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 . . .
You inspire me❣️
The Lord Jesus Christ will get us thru and He is coming again! Praying for you and Joe and all those you love to be SAVED and safe in this world we live in. Thank you for your home arts and making your art your books and letting us into your lovely home and mind ! Love your blog and all things that you have inspired in us who follow you! Hope to meet you one day and would love to see Martha’s Vineyard Love to you Joe and Jack, Melissa
Oh Susan, you truly are the “sunshine” and “medicine” we all need. Your uplifting post was lovely. Funny early this morning just looking out at our backyard grass which husband mowed so nice..I was thinking about Nella Last…and her 3 or 4 books that are wonderful..but my thoughts were..do I have to dig it up and plant potatoes and carrots like Nella Last? Funny how we think. Here in CA they are now asking us to where masks out period. Praying for this all to end. Hugs
to you and Joe and Jack and all the Girlfriends xoxo
Your posts are so good for the heart! Thanks!
Pleasant blog. Enjoying a slower pace & counting our blessings.
Happy April!🌷🌷🌷. I always made the same bunny cake for my children…..good memories…..don’t know why I haven’t made one for the Grands!🐰. Easter Blessings!
And my mother said something that has even more meaning in these times “What can’t be cured, must be endured.”
Another wonderful blog.
It’s comforting in some small way that even in this crazy and worrisome time, all we have to do is look out the window and see that Mother Nature is keeping calm and carrying on doing what she always does.
Thanks for your blog, I enjoy it so much.
Thank you for reminding us what’s truly important! It really is all about your perspective…we’re safe in our comfy space, the sun is shining here. And if we get too stir-crazy, we venture out to order a to-go dinner from one of our local small businesses. Trying to support the little guys! 💖
Thank you for posting. I think of your pots as presents. I indulge, relax and feel renewed and refreshed. I have prayed for you and Joe to stay safe.
Dear Susan,
Happy Birthday on April 12! I hope you have a wonderful day. Let’s hope the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming!
Be Well! stay Safe!
Janet Vineis
My husband’s birthday is also Easter. I hadn’t made the connection between you, two. I’m thinking about throwing him a Curbside Pickup Birthday Party on Saturday night. Pull up to my driveway with your family and get cupcakes while wishing Peter a happy birthday from your car! Happy birthday, Susan Bee. Virtual hug for you and real life blessings.
Thank-you for the sweet blog. I’m watching very little news because as you said, I’m doing all that I can and hearing the daily numbers does not help me to feel better. We all need to take care of each other and take one day at a time. Much love to you, Joe, Jack and all the girlfriends! Take care. Bridget
Hello!
I write from Italy… I hope that this terrible thing come to the end very soon. I’m afraid, always, sometimes desperate and other happy…. And I lost hope for the future, but read your blog give me a smile
Thanks
We think about you in Italy every day Simona. We worry for you and wish you every good thing. The future will come, the sun will shine, things will be right again. Stay strong. xoxoxoxoxo
Simona, sending you and all of Italy all of my love. Stay healthy, stay positive, and know that you are not alone. ♥
I, too, think about Italy almost daily, Simona. I do hope that you and your family/friends can stay healthy. Italy is a beautiful country and people with such a love of family and a true zest for living. I hope that your country heals and that you will be able to rejoice in the streets and open cafes…with arms full of those that you love in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, take care…take care…take care.
Your citizens have given us opera from balconies! What a wonderful way to share love with all that is happening. When you look out of your windows just remember that many American feet have walked the streets of Italy…looked at curtains in your windows…enjoyed traditional Italian foods/wines…enjoyed your architecture…soaked in your countryside…marveled at the history in your museums…watched in amazement at women walking in high heels on rough stone streets and pathways! Thank you, Italia, for giving many Americans wonderful memories while visiting your country!
Cheers…take care…we care…to ALL international Girlfriends, your families and friends, too! We are a world full of women sharing a difficult time in our world history…together on different continents…supporting one another in different languages…holding our breaths in unison for a bright, new day that brings healthy smiles out into the sunshine to share spontaneous smiles with everyone we see!
FayE in CA! USA
thinking of all of you in beautiful Italy, and all the joy Italia has brought to all of us…..
We were able to participate in our church’s Bible study through Zoom. Fun and good to see everyone after not being together for a while. Thanks for your cheerful and home-y words.
I live in Duxbury, and was so looking forward to your dinner at the Senior Center.
Oh well… every day is Mother’s Day… if it can be re-scheduled !!!
Fingers crossed.
We just started using Zoom also and enjoying visiting with our families out of state! I do love technology for staying in touch! Thank you for you kindness and glad to hear you are all doing well. Happy Spring!
Susan,
I so enjoy your positivity during this unfortunate time! Thank you for your wonderful pictures and words! Stay safe.
Planning to “Zoom” tonight with 9 of my high school friends. We had a reunion planned, but we had to postpone it. We can be thankful for the technology that we have now so that we can connect with grands, friends, church members and others. We need to Stay Calm and Stay Home!
Hello Sue ! YES – you are just what we needed to help us through this time with reminders of how blessed we are despite this pandemic. I just finished reading American Dirt by Jeannine Cummins and when I think of how terrible the conditions are of people trying to get into this country it made me think “I can handle this”! And, you are right…home is best. If my dear husband did not have important blood tests and appointments we would not venture out the door. We go, come back , and think “aaahhhh”. Tea, cookies, (lentil soup and brown bread for supper tonight), daffodils outside my window, a good book, wonderful movies…really, we are enjoying things we really did not appreciate before. So, let’s be modern day Mrs. Minivers and make the best of this. Better days are coming, everyone is praying…good things are on the way. Keeping you and Joe in our prayers so be safe and stay healthy!
Thank you for reminding us all to see the positives in this situation, Susan! Stay healthy and safe!
Thank you, Susan, for an uplifting and lively posting. You are a constant source of comfort. Keep on keeping safe.
I read the Nella Last book when you first wrote mentioned it and I’m so glad I did, it does help keep things in perspective. Stay safe!
Dear Susan,
Thanks so much for being you and sharing your thoughts and ideas. I look forward to each new blog post and check Instagram every morning to see what you have to say about what’s going on in the country and world. I grew up on the east coast and now live in Kansas. I so love seeing your pictures of the beach and your morning walks with Joe.
I too have cut back on news watching. By the way, thanks for telling us about “The Detectorists.” We loved it, especially the gorgeous scenery!
Can’t seem to get anything done; I feel just frozen in place. Your suggestions will motivate me to hopefully take some action. Thanks for the colorful drawings today.
I LOVE YOU! Thank you for the uplift. I believe in US too! And your post has helped twenty year old Anna. We are feeling blessed, blessed, blessed to be Home sweet Home with tea. The twenty year olds asked, last week, for your lemon pasta with your beachcomber shrimp! It made me happy to make their supper dreams come true:) I also couldn’t believe flower shops were not deemed essential! I tried to send some to my Mom for her 81st bday. We are Thankful and found it hilarious that liquor stores are essential! Our big project will be that the Kids and I paint the outside of the house together:) Feeling VERY blessed by the daffodils, hyacinths, forsythia, and magnolias! Handling breezes of fear by meditating every morning outside in spring time beauty. Praying for deep, peaceful, healthy breaths for everyone in the World.
Always an inspiration! Your blog is my happy normal in this world gone crazy!!
Greetings from the wet and windy Pacific Northwest! I absolutely agree that we should stop watching the news all day. I really believe many of us suffered PTSD from hours of 9/11 coverage (I still shiver when low-flying aircraft make sudden, sharp turns in our airspace, and we live between two busy airfields!) and this is every bit as bad or worse. However, truly lovely things are happening right under our noses: at the big Pike Place Market in Seattle, when the Governor shut down all ‘non-essential’ business, the flower vendors- so watched for after a gloomy winter-disappeared. However, a nearby farm stand, deemed ‘essential’ like grocers, took the flowers from his neighbor and has been selling them alongside his asparagus and new potatoes, sharing the sales which have been very brisk! My sister-in-law, an elementary school teacher, ‘Zooms’ twice a day, reading to her at-home students. An active member of the local community theater, Mrs. B. dresses up and ‘does all the voices’. She’s a huge hit and has found her niche in a crisis. Yes, this too shall pass.
Hello Susan and Joe,
Thank you so much for your hope-filled post! I was feeling a bit anxious today and needed your gentle reminder. The news is off, thank you! And I am planning to bake some French baguettes this weekend. Bread, baking in the oven, is a definite comfort to me. 🙂 Be well!
Dear Susan and Joe,
Thank you so much for your hope-filled post! I was feeling a bit anxious today and needed your gentle reminder. The news is off, thank you! I am planning to bake some French baguettes this weekend. Bread, baking in the oven is a comfort for me. 🙂 Be safe and well!
Hello Sue and Joe,
So glad that you are doing well, and that you are enjoying some time at home! I have been home for 2 weeks now due to bronchitis. I’m an RN, but they don’t want me at the hospital right now, as coughs are scary at this time. Soooo… while I feel bad not being there right now, I AM enjoying some time at home that I don’t usually get. Making the best of the situation.
I too have stopped looking at the news, and at the Facebook feed. It is so worrisome!! While we do our best to do as instructed, worrying does fix a thing! So instead of looking at the depressing news, I’m reading your blog! SO MUCH BETTER!!!
Take care and stay safe!!
Wendy Z, Iowa
Your posts are always a comfort. I am don’t turn the news on during the day. You are right…way too much stress. My neighbors and I just had our 2nd Happy Hour in our driveways. We are in condos so we are close….but not too close. It’s good to have something to look forward to. Most of us live alone. So we decided that we’d meet everyday that the weather cooperated. Today was a Pure Michigan 60 degree day. Sunshine brightens my soul.
Another amazing post. You are so inspirational, Susan! Thank you for taking the time to help us all “Stay Home, Stay Safe.” Your artwork graces my home in so many ways.
Susan, you and Joe stay safe and sound during this awful virus🙏🙏🙏🙏. God Bless❤️❤️
Susan, your dear, darling girl!!
Thank you for being a bright spot in the middle of this pandemic. It’s just wonderful to have something positive to read and lovely photos and art work to view.
“Bandana Joe”…..what a cutie, even during this time. Being safe for you….and him.
We are doing our best to stay in and stay safe. The last time I went to the grocery store, I wore an old mask that I found in my craft supplies, and when I came home, I: 1) took of my shoes off in the garage and wiped the soles with an alcohol wipe 2) brought all the groceries in and put them just inside the door 3) emptied the bags(didn’t use my own bags, but the store plastic ones…having to decide which battles to fight) and wiped down everything I could with wipes 4) washed everything else with soap and water for 20 seconds 5) put all the bags in one bag and put them in the garbage can outside 6) put all my clothes in the washer 7) took a bath. From now on it’s ordering via curb side service! We have a wonderful grocery store that offer this service for free….and they are taking care of their employees. Sounds a bit over the top, better safe than sick.
I won’t be sending cards or letters until we have an “all clear.” The virus can live on paper for 24-72 hours. One of your packages arrived and it was put into the garage until the possible viruses are DEAD!!! We aren’t sick, your people aren’t sick, but I don’t know about the postal workers. Again, rather be safe.
YEAH!!! The Christmas book…..so excited and can’t wait….hope you are able to publish it so we can have it for the holidays. Your Christmas cookbook is one of my favorites.
We had waffles for dinner the other night….with real maple syrup. Love breakfast for dinner….nice and homey.
We have enjoyed all the Brokenwood Murders episodes, so will have to check out 800 Words. Thank you for the suggestion, along with all your other lists and ideas to use our time while we stay safe.
Hope everyone in your extended families are also well.
Love you bunches, Rachel
Rachel! I’ve been meaning to write and tell you, you are an artist! Your first portrait, did you know you could do that? It’s gorgeous. Hope you’re working on it while you’re staying home!! Us too, doing your program exactly! Nothing gets into the house here! Stay safe sweetie, love you too! 💞
Susan, thank you! I did not know I could paint portraits, but we(our) class has an excellent teacher. She teaches us step by step. We learned to do the parts of a face first: lips, noses, eyes….and then put it all together. We also did self portraits….hummmmm….mine has a Picasso look to it….ha! So, glad to hear that you are following “protocol” to stay safe…. I’d rather over do, than under, and put us at risk. I just wish everyone would listen to the experts and follow suit. “Hi,” to Joe and a rub and “good kitty” for Jack. Love,
Rachel
That painting was simply wonderful. Looking at it right now, it’s perfect. The vegetables too. You should DO this! And yes, was just “explaining” to poor Joe that I would rather do too much to protect us than too little. Take care out there!💞
Thanks for sharing the cheer of Spring as we face these crazy time. It’s all about our focus. ❤️ Happy Birthday on the 12th! We share that birth date 🥳. Hope you feel the admiration of all the girlfriends for your big day🎂
I am recovering from open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve. Thank God I had it done just before all of this exploded. Your blog brightened my day.
Hi, Kathleen, congratulations on your surgery! My dear Mother-in-Law had this done several years ago and she is still thriving. Best of luck to you during your recovery, and may you have a long and enchanted life.
Thanks for your wonderful words of encouragement! We are all feeling a lot of different emotions and it’s blogs like this the help me feel more “normal” again. thank you and blessings to you and Joe. Stay well!
Staying at home means sharing 35 acres, two old farm houses, 30 goats, 3 donkeys, 4 piglets, 3 dogs, 5 cats, 24 chickens, and 1 rooster with my six grandchildren, and daughter and son-in-law. Loving the sun rises and the sunsets and every hour in between:) Hostas are poking up so warmer weather is soon to appear! Stay safe and stay healthy…counting my blessings to be “stuck” at home. Thoughts and prayers go out to all.
I so needed this! What you write is very comforting. Thank you, Susan, for all that you share 🙏🏻🤗
Thank you for the words of cheer and encouragement! I’m glad you are well.
We speak to our son in Asia almost daily. They have been sheltering in place since mid January. We stay home in our own little world. We have play dates with our granddaughters with FaceTime. Not as fun as being there but it works. Thanks for your give a way. I do hope I win ❤️
Susan, you’re always inspiring and positive. Such a pleasure to read your blog!
Really enjoyed this blog post. It is already quite warm where I live, but I can so appreciate all your lovely flowers in your windows and can imagine how beautiful your “outside world” will be in no time.
Wonderful to read your blog & be inspired to use happy colours. May I suggest the BEEB’s DVDs The Vicar of Dibley? Laughter IS the best medicine!
So happy to see a new post! The world is changing before our eyes, but it’s comforting when we find the sameness that we love (and need!) like our Western Bluebirds that have built a nest in the box my husband built for them 4 years ago. Woke up today to see 5 tiny blue eggs. They don’t know there’s a pandemic so we watch the birds, we await the new life they are busy making, and we look for pictures in the clouds. God bless us, everyone. XXO
Nothing has brought the world closer together than this pandemic. We must all do the right thing – stay home! Seems simple enough – two little words! But some people think it doesn’t apply to them. Yikes! So Susan, thank you for making staying home a little more palatable. We will get through this together. Thanks for your generous give-aways. Joe looked like a little boy playing cowboys – so cute! Stay safe everyone. Hugs, Elaine
.
Thank you for this lovely blog post. I am saving it for your great list of “things to do”!
love the music you pick. Happy bouncy and mellow. my kind of sound
You had me at Potato Pancakes 🥰
I really loved this one and will save it in my Covid19 file. I, too, am eternally grateful that I get to do this at my favorite place: H O M E. WWII was much worse. If I start to get down, I just say my new mantra to myself, “Remember Anne Frank!”
Thank you and stay home and stay well dear Susan.
As always, agreeing with everything you say! Have been telling younger people, “We’re not hiding from Nazis in an attic – go read Diary of Anne Frank!” We will get through this!! How lucky we are to live in an age of Zoom calls and Face time! Thank you for always brightening our days!!
Dear Susan, so nice to hear from you. Here is a fun story. You know how people save their change, in a jar on the dresser. And then when the jar gets full they cash it in. Welll, my father in law has been doing that since he was a young boy BUT he has never, ever cashed it in! He turned 97 last February. He says he thinks there is probably 20 thousand dollars in change!
He was born in 1923, he flew for the Red Cross during WW2, later flew for TWA and when he retired he had a lemon and avocado ranch in Southern California. Quite a guy. I asked him where he kept it all, he said in a closet in his man cave. 😜(Just think of the old coins he must have!) thought you might enjoy this story. ❤️Debby
Hello from Maryland! We are doing well and thank goodness it is spring! We are on a stay at home order but I can go outside and see my flowers. I am even secretly enjoying this just a little because my 2 college aged boys are home too. So fun to have children who are becoming fine young men right before your eyes!
Love your blog! It always makes me smile. Glad to hear you are ok!
So enjoyed the blog and your encouragement. We will get through this. I love movies, reading and even a little cooking and then their is house cleaning which I think of as my exercise. Once I got somewhat of a schudule for each day, I am liking this staying at home. I do love my computer, the internet and cell phone. Keep safe and continue to enjoy your stay at home time. Blessings to you and Joe and Jack.
Susan.. thank you for your beautiful uplifting blogs. We are all in this together. So so true do not to watch the news. Staying home is helping me finish UFO unfinished objects. Working on bed quilt is the biggest project. Love Jack he is quite the photographic cat! Keep up the good positive blogs
Hugs, Shelly
Hi Susan! Yay for Home bodies! 😊 Plus there is plenty of fresh air outside, all free for the taking! Doing our part to flatten the curve! 😊 Stay safe & well!
Followed the link in today’s MV Times! Your blog today was just what was needed – along with a little SB online retail therapy. Stay home, stay safe, stay healthy!
Lovely as always, Susan. Thank-you! I’m reading your blog listening to some lovely cardinals singing right now. If you like the word delphinium, you should read A.A. Milne’s poem “The Dormouse and the Doctor.” It’s a favourite of my now ten year old daughter who still likes me to read it to her on occasion. Much love!
I love to visit your site, you are so inspiring and uplifting! Trying to keep a positive attitude here in the Midwest. Thank you!!
Hi Susan and Joe and Jack too- i hope all is going well there on the island. I was wondering how the pandemic has changed life on the island. Here in Kentucky , i am able to work from home for now- i had to stop watching the news, i can’ t hear over and over all about the whole scary world right now. I know some would say i am an ostrich- sticking my head in the ground but i am dealing with anxiety and i know i am not the only one. I live alone but have my 4 little rescue dogs that keep me company so i am lucky in that way. I am sending the best of wishes to you and all the girlfriends….i wish health and good wishes and calm nerves to you all. thank you – you make my day so much brighter. I have loved all your work and blog and art and books for many years. Stay safe- and stay well!
Dear Susan, I am reading ‘Mrs. Miles Diary’ written at the same time in history (WW2 in England.) her words are much like my thoughts as this tragedy unfolds here. She wondered at how the new generation would respond., would they step up to the challenge? I was wondering how the new generation now would handle it. Yes, some partied during spring break but some stepped up by bringing groceries to the neighbors. Some collected things for hospital patients. I guess my point is that no matter if you are republicans,Democrats, or purple people from mars stop pointing fingers at others. Find a solution. Pray for a stop to the virus. I don’t need the bickering. Let’s figure out something we each can do and just do it!
Love everything you do!!! So encouraging and inspiring–Thank you!
Thank you, Susan, for bringing a welcome breeze of cozy routine in our upside-down world. We’ve homeschooled for over a decade, and I’m happy to help anyone who has questions or wants ideas for how to make this a memorable time for families. Your list was absolutely spot-on! Our youngest is writing “Diary of a Cactus”, about a cactus who likes to walk in the desert and just wants a hug. 🧡 Also, I’m a huge fan of the color amber. Like bourbon, or Christmas tree sap, or old filament bulbs. Can you do a post about the color amber? It’s not quite brown… nor yellow… nor orange. But it’s my favorite. Please and thank you 😊 and keep cozy!
I love all things Susan Branch. Just got my new Red Letter Day cup in the mail
Hello, from Columbia , MO!
Susan, you’re a wonder! I’m enjoying domestic life too! Your blog always puts a smile on my face!
Susan, your post is just what we need right now. Thanks so much!❤️
How nicely you to give us a lovely distraction during this unsure time. We are taking it one day at a time; cooking, baking, hanging laundry outside to dry and taking much needed walks. Thank you.
Just what I needed today. Your blog made me feel so much better. Please keep them coming.
Thank you for the reminder of all the wonderful things we do still have available to us. I planted pansies in my containers today here in Southeast Michigan. Saw my first daffodils in bloom on my walk, along with crocus and scilla. So glad this is happening as spring comes, not winter. Stay well.
Thank you for the lovely post, Susan. Best wishes to you and Joe and Jack, and hope you all stay well and healthy.
Catching up with old friends, sewing and baking help keep me going. Will need to burn off extra pounds at the gym!
For so long we thought that love, kindness, compassion and empathy were lost but there is a spirit of protecting each other now and the time to share and listen that is at the heart of who we are
Your page and the treasures you make are so uplifting and bring joy to the soul. So refreshing! I am a volunteer Parish nurse for our congregation and just this morning I sent out words of encouragement for this time we are going through. I told them to stop watching the news and look for something joyful in what God provides in abundance each day. It’s there – you must look and give thanks. Stay healthy and thank you for what you share.
Reading your blog is a bright spot especially in this difficult time.
Thank you Susan for this wonderful blog! It’s just what I needed to read. I like to sew for charity and I’ve been making fabric masks for different organizations. Then realized I should also make some for my extended family. So I’ve been busy. I will watch Midsomer Murders on Acorn while I sew!
Keep healthy.
What a joy it was to have this blog waiting for me. We have been working in the yard, the sun is shining in Michigan and it is 60 degrees today!! Would love to add that cookbook to my collection!! Take care, we are all in this together even though we are apart right now!!!
Thank you for your uplifting blog…it always comforts and encourages us all.
We watch Acorn shows so often….grateful for their good acting and quality. Enjoy your Zoom with the girls….my book club did that last week…fun! Keep safe! 😘
I actually just had decided on breakfast for supper right before I found your new post; it’s one of our favorite meals. We are retired, and homebodies besides, so it’s not been a big change for us to stay in. Though I am beginning to feel some stress about our declining TP and paper towel supplies. I try to watch local news, some national news, read the newspaper, watch the governor’s news conference every day. Then I go find a kitty to cuddle and disconnect some. My sweet late mother-in-law’s birthday sometimes fell on Easter and we’d make her a bunny cake, she always acted surprised but pretty sure she knew what was waiting for her, she was so precious. Thank you for the post, it was just what I needed. Now I’m going to wander over and shop for a cup to even out my collection!! Happy Early Birthday to you dear Susan ❤️👑🎈🍷🎂🎉🎁 and love and hugs to you, Joe and Jack 🐰🐰🐰
Your posts are always a breath of fresh air. How have I never seen that wonderful Norman Rockwell?? Perfect. That’s my husband and I too, this time of year. Thank you for the sunshine and cheer you share.
Your blog post is rejoicing. The yellow, the flowers, the light, the wisdom of your words (and this very funny stubborn squirrel trying to get his share of the bird seeds) just made me smile. Thank you for being you! Take care!
Thank you for your giveaway, Susan. We all need something to look forward to in these uncertain times. Home is definitely the place to be and as per your wise advice, I’m not listening to the news or any media with regards to the pandemic. There are so many other things, fun things, to do. Here on the south end of Vancouver Island, spring has sprung. The lettuce that I planted 10 days ago is sprouting! Lots of daffodils and tulips, cherry trees, lilacs almost there. The bunnies are hopping around the yard and there are a mother and father robin making a nest in a tree beside the house. We still have a ways to go but seeing all these signs of spring gives one hope. Stay well you and Joe. He looks quite cute suiting up to go to the grocery store.
I enjoy your blog. So inspiring and uplifting. Looking forward to your next book and an update on your possible movie. Trying to think of who should play you. Take care and stay well.
Thank you, Susan, for your always uplifting blogs! You bring sunshine to so many with your words, photos and art.
Susan, thank you for encouraging a balance of routine and creative spontaneity. I If any mamas out there want homeschool ideas, this list Susan wrote is spot-on! ( I am also happy to offer any ideas if homeschooling is new to you). Maybe sometime, Susan, can you do a post on the color amber? It’s my favorite…bourbon, pine tree sap, vintage bulb filaments, candelight, butterscotch…. *friendly wave* Much love!
Your words lifted me up today! Thank you for making my day so much brighter! Stay well!
Always happy to see a new post for a new month, thank you!
Writing from Hilton Head Island, SC , staying home, creating art, reading
and doing puzzles! Husband just retired yesterday after 40 years of 3 careers!
Stay safe! Thank you for the “Happiness” moments!
Dear Kindred Spirit,
Thank you for being you.
Hello Susan. As always thank you for your beautiful posts. They are a joy to receive and enjoy. Two years ago my birthday (April 1st) was on Easter so I understand you excitement on your upcoming birthday. Wishing you a wonderful birthday. I’m sure Joe and all your friends and girlfriends will make it extra special.
I just listened to “Good Night with Dolly” with my son where Dolly Parton read “The Little Engine That Could” out loud for children. It’s on YouTube. Have you ever thought of making a video of a story from one of your books or you reading one of your recipes on YouTube? If Dolly can do it, you can too!!
Thank you! Your letters always bring us cheer!
Stay safe! Xoxo
Good advice about turning off the news, my motto is pray and keep busy. Many of my unfinished quilting projects are seeing the light of day, for the first time in years 😏
I keep trying to remember that the glass is 1/2 full and appreciate your positive words. Just enjoyed a little visit with you via your blog. Thanks Susan…best to you and Joe.
There are still beautiful things in this world, aren’t there? Your posts are some of them. I’m going to read this one again, right after I figure out how to Zoom. God Bless You and Joe tonight, Susan.
Hi Susan!
Thank you for your lovely post! Your writing and painting and photos always bring cheer!
So glad to find a post from you. It’s like Christmas morning, in spite of what’s going on outside.
So happy to hear you and Joe are well. Pennsylvania is on “lock-down “ but I love being home so I don’t think of it as a hardship. I am stitching, cooking (I made your delicious German pancake), hanging out the laundry and praying. Lots and lots of praying. Thank you for brightening my day! Stay well.
Everyone stay safe in your sweet safe homes
I have been doing the same thing Susan. Working on my family tree and having pancakes for dinner. I always look forward to your posts. They brighten my day. Please stay safe and warm.