooms, and later for decoration. Each tapestry was the work of a team. Seeing these tapestries made me think of all our guild members, and how we also gather together to create visual memories, for our family members and the community.

This will be our last meeting of 2015. Think again about the Guild as a team, and how you can contribute to being part of this successful team. Please consider running for one of the vacant positions. Nominate yourself!

Looking forward to seeing each and every member at our November meeting. To everyone, best wishes for the holiday season. Enjoy the time you spend with your friends and family.

Bena Luxton