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 back from your trip. Your letter was so heartwaming like a visit from a dear friend. Living on Martha’s Vineyard certainly is a small piece of heaven. Your home is so cozy and I loved how you decorated with the new curtains. I vacationed there as a child going to my Aunt Kay’s house in Oak Bluffs. Such a simpler time. Loved the history of your family. I love geneaology. We have copies of letters written by my husband’s seventh great grandfather to his daughter . One said 54 years ago I was at Valley Forge and saw Kiley hung. Another said ,”Today Martin Van Buren became president.” His name was Nehemiah Jones. Love history. Enjoy the fall and get ready for a warm fire while watching the first snowflakes fall.
Welcome home! The new window decor is absolutely lovely and perfect for your beautiful home! Thanks for sharing the fun Halloween festivities and enjoy the rest of fall!
Dear Susan,
Your curtains are all gorgeous! I wanted so much to come to the Falmouth library but my Mom hasn’t been getting around very easily and I don’t think I could stay dry eyed without her. I still have a sheet of wrapping paper and stickers that you designed many years ago which my Mom sent me when I lived waaaay out in CA. She introduced me to your magical world. What a blessing!
Much love,
Marybeth
Thanks for your perspective…
Susan, I am so happy you are home in your beautiful house again. I would dearly love to win your first chapter. Here is my Hello.
Thanks for your Island perspective.
Thank for your lovely letter. The quotes, photos, paintings and enlightened thoughts are a much needed escape from what is swirling all about us at the moment. Reading about your adventures and home just makes me smile.
We just returned from a journey to the Northwest- a wander through the redwoods, a few days on the beach in Oregon and then up to see grandkids in Spokane— then home to Colorado and it’s still fall and beautiful here!
We feel like we’ve gotten the gift of 2 Autumns!
Glad you got to enjoy yours on your return as well!
Keep up your positive attitude- I know it’s encouraging to me. ❤️
Thank you for the reminder, the encouragement and the history lesson about voting. I vote, but this blog post sums it all up best! So Thanks! I was thinking about the realities of real life and how certain people can and do insert magic into every day. You are one of those people! thank you..
Have really enjoyed your posts as you travel. I forward them to my mom (82) and we discuss our favorite parts. Glad you are safely home with Jack. Can’t wait for your new book!
Yes, I have treasured your three books. Bought 2 sets for a couple of friends. I guess I love them so much because of the way you live and what you take pleasure in. For years I have purchased anything by Susan Branch. So I have been reading your entire blog sense you started it and today’s reading from when you arrived Hóme is fascinating. From curtains ( which I make all mine), to entertaining and most of all your understanding of what we need to do to conduct ourselves on voting day. The best for last is your paper findings from your mom . My mother died a few days before Thanksgiving 2016. I cleaned out her home and found so many treasured things . No one keeps these things anymore. I do. I also paint . So all your work I love.
So glad today for your lovely post. I stopped what I was doing and read every word. Love Jack and say Hi to your boyfriend for life. Love and autumn hugs🍁🌾🍁🍂Carole Ann
Welcome home! We have loved your adventures, but know how much home, hearth, and Jack mean to you. A kitty tummy can only wait so long for a loving rub.
What a wonderful post…You just pull us in and we are right with you. It’s a most amazing thing you do. A gift to us.
Much love, as you and your handsome boyfriend for life, get settled in, back to the routine of home, with the holidays to look forward to. xoxo
Good to have you home! I have missed your writings and art and stories that make me say, “Me, too!” We are planning a mortgage burning party, so loved your ideas! Good luck to the sisterhood waiting to win your prize!
Love your house in the autumn! It looks so cozy and warm when that lovely chill in the air arrives. Hope you are able to enjoy more of the leaves before they are completely gone for the season!
Oh, dear Sue! How I have missed you! I so wanted to be at the Apple Farm! It just wasn’t feasible. I’m glad you are home safe & sound. And I look forward to hearing more about your trip! xo peg
Oh the curtain dilemma! I so can identify with you on that! The decisions and then even after the deed has been done, it is usually still not settled. It is such a conundrum, that I have been known to leave some of my windows uncurtained as it is easier to avoid the issue when and if possible, rather than commit and then be unsure. Your rooms are looking great! Am looking forward to the new book and would love to be the winner of one of the Chapter 1 gifts. Sure glad that you didn’t miss Fall, one of the greater blessings of my beloved New England!
All of your windows are beautiful but put those living room valances back up —- they are Gorgeous— send them to me here in the South if you don’t want them!! Everyone needs a little “ fancy”! I’m so envious of your autumns—our color has been better this year but this afternoon’s rain will probably take it away.So glad you are both home safely.
There’s no place like home! Everytime I come back from being on a trip I hug the first walls I see and say”I’m back, did you miss me???” My Johnny just rolls his eyes, but secretly I know he feels the same. If I could vote in the States tomorrow I would. But, I am a Canadian so your country is in my prayers. Blessings to all that they vote with their hearts and remember what was fought for so long ago that made America great. Let God shine his light amd may you follow…
We love your prayers, we love you! xoxo
So glad you found wonderful, colorful trees in your yard that first morning home. Thanks for sharing the keepsakes and vintage photos you brought home.
And I’m glad you always grace your blog with photos of Jack !
Love this post…..especially Mr. Hack with one paw over his sweet face! He’s worn out from supervising the curtain exchanges!😊
I agree with Jack Kerouac when he wrote, “In October all roads lead home”. I know they do for me.
Treese Colorado Cowgirl.
Mr. Jack!!!!! ♥️😻
How wonderful to have the DAR application in your ancestor’s handwriting.
Dear Susan,
Everytime you post I feel like I’m reading a letter from the aunt I never had. Thank you so much for your writings. Much love to you.
Jacqueline 💗
Always enjoy your travel notes, pictures, quotes – always. Thanks for sharing your travels. Look forward to Twitter and the blog. Please know your thoughts are appreciated. I always make time to read them no matter how hectic. It’s always so interesting what catches another person’s fancy when traveling.
I look forward to reading your newest book next year.
Thank you.
Loved your post today, I stopped what I was doing andread every word. Love Jack and say hello to your boyfriend for life. Love the new drapes, I am a flower 🌸 loving girl. Love and Autumn hugs🍁🌾🍂🍁 Carole Ann
welcome home, thanks for your wonderful posts Patty
Susan,
Welcome home. As a California girl, I too have a love for New England and look forward to reading your posts. I love visiting Massachusetts every June. I was so sorry to miss you at the Apple Farm last month. One of these days I will be at one of your book signings. Still hoping you will have an event on the west side of the SF Bay Area in the future (I live in the town next door to your close friend in Palo Alto). I’m counting the months until your next book comes out. Thank you for all you do to make your fans feel so special.
Thank you Susan, for taking the time to share with us. I always get a happy lift from your positive view of life.
Dear Susan, I wanted to share with you this article about the difference between American children’s literature and British Children’s Literature because I think it will be of interest! theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/01/why-the-british-tell-better-childrens-stories/422859/
Looks wonderful Katherine, thank you!
Hello Susan,
Here in Toronto the leaves are falling falling rapidly from the trees. But there is still one tree I can see from my bedroom window that is glorious when the morning sun shines on it, unfortunately those leaves will be soon gone. Then it will be time for Christmas planning and parties. Talking about having parties my daughter and her husband have a Christmas Party that she loves giving and their friends and relatives love coming to. Of course you have Thanksgiving first and I’m looking forward to your blog on that. Also really looking forward to your new book. Your house is amazing, warms my heart just looking at it.
The new curtains are very English and lovely. Hugs to Jack. Sharon
I can hardly wait for the next book!
Welcome Home….Susan and Joe! Glad there were leaves on trees to help get you ready for being home. Enjoy! Enjoy! One your new curtains. What fun to have them and then finished for you. They look great!
I apologize for the double entry, I didn’t realize there is a posting delay.
Bonus…double the blessings.
Dear Susan, I am so Sorry that I forgot h in Branch, on The letter I sendt you “greeting from Denmark” . LOVE The curtains and The vote pumkin. Love from Susanne Pedersen.
Naturally, as an Iowan, I love knowing your roots are from here. Loved that you have been bequeathed the special box of memories…couldn’t think of any one better than you to receive it. Your mom…oh my, what a beautiful woman. I think young women from the 1950’s looked so smart…my mom was a bride in 1955…she was always so put together.
Thanks for making me laugh out loud about the draperies…we are not alone in our quest to conquere home. They look really lovely…and I do like seeing the woodwork above the Windows. The fabric is beautiful..and as always, love seeing Jack…and what a great job with pumpkin carving! Joe gets a star! Glad you are home…can’t wait for the next book…I keep sharing your other books with new friends.
Loved reading all about fall in your neck of the woods.Didn’t get to see much of any colors this fall.Hurricane Florence took pretty much all leaves around here!!!Would love to visit your area,it is so beautiful.Can’t wait for your new book.Really enjoyed your trip,and all the beautiful places you went.
What an inspiring post–with plenty of fun thrown in!!!!
So very glad you and Joe are home again. I really love reading your blog – you are a breath of fresh air. Can’t wait for your new book – no pressure! Have a Happy week.
Wow! Your blog is so filled with excitement I feel like I’ve just returned home with you. 🙂 I love reading about your Halloween & the new curtains & your plans for the coming week. Your stories make holidays even more enjoyable. Thanks!
Welcome home Susan! I, too, just returned to Maine, having traveled to New Mexico to visit my mom, 91 and failing fast. . . And my sister, plus other family. As my plane was landing in Portland, I was awe struck by the autumn beauty out the window, so I completely relate to your running from window to window checking out the fall beauty
There is simply nothing like fall in New England! Thank you for all the recipies and party ideas. I love your curtains, especially the dining room ones. I so hope I win one of the books as I have cherished and read A Fine Romance now 4 times. So I am itching t read this new one too. Happy holidays, and let the fun begin!!!
.
Hi Susan, it’s always good to go, but equally as good to come home. Enjoy the leaves. Glad they waited for you!
You and your work have lifted my spirits so many times during the “heavy” days of these last two years. Being an Anglophile myself, “sharing your trip to England was such a gift…Thank you sooo much.
Becky
Dear Susan,
Thank you for yet another beautiful post. Fall seemed to come a little later than usual this year here in Western New York, as well. I’m so glad you were home in time to enjoy it. I so look forward to your posts. You never fail to make me smile. You inspire me to cook, bake, paint, craft, decorate…enjoy the simple things. Can hardly wait for your newest book. My wish is to meet you in person some day.
Welcome home! I love that you also try to figure out which admired people your older family members “overlapped” with during their lifetimes. I recently went in for post-divorce counseling and was assigned to an 86 year old counselor! I loved hearing her stories of her mother and grandmother, which she used as examples, and figuring out where their lifetimes fit into historic events.
As I told a co-worker today, I DO exercise: I exercise my right to vote!
Welcome home, Happy Autumn, and thanks for the FAMILY stuff! THat was terrific.
I love to read all you stuff and see your pictures and art. I can’t wait for the new book.
Welcome home! You make “home” so beautiful! It must be the best to be one of Susan Branch’s “homies”! Oh we know it is because you make all of us feel like we’re personal friends of yours and that we’re always welcome! Love the new curtains and I love that you kept working at it until they were perfect for you! Reminds me to never settle!
It is gray, sullen chilly afternoon here in the farmland of Northwest Illinois. After two weeks of the most spectacular blaze of glorious colors, the autumn leaves are swirling and twirling down to cover the fields for a long winter’s nap ! I enjoyed the photos of your new curtains (perfect, just perfect !) the cute Halloween kids and your heartwarming chili supper. Love relaxing and reading your column but it is time to finish up at my desk and prepare our evening meal for my dairy farmer husband. Thank you for the opportunity to enter the drawing for the “Enchanted” first chapter of your latest adventure !
Welcome home to fall! Here just north of the Golden Gate Bridge we had 91 degrees a few days ago. But today it’s in the 70s so fall is here? Hopefully lower temps will lesson the fire danger. I went through Vineyard Seasons so I pretend it’s fall and make soups and ginger spiced desserts. Can’t wait for your new book. Was in London this summer for their heatwave. Can’t escape it. Let’s vote tomorrow and maybe slow it all down,
Happy Thanksgiving,
Susan! Joe! How marvelous to have you home! I’d love to visit Martha’s Vineyard in the fall! Well honestly! I’d love to visit the island at any time of the year!
Welcome home! Btw…I love the curtains and all that is…I think they look amazing! And Jack! Sweet Havk! I know he is thrilled to have y’all home! Take care and I can’t wait to your next blog!!!!!
Welcome back to the East Coast! I was visiting my daughter in Albuquerque NM when you were traveling, so perhaps you passed by our rails! 🙂 Anyhow, I am back now too and was equally thrilled that Autumn stalled for us! On to winter and hot cocoa and snowball fights !
We always have an hour layover in Albuquerque! xoxo
Welcome Home Susan! Thanks for sharing pictures of your homecoming and Halloween. Loved Joe’s VOTE pumpkin. Here in Washington State we vote by mail so we have already voted.
Wishing you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving.
Sooooo good to hear from you again! I grew up in a railroad family and love hearing about your cross country rail trips. I have just retired and you have inspired me to plan one! Jack continues to be as cute as ever. …. just sayin’!
BEST pumpkin EVER!! Beautiful window dressings as well. So glad your very own leaves were there for you to soak in. Enjoy that home you have created with 💗
So happy for you that your trees were still colorful when you returned! It has been a very unusual foliage season here in New Hampshire, for sure. Lots of wind and rain has taken many leaves from our trees, but there are many just a half hour from here that still are full and colorful.
Loved your post today💕 I stopped what I was doing and read every word. What a delight.
Love Jack and say hello to your pumpkin carving boyfriend for life. Love and Autumn hugs🍁🍂🌾🍁Carole Ann
After a day of whispering fairy thoughts in children’s ears and covering others with teflon to repel mean words, your post just fills me with joy! A glimpse of beautiful leaves, amazing curtains, and party ideas is just what the world needed today. YOU are a special gift! I feel truly blessed to have followed you as a young teacher over 3 decades ago and I get just as giddy when I find you in my email today. Bless you!!
Thank you Cindy. Luv-lee to hear from you. Thank you for what you do, your children are so lucky!!!
Hello Susan, Joe and Jack. So love your blog and books. You are a great writer, lovely person and bring a smile to my day! I had about 30 costumed visitors on Halloween evening ranging from littlies to teenage? I didn’t know my husband ushered them up the path from the front garden. What a great surprise I got thinking no one was calling! I have a black and white cat also, called Babe. (named from the movie approx. 16yrs ago) She is great company. All the best.
Anxiously awaiting the new book!
Welcome home and Happy Fall. The curtains look so nice and as always your home is so warm and inviting. I enjoy the posts so much and can’t wait for the new book.
Oh, another good read. Always enjoy the news and of course, photos of Jack! Thanks Susan!
Any news on the book to movie front? Can’t wait to read Enchanted….
You know, before we were Fosters, we were Foresters! Yes, a wee bit of news on the movie, but nothing earth shattering. I’ll write, dead of winter, when we’re dying for some gossip!
Yup! A great chance!
What a wonderful welcome-home blog! Love the new curtains, and the Halloween report. Have a wonderful rest-of-Fall and holidays back in your cozy home!
Hello, and welcome home! Got such a jolt of joy reading your latest post! Sounds like the visit and the journey were equally marvelous! There are so many topics I might comment on, but I think I will pick your GGma’s application to the DAR! I have been working on my ancestry to complete my application. It’s been hard to provide all of the documentation they require these days. Even though we have made the links, death/birth/marriage certificates are proving difficult for all those who were born at home, on farms. I thought I might suggest that if you are interested in becoming a member of this very civic minded organization, it would be so easy since you have a legacy! That way, if any of your numerous nieces would like to join later, they would have but to prove the line from your generation to theirs! Anyway, how wonderful that you have all this information, no matter if you seek membership or not! I started this journey to show my 18-month-old granddaughter one day that her family fought to shape our amazing country! Thank you for the joy and hope you spread with your blog and books. What a refreshing change from all of the anger and hate constantly bombarding us these days! Sorry to be so longwinded.
Very good point. Do it now, just in case, for the future. I might have to do that.
So nice to have you home! We can all relax now, including Jack! I love hearing about your family history! I just joined the DAR last December. I thought I could join through one ancestor but it’s not certain that he was a patriot. But the nice DAR ladies helped me find another ancestor that DID serve…as a tax collector! Not as romantic as a fife player but something necessary none the less. I feel different about myself knowing that family tree information. More sure of who I am. So I loved seeing your DAR paperwork! And of course if you are inclined it would be easy for you to join! Thank you for sharing your stories!
LOL, a fife player, we can dream! I might try, for the honor and the tradition, as long as it hasn’t turned political!
Hi Susan,
What a wonderful present to receive and read your blog on an otherwise dreary, rainy afternoon. I made myself a cup of tea and just enjoyed. It had everything. Recipes, holidays, information regarding your new book and even our best kitten Jack! I have been a member since the 90’s and I still am the proud owner of your blogs that you sent through the mailback then. Please keep helping us grow and appreciate seasons, family, friends and pets.
Happy Thanksgiving and and ALL the wonderful holidays coming up!
With love,
Lucy
Welcome home Susan and Joe! Just in time for neighborhood Halloween fun and you still had lovely Fall colors to enjoy too! Your home is so welcoming in any season but especially with your new curtains and fresh paint and a welcoming fire! Just perfect for a delicious welcome home pot luck!!
Thanks for sharing your special gift of words and pictures to make my day!
Loved the curtain dilemma! I don’t think you could go wrong with any of your choices because the curtains themselves are gorgeous!
Dear Susan,
As ever, your posts are so comforting and cozy–just like your home. I love the way you’ve adapted your new curtains. We need some flannel lined ones here in Columbus OH for our winters, too! I am already feeling the chill in the air.
And dear Jack! I love seeing his happy little face!
Oh it will be ever so difficult waiting for your record of the UK trip this year to be typeset and on sale!
Me too, it’s all done in my imagination, but I still have to make it materialize!
Love your emails they make me feel so good and cozy. Glad you’re back home.
Lovely post Susan.
Ooh I loved the new curtains as they were. So pretty. But you have to live with them. 🤗 I’m sure they will look great with your changes. Be sure to show us when done please.
Love the way you write, I have enjoyed you for years. Your always in my kitchen!
Dear Susan,
I was getting myself worked up once again, over the midterm election…..
but, then a notice that there was a new blog from you, just in the nick of time.
I started reading and felt my shoulders getting down to where they are supposed to be, my breathing got calmer, and I’m sure my bloodpreasure went down too. Once again I got lost in your wonderful world and forgot about everything else around me, THANK YOU. Thank you too ,to Joe for the wonderful Vote pumpkin.
Good luck tomorrow.
Ommmmmmm.
Hi Susan, I bet I am not #485 but there ARE 485 before I even received this delightful entry. How do you find time to read them all? I love everything you write and every picture you send. So much talent and such a great sense of humor. You always brighten my day and everyone else’s I am sure. Love the Musica at the end too. My parents always had big band music on or they were singing to the tunes of the 40’s. I am so glad there are still some bands around that play that music. Thanks for being you Susan Branch!! Love and hugs, Gail
Susan, love your posts and I can’t hardly wait to read Enchanted.
Oh I just love this post (and all the others! 😉 )
Your posts are like a warm hug! 🙂
Welcome back. Thank you for all you do to share what’s important.
I’ve been looking towards your books as a lifeline to understanding what it means to bring love into every part of my home. My history does not have the influences your books have gifted me. When I first started keeping my home and raising my kids your books gave me the comfort and instructions for things I didn’t know I wanted to pass on to my children.
Thank you for keeping on and continuing to bless the world with the kindness and love in your books.
Your posts are like a warm hug! 🙂 Our neighborhood is the same on Halloween and I love, love, love it!
I don’t know how you do it, Susan, but whenever I get an email or Willard from you, you make me feel better! Even when I didn’t think I could feel any better than I was, you do it. Thank you.
Looking forward to your new book. Thanks for the pretty fall photos.
Kudos to Joe on pumpkins awesome job. Susan you amaze me and make feel like everythings gonna be ok. In this crazy world. Love curtains without valances awesome job. Keep up the fantastic job.
I love your new curtains! They seem perfect for your home.
My husband and I are going to Spain in a couple of weeks and I plan to keep a journal to record all we see and do. You have given me so many ideas from your books.
May your Thanksgiving and Christmas be very merry and festive.
There is nothing like being back in your own bed after a long trip and Fall is the perfect time to come home. I’ m happy you made it back in time for some of that beautiful color on the east coast. I love this time of the year, it is the start of all the best holidays!
Oh wonderful!! Hoping to be one of the lucky five.
Welcome home…just enough time to relax and get ready for the holidays! lol
Welcome back to home and hearth Susan and Joe….there’s no place like it in the world. I like your liv. room drapes without the valences……just add lacey sheers to tease the light coming through. I’m sure that lowering the valences will look good too; you’ll have to post a photo of that to finish the saga.
Hello 🙂 So glad you’re home. Your home is lovely. Your memories are lovely. Thank you for all the ways that you cause me to think of my own family memories. I love hearing about and seeing sweet Jack.
So glad you’re back home Susan! I’ll be so happy to get all the upcoming blogs and can’t wait for the new book!! Happy Fall! Anne
Welcome Home and Happy Fall, Y’all! Enjoy all this coziness and thank you for sharing it with the rest of us!
Ahhhh – a new blog post – so wonderful! Thank you for all you do to make this a better world – through beauty and through truth…
Can’t tell if my comment went through. Forgive me if this is a duplicate. Thank you for all you do to make this a better world – through beauty and through truth.
Oh my, here’s hoping, against all hope, that I am one of the lucky winners! Thanks for making this give-away possible, Susan.
You blog always makes me smile. Your artwork,photos,recipes and verses are so great. Looking forward to your new book. Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!
Welcome home, Susan! What a wonderful Halloween you had with all those children! We don’t get trick-or-treaters anymore; the “children” are all grown adults now and most of the little ones go to the mall and outlet centers or they have parties in the schools. I’m so glad you were able to see the beautiful foliage! I was out for a walk during my lunch break one day last week and I just had to take a few pictures of the gorgeous leaves! And, I also took one of a squirrel busying himself with a huge nut. Fall is my very favorite time of the year; there’s nothing like it! Have a great day and love to Joe and Jack.
Love, Karen 🙂 xoxo
Welcome home! So glad fall waited for you 🍁🍂
Oh what fun to be back home after a long spell of absence , it gives one a whole new perspective on one’s home and it looks so much more wonderful than when one left! And I am always glad to come home and say hello to our home and check the yard to see that all is well and what has bloomed when I was gone and what was just waiting for me to arrive back home. Autumn leaves are so beautiful with such a range of colors!! Glad that you could see this time!!
Love your curtains!! Makes me want curtains again!! Enjoy Autumn before the snow cometh!!
Thank you Susan for another awesome post. Each one tops the last one. Loved every topic, especially the keepsake treasures of your family! What a blessed life you live! Thanks for sharing with us!