People often ask me what inspired me to move all the way across country, from California where I grew up, to New England ~ to an Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, so very far away from home, where they had this thing called winter. MUSICA? Well, the short answer is the break-up of my marriage in California and the strong urge to escape the pain of it. But the deeper answer is . . .
Not just autumn, but all of it . . . everything New England seemed to offer (from all the books I’d read), deep traditions, romance and inspiration that comes with nature, the authenticity of the old houses that had seen so much~ it all seemed to represent a solid foundation where I hoped I could build a solid new life.
And no, 35 years later, I’m still not used to it. I don’t think I ever will be.
I still see the change of seasons as a miracle. Four-times-a-year for extra celebration, totally organic, not man-made, God provided, and real as real could be. So I thought I’d give you my “Best of Autumn,” just in cases you aren’t yet in the mood 🎃 ~ hopefully when this post is done, you will be, because what I want to do is help you . . .
Is that color possible in nature? No. Not possible. Probably the camera had a piece of red cellophane over it!!! Wrong. But that’s actually what I used to think when I was a child and would see photos of New England in the fall. It just couldn’t be real.
Now that I know better, you would think I would get used to it, but apparently that’s never going to happen. Looks like magic to me.
I’ve walked down a dirt road through the woods to the water almost every day of the last 35 years. The first five I did alone, then I met Joe, and we’ve done it together ever since, in all seasons. I told you, I love tradition. The over-and-over leaves an ownership imprint, and someday far into the future, Joe and I will haunt this place for eternity. When I wear this loosely woven sweater, I can tuck in stems of the wild things I find growing along the side of the road. 🍂Then of course Joe feels the need to hide in the bushes all the rest of the way home!
Is this not romantic? Sooo romantic, little cottage by the sea, we walk by it every day. Simple and surrounded by color . . . in the foreground is bittersweet, it grows wild and free, it makes a celebration where there might not normally be one. You see? Not my idea. It’s nature! We gather it to decorate our front door. 🍁
In the fall you can feel the icy breath of winter in the wind that blows leaves through the air. Black crows fly low across the road, cawing the whole way. Someday I will catch one with my camera!
My traditions hold inside the house too. My little rusty birds, garlands, wreaths, leaves, owls, birds, festoons, out of the boxes they come!
Then of course, there’s the dance of the tea towels . . .
I can tell you about the fall breezes, but here you can see it . . . and we can smell it too ~ and not only the fragrance of the sea ~ but as it flits around the Island it gathers perfume from everything 
that grows wild: goldenrod, clematis, wild apples and pine, blueberries, sandy beach plums, asters and bayberry. 🌻 As I wrote in Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams, “the salty breeze slips in and out of seashells, climbs tree trunks, dives into squirrel holes, slides along old porch rails, stumbles through the bittersweet, skips along picket fences, scoots beneath falling leaves, whistles past ancient graveyards, flits over and under dragonfly wings, and steals all the wishes off the dandelion puffs, flinging them in every direction, wishes for all.” It’s the pure romance of the seasons. 🍂
And my little bo-bo waits for me to come in.
Our very best tradition. Cat-loving people that we are. True blessings are all around us.💞
I brought in the last Just Joey rose of the season ~ in the little blue bottle Joe found while digging the hole to plant our Dogwood tree. And you can see our best tradition peeking out from the corner of the screen door.
The garden isn’t finished yet. I plant things that bloom late so we keep ourselves stocked in garden flowers for as long as possible, till the first freeze.
To some, marigolds are common, but they are the BEST when it comes to fall color right from the garden. Long-lasting flowers that know their job and do it well.
Lighting candles, part of the tradition of the season, for the shorter days and colder nights, wind beating our shutters against the house. And P.S.: LAST NIGHT!!! PBS was golden! The new season of The Durrells started (you would love it), and after was Poldark, and advertised was the new season of Victoria starting in January! So much to look forward to! Right now, while I’m writing you, I’m listening to the BBC production called Byron (as in Lord). I just spoke into my remote, and there it was!
Lounge lizard.
More wind, crunch leaves, sweet smelling sheets . . .
This is a sandy driveway where the leaves have been driven over so many times they are imprinted. I thought it would make gorgeous fabric.
And we’ve been cooking too . . . this recipe cooks at 250 degrees for 7 hours! Makes the house smell heavenly. It’s Spicy Short Ribs, I made it for you last Christmas in another post . . . just click HERE and scroll to the bottom for the recipe. It’s so good!
And here’s the Marmalade tea bread! (Recipe is HERE, just scroll to bottom of this old post.)
All for my favorite thing, setting the table, with my purple Windsor Ware . . . and, here’s a little tip: flowered dishes look best with striped, plaid or plain-colored napkins.
Some things are a must at this time of year . . . homemade pie crust is one of them. I have to say, if you haven’t had a real homemade pie crust in a while, you don’t know what you are missing. Fill it with pumpkin . . . homemade is best! There is nothing like cooking and nurturing to make you feel 100% better about the world.
Am I right, or am I right?
I love this photo. It was on a door of a tea room we visited years back and I just love it ~ it screams halloween! 🕷 Or maybe I scream halloween. But definitely, someone is screaming! 😱
And this foggy day showed all the dripping little webs that normally you don’t even know are there. In our woods they’re on the ground, between every leaf and twig. . . sparkling in the mist and dew. 🕸
And now, about pumpkins . . .
We found these pumpkins at a craft show. They are easy to make, but you have to grow them and mark them while they are young ~ it’s so easy, you can put your family name on them, read HERE for a How To. . . it’s pure magic for children! 🎃 There are so many interesting pumpkins available these days. Below, the warty ones are called Knuckleheads . . . there are Cinderella and Lakota too, beautiful and fun to grow, remember for next spring! Put it on your calendar so you don’t forget!
I’m a star pumpkin girl myself, but Joe always does a few faces . . .
Don’t forget to put cinnamon and nutmeg on the inside of the top of your pumpkins for wonderful smells when lit.
And of course him. Casper. Our ghost. SUCH a tradition. This house would not be a house without our ghost. How many years have we had him now? Maybe twenty!
We have a street coming toward the house, with a stop sign out front, and for twenty years Casper has been in our upstairs window saying HELLO to everyone who goes by. I’ve never seen another one like him, but I think it might be possible to make one (not by me, but I think Joe could do it, or maybe you can! Or perhaps you have a Joe of your own who might like a project that will last forever) …. would you like some photos of his innards? I can do that!
You can get an idea of his frame by seeing the light through the cloth ~ its like a wire dress form. The cloth is cotton, starched to the nth degree, and lightly covered in the finest glitter. There are two tiny lightbulbs attached inside to the frame, top and bottom, and one inside the pumpkin all on one cord that we plug into the wall.
Here he is from the front, holding a pumpkin . . . which is also framed in wire ~ its fabric is felt.
There are two round frames, one on the bottom (which you can see in the photo above) which is what Casper sits on, the other is visible in that first picture ~ from the back ~ up toward the top of the head. And all the vertical wires are hooked to them.
The little arms are separate, and here’s how they are hooked to the main frame.
There are two lightbulbs fitted into the two round frames.
There’s a tear in the ghost fabric to hook the frames together, to hook the pumpkin to the ghost, and for the light for the pumpkin to go through. The pumpkin hides the tear.
And voila!
You can see him up top center window.
There have been a lot of Autumns at this house. Tradition, authenticity, romance, endurance, security, dreams, and somehow, despite everything, a symbol for the continuity of life, the manifestation of my childhood faith in forever. Cue the Musica . . . 🎵 I would love to see how it looked inside on the day this photo was taken, what they were doing in the kitchen, go to the barn and see the horses … go for a ride in the carriage down to Main Street . . .
Gathered from the woods, from the farmstand and from Michael’s Crafts.
We are ready! Bring. It. On. We get a jillion kids at halloween. We have a responsibility to give back some of the magic we’ve been given.
Our other house decoration is our big BOO in the window!
Lovely wonderful bittersweet. Another miracle from nature.
Last year we were in England for the fall . . . I’m standing in the 13th century churchyard looking at the moon across from where our dear friend Rachel lives. Whoooo . . .
Here we are at Carrie’s darling house in Oxford! Lots of you know her from Twitter . . . go say Hi! Aren’t blue and orange perfect together?
And here we were, apple tasting with our friend Siobhan in the glorious English Countryside . . .
Perfectly wonderfully charming . . . an apple on every fence post . . .
Last October 19 we were busy setting the table and decorating the dining room in a house in Bath where we were staying (with Ray’s friends and family) to help celebrate Rachel’s birthday! Yes, balloons and hats and bunting, streamers and candles!
While we were doing that, she was waiting in the kitchen ~ no peeking! Drinking wine and overseeing the cooking of the birthday dinner. 
Here’s Ray’s cake, with all of our rings on board, ready for her to make a wish and blow out the candles. It was a wonderful time and a luv-lee memory. And now, here we are, one year later! We can surprise her again, Girlfriends 🎉 . . . click HERE and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎁 … or, HERE . . . or, if you live in the UK, go HERE, and get a sample of the amazing Sugar Moon Brownies she makes, packs and sends in the mail! Her birthday is on Thursday and I’m not going to say a THING . . . 🤐 shhhhhhh.💞
In the meantime, I go to my studio every day . . . making new things, painting for the 2019 calendar with my little three haired brush . . .
And this week, I’ve been choosing thread colors for my new
Coming soon . . . Have I told you? Yes, we found someone wonderful in the USA to make them for us . . . coming to our web store soon.
This is the newest . . . just finished and needs ironing, but I think it’s going to be darling! This is cross-stitch, but some of the kits will be printed too . . . Nothing like needlework to take your mind off the cares of the day and leave it to wander and dream in an aimless, do-something kind of way. Hand sewing and old movies go together like ice cream and cake. I speak from lots of happy experience. I tell you more very soon.
Jack’s been helping us plan our next trip to the UK! Maybe not helping, perhaps blocking.
Also, for you who’ve been asking ~ two of our “Sold Out” cups came back in! The manufacturer let us know they had some “leftover” decals ~ and asked if we wanted them to make a few more . . . we said we’d take them all . . .
So, there were two . . . the 16 oz. Martha’s Vineyard . . .
And the 11 oz. Autumn cup ….
We didn’t get many, but I hope this will fix it so that everyone who wanted one, gets one!
One more of my favorite fall traditions: I just bought the most delicious new flannel jammies. I love thick cottony flannel for our wintery nights . . . the best ones I’ve found are at Garnet Hill . . . . when I find something good, I need to tell my Girlfriends! 💋
So off I go to write a new WILLARD . . . in case you don’t know, WILLARD is my Newsletter, you can sign up and every so often it will just appear in your mailbox . . . lots of interesting things to tell you about . . . it should be going out sometime next week. Until then my dear, darling Girlfriends, remember to choose love.
Susan,
I love this whole Fall post, especially your “leaf sweater”! You’re so silly in the best kind of way 😊🎃🎃❤️🍂🍂🍂
It only looks silly when I see it later on! That’s the problem! 🤣
Happy Fall, Susan! What a delightful post! Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I love reading your musings. Thanks for sharing a glimpse into life on Martha’s Vineyard this wonderful season!
Your words seem to feed my hungry soul. Happy October to you and Joe and please tell me where you got those sheets!!! I must have some!!
LL Bean, and the prettiest ones are the blue ones! They’re crisp! Thank you Sandy!
Thank you. I will place an order today. Crisp sheets and towels are the only way to go!!
Fall in New England is magical! We are so blessed to live here! The light….! The colors…! The crisp air!! We love our summers by the beach, but I come alive in Autumn! Thanks for helping everyone recognize the beauty of this season!
Such a beautiful post! It gets all of us in the mood for autumn.
I need you & Joe to be our neighbors. 😉 Such inspirations–reminding us about all that is beautiful in our world. Thank you! 💕
I love fall! All our trees are starting to turn, except for the 3 big maples in our back yarn. They leaf late and turn color way after any other tree does it. It’s so pretty. Sat is the NY Sheep and Wool Festival, and the drive up the NY State Thruway is gorgeous. Such a wonderful time of year.
I’ve always wanted to go to that! I need to put it on my calendar! (and so I just got up and did that!) Yay, thank you Ruth!
Thank you for sharing all those thoughts about fall, and all the magic of this season. I too am a lover of the wonderful autumn colors, and I’m lucky enough to live up north where the colors are spectacular. This year, though, it’s quite different because of the warm weather we keep on experiencing. The leaves started changing colors very late, and since they were very dry because we had no rain for a month, the colors aren’t very vibrant and the leaves will just fall with the wind… It makes me like the cool temperatures of september-october, because I see now that they are the key to the festival of colors we usually experience. I won’t complain anymore when those almost freezing temperatures knock at our door! I know they will also bring their load of deep reds, vibrant oranges, sparkling yellows… and I will smile!
While looking at your beautiful pictures, I noticed some would show Willard with the black window shutters, and some without. Did you take them out to paint them? Or you store them for the winter? Or you decided to give the house a new look?
By the way, I loved this old picture of your house. Are you lucky enough to have many of those? Where they given to you by the previous owners, or you just happen to find this picture somewhere?
They come off to be painted, then put back on . . . every so often we have to do that! Part of the duty of an old house. Yes, the old photos were given to us by the previous owners . . . we have three, but that one is the oldest and you can see the people the best. Thank you Sophie . . . yes it would be awful if our global warming thing took fall color away from us. Fingers crossed for more freezing temps! xoxo
Such a lovely post. Because you introduced us to the word “Hygge”, I have joined an online group about “Hygge”. It is wonderful, I have met so many people living all over the world who practice the art of what I call cozzyiness. You inspire so many things for so many people. I look forward to each blog post, twitter, Willard, Instagram and Facebook post that I see you name attached to. Thank you for the inspiration.
All the goodness in the world. So much more than we know. xoxoxo
You warm my heart so much, Susan… Thank you!!! ❤❤
~ Cassandra
xoxo Thank you Cassandra!
Such happiness to read your words and study the photographs featuring autumnal bliss (and my favorite season)! I read slowly to pour over everything and savor your particular brand of wonder-full (smile)! Thank you a million-billion bushels of gorgeous autumn leaves, dear Susan!
Thank you back Jana!
Hello Susan,
Love love your post!! I’ve spent $$$ on sheets and mugs and can’t wait to hold them. Thank you for your inspiration and shopping advice. Girlfriends are needed for so many things.
I’ll remember to plant marigolds next year too. They make me think of high school and those glorious days of homecoming celebrations: the football game- the rally- the bonfire-cheerleaders-the parade-Homecoming King-and Queen and of course, the DANCE (wearing marigold corsages, of course).
I’m headed to Whole Foods today to get all the fixins’ for the marmalade cake. I’ll be sure to share also.
Thank you for all your creative work and ideas. You make your girlfriends days so much brighter and happier!!
Makes me so happy to hear that Starr . . . You are so right, that’s what Girlfriends are for . . . we share the good stuff!
Good morning Susan, yes this is a lovely post. Fall is my favorite time of year and I feel fortunate to live in Oregon where we have absolutely beautiful falls. As I read through your post for a second time I fell into it and like Alice could feel, touch and smell as if I were there. It would be lovely to sit and have a cup of tea with you right now. Looking forward to the needle craft kits and your next post.
Happy fall Amy! xoxo
Oh, Susan….I am with you! Love the change of the seasons and adore FALL! When we were looking for a place to retire and downsize we looked all over the country and while I loved some of the warmer states I kept thinking “how can I make pumpkin muffins, light candles, have a fire, and be cozy here if it does not get chilly”??? And last night we walked our new route around the pond near our new place and the leaves crunched underneath and the geese were honking and it was bliss. Also – love your ghost! I have a ceramic one that is very similar…made by my dear Aunt Mamie when she was in her 90’s….and she even wired it for a bulb. She made several of them for family and every year when we dig them out in October we post photos on FaceBook stating that “Aunt Mamie’s Ghost” is back. This year I placed the ghost right next to my new Echo Alexa and am thinking Alexa and Aunt Mamie are bonding. And tradition….oh my – I pulled out the Jack-O-Lantern (ceramic) I made 40 years ago…the first year we were married. It has graced the front window of many homes and welcomed, as we call them, “Halloweeners”! Now in a new space it is shining out to make new friends. Thanks for the wonderful post, as always…makes us appreciate the wonderful life we are blessed with. Stay cozy!
PS…I am off to the store to get the makings for Christmas cookies! Yes – I entered my snowman cookies in a holiday dessert contest by a local magazine…and they are in the finals. Have to make them and take them to be judged on Sunday. I think I have to get my Christmas music out to get me in the mood! Take care and enjoy every moment of the Fall!
Did you tell me where you moved to? Inquiring minds will want to know where you are! It sounds like you chose the perfect place. Happy new home Ann! Good luck on the Cookie Contest!!! How fun!
Hey Susan…moved to a retirement community in Lancaster, PA. Making lots of new friends and when I went to visit one in her apartment there was your Fall book out on display…just like mine. Great minds think alike !!! I won 2nd place in the contest…a gift card to the local grocery store and another to a lovely restaurant in Lititz, PA. Have you heard of Lititz ? It is a great little town with an amazing independent book store – Aaron’s Books – that would be perfect on your next tour across the country. Have a great day !
Oh wonderful area. Yes, we’ve been to Lititz, but not for long enough. We’ll have to come back!
Susan,,
Your Autumn post makes me yearn for this time of year. I live in California and what autumn frightens us are fires. Not the beautiful colors you are showing us. We have lived where this time of year nature becomes Disneyland and God shows off. Thanks for your reminder it’s great to remember.
Have you ever gotten Ray’s recipe for the brownies or are they a guarded secret?
Ray’s Brownie recipes are totally guarded ~ making and selling her delicious brownies is how she makes her living. My prayers go out to everyone in California . . . what a terrible disaster! Thank you Judy, nice to hear from you!
What a wonderful posting, thank you! This is my favorite time of year. I have a bittersweet question that I could sure use help with. All the secret spots I use to be able to cut bittersweet have been cleared. I went to a garden supply store and asked if they could order me a plant and I was told no, it’s considered a weed. I was so disappointed. Recently I met a woman who told me there are 2 varieties, one a weed, one not. Can anyone help me with information about this? I so want to plant it. Thank you Susan.
I can’t help you with that Betsy ~ but maybe one of our other Girlfriends . . .
IMO that post on your Twitter feed about “Light tomorrow from today” with the candles and attribution would make a LOVELY cross stitch. Just saying.
PS I do not Tweet so used this avenue to communicate.
Thank you Sandra, good idea!
Dear Susan—Love the new embroidery kits. My husband used to call it
Dear Susan– Love the new embroidery kits…My husband used to call it
Chinese torture. I haven’t done cross stitch in years, but I want to do
this one. I have the same garland hanging on a window in my kitchen.
Thanks Pam
Ha ha Chinese torture!
Feeling blessed by your lovely words! I always grab my cup of tea and read slowly, taking the words and darling pictures in my soul and treasuring the beauty. God bless you dear Susan.
The BEST post dear Susan! I love, Love Autumn too! There is definitely magic during this season❤️🎃🍁👍😘
For a girl who has spent most of her time inFlorida, where there is no autumn, for the past 10 years, ,thank you for this blog!
Armchair travel! xoxo
Sitting here in Colorado looking out at a perfectly blue sky with little color as we had a dusting of snow 10 days ago and freezing at night, and sat down to my computer to read your Blog of Color! Thank you for sharing your whimsy pictures and thoughts! My Mom was from England and my sister and I were there in 2013 and visited all of our family AND! went to Beatrix Potter’s home!!!! Do you think you will do a tea cup of the English countryside?
I have one coming now that has bluebells and lambs on it . . . maybe someday I should do a thatched cottage and some hedgerows!
Hi Susan! I know I am not alone, when I check my email and my heart leaps to see that you have given us a new blog post! This one is especially gorgeous and filled to the brim with everything we need this time of year; new stuff, old stuff, yummy stuff, memories AND big plans! Thank you for bringing us color, hope, goodness and joy! I am eager to receive your upcoming Willard! You tease, you. 🙂 g
It takes me days to write it, then more days for Kellee to do her magic to the finished letter, then the people who mail it for us have to do things to it ~ I just finished it last night, and now I wait, like you wait at Christmas, until it’s the right time to give your gift, more excited, usually, than the receivers! Thank you Gigi! Love having you here!
Hello Susan and Joe, Another trip to Maine is just what you need to see it in it’s peek colors. You would surely Love it. So much to do and see. The best time of year..The Harvest, Pumpkin Patches, Corn Maze, Nature Walks, Hayrides, Autumn Leaves, Bonfires, Apple Picking, Apples and Apple Cider, Smores, Bittersweet and a whole lot more. Breath in the fresh air and Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart. Have the Best Autumn Ever. Love your blog today and everyday. So looking for the next ones. Thanks!!
Thank you Linda! Best of Maine! xoxo
John Keats was only 24 when he wrote this poem on 20 September 1819 and barely lived a year beyond. He died on 23 February 1821. Below is a portion of his lovely work.
“To Autumn”
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
Wow. I never realized how short his life was. It’s amazing how well he’s been remembered, although with words like these, it’s easy to see why.
Susan, A crow was talking outside my window as I was reading about crows in your blog as iF it was somehow sent from you 🙂
Went to Santa Ynez Sunday and your personal adventure is opening my eyes to the possibility of moving up there and creating my own fairy tale as you have done!
Always have done the “right thing” and now it’s my turn…thanks, Susan, for being such an inspiration. You’re the best!
Know how busy you are B U T in your spare time would love just a big JACK MUG!
P L E A S E
Much love from Grasshopper and Sandra
I will do a Jack cup, maybe next year! He’s so paintable with his mustache! Santa Ynez is so beautiful! xoxo
Yes Jack mug!!!
As always, wonderful post! Love your descriptions of so many things….. I thought I was the only one who hung sheets on the clothes line! I o even in winter, and they come in stiff as a board! Love it! Thanks again for sharing such a beautiful season, Martha’s Vineyard style! j
The crispness you get with those sheets is not available any other way! You really can smell the great outdoors when you cuddle into bed at night!
Oh, the joy you bring to all of our hearts…thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love to have you here Dee Ann!
Just tried the BEST cheese ….perfect for toasted cheese or whatever:
CATAMOUNT HILLS CHEESE from Whole Foods
“A hand-seleted, hard Italian-type cheese with notes of Swiss and
parmesan flavors.”
My mouth was so surprised, it sang with delight 🙂
Interesting, Sandra, will have to try!
Perfect timing! Reading your gorgeous post as we embrace our first true, Fall day in SC. It’s about 60 outside, a little breezy and low humidity. That’s a win for us. My dream is to see Fall in person in New England, but until then, your posts will feed the need. Merci!
I love 60! I wish the earth would go into cooling mode and give us all 60 every day!
Hello Dear Susan, Joe, Jack and lovelies,
Oh Autumn! I love it best! It is full of crisp mellowness. Thanks for the dee-light-full post. Settling in with a cuppa and some Britbox after it. Have you seen “The Hairy Bikers Bakeation”? If not may I recommend them highly? They are adorable, charming and enthusiastic blokes on bikes who bake.
Happy Birthday to Ray!- although I’ll wish it to her on Instagram on Thursday as well. Loving it all and I like the idea that we pay the childhood magic forward with Halloween. So true!
I like your jammie link although I still have three pairs of lovingly tended pajamas of your design. I think new jammies need a jammie day break in as a reverence. Get up, shower, put on your new jammies, make some yummy snacks like brownies and hot chocolate, cuddle under a blanket and watch at least two old movies in them. They will always have good cozy energy after that!
Take care, bundle up, cozy up, and enjoy the falling of the leaves!
xoxo
Gabi
I did that very thing while I was writing the new Willard, Gabi! Jammie-day break-in! Wore my cozy new jammies all day, and prayed no one would come to the door, and they didn’t! We feel the same way, paying the childhood magic with Halloween, it was SO exciting when I was a kid, I can totally relate to these children at our door today ~ and I always love the parents who go along, enjoying it with them, watching over them!
I love your Casper ghost so much! If you ever see those again, maybe you could put them in your shop! In the meantime, I’ll try to figure out how to make one. Thank you for such a wonderful post! I always come away feeling inspired. xo
Just two comments away there’s a link to an Etsy store where there’s a ghost for sale, and also a better photo of the innards!
Thank you, Susan!
Love you too Dear Susan!!! OX
Wendy-Louise
There’s a ghost kind of like yours on eBay right now in case anyone’s interested.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-Vintage-Light-Up-Halloween-Ghost-Cloth-37-Tall-/192331693574?hash=item2cc7dcbe06:g:aTYAAOSwivJZ3pdH
Okay, back to reading the rest of the post!
You’re right! With a much better look at how it’s made!
I LOVE the way this neighborhood of girlfriends works! Need sheets? Here ya go! Need that little ghost? No problem, here he is! I mean what a team!!! I love it here🏡❤️
It’s fun isn’t it!?
Hi to Susan and Joe—pretty autumn post with all the trimmings including Halloween décor! Just saw a photo on the internet of three Maine roofers who stopped their work to stand (on the roof they were repairing), with hands over hearts, to honor the anthem being played before a football game at an adjacent school. I don’t mention this to be political, but that you were just in Maine and thought you would be interested—seemed noteworthy and nice. Will enjoy seeing your embroidery designs as they come out for all of us to savor! Years ago, I did an embroidery kit of pretty wicker chairs clustered together on a lawn and it is the only stitchery I have saved all these years from move to move. It shows a love seat, peacock chair and three other chairs in various wicker patterns and I have never tired of it. Although it was not difficult, it looks rather intricate because of the wicker patterns and close together embroidery stitches. There are some special items that are never discarded or donated as we go through life, like your piggy cutting board or countless other treasures in your beautiful home.
I did an alphabet embroidery once … each letter had a flower to go with it. It’s still framed on my wall . . . so I know exactly what you mean! xoxo
Hi Susan
This is definitely the most beautiful autumn post! Into put the cozy warmth into
Autumn . IAm wishing you a beautiful fall and Avery spooky Halloween!
Best
Elyse
Oh, it gets spooky here! Big eyed babies in bunny suits on windy leafy nights, parents standing at the guard, SO much fun!
Hi Sue,
Thank you for sharing the joys of the season! The colors are gorgeous here in the mountains of Cali and in Vermont, where I visited earlier this month with girlfriends.
Sadly, as the breeze blows through my golden trees, I fear for all of us in forested and not so forested areas of Cali, where so many fires burn without mercy.
Your post is a respite for all the not so sweet in our world. I MUST get out my SB Autumn book, as I do each year. I display on my coffee table and re-read again and again. We all need to focus on the SWEET, GOOD and SIMPLE treasures in or lives!
Thank you for sharing your sweet & good with us!
Love you,
Melin
xoxo
PS ~ Must get a shelf over my front door…love it!
I’m sick about what’s happened in California. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was always bad the way fires swept through forests, canyons, and scrub brush down to the sea, but so many homes and displaced people with these fires. Very sad. I’m glad to see you here, do your very best Pollyanna and find the good, I can tell you are already doing that. Blessings to you and yours. xoxo
As always I sit with a glass of wine or cup of tea and read your delicious blog. I savor the pictures and the words each and every one. Thank you for making life a little gentler and a little kinder. The world needs that!
We have a nice little club of kindred spirits here Margaret, the gentler, kinder description fits perfectly! Thank you!
Just what we all need right now, a giant dose of glorious autumn! So thankful the Creator “did” Fall! Thank you for the lovely post & sweet pix… I did those short ribs last year & they were a big hit with my guys, so looking forward to making them again soon. Also to let you know your Apple Crisp is now a tried & true family favorite; my grown-up daughter, now a wife and mother herself, invited me last night for a fall supper and there was your cookbook on her kitchen island, and an apple crisp just going in the oven. Heavenly!
The ultimate compliment for a cookbook author: family favorite! Thank you Gina!
Susan,
Thanks so much for the taste of Autumn. Living in Florida I miss it very much. We are still in the mid 80s here and nights continue to be hot and humid. Can’t wait for a break in this weather, but it doesn’t keep me from putting out all my fall decorations. I always love seeing what you and Joe are up to too. I especially loved the old picture of your house. Don’t you wonder what their lives were like? At least they can rest easy knowing it’s well loved by you all.
Sue in Fl.
I wonder all the time. I feel them here . . . all the families that have lived here, and the history taking place during their time! Lincoln, Mark Twain, Victorian England . . . amazing.
susan, is it a total of 1 1/2 cups of beef broth or just 1/2 cup? Also, I could not find beef short ribs, so I had the butcher cut up a chuck roast. Will that work?
It’s 1/2 cup (one-half cup). I’ve never used chuck roast, but I don’t see why not!
You make life better for so many people, and your honesty is part of the process!
Thank you for being so giving and lovable.
Thank you June! xoxo
Hi!
I just love to read your muse! Your island is beautiful any time of the year!
I feel you bring loads of comfort to my life ~ just observing yours is such a joy to behold!
Thank you for letting us peak in on a regular basis!
Thank you for being here Ruth!
Hello Susan, Do you know about Historical New England?(historicalNewEngland.org) I think you might LOVE it! Interesting programs, fabulous houses, quirky New England collections,…I live way out here in Seattle and I’m a member because it is just that good.
Cheers! Ann Kurtz
I wrote that down, thank you Ann!
Love it, love it, love it ALL! Thank you Susan oxo
I love it ALL! Thank you, Susan oxo
Hi Susan! What a wonderful blog! I love all of th Autumn 🍂 photos! Autumn is truly my favorite season. I was born in November and married in October I haveb en a base seed with pumpkins 🎃 sinc I was very little and named our house the Pumpkin House. I also love anything made with pumpkin. I feel that Autumn needs to be savored because it goes by way too fast and once Thanksgiving arrives the focus turns to Christmas. Have a wonderful Autumn! Love, Karen xo
It’s YOUR time of year, Karen!
Love your fall post as right now here in northern Indiana we’re still almost summery, with fall not quite here yet! Soon. What struck me most about your post was the photo of your sheets out on the line! Is that a 6-pillows-to-one-bed ratio I’m seeing?
LOL, yes. I get two, but Joe is a pillow man!
So enjoyed this post! I love autumn and miss the fall colors here in Florida. But we went to Wakulla Springs today to celebrate our anniversary and saw lovely cypress trees thinking about turning golden, manatees, and alligators! Fall here is purple liatris and small golden asters and LESS HUMIDITY and finally a little nip in the night air. Thanks so much– loved it!!!
You can find a little fall everywhere if you look for it . . . When I lived on the central coast of California I would drive through the rows and rows of grapevines . . . they turn color and black birds flew low over them in large flocks.
Autumn colors are supreme – pumpkins, gourds, leaves, late blooming flowers – Nature’s magic! Every time I read your post I want to “nest” – bake, clean, polish, knit, read, sip tea. Thank you for the inspiration!
Susan…I love the sound of ‘the art of cozyiness’ from your reader….but I didn’t get the memo…or the post….can you tell me what ‘Hygee’ is?
and I too, can not thank you enough for bringing us all ‘lightness and good cheer’!(and speaking of that…I also appreciated your post on the lobbyists…though I would much rather, we can’t put our heads in the sand!)
Thanks so very much, Steph
Yes, I did a post about Hygge … go HERE . . . knowledge is power, no matter what the subject! 😘 Thank you Steph!
Susan, I am so sorry! I misspelled Hygge…..once I got straightened out….I found the definition…..and your name should be part of that definition! I’ll have to look into that further ;o) …right up my alley. I have always been a real ‘Pollyanna’, all in the good sense I feel….in fact her ‘Glad game’ really made an impact on me as a young girl. Discovering your work has been a joy to me, thank you so much again. Wishing you much joy and peace in the upcoming months, Steph
I feel the same way about Pollyanna, that book changed my life and I was only 9 years old so there was very little to change! But it gave me the power to see things through my own eyes! Here’s a BLOG Post I did on Hygge . . . Thank you Steph!
Your writings give me so much inspiration. Every detail is just perfection. THANK YOU. Just finished a reread of ‘Isle of Dreams.’ Splendid-er the 2nd time.
XOXO Angie!
Dear Susan … last October I was putting Bittersweet in my vase and this year they haven’t come into San Diego yet … it has been a bittersweet year and I
am still refreshing … your post always remind me of the sweetness that
surround us. Just popping in to say Alo-ha-ha … and that your cake platter has pomegranates drying on its branches…Xoxoxo Evie
Nice to hear from you Evie! Alo-ha-ha right back to you!
Your acknowledgement warms my heart and truly made my day❤️
How timely … our first Hospice meeting for my dear 94-year Mom is within the hour … thank you for your sweetness … much more than you’ll ever know. Xoxox w/Aloha, Evie
Hospice, as you’re about to find out, is probably the best thing in the entire world. What angels those people are. I hope your experience is as loving and tender as ours was with my dad. xoxo
Thank you Susan … we had a lovely meeting and the next step will be a visiting nurse … we’ve had a tough, sad year as my brother Danny passed in January (he had 30 days with us … he now is in Punchbowl National Cemetery in his beloved HI🌴).
Very sad Evie . . . It does feel somewhat good when you know they are where they would want to be, and he amid those beautiful island breezes. xoxo
Good~Morning Sweet~Sue I’m Sipping My Cuppa~Pumpkin~Spiced~Tea Savoring Every Word…Yesterday..October 17th…My Mom Turned 80! We Had A Birthday~Party For Her With Fried~Chicked & All The Fixins 🙂 & We Played Poker (For~Money) 🙂 All Evening..Twas A Wonderful~Time! My Mom Irene~Charlotte…. Can Not Believe She Is 80…..Neither Can We! 😉 The Years Truly Do Fly! I Love Everything~Autumn & Your Ghosty~Boy Casper Always Puts a Huge~Smile On Me~Pumpkin~Face 🙂 & Now We Celebrate #Beautiful~Rachel’s Birthday On Thursday Happy~Birthday Ray!!! Close Your Eyes & Make~A~Wish! xoxo #Poof! 🙂 😉 P.S. Thank~You For A Magical~Blog~Post Sweet~Sue! & Kitty~Kises To Jack! 🙂
Happy Birthday to Irene Charlotte!!! Have a wonderful day Angie, spread lots of fairy dust! xoxo
🙂 😉 🙂 Thank~You Sweetest~Sue The Fairy~Dust Is #Everywhere! 😉 Yay! #Hugzzz #Love #Joy xoxo Poof! 🙂
I’m with you Susan…love this time of year.
I’ve made both of the short ribs and the marmalade cake when you first posted them and they are our favorites. We only have the short ribs on special occasions as they’re a bit expensive.
Thanks for the lovely pics.
I think they must be very popular, we can rarely find short ribs at our supermarket!
Happy Fall! We are having a nice long Autumn here in Michigan. The leaves are just starting to change and the nights are colder. Don’t you love sweater weather?!
I’m so excited about the cross stitch! I am a long time stitcher and have tons of supplies! Would you consider selling the chart only for those of us that don’t need a kit?
Love, Maureen
I love it, love it cold when we sleep! As for the embroidery, we don’t actually make the kits . . . they are made with my art by a manufacturer, then we buy from them. But what you say makes sense. Maybe someday we can do a book of iron-on patterns. I would love that!
Ooooo, that would be lovely! I love the new winter cup!
Susan, this post just warms my heart and makes me happy!! When you first released your Autumn book, I read it from cover to cover several times every year. You had so many ideas that I could try to make my fall here in Florida more cozy and more inspiring. It has been my go to book since then and I never tire of reading and thinking about what you wrote.
For me, Fall is a season that is so full of vibrant colors, smells, and feelings. There is a mix of childhood memories, the traditions of Halloween and Thanksgiving in our big family, and the freedom of being outside for hours and hours with cooler weather. How many hours did we kids in the neighborhood rake and jump in the leaves all afternoon in someone’s backyard? Literally hours and hours of laughter and fun. Those sorts of things just stick in my mind and are pared with pumpkins on porches, and apples in bowls on the counter, and Mom making chili and cornbread in the kitchen for a hungry brood. And there is nothing like the excitement and freedom of Halloween when all of the neighborhood kids were let loose to roam the streets in costumes to Trick or Treat. All the laughter, running from door to door, sharing of candy, and enjoying the little spooky essence of carved pumpkin faces and ghosts and witches hung from trees to add to the mood. It was like magic and the next morning, it was all back to normal like a big dream. Fall, it was and still is that season of outside living, inside gathering, and traditions honored for me.
Thank-you for your inspired post and thoughts today. I sure wish I could be one of the gazillion coming to your door on Halloween to wish you and Joe all the best!!
Thank you Winnie, loved your memories!! xoxo
Susan, the Autumn mugs are gone again. waaaaaaa!! So, is there a possibility that they will be ordered again at some point. I kept watching the site every few days, but went our to town last week when this posted and now they have all sold again. If we special ordered one on your store and paid for it, could it just come at some time in the future when you are filling another order of mugs? Anytime in the year would work as long as it arrived at some point.
Thanks for thinking about this idea. Perhaps others have asked the same question and would be interested? A must have is a must have!! LOL!!
I’m so sorry, I totally understand, but this was the very truly last of them. I don’t believe there is a single one left. But do write [email protected]/~susanbs3/susanbranch/ … just for confirmation if nothing else.
Thank-you Susan, I will email Sheri right now. Who knows, I just might get lucky.
Fingers are crossed for you Winnie!
WooHoo!!!! Sheri wrote me back today with the name of a shop in Texas . I called and they had an Autumn mug which I ordered over the phone. I will ship this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The name of the store is Wishful Thinking and it truly was the answer for this GF’s wishful thinking!! I am sooooooo HAPPY!!!!!!
YAYAYAYAYAY!! I’m so glad Winnie! xoxoxo
Hello Susan! Oh, I so needed this breath of fresh air and joy … to be reminded of the magic of Autumn. Thank you!
Glad to have you here Lori!
Recommend watching HOCUS POCUS with Bette Midler to add to your Halloween entertainment. Timothy McGee of NCIS is in it as a young boy.
I just spoke Hocus Pocus into my remote and it’s going to start in about one minute! Thank you Sandra, I’ve never seen it!
Susan Dearest, How do you have the energy to do all the things you do for so many of us?
We appreciate each and everything you do which enriches our lives. Thank you.
xoxo
I feel like I know everyone! xoxo Thank you Sandra!
While I was at the airport in London a few weeks back I was checking out the books for sale. I found a lovely book I think you would enjoy called The Keeper of Lost Things, by Ruth Hogan. I’m half way thru & already don’t want it to end!!
It looks like a good one! Thank you Carole!
I LOVE autumn. Your pictures express it so well. Thanks for always sharing your life with us.
Hello Susan and Girlfriends. its a nice day here and some good news… our first baby duck has hatched out. we put 8-9 duck eggs in to a incubator 29 days ( a few days before the dog attacked our hens and ducks) and it takes 28-30 days for the ducklings to hatch out. the first one has arrived, nd another one has it’s beak poking out of the shell so it won’t be too long before that one hatches out I hope. but our first one is doing fine, snuggled into some nice warm straw under a heat lamp and snoozing …. nappy time is the order of the day… hatching is an exhausting process. hopefully in the next few days the others will hatch and our little one will some playmates. life on the chicken farm, its’ never dull. its work but we get our moments of pure enjoyment. anyway welcome to the world little one and welcome to the barnyard. it will stay in tub in the house for a month before we put it out in the barnyard with the others. just had to share the good news with you all. hugs… 🙂
Birth is exhausting! But almost always worth it! xoxo
So exciting! Please keep posting to all us “Aunties.”
Such precious little things! A thrill to witness the process of nature….
My friend’s 14 year old Royal Turkey died and she too had hatched it from mail order!
He was such a ham! He marched in all the parades in Solvang and Santa Ynez and everyone knew “Royal.”
Thanks for sharing, Mom!
Susan, Was fun to learn about ‘hygge’ last night, something that rings true with me ever since my childhood days of ‘Pollyanna’….look for and experience all the good in the world! Your work came to me through a sweet friend at just the right time….so I very much appreciate and love your work. You make the world an even better place! Though I would much rather put my head in the sand, we shouldn’t…so I really appreciate also your post on ‘lobbyists’…excellent. Cheers to you and Joe, have a wonderful ‘Holiday Season’!
Yes, not knowing hasn’t worked, and as they say, if you like the way things are going, keep doing what you’re doing! We can still do that and be the best Pollyanna’s in the world! 😘
This time of year gets me so excited inside and seeing your post with everything Autumn is just delicious! Thanks! I will definitely have to try your short rib recipe…. I must have missed your Maine post from October 2nd somehow, but oooooo that is one of my favorite places in our country! We went there 2 years ago in October and it was even better than we imagined! We went to Red Eats for lobster rolls and their awesome blueberry cake and I made my husband stop the car to take a picture of that cranberry house, too! Would love to go back – thanks for sharing your trip – I dream about Maine 🙂
You’ll love the short ribs . . . melts in your mouth, and the sauce is drinkable!
You spoke to my soul, dear Susan. I too was raised in California (went to Venice High), and the longing of my heart is to retire in the Northeast with my hubby. Until then, your words, paintings and photos give me hope. Thank you. Blessings!
I understand!
Your starry pumpkins look so delightful on your porch. Love the antique photo
of your house. L-O-V-E even more that you took a picture of your house at Halloween with trick-or-treaters. Genius to capture that memory. Thank you for ushering us into your favorite season. XOXO
We have photos of half the island in costume at our door when they are 8 years old! Course you can’t recognize them, but we’ve got them!
We live on Long Island in a little village called Stony Brook. Your beautiful island reminds me so much our own “home sweet home!” Every post you write is such an inspiration (my moment of Zen!) I especially love your musical selections. Today, after the “musica” ended, I switched to crow call sound effects. Re-reading your lovely post with crows calling in the background was almost too much autumnal splendor for one girlfriend to handle. What is it about crow calls that just lifts
me back and away to another time? Funny how certain sounds just resonate so deeply. Maybe it’s from a long lost precious childhood memory or something even longer before. What sounds resonate with you, Susan? I think our special sounds and smells can bring us so much peace and comfort. Wishing you both today and always!!!!
We have crows too . . . huge birds. I wouldn’t want to tangle with them, but I love when they fly through the woods. All the sounds of nature, from wind to birds to ocean, resonate with me. Crackling fires and gurgles when filling the tea cup and the clicking sound the ocean makes when a wave pulls out over the tiny rocks on the shore. Too many to count. My mom’s happy voice!
This post was such a lovely tribute to my most favorite season of all ! I grew up in California (Sacramento area) and Mom used to get these calendars every year with nature scenes in them . I fell in love with the colors of Autumn on the east coast and always longed to see New England in autumn . I am now 55 and have yet to do it but you have made me feel like I have been there through this lovely post . Oh , husband and I are cat lovers too ! Just such lovely , funny creatures . I live in Prineville which is in Central Oregon’s High Desert and we have our own color here .I see it on the cattle ranches that surround our little town and I imagine that even all the lovely animals here are enjoying the autumn color as much as we are . God bless you Susan and thank you for sharing your gifts with the world .
Thank you Sharon, so nice to hear from you! xoxo
I am so jealous. Autumn in New England is paradise. I miss it so. Thank you for taking us along with you on the island. Wish I was there.
Arm chair travel, next best thing. xoxo
Finally I have a chance to write to you, it has been to long for me to share my desire of letting you know how much I like your books and page on FB also I love your creativity…..I just want to say thank you for all your Great work that you do and how you so lovely share with your readers your journeys in life….it is such a pleasure and delight to see such a beautiful job you do in your writings and drawings….with all sincerity in my heart thank you and keep up the GREAT Job….God Bless
Thank you Delores, makes my DAY to hear that!! xoxo
Hi Susan! As I was looking at your lighted ghost I thought maybe the frame was a upside down tomato cage. How cute he is! Fall makes me feel so cozy and happy to live in a state that has 4 seasons! I love the whole opportunity to decorate and have fires and bake apple crisp and make life as inspired as possible. You are my number one inspiration! I look forward to tea and a post from you😀 I really looooove the pumpkins with stars! Love.
Yes, I think a tomato cage would really be a good start! xoxo
I had the same thought and am in the process of making a ghost right now from a tomato cage. I’ll post a picture of it turns out.
We’d love to see that . . .if it turns out can you try and put it on my Facebook page?
I sure will! Is that the Friends of Susan Branch page?
Yes!
Hi Susan! I posted a couple of pictures to the Friends of Susan Branch Facebook page. If that isn’t the Facebook page you meant, let me know. I’m not sure where it shows up there…I don’t see it when I go back in and look.
The ghost! I’ll go look for it!
I can t wait to see it Kathy!
Enjoyed this post so much as this fall I have not been able to get out among the leaves like usual. I also wanted to let you know that I just love my mug with the sheep on the handle. Not only do I love the thin china and the Susan Branch decorations, but I love the big size: I only fill it about 2/3 and I can carry it around the house hot and without spilling it. It also reheats wonderfully and no hot china. Makes me happy. Oh, and this Vera Lynn music is amazing. Have a good evening.
Love all your comments, thank you for telling me Alice! I’m so please with how the cups are turning out.
My life is nearly complete! I bought your 2018 Hear of the Home Wall Calendar today after I called and ordered your Santa Mug which also shipped today.
Nag Nag – would truly love a JACK as a JACK-O-LAGTERN MUG – portraying his most precious moments!!! It’d sell out in a heart beat!
Thanks for all you do. 🙂 XOXOXO
I gotta do Jack . . . Maybe next time!
Yea – Bravo – Goody – Can hardly wait!
What a way to start my day ~ sipping coffee with precious Jack looking at me! Put a song in our hearts, Sweet Sue!
XOXOXO
A favorite is Joe holding him at the screen door when you’re out hanging laundry – PRECIOUS
You can tell I’ve had a Susan Branch morning!
PLEASE mark April 12th on future calendars as
Susan Branch’s Birthday –
We’re all so glad you were born!
XOXO
LOL, that’s so sweet Sandra!
Hi Susan!!! What a beautiful post!… all my favorite things… oh how I love love love Autumn!… so excited to see you will be having some embroidery kits soon!… and I love that you will have some stamped ones, I don’t do well with the counted ones!… I so enjoyed all of your day to day goings ons (? is that proper English) for Fall, my favorite time of all… love your ghost so much!… I noticed in the photo of you close up, you aren’t wearing your grandmothers pretty ring???… I hope you didn’t lose it!… so much news you shared today, I need to go back and linger over it all again… looking forward to my next Willard… sending love to you, Joe and Jack, xoxo Julie Marie
I know lots of people have gotten used to the counted cross stitch, but it kind of drives me crazy. I’m going to have both, but for me, it’s stamped all the way! Those are my everyday rings! You have a good eye! Willard coming soon Julie Marie!
Phew!… so afraid you had lost it somewhere!… I have my great~grandmothers wedding ring, that was then passed down to my grandma, then my mama, and now me… I only wear it on special occasions too… can’t wait for Willard!… love you!… happy Fall day!!! xoxoxo
It’s done, I just turned it in to Kellee this morning … now she works her wizardry on it and it’ll go next week. It’s like sending a present and waiting for it to arrive at it’s destination!!!
glad to hear you say you like the stamped cross stitch, I can’t relax if I have to count at the same time (guess I can’t do two things at the same time LOL ). thank you for the beautiful post, hoping to go leaf looking this weekend. I am definately going to get me a pumpkin and put stars on it. LOVED THAT!
sending you a hugs!!!!
Back from a funeral and enjoying this break form our reality.
I’m so sorry. Glad to have you here. xoxo
Hi Susan… Look at you with those adorable braids! Could you be any cuter?? Thanks for sharing this wonderful post about autumn. I am in the mid-coast Maine region, so am surrounded by this lovely season. We live just minutes from Wiscasset and Damariscotta. If I had known you and Joe were here a few weeks ago I would have had you both over for tea/lunch/wine/dinner. Your blog is my happy place. 🙂 xo
You live in a gorgeous place Mary!
As ever, I love reading your posts. Happiest of birthdays to Rachel. My mom’s birthday is the 19th too. She’ll be 92. I’m so lucky to have her healthy and independent!
What an absolutely lovely post. Happy Fall !! I wish you were my neighbor ;).
I look forward to my Willard arriving and I never know for sure when it will show up😊😊
Being home bound from a stroke last year and note able to put out my fall stuff your Willard’s and fall books bring me much joy Thanks for sending them so faithfully😊😊
I’m writing a new WILLARD right now! It should start going out next Tuesday . . . it takes 3 days to get to everyone, so Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday . . . I’m so happy you like Willard . . . I’m having so much fun with this one! You keep getting well, I’ll decorate for you this year, and you can do it next year. xoxo Sending love.
Thank you so much for your sweet words of encouragement. I have been a fan of yours for years. I have most all of your books but sadly dn’t have your cups. None of the stores where I shop have them. Someday I hope to find them. Just got word from my neurologist that I probably have another year til I can walk. I will be letting you decorate for me.😊At least this year I am not in the coma thT I was in all of Nov and Dec. thanks for your hard work on the Willard’s.
I love the hopeful, “next year.” You keep getting strong, do all that hard work that will bring you back, and thank you for being here!
Thank you for the Autumn post Susan. You’ve set my fallish heart on fire again and I needed that. Just got home from an extended period of time in Halifax. My daughter had her third baby, another granddaughter for us. They named her Willow Abigail, born on October 11th. This is the second granddaughter we have with an October birthday. It’s so exciting to be able to celebrate October birthdays now. I made a bundt cake for the oldest granddaughter for her birthday which we celebrated at our Canadian thanksgiving dinner. I put orange icing on it to make it look like a pumpkin and she was tickled pink. The leaves had not changed much in Halifax, and when I got back to New Brunswick, some of the maples in my yard were bare. But there is still some beautiful color left around here too, so I didn’t miss out altogether. It’s been very busy and hectic, and your fall post set my feet back on the ground in so many ways.
Thank you for keeping me grounded, thank you for all you do for us. Sending Autumn blessings to you and Joe.
Happy new baby Rhonda! I love her name! Thank you, have a wonderful fall!
Fall is not so fallish here this year – where is that little fall fairy? – but the weather is still beautiful despite the lack of color. There just always seems to be something in the air during this season! Your pictures made me smile, as always. Jack especially!
When we returned home from our Cape Cod trip a couple of weeks ago, I had to immediately read your Isle of Dreams again. How fun to be able to picture the places you talked about. It added a whole new but of enjoyment. I do wonder if you know Tom Scott, who was our island tour guide.
Now I want to reread Gladys Taber’s Cape Cod books. I noticed a site on the internet that said her house has fallen into disrepair. How sad, if it is so.
I’ve been to Stillmeadow, it needs some work like all old houses do, and this is a REALLY OLD house! But it’s still totally livable … her granddaughter lives there with her family. I don’t think I know Tom Scott, but I’m happy he showed you a good time!
Oh, I didn’t specify which house, I notice. I was actually talking about her Cape Cod house. I was wishing I had reread the books before our trip so I could have known if we were in the vicinity. It’s fun to picture the setting of favorite books.
I think our guide might have been puffing a bit when he said he knew you, but he was a super guide, just full of personality and passion for the island.
Oh, that’s too bad about Still Cove … maybe I know your guide but just don’t recognize the name! Could be!
Hello Again, Susan,
It’s always a pleasure to read your entries! I have lived in New England all of my life, and Autumn remains a magical experience every year! It’s my favorite season, though I love them all. Here in the Berkshires, they say we aren’t having the greatest foliage because it was hot and humid for so long, but to me, it’s a miracle (Every year I say that this is the best foliage ever!!!). My little dog Pierre and I love the cool weather that we are having now, and our walks are much more fun in the brisk air. By the way, I love all things old, and LOVED the old photo of your house! What fun! Enjoy your special walk every day, full of crackly leaves and bittersweet.
Love, Ann
You too Ann, I’ve never been to the Berkshires when they weren’t gorgeous! Happy fall!
I peeked – Just read Heart of the Home 2018 Calendar cover to cover 🙂
Can’t wait to make Grandma’s Pie Crust – so simple.
Question: Do you prefer glass, metal, ceramic pie plate?
Yum Yum
I usually use either glass or ceramic, because those are my cutest ones.
Please, can you tell what type of birds are the I do , I do!!! thank you!!!
Partridges!
I love autumn I feel as if it gives me a bit of energy to get stuff done like cozy up the house for the colder months and make some delicious comortgage foods to warm the soul and than there’s tea Netflix and knitting!
Oops comfort*
I know “comortgage” ~ I knew the moment I saw it spell-check was on the move again!
good afternoon Susan and Girlfriends, its a chilly, windy, gray and blustery day here with rain coming in. Hooray as we need the rain here to get the last of the big fires under control and out( the Miller complex fire) and hopefully put an end to the fire season. we had a wonderful little surprise yesterday. we had borrowed an incubator from a friend and about a month ago ( a little before the dog attacked our birds) we put 8 duck eggs in to see if we could hatch some more ducklings, well the first one arrived and hatched out yesterday and is doing fine, all snuggled into nice warm straw under a heat lamp and is busily peeping at me. is there a too cute law because this little guy is too cute and adorable. no name for the little ducky yet but I am willing to entertain suggestions. I already told mama Dotty ( our best lady duck) that in one month she will have a new little duckling to watch over and teach. by then the ducky will be fully feathered and able to stand the cold weather out there. for now it stays in it’s little holding tub in the nice warm straw. speaking of which I had better get busy and put down some more straw on the henhouse floor and in the nest boxes, its cold out there today and they will be wanting to snuggle in deep tonight. have a great day today everyone, Happy Autumn and Happy Autumn memories. Autumn hugs…. 🙂
Happy new baby duckling!!!
thank you Susan, the little duckling is doing fine, all warm and snuggled in the straw, he has dried his fuzz and looks adorable, when they are first hatched they are all wet and matted looking, really ugly to see but after the first 24 hours they are soooo cute to see. no other hatchings just yet, but we are watching. 🙂
He sounds so cute, is he yellow?
no he is a mix of yellow and black right now, he is a Swedish Blue just look that up and look on the chick pictures that will give you an idea of what he looks like.
I did! Adorable! I want him!
oops meant blue Swedish, I always mix that up….. must be Monday….. 🙂
Oh! Blue Swedish chicks, the MOST adorable things in the world!!!!
Susan
Wonderful AUTUMN! I am so in the mood and today made a big pot of chili and some Halloween cupcakes just for the fun of it. Tonight setting up for Vintage Market Days of St. Louis. I said several years ago I would not do it again but here I am—–so looking forward to seeing everyone. I have a question–Were your parents ever able to come to Martha’s Vineyard to see your new location. I imagine they had but I don’t recall reading about it ever. What did they think about Martha’s Vineyard? Have a wonderful Halloween!
Oh yes, many times, both in the house I live in now, and to Holly Oak too . . . I wrote about it in Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams. We always had a wonderful time, they loved the Island.
So tired. Arnie came home Friday and we have been to Oktoberfest and a hike through the state park here, and other walks through the village. 🍃🍂🍁
Orange does look good with blue. I have been doing it for years.
I like your star pumpkins 🎃!!
Hugs,
Margot
Autumn is my favorite season with winter a close second….and no I’m not a crazy old woman but I just love the colder weather😊 Minnesota is beautiful in both seasons!! Thanks for your marvelous blog.. It always brings many smiles!!
Is there anything you don’t do better than perfect?
The Santa Mug I ordered yesterday morning arrived here this morning…..
IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS.
He’s adorable – exactly what I want/need/desire.
I’ll use discipline and wait till November 1st to start using.
Thank you!
You’re close to our Studio, but even that was top speed! So happy you like him! xoxo
Halloo Dearie!
Finally getting to saying howdy. Wait–I need to go get a bowl of ice cream so I can type and splurge a bit. Be right back…
I’m back, Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip at the ready.
Thank you, once again, for a lovely post. Such wonderful photos and artwork and words–sweet, thoughtful, funny. I also love the fall, love the colors of the leaves as they turn, and the air as it gets crisp (finally! Gads, New England–at least Mass.–had a long, hot Indian Summer this year). Pumpkins appear on front steps, big pots of colorful Mums liven up yards, and ghosties start to appear. I’m frankly a non-scary kind of Halloween decorator, “BB-GG” (bones&blood-guts&gore) just ain’t my speed, so I stick to my plastic lit-up Snoopy pumpkin in one bedroom window and another sweet electric pumpkin head scarecrow in the other, with friendly Casper and happy Gertrude the witch floating from my front porch awning. I wish I could send you a video I took with my fancy-schmancy new cell phone on Monday, raking in the back yard. I caught sight of a beautiful little leaf that must have been attached to a spider web thread and had magically missed my rake. I grabbed my cell and caught a short video of the leaf as it gently whirled and twirled in the air a couple of feet from the ground. Just the neatest thing! Oh, and I just made an order for your Winter holiday mug. I have the Autumn one and love it, so I splurged. I rarely do take-out beverage runs anymore, so figure the money I save I can put toward drinking my teas/coffees at home in beautiful cups. Yay! I hope to pick up my pumpkin tomorrow. Each year, right up until our last child graduated from high school 2 years ago, we’d carve out pumpkins, one for each kid, roast the seeds, and then light the jack o’lanterns on Halloween for the little ones parading to our door. Unfortunately arthritis won’t let me carve now, but I can draw, so we’ll still have our Lanterns. Ok, now it’s late, and the ice cream has been eaten (sob….) and I have a long day tomorrow, so off to bed–And NO, no more ice cream tonight! (I’ll try). Once again, many thanks for such a lovely treat, and a truly wonderful reminder of the beauties of Autumn in New England. Say Hey to Joe, give Kitty a scratch, and accept a long-distance hug from me. As ever, Rosemary
Love the deal you made with yourself about the cup, Rosemary!
Hi what a wonderful blog, Love Love Love all the pictures! most of all the top tip about the cinnamon on top of the lid for the pumpkin! Genius….. I want to bake now and cuddle Tiger and Bailey my cats!! Thank you x
Autumn is my favorite season and we are finally having some wonderful weather here in Illinois; I’m trying to get out and enjoy every minute of it! I spent most of my life in upstate NY and reading your post reminded me how I miss the bittersweet growing along roadsides and all over the place…it really adds to the fall colors. Our colors are not as brilliant this year due to a very hot and dry September, but I still love it. Thank you for such a beautiful post!
Love upstate New York! Beautiful!
Hello Susan,
As I read your posts and the comments from the girlfriends, it reminds me of my first visit to the West Coast many years ago. I was 20 and went to visit friends in San Diego for two weeks the beginning of October. When I left, I had made up my mind I would move to San Diego. However, when I got back home to Cleveland Ohio, the trees were in full Fall glory and I realized I could never leave this beautiful season behind. It is truly one of the best things about living in this area of the country.
A free nature celebration four times a year . . . the best parties of all!
Susan, your musings of Fall are so sweet and lovely and funny and just wonderful! Fall is my favorite time and I get energized to do art, decorating for the season and fill the house with wonderful scents of making food and baking. I always am energized by your art and love of life.
Thank you Sharon! Have a wonderful season!
hi Sue! Fall is my absolute favorite! Here in Wickford we celebrate for the next 10 days! Everything from Adult Trick or Treating to kids pumpkin decorating in the park Children’s costume “Horribles” parade. our shops have all kinds of specials, we have food trucks, live music and jack o lanterns throughought the village. The harbor is all lit up with luminarias. It’s beautiful and so festive. And the children go trick or treating to all the stores too. This Pediatric Nurse will be working this Saturday and Sunday so I will miss some of it. The leaves are turning and the village is all dressed up. I’ve been bringing the outside in all month! I am also a lover of bittersweet (but not in my garden. VERY invasive!!) We will have pumpkin carving with my family soon. I love all your pictures. Happy Halloween to you and Joe and Jack. Stay safe and warm!! Love, Kerrie
Wickford, such a charming village . . . and Wicked Week! We need to go for that one day! Thank you Kerrie!
Dear Susan, I just loved this blog post. I adore all things Autumn and I love how you decorate. I made your gingerbread cake recipe with the lemon glaze over the weekend, it’s so delicious ❤️ I have 13 years of your calendars. Every few months I make a cup of tea and read them all like a book. I hope you and Joe have a wonderful, autumnal weekend! Looking forward to reading Willard. 🤗
Thank you Sarah! I’m cooking today . . . Making Father’s Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce from my Christmas book! Friends coming for dinner. I love that Gingerbread . . .that was my first choice, but Joe had a hankering for the Whiskey Sauce! Probably could put Whiskey Sauce over Gingerbread! Have a wonderful day!
VICTORIA & ABDUL is a must see!
Judy Dench @ her best ever…I laughed, I cried, I would have yelled “Go Girl” if I hadn’t been in a theater :-
Excellent review! Must go! Thank you Sandra!