Homes Tour December 7, 2008
You can see enlargements by clicking on each picture.
Volunteers in period clothes greeted tour goers. (This photo was taken from the library).
The dining room was decorated by someone selling "Southern Comfort" home furnishings. The overall look was charming.
A florist from Inspirations Florists custom designed the mantle piece arrangement. He had been asked to contribute one arrangement, but he so fell in love with the house and he was inspired (no pun intended) to make several more for different rooms. Maggie told us he has been buying state lottery tickets every day because he wants to buy the house.
Maggie brought a beautiful Christmas tree and decorated it herself with handmade old-fashioned "ornaments" including bits of candy wrapped in twisted paper. Very sweet!
Another arrangement courtesy of Inspirations. Many Dave Lewis baskets were used throughout the house. Yes, Iona, this one will be coming to Windrows soon!
The den was very simply decorated with all natural arrangements of apples, pinecones and nuts. Maggie stayed in here the whole day and welcomed people and gave everyone some historical information about the house. She was awesome.
Iona, Jean and Chien manned the kitchen. We served home made pumpkin cookies and apple cider. Chien was a real hit and behaved so beautifully.
Many visitors admired the view of the patio from the kitchen window. Maggie had the brilliant idea of filling the fountain with greens.
More volunteers in period clothes greeted visitors in the upstairs rooms.
Andrew's room was kept simple with a centerpiece on the mantle and a display setting of yarns and knitting which made the room feel more cozy.
Jean-E's bedroom was decorated with some of Maggie's stuffed toy collection. Dave Bellware's rocking horse made a nostalgic addition to the setting.
The hit of the tour was in the master bedroom. A portrayal of a visit between home owner Mrs. Ross and Martha Washington was presented.
Mrs. Ross with home made scones. I hear they were yummy!
On the bed, a collection of fans was displayed along with some information describing the "language of fans."
The woman who played Martha Washington is very experienced at this and did a wonderful job explaining different aspects of life in those times.
One thing she explained was that if this visit actually took place, it would have been that Mrs. Ross invited Mrs. Washington to stay at the house. Mrs. Washington would have been given the master bedroom for her stay. And then, Mrs. Washington would have invited Mrs. Ross to a tea in her bedroom. When in character, Mrs. Washington talked about shopping in downtown Metuchen and what a lovely town it is. Mom would have loved this!!!
The desk was arranged with more items to help the re-enactors describe life and times of the era.
Some appropriate antique clothing was displayed in the closet.
Maggie made a point to make sure brochures of the house could be found in the rooms, too.
The Rotary set up a place to sell Metuchen blankets upstairs in the area at the top of the back stairs.
The back bedroom was furnished by volunteers. It was so sweet!
A cradle and rocking chair set the scene.
A fine time was had by all!