Since we’re all going to be busy these next few days, I thought I’d wait until after Thanksgiving to draw the name of our lucky winner and 
make sure everyone has had time to sign up for our Giveaways (there are two, scroll down to next post to read about them) ~ this allows everyone to BE the actual winner for a little bit longer. Until the bitter truth is revealed by our in-house bitter-truth revealer, Vanna, when she draws the winning name. Until then, maybe a blog filled with photos of all kinds of holiday decorating? And MUSICA?
But first off, speaking of honey. Look at us, we’ve got almost 1800 comments on the last post and everyone of them is a pure jewel.♥ If you ever feel sad about the world, which is easy to do these days, read the comments on this blog and it will cheer you up. I sit here and cry when I read your 
words of encouragement and kindness ~ you’ll never know ~ and when I read that you’re waiting for a tornado to pass, that you’re raising three rowdy boys and a husband, that you have Chinese friends, or you are Chinese, that you are from everywhere, Mexico, Germany, England, The Netherlands, that you have tea parties for your girlfriends and read to your moms. You are true Fairy Tale girls, getting through surgery, new knees and chemotherapy; nursing, celebrating and remembering loved ones, sharing 
the things that make you feel grateful, cuddling your pets and your children, watching old movies for strength (Little Women makes the MOST wonderful background sounds while you are rolling out pie crust btw), laughing about how your daughters race to change the calendar page each month. You stop mopping the floor to read Willard, you love Gingerbread tea, and you send blessings to each OTHER ~ yes, you do that ~ you even talk Arf and Arfy to me now. Your Christmas cookbooks have magazine articles tucked into them, you love Louisa May 
Alcott, you love wearing your elf charm with the card that says: Go. Be. Love. The World Needs You. And that’s just the beginning of the beauty of YOU.♥ Thank you so so SO much. You reaffirm my forever belief that the world is filled with wonderful, good-hearted, loving people. If you need any reaffirming yourself, I encourage you to read these comments. And leave one yourself, if you haven’t already. All comments from these two posts will be entered into the drawing. Oh yes, and thank you from the bottom of my pea pickin’ heart. I wob you too.
Now, down to business Girlfriends: let’s talk about tablecloths and silverware, place cards and table settings, shall we? (Would like to Un-invent spell check, so far we have table scares and silver wipes.)
Here is my dining room on a relatively calm day. No big projects on the table, but you can see it’s the holidays because I have paperwhites on the window sills. The calm before the storm.
This was a table setting for New Year’s Eve a few years back . . . champagne corks for place cards . . . and old books, and old glassware I’ve collected over the years.
And here I am thinking about tablecloths and bread baskets . . .(for some reason I’ve been singing this song all week, now it will be your turn!)
And here is Girl Kitty trying out the tablecloth . . . Oh yes, I have lots of help! Don’t think I do any of this all by myself.
And here is the table set for Thanksgiving. I use all our mix-and-match smaller chairs in order to get more people around the table . . . two at each end, so we can serve 14 here. I like it best when people are a little bit squashed together. The party is more lively that way! Secrets can be told! And little bouquets, all the way down the table, so no one has to peer through flowers.
You all know what a china and linen fiend I am, just like so many of you! It’s the never-ending quest for beauty. I love setting the table more than I love cooking! The cooking is the support system for the table setting!
The painting is the support system for the cooking. It’s all tied together.♥
We have three “eating places” inside the house. This table is in the living room, for when it’s pouring snow and when we want to have a small cozy dinner in front of a crackling fire.
Here it is, all draped and ready, pillows on the chairs for a comfy dining experience. You’ll note that I don’t really care if everything matches perfectly. The red tablecloth on the bottom, by the way, is an old bedspread.
Here we are in the kitchen for a casual dinner and no tablecloth, with napkins that don’t have to be ironed. But the candles are lit, the cute bread basket is there, the mugs I got years ago at Dansk in Carmel, the iron candle sticks I found in an antique store, and the heavy pottery pieces I bought way back when, done by Santa Margarita (CA) artist Paula Teplitz in the 1970s. You wouldn’t believe how I would haunt craft shows looking for her work. I found everything one piece at a time. Each is different and all depict animals and nature.
Oh my! I just decided to Google her and see if she was still around. And she is! Go here and “like” Paula . . . this will be a total surprise for her! I don’t think she knows how much I loved her things and still do. ♥
I still set the table with Paula’s creations. Or bake pies in them.
Speaking of setting the table ~ This is how my grandmother taught me to do it at Thanksgiving when I was little, except in those days it was much simpler, only one fork, not two, and one glass and the one glass was for MILK (mmmm, a big glass of ice cold milk? YUM! I can hear the eeeewes from here). And the napkin goes on the left.
Sometimes I get so excited to take the picture, I do it before I should. Here I’ve already lit the candles (on the bedspread) while I’m trying out glasses. Ignore the napkin placement, it doesn’t stay that way . . . thank you.
See? Sooner or later I do figure out where the napkin goes! I love a romantic, old-fashioned table, one that brings back memories we’ve maybe never even had.
You’ve probably noticed, candlelight makes everything more beautiful. BTW, be sure to take photos of your table. I’m often so busy I forget, and now I wish I had them all! (See Girl Kitty, under the table?)
Candlelight puts a twinkle on everything at the table including into the eyes of the people you love. And of course, don’t forget the MUSICA.
And of course, I’m a big one for quotes, no matter where I am!
I think books make the MOST interesting table decorations and use them all the time, this is a set of Shakespeare we found in an antique store (I must sound like a broken record, but the truth is we rarely buy anything new). The corks are from other memorable parties. I’ll tell you about 
those leather baby shoes in my new book Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams . . . I found them in my first house, they’re part of a magical mystery. You realize that I’ve told you all about what happened before I went to Martha’s Vineyard, and lots about after I got here in my books and on my blog, but not very much about the five interesting years after I first arrived on the Island in 1982, totally unprepared for pretty much everything, and until I met Joe in 1987. We’re about to change all of that. In words and pictures.
Oops, books. As decor. Yes . . .
Thanksgiving is a good time to evoke memories with cookbooks and an old recipe box. Little bowls of faux fruit and wooden spoons, why not? As I always say, shop the house for table decor.
This romantic setting was for a Valentine’s Day party.
All books work: Christmas books, old fairy tale books, 
garden books, books on tea, bird books, 
children’s books, books of poetry, wildflower books, books by favorite authors, even songbooks ~ all make wonderful companions at the dinner table.
We use this old set of Charles Dickens for Christmas (plus some of Joe’s childhood books).
Old Christmas books are perfect in front of the fire for a Christmas Tea. You can see them here, emitting comfort from their very presence.
They also fit well with my small collection of house candles . . . because ♥ home is where my heart is.♥
And now? Place cards . . . just a few little easy ideas . . . because place cards are a very nice thing to have. That way people know where to go, no bumbling around the table. Something I did once for a buffet but unfortunately did not take pictures of: I enlarged cute and funny pictures of all the guests on my copier and used them for place mats instead of place cards. When they came to the table with their filled plates, they knew just where to go.
So easy if you are a champagne-cork saver . . . This way all your past memories join with the ones you’ll be making at the dinner table.
They almost make themselves. I just used scissors with a decorative edge (from Michaels Crafts) to cut out the cards and the wires on the corks did the rest of the work.
Leaves, from the yard. Beyond easy, almost cheating. I used a whiteout pen to write Joe’s name on this nice thick rhododendron leaf.
And they can be small and simple . . . A watercolor brush and readable handwriting is all you need for this little card. I try to write the names big enough and dark enough so people can see them without their glasses!
Now of course, you need the fastest way possible to shine up the silver, right? You really don’t feel like sitting there all day polishing it piece by piece . . . so here’s what you do. (Click and be amazed.)
And maybe your wooden spoons are dried out and almost splintery looking? Can’t have that. So easy to keep them dark and buttery . . . Use a pasty brush to coat the wood with mineral oil ~ let it soak in and voila! You can read more about your wooden things HERE. P.S. My dad carved the Sue spoon.♥
Most of the time, my house is decorated rather simply, unless it’s the holidays or we are having a party. The living room, in real life, is almost naked.
I change pillows and quilts for the season and leave room for flowers. It’s a little like a movie set.
Because flowers change everything.They are really the only decoration you need. Maybe some nice votives too.
A little bouquet here and there cheers everything up, don’t you think?
My bread basket cheers me up too. I found it at a flea market, zeroed in on it, mine, so mine. It is the little things! Now, don’t think you have to do ALL of this, or even any of it. Mostly, you know, it’s just about the gravy. And having fun. And hugging the people you love. Now, a couple of last things before I go, something you should all be aware of ~ There are:
And let’s talk about Black Friday, which is the perfect day for a stroll in nature. . .and if not a stroll, then perhaps a little sit. How they ever made the day after Thanksgiving dedicated to spending money I will never understand. So, turn your Black Friday into Earth Green . . .
This is the perfect place to pray for our world because even the smallest voice can be heard from here. How can people fight over television sets in discount stores when there is this?
and this ~
and this?
XOXO With love forever from me to you . . .from this House of Creativity to yours . . . now about to celebrate its 166th Thanksgiving.♥
P.S. For anyone who might have missed WILLARD (with all the newest news), click there. And if you’d like to have Willard emailed to you in the future, click here to sign up.♥
Was tickled to see “Home for Christmas” in your book pile on your Christmas dining table. I have that book too! Love it.
Thank you for all the lovely notes and drawings. My favorite was seeing Gladys Taber’s quote. I loved reading her column, Butternut Wisdom and her books. What a warm and loving writer she was. I think you have shades of her in your writing.
Smiles and happy holidays to you.
PS Being from Philadelphia, I know why it is called Black Friday. It was the busiest day of the year for police (some on horses) to patrol downtown. It was the first day to see Santa in the stores. I am 77 and can still remember seeing the photos in our evening paper. Of course my parents who had six children waited a few weeks before shopping. Lots of mysterious packages came from Sears. The tree was not put up until Christmas Eve. It was a live tree and only stayed inside a few days.
I heard that it’s called Black Friday because it’s the first day in the year that stores go into the black, but I don’t think that’s true. I think they just made that up! I like your explanation better.
When I count my blessings at Thanksgiving, I count you, dear Susan. I pray y’all have a wonderful day.
Blessings,
GG
P.S. I agree about Black Friday. A nature walk is much better.
There is always so much to learn and you share great ones. I love to see all the tables and how they are set. I am with you, it doesn’t all have to match. I collect vintage Anchor Hocking Royal Ruby and Forest Green among others. But there are other things that catch my eye and they might be there too. My husband takes the pictures as I’m finishing up the meal before and after we sit at the table.
I also agree about Black Friday. I have never gone to that madness. I enjoy other things a lot more than bargain crazed people, trampling over each other. There is more to life.
By the way, I love Girl Kitty curled up in the tablecloth. Over the years I’ve had a few similar scenes with my babies. I envy them as they look so relaxed and comfortable.
You also reminded me that I have some baskets and spoons to oil!! That time of year again. *L*
Cheers to all!
Sue, as always, you are most inspiring. My neighbours across the street are outside today with their kids putting up Christmas decorations. At first, I though, “Oh, it’s to soon.” But then after watching for a few moments, I started thinking about all the holiday decorations I had, and how I would use them and I was suddenly in the spirit of things. After reading your blog today, I was ready to put up the tree and set the table with lots of candles. Candles are wonderful at any time of the year, but at Christmas, that soft beautiful light makes everything sing. Thanks for reminding me. We’ve already had our “Canadian” thanksgiving, hoping you enjoy yours.
Your table settings are lovely and so simple. There is so much that can be done to bring joy to a meal without breaking the bank. Love the thought of peacefully spending the day after Thanksgiving but if you do decide to shop make it a local small business. But thoughtful contemplation of nature and prayers for this war weary world are even better. Happy Thanksgiving to all and God bless us everyone.
Your post inspires me to continue collecting and decorating for the holidays. I especially love Thanksgiving and have a turkey collection that goes up in my hallway entrance every November the day after I put up my Halloween collection. I love the idea of shorter flowers in tiny vases to better converse with each other. Happy Thanksgiving!
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful to you and your generous heart Susan, loving friends and family, and ELASTIC WAISTBANDS! Happy Thanksgiving to you, Joe, the kitties and all the Girlfriends!
Such a treat to read your blog entries. What a fun read for a Sunday afternoon. What a blessing you are to my life.
Hi susan, thanks for the silver cleaning tip; i have been working on completing my silver pattern (old maryland engraved) and scored some serving pieces on ebay. They are on their way and will need a polish for Thanksgiving. thanks for the giveaways, here’s hoping! Sonya
Dear Susan,
You made my day! Thank you from the bottom of my little heart. Now, I’m off to the kitchen to try out a new cookie recipe for the holidays. Wish me luck…
XO
Jerri
(I hit something I shouldn’t have and lost my long message!) Since I last posted, I have celebrated my 80th birthday – usually I’m pretty good – sometimes I feel 90 and most times I feel in my sixties!! But when I read any of your writings my life is much brighter; which just happened – “thanks for the memories”. (Someone else said that once didn’t they? – maybe BH) This past week I had my annual “Anticipating Christmas” sale in my home. After baking 24 dozen squares, 3 doz. mince tarts, 3 doz. lemon tarts, 8 doz. shortbread cookies and 12 sweet loaves as well as sewing and quilting and serving light refreshments, I need your words of encouragement and laughter, and joy. You do it every time. (Now I have to start again tomorrow to fill my orders! Thanks, your words are always refreshing.
Wow! You are GOOD!
Betty, you’re AMAZING!!
Enjoy reading your blog.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joe and the kitties! And thank YOU for all the sharing you do with us out here. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Joe, and your kitties. I just love receiving your Willards and your blogs. Thank You!!
Thank goodness my friend Jane sends me your posts. I finally signed up for myself and look forward to many nice surprises. Living in Pennsylvania, we see a lot of the type of dishes you collect. I love redware, too. But since I’m a china painter, I have too much already. I try to use my willpower when shopping but it doesn’t always work.
Your work is both a breath of fresh air and a refuge in these turbulent times. Thank you so much for being there.
What a lovely Thanksgiving gift to receive this morning from you…there are so many feelings you express that the other girlfriends and I share..your dining room decked out in so many delightful ways on what must have been equally delightful occasions…Having things all set up in advance is somewhat a thing of the past for me as in my late sixties I received the gift of a young child whose mom died suddenly.So I traded what organizational abilities I had for advanced planning into now being immersed in the details that every approaching holiday and the in between holds that come with childhood and do the table setting almost always the night before. But now my boy is thirteen and I’ve the great joy of experiencing life and holidays from a broader point of view and he is who I am most thankful for in life and everyday.Everything you write about delights and enriches me..I am also thankful for you Susan Branch,dear one!
Oh Mary, that was just wonderful. Hug that boy for me. xoxo
Oh how charming all of your tables look. I will not be having Thanksgiving but still have my small kitchen table decked out with an old apple and leaves runner, a few leaf dishes, my fall cook books (yes your Autumn one is one of them and some waxed paper leaves just for me to enjoy. I just purchased paper white bulbs and got them planted in stones yesterday so they will bloom for me for Christmas. I loved your idea for freshening up my wood utensils and cutting boards and need to go search out my stash of mineral oil. So very nice to see this blog post. I hope you and Joe have a wonderful Thanksgiving and an even better “Green Friday” – I too will not be out and about in all of that crazy shopping a nice walk sounds perfect.
Although I’ve been a fan for many years this is the first post for me, also. I’m in the hospital not feeling the greatest and your blog really lifted my spirits. I feel as tho I’ve known you because I love so many of the same things you do! I’ve had a Beatrix Potter collection since 1975. (My 3yr old grand daughter loves Hunca Munca the best.) When I was expecting my first child in 1982 I hunted everywhere for Beatrix Potter wallpaper. I finally found it, all the covers of the BP books on a navy blue background. Everynight we would say goodnight to all the book characters. I love teapots! Old ones, preferably Hall teapots. My collection is so big I should open a tearoom. Lots of times I try to sneak them in the house so my husband doesn’t see them and say ” another teapot??? ” I love old linens and hankies and books. I love quotations and your calendar is first on my Christmas list every year. One year my daughter thought a “ME” calendar would do. Although I like ME’s work I like yours better! It went back😊. I admire your talent so much. Thanks for sharing it with us all!
I hope you’re better soon Marsha, thank you so much for saying hello. xoxo
Thank you Susan, you will never know how much joy you bring to this old world. I really needed a blog post today.. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joe.
Dear Susan,
I love getting your little “presents” in the mail; thank you so much for making these email gifts so wonderfully inspiring. I too have had a busy week but want to share that your recipe for roasted vegetables from your Autumn cookbook is a family favorite for our Thanksgiving dinner. Yesterday my husband and I took a beautiful ride to our favorite produce stand and bought freshly harvested vegetables. The day was sunny and clear and the air was cold and crisp. The birds were everywhere in the fields and the trees were sprinkling their brightly colored leaves over all the ground as we rolled along oohing and awing at the changing season. Thank you for the recipe and the inspiration. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for this lovely post….it brings to focus that the best things in life are free….
-spent today strolling about a christmas craft show in a town not far from here with daughter in law (#3)…..came home and hung wreaths on my house….now poaching some pears in red wine for tonight’s dessert….and giving thanks for all blessings.
best wishes to you and Joe for a wonderful Thanksgiving.
From one Sue to another, thank you for your visions and photos. It helps remind me what is truly important!
Your home is so lovely! You’re an inspiration! The
Relished all your holiday pictures! Gives me many ideas to try, thanks.
Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for all you do to brighten the world!
Hi Susan
I just love reading your beautiful blog posts. You certainly make everything so special in your home, I love it.
Love your sweet table settings, and I love having everything mismatched also. Makes it so much more cozier
love that last picture of your house. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Susan, thanks for making us all feel so special and part of your life
deezie
Great Blog!! Thanks for sharing! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Susan! I’m grateful to God for the way you’re used to bring cheer and good sense to your readers, especially me. You inspire creativity and a positive outlook. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Love the pictures you shared of your table. Having Thanksgiving at home with my boys and husband! Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Love your blog and loved my 1st Willard! Hugs, Bonnie
Now about polishing the silver quickly – your way obviously works – but I recommend aluminum foil in sink; hot water; about 1 cup of original Tide (the powdered stuff). Do it – it works great – except for the soft boiled egg spoons – they need a little elbow grease with silver polish. It comes out all sparkly and shiny! Probably about 400 of your other best friends will tell you about this method too!
Valarie
P.S. I’m so with you about black friday – mine is ever-green!
I love the way you decorate! Love your posts. So glad you like to blog often. We were watching spanglish and adam Sandler was wearing a shirt that said black dog tavern Martha’s vineyard …. Didn’t Joe used to manage or own that? My son said, “everything comes back to Susan branch with you, mom”. 😊
You are right! LOL, yes Joe ran that restaurant for 25 years . . . he’s the one that put the dog on the shirt!
As always I love, love reading your blog. Wow 166 Thanksgivings is a whole lot of food being cooked in your house. Can you imagine all the people that have celebrated Thanksgiving there? Don’t you just wish you could talk to them all? I always think when I go into an old house that I wished the walls could talk. I would love to know all the people that lived and loved in the house, what all the families are like. I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joe.
I’m always aware of it, ever since we moved in. I feel responsible to add our own bit of family life to what came before. This house, because of them, and us too, is a quiet, unobtrusive, treasure.
Beautiful & inspiring as always!! Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and many blessings to you and yours!! Thanks a million for the tip on cleaning silverware and wooden spoons! I can’t wait to try both!
Thanks again & warm wishes!!
Carol C
Thank you for your lovely cheerful post and the reminder that we have lots of simple things to be thankful for. From Canton, Ga
Hi Susan!
How fun to read the different ways you decorate your home and your table! I was especially delighted to see you own some of the very same things I do, such as the little leather button shoes and wooden recipe box! My daughter and I were just looking through my cookbooks looking for old recipes, my mom and mother-in-law gave me when I was first married. The moms have both been gone more than 15 years, but their recipes live on!
I see all the wonderful linens and dinner ware you have, and wonder, where do you store it all? I am blessed to live in a home with plenty of storage cupboards, and they are filled to overflowing. I don’t know what I’ll do when the time comes we have to move from this place. I LOVE my “old” stuff, and revel in the memories they evoke! I’m also blessed with a husband who “likes” my stuff, and likes to use it in photographs for his fine art photography!
Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving with all those you love, Susan!
This year I certainly will remember how truly blessed I am!!
Love <3 and (((hugs)))
Sending all my best wishes to you, Sue, and all the girlfriends that each day continues to bring so much goodness to be thankful for all. Love the idea of having more than one “formal” areas for dining. The one in your living room takes my breath away with the idea of a fire place when it snows. Oh how cozy! I love to set my table hoping the festive spirit will make my guests enjoy the meal even more. I do have a question for you and any girlfriends who might share some ideas. Since I can’t fit all the dishes with food on the table, I use another little table (with warming trays if needed) or a kitchen counter cleared and clean so guests can help themselves to more. I get up and pass them around for the most part. How do you manage this when you serve meals especially during the holidays? Silly question, I guess, but just wondering. Have a safe and lovely long holiday weekend, everyone.
Just the way you do! I put as much on the table as I can, and then have a side table for the rest of it.
I am in hog heaven! I love tablescapes, plates, linens, and just home decore in general. Thanks for the photos. I love the living room and wallpaper in the dining room. ( I have a kindred spirit. I find most people just don’t care about the beauty of this and how it changes things, but I am quick to remind them that they pay for this ambiance at resorts/hotels, restaurants, and even stores and say stuff like “how homey and cozy.” Go Figure….lol
Susan: I agree that there is nothing like candlelight. I ran and lit my candles here on my living room table after reading your post. I have tea lights in red crackled glass votive holders. They are so warm and comforting… Your home looks so lovely and inviting. I feel the same way about Xmas tree lights. Incandescent all the way – none of these LED lights. Too harsh and cold looking! A friend of mine had LED’s on her tree last year and swore that this year it’s back to the good old fashioned incandescent. They have that sparkly, warm, lovely glow. White lights are my favorite, though I have wonderful memories of the lights my dad strung on our tree as a child. They were all the colors of the rainbow.
I’m with you 100% on Black Friday. There is nothing I need that badly that I’m willing to fight hundreds of people, and stand in lines for hours. I would much rather curl up with a good book, with some hot cocoa, watch an old movie, and make myself a leftover turkey sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce piled on top!
Happy Thanksgiving Girlfriends!
now that’s the way to spend black Friday….. I love leftover turkey sandwiches.
I was just thinking about that quote, “Does the church clock still stand at ten to three, and is there honey still for tea?”–as I found a tiny jar of honey on my counter. If you get a chance when you go back to England, go to the Orchard Tea Gardens in Grantchester. The clock IS at ten to three! And you can have tea with or without honey under ancient apple trees……..just lovely. You can walk down the path from Cambridge to Grantchester and watch the boats and ducks on the river and think about those WWI poets who so tragically wrote such beauty and then gave the ultimate sacrifice…………
I Just love your collections!
I sure agree with you about Black Friday. Being outside in nature is the best. I’d hate to be in the insanely busy malls. Happy Thanksgiving. My favorite Holiday.
Hugs, Connie
Hi Susan.
Today was the perfect day for me to receive your update. My husband and I saw a house I fell in love with today. An 1800’s Victorian that is in complete disrepair. We are deciding if we should try and make an offer on a money pit with excellent bones and potential. Reading your blog, brings me back down to earth to focus on my turkey that will be in the oven in 4 days…regardless of whatever is meant to be with that house.
I love your living room…white upholstered furniture is my favorite. Mine are off-white and I just change out the throw pillows, etc for the different seasons…so easy.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Hope you have a good one.
Have a blessed Holiday Season my friend….enjoy the beauty God has put here for us to see. You are so blessed by a wonderful marriage Susan, good family, great friends, and of course your creative side ~ doesn’t get much better than that. Thanking you so much for all the joy you bring to my soul…….xo Raenell
I have planned my table setting, too, using my wonderful dishes with red berries and pinecones, the ones I call my “hot air balloon ride” dishes. I knew you would ask why they are named that! One year for my birthday, my sweet and creative hubby gave me a ride in a hot air balloon! We lived in Albuquerque, and it is the site of the world’s largest balloon festival in October (my birthday is the 19th) and people fly balloons there all year, as there is a special wind pattern.
Anyway, a friend of my husband’s told him he should rent a convertible, and he and our young kids follow the balloon I am in, and watch. That night, I had a nightmare that the balloon hit electric wires, and you know what happened! Eeek! I rarely have nightmares, too! So, I told him thank you so much for his sweet gift, and I got a refund, and bought these dishes from Crate & Barrel that I had been pining for! And I LOVE dishes, and have loved these so much for many years! So, that’s it!
I am so excited to have not only our boy and girl home from college, but my son’s lovely girlfriend and my daughter’s friend, too! We have 2 events to attend on the weekend, one is Los Noches de las Luminarias at the botanic garden, which is walking among the garden paths, lit by luminarias, with lovely musicians playing here and there! We get to bundle up a bit, which for us in Phoenix, is a treat! I wonder if your dad has ever been to this event? It goes for a few weeks.
I wish you a fabulous, delicious in many ways Thanksgiving, Susan! Nancy (the snowflake lady)
Thank you so much Susan~~your words always speak to my heart!
Just yesterday I was looking at a photo of you, taken by a friend, signing books in the little patio area. of your store in Arroyo Grande. I was sitting on a bench behind you. Sometimes when I am at the coast I drive the back roads of AG, and pretend you are nearby!
I enjoyed all your table-settings – my settings are usually followed by a walk-thru by my fat little furry cat – looking for a nice rest area ?? Thankfully, she leaves when the food comes out (but we won’t tell anyone!!)
I always take a picture of the table but not till it is family and friends around it . I shall take one before now thanks to you. Loved this post. Honestly, I love everything you post. Your girlfriends are like that. I tell my Joe, time out Susan has posted. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Love the bed spread idea I will always use that from now on. Love they don’t have to be ironed lol
You have a most wonder-ous visual way with words. I can easily see what you’re saying (even if the pictures weren’t there). I will be celebrating Thanksgiving this year with my 2 fur babies. We are very grateful that Mom/Me has found employment and goes in for orientation Monday morning.
As for Black Friday (& Sat and Sun) – I’ll be outside in a courtyard @ a local historic site selling my ‘Eclectic Wearables’, and hoping for a lot of people traffic!! =>¡<=
Susan,
I haven’t written a comment in a long time but I love every blogpost … you continue to inspire me SO much! My friend Kim recently met you when she came to your book signing in the cute bookstore in Meredith NH….. she was SO
darling to get me your new book AND have you sign it for me!! How thrilled I was
to receive it!! I told her I’m going to take AS LONG AS POSSIBLE to read the book… (you may laugh at this, but it is true for my friend Elizabeth as well…When I gave her the gift of A Fine Romance this past summer, she didnt want it to end…..and forced herself to only read a few pages at a time to make it LAST!!! I told her I feel the very same way! Kim remembered the story of how I had a small note from you years ago that I keep in my S.B. Christmas book and she made me get it out and take a picture of it 🙂 We cherish all these tokens! Thanks once again….for ALL you do, all you share, honestly we can’t get enough of all the cuteness. I esp. love the pictures you post of your dishes (my obsession too). Can you tell me what pattern the purple transfer ware is? Is it Elizabeth or something?
Hugs from VA
LOL, I just picked up the creamer to look at the bottom, it’s full of corks! 🙂 It’s Johnson Brothers Windsor Ware.
I love setting the table and including name tags, it’s telling your guests that you love them and you’ve been thinking about them; and, don’t place settings and special dishes, flowers, and books tell you and your guests “welcome, make yourself at home”?
I’m celebrating my first Thanksgiving since retiring from working for 40 years (2 and sometimes 3 jobs at a time). I’ve never celebrated the season stress free and well-rested…the creative juices are almost overwhelming. Thanks for always enriching my soul.
God bless you and all your loved ones, especially the kitties!
I always love the pictures of your daily walk. I wish I had an area near me with a walk like that. It seems so peaceful. Happy Turkey Day to you, Susan!
Oh my goodness, how I LOVED Fairy Tale Girl….ohhhhhhhhhh!!! I cherished every moment and it ended way too soon. Susan, you are my FRIEND, even though we’ve never met in person. You are sunny and funny and I appreciate your letting us into your life. Thanks for all the table ideas. I was needing some of those. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my sweet Susan.
From Liz in Texas, who will be spending T-giving here at home w/ my hubby, 2 grown kids and my mom. And on Black Friday, no shopping for us!
We will be going to an Impressionist Art Exhibit, so excited!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joe and kitties dear Susan!… such a happy post, and so inspiring… thank you for your always calming prose in this hectic and crazy world these days… your home is so real, warm and welcoming… and I literally devour every single photo… taking in even the tiniest details… I love that you continue traditions (like me) and memories are such an important part of everything… sending love and wishing you a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving, xoxo… Julie Marie PS Do the kitties get a bit of turkey?… I hope so!… xoxo…
Just a little bite!
Susan,
Not unexpectedly, our message at church this morning was about giving thanks and praise for all that we have, and in the words of our minister, “We have SO much.” Thank you for sharing your “SO much” with us through your thoughts, quotes and photos. Your love of family, friends and home is wonderfully shared. We avoid “Black Friday” like the plague. Candles go in our windows Thanksgiving Day. We drive to a nearby nursery to purchase our Christmas tree and then home for a quiet afternoon – baking cookies and eating a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce spilling out the edges. Yum! Have a glorious Thanksgiving. Prayers for you and for our world.
Lovely to have a little unexpected visit from you as I am sitting here by the fire tonight. I seem to have blown out my knee (at the gym , getting healthy, ha ha) and was feeling sorry for myself. But dishes and silver and dinners cheer me up. We will be 10 adults with 6 kids 5 and under for Thursday. I am trying to think of fun things on the tables for the kiddies, too. I will mix them in with adults–not separate them to their own. Ladies? Any ideas ?
And our house is just one year newer than yours. But. Our was moved by oxen in 1902ish to where we sit now.
Any Girlfriends in New England need one good laying hen? Nigella needs a new coop.
Happy feasting All!!
I always had some sketch pads and crayons on a table for the kids to draw in and make holiday pictures. or decorations like teepees and turkeys or pilgrims.
My favorite part this time…
“I love an old-fashioned table, one that brings back memories we’ve maybe even never had.”
Goes with all your invitation to hold each other more around the table this year.
I want to begin that I really DO love reading all your posts and looking at all your paintings! No, really, I DO! I loved meeting you at Titcomb’s and loved your book. I love your enthusiasm for life, finding the joy in everyday things, and pointing out things that can be easily missed when living a busy life. But please tell me, Susan, where oh where do you find the time and energy to do all you do? Right now I have a dining room table filled with watercolors, brushes, jars of water, etc. waiting for me to finish portaits of my grandchildren I began weeks ago. I have bags of turnips (went to the 12th Annual Eastham Turnip Festival yesterday!) that I have no idea what to do with. I have a yard full of leaves that are pasted to the lawn because it has been raining all day. I have a beach down the road that I have not had time to stroll since the tourist season ended. I have a suitcase I have not unpacked since I got back from babysitting my grandchildren over a week ago. (I have kids in California, Florida, New Mexico and New York City that I try to keep track of too!) and I am trying to raise my husband in an empty nest that is 10 times harder than when I raised my three sons. And now, holidays to deal with! Yes, I know I said “deal with!’ You must have cringed at THAT sentence. I need instructions how to make time for me. You must have a quote somewhere in your stash that would apply! Or maybe I can borrow that army of elves that you have hidden somewhere.
Just like you put dentist appointments on your calendar, you might make yourself an appointment with you that you promise to keep! A little lunch with a favorite book would be very nice. Love you trying to raise your husband. Good luck with that! 🙂
Oh my…dear Susan…thank you for this lovely piece. Your comments about B—- Friday are right on target…and the oh so perfect quote from our beloved Gladys Taber…you moved this Girlfriend to tears! Thankful for you and this wonderful network of kindred spirits. Happy Thanksgiving with lots of Love.
Thank you for your wonderful blog, beautiful photos, and so much inspiration. Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s always a joy to see how you decorate for the holidays in your beautiful home. It inspires me to look through my own linen stash and dishes I’ve been collecting forever! Then sit by the fire with a warm, sweet cup of tea. You are a blessing to us all, Susan. Thank you for sharing your home and yourself with all of us!
Oh, Susan…what a cozy post ! And the world needs some cozy about now… Did not post before – terrible news of good friend, not sick, just suddenly dying. Beautiful funeral, lovely meal and fellowship afterward – but bringing a keen awareness of how precious life is. Reminding me of the quote in the Christmas book about “hold hands around the table” ( I did not get my Christmas stuff out yet..I am a purist. It’s all pumpkins and leaves and turkeys here until after Thanksgiving!) and a reminder to ENJOY EVERY MINUTE! Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving…and letting you know how thankful we are all for YOU !
I so agree with you Susan! I LOVE setting the table most of all! Thanks for all the tips – hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to create and share this wonderful blog. I’ve read all the other comments and don’t think I could say it better. You are so loved.
Happy Thanksgiving, Susan and family! Seeing your name in my inbox always brightens my day. I hope your holiday is magical and delicious!
Thank you for the reminder that the day after Thanksgiving dosen’t have to be about spending more money. Instead we can savour the day after with family, friends or surrounding ourselves in the beauty of nature. Perhaps taking it as a day of quiet reflection and surrounding ourselves with coziness – before the rush begins. Thanks to my daughter I’m new to your blog and just love it. She gave me “A Fine Romance” as a gift, she new that I would love it. l’m originally from England so much of it was familar and yes, it made me a little homesick.
Dear Susan,
Your posts are such a bright spot in my days! I cry when I read them because the beauty is so awe-inspiring! And I can escape to a place where all is as I would make it if I could. Where the emphasis is on the simple beauty of life and living. Thank you, thank you!
Another wonderful post! Especially the pictures of your house and your tables….inspiring! I love to set a beautiful table too, and I have just the dishes to do it. …made by my husband who is a potter! So I understand your love of your pottery pieces. They are just so tactile, unique, and beautiful! I’ll have to take a picture of my Thanksgiving table and send it to you. Thanks for the idea of decorating with books. I’m an avid reader and have way more books than I should, so I’m wondering how I never thought of that! Hope your holiday is wonderful! Can’t wait to see what creative Christmas ideas you share. xoxo from Idaho!
Thank you for taking time to post today. Such a busy time for all and especially for you. As you can see, it is most appreciated by all your “girlfriends”, so thank you Susan Branch for the joy you bring to us!
Hello Susandear…..I always read your posts at least twice…so much beauty and joy to take in! We here have no family to speak of anymore…at least none close to home and then only a few,stragglers left far and wide. I try to make our holidays special by decorating and making yummies…even our fat black cat Morticia gets a Thanksgiving plate.You are (as you well know) blessed with good friends and family. Friends are hard to find and even harder to keep these days so bless you….Katt
I envy you Susan and Joe living on an island. Your home is beautiful as a home should be. And what a God given talent you have. Take joy this holiday season. God Bless America
Another wonderful post. I love all of your quotes, but I especially love to see the ones by Gladys Taber. Her books transport me to a simpler time and always bring me peace.
Happy Thanksgiving, Martha
Your table settings look so elegant, but homey, too. Folks must trip over themselves rushing to answer your RSVPs!
Thanks for the message about spending Black Friday in nature, we need to spread that message! <3
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Observations: SO cool to have an old-time-y photo of your home. Love that! Thank you for numerous holiday tips; great refreshers…and, of course, your tablescapes are so wonderful; I want to be invited. You set your table exactly how Mom taught me. I ADORE the corner hutches in your dining room. The rooms of your house are rooms to truly live in.
I came upon the oddest little precious thing in an antique store a couple of days ago. A small needlepoint in a chipped but cheery fire-engine-red frame of a Dutch windmill in a Netherlandic landscape (I can say “Netherlandic” [probably not a real word!] – my grandpa was born in Holland). On the back was a note penned in the 1960s from the needle-pointer to whomever was the recipient of the framed picture, thanking them for their hospitality over all the many cherished summers on Lake George (which I remember is somewhere in New York [how this ended up in SoCalif, who knows?!]). But it made me think of what great memories a host/hostess can create for their guests. It’s MEANINGFUL; all in the giving…every bit of time and effort we spend…on table decor/settings…any diminutive seasonal vignette…maybe small activities like a walk after the big dinner…it all becomes a happy recollection and experience for everybody who gets to partake. Good food; good friends, family, fellowship. I don’t do nearly enough entertaining and I’ve decided that’s something I need to change in the new year!
Even though our SoCalif weather here south of the Central Coast is hot, dry, windy and warm (we were 92 degrees[F] at 12:45 pm today), I went off in the car with all the windows down and tried to drink in the clear morning skies and offshore views; it was glorious. Have to do these things at this time of year…get out and feel alive…because I begin to miss too much my loves ones who have passed and I want to instead focus on what’s right in front of me. I did go to the cemetery yesterday…it wasn’t maudlin; it’s a gorgeous place with palms, and backing up against foothills of avocado trees, with views to the south of mountains and sea…and I was stopped in my tracks with the most awesome sight in the distance, in a very far-far corner of the cemetery (the oldest section where the markers bear the names of people born in the early-to-mid 1800s [dates considered ‘old’ in this part of ‘young-ish’ California West]): A TREE ACTUALLY TURNING ITS LEAVES from green to gold to mostly burgundy; this lone, tall, magnificent tree like no other in the entire place; a flag waving high above the rest. It was so beckoning, and I bit: I drove up and down all the little lanes to get closer and closer til I could stand underneath it, look up-up-up to that sunshine-bathed burgundy-ness. I gathered as many fallen leaves as I could off the ground to make a true autumn bouquet, saying to myself, ‘Okay, NOW, FINALLY, we have our Fall of 2015!’ That tree just made my heart soar; I was meant to see it, right then, right there…and I consider it a sign from my long-gone family that it doesn’t take much to uplift a heart; just look around you, and see what you can see. Thankfulness. Just…so much gratitude. “And that’s why we celebrate Thanksgiving Day; remember that, my dear!” (From an old poem we learned in 1st Grade.)
Happy Thanksgiving, Susan. You and Joe have yourselves a fine day!
Love your table creativity! I also love that your table is wide enough to seat two on the ends, so nice you have a room large enough. I still LOVE a big glass of milk with most meals. Thawing our 22# turkey in the south porch refrigerator. My husband checks it often, so funny, he’s afraid it is still going to be frozen on Thurs. I’ve been making the Thanksgiving dinners for 50 yikes years and the old bird has always come thru. Yippee they just said we may need a jacket tomorrow morning, I’ve been waiting many months to hear that. Blessings to you all.🦃
Have a good Thanksgiving, Susan and Joe! Are you having people in or going elsewhere for Thanksgiving dinner? I really enjoyed this post, looking at all of your photos of table settings, tablecloths, centerpieces, etc. This year, with most of our stuff in storage prior to a move, we are invited to friends’ for Thanksgiving dinner. And if the predicted snowstorm/ice hits us on Thursday, we will stay home and have the strangest Thanksgiving dinner table we’ve ever had. I did pick up a stuffed turkey breast at the store that is in the freezer “just in case” and have ingredients on hand to throw together a fast and easy dinner but the tablecloth and nice china will be missing this year, for sure. Oh, and I’m happy you are encouraging a “Green Friday” spent in nature instead of shopping–our thoughts, exactly. 🙂
Love, love, love this surprise post today! Lots of lovely decorating tips to ponder and thank you for the silver cleaning tip! Be blessed this Thanksgiving!
I’m Thank-Full to read your thoughts and ideas, and to see your gorgeous photos of past dinners and present table decoration ideas. One of my favourite things is to decorate the table for a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast.
I want to try the silver cleaning suggestions, although I don’t mind cleaning silver though because it is so rewarding. My daughter hates is because of the chemicals.
The “Stages of Life” are hilarious. Thank you so much for all of it, yet again! You brighten all your girlfriends lives and it has a Ripple Effect. Blessings…
Susan,
Love, Love, Love the photos. The idea of using books on the table for decorations is brilliant, why didn’t I think of that? I have beautiful Christmas books that I don’t have room for, now they will be on the table. I haven’t ever commented on the blog before, but just want you to know that when it comes in to my e-mail, I take time for myself, make a cup of tea, sit and read it word for word. Your creativity is amazing and the blog and Willard put a smile on my face and simply make me happy in what can be a crazy day. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m Thank-Full to read your thoughts and ideas, and to see your gorgeous photos of past dinners and present table decoration ideas. One of my favourite things is to decorate the table for a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast.
I want to try the silver cleaning suggestions, although I don’t mind cleaning silver though because it is so rewarding. My daughter hates it because of the chemicals.
The “Stages of Life” are hilarious. Thank you so much for all of it, yet again! You brighten all your girlfriends lives and it has a Ripple Effect. Blessings…
Loved all the table settings, the candle houses you’ve collected over the years, the antique books, china, table settings add to my inspiration to create my own unique table setting. The four stages of life are so very true! Thank you for always sharing your home with us!
Saw the words to the hymn on one of your tables…..”Little Brown Church in the Vale”. My husband & I were raised in Iowa, & in 1970, married at the “church in the wildwood” in Nashua, Iowa….
Lovely!
Heard of having quilts for a table cloth but a bedspread is a better idea. It’s easier to wash! Love the idea of no iron napkins too!
I always feel in such a good mood after reading your posts. I wish we were neighbors. We could have a good natter.
I love using books for part of my table decor! I will just have to use my Susan Branch collection…won”t that be a nice touch?
Dear Sue,
I am on overload…again. Your holiday posts are always my favorite and this year I just stopped what I was doing and let myself walk into your house and enjoy the fun! The decisions to be made, the lovely ideas for decorating, the books, the cats (someone was missing from this post…Jack must have been dozing), the tips, the walk you take daily. All this helps to remind us that when things are crazy or turned upside down, our home is our haven and should be regarded as such. You bring much joy…please don’t stop! And I do wish you would consider my idea a while ago to write a train travel” book….heaven. Happy holidays to you and Joe and the kitties and to all the Girlfriends who think you are kinda special.
Susan thank you so much for the recipe to clean silver. Every year I have groaned about having to clean it! What a time saver! I love seeing how you decorate your table. I think it looks warm and inviting. I have a collection of little books (tiny actually) that I use for place cards. I try to give a different one every year to our guests. Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas..I have used so many over the years. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joe and of course Girl Kitty and Jack💕
I was so excited to see that your book has been printed in Chinese. About six years ago we were part of a program through Michigan State University called International Friendship Families. We were paired with Zhumin, a student from China, who was working on her masters. She then went to the University of New Orleans and is just finishing up her PhD. When I saw your book, I knew exactly what I would give her for her graduation. Thank you so much for sharing your many talents with us.
Absolute. Best. Post. Ever!!!
Truly my FAVORITE of all these years!!!!
Dittos to everything everyone before me has said in their comments! JOY!
…I love e*v*e*r*y little detail you share and show!
Such an encouragement in “making Beauty” wherever we are, whatever we have.
How did you spend your first Thanksgiving on the Island?
(I know, I know…I have to wait for the new book…but just a peek???)
Yes, you have to wait! 🙂
“There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood, no lovelier spot in the dale…”, a hymn from my childhood. I sang it to my Grandmother in the last days of her life. How wonderful to see it on your table…Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for YOU!
There is a real Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, Iowa. Many marry there, including my husband and me in 1970!
I was just thinking you teach me all the things my busy Mother forgot to or she didn’t know! How funny and different all Moms are! I wish I could have a big old house like yours! Thanks so much for sharing it.
Cheers, Barbara
A BIG HAPPY THANKSGIVING from Wichita, KS!
Wanted to tell you that no matter what is going on and I see the message in my e-mail from you, my world stops and I read the peaceful messages you send! It makes my heart sing for the rest of the day!
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving………you, Joe, and the kitties!
Sandy
Hello! I’ve been a subscriber for a little while, now, but have never had time to visit! So, it’s my first time posting, and I’m just so excited to have found this warm, cozy, and welcoming venue! :)) I look forward to returning often, now that I’ve seen what a welcoming place it is… oh and Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!
Lovely, lovely, lovely! You always inspire me, your artwork especially. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
I love it that you mix and match china and other old things, I love vintage. Problem is, I collect so many different things the house runeth over! I look forward to each and every blog post you do. You’re my inspiration.
Hugs, Lynnie
Susan I look forward to every one of your blog posts. It’s like opening a present in the mail each and every time. My dad’s name was Willard and SO I LOVE the name of your blog/newsletter!! I love vintage things, beautifully set tables, cats, books, old linens…pretty much all the things you love. This makes it a treasure to enjoy your emails! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and hugs to Jack & Girl Kitty!
Beautiful in every way—love all the details, but love it all even more after reading Fairy Tale Girl and your first Thanksgiving of cooking!! Cute, cute, cute….Quilts are a lovely idea for the table–especially if they are thin and worn. Thick ones make for tippy glasses.
I’ve been raking leaves still. We’ve had some ferocious winds that blew over everyone else’s leaves after we raked all of ours up! How did that happen? LOL
But, I will rake more and clean up outside some more tomorrow and that’s it….gotta bake and prepare and get my table set and all those good things. And make stuffing and pies and a menu and place cards and…….I’m so excited!!
xoxo
Joann
Blessings and Love on this Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours…
Such a beautiful post full of happiness & cheer! I enjoy all the special quotes you share. They are great inspiration on days when the world doesn’t seem so nice. I noticed the quote on your table from The Church in the Wildwood by Dr. William Pitts. I recently found an old photo (1965) of my sister & myself taken outside The Little Brown Church in the Vale in Iowa. Being so young at the time, I didn’t realize the significance of the historic church. Thank you for all the joy you give and I would like to say back to you…Go. Be. Love. The world needs you, Susan! Happy Thanksgiving!