Tea Parties, A Wedding and New House

Our life has been a whirlwind through June and July. But we hope it is quieting down now. In that time, we hosted visits from our grandchildren, moved from the condo to the farm, had a family wedding and did many renovations at the farm. It wasn't in that order but there was lots of overlapping of events. I also took a UP trip with Bonnie in the middle of it all. I even missed moving day by 5 hours. When I arrived home, the furniture was at the farm, set up nicely and even my bed was made thanks to Jen and Tom and Big Brothers Moving.

We returned to the cabin last Wednesday and we've been blessed with wonderful weather. Eric and Jess left yesterday after a 5 day visit.

This past week Tom and I hosted a ladies tea party to honor Nancy Lont. She lived in the Soo from 1976-1986 when her husband served as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. They were back to visit their daughter, grandsons and great-grandson.

We invited ladies who were at the church 20 years ago and some new faces as well.

We enjoyed wonderful treats that were brought in by the ladies especially my mother's cream horns (homemade) and her Esther's Orange Marmalade Cake. If you have read the Mitford series, you will know Esther and her famous cake. It lived up to its reputation as absolutely tender and flavorful. Those treats are on the right side of the table in the above picture.

This is Nancy Lont on the left. Donna Young, Elinor Lawson and Ann Lougheed are in the picture too.

Nancy, her daughter Becky and long-time friend Phyliss Anderson.
In the middle of our move, Tom's niece Britney was married. Our kids all came home and we had a very fun time.
It isn't very often that all 4 kids and spouses are in town at the same time so I really treasure those times.
We discovered right away that patching the roof wasn't going to work so we called our good friend Dave Sefton and his crew went to work quickly and within a week, 4 layers of shingles were removed and our roof was completely replaced.
The house was a beehive of activity for many days. We had workmen from the basement to the upstairs quickly getting things ready for our move.
Painting and new carpet were also in order. I quickly called my niece Karey to come over and lend her expertise in colors and decorating. She was wonderful and we decided on a taupe color for the walls called truffles and a carpet called Fair Fawn. Picking colors really stresses me out so I didn't help. The painter, carpet salesman, Jen and Tom also helped.
We discovered beautiful oak steps when the carpet was pulled up. We had to make a quick decision and we replaced the carpet to keep them safe for the grandkids.
The living room also had hardwood floors with evidence of the fire that gutted the house in about 1959. There were burn marks all around the edge of the room. There had been an area rug and that protected the floor but the areas where the rug didn't reach is blackened from the fire.

All of the pictures aren't in chronological order but you can see how we've kept busy this month. Jennifer did so much and is continuing to hold down the fort at the farm. We're looking forward to getting back there this fall and continuing to work. Please stop in if you are in the area. We want to continue the 'open door' policy that was the hallmark of the farm for years. Tom remembers that it was called the Busy Bee Farm when he was young. We're thinking it should be called the Busy B's Farm now!