Hiiii! We’re home!! MUSICA? Yes! It’s great to be here, and we had a WONDERFUL time in California! It was soooo good to see everyone. And I did bring home that special giveaway I promised ~ you’ll find it at the bottom of this post . . . but W A I T, don’t go yet . . . because getting home was the BEST. Here we are racing toward New England in our train room with awesome view . . .
. . . Hoping the whole way that we might still have some leaves on our trees. It was the end of October and normally by then they’re gone. But the way things were looking, we were thinking m a y b e . . . 🍂 🍁🍂🍁
Speeding through upstate New York, I was heartened by the color! Nothing like leaf-peeping from a train window.
We got off the train on Sunday in Albany, rented a car (so we could make the last ferry to the Island that same night) and drove through the gorgeous Berkshires, feeling more and more positive there would still be leaves on our trees at home.
We made the last boat but didn’t get home until after 10, so we couldn’t SEE the trees! Sleeping that night, when we finally got in our very own bed for the first time in a month, was as exciting as the night before Christmas! Would there still be fall when we woke up?
Dawn, from our bedroom window, assurance, and every dream come true.
I raced from window to window upstairs . . .
And down . . .
Then out to the side garden . . .
And around the house to the back . . . soooo
Then all the way back for the long view! Fall waited for us! Leaves blowing down, chill in the air, smell of the sea, sound of the ferry horn, church spire to the sky, sturdy house that has seen it all, everything that says Home. Thank you God. Ommmmm.
My own kitchen, and no noise or rocking, just me and the benevolent ghosts of time gone by. And since I’d done a lot of decorating before we left, we were pretty much ready!
AHHHHHHHH…. Home ~ our bed is pure heaven, cold rooms at night, snuggled under covers, mooshing the comforters around my ears, dragging my cozy flanneled legs out in the morning, stuffing my feet into wool slippers, throwing on an old sweater, padding down the stairs, Jack leading the way, tail high in the air, filling the tea kettle, deciding which cup. We are sitting, and we are staying. So this was Monday, our first day home. On Tuesday the dining room curtains came. On Wednesday it was Halloween. So let’s start with the curtains! Ready?
And of course, I know what you’re waiting for, in the category of “everything that says Home,” Jack, furry soft petty-pet and perfect decor. He seemed really happy to see us. Presented himself upside-down, in wiggle formation, for belly rubs, and gave me a very Loooooong forehead butt, a meeting of the minds, the brain exchange. So here are the new curtains for the dining room. And where does Jack choose to sit?
On them. And why not. King of the World can do no wrong. Reunited and it feels so goooood! 🎶 He’s still my shadow, he still brings back the hair ties, he still cuddles next to me when I read. Now Joe and I aren’t going anywhere for the next year and a half, we are 
I peeled Jack off and we hung the new curtains . . . (Jessica, who made them, with Lowely, my darling friend and neighbor)
And so voila, here they are! What do you think? I’m thinking the flowers make up for the ones we lost when we took the wallpaper down.💞
I’ve wanted “real” English curtains for sooooo long! They make you feel like you live on the inside of a marshmallow! We are now padded head to toe. I couldn’t wait for dark so I could light the candles!
They’re extra cozy because they’re completely lined in heavy flannel (just like the ones in England). They keep your house warm too.
Okay. So here was the problem and the reason I waited so long to show you the living room. I know you won’t think of this as a “problem.” With problems like this who needs enemies? Or whatever that phrase is. These are the curtains we got before we left and I’ve been pondering ever since. They are also very beautiful, thick and cozy, but for me, for the House of Creativity, for US? They feel a little much.
A wee bit too Duchess of Devonshire. I adore the fabric and love the pillows Jessica made to match, and I love the curtains too, they are glorious, but I was afraid after a while I might start doing the circular queen’s wave when I leave the house.
So we tried to tone it down (ps, they look pink in this photo, but they are really a soft beige with pink hydrangeas) . . . the first thing we did was take the decorative trim off the hems of the valances. Which softened things a little and took away some of the formality. This old house is your basic farmhouse with a barn and uninsulated pantry, the bathroom used to be a “three-holer,” and there are rooms you have to walk through to get to other rooms (i.e., no hall). It’s not a fancy house. It has “good bones,” as a dear friend said a long time ago, and also that New England simplicity I love. You have to give a house what it wants. And I try. But I think my imagination was bigger than my stomach, or what ever that saying is.
So next we tried removing the valances all the way. And I liked it SO MUCH BETTER. Back and forth we went, throwing out ideas, me, Joe, Jessica, and Lowely, with the tape 
measure, up the ladder, down the ladder, measure and pin and hold it up, stand back to see what it looks like, what if we get rid of the floral chairs? What if we change the lampshades? No stone was left unturned . . . and what we sort of decided is to keep the valances but bring them down so they aren’t all the way up to the ceiling, and then shorten the valance skirt by about 6 inches so it just covers the wood trim at the top of the window, to the first panes of glass. Make the valances lower and shorter is basically what we decided. And the other end of the room?
Here they are, the same fabric, but these are simpler and quieter.
Maybe I’m just bad at change! But I have to say, we’ve now been living with them for six days, and they’re growing on me. Most of my life I’ve made my curtains, so I’m used to unlined, crooked, half finished, a bit wrinkled, mostly made out of tablecloths, which is probably the problem! These are too good!
Jessica also made me a curtain for the guest room . . . Which I LOVE. Just a simple little thing, and pillows to match with a tiny blue and white stripe piping.
Just sweet and simple.
So then it was time to get ready for our Halloween party!
It was a pot-luck Halloween neighborhood Open House we were having, after the trick-or-treaters had gone home. Lowely brought cold slaw, Martha made a big pan of Corn Pudding, Carol brought a bowl of Dry Bones, Jaime came with a big green salad, and Barbara brought Brownies. I made Touchdown Chili and
A Pumpkin Trifle
Broken up chocolate cake on the bottom, then pumpkin mousse, then crushed oreo cookies, whipped cream, more chocolate cake, and more pumpkin mousse with a Hershey’s Syrup spiderweb on top!
While I was doing that, my boyfriend for life was outside in the driveway on that perfect fall day, carving away!
Making my favorite star pumpkins for our front porch.
offering me pumpkin seeds . . .
I came back in and did the dishes . . .
. . . then watered plants to stuff into baskets for arrangements for the house, swept the leaves off the porches . . . made sure all the votives and candle holders were filled . . . put Jack’s food and toys upstairs and locked him in our bedroom where no Halloween Cat thieves could find him . . .
We lit the fire,
And lit our ghost in the upstairs window . . . Casper is our “neighborhood watch,” he has a great view all the way up the street.
Bowls were filled with candy ~ We had hot spiced-cider for the moms and dads. We were READY! Bring on those kids! And here they come!
I love this tradition. Parents bringing their kids, waiting behind them, most of them in costume too … Look at this pink princess . . . Adorable or what?
We have friends who live so far out in the country they don’t get any trick-or-treaters ~we invite them to our house to give out candy at our door ~ we share the wealth ~ because, we definitely get kids! From all over the island . . . we are one of the few neighborhoods where the houses are close enough together for kids to get to without walking a mile in the dark! Halloween is huge on our island.
Is it ever! Early in the evening, at dusk, they’re very young, some even babies, in the cutest costumes, cows, and trees and bunnies, oh my!
As the night gets darker, the kids get older . . .
We stop them to take their picture, and they put up with our 10,000 questions!
By 6:30 our neighborhood is in full Halloween mode. The police close down the streets to cars. It’s not just us, up and down our street and around the corner, its a mad house! 🍁
I got my camera and came around out front to take photos of the door … loved the tree shadows on our house from across the street, whoooo! To see the pumpkins Joe made, I had to wait until the everyone moved aside . . .
Which took a little while . . . everyone running in the dark, superheroes and angels, clowns and unicorns, with bags of loot, laughing, chewing tootsie rolls and eating M&Ms!
Other than the one partially finished pumpkin I saw when Joe was doing them, I hadn’t seen what he’d done. I looked at that one in the middle! Whaaat?
And I got closer, laughing all the time. Went inside and Joe got a big KISS for this good surprise! Doing his part to make a cuter neighborhood, and a better world!
We had about thirty people for Chili dinner, and I was so busy eating and talking (receiving compliments on my new curtains!!!) I forgot to take pictures, but it was wonderful seeing everyone (remember, we just got back!) and it ended in the living room, where a girlfriend with a ukulele played while the dregs of the party (which would be us and some neighbors), had a sing-along. 🎃 It was a wonderful ending. And since it’s party season, here are a few ideas to make giving a party a bit easier. No matter if it’s a small party or large, formal or casual, Thanksgiving, tea party, book club, or election night party.
And, speaking of election night parties . . . Here are some delicious recipes, all tried and true, perfect for a roller coaster ride which this night is bound to be. Won’t it be FUN when
it’s over? Then we’ll all live with the results and can stop thinking about it for a while. And then we’ll get to do it all over again in two years! Politics seems to be America’s newest sport! I remember when I was in high school, I didn’t even know what I was! Or anyone else. I think my mom was a Republican and my dad was a Democrat, but they never argued and they both LIKED IKE! ‘Course the two political parties were 100% different then, and we didn’t have as much to worry about as kids do now, we were safe at school. It was a simpler and I would say a rather happier time. One of the many, many things on which we are all in perfect agreement, we all LOVE to eat . . . so let’s start HERE:
Yummy, from my Autumn Book . . . in case you have it at home, otherwise you can print this out!
These recipes are from Heart of the Home . . .
Wonderful spiced nuts from my Autumn Book . . .
. . . which I just made! I use them all season long!
Deliciousness from Heart of the Home. We’re going to my girlfriend Lowely’s house on Tuesday night to watch the results come in, I’m bringing Cheese Bites!
Opened my eyes from meditation, and across from where I was sitting, Jack was asleep on the sofa. 
I got the evil eye when I put the camera close . . . I SEE YOU, it says in green technicolor.
When we were in California, I picked up a box of my mom’s papers to bring home ~ I went through some of it this morning ~ it was a treasure trove! Saved birthday cards, old letters my grandma wrote, yellowed birth certificates and fancy engraved marriage licenses, hand-written report cards, and certificates of baptism, priceless to my mom, and priceless to me. Above, is a 91-year-old brushed LEATHER ribbon-tied folder with gold lettering, four pages of names and this . . .
. . . my Grandma’s Sioux City, Central High School Diploma from 1927. That’s her, below, on the left. Her class graduated only three weeks after Lindbergh flew the Atlantic non-stop to France! Those 
kids must have felt like their generation was going to own the world! Just a few days after they graduated, Lindbergh’s ticker tape parade was held in New York, which they listened to as a family on a radio the size of a refrigerator. I’m sure my grandma and all her 18-year-old girlfriends shortened their skirts, bobbed their hair, and danced the “Lindy,” . . . they were teenagers during the Roaring Twenties, Calvin Coolidge was president, F. Scott Fitzgerald was the literary star, The Jazz Singer came out in 1927, the first movie with sound! Only two years later, when she was 20, the Great Depression started. She’d already had one World War to deal with as a child. The cards were being dealt. Life was unfolding. And before she fell asleep in her house with a music room on the 3rd floor and nine brothers & sisters, she listened to the most popular song of 1927. I love history, and picturing people in their times. My Grandma shared the planet with Mark Twain for two years. She shared it with Anne Frank, and then she shared Anne Frank with me.💞 Now I have her diploma.
And this! It’s my great grandmother’s 1925 application to join the Martha Washington 
Chapter of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution in Washington, DC. Four pages of family names, births, and deaths back to 1710, all in her lovely handwriting … with “Ancestor’s Services” that tells that her 5th great grandfather (and I guess my 7th), Captain Asa Foster of Andover, Massachusetts, was appointed in 1765 to “oppose the arbitrary measures of the British Government.” Eeeek. My grandma had given me a copy of this when I was in my 20s (part of my dreamscape for New England before I’d ever been here), but it was very different to hold the real thing in my hands. After recently reading a biography of George Washington (Ron Chernow), I 
realized just how dangerous it was to come out against your government back then. If they’d lost (and there was no reason on EARTH they should have believed they could win against the British Empire!), they would have all been hanged! But hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do and he believed in his cause. His son Abiel graduated from Harvard in 1756, was a minister who represented New Hampshire in the first Congress. I could write a book about these people! We found both of their graves, in Old North Parish Burying Ground in North Andover and in the Canterbury Cemetery in New Hampshire.
And this little slip of paper was in there too, written in my great grandfather’s hand, showing the 
dates of birth for his parents (my great, great grandparents), and their children. I met Merrill James 
Orr, born in 1871, the man who wrote this, the father of my grandma ~ that’s him holding me, my mom’s on the right, my grandma’s on the left. I feel the generations behind me, and I see younger members of my family going on into the future. Such a connection. And the threads of that connection go on and on, out in all directions. Pretty soon, as you research your family tree, you start thinking you’re related to EVERYONE. Then you get your DNA done and find out you absolutely are!
And now it’s my turn to save little old pieces of paper, tiny fragments of a lifetime of memories. I guess I got that from them! 💞 Like here, in the England diary I’m now illustrating and rewriting in my “good 
handwriting.” You can just imagine how much I revel in the magic I feel when I write, spellbound in the dream of it (hours and clocks mean nothing), about the history we found in Enchanted England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. My pages will be peopled by spirits of the past, Winston Churchill, Beatrix Potter, Jane Austen, hill forts, stone circles, and fairy winds . . . all that and Rachel too! I’ll do it as the leaves blow, as the snow flies, as the cat naps, and when the daffodils come again, I’ll still be here in my old house, fireplace glowing, shawl pulled tight, pen noises scratching, paint brush ringing on the side of the water dish I bought in Disneyland before I knew I could paint, Jack at my side, living the dream with my boyfriend for life, loving the road, because
I kept Joe’s pumpkin for our front window . . . like keeping a light on! Never forget our fathers and grandfathers fought for this right, so that today, no matter how we came to this country, we get a say in the kind of government 
we want. It was EVERYTHING to them, their lives were on the line, and there’s nothing quite like it in the world. The right to vote. Honor our ancestors. Go vote, and take someone with you. Don’t think you don’t know what you’re doing, because believe me, you probably know more than most! The world has fought for civility since time began, fought to overcome human nature prone to barbarism, it hasn’t been easy, but despite all, we keep bringing it forward, so families everywhere can live in peace and prosperity. They’ve told us that we have nothing to fear but fear itself, and proved it time and time again. Because we can solve all problems when we come together. I know they’ve made it hard to tell truth from 
lies, the water has been muddied, even on Facebook, where we put our family photos, and share recipes! But it’s not impossible. No source is perfect but we can find a balance. When I have specific questions, I go to websites like Politifact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-finding website. They can answer almost any question, “Did such and such REALLY happen, Did he REALLY say that, Does America have open borders, What is the Caravan made up of, Which members of Congress take money from the NRA, Who IS (fill in the blank)” ~ even old questions, like “Did Iraq have weapons of mass destruction, what was the Fairness Doctrine, what happened when the banks failed?” On and on, they have researched it all. Huge help for lovers of history like me.
“All shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of thing shall be well.” 💞Julian of Norwich, the first woman in recorded history to write a book. And aren’t they the perfect words!
SO, we’re going off for a walk to the water, but before we go, as promised, last but not least, NEXT Saturday, Joe and I hop on the ferry to the Mainland for the day, where I’ll be at the West Falmouth Library answering questions, signing books, and reading the first chapter of Enchanted, just like I did at the Apple Farm in California. If you’re coming, or even if you’re not, click here and please print out this name tag/bookmark. Write your name on the bottom so we’ll know each other! And yes, for everyone who’s going to be there, you each will be getting a copy of your own first chapter. I’m sorry tickets for this event are sold out, but I promise I’ll be out again in the future, and we can try again. And if you remember, waaaaaaay back when I started this post, I promised YOU a giveaway! So here she is! To win, just leave a comment at the bottom of this post (you’ll see tiny gray words that say, “comment” ~ click there and say hello, and you will automatically be entered. And if your name is chosen, you will receive your very own signed copy of the first chapter my new book!
In fact, Kellee made me FIVE 23-page booklets, all just for you💞 . . . so, this time, there will be five winners! Yay!!! I hope one of them is YOU!
I wanted to start at The Beginning with a love story, like I did with A Fine Romance, so I did! I hope you enjoy it!
That’s it for today darling girlfriends. I shall return! Have a luv-lee evening. Keep the home fires burning!
Susan, your new curtains with your pink walls are simply beautiful! I’m very envious! 😄
Thought I had added a post but do not see it as of yet. Loved this post; everything about it: sketches, quotes, pictures and commentary. Your giveaways are always so generous! Please continue to do what you do best-all of it! Hope to meet you some day; thanks so much!
Loved setting the time aside to read your inspiring blog once again. It is always a special joy and so appreciated ! Thank you! ❤️😍
Love the pictures of your fall trees, the colors this time of year just do something wonderful for my soul!! Trick or treat was fun, but, now, on to Thanksgiving we go!!!
Dear dear Susan, I could go on and on about how much I love your posts but we are both busy creating lovely homes for ourselves and those we love so I will keep it short.
You my girlfriend are an inspiration in all good ways…….I love your curtains and you always make my brain go into creative mode…..thank you
I recently returned from a trip to Ireland and Scotland then this past weekend a road trip to visit two grandchildren in their prospective colleges returning home today through Pennsylvania Amish country……..now my brain is stuffed!!!! Keep on loving life….some of the young people on my trip overseas taught me YOLO and its so true….You Only Live Once…..so make it count
Thank you Susan for another wonderful post. I have been a fan since my Mom gave me my first SB cookbook. I think she was originally attracted to you as u have a sister Shelley, & there are not very many of us. When I was little I was shocked once when there was a little girl on Romper Room with the name Shelley.
I love the new curtains but know change is hard, sometimes I change furniture around but always change it back!
So looking forward to the new book, my little bag with you 3 books in it has made the rounds among my friends & their Moms.
Hi Susan, so glad you are back home, nothing feels like the fire roaring and Jack waiting for you to play with him. Thank you for all your words, for your beautiful painting of your life in Martha’s Vineyard, can’t wait to read your new book. I have all three and read A Fine Romance already twice. Thank you for making this world a better place. Much love to you and Joe!
I enjoyed the blog today. I love recipes from my Autumn book. I read while enjoying coffee from my apple and autumn cups.
I love reading about your life and adventures! Looks like a wonderful Halloween!
I love your new curtains!!! I always love seeing Jack! I’m thinking those spiced nuts along with some of my jalapeno pepper jelly would make lovely little Christmas gifts!
Welcome home! I get soooo excited when I open my email and find your newest blog waiting for me. I usually read it several times so I don’t miss a thing. You inspire me to appreciate all the little things in life and to always cherish good friends. If I close my eyes I can smell the salty air. Thank you for sharing your life with us. I love seeing your pictures, hearing your stories and well to tell the truth everything about you! Joe did a great job on the pumpkins, my favorite….. the vote one. It looks great in your window.
Dear Susan,
So glad you are home and I was beginning to check for your post. I REALLY do love all your curtains…especially in the guest room. I laughed when you told what kind of curtains you were used to, I just made kitchen curtains just like them. I appreciate your posts and thought Joe’s pumpkin was inspiring. I also was touched by your one political post several years ago because I felt exactly the same way and your saying it gave me confidence. You are an inspiration.
Oh Welcome Home! So glad the leaves waited for you. I get a teeny tiny bit grumpy when we changed the clocks and darkness descends much too quickly. But I found the antidote : Re-reading Isle of Dreams! I have actually burst into laughter at times. So you may have heard me thanking God for bringing you aka LIGHT and laughter and all good things into my life? Thank you, Susan. You are my love…
😢 xoxo Valerie.
Welcome home! Fall has been waiting for you! I think we just hit peak leaf peeping this past weekend here in the Hudson Valley in New York. It was such a beautiful day yesterday, with gold and amber leaves in the sunshine. I wasn’t able to get tickets to your upcoming book signing in Falmouth. So looking forward to your new book. My husband and I are planning a trip to England in 2020. I am looking for travel tips!!! Going to reread A Fine Romance to start.
Welcome Home! Love the new curtains and I agree with what you did to tone it down a bit. Fall is such a gorgeous time of year enjoy! BTW I voted!
Always love your posts. It’s a chance to sit back and enjoy a few minutes of daydreaming!
Hello! I enjoyed your wonderful post. Especially the part about your family history!
Hm, my last comment seemed to go out into cyberspace. I did not get the “waiting for moderation”. So I will give you the abbreviated version…THANKS! I forgot to mention to cyberspace that I made your Iowa Cornbread recipe on Halloween and it is the best cornbread I’ve ever eaten! Lastly, about the drape “drama”…have you tried putting solid colored throws on the backs of your flowered chairs?
Sometimes I think of reupholstering them!
So happy you are home and I love the dining room. The walls and the drapes, just gorgeous!! So happy to see Jack….he is just the cutest. Love our kitties. My boy was just on the desk helping me while I was checking email and reading this post. You are so lucky to get so many Halloween visitors. We are not gifted with very many little ones and I miss that. Good job on the pumpkins, especially the VOTE one. So very important and it is a privilege for us all to be able to do it. Another lovely blog, thank you.
Susan,
I love reading your newsletter! Please think about making a pit stop in Albany NY for a book tour. There are many independent bookstores in the area. I would love to meet you!!
Don’t we just love Autumn! So glad you still have it there, and what a welcome home. I enjoy seeing your historical house! What a pleasure and honor, it must be to live in it! I’m always excited to read a new post from you, and find out what you’ve been up to. Most enjoyable!
Thanks,
Ginny
Welcome home 🍁🍂🍂🍂🍂🎃-it looks like October is the month to visit Martha’s Vineyard!!! Love all the vivid colors in the leaves ❤️.
Thanks for sharing all the changes -your home looks lovely & cozy & welcoming ! Love the treasures shared from the box coming from your mom’s .
Thanks for the bookmark & the give away 👍!
Hope you pick me 🤞 !
Penny
Welcome home! A lovely blog and the pictures bring us right into your home. I think the curtains are gorgeous and remind me of the cosiness of “The Secret Garden ”. The pink and green walls enhance the ambiance of the curtains. You and Joe did a beautiful job. Looking forward to your new book. Happy Election Day and thanks for being our American hero!
xoxoxo, love the Secret Garden, makes me look at the living room in a different way!
Welcome home! Can’t wait for the new book! I read all the other three in just a couple of weeks! Have been following you since your very first cookbook. Love them all and all you do! Wish I could meet you in person!
Maybe someday, we’ll go out to bookstores all over the country when this is done . . .
Your curtains look vintage to me, very cozy and they give me visions of chenille bedspreads, lace doilies, little crystal candy jars with horehound drops or lemon drops and washtubs in the kitchen. I love them and think they are just right no matter which version you choose. They don’t look overdone, they look like they have lived in your home forever. When I see your posts in my inbox, I always wait till after my work day to read them, when I can pour a glass of wine, and sit in the quiet so that it is my own little adventure, whether ‘we’ are travelling, redecorating, cooking or entertaining. Thanks for including us all in the journeys. You are well loved by your fans!
It goes both ways Susan!
Such lovely words and pictures you shared here. Thank you!
My grandmother, was a member of the DAR. My dad gave me the copy of her membership certificate. However my grandmother stopped being a member after the DAR refused to host singer Marian Anderson due to her skin color at the DAR constitutional hall. It was Eleanor Roosevelt who stepped in and offered another venue at the Lincoln Memorial- fdrlibrary.org/anderson. I visited Eleanor’s home this past summer outside Hyde Park. If you’ve never been to Val-Kill, I highly recommend it. What an inspiring woman! She is a woman after your own heart with her statement, “The greatest thing I have learned is how good it is to come home again.” Eleanor Roosevelt
I remember that terrible situation with the DAR, my Grandma told me . . . I wonder what they say about that today? Eleanor Roosevelt is one of my heroes. I love her. xoxo
Dear friend, Susan, we all feel this way about you, and you only have 800 messages so far! I am going to forward this blog to a friend of mine who loves Halloween, and had only a few kids, and was so disappointed, living at the end of a rather dark street. I think she will enjoy the photos, and everything about your post. I can see her smiling, and I like that!
Indeed, welcome home. I was excited that fall waited for you to get home. I’ve felt the same way when I traveled in Oct from New Jersey. Now I live in Texas, so fall is not quite as exciting! It was 81 today!
81! Wow, we are below 50 now. xoxo
So glad your home love your stories and your travels love to see your pictures hey to. Joe and love your Jack your kitty is so precious also love how you redecorated
Did laundry, made a Buttermilk pie, planted a bush…I love the everyday things of life!
I am happy you made it home in time for Halloween – it looks magical there. I would sure love the first chapter of your book. I am counting the days until my Europe trip in May 2019…inspired from your first Europe book. I am going to visit the places you visited and hope this book comes out in time to visit some of those places too.
How fun, you will LOVE it Holly Jo! xoxo
Love your pieces of paper. It is always so exciting to have your mother or grandmothers handwriting. Love your posts.
I voted 2 whole weeks ago – here in Oregon we have mail in ballots – or many, many places to place them in an official secure ballot box. My favorite place is my local library branch. I put away my Halloween cup yesterday – but had my afternoon tea in my English Countryside cup. On the drape “drama” – going with the farmhouse style of your living room – I really liked the version without valences – but it is You who is living there, so do what makes you happy. So glad you two made it home safe and sound.
I always look forward to your blog. I was unable to see you in California, I’m in Northern California, but enjoyed the pictures and hearing about it. Several years ago I was able to see Vermont in the fall and my obsession with fall, trees and leaves began. I love that you notice the shadow of the trees on Halloween, it was perfect. Thank you for bringing joy and best of all nostalgia!
Hi Susan, Have you ever considered doing a book tour in the Midwest, like Minnesota? We love you up here too! Arlene
Oh yes, I’ve been all over the Midwest for book signings, and Minnesota too … we’ll be back again someday, hope to meet you then! xoxo
I so needed your post today!! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures!
Glad you’re home safe and sound and warm! Love your books and your blog and I can’t wait to vote tomorrow. Much love to you all.
What an enchanting breath of fresh air……thank you !
We spent late September and early October on your coast. Sigh…just gorgeous. Fall colors were just starting; however, we spent a few days in Maine and they were glorious. Cape Cod is so, so peaceful.
Hi Sweet Susan!
My last few posts have disappeared into the ethos.🙀
Glad you’re home. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Joe!
❌⭕️❌⭕️,
Tawni Urrutia in Lodi, Ca
Look again ’cause I think you’ll find them Tawni! xoxo
Great blog post – thank you! Can’t believe how much you look like your Grandmother. Isn’t that the coolest? Just like you said, you can see yourself moving forward into the future. We may look like we’re gone but actually we never will be! Was sorry to miss you at the Apple Farm 😕 I was out of town. But wondering what you thought of the “new” SLO? We’ve lived here now for 17 years and seen so many changes but are so dismayed at the new trend in tall buildings. I fear SLO is losing her charm. 😔 Good for you that you found a place that believes in preserving the old! Happy Autumn!
I so agree, it’s getting dark downtown, all the shadows. Why isn’t everyone having a fit, or are they? You could get the building people to allow only 2 or 3 stories maybe, before they ruin it. I guess property values are so high you have to build as many square feet as you can on your postage stamp land space. I’m never there long enough to read the paper or get the politics of this, but everyone I talk to feels like you! It’s always been a developer’s town. 🤑 Money money money.
Hi Susan! Joe’s pumpkin is very clever. I am planning to vote and think it is so important that everyone who is eligible does too.
Traveling is wonderful..
but it is always a joy to be home again, in your own kitchen! That may be what I miss most when traveling. Welcome home
I am so looking forward to your next book. My grandmother on my father’s side was from Scotland. I would love a glimpse into her world.
So glad y’all had a great trip and are back home. I love reading your posts/blogs so thanks for sharing with MANY people. All are fabulous. Daydreaming and taking me to another place and time is what they do.
I am the families genealogist. It’s the closest I’ll be to a detective. I had a little info to go on but have added tons since the start. My daughters can join the DAR about 5 different ways. It made me so proud to find all the gggg++grandfathers on my mother in laws side. But having all the info at his fingers tips was something extra special for your family. To have the providence to join in that time is a truly gift. To have been a part of our countries beginnings was a great honor for our family. Now my mother’s family was another story. I found the “black sheep” of the family. That part of the family remained loyal to the Crown. But I guess we can’t all be on the “right” side. But that part of the family went back further in the colonies. The came from the Netherlands in the 1600’s before it became part of New York. Every bit of info I came upon, now matter what side they were on, thrilled me and is a legacy I can pass on to not only my girls but the rest of the family.
Glad you all are home. I know no matter how much fun you have traveling it’s always great to get home. I’ve been gone house/grand dog sitting in Virginia Beach since the end of August. I was supposed to go home this 18th or so of September but Hurricane Florence had other plans for me. Long story but I met my husband in WV for 5 days then back here. He Came from Jacksonville, NC about the center of landfall. But he went back to see to damage. Now I will go home next Monday. I wish I could have brought the grand dog to NC to begin with but she doesn’t play well with others. I have two dogs who I miss something terrible. We never know what life will bring us do we. Take care all.
Hope all is well Cyndi! xoxo
What beautiful words! Such a treat to visit with you!
Thank you Susan, you brightened this first evening of early daylight savings darkness as surely as candlelight in the windows!
Such a fun blog entry! Read with my own sweet kitty sitting with me…..enjoying the cozy!
So glad you got to enjoy some colorful leaves of Fall! Our Peak is over and now
they are all floating down in a graceful dance just for my enjoyment! LOVE your
new drapes! The new look and pink paint job All came together very nicely. Would
love to stop in for a cuppa! Look forward to your next Blog, girlfriend😍
Home sweet home. Best place ever to be. I want some English curtains..Simple is good. just beautiful. Maybe a pretty little plaid for your chairs…plaid and floral …English country for sure. The trees welcomed you.How sweet…after all ,you love Fall. Thanks for the lovely post.
I might not have won the BIG lottery, but winning the first chapter of this new book would certainly feel like it. Glad you’re back home!
Thank you Susan for a beautiful post. I so enjoy your blog!
Thank you so much for showing us your beautiful new dining room and curtains. It’s so fun to peek in someone else’s windows, so to speak. I have been going back and rereading your November blog posts from years past. Near the first of each month, I like to go back through the years and reread the posts for that particular month. Always inspiring, so fun! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hello! I missed you! Love your new curtains, but not as much as seeing Jack!
Hi Susan, Isn’t home great. It is always fun to travel but always wonderful to get home. Love your new curtains. Actually, both ways….formal and informal. They “fit” your home. We had the same Halloween as you. Lots of cute costumes with lots of parents in the background. You could see the glow from flashlights and glow lights up and down the street. I’m glad you’re back. It is always good to hear from you.
xoxo
Pam
Thank you for this wonderful post, Susan. Love the view of the beautiful leaves. Makes me homesick for my growing up years in Rhode Island. But Oregon can be pretty.
Love the new curtains….and the guest room is so cute. I think we will have the spiced pecans for a treat on Thanksgiving. The pumpkin torte looked yummy, too.
I always wish I could come ‘home’ this time of year. I would have Johnny Cakes and a coffee frappe and a grinder. Yum. Be blessed this season of special days.
Look at alll these sweet comments. You are truly loved, Susan. 💕 Darian
Welcome home, Sue and Joe~
So glad you’ve been able to explore and enjoy the many treasures your travels have had in store this year! Your fount of creativity is on the brink of over-flowing…I can just feel it! The excitement to write and share the enchanting experiences is bubbling over, and so contagious! The more excited you become, the more inspired we are to behold the beauty in all that surrounds us. Thank you for being a steadfast beacon of light and hope as you constantly remind us to cherish the heart of the home. Peace and blessings to you and all the Girlfriends around the world as we enter this season of thanksgiving. 🍁🍃🍂🍃🍁
Glad you’re home safe and sound and warm. Love your books and your blog. I can’t wait to vote tomorrow! Much love to you all.
Welcome home!! Lovely, lovely newsletter. Thank you for letting us see your travels so clearly. It’s like we were there. Happy holidays Susan.
Hello! I’ve recently discovered your books, and I love them!
Denise Hyde
[email protected]
Corpus Christi, TX
I enjoy reading your blog! Wasn’t the handwriting of our parents and grandparents so elegant!? I have several samples that I treasure!
Susan, Just LOVE your Halloween photos! so much fun, so many smiles…and your pumpkin carver did a great job! Welcome home!
Welcome home and so glad fall waited just for you!🍂🍁🍂 And what a gift from your great grandmother, re the application to the DAR with names and dates back to the 1700’s…wow! Did you watch CBS Sunday Morning this week? I loved the story about civility in an election in a small Vermont town. That’s something we need more of! Wonderful blog, can’t wait for your new book!
I have always loved all your art and enjoy it everyday with the calendars you do every year! As the saying goes, ‘Home is wherever you and yours are together, but nothing can beat being surrounded with the treasures and echoes of a life well lived – along with sleeping in your own bed, of course!!
I have been secretly wishing that there could be a button I could push on my TV to let them know I voted and it would automatically turn off the political ads and calls!
One of these days I hope to meet you!
HA HA HA, what a good idea! I’m still thinking campaigns should be limited to a 2 or 3 month period. Save us from them!
“~ click there and say hello”
upon reading that, am I the only person to “hear” the 3 Stooges voicing musically, “hello, HELLoOo, HELLO000!”
so…hello! Please enter me!
Done!
Thank you for your wonderful style of writing and your beautiful artwork! I love read your posts and stories and books! I am looking forward to Enchanted!!
I always enjoy reading about your adventures. You have such a warm and kind spirit about you.
Oh my, never mind😱 My post is there! I better start opening more windows when I paint!🤦🏻♀️
Sorry to bug you!!!🐞🐞🐞
❌⭕️❌⭕️
The pest from Lodi, Ca
You’re not bugging me!
Your home, your books, your Halloween party, your recipes, your art and your neighbors bring such warmth to my day. Thanks for bringing me on all your adventures!
I loved your drapes! I’ve sewn my own over the years, going so far as buying Laura Ashley fabric while living in Europe. I wanted to recreate the feelings of staying in a row house bed and breakfast in London, in the 1980’s, with my husband and four of our little ones. Such sweet memories of waking from naps and the children playing in the piles of bedding. The windows were open and the sounds of London below filled the room. Isn’t it funny how it’s so much more than fabric hanging from a rod?
Absolutely right, and isn’t everything! so much more . . . xoxoxo
Love the new curtains! Thank you for your lovely blog! It always brightens my day!
I always enjoy reading about your adventures. You have a very warm and kind spirit.
Susan, I laughed to myself at your curtain story, as I had my own curtain adventure back in the Laura Ashley days in the 90s. We had made a couple of trips to Britain and Ireland, and like you, I was enthralled by the charm of it all. We had the curtains made and hung, but they didn’t last long. They just were too hard to care for, and we eventually traded them for some washable lace curtains. Yes, we also went to Hilltop, Portmeirion too. Have you been to the latter? If not, you might include it on your next trip. I think you might like it. I grew up in CT, moved to CA, went to UCLA, married a CA boy, and have been here ever since. Every chance I got, I dragged my family to New England and miss it still. I think I lived your life in reverse. Well, sort of, as I can’t draw or write!
You should tell me when you’re coming out, so I can go to California, and we can keep the balance we’ve been giving this country for all these years! xoxo
Jack is so very cute! I voted by mail here in Arizona.
I loved this post. I’m a major history buff also! Looking forward to your new book, can’t wait!
What beauty you came home to! Both inside and outside. I can’t wait for the book and would LOVE a preview! Happy Autumn!
Wonderful post. Thanks for the bookmark. Reminds me of a card of yours I got years ago and framed. . It is quite faded now but I keep it still. ..Little girl with a book sitting in a window seat.. Love of Learning Sequestered Nooks and the Sweet Serenity of Books
One of my all time favorites of yours.
Hello, Susan! `I’m so happy that you have started your new book. This is the best news ever. Your blog was delightful, as always. I’m sure there are bumps along the way, but you and Joe really do have a fairy tale life. I love what you have done with your dining room! The new curtains are beautiful.
Enjoyed this post so much as I’m on my first train ride with my 77 year old mother from Portland, Oregon to Ventura, Ca. The fall colors were amazing. Like your pictures. I love how your dining room curtains frame your mirror.
I love your curtains either way. Everything you do is lovely. Can’t wait to read your next book. I voted early.
Love that Jack so much……and love your home – it hugs you , doesn’t it?
Much aloha from Maui-
Carol
The fall is amazing in your little corner of the world !!!!
Loved Joe’s VOTE Pumpkin 🙂
Dear Susan,
It is wonderful to travel but heaven to come home. I loved all the window treatments from the fancy to the basic. What ever makes you happy is perfect.
I hope I get to see the first chapter, maybe I’ll be lucky.
Dearest Susan,
I want to thank you so much for all the books/cookbooks you’ve written. I purchased Heart of the Home not long after it came out. I have made your carrot cake for my youngest daughter’s birthday for almost 30 years! Robyn, my Little Bird, turned 30 this past October 26. She lives in Savannah, GA and I made that cake and took it down there to celebrate her 30th with her. I’ve also made it for my oldest daughter’s wedding shower. What a hit that was! That recipe is what I think a true carrot cake is. I would love to know the history of the recipe. I use many of your recipes, but the carrot cake shines above the rest!
I look forward to your monthly posts. Thank you for all the time you take to keep us all a part of your life!
Deborah Burket
Have you ever tried it in cupcakes? Because it works perfectly! I put the “how-to” in the updated version of Heart of the Home. But it’s the same recipe, you just bake them for less time. Wonderful at Easter! Perfect for Thanksgiving. Thank you Deborah!
All seasons have their own beauty…but for me Fall is one of the favorites.I love seeing a long, winding road with a rainbow of “happy little trees”. Glad you were able to enjoy it when you for home!
I love spending time with you and Joe through this blog…it’s so relaxing! I love your curtains, and yes, please, I’d like a chance at your new book preview! I can’t wait for the whole thing to come out!
Just can’t wait to read your latest book Enchanted.. Love the new curtains and so glad you could enjoy Fall colors and Halloween at Home – There is no place like home.
Susan, you’re such a fun person…wish we were neighbors! Enjoy your election party tomorrrow!
Hi Susan,
Happy Fall, to you & Joe.
My sister & I stayed in Vineyard Haven , at the Mansion House, last month, October 5-8.
Toured all over the island. At Wood’s Hole, Falmouth ate at Captain Kidd’s. So good.
Cried on the ferry, leaving Martha’s Vineyard. Such a great time.
Wish we could have met up, wanted you to sign “ Isle of Deams.” but you were in Ca.
Had a wonderful lobster dinner, at the “ Black Dog Tavern.” We even went to a couple of
garage sales.
Planning to come back, next September. So much to see, so little time.
This time we’re going to stay 21/2 weeks. Ate at Warden’s, in Kittery, Maine. Yum!
Hit a few antique stores, for some treasures. We flew into Providence, RI & rented a car,
for 2 weeks!
We shopped on Main St., in Vineyard Haven & picked up a few groceries at “ Stop n’ Shop.”
Even took a picture of your house. Love the “ pumpkins” on your doorway edge.
You & Joe, have a nice fall evening.
Fans, Donna & Shirley
I just love all that history, need to start working on my own.
Susan, I love, love your new curtains. So much like the English and Irish I might add. Sounds like you are ao happy to be home. Jack was thrilled, I can tell.
Loved Joe’s Vote pumpkin!
Enjoy every minute being home. Hoping tomorrow is a blue wave! Will put a check on the WH.
Glad your home!
Karen. Carpenter in Michigan
Every time I see I have an email from you, I smile! Life is pretty busy here, and although I’d like to stop everything and read the whole email right away dinner, homework, and bedtimes come first. It makes the anticipation that much greater! It’s nice to read your updates before I go to bed and drift off thinking about fall and friends and English curtains. Deeelightful!
Susan,
Reading your blogs is like drinking a great cup of tea. It is relaxing and reviving at the same time! Love you.
I am always so happy to read your posts. Brings my pressure back to normal. I will have luv-lee dreams tonight.
I love the new curtains. Although I see what you’re saying about the curtains on the three parlor windows. Maybe bc the windows are close? I liked the trim though. So cute. You don’t want to keep the trim on the valances? Maybe keep the valances, with the trim, and perhaps sheers underneath? Or even just some old-fashioned shades? Or valances with bottom half curtains shortened to the window sills? Trim. Somehow keep some trim. (I may be trim happy. Maybe.)
Your home is so pretty. No matter what you decide, it’s completely charming. Thank you for letting us in.
That trim is on the bed upstairs right now! Not going away!
Thank goodness! 😁
Once again a very entertaining and relevant blog. I always look forward to reading your blog and hearing about your activities and adventures! Plus you have the most photogenic cat ever! When I did my ancestry search I found DAR worthy relatives but was surprised that I couldn’t find any evidence that an application for membership was ever filed. I love your curtain fabric and the way you decorate. Very cozy! Enjoy what is left of your autumn leaves!
Im sooo glad you made it home for fall… it’s a beautiful season that seems in much to big of a hurry. The leaves in the PNW are brilliant, what’s left of them. Your box of family treasures are so special…a timeless gift of love.
I’m so glad the fall leaves waited for you. Sit back now and enjoy your home with your boyfriend for life.
Welcome home, Susan and Joe! There’s nothing like a cozy New England home for a warm welcome and yours is just the BEST! No wonder all those adorable trick or treaters have a ball coming to your doorstep—your home is so inviting to friends and those you have not met or just met! Love your new curtains, paint, and lovely changes. Everything makes us want to plunk down in one of your comfy chairs and enjoy life with you on Martha’s Vineyard! Enjoy the memories of your great trip as well as settling back in. Pam