Summer is Lovely at Willowbrook Manor

Mom and Me ~

For those of you who are new to The Willowbrook Word, I’m Terry, owner and caretaker of Willowbrook Manor English Teahouse and Farm Stay. My mother, author Liz Adair, lives here as well. (This picture of the two of us going out to brunch) Mom has her own corner of this newsletter. We always have a giveaway, so make sure to read to the end. (If any pictures are sideways, click on the link at the top to view in your browser.)

Story Time (It’s 1983) ~

When I went off to Rexburg, Idaho to attend college, I was tickled that my Uncle Ron and family lived just a fews hours’ drive away, so I could visit them on long weekends. I often took my tent to set up in their basement for fun slumber parties with my young cousins, Rachel, Janet, and Sarah.

Fast Forward 20 years ~

Janet grew up and her travels took her to Turkey, where she lived and worked teaching dance. I actually got to visit her there, arriving on the day she was on Turkish television! I can still remember speeding through the streets of Istanbul late at night to reach the television station where they were filming the Turkish equivalent of America’s Got Talent. We got there just in time to see Janet perform with the band Baba Zula.

Fast Forward another 20 years ~

When my dear cousin Janet came to visit this past spring, she said the East Lawn would be the perfect place for a Yoga retreat. I agreed. Janet’s title is now Feteh Prem Kaur. She is a Kundalini Yoga practitioner, teacher, trainer, and spiritual coach. I am excited to announce that on August 2nd she will be here at Willowbrook Manor, and together we will host Kundalini Yoga and Tea!

Meet my Cousin ~

Fateh Prem Kaur (my cousin Janet) has lived abroad for 18 years and visited more than 30 countries, teaching Yoga in Bangladesh, Bali, Morrocco, Spain, Portugal, UK, as well as the states of Utah and Oregon, and online to students around the world.

She explains, “This Kundalini Yoga retreat will be a time to understand the workings of the heart, both physically and energetically, and to activate its miraculous power.”

Her lesson will be followed by a light physical exercise set and deep meditation. We will then enjoy high tea.

The East Lawn is the perfect peaceful place to experience Kundalini Yoga with English Tea on a summer morning.

Click HERE to reserve a spot at our Kundalini & Tea Retreat.

Chamomile Harvest and Tea ~

The chamomile is beginning to bloom at Willowbrook Manor! Our Chamomile Harvest and Tea is July 12th and 26th. This is when you can enjoy high tea as well as picking chamomile to take home with you. Click HERE to make your reservation for Chamomile Harvest and Tea.

How to Harvest Chamomile ~

Before or after your tea session, you can pick chamomile. With our handy-dandy chamomile picking buckets it doesn’t take long to pick a basket of these daisy-like flowers.

At home you can air-dry the chamomile or use a slightly warm oven or dehydrator. Once dry, store in a ziplock bag or air-tight jar to use for delicious made-by-you chamomile tea! Click HERE to make your reservation for Chamomile Harvest and Tea.

Planting a Pumpkin Patch ~

The goose pen at Willowbrook is transforming into the pumpkin patch for October Harvest Tea! New readers might not know the story of Earl and Grey, the geese who used to live there. Click HERE to read about Earl and Grey. My dream was to make a flower garden to remember them, but a pumpkin patch is much simpler. I’m using the no-till mulch, cardboard and straw method to keep the weeds and grass from taking over. Notice the 8-foot tall grass behind the fence. That is what I have to contend with. So my hope is to have darling pumpkins for picking at Harvest Tea this year!

Come to Harvest Tea ~

I don’t want to hurry summer away, but October will be here before you know it. We typically sell out for Harvest Tea. (I think it is because of that delicious sweet-potato/apple/carrot soup we serve.) So if you want to sign up for some splendid harvest-time sweets and savories, click HERE to make your reservation.

Red Falcon Road ~

Clint and Laura Lucci came to the premier of Red Falcon Road back in May. They are the owners of Azusa Garden Centre and are featured in the Burlington episode of Red Falcon Road. I LOVE their nursery and I was thrilled to find camellia sinensis (actual tea plants) there. When I wanted to plant cranberries, Laura made sure to get cranberry plants in stock for me. Did you know that Azusa Garden Centre has a U-pick raspberry patch? Yes they do! And it opened last week. If you are local, or traveling to Skagit Valley, make sure to drop in to their delightful nursery and pick fresh raspberries. Tell them you are Red Falcon Roadies! Click HERE to view Azusa Garden Centre on Red Falcon Road.

Summer is for Staying at Willowbrook ~

There are still dates available for a relaxing farm stay at Willowbrook Manor. Room rates begin at $250/night. Tea and scones are served every morning and the tea kettle is available any time for guests to make a pot of tea. Click HERE for more information.

A Bit about Squidge ~

Many of you know Squidge from my social media posts. She has been one of the mascots of Willowbrook Manor for years. At thirteen years old, she has lost her hearing and her teeth, but not her spunk and charm. Squidge has adopted my mom as her new favorite person, which is ok (my mom’s dog Penny has made me her favorite person). To see more darling pictures of Squidge, check out her hashtag #whereissquidge. Penny is new to Willowbrook’s social media but has her own hashtag as well #teahousepenny.

Time for Liz ~

This is where I turn the pen over to my mom, author Liz Adair.

Liz Sez:

I belong to a critique group called Writeminded. We’ve been meeting weekly for almost two decades, respectfully hacking and slashing each other’s work to make it better. In the process, we teach each other the craft of writing.

We proceed like this: On Monday, we send five pages of manuscript to the six in our group in a Word document. Using the Track Changes function, we do our critiques in preparation for our Zoom meeting on Wednesday. We cross time zones, and as a Pacific timer, I have to be ready at 8:30 in the morning.

We take turns being chair, and whoever is in charge manages the meeting, so we’re done in two hours. Though we’ve become good friends, there’s not a lot of chitchat. We’re all business as we discuss each of the pieces submitted. We compliment vivid writing and point out problem areas we’ve found. All writers, no matter how capable, have weedy areas in the first or second draft. Really good writers continue rewriting until the weeds are all gone.

After our meeting, we email the pieces back to each contributor, marked up with the edits we have made. We can then accept or reject proposed changes in our final manuscripts.

Writeminded is a safe group. Each of us knows that the intent of the others is to help. There is no competition. Nobody is defensive.

Terry Deighton is our grammarian. She corrects that type of error and quotes chapter and verse to teach us, so we won’t repeat it. She’s also good on content and logistics. How could the hero sit on the couch when he hasn’t yet entered the living room? In addition to her own writing—she’s published about ten books since we began—Terry also works as an editor. She has edited my last four books and is waiting patiently for me to send her my memoir.

Christine is our form-and-substance person. It is because of her that I rewrote Counting the Cost. “You start the book with Heck Benham,” she said, “but Ruth is the one who makes the journey and the one who closes the book. You need to let us see the beginning of her journey.” So, I did. I wrote two prequel chapters, tightened the rest of the book, and republished it as Interlude at Cottonwood Springs.

Anne is our emotion person. “I want to see what he’s feeling,” she says. While Anne is on hiatus from the group, Jan is filling her spot, and it’s funny, because she has the same questions. “What’s his ET, his emotional temperature?”

Tanya is our tightening person. A fifteen-word sentence can probably be said better in ten words. She has cured me of tacking three adjectives onto one noun, though she will sometimes allow me two. Tanya is also our “was” bouncer, urging us to use more active verbs and weed out “was” and “were.”

Kent has a keen eye for words repeated in close proximity. It’s easy to do that in the throes of a first draft, especially when there aren’t a lot of alternate words to use. Kent’s also a retired police officer and offers guidance to the mystery writers among us.

A member of my book club who read all my Spider Latham mysteries—written over the span of a dozen years—said to me, “It is interesting to follow your growth as a writer through your books.” I heartily agree. I joined Writeminded after publication of my fourth book. I’m a much, much better writer now.

In celebration of my critique group, for our giveaway, I’m offering books from three of Writeminded’s founding members.

Giveaway #1: The Reckoning by Tanya Parker Mills. Set in Iraq in 2002, this book won the 2009 Indie Book Award for Multicultural Fiction and the 2010 Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Award for Mainstream/Literary Fiction. It’s taut, timely, and riveting.

Giveaway #2: Catch as Ketchikan, a cozy Mystery by Terry Deighton. This is #4 in Terry’s Murphy’s Law Mystery Series featuring Diane Murphy, her daughter Lauren, and her mother, Rose. Rose is my favorite of the three, a feisty septuagenarian who never met a cliché she didn’t like. Though part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.

Giveaway #3: is The Miracle Maker by Ann Acton. Ann’s publisher turned this sweet little fable into a Christmas story and then made it into a movie. Technically a children’s story, it is one of those books with layers of meaning that can be appreciated by all ages.

Click HERE to enter to win. And make sure to include a little note to let us know how you are doing.
-Liz

Now back to Terry…

This Month’s Winner ~

The winner from last month’s giveaway of an antique teacup from Willowbrook Manor’s collection is Laura N from Bellingham, WA. I was delighted when I drew her name. In her little note she explained that coming to Willowbrook inspired her to invite a friend to her home each week for savories, sweets, and a pot of tea. I’m thrilled that this teacup will be added to her collection.

That’s All For This Month ~

Summer is splendid at Willowbrook Manor and I would love to welcome you to my home for tea. Thank you for being part of my newsletter family.
-t

P.S. There have been requests to reserve for Holiday Tea so I have it available now.