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!
Welcome home, your new curtains are lovely, they remind me of my grandma’s house, in a good way. Grandma hung floral cozy curtains in the winter and swapped them out for lacy, airy curtains in the summer. Whatever you decide, your home is always a feast for our eyes.
I can’t wait until your new book comes out. Do you know when that will be? I loved visiting your island. I was there last month with my cousin.
So happy that autumn waited for you. It would have been such a loss to have missed it as it only comes once s year you know.
Dear Friend,
Your magical blog and books have been gifts to me over the last couple of years. Many times they shared a moment of color on a very gray day. Caring for my aging mother was both a blessing and a challenge and when we said our final good-byes last month the tears seemed endless. She, like your own mother, taught me to love baking and books and beauty and how to find fairies at the bottom of the garden. She was strong and brave and resilient! She is deeply missed every single day.
Never deny that the words you write and the thoughts you share have a powerful and uplifting influence. You have a gift for filling hearts with hope, for making faithful friends and for taking care of tender hearts who need a sweet reminder of all that is good and right in this world. When you push “send,” know that there are so many of us anxiously waiting to “receive.” I know this for sure because when all around me seemed so sad, a click into your world carried me on, gave me courage and reminded me of how very important it is to “forward” that love to those around me. I am oh-so grateful for your “happy gene!”
I can’t wait to follow along, again, on your “Enchanted” journey and wish you many cozy hours reliving your great adventures with Jack and Joe.
Love to you, Deborah
Here I am having my daily afternoon tea-loose tea, of course 😊 & reading your blog.Your talent of expressing yourself fills my soul with comfort & 💕 Thank you for sharing your gift. Xo
Love the curtains! Either way, they look beautiful.
So glad you had a good trip and you are back at your house where the home fires burn.
I love the curtains! I think you made a good call with the valance change.
A few years ago my husband got permission to tear down a house that had been built in the 1860’s, with additions added thru 1949. He found papers, certificates, etc which belonged to the family who had lived there for years. We had some of the items framed and returned them and all the rest to their daughter. She was so happy to have them and we enjoyed learning the history of the house.
Here’s to the season of autumn and history! Barb
Looks like you had a wonderful trip!
Susan, What a wonderful post as always. I want you to know that this afternoon I will proudly carry five write in ballots from my family to the ballot drop off box in our small town. It is an important time in our country in these last voting moments leading up to and including Election Day. Here is Colorado, our colors have left the aspens and snow graces the summits. It is a time for coziness, great comfort food as you described from your beautiful books and a gathering of all our hearts coming together. Thank you for your insights and beautiful blog and best wishes to Joe and of course Jack. We had to put down our beloved Milo in January and Otis two weeks ago; we had them for 17 years. They are terribly missed but ever so grateful for having them with us for these years. A beautiful thing! Nancy
You passed right by my house on the train near Albany. Aren’t those Berkshires just beautiful!
I always look for the rabbit of the month shoutout.🐇🐇 did I miss it? We all need the November Rabbit! Love your curtains, they look like they have always been there! That’s when you know it’s good! Debby
Ah, so glad you are home and shared your fun Halloween evening with us! 🙂 xoxo!!
I’m so excited that you are writing a new book about your travels to England and beyond. I had my DNA testing done with 23&Me and found out I am 72% English/Irish so no wonder I love those places so much. But I must admit whenever I see you’ve written a new blog post, I always scroll down to see pictures of dear Jack first before I go back and read the text. Please put my name in the hat for your first chapter!
Love you’re curtains. I’ve been looking for the same thing for my kitchen. Guess I’ll just have to make my own.
Your Halloween party sounded great.
Happy Autumn.
Can’t wait for your next book. You describe even your shortest travels with such joy and quirky insights. Even your adventures around the homeplace come alive. You have such a talent for sharing your love of life.
Welcome home, Susan and Joe! Glad to hear you will be able to stay home for a while and enjoy your comfy home! The leaves are beautiful. I’m sure your daily walk is lovely and a little bit nippy these days. Jack must be ecstatic to see you both! Can’t wait to read your new book when it comes out!
Thank you for sharing your lovely home and joyful life.
So glad you had a good time and are back at your house where the home fires burn.
I love the curtains but I think you were right in making the change to the valances.
A few years ago my husband, Jim, got permission to tear down a house in Johnson County, IA. It had been built in the 1860’s, with additions until 1949. He found, letters, papers, certificates, etc. We had a few of the items framed and returned those, along with the rest to the daughter of the family who had lived there. She was so happy to have them and we enjoyed returning them to her.
Here’s to the season of autumn and history!
I love the pictures of all the trick or treaters. I miss not getting kids for Halloween.
Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories of Fall of when I lived in New Jersey!
Welcome home! Autumn is such a beautiful cozy time of the year. Give Jack’s belly a rub for me and keep blogging as I love to read about your journeys and looking at your beautiful artwork.
Enjoy your homecoming and your “tiny fragments of memories of a lifetime”. How wonderful that you have them.
You look so much like your g’mother! And welcome back to home. How is Lady Cat?
And a geneology question: my last name is Foster and I see your g’g’mother listed a Cpt. Asa Foster as a person she descended from and that her name was listed as Sarah Edith Foster Orr. Do you know if any came over for NORTHERN Ireland, part of the UK then and now????? My family came in 1790.
Susan … I always eagerly await your next “Willard.” You write in such a unique way … and yes, that means wonderful way! I own all of your books and have read each of them multiple times. Thanks for doing what you do best. Diana
There’s no place like home! Travelling is wonderful and every time I come back home I hug some walls and say “Hello, I’m back…did you miss me?” My husband rolls his eyes but secretly I know he feels the same way. If I could vote in the United States tomorrow I would, but, Iam a Canadian so I am sending blessings that people will listen to their hearts and do what’s best for your country like your previous forfathers. May God’s light shine the way…..
So nice to have you home in your own little home for the fall & winter to snuggle in with Joe & Jack! Looking forward to peeking in on your holiday celebrations!
Welcome home!
Welcome home! Autumn is such a beautiful time of the year here in the Northeast. Enjoying your trick or treaters (we get none) and ask that you rub Jacks belly for me.
Hi Susan!
Your home looks beautiful no matter how you do the curtains. I can feel the coziness just looking at the pictures and reading your post. Now that I have actually been to Martha’s Vineyard I can picture the kids trick-or-treating. Lucky you to have all those kids! Settle in, enjoy your beautiful home, and blog often. I love when your blog arrives in my in-box!
Happy Autumn!
Terry
What a lovely post Susan – from the images of the Halloween fire in the fireplace to Joe’s “vote” pumpkin. I will be taking my 14 month old daughter to the polls with me in Ohio tomorrow morning, just as I took her at two months old last November. While she won’t remember either of these trips, I hope to establish in her a sense of the luxury we have in democracy, the power each vote has and the importance of our voices as women. Cheers!
Hi Susan! I love your creative spirit!
Thank you, Susan! My heart is filled with hope. So many first time voters in our family and these eighteen year olds are all choosing to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Our beautiful country, country of immigrants, can only become greater as we welcome others. And we must choose to honor the words of FDR, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
As always, thank you for sharing the JOY of your travels and HOME SWEET HOME!
Welcome home! Autumn is such a wonderful cozy time of the year. Give Jacks belly a rub for me.
Looking forward to your next book. I know it will be amazing!
Welcome home Susan and Joe! I just moved into my first house and I’m so loving being HOME too! My home. Nesting and cleaning and unpacking (which may take years at this rate) and loving being here. Cozy (even though it’s still in the 70s during the day) and wanting to cook and have people over and decorate! Love seeing your curtains and the evolution of the valances. I just got curtains in my living room, and hung curtains in the bathroom (who decided it was a good idea to put a huge window by the bathtub!?!?) so I don’t feel like I’m on display when I’m in there! Enjoy this beautiful fall!
Home is really the place we belong but traveling is so therapeutic. We visited your home base of Martha’s Vineyard from Ohio in September and really got a wonderful tour of it.
Love your new drapes, including the converted ones. Saw a fabric I want to copy from a lovely magazine in the same style as your new ones. Want to replace the just-valance look for a more cozy feel. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
As always, thank you Susan for your beautiful blog. So full of hope and inspiration.
Welcome home!! I’m so glad autumn waited for you!! I love all of your new curtains…so very British! How I would love to read a copy of the chapter from your book…lucky winners-to-be…whoever they are!! Wishing you continued joys as you settle in and resume your delightful daily walks!
Happy November!
It’s always a treat to find a new blog post. It feels like sitting down with a friend. Just yesterday I put your Fall book on display in my dining room. Speaking of dining rooms, I liked your curtains each way you presented them. I’m glad it isn’t me having to make the decision. I’m the first to admit I do not do well with change.
Looking forward to the new book
Thank you for another ‘happy gem’ to brighten our days. 🙂
Hello! How completely lovely to go on a wonderful trip and how much better yet to come home! Your decorating looks charming and your Halloween sounds hectic beyond imagining! The spirit of the holidays is definitely alive at your house!
Well, Susan, you’ve done it again. Your post was just the shot in the arm I needed to get me through – well, just get me through. The other arm is reserved for a flu shot (ha ha). And those curtains are SO beautiful (as are the ones you made). I’ve been on the fence deciding about curtains for my bedroom, and thanks to you, I think I know exactly what I want. Thank you for the inspiration – again. You are SO loved!
Wonderful! And THANK YOU Darylene! xoxo
I love the new curtains & agree with your changes to make them just right! I’m that way about decorating our home. I’ve sewn most of the curtains here as I have to have things “just so” in our little nest. Welcome back to the East Coast! Fall seemed never to come but all of a sudden the colors are spectacular, glad your trees waited for your return. I had such envy for those wee books, I’d love, love, love to have one! I know you are still working on the actual book but any idea when we might get to own one? Tentatively even??? xoxo
Might be a year! eek, will work as fast as possible!
This says it all… VOTE… praying…
Susan, I’m so glad you got back to the island in time to see some fall colours. Here in rural Ontario, it was a spectacular season for colour, the best I have seen in many years. I tried to get out as much as possible now that I am retired, and see as much colour as my eyes could hold. Halloween was cold and rainy here, and I think that kept a lot of the trick or treaters home that night. I loved reading about your Halloween party. It sounded magical, and with delicious food. I don’t know where the time goes, and it is already November. Soon Christmas will be here. I hope you will be doing a Willard soon. xo
Welcome home, Susan and Joe! There really is no place like home, is there? Thanks for sharing your beautiful life with us and inspiring us to find beauty in the simple things. That’s really the best part of life, isn’t it? I wanted you to know that I still like thinking about meeting you in Charleston last spring and to tell you that I made two friends there that I have been corresponding with ever since! We got to meet again in Charleston in September for dinner with the husbands. We all agreed that you would not be surprised that you are responsible for what I am sure will be a life-long friendship. Thank you! Fall blessings to you and Joe and of course the adorable mustachioed petty pet. ♥
Hello from Chapmanville, WV! So glad you made back to your cozy home, safe and sound.
You are a good substitute for the kindred spirits that are sometimes hard to find in our immediate neighborhoods….I always enjoy your posts so much. And you have inspired me to try some pen and ink travel journaling myself, although I seem to have no artistic talent whatsoever! Glad you’re home safe and sound and ready to enjoy the beginning of the joyous season.
Love reading your posts. Missing my fire place. Loving fall.
Welcome home! It was so good to see you. 😉 I would love a copy of the first chapter of your new book! I can’t wait for it already. I remember loaning out my copy of A Fine Romance to coworkers because they had never seen a book of yours before! I had a fantastic Halloween evening as well. My family does a Sloppy Joe Supper every year, and we make very “creepy” Halloween themed treats to pass out, too.
Always know that when I see one of your posts pop up in my inbox, that I’ll be grinning from ear to ear by the end of it and this time was no exception. LOVED everything and reveled at your incredible history. Most of all, love your spirit and happiness that you so readily share with all of us – it’s contagious! Happy Autumn – definitely need to go make some chili using your recipe on this chilly day! Hugs from the Rockies, Pippa
Welcome home! I’m glad you made it in time to enjoy some Autumn. There is nothing like home and cool Fall weather for the soul. I always look forward to reading your posts–they inspire a burst of creativity in me! So, now I’m off, inspired to finish sewing the new living room curtains I started earlier this week.
HI,
Welcome Home!!!
PS Oops – meant to ask this – where can one order special personalized twill tape or ribbon like yours used for the booklets you are sharing? I’d love to order some for our family but have no clue where to find the source. Thanks so much!!!
That was fun watching your curtain transformations. I love how they all turned out. Love Joe’s VOTE pumpkin. What a great idea!!! Love the old photos of your family. Always special to find those treasures. The trees here in the Midwest have been lovely this year. I know your train ride had to be grand and the return home to still find it lovely. 🍂🍁😊
I finished A Fine Romance on our QM2 crossing in September and it made me smile all the way across the Atlantic. I can’t wait to read your new book. Thank you Susan!!
So cozy!
I think I’ll wait instead for the whole published book. Am submitting this to wish you well in writing it. The chances of winning the first chapter are so slim, almost nil. So, happy storytelling!!
Beautiful pictures 💖
Back home – surrounded by personal treasures of memories and in anticipation of moments yet to be experienced. So glad Fall had her arms open, waiting to hug you with beautiful colors! And a happy early Thanksgiving! 🦃 My sister is the archivist of our family. I want to share a recent text she sent me – “Thomas Bradford relative of Pop (our great grandfather) and revolutionary war soldier (buried in GA) is the one who leads back to William Bradford.” Related to William Bradford…who knew. It’s a small world after all!
And I am too! William Bradford, the diary keeper, he’s mine too. Hello cousin!
Hello to you cousin! A great season of discovery – Sharing Shelly’s birthday and now your cousin – ancestors of the pilgrims. I’m one happy camper! So it’s soup weather – Cooking my way through the delicious choices in Vineyard Seasons: Chilled Cucumber 🥒 & Tomato 🍅, Avocado 🥑, Hot Apple 🍎 Soup, Pumpkin 🎃 sooooo delicious!! Never steamed pumpkin before, can out sooo moist/tender, goodbye canned! Have the ingredients for Watercress & Orange 🍊 next. I agree 100% with Gladys Taber, “November is s month when the chill blustery days and long cold nights are hard on dieters.” Ha! 😁 It’s like Julie Julia, cooking my way through and discovering new tastes and techniques and a little about myself.
How fun! Such a compliment! Yes, forget about that diet! LOL! xoxoxo
Happy storytelling!
A NEW BOOK!!!! Woooo HOOOOOO!! I’m SO ready! Just about to settle in for a long winter up here in the snow. Can’t wait!!
Thank you for all you do and give of yourself. It’s SO wonderful to be reminded of the important things in life when the media are screaming about so much that isn’t.
Blessings!!
Nan
Welcome home, Susan and Joe. Glad you are home safe and sound. When I was reading and looking at all your delightful photo’s, I thought this is like peeking in someone’s windows. Like when I would take and mother or sister[sadly both gone to Heaven} for a ride during Christmas to look at all the wonderful decorations and getting peeks inside at all the lovely homes. It is inspiring to see how others live. I love your blue curtain surprise, and the blue and pink floral, and the simplified pink and cream. All perfection now. I have taken all my plain, inexpensive dishes off the shelf, and have replaced them with blue and white ones found at Tuesday morning. Dreamed for years of having blue and white-and now at 69, I have them. Husband did not scold and said your dishes are pretty. So our dreams do come true. Thank you Susan. You and Joe are inspirations.
The ladies will be so surprised when they come the end of November. White tablecloth, white napkins that my best friend called and Said, I want to design and embroider your new napkins to match your dishes. Friends are special indeed.So glad we can gather them around.
Much love and lots of bunny hugs to all you.
Shirley, from warm Texas
Sorry for all the rambling and run on sentences. I know you will forgive.
A little thought to grace your day:
Choice by choice, moment by moment,
I build the necklace of my day,
stringing together the choices that form artful living.
Julia Cameron
‘Thankful for the choices you make to live a grace-filled life.
Perfect, like an add-a-pearl necklace!
It’s a rainy, raw day in Connecticut but this post warmed me to my soul. The history that you have of your family is amazing. Of course, your home is so inviting and beautiful.
Welcome Home! It’s wonderful to go away but it’s even better to come home. I just adore your posts. They are always heartwarming and full of sweetness!
Thank you for sharing with all of us.
As I’m sure most of you realize, anxiety is a very real and debilitating illness. I just want you to know that when I open an email from Susan Branch it’s a powerful as taking an Ativan for me. I know it’s silly but these posts are so soothing, relaxing and in a world full of what feels like chaos, it feels like a very safe place to be. Thank. you so much Susan. (ugh, I’m weepy now)
You’ve made me weepy too, Debby, that was so sweet.😢 Sending love. xoxoxo
Oh, the wonderful colors for your homecoming. The pictures probably do not do it justice. Glad you are safe at home. Always enjoy your blog posts.
Looks like you did all the right timing — pretty leaves still in place; home in time for Halloween! What a grand party (and thanks for the recipes!) I was worried about leaves still being red and gold when we got home from England on Oct. 29 because they are slower and different over there so we didn’t see so much color. But they waited for me, at least enough did! I’m glad they waited for you, too.
What REALLY made me smile here was your genealogy discoveries. You are so lucky to have those! I’ve been digging and digging and doing quite well, actually, but boy — to have so much, it’s like hitting pay dirt! Bravo. Isn’t it the most fun thing? And the curtains — I like them. Yes, a little formal, but certainly lovely (and they sound so warm!). You’ll figure it out for sure!
Thanks for hosting the drawing and delighted to enter!
I love to hear your stories, see your photos, get decorating, cooking & cleaning tips and love it when you share your memories! I think we can all relate in some form or another. I love, love, love the little booklets you made for your book reading!
Welcome Home & Happy Fall ! 🎃🍁🍂
Suggestion Box:
I wish you’d have them printed up for your online store so we could purchase them if we aren’t one of the ‘lucky five’ !!! 😊
Happy Fall! I so enjoy seeing how fall “looks” in different parts of the United States. I have been enjoying all the different beautiful butterflies that are all around. They seem to be having so much fun dancing in all the breezes!
Susan,
I don’t see my comment in your list so I’m writing again “just in cases” as you say. Love you!
I enjoy your blog, artwork and the beautiful tea cups. Tea taste so much better in one of your lovely cups.
Thanks so much,
Ginger
Hello Susan,
Thank you for sharing the magical autumn of the Vineyard. The leaves here in California turn so late as you know, but the Chinese Pistache are beginning to glow, and the Sycamore leaves are turning brown and brittle. Looking forward to more posts as the season hurries towards winter!
Welcome Home Susan & Joe,
Can’t wait to see what your next adventure will be. Enjoy the holidays in your beautiful house with all your new curtains.
Thank you so much for being so positive! You are so encouraging when you write about checking the facts. It is so important to do your homework and be an informed voter, especially today.
PS. I have enjoyed your books since the first one came out so many years ago. My family holidays are stilled filled with your recipes!
Welcome home, lucky for you autumn had a late start this year. I see we have a family name in common, my Grandfathers name was Elmer Huelse (Halsey or Hilsa) as found in some of the records from immigration. I enjoy your quotes and share your joy in the simple things of life.
🍂💕🍂 So Happy you made it home safely and in time to share the Fall beauty of Martha’s Vineyard. Thank you
Dear Susan. I get excited whenever I open my email and there is a new post from you! So glad the trees were still colorful when you got home. I’d love to win your giveaway. Can’t wait to read the book.
Love love LOVE all of this!! Can’t wait to peruse your great-grandfather’s handwritten ancestry when I’m on my (larger-screened) computer; my maiden name was Orr and I’m from Iowa (albeit the “east coast”), though I live in Madison, WI now (where Florence appears to have been born)! So you’re right: we’re really all related! Happy autumn coziness to you!
Long lost relatives!
Welcome home! My mom lived with me for many years and when I went through her things after she died this summer, I didn’t expect any surprises. I was surprised to find she kept the height chart on which my parents marked my sister and my heights as we grew up, starting in 1960! I had no idea she had it and it brought tears to my eyes. Family history must be preserved.
Drapes, curtains, pumpkins, sleeping cat, chili and so much more! What a fine read. Thank you.
Susan, you have a storybook home! I wonder if you have unseen benevolent ghosts enjoying your happy home? Thank you for sharing your adventures with your readers. I feel like I’m on a mini vacation when I fall into your books and enjoy my coffee with your cat mug!
Excited to read your new book! Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! Kisses to Jack😻.
Oh! Susan!!
WELCOME BACK HOME!!!!
Love the curtains! And love, love LOVE your home, so comfy looking and cozy!
So excited for the new book! I hope I can win the first chapter to hold me over until I can hold the whole thing in my little hands!!
Blessings to you and Joe and Jack, too!
Hugs!!!
Linda in PA
You are so special! Thank you bringing a bright spot to the day.
How exciting – a chance to receive a copy of the first chapter of your new book! Can’t wait for the actual book too!!
So happy you are home safely and I can’t wait to *finally* see you on Saturday! Yippee!!!💗💗💗
Welcome home!! LOVE this post! All the news, all the Halloween pics, Jack! Those new curtains are just lovely, and the dining room looks fit for the Queen. The new one in the guest room really tickles my fancy. My street turned out to be a bunch of party poopers. Only my porch light and one other were on, so I only had nine trick-or-treaters and way too much candy left. But I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how your beautiful island celebrates Halloween. Maybe I’ll come there next year.
Welcome home! Love the curtains and the valances – laughed out loud with your description of the ideas and the “up the ladder, down the ladder” happenings! Whenever I change something in our home, I am almost always second guessing my decision; look, leave the room, walk by, take a look, leave the room and so on. You have the BEST Halloween – only one trick-or-treater here this year. Does that tell you something about the ages of folks in our neighborhood? I like Joe’s VOTE pumpkin. It’s a right we sometimes take for granted and one we should cherish. Giving careful consideration to tomorrow’s vote~ Keeping my fingers crossed to be one of the five winners of chapter 1 of your book. I have made space on my bookshelf just in cases (as you say!).
Home is just the best feeling and its nice to read your words! Thank you for sharing.
Welcome Home Susan! I don’t know what it is about this fall in New England, but the leaves have survived wind storms and driving rain. The late fall color is spectacular. I just texted my husband a photo of the sugar maple between our garage and back door in all its fiery glory, so he could enjoy a taste of home while on business in Florida. I am so looking forward to your new book.
Hello Susan! Great to see your blog, as always.
Just like Jane Austen said,”there is nothing like staying home for real comfort.”
Welcome Home, Susan! Good to have you back. 🙂
Thank you for all the joy you bring! Not only did we visit Martha’s Vineyard for the first time this summer, but my hubby and I just went to England for the first time and we love EVERYTHING about it! I adore Oxford and the Cotswolds and can’t wait to see the Lake District:)
Awesome post as always! !
Oh I am sooooo hoping I win that!!!! Keeping my fingers crossed!!!🙏🏻
I LOVE your curtains. I know how you feel about Toni g it down. We built a house and I wanted it to be comfortable for my teenage kids and their friends but be that as it may I turned out a little more formal than I expected!!! So what did I do??? Put in a river rock fireplace!!! (We lived in Central Oregon so it wasn’t too out of line!!!) you did an excellent job on your new rooms!!!💜💜💜💜
Welcome Home! Your curtains are lovely and I think better looking without the valances. The pattern is to die for. I am pea green with envy. I just spent a really nice half hour sipping tea and reading this wonderful post. Jack is the cutest cat ever. Enjoy being home looking at your beautiful new curtains.
Love.
Welcome home…welcome home. ❤️