MUSICA!❤️ Well, first off, I promised you a photo of the wool coat I bought in England ~ the one I wrote about a couple of blogs ago … And I finally managed to remember to do it. And, btw, while out and about on the Internet, I happened upon a website in the English Lake District that sells them (just in cases you want one too! The label says, “handmade.”). It’s a wonderful store Joe and I visited when we were there called Stewardson’s of Hawkshead .
Welcome over from the new Willard if that’s where you’ve come from (he’s just starting to go out today ~ takes 3 days for him to get to every email box, so if you’re signed up, he 
should be there soon!), and if not, welcome anyway! As lots of you know, Joe and I are on the train right now, in our “room with a view,” actually in the beautiful Berkshires as I write, heading down the tracks for Chicago, then on to LA ~ and right now, out our window, is the most gorgeous sunset between the leafless tress and across snow fields! It’s kind of a miracle, to be on a moving train and writing you at the same time! I’ve been sending photos and videos of our views over to Twitter … hope you’ve been able to see them (you can click on the link and take a look if you like, you don’t have to join Twitter in order to see the pictures).
Yesterday, before we left (which was just this morning), I needed to do some ironing for the trip. I’m sure many of us remember our mothers starching clothes before they ironed them ~ rolling them up while damp, putting them in plastic bags and keeping them in the fridge until they were ready to iron. Seems so old-fashioned to us now! My mom did it, there were always bundles of ironing in our fridge, she ironed all my little sister’s puffed-sleeved dresses with starch, and taught me to do it too. And my dad’s shirts ~ we were all very crisp around our house. And it wasn’t spray starch, it was the real thing. Liquid starch, the kind she used, is hard to find, at least where we live . . . our supermarket doesn’t sell it anymore, I had to go to Amazon to get it. Mostly, these days, it’s used for crafts, but I have this linen jacket I was bringing along that is no good without good old-fashioned starch, spray starch just doesn’t do it. In fact, I have a lot of things I use real starch on. There’s actually a really good reason to do it! I’ll show you! (Jack, as you can see, was there for the whole thing! But he was more interested in . . .
. . . what was going on outside our kitchen window, than what was going on inside . . .)
So, just in case it’s been a long time, or maybe never, since you starched something, and just in cases you’d like to try it . . . here’s how. It’s really easy. First off, you can read on the bottle how much starch to mix with how much water to make the fabric as stiff as you’d like it to be.
I wanted my jacket to be slightly stiffer than medium, so I mixed 4 c. water with 2 c. starch in a very large bowl. My summer potato salad bowl if you want to know.
I swirled it around with my hand to mix it . . .
Then I put my clean linen jacket into the liquid and got it soaking wet.
I took it out and rung it out as best I could … then I noticed all that left over starch and thought, what else do I have? Then I remembered I’d just washed a dresser scarf from the bathroom and thought, perfect timing!
I like dresser scarves to be really quite stiff, so I added a bit more starch.
And in it went.
Then they both went out to the pantry to partly dry on the clothes rack. Soaking wet is not good for ironing, you want them damp. So while that was happening . . .
I wrapped birthday presents for my mom, we’re heading to California to celebrate her 87th birthday (on the 27th)! 🎁 She loves it when I wrap her things in my own paper, so I ordered some from Spoonflower, (the people I do the fabric for … they make all the fabric patterns into wrapping paper too!) which I’d never done before, I was interested to see the quality. And was happy because it’s the thick stuff! Very nice.🎈My mom will love it!
And then, for a couple of good reasons, I made a cake ~ An Orange Marmalade Cake, because Jack’s other Mother was coming from California to stay with him while we’re away . . . and we were making dinner for her . . . and also, because every time Lowely makes something delicious, she always brings me half.
And I wanted to do the same for her before we went away.
Which I did. She only lives two doors down, so I walked it over, and got a goodbye hug. The next time I’m doing a blog and NOT on the train, I’ll give you the recipe! It was delicious!
So then it was time to iron. And what is the first thing I have to do? I have to get Jack’s hair off the ironing board, unless I want to iron it into my clothes. The ironing board doubles as his perch at the pantry window to watch the world go by. So I got out my packing tape, laid a big long strip down, and moved it along until all his little hairs were stuck to it!
And now, I’m ironing. And it’s coming out beautifully.
Voila! When you starch something, it stays fresh looking so much longer. You can wear it and re-wear it and it doesn’t look wilted.
And that, in a nutshell, is why I love starched things. They last forever.
Here’s my dresser scarf, back on the table in the bathroom. Note shadow under table.
Old linens are one of my passions, loves, downfalls. The beautiful cloth, the delicate embroidery and the cotton lace ~ irresistable! Smoothing an old damask tablecloth onto my dining table is one of the simple joys of life. Lighting a candle on that table, where it almost reflects in the sheen of the cloth, is another.
Here is an example of starch and what it does. I haven’t ironed these in over 6 months. No one really uses them, because a terry hand towel is right there, so they are really more decorative than anything, but they look as nice today as they did when I hung them up 5 years 6 months ago.😜
These are the bathroom curtains in that same room, made from an old lace tablecloth, the last of the ones I brought from California when I moved into my first little house on the island. Starched and perky, I won’t have to do it again for a long time. You could never do this with spray starch. Not even with the one that says, “Heavy.”
And here are a few more linen things, just so you get the picture, which I’m sure you do by now! I should be a door-to-door liquid starch salesperson!
One more tip, and that is, you may have starched something a while back, like this linen jacket. But maybe it was crushed in the closet and got kind of wrinkled again. No problem…
As long as it’s clean, you don’t have to rewash and starch, you just spray on a little water, and iron, and it all that good starchiness comes right back.
And there they are, ready to go into plastic bags and into the hanging bag … yes, they will need a touch up when we get there, but it won’t be much! So there you go, adventures in ironing from the Heart of the Home! Pure
Okay, enough about ironing, how about some maple syrup? I LOVED your comments in the last post, like I always do, thank you so much.💞 And yes, we did stuff poor Vanna into our duffel bag, she’s here, fluffed out, head to toe in pink cashmere with a leopard faux fur collar (she knows how to be comfy), complaining because she broke a nail and there’s “no manicurist on board.” It’s okay, we’ll fly her outta here when we get to Chicago. Her and her “little pink zipper bag”👛 which we have had to find for her about six times now. She’s a princess. Not fit for train travel. We knew we would need her for the drawing for our Vermont Valentine Giveaway . . . and so, with no further adieu … Vanna? Come here darling… (oh, the look on her face😱) ~ here we go . . . the WINNER of this delicious Vermont syrup (I know because we got a bottle of this too!) is . . . . PAMELA TASKER!!!!! Congratulations Pamela! You will love this! Be sure to heat it up before you pour it on everything! Look for an email from me in your box . . . I’ll need your mailing address so I can send it to you.
And now, so it doesn’t have to end . . . there’s more . . .
Hello. Remember I showed you these cups I was designing a while back? That’s the one I designed on the left, my glued and pasted paper cup without a bottom. And on the right, that’s the sample they sent! Pretty darn wonderful if I do say so myself! So I did more!
This one is called
and it has Ms. Lambikins on it, amongst other recognizable doodads from my flora and fauna art repertoire. Plenty to read early in the morning when the brain requires quiet time.
And this one is called
for us, the normal ones.💞
Last but not least, we have “Little Things,” because 
All three are being made right now, of fine bone china, in the potteries, in England. Yes, real, bonafide English cups. ❤️ Each holds a truly magnificent 16 oz (if filled to the very top). I’m so excited. You who have hung out around this blog for a while, know how much I have wanted to do this. Finally, the time has come. They will likely be here in May, in time 
for Mother’s Day, if all goes as planned. And if you leave your name in the comment section of this blog,😁 you will be entered in a drawing to win one of these. There will be 3 winners, and the moment they come in, those winners will be the very first on our mailing list! And yes, just in cases you don’t win, they are available now for preorder. Which means, if we haven’t ordered enough, we should know fairly soon, and can get more into the works right away. After a decent amount of time, each of the designs are going to be retired, and replaced by new ones (I have so many fun ideas!) And the only place on earth where they will be available, at least for the foreseeable future, will be here in our web store. I hope you like them.💖
The last time I was in California, Joe and I were driving across country … I picked these two roses, one from my Grandma’s garden, and one from my moms. They sat on the dashboard of the Fine Romance Van the entire way. And when I got home, I took this photo of them. As beautiful as they were when they were first cut. In two days I will be in my mother’s arms. 💞 The dearest person, who was in labor with me for so long (72 hours) that a tiny piece of her soul broke off, and went into me. And that is the way it has always been and will always be. I feel so lucky. Thank you all for being here. Have a wonderful day! WILLARD’S on the way! I’ll be back soon!
Have a safe trip and Happy Birthday to your sweet Mom.
Mindy
Hi Susan, I’m in Tennessee. Please let me win a teacup! Love them and you.😀💕💙💜
I love the birdie chirp! And as much as I loved your starching photos, I think I will stick to the spray.
I can smell the freshly starched and ironed linens of long ago. Need to get out and use my collection after your inspiring post on starch and old linens. Love your mugs and can’t wait to start my day with one of them.
My Mom starched items in the same way. Thank you so much for the reminder and the instructions. Everything you make is so beautiful.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for sharing the tidbit about using liquid starch. I’ve always wondered how this was done since I have only used the starch for art projects. I love your new mugs too. Sooo darling!
Very glad to have a source for liquid starch-read about it on a previous post but couldn’t find it anywhere. Before my twin girls were old enough to get “real” jobs, they had an ironing business to earn extra money. We taught them how to iron at an early age and they initially started ironing their dads work clothes in order to pay their share of the cell phone bill. Even now, they still take in ironing when they need the extra $$. Love the mugs, especially for my morning tea. Fingers crossed for one!
The mugs are adorable! Can’t wait to see them in person!
I cannot wait to starch something your way! Thanks for that and the mugs are wonderful!
How fun! The mugs are enchanting and I’m a mug-a-holic, although I’m in therapy for my addiction-hehe! Your blog posts are like conversations with friends and so enjoyable and even comforting to read. I long to be an artist but haven’t a creative bone in my body, sad 🙁 Thank you for sharing glimpses of your days!
Yes you do. You have more that one creative bone. We all do, and you are part of we all. XOXOXO
Just in time, as I recently broke my most favorite handmade mug – it held a full qt. & stayed warmer longer than others. First filled with tea in the morning, then with water the rest of the day. =>/<=
My mug holds water in the morning then tea later in the day!
Susan, I couldn’t just leave without saying simply “thank you ” for all you bring to this world. The posts from all of us have said it over and over. We need the reminder to enjoy the simple things in life, to celebrate home and nature, to see the world through your adventures, and to know that there is someone ‘just like me’. These are challenging days and times where the world can bring us to worry and sadness. The light of your blog, your books, your lovely products brings joy and balance. Enjoy your trip!
Your comment, and the comments from all our Girlfriends, mean so much to me . . . you are wonderful people, so obvious with every heart felt word and story! Thank you all!
Love the new mugs — just gorgeous!! Safe trip; looking forward to the photos!!!
The mugs are BEAUTIFUL and made in England they can’t get better than that!!
I am preordering for people I love, I know they will be thrilled.Sure wish you had taken me along with you to California, I never seem to have my fill. I could be your Lady in Waiting , talk about a pampered trip! I’m sure you Mother knows how blessed she is with a child like you. Enjoy the ride and scenery…
I’m the one who is blessed! xoxo Thank you Cynthia!
Yes! I remember my mom starching and ironing (and teaching me too!) And yes, there was rolled up laundry in our fridge weekly 🙂 I now use a premixed spray starch for the little bits of ironing I have now. Your table scarf is much like the one of my mom’s that I recently pulled out, starched and ironed for my spring table decor.
Love the cups and their size!
Sitting here sipping my St Pat’s chocolate tea and reading your blog. Ah, life is good! Love , love your mugs! And love seeing your pics as you travel. Looking forward to more. Have fun with your mom.
Love your new mugs and am excited for an opportunity to be entered into your drawing.
Your blogs are my daily meditation time. Read old and new ones everyday and am always learning.
Thank you
Sorry this is my first ever comment. Please do not post my last name. I thought it necessary to forward.
I love your new mugs and am thrilled they will be made in England!! Well done you. Thank you for brightening my world with your art and creativity.
Love the mugs !!
I am thankful for Susan Branch and your possitive and inspiring message of hope and love and gratitude. Thank you Thank you Thank you
And thank YOU back. xoxo
Love the mugs! Your art is so refreshing.
Loved hearing about how to starch clothes. I don’t recall my mother ever did that.so good to learn new things. A very good tutorial. Love the new mugs!
Traveling Mercies, Susan. Lovely post. Adore the cups and would love to win one (along with the thousands of other fans). Miss my mom every day since 2011. I’m keeping part of her soul as well. Hug yours for me (and Joe too, he seems like a dear man–a keeper for sure). I used to work for the railroad and adore train trips. You are an inspiration and a wordsmith extraordinaire.
Hope your trip is wonderful-sounds like it will be! The mugs are precious. Thank you for extending your talents and love of life to tangible items we can hold in our hands. You are a treasure!
These mugs are so you….love them!
I love how you bring out the warm memories of what has pass. It takes me back to sweet times with my Grandmother and Mother. Beautiful new cups! Happy Birthday to your Mother. You are so blessed to have her so give her many hugs. Safe travels!
Love your refresher on using real starch. Especially love your “in love with nature” mug. What a cheerful way to wake up and enjoy a warm beverage.
Loved the starch piece; in the south we cooked our starch i remember our housekeeper making it up; now i use the spray!
I’m enjoying the 1973 Poldark series on Acorn tv, for all things British; i highly recommend it; and reading the Winston Graham books. Thanks for the giveaway!
We liked it too! Acorn is fun!
Susan, I LOVED this blog…love your wool coat, the part about starching, the gift wrapping with your own paper, and the beautiful mugs being made in England ! Safe and happy travels, and I hope your mother has a wonderful 87th birthday !!
I would love to win a mug! Your artwork “takes me away”, as they say….brava!!
Your mugs are wonderful. I’m definitely going to treat myself to one, or, maybe all three.
Your Blog and Williard Posts make me smile. It’s like talking to my best friend Margaret. Thank you for brightening my day.
Oh gosh I have so much yummy things to catch up on! Thank you dear Susan!! I love love love these new mugs and HAVE to have one!! So fun!!!! OK I didn’t know where I was going to share this so since I’m on this I’ll just start now. I haven’t really been able to read books for about 20 years, there’s a long story to it, buttt might best friend Jen gave me your newest book with you autograph to me and I could not put it down! Literally! And so after that I read the other ones and enjoy them immensely but not as much as your newest one. Now I know why. November 30 we moved from Kansas to which I loved up to upstate New York by Syracuse. Being a newbie 55 yr old as much as I was excited for a new challenge my heart was still back in Kansas immensely. I’m so grateful that I had your book to referred to as I’ve adjusted to a completely new world up here. What’s been exciting to is that I am living in the town that my ancestors lived at one time. So much to take in to say the least. And very homesick at times your stories of your time adjusting to the new England way of life has help me so much. I was always drawn to it but I didn’t know how to live in it. Just no thank you is in store. Also I wanted to know that my daughter Jenny, and Artist with Williams Syndrome, loves to read of your love for ‘Beatrix Pottery’!
Always love the photos! Thanks for making a quiet rainy morning even more cozy.
Hi Susan:
Hope you enjoyed your train journey. The motion of the train completely lulls me to sleep!
Love the mugs and by chance I just discovered your rugs and pillows on Wayfair. Love them all….
Safe trip. Love the mugs!!!
Love the mugs, and they’re being made in England! Have a wonderful trip to visit your mother. Your blogs are always an inspiration.
Your fun blog came just when I was needing a touch of spring in Iowa. I can’t wait to order one of your mugs, but in the meantime would love to win one!
What a kindred spirit! I use liquid starch too. I treasure the linens I inherited from my grandmother. Your mugs are gorgeous; funny how we can be so particular about the shape and size of our mugs. However, I am a coffee person, other than my Bedtime Yogi tea.
Thank you, dear dear Susan, for the delightful photos and information! I will go right to amazon.com and tuck a jug into my cart. Your blog reminds me of my beautiful Momsie, who not only kept all of us crisp in the very way you described, but also ironed for my piano lessons (I went on to major in music). I LOVED ironing day! In fact, I began ironing Daddy’s handkerchiefs when I was 6. Love ironing to this day. It’s a good thing since all of my curtains are white Batten berg. Like you, I love old linens, and use them at teas. Thanks again!
Hi Susan–I have been a fan for many years. You had fabric at one time that I still have a little of (coveted). I have all of your books that I also treasure. I am a sewist, baker, and a watercolorist too, so feel like we are kindred spirits. I love your art, your calligraphy, recipes, your quotes, and how you live your life! Thanks for all of your creations and also for sharing it all with us!
Love the info on starch….my linen shirts could use some help! Also love the mugs so I’ll see if I can get one for free. Jan
Love your mugs-all of them!
Love the mugs! They would look great with my Emma Bridgewater. So glad they are made in England – perfect!
How lovely! You are always touching my heart.
Love the new mugs, Susan! I missed out on your Lenox dishes. By the time I realized you had created them, they were gone! I love your artistic style.
Jan
Thanks for so many little “happys” on a cold Sunday. We have been experiencing “Fake Spring” here and now it is gone and the pond is once again shimmering with the thinnest ice. But I will persevere and be bringing my Beatrix Potter figurines to the forefront in anticipation of “Real Spring”. Love the birdsong you attached to the Willard….especially the cuckoo….
I am so excited for your mugs! Like your linen collecting, I seem to have a mug issue 🙂 I especially love the unique handmade one’s from potter’s studios. Can’t wait for the new Willard. Have wonderful time at your moms!
I have always loved ironing with starch. I even begged my mom to let me iron when I was a little girl. Getting those wrinkles smoothed, the sheen on the fabric, the smell of the starch- I loved it all.
I too learned to starch things from my Mom. She had a regular routine and when her supermarket stopped stocking the type of starch she was accustomed to use she actually wrote to the company asking what had happened to “cooked starch.” They wrote her a very polite reply to say that they had stopped packaging it as laundry starch but that she could use regular corn starch and just cook it the way she always had. Her curtains were so crisp and straight! And the dresser scarves were sharp. Thanks for the lovely memories.
Your blog brings sunshine on whatever day it arrives.
Birthday blessings to your dear mom.
Did you ever visit Catalina Island in CA, no cars allowed, bus tours available…..wild buffalo roam the island! Yep….Hollywood filmmakers brought buffalo there ages ago and well the buffalo got loose.
Another highlight of a trip to CA is visiting the groves of eucalyptus trees near Carpentria where the Monarchs winter over. In spring they begin their journey so if you visit there you feel like you are in a snowglobe of butterflies!!!
And March is whale watching time! Have fun!
Oops I get mixed up! The butterflies are near Pismo Beach!
They are! We’ve seen them. Amazing. They hang from the trees like bunches of grapes on the vine!
When we “flew up” from the Brownies to the Girl Scouts (got our wings), our troop took the “Great White Steamship” to Catalina, my first ocean liner experience! Thank you for reminding me!
You’ve inspired me to plan for a train journey, looks luv-leee! The mugs are great and my very very favorite is In LOVE with Nature! They are all beautiful as are your writings!
Your mugs are lovely, as is your post.
Love, love , love the new mugs, especially that they are being made in England!! Thanks for the updates and for the tips on starch. I also adored linen clothes and old linens. I’ll be giving real starch a try! Safe travels and hope your Mom has a lovely birthday!
Your photos and ideas are so inspirational! Thank you. And your new cups are so adorable.
Lovely blog! I love all the suggestions to welcome spring!
Good luck in CA!
Oh the MEMORIES of ironing and starching back in the days BEFORE Air Conditioning…and down in the South where Humidity had us dripping from every pore…like dogs breathing on you! Haha!
Although I hated when it was my turn to do the ironing, it was a TREAT to pull out a couple of cooled, damp-rolled towels from our little fridge just to lay them against my clammy cheeks for a quick second of arctic relief…with an extra sprinkle of water from the Coke topper! Pure Bliss!
You are Right, Susan…It’s the “LITTLE things in life that mean the MOST!”
Kiss your mama’s sweet hands for all The Girlfriends…and memorize her eyes.
I love the smell of freshly ironed clothes, don’t you? I really love the new mugs you designed. They are so lovely. Pretty china makes things taste better. I’m sure you agree. Here in Texas, spring comes early. We barely had winter this year. I’m temporarily living in a hotel while my home is being repaired from flood damage. Yes, we had one weekend when the temperature dropped down to 10. One of my pipes protested by bursting and flooding our home. I can’t wait to return. We will be in the hotel for 6 weeks. Truly, there’s no place like home!
Growing up I had the starched, ironed blouses and dresser scarves. However, my daughter and grand daughter did not get in on the starched clothing nor the sprinkling of the clothes to be ironed, but they did get in on hanging the clothes outside on the clothesline. So much so my grand daughter thought it fun to hang wet clothes on the clothes line and she looked forward to visiting us so she could take over this chore. Fun times!
Dear Susan,
Have a wonderful trip…and Happy Birthday to your Mom!
Fondly,
Debbie
P.S. I love your blue spatterware potato salad/starch bowl!
Susan, Thank you for refreshing my memory about liquid bleach. My Mom used it, too, way back when, but I was only acquainted with the spray variety. I will definitely be looking for this! Love your blog!
Thank you for the inspiration you conveyed to me this morning through your Willard and blog. It touched my heart at a time when I needed it. After all, “it’s the little things in life that mean the most”.
Susan and Joe, have a wonderful twip on the twain!!! I am listening to the sweet bird songs, and enjoying Willard and this blog! Your mugs look devine! Would love to have one or three!!! (I will tell my husband) I am drying my beautiful valentines day roses! Sweet hubby! Have a great time with your mom!
It was so sad about the flooding! My beautiful childhood town of Laguna Beach lost a lot of trees to the soaking rain and wind. Trees I grew up with!
Your angel food cake sounds delish, can’t wait to try it!
Take a whif of the wonderful sandy ocean for me!
Tally Ho,
Jeannie
Love the Nature mug and the Love mugs especially…would love to win one! Have fun in CA with your mom!
Oh my! Mugs, lovely mugs. For tea for me and tea for thee! Love your work Susan. I hope you have a great adventure going west on the train.
Hi, Susan,
Here’s my liquid starch story: My mom was a nurse ( as am I), mother of 9 children, a petite woman of immense strength and faith. I used to have to iron her white uniforms, polish her hard leather white shoes and launder her white hosiery. But, the fun job was starching her nurses cap. Once cleaned and starched, I had to plaster the open cap against the refrigerator door. Once dry, it was pressed to remove stray wrinkles, then reshaped and buttoned together. The black band was then wrapped around the upper edge (a symbol of her school, not of rank, as some thought). Her school pin was placed on one corner of the wing of the cap. Well, it was a fun job. My mom is gone now, a saint in heaven I am sure. ( she passed 6 months after my husband suddenly died; a very rough year, but I have many loves I look forward to reunite with in eternity!)
I love the mugs, so I hope I have a winner with this blog note!
Thanks for the inspiration you provide. You have been a great help to me in many ways by sharing your life, your work and your joy. Thank, you, thank, you!
And thanks for the Frank link with this blog! =0
And thank YOU for the work you do and for your story about your mom, a saint in heaven. XOXO Sending love!
Absolutely love your mugs – remind my of all the ones I have purchased from Harrods in London over the years – Beautiful!!!
Susan,
You are ingrained in my heart. I have loved your artwork for years, as well as your loving kindness and comforting words. I try to share you with all my friends. You exude everything I would love to be! Would love to have one of your cups—if I don’t win, I hope someone in my family will gift me with a cup for Mother’s Day! Have a wonderful trip!
An amazing compliment Pat, I’m honored. Thank you for being here!
One of my favourite things when I was about 11 was going to my girlfriend’s house and helping with the ironing. This brings back fond memories.
Your wool coat is just darling, the marmalade cake yummy, and the cups are so fun! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Oh Susan ❤️•.¸¸.•´´¯`•• .¸ ❤️ love your mugs and would sooooooooo appreciate winning one of your first ~ a forever treasure ❤️ thank you for this lovely Willard … love the blue and red, starched old linens and your cat of course … wishing your Mother a wonderful birthday and you special time celebrating with her ~ have taken off work and blessed to spend a few winter months with my Mum in her RV in the Texas Hill Country where the redbuds are in bloom ❤️Sincere sympathy with the loss of your father … mine is one of my many Guardian Angels and I do miss him so … also about the loss of his dog … ❤️have loved your work forever and have one of your first books … the art with all the little quotes are so delightful and full of wisdom plus practical advice ❤️ blessings on you and yours •.¸¸.•´´¯`•• .¸ ❤️•.¸¸.•´´¯`•• .¸ ❤️ rabbit
Hi Susan, Isn’t “A Place to Call Home”, wonderful? We watch it on PBS every Sunday. About liquid starch- When we lived on an Air Force Base, we would put up material on the walls with liquid starch. It was easy to take down and looked great. Sometimes one had to move (PCS) and easier than wall paper to take down. Love the mugs!
I would love to win one of your mugs. But more than that I would love to have the recipe for the orange marmalade cake. Yummmmmm
Coming soon!
First breath of warmer weather and a cheerful Willard post from you, Susan Branch, and we are all ready for Spring! Thank you for the always uplifting pictures and words!
Oh Susan, your mugs are so lovely. You will definitely be giving Emma B. some serious competition! Who knows . . . perhaps one day there will be a Susan Branch Factory as well! I am so glad you are having them manufactured in the U.K. I try to purchase things made in the U.S. whenever possible, with the U.K. a close second. On my way to pre-order right after this!
I love to savor your posts ~ with so many photos and your lovely artwork scattered throughout . . . to linger and make each one last a bit longer. Thank you for the effort you put into each and every one; it is greatly appreciated!
Warm Regards, Lisa in Lake Oswego, Oregon
Yes please a mug for tea
Your posts make me want to start the Spring clean even though Doris has just blown through
And luckily for us no damage to our garden full of Christmas trees , just a lawn strewn with
fircones and branches. So that would be a tidy up inside and out . Take care everyone
My husband and I sometimes take the train from Chicago to Michigan. It is a lovely intermission to everyday life. Enjoy the ride and safe travels!
Love the opportunity to win one of your beautiful mugs.
Happy Spring!
Safe journey.
Have a wonderful trip! Love the cups🤗❤️
Happy Birthday to your dear Mom! Have a wonderful reunion with her, Susan!
Love,
Nancye T., Wells, Maine
Love, love, love the mugs. I’m slowly retiring my old mugs (or more quickly if one meets with an untimely accident), and want more art in my life so mugs are a wonderful way to do that. I think one may be a nice gift for my sis, and since I love, love, love my daughter even when she is acting like the 13 year old she is, I’d love, to gift her one as well. Have a wonderful trip, wish you could pack me in a bag to go with you. Cheers!
We kind of do, with this blog and on Twitter . . . try to take everyone with us!
I have always been drawn to watercoloring and love your work. Your cups look beautiful. What watercolor paints do you suggest buying? Any tips on how to get started? What are your standby’s for materials (paper,paints, pencils etc) ?
If you go to the top of the Blog, you’ll see an icon that says The Real Me. There’s a drop down, and in there are a couple of postings about my art, and how I started, and tools I use . . . hope it helps!
I love your beautiful designs. And I would love to win one of your wonderful new mugs. Have a lovely time while you are in California. What is this font? I love the way it looks.
Font on blog, or on quotes?
Those mugs are perfect Susan. You had me at 16 oz. and thin rim!
Will you share your source for your linen jacket/s? Particularly the two you show with the starching. I love ironing with starch and love wearing linen!
Thank you for all I receive from reading your posts. Always a day brightener!!
Both so old they could tell some stories on their own! The yellow striped one was made for me in the early 90s by a very talented seamstress on the Island, and the other, I’ve had since forever . . . the label says Flax!
Thank you so much for the linen jacket info. They are so classic and you wear them so well!
Dearest! Your mugs make my heart sing! Love Christine
I love old linens too. Thanks for the starching instructions. I will give it a try if I can find the liquid kind. The cups are lovely, as well as the snowdrops. Have a great trip!
What lovely cup/mugs, and such delightful ways to welcome Spring!!! I shall have at least one of each, maybe more if I win, lol.
Hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration with your Mom.
Dear Susan,
I’ve only recently discovered your beautiful and unique blog. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed your book, “Christmas from the Heart of the Home”, but didn’t know you had a blog! I just adore your style of writing and your warmth and energy that vibrate through your words and pictures. You have a zest for life that is contagious! And who can resist Jack, with his little mustache? Thank you so much for spreading so much cheer and comfort. xxx from just up north of you in Nova Scotia. Jen.
I just love the new mugs! I can imagine looking forward to morning…which is saying something since I am not a morning person! Perfect for coffee or tea! I am also loving the new cookbook…I’ve also got the 30 year old one! I can’t part with it!! Thank you for filling so many of my hours with joy! I feel like you are a very old (not age-wise) friend who I look forward to getting letters from. Well, it’s your Willard…but it works!! Have a safe & memorable trip. Wish your mom a Happy Birthday & thank her for sharing you with the rest of us! I am hoping to see Martha’s Vineyard some day! It’s on my Bucket List!!
Adore the new cups! So excited to see them.
No time for starching these days, I am back in school to become a school librarian..because 10 years will pass anyways. Thank you for encouraging me. (March 2016 calendar)
You GO girl! 😍 So proud! xoxo
What a lovely way to travel across th U.S.A from coast to coast. Have a lovely trip and visit in California. Thanks for a chance to win one of these lovely mugs.
Springlike weather came to the Midwest for a few days and it was glorious. Winter has returned, but the encouragement received was just the thing to carry us through until April and May. Enjoy the clickety-clack of your train ride west.
I love starch and all your inspirational messages. Please give us the recipe for the orange glaze cake……looks yummy! Thank you for sharing your life with us.
I love the bird songs. Their sounds are so magical just like your blog. (Went to your luncheon at bookstore in Massachusetts late summer or last fall just before your book tour mobile took off) The marmalade cake looks like to die for. Can’t wait for your recipe. REAL marmalade is my favorite treat on toast (not the sugary stuff) but the slightly bitter kind and chunky. And yes! I hope to win a mug. Have a wonderful train ride across country and visit with your mom.
Love the mugs! Maybe I will be the lucky one!
Now you’ve done it…I “have” to get some of that starch and go to work on my old linens ! LOL The mugs are lovely ! So happy that you went with the Staffordshire pottery ! Can’t wait to have one in my collection !
Have a wonderful trip and Happy Birthday to your sweet mom! Love the new china cups!
Catherine Holman
Reading your blog is like opening and reading a letter from an old friend, while sipping tea.
I’ve been following your blog for a while now, and I so enjoy your work! I’ve preordered the Nature mug and I can’t wait to get it! Looking forward to what you do in the future.
Love the mugs. Thank you for being a bright spot in our lives. Our So-Called President brings me down almost daily. I have to ban him from my internet and TV! I always feel better after reading and re-reading your books, blogs and calendars. Happy Trails.
I grew up in the damp-clothes-plastic-bags-in-fridge era &
loved all the ironing satisfaction. Therefore, I loved
reading your starching story.
For Christmas I received & so enjoyed reading your book
“Martha’s Vineyard-Isle of Dreams”!
I’ve always loved all your cookbooks (have many) plus
Received the new 30th anniversary issue.
Your cookbooks have always inspired me (I love to
cook && especially bake) & have so adored your painting style, that I
began a Beginner’s watercolor class the first of January.
You have done all the things I’ve dreamed of doing,
Writing & publishing cookbooks with art
& comments, living on an island, having tea parties…
Thank you for all the inspirational, happy projects
you continue doing. Hopefully, I might win one of
your beautiful English cups—they look just perfect.