HAPPY NEW YEAR GIRLFRIENDS!!! Inserting my New Year Song for you …. What are doing tonight? I’ll see you soon … I’ve been working hard on our book! Happy 2013 to us, one and all!!! XOXO
I thought, on this Christmas Eve, I would love to talk about Home and what it means to me. When I was thirty-three, I moved to Martha’s Vineyard from California, and bought my first house. ♥ Musica?
Having a little house of my own was something I had dreamed of since I was a child.
It was a very small house, which I wrote about and painted often, even in my first book, but it was perfect for me. I lived there alone with my three kitties for six years, learning what it was like to have seasons; I wrote my first three books at the dining room table in this house. I know just how Natalie Wood felt in Miracle on 34th Street. I almost saw Santa’s cane in the corner at Holly Oak when I went in the first time.
The house was in the woods; every day I would walk out the door and down the dirt road next to the house to the water, to the same pond Joe and I walk past every morning now; our walk takes us to the other shore of that same pond. Yes, the house had a name, Holly Oak, on a sign, nailed to a tree, and to me, it was a dream come true. I was so grateful, I really haven’t ever “wanted” anything since, because right then I knew, I had it all. Inside, “out of the wind and the rain’s way,” I could live my little life, plant my garden, feed the birds, make noodles and pie, read my books, raise my kitties to be fine strong young cats. I felt safe there because no one could take it from me. It was HOME. I still have dreams about this little house. ♥
Since then have fallen in love with all houses! And anything attached to them, like children, neighborhoods, porches, gardens, kitties, dogs, squirrels, birds, trees, fences, and I take pictures of them wherever I go. I like big houses, but I like the little ones better.
A house represents family stability, but they seem to me to be filled with mystery. I think of them almost as a person, especially the old ones, 
imbued with the character of lives lived within; I’m pretty sure everything I do in my house adds another layer of character. The newer ones, like my first little house, are like banks, and each holiday, each loving act, each cooking of a dinner, each creative thing done, even every sadness, is a contribution, so when the house is old, it will have character too. The feeding and care of a house is an important thing. Right now houses all over the country are being fed from the heart . . . with welcomes home!, crackling fires, music and colored lights, delicious smells coming from the kitchen, wrapping of gifts, families coming together, the light and excitement in the eyes of children . . . reminiscing about loved ones who are no longer there. That’s what a house is to me. ♥
I’m sure pictures of houses like this were seeds of inspiration to bring me to New England. This house speaks to me of love, comfort, safety, sturdiness, old quilts, corn pudding and pumpkin pie, tradition, surprises under the Christmas tree. Old movies were such an influence on me, the curtains and wallpaper in the movie Dear Ruth, the cottages in Love Letters, Mrs. Miniver’s wonderful house, Diane Keaton’s house in Something’s Got to Give — her farmhouse in Baby Boom. The way to sell me on a movie is to put a good house in it!
Look at the charm these people added to this plain little house. It has to be love.
I take pictures of houses wherever I go, even speeding along on the train, through the window of our “room with a view” when Joe and I travel across the country.
Another photo I took through the train window, of this little neighborhood of colorful houses. I see cup-a-sugar borrowing going on here. I keep waiting, when I show some of the pictures of the houses I love, for one of you to say, “Hey, that’s MY house!” I wouldn’t be a bit surprised! ♥
I took lots of photos of darling cottages in England . . . this one has become a restaurant — don’t you just love restaurants in old houses? New England has lots of them too.
I put a photo of this house, which is next door to Jane Austen’s house in England (because how could I NOT!), on my blog, and Mary, the woman who lives there, DID contact me to say hello and tell me how surprised she was to see her house (and the closeup of her little dog. “Basil,” who was sitting in the window!). The magic of the internet makes it such a small world.
Basil. English super dog.
There are two houses in this picture of our little cottage in California.
And this precious California house . . . I love festive people!
and of course, my own sweet home.
My love for home has branched out beyond actual houses or pictures of houses, to things that are like houses!
On top of my stove right now, I have two houses and a manger.
And this newest one, sent to me by the sweetest person, was added to the stove-top scene just yesterday!
And speaking of houses and home, I have shown you glimpses of my wood room before — it’s the smallest room in our house, a cozy room with wood walls, hence the name “wood room.” It’s where we read, write letters, knit, talk on the phone, watch TV; where I update my diary at night…
. . . but it’s a little hard to photograph, which is the reason I’ve never tried to show it to you . . . it’s so dark, and the flash brings too much glare . . . so forgive the color here. There’s something about this room you may not have noticed, but I’ve just given you two clues . . . do you see it yet?
OK, I’ll tell you . . . it’s just that all the pictures on the wall are of houses. Homey homes, paintings and prints I have either done myself or collected in antique stores.
There are also old photos of the “house of creativity” I was grateful to receive from the previous owners when we moved in. And when we go, we will leave these, with maybe a couple of our own.
So it’s clear, I’m house-crazy with love. There are more pictures, above the hutch and on the other side of the door, but it’s too dark to see them … there’s also a small wood box, shaped like a house, where the roof opens, that I brought with me when I moved to the island; there’s house-shaped candle in there too . . .
Not that I really need very much to make the wood room cozy after this person settles in. ♥
Because there is nothing that cozies up a house more than a sweet little petty pet of one’s own.
So, of course, when I make a gingerbread house, it’s not very big and it’s not just a house, it’s a home.
These are dreams from my diary written (in the bad handwriting) long ago; I was just making a note. Writing things down is a way to make them come true. ♥ A good way to start the new year.
And that dream, though not finished, is still in the process of coming true — so far, so good! So what would you think a person who was writing her first book in the firelight and Christmas-tree light inside this little house would decide to name it? It would have to be something about the home. And the kitchen, and the heart, and the connection between those things . . . of course! Heart of the Home! Why didn’t I think of that? Oh! I did!
You probably have everything you always wanted for Christmas right now, a little house of your own, out of the wind and the rain’s way. But just in case . . . I have this book, and it’s looking for a new home! So, if you don’t have my first book, or if you know someone you would like to give it to . . . leave a comment! There are lots of good recipes in there! After the first of the year, Vanna will draw a name, I will sign the book, and off it will go to the Heart of your Home. You can leave as many comments as you like, because Vanna knows to only count each address once. And I think I’ll come back every so often this week, and change the music, and give us a little musical tour.
And now? Me and Jack? We’re going to go cook up a storm. Love and Blessings to you and yours and a wish for Peace for every little house on Earth.♥
Sending furry high fives. xoxo
Every room in your house just screams COZY!! I love seeing your pictures and reading what you post. I’ve told 2 friends and my sister to subscribe to your blog. They all received your calendar/and or books for Christmas!
Gathering in the kindred spirits! Thank you Pat!
Susan, I’m so glad you said I could post as many times as I want to…lol I tried to put up my post twice from my iPad..but I was smart (ahem!) and copied it so I wouldn’t loose what I wrote. I will try from my laptop and we’ll see if it will post. (Don’t you just love this wonderful computer world?? smile…)
Dear Susan…I love this post! (Do I say that every time I read your blog??) I too love houses and put pictures of them on my blog! I see, I wonder and I love each one for their uniqueness! I just told my Tom the other day..I wish I could draw…I’d put some of my memories down on paper as illustrations, instead of just writing about them… You are so gifted in manner! However, I am blessed to have lots of photos, they help me step back in time!! I “do not” have this book, but would love it!!
I will remind Vanna Gert!
Susan, thank you for sharing your heart. It’s so much fun to come read your stories, see your art and photos; journey along with you. I don’t have your first book, but I have the Christmas one, and it’s hard to think how much time has gone by, but what fun to see the little cottage you had all to yourself, and read about your time there. What a perfect little place!
There’s is something special about making one’s own little ‘nest’–just ask Girl Kitty and Mr. Jack!
Merry (late) Christmas, and hugs for a Blessed New Year!
Ahhhh, it feels SOooooo nice after the rush and bustle of the last few days, to sit here in my cozy little house with my cuppa tea & reading your wonderful words! Since I was a young girl I’ve loved looking at houses and imagining the lives inside, but I never thought others did that too! Many many MANY thanks for your beautiful blog, it makes me so happy. Joy, Health, & Happiness to You & Yours in the New Year, Linda Goetsch
Happy New Year to you! When I’m stressed and down, I think what it’s like to be cuddles in a room that looks like one of your own bedrooms, while the rain and sleet howl outside like it is doing right now. Cozy is a good word for home…
Thank you, Susan, for your heart and soul warming posts throughout the year.
They encourage me to slow down and relax, to enjoy the slower life, and to remember to be grateful. Sometimes I think the key to a good life is simply being “grateful”! It frees you from “wanting” things and hones in on the importance of what you already have.
So true Susan!
Merry Christmas! Thanks for your posting on the love of homes…my head does swivel when I drive past an especially dear house. A friend calls it “driving under the influence of vernacular architecture ” which is how I found the old dog trot house I have been living in for the past 15 years. It reminds me of my great grandmother’s house and for those kind of reflections the need for amenities diminishes. Thanks again for the sharing.
Kindred Spirits!!! How I love your site – your heart, your writing and photography and this particular blog. My daughter introduced me just this month to you ~ what a delight you are. We are former military ~ so “home” has been in so many different places. I learned early on, that to make the transitions easier on the children, make “home feel like home” quickly – to hang up photos & pictures immediately, unpack the kitchen & bathroom… and get the rest done as we went. They could settle in faster that way. HUGS. Thank you so much for what you write & share.
Nice to meet you Debra! Love how you made home … the most important things! xoxo Happy New Year!
Sorry, I’m late, we had quite the winter storm yesterday. I’ve been appreciating winter’s beauty since we haven’t had this much snow in so long. I don’t have your first book yet, I’ve been meaning to get it. The person who wins, is very lucky! I’m just glad you are blogging and writing more books! I like houses too, I love to look at real estate, I can spend hours on houseview online, or watching House Hunters International, etc. I like the big houses, but now that you mention it, the small ones are my favorite too. My husband used to say that it made him feel bad that we couldn’t, buy them, but I think he finally understands that I just like to look, I’m not looking for something new. I just really enjoy seeing new places and imagining the view out the windows and how I would decorate them. *sigh* Happy New Year Everyone!
Merry Christmas! I was just gifted three of your books for Christmas! I’m enjoying them so!
Thank you Susan for sharing your heart and your homes. I look forward to your blog and always enjoy your thoughts and drawings. You are so blessed with your very special gift of sharing your thoughts and heart with all of us in a beautiful way.
Happy New Year to you as you begin another year in your very special island home.
I always think about the people who live in the houses and wish I could go in for a tour. We’ve got five inches of snow and we’re in a winter wonderland this morning!
Merry Christmas Week!
Diane Marie
How beautiful it must be!
We now have +10 inches of snow and it’s sooooo pretty!!!
Dear Susan,
I love homes too ! I left my beloved country home 6 years ago to live in the city, and I am still nostalgic thinking of my little garden, my roses and the home my children were born… I have 3 books from you (summer, autumn & christmas) and I love your blog. Hugs from France (and please forgive my english !…)
Hello Susan, all of your two and four-legged family and friends and to everyone who enjoys this blog:
I wish you all the best of the remaining holidays and a year of good health, good spirits and good fortune ahead.
Susan-your handwritten goals are truly an ephiphony . You say in so many ways that we need to dream and then find a concrete way of addressing those dreams and then working to make them a reality. When I first started getting to “know” you so many years ago through your books and products (my favorite was a small wire notebook that says (and I amsure that I am paraphrasing a bit, “things taste best in small Cottages” attributed to Queen Victoria [“Who ought to know”].)
Well, you know an awful lot about how to live a life. And I, who gave up dreaming several years ago, have decide to put your good advice in place and begin not only to dream, but to move towards making these “Real Goals” a reality.
With fond wishes to all and special thoughts of comfort to those who have suffered illness or loss. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO DREAM.
LOVE you comment Marty! It is never too late to dream and to make your dreams come true.
good morning, hello susan, girlfriends. well we thought got the possums and our problems in the henhouse were at an end. no such luck as another varmint got in and we lost one more hen last night. it sprung the trap, and somehow got inside in the henhouse. i was going to call a person who is offering their laying hens for free, but with this going on i am very reluctant to do that. i may call and see if they would hold them for us, can’t hurt. this is so frustrating and disheartening. thought we had the problem solved, guess not!!! well the count now stands at 11 hens and 1 young rooster. time to go back out and check the henhouse and see where this varmint got in and plug that up and then that varmint had better pray i don’t see it first and have my bat handy…….!!! well you all have a good day today, i sure have my work cut out for me today. Happy New Year!!! hugs….. 🙁
I was just looking at this blog of Home for Christmas for the 3rd or 4th time and enjoying it just as much each time. But it stuck me when seeing your little house how brave you must have been to have given up all you knew in California to travel clear across the United States to a small little island near a totally different ocean and put down roots to learn of the seasons. I envy your courage and admire you for it. It seemed to turn out really well and I know you are happy! You deserve it many times over.
Thank you Robin! xo
Merry Christmas Sweetest Elf~Sue…I’ve got Your Bing ♫Song♫ Playing as I Read & Re~Read Your Christmas~Eve Blog…. 🙂 My Heart ♥ Skips a Beat…. 🙂 Tears of Joy & Goosebumps…Thank~You for Sharing Your Stories with Us….I Adore Your Wood~Room….filled with Treasures & so Much Warmth & Comfort… Well I Know Santa was Good to You & Joe & Girl~Kitty & Jack….Meow & Purrrrrrrrrrrr & Fetch the Ball! 😉 Santa’s Been Pretty Magical Here toooooo! We Left Him Peppermint~Chocolate~Chip Cookies & Hot Chocolate with Whip~Cream(& a Candy~Cane) Not a Crumb Nor a Drop Left! 😉 & a Few Baby Carrots for The Reindeer too! 🙂 ♥ Early Early Christmas Morning still Dark Out I Jingled My Sleigh~Bells while I walked & Left a Few Christmas Treasures on Neighbor’s Doorsteps… (I do This Every Year) I am an Elf! 😉 then went back in & Sat all cozy in front of Our Christmas~Tree…with Carols quietly playing…Just Breathing in All The Magic of Christmas & counting My Blessings & filled with L♥ve….I Simply & Sweetly L♥ve Everything about Christmas…. & I am Still Twirling round Our Christmas~Tree Jiggity~Jig! Sipping a little Bit of Bubbly…. Savoring These Magical Days as We Begin to Twirl into The New Year’s Eve Festivities! Ho~Ho~Ho & Merriest Christmas to All & a Very Blessed & Safe Happy New Year! Yay! Sending L♥ve & Joy & Lots of Christmas Pixie~Dust! xoxo Poof! Elf~Angie(Tink!) 😉 “Fairylicious~Kisses” to All & God Bless Us Everyone! 🙂 ♥♫
I too love houses.. My mom always said home is a much cozier and warmer word. I grew up in an old Victorian home. I have a soft spot for the painted ladies. I live in a ranch style home now.. I love it in every respect. My parents still live in the house I grew up in. The house is over 100 years old and as beautiful as ever. Thanks for your blog. I love it and read every entry.
P.S. LOVED the houses in Somethings Gotta Give and Baby Boom. Diane Keaton is a favorite of mine and those houses were gorgeous.
Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. I too, love houses. To me each house has a personality of its own. It always hurts my heart when I see a house that has been left to fall into disrepair. I know you hear this many times over, but there just seems to be so many of us that read your blog that are all kindred spirits with you and with each other. It’s very neat to think of this connection that we all have. I wish you and yours a very happy New Year filled with many blessings. Anne P.S. I would LOVE to win your book!
I love everything you do. I also love houses, and go on every house tour I can, especially @ Christmastime. Thank you for sharing yours with us. I too, like to think about those who have lived in old houses long ago.
Susan, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We did. Thanks for your blog, I don’t read many and I really love yours!
Barbara
Very nice compliment … thank you Barbara.
After finding your blog last week I thought “forget Merry, I’m going to have a Cozy Christmas!” And I did. Thank you for helping me to see my house, and all houses, in a whole new light. My house would love to give your book a home!
Happy Winter Day…..it is very cold and extremely windy today…I am off work for 4 days….and am taking today just to “relax” and absorb..peace…tomorrow I will “get busy” and accomplish something…as I say…tho I am trying to teach myself that “resting” and “nesting” IS accomplishing a most important function..ha ha..the sun is shining and I can hear the birds loudly calling out..I must go put out more birdseed since the wind has blown it away….I have been receiving your books in the mail..my husband laughed and said the mailman is getting used to hanging plastic bags on the mailbox to hold all the “books” I am ordering…so for me its Christmas every day…I have tried to track down your books from whatever source I can and am giving them to my dearest friends and family so they can be blessed too! thank you my friend, Susan, so appreciate being in your world and one of your “girlfriends”…which right now is my very favorite book….so can’t wait to hear from you again…blessings always to you and yours……evangeline
Merry Christmas (past) and Happy New Year (to come!)…
I gave my daughter the first of what will become
her own “Heart of the Home” book collection for Christmas….I gave her “Christmas from the Heart of the Home”…. we enjoyed looking through all the wonderful ideas and can’t wait to try out a few new recipes!
Hi Susan ~ I received your home cooking scrapbook as a Christmas gift from a dear friend! What a great surprise! I have not tried a modern scrapbook (meaning not like the ones I put together as a kid) before, but will give it a go……any tips from you or gf out there?
Be sure to write things in your own handwriting … that’s what will make it a treasure. xoxo
Sometimes I wish for a bigger house with more room for entertaining and more bedrooms, but this post made me appreciate the memories we have given this home.
So good Jennifer! xo
I loved reading this post! So cozy! and right up my alley too. My house could easily have been one you would take a picture of. It’s small, though a little bigger then your first house, and we added-on when our 2nd baby was on the way, but it’s white, with black trim, and built in 1935. We have kept it the same color since we bought it 35 years ago. I love it, and would have a very hard time leaving it when the time comes!
By the way, do I see a little Jack peeking out of an upstairs window of the photo of your house all decorated for Christmas???
Probably, he doesn’t let me get very far away from him!
Love the home pictures! What a cosy room especially on a snowy day like today. Of course a cat makes it even more cosy!
Thank you, Susan, for sharing with us. I have been enjoying your Christmas cookbook the last several weeks (it is always on display in my kitchen during the season) and would absolutely love to have your cookbook. New Year’s blessings to you and yours.
Another kindred spirit for the love of a little cabin in the woods. I grew up in such a cabin, here in NW New Jersey. It had logs on the outside and a huge fieldstone fireplace on the inside. The Flatbrook ran behind the house and tall pine trees whispered in the wind…my young mother moved there as refuge when her young husband died of cancer a day after his daughter was born (me).
Her brother lived next door and owned the house, so it was a perfect place for her to heal. She would walk me to the lake in my carriage on nice days, which was about 2 miles down the road through Stokes State forest. One didn’t worry so much about being raped or murdered in those innocent days…
She tells me that one day as she was walking, it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders and the sun shone again. Her little cabin in the woods was everything she needed to become herself again. Now my 85 year old Mom lives with me in my own “little house in the woods”, although it is not a log cabin. Instead of a babbling brook, my husband and I put in two koi ponds with waterfalls. It’s become our refuge. I, too, love little houses and understand your love for them. Home is truly where the heart is!
JoAnne, in New Jersey
Lovely JoAnne!
P. S. I totally forgot my manners in my previous post – I was so delighted with the subject of houses and homes that I forgot to wish you and yours a fabulous 2013 and hope that you, Joe, Girl Kitty, and Jack had a very Merry Christmas.
We did, it’s been wonderful, still sort of going on! Best to you too Carin, hope 2013 is a great year!
Loved this post… we’ve recently moved, and I’ve named our new home “Willow House” because of the nearby willows lining the river at the foot of the hill we live on. Happiness to All in the New Year!
Oh, I would so like to have this copy of your first book since it is the only book of yours I do not have. Your other books, Susan, have given me so many wonderful memories through the years; they come flooding back each time I open them up to make one of the recipes inside. This book will, too. Thank you for the chance to win it and best wishes for a wonderful new year!
Susan – really enjoyed your “Home Sweet Home” blog. Being an old “Air Force Brat”, I grew up all over the country and overseas ….. went to 11 different schools ….. so, for me “HOME” – “one home, in one spot” – means everything to me. 🙂
Happy Newyear !
Helen
P.S. The picture of you in front of your first “home” on Martha’s Vineyard reminds me of Diane Keaton. 🙂
oh I enjoyed so much your love of houses, here is so much more to a photo or painting of a house, the stories go on and on.I did a watercolor painting of my home that I grew up in after 10 years of waiting, waiting for the right time, my parents died in the same year and for longest time everytime i tried to paint it the time was wrong, it still stung to much, the time came, my tears blended in the painting,
please do not add my name to drawing, I already have your book, thank you
Beautiful Laurie!
Happy Merry Christmas Susan!
Your “heart” has filled my house with love for a long, long time….xoxox!
I love your idea to frame houses & homes in your wood room….actually, I love all the peeks at your artwork…someday, “please” can I see the whole painting of the girl sitting on a horse? Susan, if your house had a theme song, what do you think it would be??? I always wanted my children to feel safe and loved in our house growing up….so when they went to naptime, I would vacumn and mop and sing to Amy Grant’s song “House of Love”…not sure what the song really meant…but I wanted them to have “House of Love”…love, love, love, engrained in their little growing up brains. They do remember this song, and they associate it with….Mom cleaning and mopping! Gotta love it! I wish so much Love for you Susan …..so much, that when you and Joe go for your walk to the pond…. you lilt just a titch to the left! 😉
Sounds like I love just about everything doesn’t it?!
Keep your heart 🙂 .XoXDawn
Horse? Girl on horse. I can’t think of what that is! xoxo Happy New Year Dawn!
My sister and I both have this book, but our Mom does not. What a wonderful gift we could give her! Thanks for the giveaway, Susan!
Hi Susan!
Looks so cozy/ knus( in Dutch) your little room with the wooden walls!
Hope you’ll have a wonderfull 2013 with your Joe and kitty’s.
I’m gonna keep my fingers crossed, I really want to win that book of yours!
Lots of love from a rainy Holland. It has been a green Christmas here.
xoxox Willemien
Aren’t you supposed to have 10 feet of snow at all times!?? 🙂
ooohh I would like that! But no, it is very Dutch weather: a rainy day. Seems that it’s gonna be raining all week. But I’m having fun anyway! Eating Christmas cookies with the kids and playing, they’ve been staying with grandma’s after christmas, so it’s nice to have them home again.
lots of love from,
Willemien and the three little rascals.
Oh Susan, I loved your first book and, of course, have a copy! But I know lots of friends who would love one!!! Thanks for sharing your insight about home – such a wonderful time of the year to do it, too. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!
Thank you Susan for a glimpse of the “wood room”. It is indeed cozy and I know that anyone who comes into that room does not want to leave. I, too, love houses and really olds ones have always fascinated me. I would love to win a copy of your first book, since I have not been able to procure a copy.
Hi Susan!
The more I read your blogs, the more I realize we have in common! I, too, enjoy looking at houses, wondering about the poeple who currently reside there and what they do to make it home. I also wonder about older houses (like the one I live in): who used to live there, what memories the walls hold, about the past celebrations, conversations, and family activities they have witnessed, the sadnesses they know about…. Sometimes it’s almost as if you could hear the walls whisper if you could be quiet enough and listen closely. And I take pictures of houses, too, and put them up to look at and wonder about. Would love to win your book from where it all began. Thank you for your giving heart and wishing you and yours a VERY Happy New Year!!
Dear Susan, I just love you and your books, and your blog. I really look forward it. It absolutely makes my day. I grew up in Long Beach, also. But, have lived in a lot of places. Some big and some small. I live in the smallest, only 650sq ft but love it so. We are right on the most beautiful river in Oregon. Because of your blog I have gone to our storage and brought in all of my Great Grandmothers, my Grandmothers and my Mothers and my needlework. Some of it is over 100yrs old. I also brought down all of my quilts. It was sooo hard to decide what I could keep in this little house. But is so much cozier and reminds me of all of my family. Thank you so much for your beautiful writing and pictures. I have a little female cat that looks almost exactly like Jack except she only has a mustache on one side. She acts just like him too. Happy New Year. Cathe
How lucky you are to have all that! So much charm in handmade things!
hello and good afternoon susan, and girlfriends. what a crazy holiday season we have had, losing chickens to varmints, catching the critters and getting a little relief only to find that now we have another critter getting in to the henhouse. well i have plugged all holes possible and just need hubby to do the final 2 holes, he is much taller than i am and can do the one over the entry with wire or a long board and the second one i will help him to cary and place the concrete block to plug the last hole, and help set out the trap again, whatever was out there set it off and knocked over the trap as well. i may even call that guy and ask if he still has those laying hens, if the holes are plugged, we may finally get relief from this problem. i was going to ask you susan what happened to the ducks, did they have a shelter they go into at night?? our ducks are doing fine, they love swimming in their pool in the icy cold water, every morning i open up the barn and the henhouse and out they rush to go swimming, quacking all the way. its a funny sight to see. i love looking at old farmhouses, and old barns, our barn was an old barn that a guy was going to tear down, i loved it so much i asked if he could take it down and reconstruct on our property instead of destroying it. he liked the idea so much he gave us the barn for nothing so long as we paid for the hauling and he would help us get it up. we have loved our barn ever since, now thats what i call recycling at its best. well off to go do the laundry, have a wonderful day everyone. Happy New Year, may it be a happy, healthy and wonderful year for you all. Happy 2013!!! hugs……. 🙂
Love your post, Pat. Sounds like you have enough adventure at your house that you could have your own blog! Do you subscribe to that great magazine Mary Janes Farm? I’m thinking you would love it!
LOVE your site…so cozy. We just bought our first home and move in and january…can’t wait to make it cozy like yours!
Congratulations Candice!
Just back from my friend’s dad’s funeral. Vinny was 88 and loved life & people.
The day before he died he made his famous pizza for all the residents of the elderly complex he moved to after his beloved wife died. Many birds are enjoying the beautiful bird houses he made as a hobby to keep busy. I will miss him. Reading you hopeful messages always cheers me up. Thank you.
I’m so sorry to hear that Jeanie … You celebrate him so well with these wonderful loving details of his life. Blessings on you and yours xoxo
Wonderful post, Susan! I too, have a love of little houses. I have a lovely little, maybe five ” sq. oil painting of a cabin in a little town near us called Mayer. Thanks for sharing this with us.
You have such a heart for what makes a home. All your words, illustrations and photos ooze love and joy.
I do the same thing, thinking to myself, what were the people like then, how did they live, what did they cook, how did they deal with teenagers haha!! We have a little cabin in Big Bear Lake, CA and it has a date inscribed on the fireplace 1960, and although that is not too old, I think about the family that first lived there, and what they did in the different seasons etc. until we bought it. I have your book, given by a friend many years ago, but would love another to give to my daughter.
They were still watching Ed Sullivan and waiting for the Beatles to be invented! 🙂
Have only recently discovered your blog, but it’s fast becoming one of my absolute favourites. I like to look at houses and imagine the lives of the people within:-)
Nice to meet you here Jules!
Thank you for your lovely story about homes. A warm and special place in all our hearts.
Home is the most important gift I can give my family. I’ve held a few jobs along the way , but my real and most important job is homemaker. I am so lucky to devote most of my time to that endeavor. I know that is why I love you so much Susan! My family is still here for the holidays and it’s been wonderful. They will be leaving this evening to return to their homes far away. I am so blessed and feel like the luckiest woman that my grown children and grandchildren come to our home for the holidays. Happy New Year everyone!
Wishing you the happiest of New Years!
From my cozy home to yours: Happy New Year.
Love your first little house in the woods! And I would love to own “Heart of the Home” because I really enjoy your 2 other books that I have “Summer” and “Autumn.” I think I discovered them at my favorite bookstore on Martha’s Vineyard…Bunches of Grapes.
Have a warm and cozy New Year!
I recently put Heart of the Home on my wishlist for Christmas, not realizing it was out of print. Well, my sweet sweet Mama, being the wonderful soul she is, knew and signed over her copy to me! I would love to get a copy to sign over to her. 🙂
Your illustrations are so charming, and as a calligrapher I especially appreciate your lettering. Your blog is a delight to visit.
Thank You Eliece!
I just took “Heart of the Home” back to the library yesterday. I thought I would let someone else have a shot at it for a while. (But I may check it right back out when I go back if it’s on the shelf. I still want to make that cheesecake.) Or if Vanna is kind to me, I won’t have to borrow it anymore.
I feel as you and so many others do about houses and home. I like to walk in the neighborhood and peek in the windows if their curtains are open. (I keep a respectable distance. I do not press my nose against the glass, although sometimes I would like to.) This may be one reason so many of us love coming to your blog–you let us come inside and look around at your house. How generous you are.
Home for Christmas is what I spelled out with the toy blocks on the shelf over our refrigerator.
Thank you, Susan. It’s always a pleasure to come here. Best wishes for a blessed 2013 to you, Joe, the kitties, and all the Girlfriends here.
I love your house! It reminds me of the houses that my grandparents & great aunts & uncles lived in when I was a child. Big, friendly homes. Takes me back to my childhood days. Thank you for sharing your life with all of us ‘girlfriends’.
What an inspiration you are! You made me take my pencils and brushes out again, with the old watercolor box. We tend to forget the beauty of simple little things around us sometimes and you often remind me of them when I come and pay a visit to your site. Thank you!
Hi, Susan
Just want to wish you a Merry, Merry Christmas! I know the actual day has passed (and I hope it was filled with peace and joy for you and Joe) but when I think of you, I immediately think of the spirit of Christmas, no matter what the day is. You are like one of Santa’s little elves, gifting us throughout the year and helping us in turn to pass the joy along. God bless you!
We’ve had a beautiful holiday season with our grown-up kids and our granddaughter and the fun is continuing …a huge family gathering tomorrow with my parents, my three sisters, three brothers, their spouses, their children and grandchildren! While most of us live nearby, some come from San Francisco, Atlanta, Charleston, and Philadelphia. It’s become an annual tradition in between Christmas and New Year’s Day. We start the day out with bowling; the youngest to the oldest…so much fun. Then we all gather for a pot-luck feast and secret Santa exchange. It’s the only time, other than weddings and funerals that we’re all together so it is truly a special time. And because we are so lucky to have over a foot of snow this year, there will be snowman building to add to the fun!
Btw….I love this post about Home! And the comments from everyone are so heartwarming to read. So many of us think alike! Home IS where the heart is!
xoxoDebbie
I am wondering if you have snow yet? Doesn’t it just make the whole house seem homier when the flakes are falling outside? We are still waiting here near Chicago….
Yes it does, but no we don’t — not yet. Cold, stormy, but no snow. I hope we get some soon! You Too!
Susan! A belated Merry Christmas. So sorry I’ve been MIA! I’m sitting by the light of our Christmas Tree and also basking in the light of yours as well 🙂 XOXO
Another beautiful heart of the home post! Thank You for sharing the coziness of your dreams they are comforting!
Here’s to a wonderful 2013, complete with your (our… lol) wonderful English Diary/Journal!
Georgie
Yardville, NJ
There you are! Happy New Year Georgie!
I love reading your stories! Thank you for being so “real” & sharing so much of yourself with us. Your posts are such a pleasure to read!
I love your books! I recently found one at an estate sale and I snapped it up! It was “Sweets to the Sweet” and is so lovely! I’m always on the look out for more. 🙂
Susan, I always feel warm and cozy after a visit to your home,,I have a copy of your book,,just realized you had signed it on the apron inside,,bit would love to give a copy to my daughter who is a new mother, but interested in cooking,,
blessings in the new year,,,,,Judy
Hi Susan, I haven’t commented in a while, but I’ve read every word you’ve blogged. From new grandson to a lot of houseguests and a lot of visiting my family out-of-town, I’ve mostly read it on my phone. I had your first book for quite sometime, but this year my daughter in Atlanta had listed it on her Christmas wishlist and since it’s out of print, what Could a mom do, but give her mine for Christmas? So, if Vanna so chooses to select my name, it would be lovely to have a copy here in SC again, especially a signed copy.
My bungalow home is small, cozy, and just right, even more so since I had a wide back porch added. I always spend time on it when the weather permits and we often dine there when the kids and/or grandkids are here.
I too love seeing other homes as I travel, love to go on home tours and garden tours, love seeing the photos of your home. XO Susan
Hi Susan, More impishness from the blogging gnomes, I guess, But…Do you have any idea why this comment is still awaiting moderation? It seems strange since it was posted 2 days ago. Am I too late to get in the drawing?XO Susan L
No, you are right on time, I’m the one who is late . . . I’m going through them all now … any that aren’t posted should be very soon! Unless the gremlins are lurking!
Thought of you on Christmas morning! Cowboy got me a Susan Branch 2013 Calendar! What a terrific guy! Happy New Year!
Being a librarian (and a lover of houses) I highly recommend China Court by Rumer Godden. It is dated, yes, but a sweet book about a VERY dysfunctional family at the turn of the century and the love of a country house. Delightful.
I think I have read that book five times. At least. One of the best country house books I know of… :O)
I agree with you Susan. I have always believed that houses have a soul.. It feeds on the love within its four walls. There is nothing sadder than an empty house. Others can go south for Christmas but I couldn`t be anywhere but home for that is where our memories are. Hope you had a good one!
Susan,
Home Sweet Home says it all. It’s where we all want to be, especially this time of year. Been working hard all week, looking forward to having the weekend off, Yeah!!!! and being home!!! Been trying to plan the New Year’s day meal, and wondered, do you have any special or traditional food that you eat on the first day of the year? I will be going to the grocery store this weekend, so I thought that I would ask you today. Thanks in advance for your answer. Wishing you a very Happy New Year from Greensboro NC. Hugs Karen C
Loved every house you showed, but my favorites were your rustic, simple dollhouse on your stove and your illustration of your own pretty first home with your three little kittens clustered together in the foreground. Our pets do make joyful embellishments to our homes and lives!
Happy Full Moon!
Oh, your blog makes me so happy. SO happy!!
Pam, in a Very Snowy Montreal
Such a beautiful story for such a magical day. Thank you for sharing.
Susan, I love the adorable little house you had. Do you have inside photos? It looks PERFECT.
Rosemary
I do, I think I’ll do a little book about it someday.
I love to look at houses, too. I love most all shapes, sizes and styles. Your home is one I’ve always dreamed of. It’s beautiful, but cozy. My home is small, but it’s cozy and it’s home! Thank you for this wonderful post and the chance to win your book! Happy New Year to you and Joe and the kitties!
So nice to read such cozy thoughts on a very cold winter’s night. We had the coldest Christmas Day in 16 years – a high of minus 24C (around minus 15F). Fortunately, all our children/grandchildren who had to travel to us in the cold have returned home safely. I would surely love to win one of your books, Susan. I have looked for them in stores often and they seem to be out of print. I know I could order them online. So far I have only ordered your calendars. As far as loving certain movies due to the houses in them – my favourite is Julia Roberts’ character’s house in Sleeping with the Enemy. Not an overly large house, but a great porch with a swing and very comfy rooms inside. Lots of big trees outside, which are scarce in this part of the prairies. Best wishes to all reading this for a healthy and safe 2013.
Hello Susan, I would LOVE to win your book!! I don’t have that one yet. I just received your Christmas book as a Christmas present this year from my husband. I can see why you loved your first home, it looks very cozy and loved.
~Michelle
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your stories with us. I love reading your blog, it always makes me smile and feel at HOME!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Houses are magical! Do you feel like houses can have a kind of soul? I lived in a wonderful home that was built in 1897 in a small historic town in South Carolina. I always get the feeling that houses are absorb the essence of the people who lived and loved within its walls. One of my favorite things to see in a home is the place where the height of the children were measured on the walls. You are so wonderful to share the spirit of your sweet home with us.
I do not have your first book and I would love to be the lucky girlfriend to receive it. The first book I picked up of yours was ‘Girlfriends Forever’ when it first came out. It was a gift to myself for Christmas that year. Little did I know how much your book would make my heart sing! I love love love that book. It has been on my nightstand for what 12 years (?). I pick it up now and then and my heart still sings. LOL So this year for Christmas I decided to treat my self to your Christmas Joy book. I was not suppose to read it until Christmas day but I cheated….as soon as the UPS guy came, I went to my room, shut my door and read it page by page until I finished the book. Ahhhh! Love your blog, love the way you love your life. Simply pleasures are the best for loving everything, and everybody. Can’t wait to read your new book about your Queen Elizabeth adventure. Happy 2013!
Loved your first house on the island..soo cute and inviting.
You look just as cute now as you did then…doesn’t look like you’ve changed a bit…lucky girl!
Keep up your good work..it makes us all feel warm and cozy inside.
Happy New Year to you and Joe!
Oh yes, I have changed. 🙂
Love your post and I would love to have your first book…perhaps Vanna will choose me this time! ;-). Am presently pouring over house listings for a relocation…so hard! But am looking forward to making the next house our best “home” yet!
Love your pictures of small homes, they are so much more lovable, and cozy, For Christmas my husband got me a shed cabin 10x 14 inside with a nice porch on it , to turn into a craft studio for myself, I am looking forward into making it cozy and cute, Like My personal doll house. I’am excited and looking forward to your book on your England trip to be available. Your home is so lovely, I Got myself your 2013 calendar , so adorable. as all your work, hope you have a Happy and Great New Year!!!
Dear Susan,
I would like to hear your story of how you chose to move to Martha’s Vineyard. Did you know anyone living there? I so admire your spunk! Love, love the photo of you in front of your Holly Oak.
God Bless you,
Carol in Iowa
p.s. I became a grandmother when I was 33
Wow! Lucky grandchildren to have such a young grandma! It’s a long story, how I came here (from California), but basically, I came to start a new life when my husband decided he didn’t want to be married anymore. I didn’t know anyone here. I just wanted to see what it was like to live with seasons. That’s kind of it in a nutshell! Someday I will write the whole story. Happy New Year Carol!
I’ve always admired how brave you were, at such a young age, after heartbreak, to travel cross country, find M.V., end up loving living there & THEN along comes Joe! All without your magic wand, didn’t you get it later? Amazing story my dear! xoxoxo
Joe was the frosting on the cake! Just when I’d decided it would never happen!
Snowfall has reached over a foot deep here in upstate New York…making everything look so special! This holiday season, may we remember all the blessings that we so frequently take for granted….a warm home, holiday food in our tummies, family and friends gathered near, and the best gift of all…LOVE!
Wishing everyone a blessed holiday whatever your beliefs may be, and a New Year filled with peace, contentment and good health!
I just love old houses too – though I don’t live in an old one – I wish I did! Your ‘wood room’ looks so cozy – great for all of the snow days this week.
Martha from CT
It’s snowing here, so I hope it is snowing there, I know you love and want SNOW! Santa bought me a new Apple MacPro for Christmas so I am trying it out. Now I can here the little bird at the start of your Blog and hear the Musica while I read your blog—–Heaven! I am thrilled and so Thankful. OXOX 🙂
hear not here !
You will love your new computer! I got one a couple of years ago, after being a PC person. It really didn’t take long to get used to it, and now I just love it!
Susan, your wood room is lovely. I have so enjoyed getting to see your home over the past year. What a treat! Thanks for being so generous with all you have. Happy New Year!
Jo
I bought your first cookbook at Goff’s bookstore (I hope I have the name right) while my husband and I were riding bikes around Martha’s Vineyard way back in 1986. So if I won, I would give it to one of my three daughters. They are all Susan Branch fans and are always borrowing my copies of your cookbooks.
I love your blog and your books.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for opening up your home to all of us in pictures and word. It is beautiful…and cozy! So enjoyable to take a virtual peek inside! I love it!! Thanks for sharing! I think that you need to give your book to one of those ladies who posted previously who are so anxious to have one of their own. I have all the books…I would love to start building some family members library…but there is such appreciation and desire in their writings…that one of them just must win!! Good luck! Happy New Year!!
Dear Susan,
My sweet daughter just gave me your calendar for 2013. I was so excited!
Then i saw this post on your blog…i would love to have your book! hope you pick me! Happy New year!!
I gave my mother-in-law her first Susan Branch book. We had a Christmas Yule log prayer and burning at their house Christmas Eve night, now a tradition!
What a cozy post!! I do so love a cozy home! We are living in a 31 foot camper in an RV park near Houston, Texas. This is to allow us to help my daughter who had quadruplets 7 months ago! Home is where the heart is! We have a lovely home 250 miles north of here. I have found that one can make a ‘home’ of just about anything just about anywhere!!
I discovered the same thing! Look at you! Quadruplets! They must be adorable!
I have written to you before about how I was given Heart of the Home as a shower gift and it got me started on a lifetime passion for cooking and for making the kitchen the center of our home. I have a dear young cousin who just got engaged and that would be such a treasure to give to her for her wedding shower! (I can’t believe Heart of the Home and Vineyard Seasons still seem to be out of print!! I have been able to get used copies of them for gifts but I’m terribly grateful to have my own, well-loved and well-used originals!). Belated thanks for all your contacts to give voice to the anti-gun sentiments so many of have in the interest of protecting the innocent. Hope you had a lovely Christmas. We had Christmas here and my beautiful sister-in-law was able to come. Everyone around the tree was so picture perfect, and I pray the picture next Christmas will look exactly the same. We have her and my brother’s 9-year-old neice and nephew with us, and seeing them sleeping peacefully makes me hope all can be right with the world.
Thanks for welcoming me into your world and for allowing me to share so much with you like a friend. You are a great gift to me and so many others.
You make me think of that wonderful poem: Touch hands, touch hands, with those you stay. Strong hands to weak, old hands to young, Around the Christmas board, touch hands.” xoxo
I hadn’t heard that before, but it brought tears to my eyes in gratitude for the generosity our two teenage sons show to both their little cousins and to their aging and aged aunts, uncles and grandparents. I will enjoy passing that along to our loved ones. God bless you and happy new year!
Hello Susan,
Are you up? Notice the time of this posting? I am getting ready for work and wanted to tell you something I noticed in a book that I am reading. “As Always, Julia, the Letters of Julia Child & Avis DeVoto.” On page 72 there is a photo of Julia with her co-writers and Curonsky, what I wanted to share was how the table was decorated. It reminded me of some of the “tablescapes” you have photographed and shared with us. This book is such a pleasure and fun to read. I find myself reading it with a huge smile on my face. I feel a bit naughty like I am somehow eavesdropping on their conversations. Thanks for your house posting above. I too, have thought about homes and houses since I was a little girl, I understand completely. Have a great day!
I’m up! Hope you have a great day at work Andi!
My favourite song has always been, “Our house, is a very, very, very fine house. With two cats in the yard…” It pretty much sums up the feeling I have about house and home. I enjoyed this post.
If you look close at the house picture I painted, you will see those words are on it! 🙂
I have just gotten time to sit down with a cup of coffee to really study this last post. Thank you for putting into words and photos exactly how I feel about houses and our homes also. I grew up a military brat and then married a military man. I have lived in so many houses, but now live in my ‘dream home’ Victorian house that I call ‘The Captains Cottage” in Atlanta. My house represents stabilility to me and I could read your last blog entry over and over with delight. Thank you for sharing your wonderful talent of weaving goodness and warmth into your stories, photos and paintings!
Thank you Tina … and so happy for you having your dream!
Lovely post! We bought our first little house this year and it really is little! Perfect for us, four kitties and a woofer.
Happy New Year Susan. Thank you for always putting a smile on my face. Looking forward to a 2013 full of more beautiful muses from you!