A Little Black Dress and a Pair of Green Dumpsters
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Prom 1955 ~
Recently Mom and I were having fun looking at old pictures. It was intriguing to me to learn that the high school prom in Palmer, Alaska was a community event. Everyone from junior high school to little old ladies dressed up and attended the dance. My grandmother, Lucy Shook, is pictured above on the far right. I recognize the black dress she’s wearing. We call it the ‘monk’s dress’ because of its elegant cowl front and back. It was part of my teen years.
Ski to Sea 1983 ~
The monk’s dress was passed down from my grandmother to my mom, and then to me. I wore it in the ’83 Ski to Sea pageant. (Ski to Sea is an iconic race beginning from the snowfields of Mount Baker and ending in Bellingham Bay.) In 1983 the Ski to Sea celebration featured a co-ed talent pageant. I auditioned and became one of the five female contestants. I wore the monk’s dress during one of the musical performances. Somewhere I have a picture of me on stage, but who knows where it is. Participating in the pageant was a great experience during my senior year of high school.
Valentines Day 2026 ~
My high school girlfriend Mary came to Valentine Tea last week. Guess what she brought with her? The monk’s dress! Mary had borrowed it over four decades ago. She found it recently while spring cleaning the house she grew up in. It was a joy to reconnect with Mary over tea. We celebrated our friendship and relished the memories we each made in this sentimental dress.
Bonus ~
Mary also donated a gorgeous set of china that she discovered amongst the old stuff stored in her greenhouse. It had been there for a very long time. I told Mary that special China like this is well-loved at Willowbrook Manor, especially at private tea parties and when my kids come home for Sunday dinners. I have this set displayed in the white China hutch in the Lavender Room. I’ve put a few of the teacups in the china hutches that guests choose their teacups from. You might find one when you come for tea.
Mom and Me ~
I kind of got ahead of myself. 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. 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.)
The Valentine Tree ~
A special thank you to everyone who donated to our Hearts for Homeless Children fundraiser. The $5, $25, and $50 donations for hearts to go on the Valentine Tree raised $700 for Family Promise, our local homeless shelter for families. Each donation that came in warmed my heart.
There was one donation that was so sweet, I was brought to tears. It was from a woman named Barbara. Her donation was for two gold hearts. She wrote: Names on hearts: ( Heart#1) John P 08/15/1942- 02/14/2015 Mission companion to Derrill Adair, Central British Mission. (Heart #2) John and Barbara, Eternal Companions.
The back-story for the first heart is: before my parents married, my father (Derrill Adair pictured on the right) served in the Central British Mission of our church. It was the early ’60s. He and John (on the left) were missionary companions and became dear friends.
The story for heart #2 is that John and Barbara married after he came home from his mission. After many years of marriage John passed away. It was on Valentines Day eleven years ago. For Barbara that day is still a celebration of their love.
When Barbara’s donation came in, I felt an instant connection. My mind traced through the journey of both my dad and John, from being young missionaries, to becoming husbands, fathers, grandfathers, and then ‘graduating’ from this life. I was especially moved by the tagline ‘Eternal Companions’ requested for Barbara and John’s Valentine heart. These two words sum up the faith she and I share that life and love connections continue past the grave.
I have watched my own mother manage widowhood with grace. I love the words she shared when we spread my father’s ashes last fall. It was an intimate family moment, but I asked Mom if I could include the short video in this newsletter as I’m sure many of you who have lost loved ones will appreciate her insights. Click HERE to view.
Valentine Tea ~
It was such fun to welcome so many couples to my home for Valentine Tea. (Typically men are the minority at tea events, but Valentines Day is different.) More than half of the tea guests drove over an hour to get to my farm. Thank you to all who came to celebrate V-day.
Froggy Lou ~
Froggy Lou was all gussied up for Valentines Day. She watches over the reflection pool of Willowbrook Manor. Soon the frogs will return to begin laying eggs for summer tadpoles. My dear friend Mary Lou makes sure Froggy Lou has a new outfit each season.
A Dumpster Full of Love ~
For a Valentine gift, my mom arranged for Willowbrook to get dumpsters! One for recycle, the other for trash. This is true love!
You see, for years I have been hauling trash to the dump using the ‘trash trailer’, a ten-foot long utility trailer filled with a dozen trash cans. Mom would accompany me at times and manage the bungee cords. (She called herself the ‘bungee-smith’.) I don’t have to do dump runs any more! I am very grateful. But honestly, there was something about a trip to the dump that was actually healthy. It was like offloading a bunch of emotional baggage. When I paid the cashiers, I would thank them. The effect was much cheaper than therapy.
A Tulip Crown ~
Tea and Tulips is one of the featured events of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. High tea at Willowbrook Manor is a lovely addition to a day at the tulip fields. This year Willowbrook Manor is featuring the custom-made tulip crown, from the 2023 Tulip Festival Gala. (I snapped the above picture today so you can see the tulips sprouting up, promising a sea of vibrant color in a month.)
The crown has been in my craft room for the last three years. I realized it is perfect for picture-taking by the raised beds that will be filled with blooming tulips. So when you come for Tea and Tulips, make sure to venture out to the garden and snap a selfie with the tulip crown.
The crown is a fun addition to Tea and Tulips happening every Friday and Saturday in April. Click HERE to book Tea and Tulips. If you are local I encourage coming on a Friday, when we typically have less people in the manor.
March is the only month that I don’t open to the public for a tea event. That means that every weekend is available for overnight guests. If you like to ski, Mount Baker is calling for you to stay at Willowbrook, and enjoy a picnic of tea and scones after hitting the slopes.
If you love birdwatching now is a great time to visit. Almost every time I walk the Cascade Trail that runs adjacent to my farm I see swans, eagles and hawks. Mallards have been frequenting the fields lately. Bring your binoculars.
The best part of staying at Willowbrook is making yourself a pot of tea any time day or night. I serve tea and scones every morning and there are really great restaurants just minutes from my farm. Click HERE to book a March stay.
Time for Liz ~
This is where I turn the pen over to my mom, author Liz Adair. Here she is:
Liz Sez ~
My career as a writer began with my grieving process after my mother’s death. I didn’t shed a tear, but I ended up with a seven-pound manuscript rooted in family history. The catalyst for the flood of words that pushed themselves out my fingers was a family secret my mother told me just before she died.
That novel, set in the Great Depression, is about a cowboy, Heck Benham, who falls in love with Ruth Reynolds, a New York socialite who has come west.
The story arc is that of my Uncle Curtis and his wife, Louise. Though I never met either one of them, they loomed large in family lore. Here’s a passage from my memoir No-Town Girl:
Mom often told the story of her brother Curtis’ unlikely marriage to Louise. Louise was from back east, and she was the one who taught Mom a lot of the unwritten conventions you had to know to navigate in society.
Far right: Lucy Shook, my mother. Seated left, her sister Elizabeth. Standing in gray dress, Louise, married to my Uncle Curtis. Far Left, Gertrude, the oldest of the sisters.
Louise also gave mother some of her clothes. I remember a cocktail dress we called “the monk’s dress.” It was black crepe and had a cowl in front and in back, and the one in back could be used as a hood. The dress was so well made and had such classic lines that, though Louise gave it to Mom before I was born, I also wore the dress, and my daughter Terry wore it, too.
Fitted dresses before the 1950s didn’t have back zippers. They would have a fourteen-inch zipper under the left arm that would open the waist large enough to get the dress over your head. I remember wearing the monk’s dress long after the advent of back zippers. I had to shimmy to get it past my shoulders because my arms were imprisoned inside the dress over my head. When I finally managed to get it on, it was so good looking, the struggle was worth it.
It’s funny that, just a couple of months after the pre-publication, final readthrough of that passage, what should arrive at Willowbrook but the Monk’s Dress. What makes it a little bit more Twilight Zone-ish is that I am again writing about Ruth.
That novel about the cowboy and the Eastern lady, first published as Counting the Cost, won one award and was finalist for two more.
After that, a member of my writing group counseled me that it was really Ruth’s story, not Heck’s, and I needed a couple of prequel chapters to fill out her journey. I wrote those chapters and republished the book as Interlude at Cottonwood Springs.
Not everyone likes the book. Many approach it thinking it’s lighter fare, similar to my mysteries or romances, and they’re unprepared for the ending. Others are very invested in the story, and I’ve had countless people ask, “What became of Ruth?”
I’m at chapter seven in answering that question, again writing about the character who grew out of the story of my Aunt Louise, and one of her hand-me-down dresses wafts back into my life.
You can’t make this stuff up. If I wrote it as fiction, people would say it was too pat, too hokey, too sentimental. But I love it. It’s as if the writing gods are smiling down on me.
-Liz
Now back to Terry
This Month’s Giveaway Winners ~
The winners for my mom’s memoir No-Town Girl are:
Renate M from Kirkland, WA
Michelle U from Hermitage TN
Treva B
Janet W from Bellingham, WA
KD C from Richland WA
This Month’s Giveaway ~
Herbal Jahva is one of the favorites of my herbal tea blends. The roasted dandelion root and chicory root make for a robust coffee-flavor with no caffeine. When I make a cup of this tea I add English toffee syrup and heavy cream. SO Yum! I am giving away six pairs of tea strainer plus herbal Jahva tea. Click HERE to enter to win. Don’t forget to add a note to let me and mom know how you are doing. We love hearing from you.
That is it for this issue ~
I appreciate you being a part of my newsletter family! For those of you who have come to my home for tea, a bike ride or an overnight stay, thank you. My business is a success because of you.
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