Hello, I’m Terry, owner and caretaker of Willowbrook Manor.
When asked the history of this place I call home, people are quite surprised to learn that my former spouse and I built it. When we purchased the 9-acre parcel in 1995 it was just a cow pasture. No trees, no buildings, just a field for summer hay. We lived in town but escaped to the property for picnics, camping and work projects, planting fruit trees and starting large vegetable and flower gardens.
The cottage greenhouse was the first building on the property, transplanted from the farm I grew up on in Ferndale, WA just an hour north of my farm.
Our house in town sold before any living accommodations could be built, so our family of six moved into a tent trailer next to the greenhouse. We camped for three and a half months while building the garage.
Two children were added to our family during the five-year stay in the garage. The house took two years to construct, with us doing as much of the work ourselves as we could. My husband, Matt, crafted all of the wood trim, including the custom-made doors in every room.
As many love stories go, Matt and I didn’t live happily ever after and divorced. Despite living separate lives, the mutual respect and tenderness continued until his tragic death. During the summer of 2022, while hiking with our daughter and soon-to-be son in law, he slipped and fell off a cliff. It is comforting to have so much of his handiwork alive in the house for his children to come home to. Time moves on and I am grateful to have a special man in my life who appreciates Matt’s artistry and is not threatened by the constant reminders of his former presence. Jim has his own set of skills—when you come to Willowbrook Manor in winter and the manor is toasty warm, you can thank Jim. During a heatwave in summer, the manor is cool because of Jim. Best of all, he adores me and loves my kids like his own.
Willowbrook Manor English Tea House and Farm Stay came into being as a way for me to keep the family farm after the kids were raised. The business plan allows me to do what I love most! Tending the gardens, mowing lawns, raising chamomile, welcoming people to my home with tea and baked goodies, hosting bike rides and sharing the beauty of the farm are what bring me joy (not to mention the delight of hiring a housekeeper as a business expense).
I look forward to welcoming you to my home for tea. For those of you who live too far away, join my newsletter! Not only do I share fun stories about what is going on at Willowbrook, but you can enter to win the monthly giveaway.
Much love,
-t
I’m Liz Adair, mother to Terry and six other children. An octogenarian, I’ve had several careers: teacher, bakery owner, writer, and member of a construction management team.
History has a way of repeating itself. When Terry was sixteen, she worked as a waitress at a restaurant, and when their pie lady quit, she said, “My mom can make your pies for you.” That was the beginning of my fifteen-year stint as a small wholesale bakery owner making pies for twenty-two restaurants in two counties.
I don’t do much baking anymore, but I do teach a pie-baking class at Terry’s Willowbrook Winter Workshop.
Recently widowed, I came to live at Willowbrook and was immediately drawn into Terry’s vortex again. Do you like the way the napkins are ironed and folded when you take high tea? That is my handiwork. I wasn’t pressed into service—pardon the pun—but volunteered. I find the work therapeutic.
Terry’s vortex includes riding around in her 1963 Ford Falcon with only a lap belt for safety. It’s funny that I spent the first decades of my driving career without any seat belts at all, but suddenly I feel vulnerable without a shoulder harness. However, the places we visit and the people we interview for Terry’s Red Falcon Road YouTube channel make up for the lack of hazard pay.
I continue to write and belong to a critique group that has been meeting weekly for fifteen years. My books average 4.5 stars on Amazon, and several titles are for sale in the gift shop, proceeds to benefit SWAN, Willowbrook’s charitable arm. If you purchase one and want it signed, ask Terry to call me over. I’ll come and do the deed, though I may still be in my pajamas.
-Liz
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