“You have to meet Tom and Marianne. They are the most amazing people; they live above their shop and they’re renovating an old warehouse into their home,” exclaimed my husband, Bret. A couple weeks later, Marianne invited us to dinner. We walked through the warehouse in step to classical music, weaved our way through lumber, past a VW Bug, scrap metal, and 2 hand-constructed pine coffins. The door at the back of the warehouse opened up to Marianne’s world—her large kitchen with hanging pots, handcrafted cupboards, and the smell of homemade bread embraced us. Two ladders in the living room spoke of work in progress, but as this delightful couple plied their stories and invited us into their lives over an exquisite meal, the ladders seemed perfectly normal and part of the charm. For thirty years this couple loved, mentored, parented and grandparented us into the people we are today. Come, pull up a chair and join us around the table. There’s more story...and lots of room for more friends.
Photo: Marianne with her cat, Molly
