Hi Everyone! Between WILLARD (which starts going out this morning and finishes Wednesday night) and this post, I think I’m going to wear you out! But in the Willard I promised you a recipe, I promised “make-up gifts.” (Too long since last Willard, should call them welcome-back gifts). But first, we need MUSICA . . . and I need to show you what my dad, better known as “Blog Daddy” and his darling wife Jeannie sent us for Easter.
Is that cute or what? I get the bunny with the bow and I’m seven again. It’s got green peeps, it’s filled with those 
little chocolate eggs with the thin crispy crust and my favorite dark chocolate-covered coconut bars. Thanks Dad, thanks Jeannie! There’s me and Blog Daddy → . . . Such a cute surprise! (We were so young!)
I hope Easter weekend was as beautiful where you are as it was here! We’ve been getting amazing doses (as in medicine) of spring, drinking it in, making it almost impossible to stay inside, stay home, stay down. We want OUT! We pop this music into the player and off we go…
The island is coming alive and it’s fun to drive around and look at it. You can see we are still waiting for leaves on the trees, but the air is filled with the sweet smell of thawing earth, the light is new, and the sailboats are coming back. It’s perfect timing . . . Happy Earth Day! It’s today! Pretty smart of the powers-that-be to tuck Earth Day into this beautiful time of year! For extra enjoyment, for frosting on the spring cake . . . Check out the Washington DC Cherry Trees in bloom! They will put a song in your heart.
And now, here’s the recipe for the cake I wrote about in Willard, an old-fashioned lemon-filled sponge cake, soft as a baby’s hiney, perfect for spring birthdays, and gorgeous as a Mother’s Day Tea Cake.
And since I made this cake for Easter, I thought I’d show you just how easy it is to put together. Making this roll is much easier than you might think if you haven’t done it before.
So set your oven for 375° and here we go . . .
Butter a 10″ x 15″ cookie sheet that has a rim (jelly roll pan), then lay down a piece of waxed paper (allowing it to go over edge), smooth it into the corners and into the butter, and then butter the paper too.
Put the yolks of three eggs in one bowl and the whites in another.
Beat egg yolks a little bit then add a cup of sugar and . . .
Beat them until they’re thick and lemon colored . . .
Sift a cup of flour together with salt and baking powder . . . (don’t worry I’ll give measurements at the end)…
And stir it in to your batter along with six tablespoons of hot water . . .
Beat the egg whites until stiff and glossy.
While you’re doing that take a peek outside . . . oh, my, what a DAY!
And LOOK!!! I begin calling for Joe . . . we have robins by the herds, we have gaggles of cardinals, whole families ~ (not that I will ever take them for granted), but see that bird on the right? We never see that bird. ever. Got out the bird book where we find out it usually likes woods and thickets. This is our driveway . . . he is a “rose-breasted grosbeak.”
We ooh and aaah over him for a few minutes . . . He must have spring fever, coming over for some dessert seeds.
OK, that was nice, but back to “work” ~ folding in the egg whites . . .
And then the zest of one lemon . . . Now spread the batter evenly on your well-buttered cookie sheet and put into oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
While it’s baking, lay out a clean dishtowel and sift over a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
When the cake is done, and wafting fresh cake fragrance to the neighborhood, bring it out of the oven and use the edges of the waxed paper to turn it out onto your powdered-sugar covered cloth . . .
Voila! While still hot, carefully peel off the paper. Then take a pair of sharp scissors and cut off the crispy edges of the cake all the way around . . .
You can eat those crispy edges immediately, but from experience, if you eat them all now, you’ll have nothing to dip in the lemon filling you’re about to make. Just sayin’ . . .
Now, using the dishtowel begin to roll up the cake. It’s fairly malleable while it’s hot so you can make a nice roll, just pull out the towel as you go . . .
Once it’s all rolled, just leave it there and let it cool while you make the filling. Essentially it’s in training now to be a roll.
LEMON FILLING: In the top part of a double boiler, put two whole eggs, a cup of sugar, the grated rind of two lemons . . .
The fresh juice of two lemons and two tablespoons of melted butter.
Pour the juice into the double boiler through a fine sieve if your lemons are like mine and filled with seeds. Stir over simmering water for fifteen minutes until the filling is thick. Cool slightly. (Más MUSICA Girlfriends?)
Then it’s time to unroll your cake; carefully peel it open until it’s flat ~ it goes very easily . . .
Pour over the lemon filling and spread it almost to the edges, but leave it thick in the middle. (Don’t forget to save a little bit of filling to dip your cake clippings in if you have any left.)
Roll the cake back up, not TOO tightly, because you want the lemon filling to stay inside. I roll and lift the cake a bit as I go so as to keep the lemon from squeezing out the sides. Move the cake to an oval serving plate.
Sift over a little more powdered sugar ~ the cake is beautiful, but I decide it needs a little Easter decoration . . . so I run outside to pick some of my pretty yellow (non-toxic) forsythia flowers . . . any excuse to go outside is a good thing.
And voila! Like little butterflies. Your cake would be just as pretty with wild violets, pansies, johnny jump-ups, or roses . .
Now, soak the dishes, while you’re at it, notice the guy in the garden . . . that really good guy in the garden? Doing the aphrodisiac-thing women love?
Mulching and getting everything ready . . .♥
Go ask him if he would like a piece of Lemon Cake . . . Tell him you will bring it and he can eat it in the garden.
He deserves this . . . tender soft sugary cake with the most lemony of lemon fillings . . .
And while you’re out there, find reasons to stay . . . Hang up your bird houses . . . because you LOVE the serenade of birds in love . . .
Go take a picture of your old bunny crossing sign … take note of good mulchy dirt . . .
Give up looking for more to do and go on a walk! Such an amazingly gorgeous weekend.
Remember these Jingle Shells I found on the beach . . .?
. . . and then arranged on my window sill?
Well, one of our Girlfriends mentioned how much she would like to have some of these genuine Martha’s Vineyard jingle shells . . . so yesterday, out on our walk, I collected these . . .
And I put them in this Emma Bridgewater tin as a surprise . . . because I thought they might be a fun giveaway for spring, to celebrate the change of season, a box from the sea.♥
Jack agreed. I tied the box up in a little bag. Then I thought maybe not everyone wants shells, but I bet everyone would love an original 1900 copy of the wonderful “Elizabeth and Her German Garden,” the first book written by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth von Arnim (she also wrote “Enchanted April” which you would love if you haven’t already read it). So I added that . . . Look at the beautiful raggedy edges on the pages of this old book . . . (Of course, If I’m doing anything different at all, Jack is immediately involved. He has an inquiring mind that wants to KNOW.)
So I put them together and thought, that looks nice, but something is missing . . .
A Fine Romance! Yes, must have that in the package. I hope you like it! I’ll sign my book and the Elizabeth book to whomever wins the drawing . . . All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment; right here at the bottom of this post you’ll see the tiny letters “comment” ~ click there and say anything sweet and you’ll be entered.
But is that enough when it’s been almost a year since your last Willard? Don’t you owe the Girlfriends something else? Maybe not “owe” but “wish to give?” Oui! I think so! So Vanna will choose TWO names this time, and the second name drawn will get these two Keepsake books (guided “life story” journals with lined paper, places for photos, sewn-in ribbon bookmarks ~ and lots of fun questions to be answered in their own handwriting by mom’s, grandma’s, aunts, sisters), more Mother’s Day festivities! xoxo We are starting early because we know that the best way to remember Mother’s Day is to forget it once, but we never want that to happen!♥
Here’s the recipe Girlfriends!
CAKE:
- 3 eggs, separated in two lg. bowls
- 1 c. sugar
- 6 Tbsp. hot water
- 1 c. sifted unbleached flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- grated rind of one lemon (zest)
- sifted powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 375°. Butter a 10″ x 15″ cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, one with a rim. Line it with waxed paper leaving some to hang over edges (an inch is fine). Set pan aside. Separate eggs into two large bowls. Beat egg yolks, add sugar and beat until thick and lemon-colored. Stir in hot water and dry ingredients. Beat egg whites with electric beater until stiff; gently fold into egg batter. Fold in grated rind. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 12-15 min.
Immediately turn finished cake onto clean dishtowel lightly covered with sifted powdered 
sugar. Carefully peel off waxed paper. With sharp scissors, cut off the crisp edges of the cake. Using the cloth, roll up cake pulling out cloth as you go. Leave it covered and rolled, set it aside to cool while you make the filling.
FILLING
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 c. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
- zest and juice of 2 lemons (strained if necessary, no seeds please)
Put all ingredients into top part of double boiler. Beat well and stir til thick, approx. 15-20 min. Cool slightly.
FINISH
Unroll the cake, spread on the filling, and roll back up. Cool completely. Transfer to serving dish. Sift over a tiny bit more powdered sugar. Add flowers if you like, edible and unsprayed, violets, pansies, roses, johnny jump ups. Here’s a list of edible flowers.
Now something everyone needs the week after Easter, a delicious recipe for:
These make the most delicious just-home-from-work treat, on the porch while you watch the green things growing. Which is what I hope you’re all doing these days, just as crazy with spring fever as we are. ♥ Deep breaths of the gorgeous outdoors, that’s the only “cure.”
Happy Spring, Girlfriends . . . I’m off to work on my book, my new addiction, a few hours every morning, trying to figure out what our heroine is going to do next (she seems to have a mind 
of her own) . . . housekeeping, gardening, normal life in the afternoon. Don’t forget to leave a comment for the seashells and books. Also, if you have any trouble with WILLARD, be sure to let me know. He goes to lots of addresses now, it takes a couple of days for them all to go out, but if you haven’t received him by Thursday morning, check your spam box (because I’ve heard he can take a detour) and then let me know . . . you can write either here, or on Twitter, or on FOSB (Facebook), and we will be paying attention!
XOXO
I am a new reader of your blog and I love it. It is beautifully done and I can’t wait until the next issue hits my in-box. I purchased “A Fine Romance” and have really enjoyed every word.
Sincerely,
Dana Boyd
Welcome Dana!
Just wanted to you to know that I just can’t wait for each blog to come out! Your paintings are awesome, your comments so on target, and your recipes…well, sometimes it feels like I gained some weight just reading them, they sound so good.
I read and adored your books over the years and now I get to keep up through your blog. I also live near water (Lake Michigan) and adore any time I can also spend on Lake Superior. So many of the things you share resonate with my experiences. To those who don’t know…looking across Lake Michigan or Lake Superior is like looking across the ocean. I cherish showing this to my eastern seaboard friends who then need to go and taste the water. LOL
Now if we would only get spring like you already have…
Happy Spring! You always brighten my day!!!
Thank you!
Becky
I have become lost in your website, just looking at everything. Willard is always such a fun treat and I always love the Musica! It’s just a must while reading and looking around. You are a true gem.
Susan,
Through your wonderful blog (Comment section) I discovered a wonderful lady named Elaine from Ontario. When she read that I would love to have the “Baby Love” book for my Daughter, she sent me a gently used copy!!! How sweet is that??? I was thrilled with her thoughtfulness. It arrived in time for me to give to my Daughter this past Saturday and she loved it!
I would love to win the two books, ‘telling you story’. Thanks for the great recipes. Can’t wait for Willard:)
Thanks so much for being you,
Stephanie
I saw that happen. Wasn’t that wonderful!
I am always sooo happy to see your lovely posts! You are a delight and a bright spot in the day! I live in land-locked Colorado, so I would love your gift from the sea! Crossing my fingers!
Love your blog and looking forward to receiving the new Willard letter. In addition to enjoying pictures of Jack and Girl, I also enjoy the pictures of the birds. I had parakeets before I was married…now I have four cats so no birds allowed. Enjoy your spring weather. Here in the southwest, the heat has found it’s way to us, so I’ll be indoors quite a bit. After 40+ years in LV, I’m ready to move somewhere cooler.
Take care.
The lemon roll looks so yummy! Thank you for sharing, Susan!
Hello Susan, I just signed up last week to get Willard letters. I’m so excited to start receiving them again. I still have my old letters I would receive from snail mail lol . The first one dated April 1998 and the last was January 2003. It will great to get them again. Happy Spring to you , Joe and of course Willard! Linda
Looking so forward to trying this cake recipe … thank you for sharing! Happy Spring to you and yours! xoxo
I knew the Lemon Roll sounded a bit familiar! Yes, there it is in Sweets to the Sweet! Thanks for the reminder – will wait until all the Easter goodies have been eaten! Yum!
Happy Earth Day! It’s been a beautiful one here in the Midwest. On Easter Sunday I made a delicious lemon cake for a family gathering. Your lemon cake will definitely be the next one I try. Yum! Just reading about the sea shells (we don’t see those here!) and the books just gave me shivers of joy! I hope I win!
Happy Spring and Happy Earth Day! I love that little rose-breasted grossbeak. I have never seen one here in Northern California. It has been glorious here and at your other home on the coast of California. Thank you for all you give to your “girlfriends”. <3
Can’t wait to try the lemon cake! Now I know what will be on my Mother’s Day lunch menu 🙂 Thank you for reminding me to enjoy the simple, everyday things in life. I so often overlook them, trying to do something grand. I love the giveaway.Vanna pick me!!
Susan, what a wonderful blog and Willard! I so enjoyed them both. We get Grosbeaks here quite a bit. I just love them. There is also a beautiful yellow and black Grosbeak, we usually just get them passing through, but oh they are beautiful! Thanks for brightening my day as you always do. I love your happy, positive, always look for the best attitude on life. It is so refreshing and uplifting.
Mary Jane
Hi Susan,
I love your blog post. We had a wonderful Easter. Please enter me in your drawing. I would love to win… I signed up for your newsletter and I’m going to try your lemon cake.
Joyously,
Betty @ My Cozy Corner
This was the best gift ever. I am out of bed from a bout of flu that was sudden and took me flat. I took a nice walk around the block at 57 degrees and came home to the Willard on my e-mail. You touch my heart with beauty and the feminine graces. It is simply lovely. Keep on with what you do. I do secretly home I win.
Hope you are feeling better Lynda.
Happy Earth Day! Did you plan that all the wonderful outdoorsy news would come out on Earth Day? Love all the things that are already blooming out your way, still waiting here for some of that to happen in WI. I like Joe was able to get out in the garden last week and start tending some of my flower beds, tomorrow I have someone coming to till the vegetable garden. I have my cauliflower, onions, leeks and broccoli all ready to be planted. Ah, spring so glad to have dirt under my nails once again, I have missed it so. Loved the recipes and you make that cake roll look so easy to do. Haven’t received my Willard yet, but looking forward to it and a chance for the jingle shells and books. You are the best!
Happy Spring!!! The Lemon Roll looks yummmmmmmy and very springy. After resting all winter it looks like its time to get busy in the garden again. Why do the weeds even look good this time of year….from Minnesota after a long winter. leAnn
Happy Earth Day Susan,
Just love your bird house!! I’m going to ask my husband to make one for my collection. The sea shells are wonderful, looking forward to the drawing.
Awww, the cake and Easter baskets are so very, very sweet! Last year, my husband and I were apart for a few months because he moved into our new city first while I finished out the school year (I teach high school English). I was missing him pretty badly, so it was doubly wonderful when he called me on Easter and said to look inside a nondescript, worn computer box sitting under the desk…. A huge Easter basket he had prepared for me before he left! He knew I had never had one (we were pretty poor when I was a child and baskets were a frivolous waste), so he made one for me. I would have married him had we not already been married. 🙂 here’s to a wonderful day for you!
I’m a newer reader of your blog, Susan, and I have thoroughly enjoyed your lovely look at the world. Your recipes are delish and insight into life charming. Thanks for sharing yourself with your readers!
Thank you for your delightful blogs and for the lovely Willards! You are such a wonderful, creative, inspirational writer. I love reading all your writings and love learning so much from your ideas and posts. These gifts you have for the drawing are so marvelous and generous–someone is going to be very lucky! Thank you for being such a kind, talented, and delightful person!
Loved reading your latest blog while I’m waiting for Willard! So many yellow things in your posting…shells, lemon roll cake, daffodils and forsythia! Glad spring has finally come to the Vineyard!
Happy Earth Day!!! Thank you for beautifying our earth in all you do. 🙂
Hi Susan!
You are a breath of spring, my favorite time of year also. I so enjoy reading your blog. The Easter baskets with your fav goodies are so cute. Rest assured I will be making The. Mother’s Day Cake. My dear mother passed 20 years ago and she loved lemon cake. It will be a nice tribute to her. Thank you for sharing the recipe and for the giveaway:-)!
Make everyday special. XO
Hello Susan! You always bring a smile to my face. Your stuff always feels cozy for me, bright and shiny, comfy, homey, and positive. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Sheer delight. You are lucky to have your life and we are lucky to share it.
Thank you and happy Spring.
Such cheeriness and true beauty in everything here at your website! From snapshots of the beach to your lovely artwork a visit here always brings a smile and brightens my day. Thank you for sharing your creativity and talents – and the recipes too! My family always looks forward to my preparing a “Susan Branch special”!
Boy, that lemon roll looks delicious! I’m going to have to make that my next baking adventure! Thanks for always sharing your wonderful recipes with us, Susan. I made your Bunny Cake for Easter and it was gobbled down very quickly. Everyone thought it was so cute. I did give you all the credit! Hope you had a great Easter, we did here with my family. Would love those sea shells to take to my beach house in Seal Beach!
Oh so many comments!! Wow! Well just a quick hello. I think of you often and the fun meet up we had at your farm sale. I’ve been back to the area many times since, we always stay in SLO at the Apple Farm and have a nice weekend walking about. California misses you. Those shells are lovely and wouldn’t it be grand to have one or two! Enjoy spring, you certainly deserve it after the winter you had. Big hugs Susan, thank you for always brightening my day! xo
I think of you too Pam! I know you are keeping busy and enjoying all the wonderful and creative things you are doing. xoxo
What a lovely post. Can’t wait for Willard to arrive. My mother-in-law used to make a delicious lemon roll, and when I found out how she made it, I didn’t think I would ever attempt it. But you have broken it down so I will attempt to make one in her honor.
I love cooking from your cookbooks. Have you ever thought of compiling a recipe index that would tell which cookbook the recipes are in. I’ve always thought that would be so helpful, as I sometimes spend time going from book to book looking for a particular recipe. Of course, in my search, I find five more that I want to make in the coming days. Just a thought.
Happy Spring!
The leaves on our trees are starting to open as well! The forsythia is in bloom along with daffodils and narcissus. Hopefully we can put the awning up this weekend and begin having dinner on the patio. Thanks for the Mother’s Day Cake recipe. It looks so yummy!
Love your posts!! Even though my mom is in heaven, am going to make your lemon cake for Mothers Day for my daughter and her family. I also enjoy your garden pictures. I used to grew up on California beaches and truly miss the water and the weather. Used to pick things up off the beach to make little things to sit on the mantel or use as Christmas ornaments.
Now Live in Tennessee now, winters are gloomy and so am I. Weather is warming up now and am spending a lot more time outside – got my own rider mower and am loving it. The dogs and I like this warmer weather.
I, too, do a lot of sewing and have made four quilts so far this year to keep busy. This year I will start painting again and make some personalized items for Christmas presents. My granddaughter is quite talented and I told her I would teach her a few techniques that I have learned these past years, should be fun.
Looking forward to your next postings. Follow lots of your recipes on facebook and share them with my friends!
Have a wonderful tomorrow.
After reading some of these comments, I don’t know what to say that might make your ears perk up. I want to say that you are blessed to have such a zest for life. You are so talented in ways that I cannot even imagine being…….yet, I imagine that I am just like you in many ways. First, we’re the same age; second, we love many of the same things; third, we are so in love with the men we married; and last, but not least, we love our girlfriends! Thank you Susan Branch!
Every comment makes my ears perk up. That’s what makes me so slow, I need to read them all. All lovely, all wonderful, all making me feel so amazingly blessed. I do think we are all kindred spirits Ann, thank you for being here because we are all proof positive that most of the world is made up of wonderful connected caring loving people. xoxo
Hi, Sue! Happy Spring! Looking forward to the latest Willard! Love the weather (although here in northern WI we do have a little bit of snow left in the shaded areas)! You’re sweet to treat your readers!
Sue
Oh Susan, I sure enjoy your blog! Your lemon cake sounds so good and because of your pictorial help, I think I can even make it myself. And what fun, another giveaway! They are so exciting and something fun for us even when we aren’t the ones that win. I thought that would be the end of the blog for today, but wait – another recipe!! Wow, what a deal. Along with pictures of birds and the scenery in New England. Can anyone wonder why your blogs are such a treat for your girlfriends?!! They sure are for me – Thank you so much, from your friend…
Debby in Oregon
Happy Earth Day! Perfect post for this day…thank you! 🙂
Happy, Happy Earth Day!! Love and Peace!!
Happy Spring and Earth Day Susan……My mouth is watering just looking at that yummy cake! I live in Indiana and we are finally in bloom, peonies are coming up,Dogwood are starting to bloom too…..just love this time of year…..you are so very lucky to have Joe and the wonderful things he does around your paradise……Yeah for handy husbands,birds,kitties,sunshine,sprigs of spring everywhere…..windows are open,breezes wafting through the house…..enjoy! Mary “Barefoot Sparkler”
Susan – Can’t describe how excited I was to read a new Willard! I look forward to both Willard and new posts on your blog, you are so inspiring and your posts always bring a smile to my face. Enjoy Spring!!
Once again you have created an inspiring and interesting entry, thanks so much for sharing your life with us!
I love the bird entries, as I watch each spring for our migrating birds to return to Sweden from their winter homes.
May your day be filled with joy!
Hi Susan,
Happy Earth Day! You are such an inspiration to us all.
Thanks for sharing your corner of the world with us.
Deb in Dixie
It’s so much fun seeing the name(s) of the person (s) whom Vanna chooses to win the treasures you collect because I imagine how happy and thrilled they must be! Happy Spring Susan and everyone!!!
My daughter/daughter-in-law colored the whites of the eggs before filling them. How BEAUTIFUL they were – yellow, blue, green, pink, red.
So just a suggestion for anyone who may be making stuffed eggs in the future. Please put my name in whatever “container” Vanna will be using – 🙂
Hahaha Joan.
The lemon cake looks like springtime on a plate! Another must make recipe.
Thanks for the lovely update. I’m salivating over that lucious lemon cake so I see one in my future! And, of course, the give-away looks awesome : )
HAPPY SPRING
Love lemons! I have never tried a rolled cake. Your pictures have given me the courage to attempt it this weekend! Thanks, Beth
The cake looks wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.
Wow, what a jam-packed post today! I just love the baskets your Dad sent you and Joe, really cute and Easter-y, and Peeps are the best. Your little birds are so sweet, I have never seen a Rosy Grosbeak here in CT, but maybe I need to pay more attention, I have to bring my feeders in at night because we have a bear that visits our yard and loves to snack on the seeds.
Thanks for all the wonderful give-aways, some lucky girlfriends are going to be very happy! I did read Enchanted April, but would love to read Elizabeth and her German Garden too! And who wouldn’t love jingle shells from the Vineyard? It’s all so lovely and generous. Well, Happy Spring to you and Joe and the kitties!
Thanks Susan for the great lemon roll cake — I want to make it for Mother’s Day celebration .
Happy Earth Day
The recipes look yummy, can’t wait to try them, thanks. I don’t think that I have ever seen a rose-breasted grosbeak before, beautiful! Thanks for making me smile. Happy Spring!
Happy Earth Day, Susan! I just love reading your blog and books. Thanks so much for brightening my day!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for springtime blossoms, inspiration, and lemon deliciousness!
~ Kathleen
“anything sweet” 😉
Forsythia is the very first spring “thing” I remember as a child. That and our “Spring Coats” we wore to church. Pink wool!
Love your blog!
Dear Susan,
I want you to know I think of you every day. A copy of your book, A Fine Romance, sits on the top of my roll-top under my Blessed Mother statue. Thank you for the lovely lemon roll-up cake recipe. You are such an inspiration! When I make it (and I will), I will say Hail Marys for you and Joe.
That would be very nice!
I always thought that type of rolled cake was hard to make but you make it seem easy so I look forward to trying it. Your little guest bird is beautiful. I would treasure those shells.
Happy Spring Sue! Love a new draw with such wonderful goodies yet again.
Looking forward to the Willard arriving soon! I LOVE shells and those jingle shells are so pretty. No beaches in MO. but I look at my collection of shells to remind me of walking on the beach. Thanks for the chance of such special gifts!
Hi Susan,
What wonderful Easter presents you and Joe received from your Dad! And YUM! what a nice present you gave us in the lemon roll-up cake! Can’t wait to try the stuffed eggs. Glad spring is finally hitting your area of the country. Our pear tree is in full bloom as is our flowering crab. The redbud and dogwood are starting to peek out. Loved you photo of the Grosbeak! I’ve never seen one here. He’s a handsome fellow.
I have a shell collection from all the beaches I’ve visited, but don’t have any from Martha’s Vineyard so I’d love to win that prize. Please let Vanna know!
Anne
I was finally able to get a copy of A Fine Romance. I had to order from Amazon even though I checked bookstores in Canada, Washington state and Florida. I’m enjoying your journey all over again and in much greater detail than from your blog posts of the trip. It is truly making me want to go back to England again.
Happy you are liking it Wendy!
I would love to win those seashells. I’m from Hawaii originally and I love shells but have never seen any in that color. I love them! They shout “Spring” when on your white windowsill.
Since I LOVED Enchanted April, I know I would enjoy the German Garden book and I have always enjoyed seashells being a California girl all my life. The lemon roll cake looks lucious – must try. Loved seeing the French word Oui…good practice for me. I leave Saturday for a month in France. A GIRLFRIEND and I have rented an apartment in Paris, taking some classes, taking train down to Monaco for a few days…just a dream trip. Can’t wait. Au Revoir.
Wonderful Linda, lucky lucky!
Bon Voyage Linda!!! Any room in your suitcase???
~Margot
It’s so wonderful you are finally getting to experience spring!! I am right there with you. It is inspiring in Texas. Bluebonnets, Indian paint brush, wildflowers galore. Can’t drink it in enough. Hope to be a winner of your darling gifts. Thanks for blogging with all the fun things on there. Drink deep the cool spring air.. Susan
As always, I look forward to each of your posts. I makes me happy to read along with someone else who is invariably happy and upbeat. Thanks for making my day!
I was so pleased to have your “Willard” in my e-mail today and then a
new blog too. Yea. My Bradford Pear tree is beautiful even with a
few showers today. Hoping for sunshine tomorrow as I have 15 lily
bulbs to put in. Thanks for the lovely give aways. Happy Spring everyone.
Charm and whimsy…..what would we do without them ? Thankyou for what you send our way.
Oh my, I think all the girlfriends are hoping to win an Emma tin of your wonderful seashells, me too! I love the look of your wonderful lemon jelly roll cake. I need to share this one with mt daughter-in-law. Have a wonderful spring, girlfriends.
Toni
Thank you Susan for your generous heart! I grew up on Long Island and miss the ocean so much. I would love either of your beautiful gifts. 🙂 Wishing you and Joe ever more blessings this Easter Season.
Jean
Thank you for such a lovely post, it was a treat after my long but wonderful day in the garden. I think some stuffed eggs are in my very near future and a lemon cake will be the perfect Sunday lunch dessert!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the Springy Willard to brighten my day! We are all in need of Spring this year, after all the Polar Vortex business. The cake looks so good and I’m going to try it soon. I love your pictures and descriptions of Jack’s antics. Enjoy the Spring!!
It’s been so long since I have walked on a beach and collected shells. It is one of my most precious memories. Thank you for your blog, I enjoy every new entry.
Greetings Susan,
I love your blog, sweet, original, and speaks to me of all the things I love. I live in Canberra, Australia and we are sliding into autumn, which rapidly slides into winter here in this more highland part of our country. Yes, we can even get a little snow and I can see it on the hills when I sit in bed and peer through the bare plum trees, not a normal occurance in most of Australia!
My man bought me ‘A Fine Romance’ for my birthday and I’m loving it. It’s my special book for tea and quiet on my deck. I love your paintings and Musica…I have never come across anything so touching. Enjoy your spring, I love it all. Blessings, Gwyn.
Oh that lemon cake looks so delish I could reach through the computer and take it off your hands! So Yummy. You have the most generous heart and would love to win any of those lovely items you are offering. Of course it would be a miracle as I never win stuff but I will still try. 🙂
Hugs across the miles,
Lynnie
Dear Susan,
Receiving WILLARD and your post has made this evening sooooo wonderful! You said to comment something sweet to enter the contest, well, Sugar, that’s about as creative as I get……that’s why I love your emails sooooo much! Thank you for sharing your Spring with all of us and, of course, the wonderful recipes, too. I have introduced my friends to your sight (and books) and have become very popular, so I thank you for that also.
“Hello” to Mr. Dreamy in your garden!
Happy Earth Day to you, Joe & the kitties!
Can’t wait to read the new Willard.
Hi Susan, Im coming to Marthas vineyard in June, and I was wonder if you have a store there, or if there is one special store that sells your products on the Island, I have been there before many years ago, and Im am so looking forward to it again,
Thank yu
Elaine
Susan, Susan, Susan!!!
Three exclamation points for your wonderful threesome of goodies! And the lemon cake recipe is the “icing” for it all – a lovely, delectable icing to spread over all the goodness you bring us. (I hope my gushing is not over the top. Yikes!)
But I do mean it. You are so generous.
I’m not really writing this because I hope to win (even though that would be very cool) but to simply take part in all the warmth and happiness we all seem to find here on your site.
Barbara
Oh, Susan, that recipe looks so yummy. I love anything lemony! I will definitely be trying this out. I Love reading all of your posts. If I never get the chance to go to your wonderful island in person it is nice to experience it in my mind through your writing. Thank you for sharing your life with us. It really does mean so much!
Thank you!
I just love to read your blogs and “Willard” they always inspire me to try something new, to support a friend who needs a pick me up and to dream. Thank you.
Susan, you are such a comfort and a reminder that it turns out that little things really do mean a whole lot in life.
I love that first picture of the island with the gorgeous light! I remember riding around the Vineyard as a young girl, free and happy as all get out. One week of bliss.
Yum! Nothing could make your lemon cake better (except maybe some delicious California strawberries). I have been buying them from the local strawberry stands every day, eating them right up, and going back for more in a couple of days. Such a sweet treat. Thanks for the yummy recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
So nice to her from you again. Last year in MN was the first time I saw the rose breasted Grosbeaks too. I took many many MANY photos. I love the cardinals too, I always think it is my Dad checking up on me, since a cardinal came and sat on my 4 th floor kitchen window sill the day my sweet Dad passed away. This was in FL, the first time I had seen a FL cardinal, now they visit ever day! Happy Spring!
What a wonderful day – a new Willard and a new blog post! Thank you so much. It must be difficult to take time away from your new book to write to us but it is so appreciated. Happy Spring.
I have loved your creativity for years. I used to make calendars with your monthly stickers. I use the pocket planner you have each year. I look forward to Willard and your blogs and I love collecting shells and stones from New England beaches and the beaches here in Florida. Looking forward to the new book. The lemon roll cake sounds delicious, I will have to try it. Thank you for bringing beauty and joy into our lives.
LOVE those Martha’s Vineyard Jingle Shells!
Happy Spring!! Thanks for the recipes-can’t wait to try them! I don’t make it to the beach too often, but when I do, I love collecting shells and sea glass. Thanks for the new Willard. Really enjoyed reading it!
Love having a window into your wonderful life.
Charmed life thanks for sharing.
I enjoy reading your posts and hearing about your life, it’s uplifting. Thank you!
Thank you for posting the beautiful pictures of Spring and especially of the forsythia. I haven’t seen forsythia since I moved from Connecticut to Texas 15 years ago. I always read your blog and I own a lot of your books. You help to keep me connected to the New England that I love and miss so much.
For an Easter-themed, large gathering of girlfriends earlier this month, I made your carrot cupcake recipe and frosted and sprinkled them as you did in the pictures you posted. They were a huge hit! What a surprise to learn how many claim carrot cake among their favorite desserts. The trays came home empty; none were left of the more than three dozen yield. All the remaining ones went home for the husbands of those who grabbed them up at the end of the gathering!
How great! Thank you for telling me, Gloria!
Your cake looks heavenly! I’ve always been a little intimidated by cake rolls, but you make me think I could do this. The shells are just so lovely and sweet! LOVE your musical choices today 🙂 Happy Spring!
Jeanette
You can do this Jeanette!
We Are SOOOO ready for Spring here in Nebraska. Thanks for a taste of yours!
Hi Susan,
Happy Spring to you! I live in California and the weather is beautiful, everything is green and I’m happy.
Barbara
As always, any day I see your blog, I know the next several minutes will be my escape into your world and love it. Thank you for the special moments.
Oh my stars!! Does that lemon cake look so good! Thank you for sharing the recipe and for the wonderful give away. You always spoil us girl friends!
Hugs,
Debbie Johnson
A Willard worth waiting for Susan! It is dark and dreary here in Northern Idaho today and “Willard” cheered me up immensely. Would love the shells and books! God bless your giving heart!!! Donna (Idaho)
P.S. By the way, my birthday is today 4.22.14, and I LOVE we share the same birthday month!!! Donna (Idaho)
Happy Birthday Donna!!