Hello from Willowbrook!
Fall is splendid at Willowbrook Manor and we have lots of good news to share.
Mom & 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 is of the two of us filming for our YouTube channel Red Falcon Road.) Mom has her own corner of this newsletter. We always have a giveaway, so make sure to read to the end.
Our Winter Workshop ~
Our annual Winter Workshop is the weekend after Halloween. It is where we make home-made gifts for holiday giving. My mom teaches a pie class; we have tea blending, gingerbread cookie making, and a Willowbrook Woolley sewing project. Nothing says ‘I love you’ better than a hand-crafted present. We made a Red Falcon Road video to share the feeling of our workshop weekend.
Newest Willowbrook Woolley ~
Next year the Willowbrook Woolley doll that will be made at the winter workshop is an adorable beaver, made from wool that was my grandmother’s. I’m working on the children’s book for this darling creature but have yet to name him. Click HERE if you have a suggestion for a name.
Visitors from England ~
I was delighted to host a group of travel professionals from England and Scotland who were touring Skagit Valley. They represent several companies who create travel packages and trip itineraries for people from the UK who want to visit the US. It was such a treat to serve high tea to my new-found English (and Scottish) friends. They said my scones were the best they have ever had.
Overnight Guests ~
This is my first year to host overnight guests during fall and winter and I am LOVING that I can share the cozy warmth of my home and the comfort of tea during the chilly seasons. Shonna, her daughter and mother had a tea pilgrimage that included tea at White Branches, a stay at Willowbrook Manor and travel to Canada for tea at Tracycakes.
I was tickled to learn that Shonna and her husband have created a Dungeons and Dragons monthly story subscription for kids! (Her daughter Avery even does some of the artwork.)
If you have kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews, this Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Club subscription is a wonderful gift. For more information click HERE.
Book a Tea Retreat ~
People are discovering they can enjoy the feel of the English countryside without a passport. A cozy winter stay at Willowbrook is rejuvenating. January and February are great months for wildlife watching at Willowbrook. You may see elk, swans, eagles and coyotes. And of course the tea kettle is always ready for you to make a pot of tea. Click HERE to check availability.
Our YouTube Channel ~
Mom and I are working on new episodes of Red Falcon Road that we call “Day-trips from Willowbrook.” Already filmed are: bike ride to Lyman Tavern, walking tour of Concrete, and kite-flying at Bayview State Park. Make sure to subscribe to our channel to view these cute and informative vignettes when they go live.
We are also introducing shorts, some of which are already live. Click HERE to view. Watch for our Twelve Days of Christmas shorts that will share unique Skagit Valley gifts for holiday giving.
Tea Blending ~
The gift shop at Willowbrook now has a tea blending station where you can create tea blends. Use the recipes I provide, or combine your favorite herbs and tea to make your own signature tea blend.
Come for Tea ~
There are still a few tables available for Holiday Tea. Many sessions are sold out, but I do have a cancelation list.
The reservation portal for Valentine Tea and Tea & Tulips is up! We typically sell out for these two popular tea events, so make sure to book your tea well in advance.
The Biggest News ~
Mom’s memoir is going to print! Author Liz Adair (aka ‘Mom’) has taken a break from her Spider Latham murder mystery series to write captivating stories from her childhood. Save the date for our launch party for No-Town Girl here at Willowbrook Manor January 24th.
Local author and friend Terry Deighton is releasing her newest cozy mystery Painted Into a Coroner. So we are making this a double book launch.
As you know, we can’t have an event without tea and scones. This double book launch is free, but reservations are required. Click HERE to sign up for this book-signing, tea-sipping, author-reading, scone-munching good-time.
Time for Liz ~
This is where I turn the pen over to my mom, author (and best pie-baker) Liz Adair. I asked her to share a sample from her memoir.
Excerpt from No-Town Girl ~
One of my favorite memories is of going to the movies on Ron’s twelfth birthday. I’ve told the story at family gatherings through the years, so he’s never been able to forget it, either.
We were going to a matinee, and we lined up with the other kids about fifteen minutes before the ticket booth opened. Chatting with friends, we waited for the salesgirl to enter the kiosk. After she removed the wooden board from the hole through which the money went in, and the tickets came out, the line began to inch forward
We knew that the price of tickets went up at age twelve, and when his turn came, Ron was ready. He slipped the twelve-year-old fee of two dimes through the opening, and the salesgirl pushed a ticket and a nickel out to Ron.
Ever honest, he pushed the coin back.
The ticket girl slid the five-cent piece to him again. “Tickets are just fifteen cents.”
Ron stood up tall as he could and shoved the nickel through the window one last time. “I’m twelve,” he declared.
She shrugged, took the nickel, waved him on, and looked at me. I stepped to the window and pushed my fifteen cents through.
“That’s not enough,” the ticket girl said. “If you’re over twelve, it costs twenty cents.”
I had a harder time convincing her I was eleven than Ron did convincing her he was twelve. Several of my schoolmates behind me in line vouched for me, and I finally got my fifteen-cent ticket.
I matured early. I was normal size until I was about eight, and then I started putting on the pounds. I’ve often wondered if my love of reading had anything to do with that. It certainly made me sedentary, and I’d even take a book out to recess at school instead of playing with friends.
I didn’t feel any different on the inside, but Mom started riding herd on what I ate, and when her friends would laugh and say, “She’s not fat, she’s just pleasingly plump,” the message came through that I actually was fat.
By the time I was twelve, I had grown taller, and the plumpness around my middle had shifted to my bust and hips, revealing a well-proportioned waist. I look at pictures of me from the time I was fourteen through the next four decades and realize I had a dynamite figure. But I always felt like an elephant. Funny how we perceive ourselves.
The cover of my memoir No-Town Girl was designed by Jennifer Shaw Wolf. The artwork is by Addy Gifford, Terry’s oldest daughter. She painted the picture using this one from my early childhood. The patchwork of colors was put in by Addy, not Jennifer.
Hope to see you at the book launch,
-Liz
Now back to Terry.
This Month’s Winners ~
The eight winners of my Apple Cinnamon Tisane and Willowbrook’s signature scone mix (as seen on Red Falcon Road) are:
- Nicole D from Augusta, GA
- Marie A from Marysville, WA
- Michelle R from Porter, IN
- Mark K from Kanab, UT
- Elizabeth from Bellevue, WA
- MaryRose D from Anacortes, WA
- Sheila R from Bountiful UT
- Patricia W from my hometown of Sedro Woolley
Congratulations!
If you didn’t win and wanted some tea and scone mix, don’t worry, I will have gift packages of them in my next newsletter for gift-giving. Stay tuned.
This Month’s Giveaway ~
Remember the Spider Latham Mystery Series I mentioned above? Amy’s Star is a short Christmas story my mother wrote, pulling from Spider Latham’s world. Instead of finding a body with a mystery to solve, Spider and his wife Laurie find a star. This is a great holiday read. (And yes, I have read it!) Mom and I are giving away five copies. Click HERE to enter to win, and make sure to write a note to let us know how you are doing.
That is it for this issue ~
Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you got the little Halloween YouTube greeting we sent out on Halloween. (If not click on the picture above and it will take you to it.) Halloween is past and Thanksgiving is almost here!
I am so grateful for YOU, my newsletter family! Especially this past month. There were 396 letters sent in support of my small business during the public comment period for agritourism in Skagit County. I got choked up reading them all. Such an outpouring of care! Thank you. I am still waiting on the county to approve my submission. I will keep you posted.
-t
P.S. If you have read this far I know I can ask another favor. Could you please watch the first episode of Red Falcon Road? Right now it has 825 views. We need to get it to 1000 by next week. That is when our grant proposal for 6 more episodes highlighting Sedro Woolley will be reviewed. (Follow my mom’s request at the end of the video.) Click on the link below.
Thanks so SO much!
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