Once the party date was set, I began brainstorming ideas for what does a 'manor' look like. I landed on the idea of a comically long dining table. I was going to span it across part of our backyard. My mom found some set windows leftover from a production of Romeo and Juliet, which were going to make up the other side of the 'room.' We also grabbed piles of the free rugs from the MSU surplus porch to cover the carport floor.
I found some hanging candelabras, but it was close to the party date when I found some tabletop ones!
I found an ice mold at a thrift store, and had time to create two for the food table! (I also had room in the freezer thanks to a planned defrosting.)
The week before the party my mom found 12+ matching cloth napkins!
Alice and Emily created a one-of-a-kind manor painting to fill my frame!
Sadly, the closer the party got, the stronger the chance of rain, and the colder the weather prediction. So, a couple of days before the party, we made plans to move it into the carport. = ( My mom found some huge plastic sheeting that we tacked up to block most of the wind and rain.
I was thankful for the sheeting for sure, and with 11 of us in the carport, it wasn't freezing, but it wasn't warm either.
The ice sculptures looked good for the entire party!
The area in which we were originally going to set up the table had the most beautiful wildflowers growing, so my mom and the twins cut some for us to bring into the party! I was so pleased with how it all came together!
I was super annoyed by the red candles, so honestly, the fact that they are wonky in this picture is totally apropos. I was delighted by all the other decorations!
And the crowning jewel, the water fountain that my mom was instrumental in creating! The little guy cost more than I usually like to spent, but was 100% necessary to this success! The kiddie pool and water toy were at the same garage sale, and I was walking away when the person running the sale stacked them, and it was a total lightbulb moment!!
My mom spraypainted 90% of it, and it was perfect! Would it be good long term, absolutely not, but it was a delightful addition to the party! We only ran it at the start of the party, since it seemed silly to add more water to a rainy day.
One of Billy's co-workers significant other cancelled last minute, so Alice was volunteered to join us, but luckily for her, her character was not the murderer and she was released from service after round two.
The weather was a downer, but we didn't let it spoil our fun, and really enjoyed the afternoon! Adding the murder next, so jump to the next paragraph if you don't want spoilers. It turns out that Kyle was the murder this time! He was one of my top two, because Billy was just not suspicious this time at all, but I guessed wrong. Someone did get it right though!
After the party all the chairs, rugs, and fountain pieces went to the curb. It took a full week before everything was gone (a stressful week for me, because our trash is currently full each week with shed insulation!) but it did all go eventually. I only had to burn the 'pieces' that were used for support.
Billy hijacked the people back to his type of party by planning an Office Space party, but I've already started planning my next two murder mysteries, so that no one feels left out. This was the biggest party I've thrown, though my 40th birthday was a bigger pool, Billy was in charge of that one. = )
Looking forward to the next one already, even if it is going to be a while.
later days
edit 6-15-26: backdated for continuity.
