Another beautiful day in Paradise and lots to share in celebration of the good old Summertime! And a drawing-winner too! Plus MUSICA! 
From the land of swaying flowers and fat bumblebees . . .
I bring you the glory of summer . . . starting with ripe tomatoes . . .
This was our first taste, one of our favorite days of every summer, the ripening, the picking, and the eating of the first tomato . . . we shared it, very simple, sourdough toast, mayonnaise, sweet, vine-ripened, still-warm-from-the-garden tomato, salt & pepper … heavenly! Summer joy.
Now this is the part of summer I could really live without. We get humidity sometimes (that’s not rain out there), and it’s so heavy and thick, you actually have to chew it before you can breathe it.
This is how I feel on those days. Hideously inelegant.
So, I turn on the air conditioner, and read in my chair with Jack, my kitty, next to me, while the sun flitters over me, and count my many blessings.
Because soon . . . these summer days will just be a memory . . . even on our walk, the leaves are starting to show the strain of having to hang around for much longer . . . 🍂
So we are intent on getting everything out of these summer days possible. This is my great-niece Maggie who came to visit … she’s nine ~ she would say hello, but she’s busy. We loved enjoying a little bit of summer through her eyes!
And my here’s grand-nephew Wyler… he’s 7 . . .
This is Eliza, who just turned 13 … Look how brave they are… jumping off this bridge is a right of passage in a Vineyard summer. I don’t think I would do it, but they all did! Their parents too!
There goes Eliza!
Family came to visit! From New Hampshire, my niece Jess, her husband Cory, and their two girls … and from Durango, Colorado, my nephew Ben, and his wife Paige, and their two boys.💞
And so it was . . . we did all the Vineyard things . . . like clamming … this is Paige, married to my nephew Ben, with their youngest son, Beckett, who’s four ~ he’s got clams!
This is Ben, Ben is Paige’s husband, my nephew, and Jess’s brother …😘
Ben and Jess are the children of my brother, Jim. This picture of Jim and Ben has hung on my wall for years, I LOVE it. Colorado, with snow on the high mountains and wild flowers under their feet, and two good boys. Have I confused you enough name-wise? Well, there will not be a test, ignore everything . . .
That’s Jim, next to me (with rollers in my hair) … back row on right… closest to me in age, he was my partner in crime crowing up … 💖
So, it was wonderful to have his children here . . . this is Jessica, Jim’s daughter, Ben’s sister, my niece, and the mother of these two . . . .❤️
. . .Eliza and Maggie, who’s father, Cory, you’ll meet in a moment.
There he is, in the back row, in pink with the hat on! Here they all are. Lovely people! So much fun!
They brought home lots of clams and Uncle Joe showed the boys how to shuck them. Fascinating!
Then Joe taught them how to make stuffed clams (kind of lost the boys here, but definitely not the rest of us!).
I showed them how to make my Dad’s famous garlic bread (their great-grandfather, hard to believe!). Almost ready for the broiler! (P.66 the new Heart of the Home!)
Of course we had the Island food of choice . . .
Bowls full of steaming lobsters . . . Paige demonstrates, while her son,
Brave Beckett, touches lobster (of course, already cooked).
And me and Jess, we’re just happy!
We ate outside every night. Paper plates, candles, and twinkle lights! Corn on the cob rolled in the butter stick, watermelon chunks, hot bread, crispy potato pancakes, fresh swordfish and juicy pink steak. We had it all!
If you’re happy and you know it, say “Rawr,” and show us your watermelon!
My backyard never looks like this. Ever ever.
But I liked it. They told me this was a “rocket ship to the moon!” Looks pretty good! Excellent imagination and creativity! They got an A!
Inside was a human sacrifice. Somebody had to do it. We’re talking science here, the furtherment of mankind. Three cheers for Beckett!
And here? The proud sisters of Mission Control, Eliza and Maggie.
The first morning, while everyone was still asleep, I peeked out my upstairs bedroom window like I always do to see what the weather is like, and was shocked! Where was I? What’s all that stuff on the lawn? Blink-blink. This can’t be my house!
I went downstairs to find the victim taking his revenge on the girls of Mission Control …
Off we go on an Island tour in the Fine Romance Van! Turn up the MUSICA! Because
We drove all over, had lunch with a fabulous view at the Aquinnah Shop above the Gay Head Cliffs. (That man over there, standing, wearing the hat, really liked us!)
And I can see why . . . Ahhh, family!
Here comes the french fry thief …
This is where we were eating. Very good view from the roof for the french fry thieves. See the three jars down there, on the left on the railing?
Sun tea. My kind of restaurant.
Here we are in Menemsha (where Jaws was filmed) … walking the jetty, looking at the boats …
Joe got us a plate of ice-cold oysters to share . . . (Jess and Cory again, who run five miles a day or so, even in the humidity!).
Delicious! Icy, shivery, like liquid silver! (If you’ve never had them, don’t worry, they taste MUCH better than they look!)
Here we are, Paige, Joe, Cory, Ben, Beckett, and me … al fresco eating at it’s very best!
While Maggie and Eliza looked for buried treasure . . .
. . .and found it, tiny little shells and beach glass, the best sort of Island souvenirs. (Love the color on Eliza’s nails!)
One day we were looking for these two…found them leaning against the washer and dryer in the pantry. Why? We don’t know . . . Wyler’s T-shirt says “Shark Proof.”
Little pile of sweetness ~ Cousins! Maggie, on the right, is going to be a writer. She was telling me about the Warrior book series she’s been reading (by Erin Hunter) … all the characters are kitties in clans (such as Riverclan or Thunderclan), with names like Tigerstar and Squirrelflight. She was SO excited and animated telling me about these stories, now I want to read them!
We so enjoyed every moment with them . . . and then as quickly as they came, it was over, poof! and off they went … but the memories, along with summer, stayed …
So we went looking for some more
Freshest air in the world, salty, windy, lovely sound of the waves . . .
We went to visit Joe’s niece Jennifer and her husband Mark … they live in New York, but they’ve rented this “camp” by the water every summer for years. We had gazpacho (con tomatoes!), salad, and quiche! When I see Jen, I think of this quote . . . ❤️
You get to their house by a very (very!) long dirt road through the woods and scrub oak . . .
The house is unfinished inside, has no insulation, it’s the opposite of fancy, but really comfortable, perfect for reading and dreaming . . . this is the view from the kitchen window . . . there’s nothing out there but the wind . . . I could barely keep my eyes open!
It was a perfect day for a walk on South Beach ~ that’s Mark and me and Jen, Joe has the camera.
Looking back from the beach to the house …
Can you picture yourself here? Deep breath of ocean air, feeling drowsy? . . . ommmm . . . .
Sometimes people ask me what to do when they come to Martha’s Vineyard, and honestly, this is more or less it. You listen to the screen door slam. It’s the opposite of what to do, it’s more like how to be!
And so, you know Girlfriends, it’s time . . . you have been so patient . . . but Vanna has arrived in all her glory . . . and it’s time to give away the luv-lee journal of Beatrix Potter.
And my story of finding her in the English Countryside, at the end of a very long path I began to walk when I was around 22.
Don’t forget, you lucky winner, about the secret that’s hiding in the back of the Beatrix book! SO, who shall it be darling Vanna? I want you to know, Vanna’s toenails are 
polished gold, they’re shiny, like earrings, and she is now perched, toes curled and clutching the edge, on top of my art table. Now she’s up, graceful as a swan, and over, and INTO the vat she dives, with all your names, swirling down and down and down . . . scissor-kicking her way to the bottom, a whirlwind of papers, flying around and through the air now . . . and . . . here . . . she . . . comes . . . clutching one fluttery piece of paper, and now, handing it to me . . . the winner of our luv-lee little giveaway, chosen especially by Vanna from over 2,000 entries from all of you darling kindred spirits, is YOU, dear KERRIE FOLEY, (but only if you promise not to DIE if you win, like you said you would do in your comment!). Because you just did win!
CONGRATULATIONS, KERRIE! I’ll email you; you can reply with your address ~ I’ll sign both of your books and pop them into the mail for you.💞
AND, now it’s almost time for me to go write a new WILLARD, because by the time I’ve written it, and you receive it, it will almost be September, we will be feeling it (eeek with joy), and I have new news to share. Make sure you and the ones you love are signed up for this little bit of “All Good News” celebrating the change of season, that starts off a little like this (in case you’ve never seen it):
And, oh my goodness! Just as I was about to sign off . . . UPS pulled up outside my window, be still my beating heart … I grabbed my camera . . .
. . . and ran to the kitchen door, because I feel like I’ve been waiting forever, and now, Hooray! It’s my turn! So many of you have been writing on Twitter and Facebook to tell me you got your cups! And I’ve been whining and moaning because mine hadn’t come yet!!! But just as I was finishing this post, here they are! (Yes, three boxes, I told you I was doing my Christmas shopping!) Sorry, I was too excited to hold the camera still . . . and then I took a big time-out for the grand opening of the cups …
Ta-daaa! First box I opened turned out to be the Bluebird of Happiness. How appropriate! I love it! 
(‘Course the moment I grabbed the camera and began to run to the door, my shadow was right behind me!) What is it, what is it? A cup? Are you kidding? All this for a cup? 🙀
And then, more appropriate timing . . . the next one out was the Martha’s Vineyard cup! Then the Santa cup, and then the darling new smaller size, Autumn. Which means, I am SET! 💙
What a nice note to end on! Blessings to you all…. I hope you are loving these last lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer, these ARE the good old days! Thank you for all your sweet comments, Girlfriends. More fun for us to come soon. And now . . . I’m going to make a cup of tea! XOXOX
Once again, I am charmed by your post. I love Autumn, and get the same tickle in my tummy for the change of season, the smell of leaves changing, getting to decorate, and nesting. Maybe this is the year I get to resume painting!
Susan: I love all that you say, all that you do & all that you are!
We taking our first trip from AZ to Cape Cod in mid September …. do you have any suggestions for restaurants and/or don’t miss places? Thanks for your help. Judy
I answered this, I think, didn’t I? already … Hopefully you found that . . .
How lovely is your world dear Susan! How greatful I am you create and share it with us!
Dear Susan, I am so glad you are coming to England again. It’s going to make some great reading. I loved your observations of the way light creates atmosphere. I would like to be your winner of the giveaway, of course I would, because a bone china Autumn cup designed by you would be the absolute prize and to sit drinking tea from it in my garden next to the woods, listening to the birds in the morning. The cake would work well and a pile of books to browse through, it couldn’t get better – we can all dream – I will content myself with the tea and the woods, the rest will have to be my imagination – something we don’t use enough of these days methinks! Betty, UK
I love your blog, I love your books, I love your calendar!
Thank you for keeping in touch with us.
I love your painted illustrations, but you also paint such beautiful scenery, memories, and dreams with your descriptive words—-I can picture myself washing dishes in your kitchen, and I can almost smell your corncakes, and certainly feel the melancholy of ‘tired’ leaves, and no want to visit the quaint cottages in England. Thanks for sharing your special world!
Enjoyed your post, as always. Makes me look forward to my favorite season…Fall!
Hello Susan.. This is the first time I’ve replied.. You said in your latest email “Of Course, Hello to Aylesbury, England” ~ Well I think that might be me!! I’ve just returned from a two week holiday to Crete, I’m a bit jet lagged.. I woke up & made my coffee in my favourite Emma Bridgewater “L❤️VE” mug, & then nearly spat my coffee out when I read that!! I love reading your emails, your life seems so wonderful & perfect! Glad you’re making it over to England again next year. If you ever get a chance to go to Crete, then please go. It’s stunning! ❤️
Thank you for your cool pics of the eclipse! I love seeing the crescent-shaped sun in the shadowy photos… beautiful!
Thanks Susan! For the opportunity to lose myself in your poetry and stories. It’s never time wasted as it fills up my hearts’ reservoirs and I am grateful for it.
I read your wonderful Willard and smile while I drink my cup of tea and reflect on the memories of my past. Thank you for the reminders you always give us to remember how lovely life and nature are.
I so look forward to every Willard! It’s a cue for me to brew a cup of tea, curl up on the couch with my 3 furry babies and read every single word and absorb every beautiful and colorful drawing and quote! ❤️
Your blog posts always leave me happy! Love the pictures and your natural way of story telling. Especially love when Jack makes an appearance – we just lost our little tuxedo cat – Rudy – he was 19 years old! I love that you’re reprinting some of your older books – I’m proud to say that I still have the original ones that I bought some 30+ years ago! I never tire of them 🙂
What a long life! You are so lucky to have him for so long, it must feel a little too quiet without the potty-pat of his little feet. I’m sorry Sandie.
My dream is to visit Martha’s Vineyard. Thanks for all your wonderful pictures and stories.
I sit sipping Earl Grey tea, listening to Allison Krauss, looking out on our late summer garden, the Autumn clematis in full bloom upon an arched trellis, dasisies, zinnias, coneflowers filling the flower beds…awaiting FALL….the air is deceivingly cool, we’ve had a long hot, wet summer….so what a blessing today is! Thank you for your blog, it inspires….
Ever since I discovered you, years ago, you continue to inspire me. The world needs more people like you and Joe !!!
SUSAN, YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE AND NO MATTER WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MY LIFE I FEEL HAPPY
I so look forward to sitting down with a cup of tea and reading my Willard! I love your illustrations and pictures that go along with your story telling. You live the life I wish I could! Oh, to have you for a neighbor!
Love everything you do…books, recipes, book markers. etc. Always look forward to your email.
Hope I win! I live in lovely Ireland so maybe will see you next year!
Would be wonderful!
How I look forward to WILLARD! Our Nebraska autumn has been glorious, though our garden flowers are slowly beginning to grow tired. Perfect weather for sitting on the patio with a glass of wine. Perfect weather to try your zucchini bread. Thank you. You are one of my blessings.
A wonderful Willard letter once again. Thanks for the time, effort and joy you put into your writings. Love all your books!
As always I enjoy your blog and Willard. I know we will all have a wonderful trip to England and Ireland and I wish that I was able to go with you, oh, but I am able to go with you!!! Thanks for thinking about us all. Can’t wait for the trip.
I live on a lake in northern Minnesota. Fall is in the air! It’s always ‘bittersweet’ to transition from the joys of summer to the promises of fall…..glorious seasons…..I love them all.
I enjoy reading your posts. Beautiful.
Oh my goodness Susan, this couldn’t have come at a better time. I just finished reading, for the second time, the Fairy Tale Girl and MV Isle of Dreams last night and just want to keep reading you all day everyday. I certainly am enchanted by your books, quotes, art and your lovely way of sharing your stories. I met you in SLO for your last book signing there and I asked about your meditation practice. I would SO love a book about your experiences with meditation or maybe a combo of your experiences with that and your spirituality in general? I think it would just be Divine and unique to have a Susan Branch version on these topics. Bc you are so real and so YOU and so non-stereotypical. I am inspired by your stories every time I read them whether they be in your blog or in your books. Thank you thank you thank you for bringing Light to my life and to the world. I know this positivity, gratitude and beauty that you share ripples out into everything, that those of us who are touched by you, do and to everyone we meet. So really you are saving the world, slowly and in tandem with many others. It just takes a long while to save something wounded. Keep it up, you rock!
Ohhh, tears. Thank you Brenna, that was so sweet. I can’t save the world all by myself, so I’m enlisting helpers by having this blog. I’m so glad you’re one of them. I know what you mean about saving the wounded, it’s so much better to catch them early before the wounds get too deep. Like at birth! 😘 xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I love Susan Branch. Everything is so whimsical and delightful! She makes me want to bake and drink tea and move to Martha’s Vineyard! Thank you for the lovely quotes. The pictures of your home and the island are beautiful. And thank you for sharing all of it and Willard!
I love all things Susan Branch. Go. Be. Love.
Found your book Isle of Dreams on the featured table at our library yesterday. I am enjoying your book. I haven’t seen you art for a long time and I always enjoyed it. I sold many of your original cookbooks in my family’s gift shop many years ago-we liked to recommend them for weddings shower gifts. I was in my twenties then.
I was an October baby so I always was an Autumn girl. The colors, the smells, the air…especially at night, and getting back with friends after summer. I live in NH and am not that far away so some day I’ll come to visit…in the Fall.
Susan, Susan, Susan…I just got Willard and it made me so happy! All cozy and content as I sip my tea before getting ready for work.
Sadly, this has been a heartbreaking year in our family. My son passed away in January and just last week we lost my nephew, in his 30s, to brain cancer. I tell you this because I want you to know your blog, Willard, your books, are a respite for me. I hope you know how deeply you touch the lives of your many fans who think of you as a dear familiar friend,
I met with a new friend, Paige, who I am now working with and we bonded over our mutual love and admiration of you and your wonderful works.
I love my bluebird mug and bought an extra as a gift for a kindred spirit.
I do have a favor to ask. Could you update your list of favorite blogs? Many of them are no longer active. I know you’re busy, busy but if you can ever get to it that would be great.
Thank you for being an ever present inspiration in my life and a source of comfort and joy.
Your newsletters are always like a breath of fresh air! Your cat – Jack is the cutest. Your life sounds like a fairy tale. Live each day like it’s your last! Thanks much for sharing your beautiful thoughts and artwork.
I am so happy you are returning to England and Ireland. I am looking forward to your pictures and blog. Thank you for taking us along. 😉
Thank you for lifting my heart and always making me smile……anytime you put pen or brush to paper – I know I’m in for a treat!
It is always a joy to read what you post and enjoy the escape to your life. Love all of the illustrations and pictures…always so inviting. I went to your shop in Arroyo Grande years ago. I think that’s where it was??? It was so much fun to look at all of your treasures and it was so hard to decide what to buy. Bringing back memories. Thank you for taking the time to bring joy to so many people.
Oh such a lovely post! I feel like I can smell the salt air. Can’t wait to see more photos so beloved England and Ireland too. Thanks for the chance to win. I’ve got my toes and fingers crossed. 😍
You are such an inspiration! Reading your ‘Willard’ and blog is like traveling to somewhere idyllic. Thank you for taking me there.
I have collected your cookbooks for years and I love them. I shared your blog with my mother and now she looks forward to seeing the Willard along with me. So I know what kind of things to get her for her birthday! What lovely tales of your adventures and sayings and home spirit. I get music in my head without even playing it.
Dear Susan….
You have been so blessed with such beautiful artistic talents and we are blessed that you love to share them with us! Thank you….
May God grant you many more years!
Sincerely,
Julie Fotes
Salt Lake City, Utah
I love autumn and some of my favorite memories are those of childhood in Rochester, New York in the fall. I’m also a total Anglophile and wish I could be in England and Ireland with you, not to mention that trip aboard ship! Hope I win because I love all things Susan Branch. I have your three journal books and am hoping you write another!
Family summers are the most fun ever! We had one last summer. This summer was a little too quiet.
I luv Autumn! Waiting for my Willard to arrive…thank you for this chance to win these awesome gifts. Peace to you.
What a nice way to start the day reading Willard! The morning started out foggy, but once I finished reading the fog had cleared! I’m activated by Willard (really you) and sunshine!!!
Wonderful post. I love to see this thru your eyes. Blessings to You and Joe.
Lovely post, Susan. Thanks for bringing sunshine to my day!
Love love love, going to watch the movie and bake zucchini bread.
A bright spot in my day : ) Thank you!
Reading Willard takes me to such a happy place in this crazy world. Thanks❤️
Susan, I am NOT A COMPUTER SOPHISTICATE (sp???) so may not know how to work my way thru the comments. I was so excited to comment, and put my name in the ‘pot’ for the current drawing….but I did have to go on with my life…and not get back to check on the comments. Now I can’t even find mine!
….some blogs have a place to check so that each new comment will be sent to my email. Do you have this? I don’t have time to go thru all 600+ comments right now…and each time I click on ‘older comments’ it kicks back to the very beginning of the blog instead of right to the comments. Am I making sense? Do I need to know HOW to navigate the comments in a better way? I DO WANT to read all of them, as it is like a big ‘quilting circle’ with each person contributing her bit to the conversation. HELP ME PLEASE!!!
If you have a mac, hit “Command and your letter “F” at the same time and a wee window will open at the top right of your screen. Put your name in to find your comments. If you don’t have a mac, tell Google what kind of computer you have and ask them how to find your name on a blog comment post. They are lovely to read, but they do take a while!
Hello again Susan,
You and your talents make my heart sing! I just escape into your world for awhile and relax and count my blessings. Someday I will get to MV; last Fall I was just next door on the Cape but time ran short and we had to drive back to Bangor to fly home to Colorful Colorado 🙂
So excited to read your blog on your newest adventure and especially to Ireland; my heritage home. My dear leprechaun husband and I have been there once and dream of going back someday. After all we haven’t finished the whole island…Be sure to go to a Gaelic (Irish) speaking town; there is a great one by the Cliffs of Moher. You will get a real feel for the Irish there.
Thank you for sharing your life and hopefully another book will be on the horizon as well!!!
Blessings,
Mary
Thank you for so many years of shared happiness! The world needs more people like you!
My cups arrived last but not least! I love them! Some are gifts for friends! My jam is made! Summer doesn’t end here until September/October! A heatwave is impending! I love recipe boxes and books! Thanks for your generosity! I will print the bookmarks one for me two to go with my cup gifts! The Fall holidays will soon be upon us! Christmas 🎄 is like 121 days! Thanks kindred spirit! When will you return to Apple Farm?🍎
Susan,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for all the love you show us in your art,
recipes, books and your blog. I just makes my heart get all giddy and excited when i read any of your works, thank you for the blessing you share with us making our days all seem so special and helping us realize the little things are so important and the little touches. Thank you for sharing your world with us! Blessing to you & Joe!
I love how you celebrate the simple things – shadows, tea cups, summer days with kin, hints of autumn – that make life so special – thank you for sharing!
I love reading Williard, and I own all your “old” books, purchased at the time you published them.
The calm at the end of the day, thankyou for your positive and lovely thoughts and drawings.
Love your books, recipes, calendars all that you do. It is a work of art. Thank you.
Hi- On a not so great day at work-I opened your e-mail and after just a few minutes I feel so excited for fall, want to go home and bake something, draw something and can’t wait to start wearing my sweaters again! I feel like I just spent an afternoon with my grandparents in my childhood home. Thank you for the uplift!!!! 🙂 You are so creative!
Just read Willard and it always amazes me (but never surprises me…) what kindred spirits we are! And we even have the same initials!!!
Loved reading about the shadows!
This so generous of you for this terrific giveaway.
Marilyn
What lovely three books to win. I would cherish them. Thank you for the giveaway.
Joan
Thank you for the opportunity to win these books. They are so lovely.
Marion
I can’t wait to win!! hee hee hee!
Love,
Lynn from Bedford, Pa
So excited to see Willard in my mailbox today. Your upcoming trip sounds awesome. Can’t wait to hear more details and dream I am going along!
Just call me butter….’cause I’m on a roll.
hahahahaha. 😆
Oh goodie! Another”time out” for me! How I love seeing a new blog😍 So I must ask you……how on earth do you keep your kitchen sink faucets so shiney & new? I am IMPRESSED! I am also loving the shorter days now, thinking of fall things…..tho in Southern California our real summer is just about to kick in!
I can’t take the credit. The kitchen faucet is really only about a year old, was replaced, so it hasn’t had time yet to be very grungy ~ and I try to take care of it so it never will!
I hope I win…I hope I win…I hope I win…
I would like to express my gratitude for your e-mail post. You make my want to be very busy. My imagination is on overload. I will keep this short since I want to jot down all the ideas that came to me while I read your words. My first grandbaby is on the way and I want to make something that conveys the feelings your letter made me feel. Safe and happy travels! Your newest fan, Tina.
How lovely, Happy new baby. You could start a recipe box, or a keepsake book. On each of her birthdays, make a different cake, take a picture of it along with her, and put the recipe in the box, or in a book, write about her birthday under it, what she said, did, wore, etc. Give it to her when she’s 21 or 30. or Something. There are SO MANY wonderful things you can do. But most of all, congratulations on new love.
Love your blog! Reading it takes me to a “happy place”, thank you!
I just discovered your blog today – love it! I have read Fairy Girl and am now reading Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams and getting ready to order the third book. Absolutely love them! I think we are kindred souls. Like you, I also get great enjoyment out of simple, sweet things. The illustrations and quotes are precious and I keep interrupting my husband’s TV watching to read him something from the book. I laugh out loud at times while I’m reading!
I think I’ll make that zucchini bread this weekend!
BTW, Martha’s Vineyard is one of my favorite places on the planet as well as all of Cape Cod and Nantucket. I think it is like Heaven to be there and I’m really envious that you get to live there – what a dream! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Luckiest accident of my life. Hooray for destiny! xoxo Nice to meet you Carol Ann!
When I see that an email from you has arrived, I make myself a cup of tea and settle in for a wonderful read. I love your world. Its beautiful, exciting and calming all at once. Thank you for sharing with all of us.
ps Autumn is my favourite time of year – I can’t wait! The colours, the smells, and Halloween!
Love Dancin’ Queen, zucchini bread, and fall…Love reading Willard, too!
Hellllllooo : D
It is the edge of spring in New Zealand, and you have me missing Autumn already! Ha ha, but I don’t need to with Willard by my side. Thank you for the lovely musica, I put it on and let it run – sets just the right mood for today’s drive in the countryside to a farmer’s market in our tidy little old convertable.
I’d love to join in your contest, and truth is, books are just a teeny bit harder to come by all the way out here at the end of the road in lovely NZ, so yours would be that more precious and rare here than they already are! And cherished.
I’m feeling lucky! Thanks for that too.
Hellloooooo way over there. Thank you for saying hi! Happy springtime!
Hi Susan! I would love to be added to the drawing! Our family is moving from our native California to Roanoke, Virginia, and we can’t wait! My 23-year-old daughter and I have planned a train trip up to Martha’s Vinyard to visit your next of the woods…. after experiencing our own area’s Fall glory! Can’t tell you how much of a constant inspiration you have been — thank you!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for another wonderful Willard, letting us know what you and Joe are up to, sharing your beautiful art with us….I luv it all! Also, thanks for the chance to win some of your goodies. 🙂
Take care, happy Autumn!
Gail Klumpp
Oh dear no hard I try I seem to muddle this up, this time with a wrong e mail, maybe because I put two in.
Soo here goes again, thank you for all your joy you put in our world for us followers of your travels and day to day stuff. Loved your shadow/eclipse photos, what fun. Here is to Autumn and the joys it brings with it.
My husband and I moved from England 40 years ago, December of this year for him and Feb., next year for myself and our eldest son who is now 41!
I have a group of ladies and guess what we call ourselves, Luvlee Ladies. Gosh I would love a mug, can’t tell my husband if I win, he thinks I have enough….
Always a special pleasure to find your blog in my inbox! Fall is my favorite season for decorating!
Reading your blog and getting the Willards are always high points in my day.
Your artwork and blog are a gentle relaxing moment of peace and serenity — all is well with the world!
I always like catching up with you and all the “going ons” in your newsletter (one of my favorites out there)…the shadow and solar eclipse photos were wonderful…especially the half moons you captured! The new mugs are so great…a fun way to drink a cuppa, as you always say. I pretty much have all your books but don’t have the Gratitude one; would love the opportunity to win your autographed copies. Happy almost Autumn…it’s still hot here in CA but can thankfully feel it on it’s way (wishful thinking). =)
Susan,
Just seeing your name appear makes me smile! I love your art and recipes and wonderful sayings! I have several of your books and I cherish them ….thanks for making the world a happier and more beautiful place. Best wishes to all in your home….2-legged and 4 -legged.
Jeannie in Starkville, Mississippi
I commented above. Thank you for your wonderful books and recipes, etc..
I am drinking coffee sweetened with maple syrup and eating a homemade Hot Coffee Dark Chocolate cupcake that is filled with strawberry jam and frosted with vanilla bean frosting while I read Willard and the blog. I have turned off the news, and am listening to Musica as I read. Life is good.
Is there any chance you will be doing a picnic here in the states next year? I missed the one last year.
Last year’s picnic was in England too … although Joe and I drove across the USA for two months last year and stopped in many bookstores too. Would be fun to do American Picnic somewhere, but the USA is so much bigger than England, where to do it where everyone can come????
Hope I win! Living in the Netherlands and love your work. You are a blessed woman. Thanks for sharing your world
Nice to meet you Ingrid!
Thank you for this latest Willard uplifting newsletter! I’m right with you . . .”If all else fails, have faith in five o’clock” . . . and we all know it’s five o’clock somewhere!! Also appreciate the doable twist on happiness, “continuous small treats.” Perfect justification for a perfect cup of Irish tea!
Judy P
Love your books!
LOVE your recipe boxes! I have my grandmother’s wooden box with all of her recipes! You have inspired me to start using it!!!
I could get lost in your blog and website for hours. So glad my friend introduced me to you and all you do. I too look so forward to the Fall in all it’s autumnal glory!!
Oh! You’re going to be traveling to Ireland for the first time! It is wondermous, splendiferous, and beautimous maximus! I would so love to return to that glorious island; what was once the home of all my ancestors. I’m of Irish blood on both sides of my family, in fact I’m only third-generation American. At any rate, I was in Ireland a bit more than 6 years ago for my 27th wedding anniversary. My husband and I had wanted to go for our 25th but I was too ill to travel so it became the 27th Anniv. trip instead. I will never forget some of the extraordinary experiences we had there. (You MUST see the old library at Trinity College Dublin! If you love books and old architecture — and I know you do — you might feel as I did there. That that’s what at least a portion of heaven must look like!)
One last thing: I want to tell you how much you and your writings mean to me. And I want to thank you for sharing your talents and joyful nature. Being a person who deals with the strictures of chronic disease which often keep me house-bound, I always want to thank those who inspire me, bring me joy and uplift me. You are one of those people! (I’ll leave you with an Irish proverb written in the Irish language: Nil aon tintean mar do thintean fein. It means “there is no hearth fire like one’s own hearth fire.) With this being type-written, I was unable to put in the accent marks over some of the letters. But you can google to see how it should look. 🙂
Love it Jenifer, thank you!
I do not have my original Heart of the Home, so I would love to win this set!
I’m late to the party, but glad I didn’t miss it! I’ve been aware of your artwork for years but just this summer I read your three books and I described them to others as “a long letter from a dear friend” because to me, that’s what they are. I bought the Willard’s to catch up and am slowly catching up with the online blogs. (It wouldn’t take so long, but work calls to me….or they would if I didn’t show up at the office.) While I may not be passionate about cooking or gardening I enjoy seeing and reading about all your adventures with both. I love to decorate and re-decorate and write letters and read and enjoy like-minded people. I’ve recently reconnected with a dear friend from high school (back in the 70’s) and she’s a fan now, too! I always look forward to seeing what you’re up to and what you’re writing and painting! God bless you for bringing joy and beauty to the world – we need as much of it as we can get!!
Just finished reading Willard and loved it. Thank you, Susan, for happy thoughts and for reminders that we are not alone in our worries for the world.
Would love to score the “hat trick” 3 books!! What a treasure!!
I’ve used your Heart of the Home cookbook for years…..love it. Love the whimsical way you write and paint. I’d love to win your latest set of books! Happy Fall!
Oh my goodness, I believe I have found my happy place! I just spent more than 2 hours perusing my “Willard” and then gravitating to your blog and shopping and recipes! I have many of your wonderful books and your wall calendar has been an annual joy for me but spending time with you through your very delightful blog and newsletter makes me feel that we are truly friends! Thank you
At 66 years old I’m a Susan Branch novice. Being a Friend of Gladys Taber I was curious why everyone was so excited for you to be at our reunion. I now know what I’ve been missing. I love love love everything you do. When I can’t stand another minute of this crazy world, I get a cup of tea and one of your books and escape to wonderland ( your life where I live vicariously). Pet the kitties for me. Happy Fall ya’all.
PS I wish there were jigsaw puzzles of your work.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy everything about you when I found you a few years ago.
Your life and views bring me back to when I was a little girl (70 plus years ago) at my Nana Rollins house, learning from her, baking sewing and The Golden Rule a must I her home.
I have all your books, my favorite one is Martha Vinyards Isle of Dreams.
Have introduced you to a very dear friend of mine and Shea’s well is in awe of you.
She and I are wondering if you have a new book in that wonderful mind of yours?
I have ordered from your store, but some I have to put on my wish list. Hubby said I can go wild without knowing it.
Love your Willard, keep doing what you do. In this crazy world your Blog gives me hope for a better world for our grandchildren and there’s that come after.
If only we All could see what we have and be thankful.
Again thank you and God Bless.
Virginia. (Ginny)
It’s always about the bent of the brain, we are what we believe we are. I do have another book in there, I need to clear the decks and get busy on it. xoxo
Hello dear,
Would sure love to win your goodies.
Thank you ahead of time.
Hugs Rosemary
I love your work…your words and your art! It makes me happy and gives such a warm feeling of comfort. Each time I read your emails, I feel like I’ve been visiting with a dear friend. Thank you!