It’s a whole blog of normalcy today . . . the lovely joyous days of early spring where, pretty much, the only thing going on is . . . Guess what??? Oh yeah, they’re here! English Bone China! Rabbit-Rabbit. MUSICA 😘
They came in today! And they’re already going out, thanks to Kellee and Sheri! Only days to go now until these are in the hot little hands of all of you who’ve been showing such fortitude and patience! And in plenty of time for Mother’s Day! 💞 
If you’ve forgotten what your cup looks like and you’d like to see the handle and what’s on the other side, go HERE. And while I’m at it, I have another update:
I almost don’t know what to say to all the rest of you waiting for your
. . . little vases, the butter dishes, the Go. Be. Love ornament, the small glass, this little pin tray, and more . . .
I want you to know I’ve been calling them, I badgered them, I had a fit. I was the proverbial squeaky wheel. Because these things were supposed to be in your hands weeks ago. And I was just told, yesterday, they’re on 
the way. So I kept thinking they will get here, and they keep not getting here. I told the manufacturer that we were going to have to cancel this order. And he PROMISED me, that we will have them THIS MONTH. At this moment, I BELIEVE him. I believe they will be here. He said the middle of May. I say the end of May because it’s hard to believe THAT much. For sure, the INSTANT they arrive, they will go right out. I beg your pardon from the bottom of my heart. My hope is that you forgot if you ordered or not, so when your package shows up, it will be the most wonderful surprise! Sorry sorry sorry.
I promised in the last blog that I would tell you what was in this delicious salad I had not once, but twice, at The Trellis in Colonial Williamsburg. As you can see, it’s a composed salad, made up of little piles of yum, beet hummus, crispy fried kale, Asian quinoa, pickled onions, goat cheese, and roasted sliced almonds. I added shrimp, but you really don’t need it for this flavor extravaganza where every bite bursts like a sparkler in your mouth.
He’s a photo I took of the actual dish at the actual restaurant. So the goat cheese was easy, I just bought the creamiest I could find at the market and broke it up into bite-size bits. I also found pre-made beet hummus at the market too (although the restaurant hummus was much darker, maybe next time I’ll buy hummus and blend in more beets or make my own). I toasted the almonds on a cookie sheet at 300º until pale brown. The Pickled Onions were easy: Thinly slice two large red onions and put them in a glass heat-proof bowl. Bring this mixture to boil: 1 c. water, 1/2 c. distilled white vinegar, 1/2 c. cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 2 tsp. minced ginger, 1 tsp. salt, dash of red pepper flakes. Pour boiling mixture over onions, mash them down so they’re all covered, cool, then chill. (You’ll have some leftover, they keep for 2 weeks, delicious with everything, and good for you too!)
Quinoa was easy too. To serve six, Bring 3 c. water to boil in med. saucepan. Add 2 c. quinoa, bring back to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and steam 10 minutes, till tender. Strain. Pour into a bowl, and stir in 4 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil, 1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce, zest and juice from 2 juicy limes, 3 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 5 minced green onions . . . or, because they were growing in my garden, a handful of minced chives. Serve at room temp.
I accidentally figured out a new highly useful trick with kale! I made the Fried Kale Chips twice, because I’d never done it before and I wanted to make sure they would get crisp and STAY crisp. So first off, you wash a large bunch of kale (you need more than you think you do because it cooks down to nothing), remove the stems like in the photo (good for compost!), then tear the leaves in bite-sized pieces. Here’s the tricky part, because kale needs to be massaged to make it tender, which can be a real pain, AND it needs to be dry when you put it in the oven, which takes a long time if you air dry it ~ do this:
In batches, wrap handfuls of wet kale in a dishtowel, roll it up tight as you can, and then twist the heck out of it, back and forth, mash it, get someone to twist it with you . . . so you are doing two things, you are massaging it AND you’re drying it. Tricky, eh? 👍 As each batch of kale is finished, put it into a large bowl.
When it’s all done, drizzle about a Tbsp. of olive oil over the kale, a little goes a long way and you don’t want it dripping. Put your hands in the bowl and toss well and make sure there’s oil on every piece, massaging as you go (but you don’t have 
to do much of that). Depending on how much kale you have, you may need a bit more oil. Do NOT salt or pepper it. Lay it on dry cookie sheets making sure none of the pieces touch each other. Can’t touch. Put it in a 300º oven for 25 minutes. Remove and cool completely. I made this a few days before my party and left the kale out on the counter all night to see what would happen, and it was JUST as crisp the next day. So after it cools, keep it in an airtight jar or cookie tin. Another thing I do now, because kale is so good for you, and I want us to eat it more often. I do all these steps up to and including the olive oil, then I put the kale into a bag into the fridge, so anytime we want kale with our dinner, we can bring it out and it’s clean, tender, oiled, and ready for steaming, frying, or salad-making.
To serve, you want a fairly large serving of quinoa in the center, then arrange the goat cheese, kale chips, pickled onions, and beet hummus around it, sprinkle with almonds and serve! Healthy healthy healthy. You’re welcome!
So yes, I’m still eating in my new healthier way, losing weight verrrrry slowly. But hey, these three months were going to go by anyway. ⬆️ This is salmon, spinach & tomato salad, avocado, and Brussel sprouts. As you can see, I’m NEVER hungry, but now there are 20 pounds of butter off me! 
The only thing I actually cut out was sugar and white flour (sometimes I have a slice of seedy whole grain toast, and I did have Polenta Cake with whipped cream and strawberries 
when I invited my girlfriends to lunch. Oh yeah!). I’m determined in a way I haven’t been before. I don’t care how long it takes. I just FEEL like being my old self and staying that way. This photo above is actually spaghetti! I love spaghetti! It’s made with shirataki noodles, which are great and have almost zero calories in them but are high in fiber, and no flour. We take good organic jarred spaghetti sauce and add sautéed onions, garlic, and basil, and we cook it down to thicken it and make it really flavorful. We serve it with Parmesan, sometimes we chop a little spinach into it. 
I’m not in it for weight loss per say, I’m in it for health. I’m in it for the clothes. I can’t tell you the joy as one after another of my old beloved clothes I’ve never been 
able to force myself to give away, begins to fit again after years. I squeal with each button that slides through the hole. But anyway, I just wanted to show you a few of my sample meals, this one above is green beans and spinach, with seeds, and two free-range omega-3 scrambled eggs. I have it for breakfast, but sometimes I have it for dinner, and if you do that, you basically go to bed happy and skinny. This is NOT to make any of my darling girlfriends feel guilty. I would feel horrible to think that I have. Thin or fat, we all come with a pre-ordained body type, I have faced the fact that I will NEVER have a waist ~ we deal with what we have the best we can. Everyone should be free to be themselves in the exact way they choose. BE WHO YOU ARE. You are adorable and very much loved.💞
More normalcy at least in this house, I want you to know I’ve been working hard on ENCHANTED every day and loving every second of it. I go to bed dreaming about it, remembering.
But we’ve been having fun too! For one thing, we’ve visited every nursery on the Island! Because they’re a little bit of heaven! And then we go out to lunch to restaurants beginning to open up again, and we take my manuscript for Joe to read, and I bring my book!
I wander around our garden every day with my camera and smell the green things growing and the fresh salt air up from the harbor.
I think our spring is early! It’s all happening at once, but it’s hard to complain!
It melts the heart. Thaws it out to be more exact, after winter!
Pear trees, weeping cherries, azalea, forsythia . . .
The great thing about living in a place with extreme winter, as many of you know, is the extreme jump-for-JOY feeling you get every spring. You open your windows on specially good days, and blow out all the old wintery air with new freshness. You haul your sweaters to the attic. You get out your pink things, your baby blue and your linen. It’s what makes it worthwhile.
Hello yellow birdie. The critters are doing the exact same thing, singing the praises of spring.
These two were just outside our kitchen windows, I do dishes and see this and dry my hands and grab the camera . . . it feels like a Disney movie, when they’re all together, the morning doves, squirrels, cardinals and robins … on the feeders, eating apples, frolicking in the bird bath, while bunnies nibble wild violets in the grass, and the wandering turkeys too . . .
Isn’t this cheerful? A taste of springtime whimsey. I’ve been adding to my tulips this year, buying them at the nurseries already in bloom so I can see the colors and know they are true.
🎶 It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood . . .🎵
I don’t know the names of many tulips, but these romantic pink ones are called Angelique.
You’ve probably seen it, but just in cases, the Marvelous Mrs Maisel is SO WONDERFUL. We just finished Season One. We’re late getting on the bandwagon. Joe and I snuggle in at night to watch and laugh out loud ~ it’s just so good. I think it might be only available on Amazon . . . but HERE’S a real fast recap of the first season.
There’s no violence, but plenty of “sailor talk” as they call it . . . this is supposed to be the 1950s and I never heard sailor talk like this, but they sure have it here. It’s worth it because it’s a visual treat, they GO TO PARIS! They vacation in the 1950s Catskills! They wear the greatest clothes! The coats! The hats! The characters! Susie! Mrs Maisel’s dad! I love them all and Joe loves them as much as me. So there you go, something fun to dip into. For all you Gilmore Girls Fans, this show was created by the same people.
More normalcy . . . this beautiful old building sits on top of a hill overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor and was recently renovated and our long-awaited Martha’s Vineyard Museum was born. So of course we had to go see it.
This is part of the view as you walk through the door.
I hope you can see it if you come to the island. It has a little display about one of my favorite people, Nancy Luce. (Note her necklaces and her handmade collar, look at her belt, she dressed for this photo no matter how mournful the expression. SHE had this photo taken, before it was easy to do!) I wrote her story in a previous post, if you’d like to read about her eccentric, artistic, but very lonely life. A person who made more something out of more nothing than almost anyone. She was true to her amazing self and has not been forgotten.
I had read about and seen pictures of the gravestones Nancy had especially made for her beloved chickens, but I never saw them in person. There they were at the new museum!
Here’s another one. In April, Joe and I attended a concert that honored Nancy Luce, performed for the first time by our Community Chorus at the Whaling Church in Edgartown. 
Several of my friends are in the chorus and were on stage singing their hearts out ~ we all ended up in tears, that’s how lovely it was. While they were singing, I could picture Nancy coming through the door, in a church that was here when she was alive, in a place she used to ride to on her horse when she was young, seeing the honoring of her life in this way, and no doubt, being beside herself with happiness. I hope the Chorus performs it again this summer. The composer who wrote the piece said he was taking it to Europe. Life is so amazing.
Here’s something else rather amazing. Note: BBC! Note: bottom right corner! Yes! BBC Shop is now selling A Fine Romance on line and in their catalog! This thrills me to my soul ~ my little book! I’m now one step closer to my ultimate goal, the National Trust shops in England! Which will likely never happen, but hey, why not, this is BBC and I never thought that would happen either!
Plus they are going to carry the new British Corgi Cup (just being shipped out from our Studio now as we speak) AND the 2020 Year in the English Countryside Calendar! The other wonderful thing, they mail order to Canada! Probably a lot less expensively than we can!
Speaking of blessed. Guess what, my old kitty, Girl Kitty, who went to heaven in 2016, Jack and I think she is haunting us. 💞 We do!
Often when I’m working and it’s quiet in my studio, I’ve heard what sounds like a kitty jumping off the bed in the guest room above me ~ eyes to ceiling, then to Jack, asleep on my art table, and I think, no. But then, early yesterday morning when it was still dark, Jack and I were in the kitchen making tea and suddenly we heard the very distinct sound of kitty feet coming down the back stairs. No question about it, we looked at each other, then at the staircase waiting for Girl to appear, because what else could it be? But, she didn’t. Jack got up, walked to the staircase, and looked up. Then I did too. We stood there looking together, but there was nothing. And we both heard it!
This makes me happy because this little girl was a dream come true. Haunt away, Girl Kitty! Also nice, because Jack can’t chase her around and torture her. In fact, it may go the other way! I’ll keep you updated!
One more lovely morning shadow photo before I go. I love coming around the corner just as the sun is coming up to see the light streaming in, touching everything in a totally random way. Only for that very moment, and never the same twice.
Oh yes, and this one. The spoon my dad carved for me. This is how he says good morning to me now! I’ll take it any way I can!💞Off I go. Wishing you all the most wonderful month of May! Love Love Love. 💖
Perfectly beautiful post. Sooo much here. Rereading a must. I think Girl Kitty is my favorite part!
Mine too! xoxo Thank you Rosemary!
Oh my, what a lovely post! How refreshing for me on this chilly Minnesota spring day! I’m so excited to have that special package in my mail with all of your new mugs!
Laying back in my recliner by my front window, still tired from dealing with a head cold, I dozed off with it raining and being wakened by my Daughter two hours later with the sun shinning, and going on line to find a Susan blog filled with Spring. Thank you for turning my day from gloomy day into an inspiring one. Kitties, flowers, sun shadows and lovely new dishes with your art work. Can’t get any better than that.
Feel better Beverly!
Holy smokes I can’t stand it, I am so looking forward to my corgi mug! Thank you so much for the new post, just what I needed today.
A Lovely Post today Susan! I really enjoy your sunrise pictures around your house. I often witness the sunrise when I am on my way to work but there is something very special about the way it creeps in the windows in the morning. Something so beautiful that many people never see because they are still sleeping.
Hi Susan,
I so love the simple things that make you happy. The tulips in the garden, the shadows on the wall, the old spoon your dad carved for you. Made me miss my father so much. He’s been in heaven now for 10 years and I was so blessed to be his daughter.
Keep those happy thoughts going in this crumbling world around us. And a special thank you for sharing with us.
Blessings on you and all of us, and most especially our beautiful amazing earth.🙏
Ooh, I love this post. We restored our home, an 1830’s farm house here in CT… and every now and then we hear what sounds like someone walking or something thudding upstairs.. and my first thought is one of the kids is home (adults now) or one of the dogs got up there despite the baby gates. When it’s clear there’s no one upstairs, we think perhaps it’s a previous occupant? Lovely thought that it is Girl Kitty still walking the halls.
I’ve read much about Nancy Luce over the years and just discovered her grave up island a few years ago – when I spied the chickens all around the stone that people have placed over the years as we were driving by. Such a difficult life, a lonely life, and yet she did the best she could with what she had. Her chicken’s names always give me a chuckle –
We will visit the Vineyard this August, just before the Ag fair (couldn’t get ferry car tickets for the exact weekend – bummer! In all these years we’ve never been! ) and we will visit the new museum then. What a treasure!
A design idea for a mug in the future perhaps – a representation of the ag fair!
Thanks for a delightful post. I’m doing the same diet thing since you first mentioned it – I have fibromyalgia and yes the weight loss is slow but I’m feeling better already – Amen… and onward!
Good cup idea! I love the posters over the years. That’s my exact reason, getting the weight off makes everything easier on the rest of your body! Onward, Karen! xoxo
Hello Susan!
I’m not sure what a composed salad is exactly, but looks as if you arrange things on the plate instead of tossed all together. It’s how I learned to present salad for my exams ~ a big platter and arrange the ingredients to make a pleasing pattern or design. I was brilliant at getting my egg yolks perfectly centred for my boiled eggs, and my Van Dyke tomatoes were always perfect!
I never compost things like kale ribs, they go into the bag in the freezer where I collect them along with all the other vegetable trimmings for making stock.
Hoping Spring is Sprung, but in the UK we are heading back into Winter for the weekend and all after Storm Hannah did her very worst to my garden.
~~~Waving~~~From Across the Pond~~~Deb in Wales xoxo
Blowing sunshine over the pond! Hope it reaches you Deb!
Welcome, welcome blissful sunshine from Across the Pond! Thank you, it’s shining brightly now!
Wonderful to hear it!
I love the Kitty Girl story. If only we could all be “haunted” by our favorite past pets. Lovely thought. Thanks for the uplifting post, as always!
Good afternoon and hello Susan, girlfriends. what a lovely month of May we have here, its warm, sunny and everything is blooming. the chickens are busy sitting on eggs and the nursery is busy with babies. we are going to have a busy barnyard this summer. the tractor parade is back, every morning they go down the road to the gas station to get fuel, then on to the fields, and in the evening they come back up the road towards home. I love this time of year, I can open up the windows and let in the fresh air and get rid of the stale air from winter. I love it, Girl Kitty haunting the house, know the feeling. I quite often feel Tabby and Inky here with me on occasion, we lost Inky in 2008 in July and lost Tabby last memorial weekend. I always know when Inky is around, she has her favorite place on the sofa and if I walk by there she playfully swipes at my jeans. when I am reading or just sitting thinking I can feel Tabby’s paws on my hands and I hear him walking across the floor. I still believe he and Inky had a lot to do with our getting our Christmas kittens, the 2 gremlins… socks and mittens. they are such fun and full of mischief and have the older cats running around after them…. truly I believe those 2 gremlins were sent to us by Inky and Tabby. I think they felt they would have a good home with us and bring back some happy memories of playing around with them (Inky and Tabby) well off to go clean out the water tubs and refill them and clean out the smaller wading pool and refill that, have to keep the barnyard brats happy. plus throw out another chunk of alfalfa hay to them and some scratch. keeps them busy and clucking. you all have a great day today, Happy May everyone……. hugs….. 😀
Oh, Susan! I had a VERY similar incident happen years ago. I was downstairs by the stove cross-stitching and Tiffy (short for Tiffany) was on the arm of the chair asleep. We heard the jump off the bed upstairs and the little pitter-pats coming down the steps. We both turned and waited for him to come around the corner, but he never did. No one believed me, but I kept assuring them that the cat heard it too. It happens, Miss Sue. Don’t let anyone convince you that it doesn’t.
I know about magic, don’t worry, I can’t be talked out of it. xoxoxo
Oh Susan, to see spring bursting on the Vineyard is so sweet. My climbing roses are about to burst forth and the foxgloves that i never, ever thought i would be able to grow from seed are 2 years old now and loaded with buds! peony same,Japanese Irises are in flower and the Rhododendron..don’t even get me started!!! ….I just want to say…S-T-O-P because it’s all so lovely i want to hold on to it as long as possible!!!! I know you understand!
Thank you for the meal prep. ideas. It seems so much easier when you see it for real on the plate! Lets face it, we all have a couple of beloved items in the closet that don’t want to zip or button at the moment, but the joy of sliding them on again is a simple but great motivation! ( I’m talking to you tulle birthday skirt and coral summer jeans!) Your a peach Sue. Thanks for the fun blog today and Happy May!
Love all the healthy recipes you are sharing. They look so yummy! Thank you! Happy Spring!
Thank you so much for these posts. They always bring a little bit of sunshine to my day!
thanks. packing orders and this was a nice interruption before going back to work. Looking forward to adding another one of your books to my collection. By the way – when might you just write the Susan’s garden and recipe book for all of us. I know I’m not the only one enjoying your photos of the garden and using your recipes to wow my family. A Susan friend since the 90’s (?) i think, when we carried your book and mini note cards I think in our shop.
Perfectly wonderful blog of normalcy – balm for the soul on this beautiful spring day. Thank you for sharing your talents, Susan.
I can hear girl kitty’s footsteps. Love this post with the dappled light on the spoon your father made for you.
Dearest Susan,
Your blog couldn’t have arrived at a better time than it did. This has been a very sad week. First my most cherished cousin passed on Monday and early this afternoon our almost thirteen year old cat gave in to his cancer. He is now resting with his brother in heaven. And so your blog of Spring and the pictures of buds and flowers were perfect. Thank you.
Aww, I’m so sorry Sharon, too many things.😥 Love to you and yours. At such an important time of year, rebirth and new life. xoxoxo
I love your posts, Susan. My kitties, Tom and Alice, look just like Jack and Girl Kitty. Love that Girl Kitty is still with you and will always be there to keep Jack in line. Aren’t kitties great!
Dear Susan and friends,
Lovely post! I think the National Trust would be crazy not to carry your book. It’s right up their alley!
Oh how I wish my 2 kitty boys past would haunt me- I still miss them every day and tell my current two all about their big brothers.
Love the light! I hope someday I will visit your new museum.
Keep up the healthy and thanks for the recipe. It’s how you feel that matters- that and getting into clothes you love! 😉
xxooxx
Gabi
I have often wished my own Kitty girl could/would haunt us! She was the coolest cat and I miss her so. Gone since August 2016. She loved to be vacuumed, and loved water, with a pampered blow dry after getting all wet. She loved everyone she ever met. When she was a neighborhood stray, before she walked into OUR house and never left, she used to visit every neighbor. One neighbor had a pool, and frequent parties. Kitty would slide under the fence and join the party. She was Outdoor Kitty to the neighborhood. And, one very special October day in 2002, she slipped in the door, looked at my other cats, walked through the house . . . to every room, top to bottom of the house, came back down to the family room, and laid down in front of a roaring fire. Her entire demeanor spoke for her: “yes, this will do. This will do quite nicely. Now you may call me Indoor Kitty.” I loved her so. I do hope your Kitty Girl is haunting you. What a lovely spirit to have around!
Girl Kitty isn’t haunting…..she’s visiting with her little purr and much ❤️. Happy Spring!!
Suan, you probably have no idea how wonderful I think you are! I love the way you bring my attention to the most ordinary things. You appreciate everything…and I’m kind of like that too ; ) I savor your emails…I read everything and save it to read again another day! But your story about the Concert honoring Nancy Luce brought me to tears. It was just amazing! Just know how much I love your work, your posts, your home…aww heck…I love it all! Thank you…
Kindred spirits, Maureen! xoxo
Wonderful post, Susan! I feel the same as you about spring, living here in Ohio……I don’t think that girlfriends who live down south or other places that don’t have real winters understand how joyful we feel when spring finally arrives! So happy sometimes you could explode with it, right?
The goldfinches are so brilliant this year, I think they feel the same!
Thanks for the smiles today!
I love reading your blog, as well as everything else you write (and paint).
I live in Virginia near Richmond and have been to Williamsburg and enjoyed your tour of the place, too. Also, Mount Vernon is another special place to see. I, too, read Ron Chernow’s book about Washington. Loved it. So glad I’ve been able to get to know you through your writings.
Such beautiful photographs! Love the kitties. Thanks. Linda
A precious dog we lost 2 years ago appears in my hallway out of the corner of my eye. She also licks Tom’s legs at night as he passes through that hallway. So,yes, Kitty Girl is there because she loves you guys.
Yay! Mugs on the way!
Don’t fret about the other goodies. We will wait. Worth waiting for. But I’d look for another manufacturer next time and let this guy know he lost a customer..
Thanks for sharing the Spring pictures. Amazing nature.
Thank you for the recipes too. Love you, Susan. I always look forward to whatever you blog, tweet, write. Thank you.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the forsythia! My favorite! so beautiful and cheery!
My Dad used to propagate it for our backyard border. Pretty soon, the entire backyard “line” was full of beautiful forsythia!
Lucinda
Yes, to the beautiful, month of May. Your post always give me a smile, and the Kitty story makes my heart sing. I’m sure she is there visiting you and Jack! What else could it be???? I love shadow play too. Our home is not light filled as I would wish, but the living does get some beautiful sun and shadow play many afternoons as the sun sets in the west. Your IG post of the shadows this week still remains vivid in my mind. Sweet wishes for the Month of May sent from your Texas friends ~ Sarah and Sadie
What a nice surprise to have your blog in my mailbox! What a joy it is to read about life in your little corner of your world! Really looking forward to that new book “Enchanted.” Spring is arriving very slowly in Michigan. We had snow over the weekend and today it is raining. We took a walk in the yard today and everything is coming up green and gorgeous and I find myself saying “Welcome Spring, we have been waiting for you!” Thanks again for sharing your life with us…it is always a delight to read!
What a beautiful normalcy post! Love that Girl Kitty is visiting, and both you and Jack heard her this time. Isn’t Spring grand! Paul and I will be visiting the Island soon for our Anniversary get away and plan on walking, riding our bikes, relaxing and visiting the new museum. We visited the one in Edgartown, they have a lovely exhibit of Nancy Luce. We put flowers at her grave, I can see how she loved chickens, I have a few and they are the best friends to have in your garden. Really, they are like people different personalities and very inquisitive, friendly, little beings. Plus they fertilize as they go about! 😂 Waiting patiently for my Susan Branch treasures, sure to be a big delight at my cottage. Sweet Spring to you, Joe and Jack! ♥️, Wendy Louise
I would LOVE to have chickens, but I’m afraid our neighborhood wouldn’t be the right place for them, I fear for them walking into the road!
Susan you don’t have to worry about chickens walking into the road, just teach them not to go beyond a certain point and they will stay in their territory. works for us as we do let them out from time to time to bug hunt in the garden and eat out the weeds, we just shoo them back if we hear them out in the front yard and after a bit they get the message on where they may and may not roam.
So all you do is watch them, and if they get close, you shoo them, and soon, they learn the boundaries?
Chickens don’t necessarily need complete “free range” … it can be “confined range”. That’s what chicken wire is for (and I thought it was for crafting 🙂 ). You also want to find out the best types of chickens for your area / climate. My son has 2 chickens and gets one egg a day from each which keeps us satisfied. Nothing like fresh, confined range eggs :). It would be fun to name them (my son’s are Lady Bird and Carmelita) and they become like pets. But then when they stop laying eggs, what do you do? You end up with a lot of chickens! My son just sold his house and the chickens and coop sealed the deal!!! Have fun poultry woman ♥ XO
When contemplating chickens, I always come up against the same conundrum, which is that we’re away too much. I find it easy to get someone to take care of Jack, but not so sure it would work for chickens ~ maybe for a couple of weeks, but probably not for 3 months! I’ll need to wait until I retire!
it worked for awhile , that and the fact I was watering the front lawn and those fussy hens don’t like to get too wet so they steered clear of the front, come Autumn it was a different story and so I used chicken wire to block them from the front yard. also saved me from running out every few seconds to keep track of them, just block off where you don’t want them to with chicken wire. and for your area, I would recommend considering chickens that are very winter hardy like Speckled Sussex, Bielefelders, French copper black Marans, Partridge rocks, Buff Orpingtons and such… birds that will lay well in winter as well as spring and summer and don’t mind the cold so much.
What wonderful advice Pat!
Susan, I love oatmeal and pasta, too, but both have lots of sugar in them. Give them up and more pounds will come off. And the rice … sorry, but it’s loaded with sugar as well. Try cauliflower rice instead. Not a bad substitute.
Shirataki noodles have no sugar, they’re made from yam roots and consist mostly of glucomannan fiber, and the organic oatmeal I use has only one gram of sugar per 1-cup serving and a low glycemic index, meaning it doesn’t raise your blood sugar. Most of the sugar in my oatmeal is actually in the fruit, but it’s all so good for you, oatmeal helps with cholesterol and heart disease, and that health thing is my main goal. Yes, rice does convert to sugar and raises glycemic index, which is why I’m not having it. Better something with more food value. LOVE cauliflower rice, love any sort of cauliflower! So many really good healthy foods out there for us to choose from.
Happy May to you too Susan…it’s such a beautiful month
Thank you for another inspiring and beautiful blog..I just love reading about all your adventures and you have so encouraged nme with eating too..can,t wait to try the crispy kale..and massaging it..wonderful
Congratulations on BBC coverage too…I know it will happen with the National Trust too…just time..you see..
It’s been colder in the uk recently but the garden looks lovely with forget me nots and bluebells everywhere with the odd wallflower too….
Bless you both and happy happy times
Sandra in Birmingham xx
I’ve been getting spring updates from my English Girlfriends, which I love, so thank you Sandra! I hope the sun comes out in the most balmy gentle way and stays out for you this entire spring/summer with a few drenching rains to keep the fields green. xoxo
So sweet, Sue…loved beautiful Girl Kitty
❤
Charming post xo
Congrats on your new, healthy lifestyle, Susan. I was so excited yesterday when I put on something from my closet from five years ago and it fit perfectly! It was a scarf. (LOL) Alice
Ha ha, those dependable scarves, they never leave you like the disloyal jeans!
I don’t want to brag, but I can still wear the same earrings I wore in high school, lol.
Show off!😆
I’m so happy reading this. It’s such a blessed break from the world and all that is going on. It reminds me to smile. 🙂 I love all of it. The food sharing ideas is so helpful. I’m not very creative or adventurous when it comes to food and would have never thought to saute broccoli slaw. I saw it in your blog a time or two and my husband and I love it.
How exciting that is for your book to be sold through BBC and soon your Corgi cup and calendar. I think you will make it to the National Trust shops. They have them in N. Ireland as well. I love the National Trust properties. I am very much looking forward to receiving the Corgi cup and the Little House cup. I know the other items will come eventually. I understand how you must feel, but we all still love you. You don’t have a lot of control over the manufacturers, but I’m certain your threat to cancel woke them up! 🙂
Everything in this blog makes me smile-even the chicken lady which I’ve read before in your blog and looked her up. My son calls his wife the chicken lady as they have chickens and so I’ll be making her kitchen towels with the kit I bought from you online. And Girl Kitty~so precious. I have had similar things happen with me and one of my dogs would also hear what I heard. It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?
Blessing to you and joy. Happy May!
~Maureen
Yay for the broccoli slaw, Maureen, and it’s so good for you! Oh, you’ll love those dishtowels, they’re easy to make for such cuteness. What a nice thing for you to do. xoxo
My heart skips a beat whenever I see the email announcing a new blog post come into my inbox. Thank you , thank you, thank you for continuing this newsletter. It not only brightens my day, it brightens my life.
I’m touched. That makes my day, Linda!
I couldn’t believe my eyes! The plate in the first salad picture is the very pattern I grew up with. I think the pattern name is Bristol Crown Ducal. That photo brought back so many memories. I’ve not been able to find the pattern now, and I am content with a few crazed plates and a delightful covered casserole. Thank you so much for that photo.
I love to see such a beautiful spring at your place! Lovely flowers! Here in South Dakota, we’re greening up again after a May Day snowfall. The brave daffodils are still with us. 🙂
I love your blogs and your little yellow birdie is a Goldfinch…Happy Spring !
As I began to read your post, I became so hungry I had to dash to the kitchen and grab a cup full of seeds before I could continue reading! It used to be potato chips and M&Ms, but you have converted me to seeds – well, most of the time. Our home is just 45 minutes from Williamsburg, so I may just have to hop on the ferry and go to the Trellis for that salad. Spring brings so many pleasures of nature – our azaleas and bridal wreath are beginning to fade. The daffodils and tulips are gone, but now for hosta and hydrangeas and roses and blooming annuals! I love to have my hands in the soil and for the past two days of 90 degree temps, I have gone outside at daybreak to work in the yard. As always, I enjoy reading your latest adventures. Girl Kitty must miss you as much as you miss her. Our dog, Maggie, lived to be 17 and for a while after she died, I could hear her ID tags clinking – wishful thoughts of her. Happy Spring!
Ninety degrees, I’m so surprised, that’s hot! Yes, go to the Trellis and see what you think, and report back!
I’m so glad you enjoyed some of the restaurants I recommended when you visited in Williamsburg! It makes me happy knowing you and Joe enjoyed yourselves not only in the restaurants but with all the wonderful places there are to visit in beautiful Virginia. It’s the peak of spring here now so come back soon. We’d all love to see you!
Lovely post, SB, thank you! Nice photo shot of the goldfinch at your feeder, they are so bright now. Appreciate the other info, especially sharing those healthy meal recipes, beet hummus is a favorite; don’t you find that eating a variety of food with zingy flavors lessens the desire to add calories? I do. Will reread this and enjoy musica again!
Yes, exactly. I’m just not hungry the way I was before, which was ALLL the time!!
I’m a new reader to the blog, but a long-time book-buying and Susan-Branch-stationery-buying fan. I’m loving the blog, and your snapshots of every day life. I’ve never been to Martha’s Vineyard–although we do live on the East Coast. Perhaps a weekday getaway this summer. Thank you for allowing glimpses into your life, and congratulations on your healthy and delicious eating. Let’s not forget the “delicious” part. Who wants to eat food that isn’t something you’d look forward to in culinary anticipation? And–it doesn’t have to be complicated. Very inspiring!
I’ve discovered that. My simple food is positively delicious! And double the pleasure because it’s so good for you too. Welcome to the neighborhood Sharon!! xo
You always make my day so happy – I love your gratitude attitude and know it makes all life grand. Love to you and Joe!
Thanks for a beautiful post, Susan!
Still raining and very little in bloom here in Maine, so your May flower pics are truly welcomed! There is hope, I keep telling myself.
And I got a note from Kellee and Sheri that my “moon mug” has been shipped. Looking forward to adding it to our collection of three other Susan mugs that we love — and use — every day with our tea and coffee.
Thanks again, Susan! Happy May!
xx Nancye T., Wells, Maine
Hi Susan
I always love your blogs
and this time–healthy food
I’m trying too!!
On the last two blogs several of you pictures are blank
Is this my computer do you think?
I don’t like missing your pictures
But I’ll take whatever I can get 🙂
Yes, just refresh the screen when the blog is up . . . all the photos should show up!
A particularly lovely post – let’s hear it for normalcy. It’s not spring yet here in northern NH, but your lovely photos keep me going. Enjoy Spring!
From Diane L. of Bend, Oregon
Thank you for another wonderful blog post, Susan! Such lovely photographs of springtime beauty. I am not a fan of kale, but your method is worth a try. I “accidentally” took off 30 pounds a year and a half ago (it was the “Depression and Anxiety Diet, and I do not recommend it). Now that I’m happy again, 20 of those pounds have returned, due to my rediscovered joy of cooking, baking, and eating. I don’t want this regaining-of-weight trend to continue, so your recipes for healthier eating are much appreciated. Congratulations that your sweet book is featured in the BBC catalog! Perhaps your books will do for the English countryside what Peter Mayle did for Provence, and Frances Mayes for Tuscany. All the best to you, and thank you for sharing your gifts and talents.
Rediscovered Joy is an awesome thing and worth any amount of pounds that come with it! Makes me happy to hear that Diane. xoxoxo
When our souls are battered by the winds of winter, springs slips in singing a beautiful song. I heard spring’s song as I read your lovely post and saw the sweet pictures. The shadow pictures speak to me. When we keep our faces to the sun, the shadows don’t dismay us.
Susan, Thank you for Happy May…..I got back 2 weeks ago from London….I thought of you at Sissinghurst, which was blooming like crazy in tulips, 2 toned grape hyacinths, and daffodils….on a cold, blue sky day…..then I thought of you at Spitalfields City Farm, in the East End, where their goal is to teach local families and children to garden, to appreciate animals, and to grow their own food…..an area being gentrified, but an area of London with so much history, and all the schools have fence mosaics made by the children declaring how they all work and learn together…..I thought of you at the Columbia Road Flower Market, also in the East End – the street musicians singing 1940’s music, the flower vendors hawking their beautiful wares, people buying small trees, bunches of tulips and hyacinths…..and I thought of you at St. Dunstan in the East, a church bombed in WWII, where the facade was saved, and an urban garden built as an in city sanctuary……spring in London….rainy, chilly, some sun….and lovely to be in the world…..
love,
Regina
Beautiful and evocative, Regina, thank you for sharing!
Yay!!! My birthday was May 1st! The Corgi mug is the best birthday present ever!
I so miss my old Century Home. It was visited by friendly ghosts too! Love all your blogs! Congratulations on the BBC sales!!!
Good Afternoon 🌞! Our rain and fog has finally cleared out in WISCONSIN. The boat parade has begun. I love your drawing of lilacs! I like the drawing of the boy with lilacs and the flag too. Missed out on that yard flag.
Arnie and I like Mrs. Maisel too! We started watching it last Autumn.
Happy May 💐 OXOX
Margot
I love your updates. Congratulations on your determination to eat healthier! And on your results! You are an inspiration! Loved the Kitty Girl story, and Jack’s expression. I was sure I heard my Spooky yesterday, she’s been gone for 2 years. I’m glad if they do come by once in awhile. ❤
How interesting about the kitty footsteps – I enjoyed seeing pictures of Girl Kitty – she was lovely. And thanks for the advice about dealing with kale – it’s very welcome; I had no idea it had to be massaged. I just knew it takes longer to cook than other greens. Your outside blooming things are beautiful!
If you massage it (or twist the heck out of it!) you can add it to salads raw! And steam it relatively lightly, not within an inch of its life! It really makes a difference.
I have heard of freezing it briefly before cooking. This is supposed to break down the fifers like I imagine massage would. I have yet to try it but I think my sister in law does this.
Laurie
=:3
Interesting. People really are creative figuring out how we can eat this “exemplary vegetable.” (Pride and Prejudice)
Love the post and the fact that your book has now been added to the BBC Catalog, Soooooo exciting☺. Love seeing your spring flowers. Here in Oregon our daffodils have long faded as have most of my violets but the bluebells are still standing tall. Like you we are having a lovely spring.
What a lovely tribute to “bawdy” Dame May! Everything here in Texas is bursting at the seams. My heart cannot embrace all of this beauty. Happy Days!
I think your book will make it to the National Trust shops. Yes, indeedy!
Your lips to somebody’s ears!! 😘
Hi Susan!
I’m so glad spring has appeared on the Vineyard! It really gives our spirits a boost to see Nature take over and show us her finery doesn’t it? I love all of your healthy ~ but just really yummy ~recipies. I have pre-diabetes so I am always looking for simple ways to stay on track:) Time is nothing without the energy to enjoy it. My favorite healthy tip is to replace potato chips with dill pickles. …Oh and say “hi” to Girl Kitty. I can understand why she wouldn’t have wanted to leave your home. Last thing~ thanks for the tip on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel~ and Congrats on the BBC notice. But come on Who could resist A Fine Romance? Oodles of charm & loveliness. Be well~ Nina
My chip and dip is now raw carrot coins dipped in guacamole or hummus! YUM! Where there’s a will there’s a way! xoxo
Susan, believe it or not, your sweet spring
is much further along than ours here in the
Twin Cities of Minnesota! So, it was really
luuuuvvvvleee to see your photos and anticipate
what’s coming soon! Congratulations on the
BBC store, your clothes fitting and everything
else marvelous that you so deserve! Happy Spring! xo
What a beautiful post, Susan! Spring on the island. How lovely on this chilly Minnesota spring day! And I’m so excited to have the package arrive with the beautiful SB mugs! Thank you!
Been hearing a lot from our Minnesota Girlfriends this morning. They are cold. Everyone blow a little warmth up north please! xoxo
I firmly believe our beloved kitties stay with us after they’ve passed. My black kitty, Sam, stayed around. I saw him a couple of times and my other cat, Katie, did too. She had that same big eyed look Jack has! Many times I felt and heard Sam jump off and on the bed during the night. And years later, the same thing with another kitty, Henry, after he was gone. They loved us and don’t want to leave us.
I wanted to say that your salad presentation was better than that of the fancy restaurant. Sounded very tasty and a say to use the kale chips which can be purchased ready made from Trader Joe’s!
I love your home and the very beautiful Martha’s Vineyard where you live. It certainly is lovely and in every season, very inviting and wonderful.
Winter has left our mountain, with only a bit of snow at the highest elevation. The flowering trees are adding rare colour to our surroundings. I wish that we could have it so pretty all year long. Winter is picturesque, but after several months, like yourself, I long for the sunshine, the warmth, and the bright blue skies.
Congratulations on your many exciting achievements and thank you as always, for bringing a spot of heartfelt sentiment into our lives.
Still waiting for Spring here in Minnesota. Don’t throw away kale stems – they are great steamed or stir fried and put in many dishes. Love the kitty story.
I save them to enhance the garden! Compost for my veggies! They seem so tough for eating! Blessings on your spring to come! xoxo
Thank you for bringing joy into the day. Love the pictures you take. I think it is all so very lovely.
Not sure if my other post made it into the internet cyberspace. I rather think it didn’t. Not that I said anything earth shattering. But in any case, just an acknowledgment and a thankyou for brightening our day. Spring has definitely arrived and that wonderful salad is something I will definitely try. In the UK we have pickled onions, but they are usually the small shallot version. The red onion sounds great and they look so pretty as an accent. Eating is very much dependent upon presentation. Meals should be enjoyed and lingered over, not rushed or haphazardly set out. At least in my humble opinion.
Have a lovely day and very happy weekend.
Love your humble opinion Jan!! xoxo
Dear Sweet Sue, What a wonderful, uplifting, happy-go-lucky column. And thank you for the amazing recipes!! Can’t wait to try them. In fact, after looking at all your gorgeous flowers around your yard, I called the “yard service” that takes care of my lake home property and told them to plant more lilacs, forsythia, and other blooming shrubs. Every year I have new plants added. You inspired me with your beautiful pictures. I know Girl Kitty was on the steps. Years after my beautiful German Shepherd died, I was positive I heard her every once in awhile, clicking her toes on the sliding door to come in. I had her for 13 years and still miss her. I’m not surprised your books are being sold in England – – and I will be patiently (make that impatiently) be waiting for the National Trust shops to handle them! I am so delighted to see you enjoying your lovely home and yard and just enjoying life. I’m a true believer in “Life is what you make it!” You are so blessed. Sending hugs for everyone in your home,
Ruthie, in Minnesota
Thank you Ruthie, lovely to hear from you! There is an early purple azalea that looks amazing with forsythia, in case you have a view from a window you’d like to enhance! Life IS what you make it. xoxoxo
This post made me cry…but happy tears. Oh yes, Girl kitty is definitely still with you! Our cat, Smokey, passed away about the same time. Sometimes I turn around expecting to see her and always think, upon returning home, that she will be so happy to see us. Another delightful post. Spring is here! Yey!
Love is a habit that never goes away!
Thank you, Susan for another lovely blog. Also thank you for the salad recipe! Very much appreciated. Thanks to you I have a jar of seeds ready to sprinkle on pretty much everything! No weight lose, but the added fiber I am sure is good for me.
Happy spring!
So many things I could comment on! But I really have to bring attention to your photo of the mantel. Oh Susan, it’s so beautiful ~ there’s just no words! The light is magnificent, just the right amount of objects, I love it. One of the prettiest ever! Thank you, as always, for sharing your heart! 💗
I love that you loved it Elaine. I thought it was particularly beautiful too. Little shock waves went through me when I saw it, had to stop everything and capture the moment! xoxo
What a BEAUTIFUL blog, with BEAUTIFUL photos! I LOVE the month of May, my birthday month, I’ll be 65 on May 10th, WHAT a blessing!😊
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MARY!!! xoxo
Hi Susan! Absolutely love Williamsburg. Years ago we went to the Trellis Restaurant just to have a desert called “death by chocolate”. The pastry chef , Marcel Desaulnier (sp) had a “chocolate” cooking show on PBS that was as addicting as chocolate itself. I’m sure the chocolate dessert is not on your new diet, but a girl has to live!
Love everything about this post but especially that Spring is FINALLY here! I’m coming to visit someday and see all the dear things you see every day. I can’t wait to explore the island.
So excited to hear the mugs have arrived! I’m looking forward to receiving my order. Love your great blog and congratulations on your healthy eating. I need your willpower!
Some of my beloved kitties that have passed on are still here with us. I have actually seen them!! I am so glad and thankful. I think it is wonderful that those bonds of love are not broken.
I so love your blog. Thank you for each one that shows up in my email.
Donna
😘
What a loverly blog post, Susan! Once again, you bring special fairie dust to my day…., and I’m so very happy for it! Thank you, thank you, thank you! A lovely May to you, Joe, and Jack…..and Girl Kitty, too. Happy Face!
Sherry, this is soooooooo true! These posts are like a special fairie dust. Thanks for capturing that!
Thank you both so much . . . XOXOXO
I cannot find where the Nancy Luce print is.
I’ve used the link to your shop.
Do you have any more?
How much are they?
I’m sorry we don’t have them anymore. You might google them and see if they’re still being made.
All simply gorgeous, thank you so much Susan! You’re an inspiration oxox
Thanks for the uplifting stories today. I especially love your shadow pictures. I now see them on my walls too.
Aren’t they wonderful?
Lovely , just lovely that’s all. A beautiful May to you!
Susan,I love hearing about Girl Kitty and I believe it ! xo
The spoon your dad carved for you made my heart skip a beat 💕💕
Was amazing!
Truly loved your post here, especially the part about Kitty Girl and all the chicken stories. I was at a quant little nursery (first time there) getting plants for my planters and heard a swishing below the wooden table I was at. I looked under and there was a rather large turkey traveling around looking for bugs! How wonderful that there are places still around that do it the old fashion way. I will be back there many, many times in the future.
I love that!
I thought your story about Girl Kitty was wonderful. We lost our darling 17 year old Gracie a little while ago and we still think we see her out of the corner of our eyes and hear her too. Love never dies.
Love never dies. xoxoxo
I feel like I may have gained your 20 lbs.! My middle is suddenly more in evidence than ever, pant waistbands that were comfy are now not comfy! So I have started working on that. Our spring has been especially rainy, disappointing for those of us who would like to be in the garden. I’m sure we will soon go straight in to summer, to swelter in high humidity. But that’s how it is in the midwest. I have to wonder if it is Girl Kitty or if you have a squirrel in your attic! My daughter had them (also a raccoon!) once, and the squirrels would wake me before dawn, scampering up there and sounding like they were in the wall right behind the guest room headboard! The raccoon was trapped by professionals in the master closet and taken for release elsewhere, while my son in law and husband found the squirrel entrance/exit and blocked it off during the daytime. No more scampering to be heard from then on until they finally moved from that house. I do hope it’s Girl though; that would be a welcome guest!
What an adventure in your attic! Our house is two story and the attic is the third floor, so I don’t think I would hear anything in the attic unless I was on the second floor, and knock on wood, no scampering feet up there so far!! It’s got to be Girl! xoxo Happy spring Marianne!
Another enjoyable visit with you. Thank you for the Quinoa recipe.
There’s more to that recipe if you’re interested, and if you have my Girlfriends Forever book, on page 84. xoxo
Sue, nice to hear from you again. Love Nancy Luce. I do believe Girl Kitty never left you. Glad you’re are continuing to do well with the new menu/eating habbits. DeLynn
I’m so happy you posted another update just before we leave for England tomorrow. I wanted to tell you that I’m taking your “Fine Romance” book because 1) I love it and 2) I think it will be so helpful when we are in Ambleside. We are so excited to be going to London and then to the Lake District with our two youngest children, now 17 and 19. What a treat! Thank you for all the tips for traveling in the UK and for going before us and paving the way, so to speak! Happy spring!
Hi Susan, I loved hearing about Girl Kitty’s presence. It brings me such comfort. We just lost our sweet Daisy two days ago and we miss her so much. I sure hope she comes back to haunt us. Congratulations on your 20 lb weight loss. Your meals look delicious. My friend Marie gave me one of your mugs for my birthday in March and I understand it is on the way. Can’t wait. Happy Spring. Hugs, Elaine
May is my favorite month, it’s my birthday month and it’s the most beautiful month of the year to me. It’s like a rebirth every May things burst into bloom, and the birds are singing unbelievably! One of my dog’s who died from cancer came back to haunt us as well after she was cremated. Although I I think haunting is a harsh word, more likely she couldn’t bear to leave us! The day I brought her remains home from being cremated, one of her framed pictures fell down on the buffet all on its own. There were many other things as well that happened that led us to believe but she was there with us and we loved every minute of it. Now I am no longer in that house so I will miss her terribly. I know she’ll be waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge that’s one comfort. Thanks again for another wonderful blog Susan best of all to you.
Reading about your Girl Kitty … she was such a beautiful cat, and I know she loved you and only you from what you’d told us … ah, you’re being visited; I have known that feeling and it doesn’t last, so just go with it. You’re not crazy. Bend to it, and enjoy the hello.
Could you have moved to a more perfect place, Susan? To have made that first oh-so-correct decision post-Cliff, to get it right from out the gate, to move cross-country on a nail-biter flight to the Vineyard, and there to stay … how lucky, how smart of you, to go where something good spoke to you, to where you felt certain you could find comfort and beauty. Bravo, brave girl. I loved what you said about the salt air ‘up from the harbor’. I’m trying to imagine what a snowy winter is, and to then see the green things growing again (as you well know in SoCalif, we only get a hint of that joy that comes from VAST difference in seasons we just don’t have here).
There’s such a deep contentment in normalcy, isn’t there. What I love is how much YOU love your life and home, and how it’s in every word you put on the page, just daring us in a positive way to make sure we feel that way ourselves (your delight is very contagious!).
Guess what I saw a couple of hours ago! I was driving on the north side of town, in one of our canyon neighborhoods not far from the main drags, although they ARE closer to the creek and, as I drove a narrow, gravel-y road between houses on good-sized acreages, right-smack-in-front-of-me was…a peacock! In full regalia. I was so dumbfounded, when the most you see here is a squirrel. I stopped the car in the middle of the road and turned off the engine. He was only three feet from me as I peered out the car window. His colors were glorious; all that turquoise and iridescence. This guy was huge and I swear he did not look REAL. It’s not like I’ve never seen a peacock but it was just so unexpected. There is a preserve further north and he must have strayed from it and, in this particular little enclave among oak trees, he’s found a haven with humans who are likely benefactors. (Talk about feeling ‘visited’. I felt so awestruck that I was there, in that moment, to see such a beautiful creature in, yes, just another ‘normal’ day!)
A PS: I hope you collect more sea glass (that you can bear to part with) to put in your store. I was ready to purchase and, dang, sold out; I waited too long. It’s hard to find authentic sea glass where I live – – I know of someone who finds it at Jalama Beach, although she’s not supposed to take it (Santa Barbara County park with restrictions). But this in your store was cool, that it was glass you-yourself collected on the Cape. So I hope, down the road, you can spare some again for your store! I’m so drawn to the soft colors of blues & greens and even the clear glass (the real stuff, not just glass somebody thru into a tumbler to polish, then try to pass it off as beach glass!).
I love your peacock news! What a surprise! I will try to collect more sea glass this summer and send it to the Studio so they can put it in the store. You don’t get a lot while you’re out there, just one glorious piece at a time, maybe 3 at most on one walk, but it adds up! Yes, there’s just no soul when passed through a tumbler, must be real, ocean-made, infused with DNA of olde cape cod and the islands.😘 And yes, it was a pure miracle I found this place where my entire life was waiting for me. It could so easily have gone another way!
I so enjoyed your blog post today! Your yard is beautiful and now you have an Angel Kitty!
Thanks for talking about the ring dish with “Courage, dear heart” by C.S. Lewis.
I’ve been patient but have gone to worry about my order. I have a dear heart who doesn’t know she is getting this. I think it will be good to get this gift just because–no holiday or important date. I always enjoy reading your blog, Susan– So uplifting and positive. Yes, spring is here!! Many of your quotes go into my art journal. Thank you!
I totally understand, Tam. But it is coming! If they didn’t come through, there is no one else I know that could make them, so, of a choice between waaaay-to-late or not at all, I’m choosing late. But I don’t like it! Before I order with them again, we will go into extreme promise-mode!!!
As always, I so look forward to your blog!!! It brings me such Joy! Thank you from the bottom of MY heart!!!!!
Happy to have you here Patricia, thank you! I LOVE all the exclamation points! xoxo
Susan, do you think you might do another cookbook with all your new healthy recipes? Just a suggestion. We all need a nudge to eat healthily and your beautiful photos are an inspiration. Yes, it must include photos. Look at all the good you might do to bring about a more healthy world. Obesity is one of our most serious problems and role models are needed. Thanks for your consideration.
I’ve thought about it, but so much of what I’m eating is SO basic. Steam spinach. scramble eggs. bake sweet potato. roast carrots. make oatmeal, add apples, blueberries, and walnuts. Put lettuce in a bowl with tomatoes and cucumbers. There’s not much to these ‘recipes’ ~ it’s all basic, whole food with no frills. That’s why I put the photos up. They pretty much tell the story!
It makes my day to see your name pop up in my email. I love the story about Girl Kitty. I believe they are around us. Have a wonderful spring !
Thank you Marty!
Thank you for the update on the pre order placed a n December ….really looking forward to receiving this trio . I totally understand it has been beyond your control & I do hope they are being honest with us all on it at last coming !
Love your beautiful Spring pictures of your garden & all the sweet creatures that dwell there .
I will try your yummy salad 🥗 for sure ! Keep at it Susan it’s taking me a year to take off 30 lbs. -& have hit a plateau on my last 7 lbs . . I’m not giving up adding swimming may be the key which I’ll add to my workouts in a couple of weeks . Penny 🌹
I REALLY do think they are coming. I was so on the verge of giving up, but he convinced me and has updated since, with good news, so I am trusting. Yes, beyond my control, but I’ve never had this happen before. We’re ALL ABOUT customer service, me and Kellee and Sheri, we feel like we are dealing with actual FRIENDS, so this is very disturbing! Thank you for understanding. Congratulations on those 30 lbs! Me too, plateaus, but I bet your swimming will shake it loose. I’m excited because Joe and I have decided to stop on our walk to the water early these summer mornings, and take a swim, I hope it helps me too! I KNOW it will be good for my head. xoxoxo
We just had a beautiful working holiday in Iceland and in the UK and I was excited to see Emma Bridgewater in shops, notably in St. Ives, Cornwall, UK.. You have made me aware of her work and it was all I could take to resist buying—but we were on a long journey with limited luggage. I probably will end up ordering from you from my home base in Michigan. Thanks, as always, for the connections,. We did not make it to the Cotswolds, but did go to a Jane Austen Museum in Bath. The Roman baths and Jane made it a memorable stop. xoxo
Welcome home! Sounds like a wonderful trip!
Susan,
Thank you ever so much for your lovely & colorful
post 🌸 It’s always so wonderful to hear from you
& to get caught up!
Love your blog! Two summers ago, we were lucky enough to have a momma turkey and one turkey chick take up residence in our back yard for about a month. They ate birdseed and I bought some cracked corn for them. They would come up on the back porch when I opened the door, because they knew it was time to eat. Very cool!
Know what you mean about your kitty. I lost my dear Francis Albert ten years ago. I still think I see him out of the corner of my eye sometimes, and I still feel him jumping up on the bed in the middle of the night. I miss him every day.
Thanks for your blog. Candy
I still unconsciously look out the window to see if my tuxedo Man Kitty “wants in.” He’s been gone since the 90s, but he lived to be 19 and it was SUCH a habit, I never stopped looking. We just got a new coir mat outside the kitchen door with a big black crow on it … so when I look out the window in the door, my eye catches that black! I’m doomed!
I know the sound of a kitty jumping down, unmistakable. My heart is glad for you and that Jack Cat. Debby