Well, for the first time, I finally sort of have everyone where I want them! Home! MUSICA
There’s my hero off to rob the grocery store! We are doing fine here, so far so good. On our third week of staying home, doing our part to protect ourselves and the brave health workers at our little hospital. Joe doesn’t LOVE going out dressed like this, but he does it for me.💞
Still dark and quiet this morning . 
. . I finished the new calendars yesterday! DONE💃! Yay! Now I get to write my Christmas Story! So excited! I put everything away and cleaned the studio to get ready ~ and now the house is smooth and quiet. Behind a chair on the floor of this room is a little machine I got many years ago … a recording of birdsong on a constant loop. Because it’s still too cold, we can’t open our windows yet, but it’s April and I, personally, am ready, READY, READY for spring. Recorded birdsong works for me till the real thing comes along. Makes me happy!
It’s getting a little lighter, a little warmer every day . . . Which is perfect because for some reason our supermarket decided the one thing they could live without during this pandemic was, wait for it, yes . . . F L O W E R S. Totally nutty. So good for the soul. They’ve been #1 on my shopping list the two times Joe has gone. But, no.
So here we are, in the NICK of time! Spring, the season of hope and rebirth.
And it’s purr-fect here! Just ask Jack!
So out comes the yellow . . . Easter is on my birthday this year! I love it when Easter’s on my birthday! And by the 12th, we’ll already be almost halfway through April. This time with pandemic feels like forever, but it will pass much faster than we think. I’ve been thinking about what I’ll have to show for it. (Besides, of course, a hundred thousand prayers.🙏)
I’m such a homebody, as you all know, that if I “HAD” to be “quarantined” ~ “stuck” on a desert island so to speak, I could not think of a better place than Home! Where all my best things are. Tea, candles, dishes in soap suds, clean dishtowels on the stove, jars with red lids, peanut butter cookies in the oven, Beatrix Potter people on the window sill, Jack in my drawer, Joe at my side. All the good stuff happens here anyway. It’s trouble out there. Home is the only place we are in charge! 
Was “Zooming” with my English Girlfriend Rachel the other day (*see Zooming below) . . . we were comparing what we’re going through to what the Brits went through during WWII, when their “pandemic” fell out of the sky and blew up houses while people were sleeping ~ which they lived through every day for SIX years. How DID they sleep? No sugar, butter, eggs, coffee. No gas. Everyone like sitting ducks. Sons and husbands in danger, far from home, not heard from in months. Ray gave me a book called Nella’s War, an actual diary of an everyday English woman during the war and what I learned: we are so lucky, even now. Staying home? Lucky us. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out. If they could, so can we.
What if, the way this went, we were all quarantined in a 
dentist’s chair? Right? Way worse! Or a highly air-conditioned department-store bathroom, locked in with a bunch of strangers and only two plastic chairs? There is no nicer place than home especially when bombs aren’t falling. We LOVE our own beds, we LOVE the musica that plays here! No strange dentist-chair music in THIS house. I’m stealing daffodils from the garden, and forced a tiny stem of cherry tree. If I didn’t have a garden, I might dress like Joe and take a walk on our deserted street with my scissors.
We are like this. We go out to stare at the garden before we go for our walk and holler to each other. “Joe, over here!”
SO exciting! (Norman Rockwell was clearly one of us!)
SEE? Happening all over. New life. Isn’t it thrilling?
I’m so proud of everyone. The whole world is on a mission. We’re in it together. “If you can’t do what you do,” said Bon Jovi, “do what you can.” And so we do.
If we want to have breakfast for dinner, we can and we do! There is something so cozy and comforting about pancakes for dinner. Then we watch two series on Acorn, Brokenwood Mysteries, and 800 Words. We are loving the creative art of cooking more than ever. Dinner is like an event, what are we making? Let’s have PANCAKES, let’s put bacon in them … yaaaay!
I wasn’t always a good cook ~ no one is BORN that way, not even Julia Child, who said, “Before I was 32 all I did was eat.” And as you know if you’ve read my books Fairy Tale Girl and Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams, I didn’t just burn up one stove, I burnt up two.😱 But cooking was right smack in the middle of the road I took searching to find my passions and the things that would make me happy in life. Cooking was like a secret way of giving. I could make people happy when I did it.❤️
It was my own little pandemic that brought me to this cottage in the woods on Martha’s Vineyard. When my life was 
suddenly thrown into reverse, I went inside, in more ways than one. And it was in that quiet where I learned most everything else that’s brought me to now. Sometimes we need a little pandemic in our lives to help us see the road. It’s awful when it’s happening, you fight it in the beginning, but later, if you survive, if you aren’t allowed out too soon, you think, Oh, thank God.💖
What helps the fear? Little things. Naps with kitties, tomato soup, scrambled eggs, a good book, bubble baths, MEDITATION, finding new recipes, cleaning out a closet, 
maybe writing that book you’ve promised yourself you would do. Are you homeschooling? You could teach history the fun way. Watch with them: Darkest Hour, Schindler’s List, Amistad, Lincoln, Amadeus, or Chaplin. Show them where on the map these heroes were born, or where the story took place. Make it all real for them. Google “Best Silent Movies” and show them the world of their great grandparents. Check out my Movie List ~ maybe you have a budding vintage-movie buff in the family. Have a Family Book Club: read out loud every night: The Diary of Anne Frank or To Kill a Mockingbird. Take questions. I have a Book List too, tried and true, guaranteed to bring a laugh
or a tear. Get online and fill out the Census. Teach good citizenship and explain how doing this makes your community strong. Teach them how the stock market works (😳I’m still trying to figure it out!). Paint a bedroom. Check out TED TALKS, so much genius free for the taking (watch Isabel Allende speak passionately, brilliantly, about Passion). Create a photo wall in your bathroom. Make a homemade pie crust. Teach kids how to iron, knit, watercolor, embroider. There are lots of embroidery kits and fill-in family cookbooks in our web store (make Christmas presents). Get out that hammer and nails and Google How To Make a Bird House. Every lesson for everything you’ve ever wanted to learn is on Youtube. Things you never thought of, things you hardly ever have time for, you do now. Who knows? You might stir up some passions!
My own personal divorce-pandemic took me here. From California to a small island and this little house . . .
Where I cried myself to sleep and healed with kittens and Potato Pancakes.
A recipe I then put in a cookbook I wrote at my dining room table . . . 
. . . that changed my life and gave me a future and made my pandemic worthwhile, all six years of it.
I never imagined this book would turn 30! But it did. And it got a makeover, not just the cover, but there are lots of new recipes. I’m thinking you or a friend or a relative may 
be needing a little extra TLC right now, a little bit of vintage charm in a topsy-turvy world ~ so I’m putting this watercolored, hand-written book full of homey recipes, 176 pages of how-to’s, and family stories, on sale ~ each with a signed bookplate inside.❤️ For the whole month. And don’t worry, I am living proof . . .
None of us know what the future will bring, we have lots of these books in stock right now, it would be better not to have them lounging in a warehouse somewhere, they should be out there, spreading their homey goodness, doing what they do best, inspiring family togetherness with potato pancake, carrot cupcakes, linguine in clam sauce, Gazpacho, my dad’s garlic bread, stuffed pork chops, enchiladas, rainbow jell-O, onion pudding, German pancake ⬇️ . . .
. . . the way to fry an egg so the yolk is
still soft, bubbled up with crispy edges . . . bean soup, cranberry tea cake, caesar salad, twice-baked potatoes, lemon chicken, bread and butter pudding, chocolate eclairs . . . and so much more…
As my parents did and taught us, if you want something bad enough, you just make it. 
I just checked my cupboard, I have three Heart of the Home’s here on the Island, which I’m going to give away to YOU. All you 
have to do to win one of these books is scroll to the bottom of this post where you’ll see a bunch of tiny little words, including the word “comments” … click there, leave a comment (anything, so the blog registers you there), and you’ll be automatically entered in the drawing which we’ll do next week. ❤️ I’ll email the winners and personalize each book before it goes out. Little something to look forward to.
Here’s another small treat you can make yourself ~ extra simple made with boxed mix, but outstanding for kids ~ and you’ll feel pretty proud too.
One of our Girlfriends sent us her version!
What else . . . Oh yes . . 
No doubt you have figured this out, but just in cases, our Mother’s Day Tea Parties in Duxbury have both been canceled, until, we think (and hope), September. I’ve been saving my old paintbrushes and pencil stubs and making bookmarks to hand out at the signing . . . which means there will be more by the time this happens! See? It’s all good. I’ll announce the new dates when I get them.
Another 2021 Calendar preview, it’s April! Just a reminder, we will be placing our calendar order with the manufacturer on Monday. Hopefully you have yours on order . . . but if not, if you are going to want either the 2021 Photo Wall-Calendar or the regular Heart of the Home wall-calendar, now is the time to get them. Nobody knows WHAT is going to happen to the stores that usually sell them, our manufacturer may make HALF as many this year as last, we just want to make sure our Girlfriends get one if they want one.💞
I’m sure you’ve heard of ZOOM, but if you haven’t let me tell you . . . it’s like an on-line conference call . . . I 
have used it twice now . . . once with seven girlfriends here on the island, (we had our TGIF, with cocktails, via Zoom) … and the other with Rachel and Paul with us here and them in England (and more cocktails). It’s free! It’s easy! If I can do it, anyone can. And it’s highly satisfying. A safe way to reach out and say I’m still here and I love you, you can see the love-light in their eyes. You can even kiss the screen. You’ll see. Excellent invention.💞 
Another especially fun family project is Ancestry.com … get your DNA done and start working on your family tree . . . my sister and I do it over the phone together . . . it’s wonderful to feel your family connected to the world, puts a new sort of foundation under you, deeper roots in a world of curiosity and investigation! Shelly finds a name from 1736, and I’m practically screaming the WOW-ness of it into the phone! We get totally tangled sometimes saying such lunatic things as this, “No that’s Irene’s DAD’S father’s brother’s OTHER son!”
Well, look! It’s light out. Blustery and cold, leafless ~ once again, have to say, right now real world is isn’t quite as wonderful as it is in this cozy house . . . look, my agapanthus are blooming in my studio window! Birds and squirrels are feeding outside the kitchen window ~
It’s as good as it can get. One last thing before I go . . . one thing you must do. Turn off the news. Do not listen to daily numbers. Don’t hear strident voices all day. If you’re at home, following the rules, and staying inside, you’re already doing EXACTLY what you’re supposed to do to protect your medical centers and your amazing healthcare workers (under so much stress it’s unfathomable), from YOU. Blessings and prayers for them, and also, for our first responders, grocery-store people, volunteers and delivery people, who put themselves on the line for us every day. Social distancing is working! Too much negativity will make us as sick as the virus does. Just keep praying, and go World-War-Twoing through to the other side. Think of magical words like delphinium (say them out loud, pure poetry), hollyhock and foxglove. Lily. Pansy. Because it won’t be long.
💞
Don’t forget to leave a comment for the book! Would love to hear how you’re doing!💞 Oh yes, I have a new bookmark for you! You can see it below. Just click HERE and print it out either on card stock, or do it double thickness. From me to you . . .
Glad to hear you and Joe are well. As my mother used to say, “This too shall pass”.
I love the Nella Last books. There is a movie “Housewife, 49” made from the book (forty-nine was her age when she started participating in the mass observation project.)
Dear Susan,
Thank you AGAIN for the lovely thoughts and helping us to keep this all in perspective – so thankful to have who and what we have, and if this had to happen, at least it’s spring (can you imagine if it collided with a blizzard? yow). This is helping us be kinder to others (and ourselves). Have used Zoom and Duo recently, next best thing to being together. Best to you and Joe, and Jack.
Hollyhocks, roses, pansies, and your writing and watercolors – MaGiC for the soul during these times. Thank you, Susan!
What a time we are living in these days. I enjoyed being able to set with a cup of tea and reading your blog with its lovely pictures and timely quotes. Happy that all is well in your neck of the woods. Tell Joe that we are sporting the same very fashionable scarfed bank robber look too!
I have been cleaning, cooking, weeding – yes we are blessed to have had some warm sunny days here in Missouri. I feel so lucky to have a yard and land to walk around everyday. Having grown up with grandparents and parents who live through WW I, the great depression and WW II I remember all their stories of how they kept going and supported each other. How they were strong and resolute in getting through it. We can do this if we look out for each other and stay strong. Stay safe and healthy
Hello Susan,
So lovely to hear from you! Are you still able and allowed to go for your daily walk? What are we up to, nothing much haha! Gabri and the boys are all home, working and studying, the kittens are either sleeping or getting up to mischief as usual.
Spring is here, the bulbs are starting to appear, some trees are already blossoming and we have seen lambs in fields and just yesterday some tiny cute ducklings!!
After looking at your lovely pictures, I see you had a little helper in the kitchen, and I am hungry for pancakes.
Stay safe and well, and lots of love from
Nicoline ( and Gabri and the boys too)
xx
Oh yes, we go everyday except for today and yesterday😂 ~ we have a very hardy storm going on here. Wind and side-ways rain and shutters beating against the house. Stay safe Nicoline, and love to all. xoxoxo
Thank you for a lovely post. Just the thing in these dark times. Keep safe.
Just delightful! Now I can go on! Whew! Loved seeing Jack peeking up by the delicious cakes on the table. What a cutie! Yes, Home Sweet Home could never be better. I’m on the verge of making your brownies soon. There’s always a need for that, right? A big Thank You to you Susan, and the Joe, Jack and all the girlfriends for beaming happiness and joy out to us. A big HUG ((( ))) to you all. xo
Taking care of my indoor plants. They’re growing nicely.
We recently watched The World Wars – History Channel – and I saw that about London and the bombs. Terrible. They just wouldn’t listen to poor Winston Churchill – he knew it was coming and Hitler would lie. I also thank you for this delightful posting of sunshine across the internet! We have tulips and daffodils in Missouri. Being in has been easy for me too – I love Home!!! So many fun things to do at HOME! Thank you again for all that you share!
Yes, they finally turned it over to him when they’d exhausted all their lies and left him with the impossible job of bringing everyone home safe. And he did it. Pure determination won the day. And finally, a guy who believed in truth. I ADORE him. Stay safe Bernideen! xoxo
Hello Sue & Joe,
I have been feeling the same in comparisons to how much better we have it, even while “sheltering in” than WWII. Makes it all seem so easy. We are making history. I have been reading so many books on WWII, including Nella’s diary.
LOVE Zoom! Keeps us closer to our kids and grand-angels. I am leading my Book Discussion Club via Zoom in 10 minutes.
Stay safe and cozy,
Melin
We have our second Zoom TGIF 5:30 tonight . . . things to look forward to! That’s the ticket! xoxo
My husband is, at this moment, stringing our Christmas/holiday lights back up (after just putting it all away in January!) on the outside/front of the house, following the trend that a lot of people are doing across America so that it’s cheerier out there in general. Light & life. We’re late to the program; others have been doing it since earlier in March. I think I’m gonna blubber again; it’s just such a unifying, sweet thing to do (tugs at the heart), whoever thought it up. We’re hoping that when our delivery gal throws the newspaper in the early morning, that maybe she’ll look forward to some sparkly color in the dark & cold (and rain, which SoCalif is marked to get very soon; a real gift since, at least where I am, we’re back in drought, although I hope it doesn’t mean havoc for any field hospitals [tents], so we’ll pray for a gentleness to it and that it won’t hamper the efforts of people working/coming & going in ALL the hours [the dedicated folks in so many facets of employment, 24/7, working hard to help the rest of us]).
Be safe…be well…
Hugs…Bev Armani
I love you and your cheer and ideas could save so many!!! I am sharing this post with friends far and near for them to tap into your GREAT ideas!
I believe in US Michelle, we’ll see each other through! xoxoxo
You grow AGAPANTHUS indoors, Susan? I didn’t know that was possible; I thought it was only an outdoor plant. I used to have white ones growing in a mini-orchard at a house where I lived but, of course, the purple are probably most common and so beautiful & reliable in the yard (although mine have been struggling a bit, and I have no idea WHY). My Dad always called them “Lily of the Nile”. (Makes me miss him when I think of it. These days, I just keep going back and back into my childhood and youth when things in the 50s, 60s and even the 70s had the feeling of being better; I guess I’m not the only one [it’s such a baby boomer thing anyway; the nostalgia].)
I hope the jacarandas in SoCalif will have a late bloom so that maybe I can see them still in June or even early July (seems like I/we still might be homebound in May, but who knows). That’s another purple that is swoon-worthy here; LOVE jacaranda trees! I saw a headline that people are still enjoying the cherry blossoms in Washington DC(?), thanks to ‘virtual’ capabilities. (Certainly not a technology we had in the years I just mentioned!)
Yes, they grow like weeds at our studio in CA .. never thought I could have them here!
You are a day of sunshine!! I found a quote of Gladys Taber that I love “I do not believe I letting fear take over life. I believe in using the twenty four hours of this day to our best advantage, and when the day is over, to say in our prayers” God we are in your hands. “.
I was about to send out the National Guard to check on you because you were not on Twitter yesterday or this morning! Whew! Glad you are taking all the precautions. I’m sending your post to my three daughters-in-law, two of whom have two young children each, hoping it will encourage them and give them more ideas of how to occupy my grandchildren. I woke up depressed for the world and realized that I needed to “reframe” this forced isolation. Your post is timely. Thanks! ❤️
I enjoyed the blog and I have definitely turned off the news!
Yay!👏
Thank you, Susan! Your writing helps us always and especially now. 💕
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for your cheerful, warm, words of encouragement! I’m doing my bit by staying home, but it does get a bit much!! Loved reading this today!! Many wishes for happiness and health for you, Joe and Jack!!
xoxo
Valerie
I was rereading my original Heart of the Home just the other day. Didn’t know there was a new edition!
Oh there sure is and it’s great!
Thank you Sue! You’re always a day of sunshine!
Happy coming up birthday, Susan. I love Easter birthdays, too. I’m 78 and had 2 birthdays land on Easter. I love spring and all the yellow flowers like you do. It’s like the yellow color infuses me with spring fever and happiness. We have been at home 3 weeks now and enjoying old movies and cooking and baking. Our kids video call with us which is hilarious and I keep in close phone touch with my friends. The outbursts of love by all the front line medical, food providers and first responders are as inspirational as neighbors looking out for neighbors and “youngers” looking out for olders. We CAN do this!
Susan in Spokane🥰
Thanks, Susan for your uplifting posts . .we sure can use them now. I just hung my “bunny and carrots” Spring banner that I got from you a while ago . .so sweet. Stay well . . .
As always, you share exactly what my soul needs at just the right time! Thank you!! You are such a treasure!
You are too Michelle, thank you for those kind words. xoxo 💞
Thank you for your heartwarming and uplifting messages. You’re right that there’s no place like home. I’m just sooo missing the ones who can’t be here with me right now to share the happy things like home cooking and bursting spring flowers.
So glad to hear from you, Susan! We are staying home, too. Lots to do and time to do it! Thank you for the bright sunshine you brought to my day! Love from Sunny Southern California!
Your messages are filled with such hope, EVERY SINGLE ONE!!! So blessed by your words. Thank you, Susan!
I love Broken Wood!!! One of my favorite shows on Acorn Tv besides Murdoch Mysteries. I love all British tv!!
Thanks for your recommendation….I just joined it! It looks like it’ll be great entertainment.
My mom was born on April 13th and my grandma made her a bunny cake every year for her birthday even after she had all of us girls! Thanks for stirring up those fun memories!🥰
Oh how wonderful to see a post from Susan!! You are always such a ray of sunshine and this post especially welcoming during this time. Thank you, Susan.
Hi Susan,
I am glad you and Joe are well at home. That last photo is funny…thats how i peek over yummy cakes too! LOL.
I have made bucket home lists. So much we can do now…so much we put aside and now have time for. I love your list of suggestions.
I know what you mean about flowers!! I am a bit of an urban gardener as i have no yard…so garden centres and no flowers in the store (excuse me…those can be left there thank you…just kidding) We are SO SO lucky and blessed. Keep peace and joy and then spread it. Your blog is like a cup of tea.
Prayers.
This post was balm for the soul ❤️
Ya know, just a couple of months ago I was praying about busy I was and I wanted it to slow down. LOL God does answer prayers. I am thoroughly enjoying this time at home with no extra projects to do. Wasn’t it Jane Austen who said something like “For true comfort there is no place like home”?
So happy to see your new blog.You are a ray of sunshine.If you draw my name ,draw another because I already own both the old and the newer version of you wonderful cookbook.Happy early birthday 🎂 and Easter.God bless you and Joe.I made a mask from a red bandana and hair ties.Stay safe.Mary Lawrence
Susan,
Thanks for posting photos of forsythia on your blog today. They are always a constant reminder to me, that Spring has arrived!!!
Thank you so much! It ever there was a time we need Susan Branch it is now! ❤️ I was having a meltdown the other day and I was thinking of England too … Mrs Miniver to the rescue. Stay well!
Perfect rescue vehicle!
I’m glad to hear you and Joe are doing well. We are, too. I think I might actually enjoy this if I weren’t so worried. I miss my grandchildren terribly. Face Time isn’t the same as a hug, but it’s better than nothing. About an hour ago I made my very first Twitter post, and it included you! It’s actually a picture of one of my cats, who just happens to LOVE our Hands to Work, Hearts to God rug. When we are trying to work in the kitchen, he refuses to move, so we have to keep stepping over him. I’m sure he thinks I bought it just for him. I am taking long walks every day, working on my spring cleaning, doing lots of scrapbooking, and LOTS of reading. I feel confident this time will pass quickly, and the country will be more unified for it. The news is so scary, but also so uplifting. So many good people out there, and so many heartwarming stories. Stay safe and healthy, dear Susan and Joe.
Hello from Arizona! We are well! Enjoying sunny quiet time on the porch. Fortunately we do have birds singing. Wildflowers & cactus are in bloom. Lots of butterflies at this time too. I’m enjoying reading and walking the dog. Made some blueberry muffins! I live in a gated age restricted community so it’s like we are all on our own “island”. So nice to see so many out walking and biking. Life certainly has slowed down and that’s certainly not a bad thing in my book. Stay safe!
Glad to see you , Joe, and baby Jack are well. I am staying home reading books (Lonesome Dove) and working jigsaw puzzles. It is a lovely day in Ohio sun shining, birdies singing and few flowers blooming . Take care.
It’s such a frightening time in so many ways, but I have often thought of what my parents lived through (the Great Depression, World War II) and I’m grateful to be safely working at home, with plenty of food, and beautiful views out of the window. I think often of others who are not as fortunate, who are on the front lines. All we can all do is to do what we must do. For me, this is to stay at home, keep a positive outlook, and stay in touch with friends, family, neighbors. Sending love to all the Girlfriends!
I’m tucked safe at home in Cambria extremely grateful for the beautiful space to stay safe and spend a lot of time praying for the safety and well being of the rest of the planet. Truly a time to see the frailty of man revealed and the faith and strength that comes in response to it.
Thank you for the sweet giveway. Those german pancakes got my attention 🙂
Been retired for a couple of years so I’ve got this “staying at home” thing down!
Wairing to schedule a lumpectomy..no worries..its very small and no chemo!
Yay! Thank you for your blogs. They’re something to look forward to every month. I got my Cousin hooked on your books and blogs. She worries when you’ve been away too long! Stay Healthy! Stay Happy! Cheers!
Stay well Susan and Joe…800 Words and Brokenwood are two of my favorites!!
Hi Susan-glad you both are well-we are too, thanks be to God. Getting my house cleaned and organized as well. Taking my time. Doing a bit of sewing and crocheting; baking, actually making phone calls instead of texting. Planted some seeds and taking looonnngggg walks. Praying. God bless.
Thank you so much. I can’t wait to get out my scrapbook paper to chose what to put on the back of the bookmark. I like both sides to look fun. You are the best.
I am drawn to stories of WWII and I, too, compare this to all the challenges people faced every day, for many years, during that time. It makes me aware of how much I have and the many, many things I am grateful for everyday. For those of us able to stay home, this forced slow down of life is a gift to reset our daily rhythm. God Bless those who continue to care for all of us in many ways (medical workers, police, fire, maintenance staff, etc.) I wish everyone peace, happiness, and good health. We can do this.
Ah…your post was just what I needed this afternoon! I have been shoving dirt around the yard and gardens this morning and my body is tired. So the afternoon is all about me relaxing. My husband is fortunate enough to be working from home and I am upstairs in my sewing/reading girl cave.
Stay well and take care.
I am using my social distancing time to do all those things I never had time to do before– and one of those things is to create a Grandma, Tell Me Your Story for each of my 4 grandchildren. I already had one blue one for little Everett, but then I purchased not one, not two, but three of YOUR beautiful journals for my girls: Lauren, Caroline, and Bridget! I am so enjoying taking the walks down memory lane and being reminded of all the wonderful blessings that have happened in my life–and now I can share that with our family’s next generation! Thank you for creating this lovely book to help make my dream come true!
Happy to hear from you. We are starting week 3 of “Safer at Home” here in Long Beach, California. My daughter, son-in-law and two little ones arrived from Virginia on day 1. Grand kids under my roof is the best! The weather is beautiful and the prayers are plentiful. Sending love your way.
All I can say is..THANK YOU! For sharing your life in such a delightful way, for encouraging us, for being so much fun! I smile all the way through your blogs, each one a treasure. Hugs for you and Joe and Jack.
Hello, in the Netherlands we are also in lock down. I read, bake, crochet. This will pass!
So nice to hear your cheery cocooning! Be well, Susan and Joe!❤️
Thank you so much Susan for all the positive goodness with your photo’s. I just love how Jack sneaks in there and the constant perseverance of the squirrels getting into the feeders. Your blog always inspires me and uplifts my Spirit. Thank you so much and I am so much looking forward to your next book on your last trip across the pond. With Warmest regards…stay safe and be healthy….
I Love the sentiment in this new bookmark- so true and very grounding! Thank You!
Staying home is easy for me also – just sent hubby out for necessities, then walk around yard to visit my backyard chickens, talk to birds and squirrels, then make something delicious for dinner (maybe watch an old 1992 baseball game !!) and try not to watch too much news – these are scary times, but we’ll see it through and hopefully come out better ! Reading your uplifting blogs sure helps…
You are a ray of hope and light when we need it. Thank you for caring and sharing.
This comment is for Welcome Home
I enjoy your blog so much it uplifts my Spirit and morale. I love how you can capture the moments of Jack sneaking in the photo and the perseverance of the squirrels who are constantly using the feeders as well. I love ALL your pictures of goodness….. positivity…laughter and the like.
Thank you and be safe and stay healthy.
Thank you for a new entry. I needed and enjoyed every word.
😊
So glad to hear you are doing well. Thank you for the uplifting post. Your books and blog posts are so inspiring.
Truly was keeping my fingers crossed that you’d be able to share your thoughts !! Like most daily habits I’m getting better…I’m very OK with my own company!! When I feel a wee scared~~ I take several deeeeep breaths~~blowing them out slowly.
Be safe ”all”!!!
Today was my last day at work – after 26 years. Thank you for your post today.
I’m happy to have you in my pandemic world for company. Love your blog.
Congratulations! Good time to come home!💖
Thank you for brightening my day and that of so many others’ ❤️
Your, “We are all in this together,” gave me new insight in that it’s a more positive comforting outlook than what I was saying to myself.
Your gift of the cozy arts is so perfectly fitting for right now.
May God bless you & cause His face to shine upon you
🌸🌸🌸Pam
From sunny Sussex UK – stay safe and well
My Florence cat loves your Jack!!!
I love hearing what you’ve been up to, seeing the darling illustrations, and sharing pictures.
Hello Susan & Joe,
So good to hear from you and your bright outlook. We are in similar situations now as we both live on Ferry ⛴ served islands which I feel very lucky for that. Only about 8500 people on my San Juan Island in Washington state. I have all your cookbooks including both additions of Heart Of the Home ❤️ but would love to win one for my dearest friend Mary over on Maui. Just ordered my Little House mug a couple of days ago and thinking I might try to call Kaylee and see if I can add one of the cookbooks to that order. As always it is a wonderful day when we get to read your new blog.
Wishing you a wonderful Easter 🐣🌷& Happy Birthday🎂🍾. Hopefully we can make it back to to the Vineyard again this September & maybe I can wave to you from across the pond. Warmest aloha, Mary
Thanks for giving us hope and smiles today!
💗
Libby
Your blog came right when we all needed it – lifted our spirits, reminded us what’s important, how blessed we are even in the midst of this difficult time, brought us joy and creative reminders of all we can be doing with our stay at home time. You are a gift to us all💜
Hi Sweet Sue! Boy, just checked the weather and hope you are hanging on to your bonnet😳❣️ Looks like that is what you kinda call a northeaster, eh? 😅😂🤣 no I’m not Canadian, I’m a Minnesotan but in FL we have a lot of Canadian friends.
I think I was around for your very first post on this blog. Commenting with your Dad and loving your girlfriend get togethers❣️. I think you give everyone a warm, huggable feeling which we all need right now … virtually of course😘.
I know you are a cook, artist, writer and many more things. I don’t remember if you sew. There are some excellent videos out there on the right way to make a safe mask. Seems there is a certain material (not fusing) that needs to go between cloth layers to make it safe. I am not a sewer. I think eventually everyone will have to wear a mask in public as one does not display symptoms right away and could have it.
Sending warm hugs and prayers for good health to you both. 😘. judi
Yeah, it’s a rainy windstorm, wild and noisy today! I agree, masks seem like common sense to me. Yes Judi, loved it when my dad visited and everyone was so kind to him, he got to be Blog Daddy, king of the mountain. Thank you! xoxoxo
Hello and good health to Susan and the other Girlfriends!
Strange times we’re living in, but we will carry on. What a coincidence for you, Susan, to mention your Heart of the Home book in this post today; I am planning to make carrot cake for Easter, and it was your book I pulled from my shelf this morning!
As for “escaping” from the news for a while, I am reading The Book of Stillmeadow for the first time (savoring it by reading just the current month at a sitting), and rereading an oldie but a goodie about Siamese cats called Cats in the Belfry by Doreen Tovey. Any cat person would totally relate to this humorous and touching book. Since we all have some extra time on our hands at the moment, now is the time to enjoy a good read once again. Cheers!
Thank you. Loved the MUSICA! Started dancing in my rocking chair to Putting on the Ritz! xoxo
Thank you for your comforting words……. Gives us that warm, fuzzy feeling we all crave during times like this. Because my husband and I are in that “vulnerable “ age group we are MOST THANKFUL for our son who does our grocery shopping once a week……. Help us all, Susan, to keep positives in our life!!!
I love the picture of Jack’s cute kitty ears and one eye peeking up above the baking tins! So nice if we have kitties as well as people to keep us company right now.
Your bright cheerfulness is such a balm in these days. Thank you so much! We all have something to offer now, even if just a phone call to an elderly neighbor. We took in a feral kitty – her ear is clipped, two teeth are broken, but she is a font of pure love and limitless purrs, sleeping in a bed on my desk as I work, giving me sweet-eyes and making kitty bread. What a gift amidst all the chaos!
Potato cakes! You make them almost the same as my mother-she never used flour though. Just straight up plain leftover mashed potatoes. Now that’s comfort food!
The squirrel wrestling with the bird feeder belongs in Cirque de Soleil!
The dusting of flour puts a crunchy crust on the potato. 👍💞
You continue to come through and enlighten our days!!!!!! I just got official word that our school district will not resume classes for the rest of this school year. I am the librarian at our elementary school and have been forwarding emails from book publishers to our staff that they are opening up their databases for free online reading. I have been watching the news informing us of ways to interact with children and one is to engage in cooking! I hope i am one of the chosen so i can share your book. I sent an email(cooking) out earlier to our staff and i got a reply from a teacher that she is going to get fat! Our teachers are working more diligently now that they have to call home to each of their students daily so they need the fuel(your yummy recipes) to do this. With appreciation, Kathy
I have been following for a while but have been comment shy! I live in beautiful Somerset in the UK but just love seeing your gorgeous island home….so comforting in these difficult times. We too are staying safe at home and are full of gratitude that we live where we do, away from the big towns and cities, that we are retired and do not have to worry about our jobs and security…but we worry about our children and those who aren’t so lucky.
Please keep sharing the cosiness and home comforts ….the world has become a smaller place and we need to feel we are all in this together and do what we can to reach out xx
Lovely to hear from you Helen. Stay safe. xoxo💞
Hello Susan,
So glad you and Joe are both doing well. Scary times.
We’re hanging in there and staying home. Except I am the one who has to go out for the essentials and other things not so fun. My husband has underlying issues and we can’t take a chance with him. The less than fun things: I was cutting material to make masks and sliced my finger horribly with the rotary cutter, which sent me to Urgent Care and 8 stitches later…then a couple days later I had a terrible toothache. My crown had lifted a bit when flossing a few months ago and I put off dealing with it until now. The dentist was only doing emergency visits, which this qualified as one, so he did an x-ray and found he couldn’t save the tooth and would have send me to the oral surgeon but he was doing emergency visits as well. So I drove further into Orange County (Old Towne-lovely place, usually love visiting there) and had to have a tooth extracted. Last week was not a joy for me, I can tell you. I go to get the stitches out of my finger tomorrow. But I’m trying to be optimistic and praying God has a plan for me in all this.
John Oliver was discussing the similarity of WWII as well the other night on Stephen Colbert and put some things in perspective. The talk shows are kind of fun, everyone trying to learn the technology in their homes and things are very conversational. What’s strange is attending Mass online and I’m saddened about no Easter Sunday Mass. But we need to stay home and God Bless all those putting their lives on the line for us.
Early Happy Birthday by the way! 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed the post today, as always. So uplifting with fun stuff and great ideas to help get through our days. I just love that photo of the squirrel-adorable.
Lastly, I want to share something I saw on Facebook. It was a artistic drawing of a woman and her cat, she was drinking coffee and looking outside and it said “You are not stuck at home, you are safe at home”. I really like this attitude.
That is so me right now. I imagine you feel the same.
Wishing you and Joe continued good health. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do for us girlfriends, keeping us connected and bringing beauty and joy into our lives. Please give Jack a kiss and hug for me.
Peace,
Maureen
Thank you so much for today’s blog. It helps to feel connected with the world. I also look forward to seeing your comments on twitter. As I am self distancing at home alone, it helps to have this to look forward to. Tonight I’m making a quiche for dinner, so will have leftovers for the next few days. Looking forward to being able to travel again. Martha’s Vineyard is on my bucket list. I bought the mug last week to remind me of a trip in the near future. All my best to you and all the girlfriends. Please stay safe, and remember the life you save may be your own…..and those of your loved ones…….Love Sue
Lovely! Just what i needed to be reading today. I felt lifted up and out of my troubles and carried away. Thank-you for sharing your words and talents. So glad to see Joe with his bandanna mask. Important stuff. We are doing the same when we need to go for groceries. Bringing in forsythia branches today. Waiting on daffodil’s. Flowers DO make everything better. And, we are now going to have potato pancakes tonight. YUMMY! Thanks for the idea. Love being at home, as well. Thank-you.
I was reading my news from MV and lo and behold Thursday’s Minute was sponsored by Joe Hall! I clicked on it and was happy to read your calming words! Thank you for reminding me that this too shall pass and being home isn’t to terrible really.
I wondered if anyone noticed that! Love it! I will tell him you stopped by!
~Susan~
As always you sure know how to cheer us up !! The more I have been staying home the more I love it, and amazing how much I am getting done in the yard that is a great feeling !! Still cool here in Indiana, but spring is here today !!
I have been Baking and eating, eating and baking . and Cleaning !!Dreaming about past vacations that I loved!! yes, Martha’s Vineyard !!
I pray that it would be wonderful if World Peace would come out of this, since we are all in this together. And, people will remain grateful and just kind to one another.
You and your family stay healthy !! hugs to Jack! my girls (kitties) are wondering why I am home so much!?!!
God Bless,
xoxo Paula
IN
Love your blog!
Yellow is such a positive, cheerful color and I too use it in April. It smiles!
My husband and I are enjoying our projects and our time with each other during these difficult weeks- and months.
Best wishes and good health to you and yours!
Hi Susan, Thank you for your beautiful blog post and news of spring’s progress. It’s arriving in upstate NY too … though still chilly, blossoms are appearing! I appreciate all you do to help us notice and be grateful for life. Please stay safe.
Oh, yes, banish the news and go out into your yard and think how it can become a garden! Learn to knit, crochet, quilt (easier than you imagine), sew, cook, paint, doodle, sketch, paint by numbers, clean out the birdhouses, and walk. DH even managed to make my grandmother’s mantel clock run and chime perfectly once again!! My hero! I close my eyes when it chimes and I’m in Grandma Hall’s living room with her and so many others who have gone. What bliss.
DH is at the grocery now with his mask and gloves and I hope this grocery list won’t be a wish list like the last two grocery lists and that he returns with what we do now need.
Thank you for the joy!
Hugs!
Homemade is best!
Thank you for your blog post today. It made my day reading it and I will be making a copy for my Mom to read. We love your blog. Have a great day.
Hi Susan! Thanks for your encouragement! I too have felt a kinship with those WWII books I read about the sacrificing and the national call to duty. It’s easy to think about what I’m missing (Easter egg hunt with my grandchildren and church are high in my list), but I realize that staying in the comfort of my home for the good of others isn’t too hard. I just started Erik Larson’s new book about Churchill, so back to WWII I go! And now I have a new book mark for it. Thank you for that and for everything! Stay well, stay safe! ❤️
So glad to read your blog post! Focusing on the good things that we can still celebrate really helps. Thank you for the bookmark – so pretty. Continued good health to you both!
Yes! I would love one if your cookbooks!!!
Your blog was so wonderful and comforting to read. I also don’t watch/listen to the news. We need to keep thinking positive!
Sending much love from Nevada to you and Joe!
There is a phrase going around: your parents/grandparents were asked to fight a war. Your asked to sit on your couch.
Thank you, Susan for a beautiful and much needed message. As we each isolate in our homes, it is a blessing to be able to reach out and give virtual hugs to others and to know that we are not alone. Hugs to you, and Joe & Jack!
A little encouragement goes a long way. Fine here in NW PA. And the sun is shining today!
I too am very good at all things home centered – not much different than my everyday life, lucky us. If only I could cheer up my 95 year old mother in person it would be easier to get through this. I sense her losing her spark a little more each week, “locked in” at her retirement home. Breaks my heart.
Hello from Michigan! Just to walk in my gardens and see the little shoots and buds waiting to open gives me hope each day. My husband and I continue to stay at home (he is fortunate to work here before he retires in the fall). We feed and watch the birds and all the critters that take their meals here. That is our comfort. We too pray for all those who must be out and exposed to this vicious virus. Thank you Susan for bringing sunshine into our homes. Bless you and Joe and kitty boy.
Thank you for the positivity you gave us today. Yes, we’ve got this, and as our oldest son so wisely said just a few weeks ago, “Do stuff that will make you reflect on this time wisely.” Lorie from the Delaware beach where we can no longer walk, for now.
Luckily, I saved your 1993 wall calendar and it will be good for 2021! Thanks so much for all your encouragement!
It is so rewarding and up-lifting to find a new blog post from you. Thank you so much! I have a huge pot of chili cooking away on the back burner, and a banana pudding in the refridge made from real custard (not bragging, but I don’t like instant pudding Lol)! I still have to make some cornbread in my cast iron skillet and cut up some oranges and dinner will be served. My sweet daughter-in-law called yesterday and said to leave a grocery list in the mailbox and she would shop for me if I needed anything and she did…thus the bananas! 🙂 It was a longish list but she said make it however long I wanted. Life is still so good because we still care about one another and this trying time makes us realize that. It’s true, it will pass and for most of us we will have kindness and goodness to remember!
Thank you Susan for bringing more sunshine into our lives with your wonderful thoughts and images. My gardens here in Michigan are my comfort always, but especially now since being home bound. Each little sprout and shoot offer hope and encouragement which are much needed. We take joy too in feeding and watching the many birds and other critters that visit. Even the squirrels’ antics are cause for a smile. Bless You.
Hello from Fernandina Beach, FL! I am a caregiver here at a residential community. I read all your posts to my patient. She loves hearing all the details and photos of your life every week. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Susan,
I’m from the Bay Area near SF and we’ve been sheltering in place for 3 weeks now. Doing our part to flatten the curve and happy to report that it seems to be working. Trying hard not to listen to the news too much and definitely stopped watching the daily press conferences with our president. It was putting me in too bad of a mood. Thanks for your post and brightening my day.
We’re hearing positive things about California! Thank goodness! XOXOXO