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 . . .
Susan, so nice to read your update, what perfect timing to get a little note of inspiration and hope! We are thankful and appreciate for what we have and just taking things day by day!
Best,
Jonna
The “ordinary arts” have been a big part of my life and I value them tremendously. This time of “sequestering” is a gift of time to reconnect with and appreciate simple but beautiful activities like reading, knitting, cooking, baking, making music, making conversation, etc! Stay well everybody!
A bright ray of sunshine for my day! Thank you, Susan and Joe and Jack, for sharing your corner of the world. Your uplifting message always makes me smile. You are right…our own Blitz…but we are soldiering on, doing our part, staying safe and well in our homes. We are SO fortunate to have homes to retreat to.
Bless you and yours and all the birds and squirrels!
Thanks for your artwork and happiness. Will update to the new Heart of the Home, have the original. Have all your books and calendars. Everything is blooming here in east Texas so working in the garden really helps me through all of this! Hope you make your big desktop calendar again.
Thankyou !! Love your stuff ♥️
Thank you for this, Susan… all of it. I’m in Florida where it’s been sunny and warm with skies of the most lovely periwinkle blue and flowers blooming everywhere. Being outside, even if it’s only on my back patio, really does lift my spirits. And hearing the birds sing? Positively heavenly. I can almost forget that we’re pandemic-ing for a moment or two. It’s definitely harder some days and a bit sobering to realize that we’re only two weeks into our safe at home procedures, but like you, I’m turning to WWII references, especially those of England, and it helps me keep perspective and resolve to carry on.
Such an encouraging post! As my mama says, “This too shall pass.” We are taking it day by day and praying for the best. If nothing else, it’s a wonderful opportunity to practice or relearn all the cozy, homey skills and hobbies we often put aside for lack of time and enjoy our families. Most of us now have plenty of time, so let’s come out better (and closer) on the other side! Stay safe!
We are loving being home but miss our exercise class and lunch with friends afterwards. As was already said, This to shall pass!! Thought we reached spring here in So Cal but rain is coming again next week . We do need rain and enjoy the fruits after it. Thanks for connecting with us.. Love your posts!!
Thanks so much for this timely post. You always find the positive in tough situations! Glad you are all doing well!
Love this post!
Susan, I just love your blog! Today’s post was so upbeat and cheerful and inspiring! Thank you for all you do to help keep us on track and remember what is important in life! Stay safe and healthy!
As always, thank you for your words..words that comfort in dark times and encourage and inspire us! Home has been a wonderful place to be the past few weeks. Hope everyone is doing well!
I just had to have tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner the other night! Just made me less stressed! And here tomato soup pops up in your blog!
I love my home too and Zoom is a wonderful invention! Thanks for keeping us laughing and cheering us up.
It’s been a gloomy day today — your bright and cheery message is so welcome! I’ve been thinking about wartime England a LOT. Obviously, I’m not the only one. Thank you!
I loved your blog tonight; it was an unexpected pleasure. I participated in my first Zoom call last night celebrating my brother-in-law’s b/d. I am doing another Zoom tomorrow with my friends… it is fun👍
Happy Spring. Stay safe.
Patty H
Be safe, stay well and let’s not forget to count our many blessings.
Oh gosh, how lovely and generous a thing to offer up your treasures! No doubt they will find their way to the EXACT sweets who need a prize!
Refreshing read! Loved your “sometimes we need a little pandemic in our lives to help see the road”. I needed that! Thank you always!
Thank you for these lovely words of encouragement! You are so right; only watch enough news to stay informed. Have been staying home and staying connected to family and friends via phone calls, texts, and Facebook. I’m participating in a Zoom tea party with my children and grandchildren on Saturday!
Susan, thanks so much for the wonderful post. So much to be thankful for & you help us appreciate those beautiful things in our homes. I received my new Red Letter Day cup.& I love it. I agree about the flowers. I have not had the grocery delivery service bring them & I do miss them but look forward to the outside blooms coming soon.
lots of homeschooling going on here….and clicking to keep up with the teenagers. Thank you for the a bright spot in the day! It’s nice to be able to connect with others.
Blessings to you!
I was just thinking the other day, “I haven’t seen an email from Susan Branch lately, I hope her and Joe are alright” as if we’re besties!😁 So glad to hear you are well! Thank you, as always, for the lovely post!
I just watched “Good Night with Dolly” where Dolly Parton read “The Little Engine That Could” on YouTube. Have you ever considered reading one of your recipes or stories from one of your books on YouTube? If Dolly can do it, so can you!
Thank you for this encouraging post, Susan! What a pick-me-up! Sweet dreams!
Thank you for this uplifting post. This too shall pass and hopefully we will all be better in some way. God bless those keeping us safe.
Susan,
This was a fantastic Blog!!! I think most of us, your girlfriends, are like you. We enjoy the beauty of our homes and love to create…be it cooking, trying new recipes sewing, quilting, painting gardening..etc etc…and also the cleaning and cleaning out.
I enjoy my home and I don’t mind being in my home. So many little and big things are getting done. When it rains I get so much more done inside…for when the sun shines it is outside in the garden etc etc…we live in California and lately we have been getting alot of rain YAY. I have been riding my bike also about 6 miles it is only around the neighborhood for all the bike trails are closed. But I still get my exercise…we have to….We are not buying any desserts..we are making them. Some are really good and others are…WELL we will try that again!! hahaha. It is a hard time BUT truly we are going to be okay. I love it when I ride or we walk everyone waves and yells HELLO. We don’t know some of them..but we all care about each other. Take care and God Bless us all through this, That first picture of Joe ….was the start of this GREAT BLOG Thank you …and Joe, thank you for putting a smile on my face and a laugh in my heart…made things easier for this evening. Love, Susan P.
I just put my 13 year old daughter to bed and she had me help her put in “sock’ curlers. They’re basically rag curls but done with socks! An new (old?) trend. I love home with my loves. I’m trying to enjoy every minute.
So lucky to be holed up in a home we love! Able to walk our neighborhood, even get down to the beach. Our gardens are sprouting and there’s plenty to do … right here at home. Thank you for another post that underscores how very lucky we are to have a warm home and food in the fridge.
It was so good to read your latest post. Will check my flowers tomorrow. Hope some are blooming. Have a happy day!
It looks like Jack is quite the helper! Keep well. Keep safe. And happy early birthday! 💗
This was an absolutely lovely post, Susan! Thank you..just what I needed today! I have a copy of your original cookbook, but would cherish a new one! Thank you and stay healthy, Susan and Joe and Jack!❤️
Thanks for your lovely, timely words, thoughts, and images today, Susan! I thought I was handling things okay, taking each day as it came, but with each bit of updated news and the mandated Stay at Home order in my state this week I definitely had moments of feeling like the bottom dropped out. I’ve decided it’s okay to “feel the feels” because we’ve been through worse things. We will come out to the other side. The choice is ours in how we do it!
And yes, Zoom is magnificent! 🙂
Hope this will pass soon. Have a tooth that needs a root canal in Extreme pain and know one wants to do it now. 😭
Go away COVID19 !!!!!
🙏🙏🙏😳😢
I saw your fried eggs, and remembered a story. I made fried eggs for my children once (their father usually did breakfast). The children just looked at the eggs and then at me. I said what? My youngest said, “they have no brown lace”. Who knew. Love ❤️ the news letter Thank you.
My home time is allowing me to read more. Wondered if you and Joe still go out for your walks. Thanks for your cheerful post.
Thank you for your positive, uplifting blogpost. I am finding so many things to love about being home, too. My birthday is in April too. Happy Birthday, Susan.
Lovely, comforting and full of kindness-that’s your blog to our hearts. I’m in my 2nd week of self quarantine since returning from England. Feeling great and getting lots of projects completed! John is able to run to the store if we need anything, or help my mom out. Today we built the 1st of 3 raised garden beds! Fresh veggies and beautiful flowers are in our future!! Embroidery project is awaiting my fingers and I’m determined to learn how to sew (John will guide me!) Books, letter writing and journaling are all getting done-whoo hoo! Many thanks and prayers to all the healthcare and other essential workers. God bless us all!
So glad for the reminder that Spring IS coming and soon. Here in WA State, it’s still cool and rainy, but we do have flowers who can withstand it – and so can we.
I’m sharing this. It’s just what the doctor ordered!! Thank you, our friend. Virtual hugs all around.
Happy April dear ones!
Warm, healthy hugs from our home to yours~
Be well, be happy!
I was washing dishes and watching all the birds. I thought of you as I sipped my Fine Romance tea from my Isle of Dreams cup. I was wondering if you’d be writing to us again! I’ve actually loved having to stay in because I’m usually so busy – I was gone 5/6 weekends after Christmas and then had an ocular stroke. It was actually a good thing – the stroke was very tiny and I did not lose any vision. But while in the ER they found the evidence of a small old stroke in my brain. So the next two weeks were filled with appointments and tests with the retinal specialist, GP and a cardiologist. My neurology appointment later this month will certainly be postponed. And then all life stopped with Coronavirus.But I’m so blessed in that they found this stuff and I’m on preventative medication. I do worry about my two son in laws who are ER doctors. And our daughter is a pediatrician (she’s married to one of the ER docs). They have three small children (4, 2 and 7 mos). The other ER SIL and his wife have an 8 mo old. Another daughter was to be married last weekend but now that is postponed. So life has been topsy turvey here. We have 5 children all grown – 6 grandchildren under the age of 8. I do miss them but we do a lot of FaceTime. We did Zoom last weekend – on Thursday which was to be the rehearsal dinner. We toasted the bride to be and the groom. On Saturday we were supposed to dress up in our wedding attire and eat dinner together but we ended up just visiting. We are also doing a movie discussion next weekend on the movie, The Soloist. Thank you so much for your blog. I sure look forward to it and it’s very comforting in these strange days. I’m sorry to prattle on. You can edit it down. Blessings to you and Joe! I’m making masks tomorrow!
Susan, esp liked the part about cooking. I’m just learning last 2 years.. and I’m 67 – it is rewarding and fun. I’ve just today made bacon in the oven for the very 1st time. Now that’s crazy. your blog is a life-saver and I very much appreciate you, your mate, and your 🐱
Stay safe. Linda from Gainesville, fl
Susan,
What a nice surprise for the day! So nice to hear all your positive thoughts and thank you for all the beautiful spring pictures! I’m grateful that spring is providing all small special things, providing hope for the future. Just think… this could all be happening at the Beginning of winter instead! Stay well 💜
Carol in CT
I love your description of April and spring cleaning all over America. Reminds me of earlier times in our country—very nostalgic🙂. Thank you.
Your lovely words always transport me to a place of happiness! Glad you are well and staying in your house. I am sewing and quilting like a mad woman!!! Lots of quilts to create! Would love to win your book! Thanks for the chance! Hugs to you and Joe!
Thank you!
One of my favorite world war II movies is a British film called Housewife, 49. It is based on the wartime diaries of Nella Last. Highly recommended!
We’re not stuck at home, we’re safe at home. 🙂
You do realize that scarf Joe’s wearing won’t protect him at all. The virus will go right through it…no problem. Sorry to burst your bubble…I want him to be safe and that ain’t gonna cut it!
I am going to purchase your anniversary cookbook. You have inspired me to want to cook. Well, maybe that is too strong of wording! I am going to try! I have lost interest in cooking and do need to eat healthy. Oh, Genie in the bottle, please be my personal cook!!
Thanks for the newsletter. It is always refreshing to read and makes me feel warm and squishy.
Stay home and be safe!
Our daughter’s birthday is the 12th of April also. She turns 40 and lives in Santa Barbara and we are here in Montana. It breaks this Mama’s heart that we can’t spend it with her so today I spent about 45 minutes sending texts to family members and friends that she loves asking if they would send a card to her and pass a little sunshine her way. My hope is she’ll get at least 40 Birthday cards! I wish you a Happy Birthday Susan and also Happy Easter. Thank you for your uplifting post. Blessings girlfriend!
As always your blog makes my heart 😊happy! My mom made a lamb cake every year at Easter so thank you for that sweet picture too!
I’ve always heard the term, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” In this case let’s hope that’s true, as a people and as a country.
Take care, be well Susan & Joe
Your posts always bring contentment to my soul, thank you!
You always show up at the perfect time…..with your words of wisdom, hope, and happiness in the “little things”. Your posts always make me smile. I try to keep up with daily events but watching the news is just toooooo much, so….just the facts I need please. Thank you for always brightening up the world. You are pure sunshine. ☀️
Hugs and Smiles….
Liz
From one homebody to another, thank you for your joyful words of hope.
Just thinking about how many people you have cheered up with this blog, Susan … you have a gift. Best to you and your little family. I love Jack. He looks so serious.
Well said, Susan. Happy Birthday! Mine is the day after Easter and I am a little let down that we won’t be having Easter and (poor me) I won’t be having any birthday celebration. But, in light of the reason why, I am pretty okay with all of this quarantining. I love Brokenwood, I found it awhile back and watched all the episodes, wish there were more. My girlfriends have been zoom-ing each night at 7:00 during the week with whoever is free to chat. It’s been such a lifesaver for those of us doing this pandemic survival all alone. Not sure I agree with you that it will go by fast, I am hoping “they” will still let us get out and take walks in some areas at least. All our parks and beaches, playgrounds, etc. have been closed because too many folks were arriving in large groups! Oh boy. Cooking, baking, making meals an extra treat – yes to all of that. I have made one chunky knit throw for a friend and plan to do another if I can get the yarn. Thank you as always for all the lovely thoughts and creative suggestions. Be well.
Happy Birthday Paula!🎉🎊
I love you. Thank you for always being there to warm our hearts. ❤️
Thank you for this post… a lovely reminder of what is truly important.
Staying in here in Ancaster… cooking, reading, dreaming and keeping my eyes on the horizon…
Absolutely live your writing and your thoughts. In this crazy and different time, it’s so nice to read your wonderful thoughts. You have such a way with words
This post was amazing and wonderful, and I loved it. Thank you for the smiles. I also am a homebody, and love it here. There is no other place I’d want to be, other than home sweet home. My art supplies, my keyboard to play a little boogie woogie, my computer to stay in touch with friends and family, and stacks of books ready to be picked up and read, and cupboards with plenty of food to eat. I consider myself and dear husband very lucky. And as another said in their post, a favorite saying of mine…This too shall pass…
Hi Susan, Sheltering in my home in Solvang, just a bit south of Arroyo Grande! Fields are bursting with poppies and lupine, mustard and buttercups. Stay safe and listen for the birds!
What is in the pans at the end of your last post?
We will be ok as long as everyone listens and stays home. Stay home and enjoy your families. Everyone take care.
Thank you, for keeping us all inspired. Happy Birthday! and Happy Easter! to you this year. Stay healthy.🎂🐰
Marlana Sendra
Thanks so much… staying home inAncaster
Hello! Happy that you’re both well.
I love home! Full blown Spring where we are. The dogwoods are blooming.
Stay safe and well!
From Boise Idaho
Love your blog, Susan! I know we would be best friends if we lived closer. Reading your Fairy-Tale Girl-you are just a few years ahead of me so everything about that time is so familiar.
Let’s Talk Turkey – On April 1st We we’re visited by a dozen wild turkey they strutted around in the yard of our New Home as if they were here to say everything will be alright. A neighbor who has lived here for over 40 years said this was a first. We have deer visit but this was unique the male even fanned his feathers for us I hope they will be back .
Hi Susan:
Thanks so much for your blog post today and for the reminder of how much I love being home.
Be well and lots of love,
Jane
It always lifts my spirits to see your Blog show up!
Thank you!
Take care and stay safe 🤗
A part of me is enjoying this unscheduled time with no obligations.
Another part of me feels very vulnerable, because I am in that older age group.
Spring is such a gift. Let the growing begin!
You are so right about home being the best place to be if you have to stay inside. I run a business with two of my four children but when I need to relax and de-stress I cook, sew, or paint. Color is soothing for the soul no matter what form it takes….beautiful fabrics, flowers, birds!!! All so wonderful. We can’t really work for now so I am “doing what I can” and sewing masks for anyone who wants one or needs one.
Thank you for the encouragement to not watch or listen to everything they are saying. Keep praying and keep washing those hands! Blessings to all! Linda Terry. Leander Texas
First sunshine I’ve read in awhile! Thank you!
Every day I try to do a couple little projects I’ve been meaning to get to and connect with a couple friends and acquaintances — I don’t always accomplish what I set out to do, but … Blessings and prayers and love, Alice
You bring warm comforting joy to your girlfriends and remind us to count our blessings, we love you!!!
Beautiful thoughts to remember as we navigate this crisis. Always look forward to your pictures and paintings.
Thank you so much for your reassuring comments. We’re doing fine. Staying home, cooking, reading, watching tv, snuggling with our kitties and out in the garden to get ready for spring, already planted pansies!
Always love your love letters. This was perfect for this time and place❤️
What is in the pans at the end of your llast post? Looks yummy.
Thank you, Susan, for your uplifting words during this time of crisis in the world. Trying to be positive is very hard sometimes and your blog came just when I needed it. Thank you for being you!! God bless you both and keep you safe and healthy.
I can never find the words to thank you for your letters. I relish each one. We are still in AZ where we have been for three going on four months. Would love to get back to Indiana but who knows when. We are so blessed even in quarantine. Sunshine, food and shelter and a God who loves us beyond measure. Stay safe and well. Hugs
I hope when Joe gets to the store there is something (rob) buy. Enjoyed your newsy letter. Thank you.
Thank you for this heartening post! And for the calendar purchase reminder…
I love my “vintage” Heart of the Home” but would so enjoy the revised anniversary edition!!
My prayers are for you and yours… and for all your kindred spirit readers across America and around the world.
My grandmother used to make Lamb Cake for Easter. I loved seeing the picture in your blog. It made me think fondly of her.
I agree that your uplifting words of encouragement are just what I needed to read today! I have been a fan of your artwork for so long and of course feel like I know you. My family even lived in San Luis Obispo around the same time you did so many years ago – small world 🙂
Thank you for giving us a window into your world.
Reading your thoughts through some teary eyes….I’ve been anxious…stopped watching the news…..started art lessons on Zoom (the word of the day, I think) with my great niece, walking, seeing neighbors, again the word of the day a Zoom Happy Hour with two dear friends, watercolor class coming online soon, but worries about friends in Italy, in Ireland….loving everyone and wanting everyone to be safe….your sweet, kind words echo in my ears….thank you again for being there for all of us….stay in touch with us dear friend….
Hi Susan! I really wish you would write a book about spring!
Thank you for the sweet thoughts, especially meaningful right now.
You always inspire and help to look for the positive, and I have TIME to really soak them in this time!
I so appreciate you sharing your “divorce-pandemic” recollections my dear!
Made me harken back to dark days which were far harder for me than this “quarantine”.
Helped me appreciate my sweet second hubby a little bit more if that’s possible (even though having him working from home was a shock to our routine we laugh instead of bicker!).
We, too, saw our first little daffodil together this morning in the yard of our Oregon empty nest at the same time.
Going to put my big-girl-pants on and attempt Zoom soon, my friend Susan said it’s doable!!
; )
I mean it, if I can do it, anyone can. Couple clicks of a button and you’re there!
Just be careful with Zoom like anything on the internet. NPR had a story yesterday about Zoombombing and hackers getting into meetings and doing not so nice things. The article quoted Zoom execs that they are working to improve privacy and security settings. My computer-savvy husband says it all has to do with how people sign up. We are using it for condo board meetings and my book group and high school friends also use it for our meetings. But please follow the guidelines and make sure your computer is set up with a good anti-hacking program. All the best and stay well!
Nancye T., Wells, Maine
Thank you for the helpful information Nancye!
Thank you for your encouraging words!
Thank you for another great post, Susan. We are so grateful here. As the numbers here in Erie County, NYseem to jump by about 100 victims everyday, my sister, sadly was one of them. We had to get an ambulance and she was taken to hospital and admitted for pneumonia. We do not have the results of her test yet, but the doctor said based on the CT scan of her lungs, it looked like the virus. She was placed on IV antibiotics and is now home on oral meds. She is still very weak, but a wee bit better every day, and we are so, so grateful for all the prayers and good thoughts of everyone we knew. So, that’s what I e been about the last two weeks. Love to you and Joe, and please, please stay safe.
HOME on oral meds, that sounds so wonderful!!! I was so afraid to keep reading. Thank God and keep going Debby. She’s going to get well and never get it again!!!👏👏👏
Sue,
I have already commented once, but just wanted to say thank you for the book recommendation about Nella Last. I ordered it on Amazon tonight, and it should arrive in a few days. I look forward to reading about how she managed to get through WWII. I find books from that era fascinating. To be honest, I find a LOT of books fascinating!! 🙂
Wendy Z, Iowa
Hello Susan! What a lovely blog in the midst of this craziness. You are right to caution all of us to enjoy what we can – there are definitely a lot of good things that have happened as a result of this pandemic. For those of us who are healthy, that is. I am a grandmother raising my granddaughter and so doing the homeschooling thing, etc. Joy! Lots of talking! Some crazy stuff but it’s all a blessing. Thank you for your joyful posts. I appreciate them! Love to you and your wonderful husband !
Susan,
Love to read your post! Such a ray of sunshine in this crazy time! You are right. We are so fortunate with all the technology available to keep us connected. Can’t wait to read Nella’s War. I was able to look it up on my library website and check out an electronic ebook since the libraries are closed! Yay! Thanks for the recommendation. We will make it through this and will have some new skills and appreciations as a result. Hope you and Joe stay safe and healthy!
Thanks 🙏 so much, Susan, for your positive words, creative spirit & appreciation of art in nature, translated into your work…All of it keeps us going!
Much love & continued strength,
Wendy
Your blog is always a welcome addition to my inbox. I bought your ‘Heart of the Home’ thirty years ago and still love looking through it. If I win the new edition I’ll gift it to my daughter who is quarantined at home and baking up a storm with my granddaughter.
I have been doing genealogy on Ancestry too! It is something I work on every winter and spring. Also I have been doing a lot of hand embroidery and counted cross stitch as well as some quilting projects. I also do not watch the news and haven’t for about 5 years…waste of time and just causes upset! I love your blog and have the first printing of the heart of the home….would love the new edition! Spring is coming! Hugs from Iowa!
Happy to see you and your family are all well!! I have been getting your calendars every year for years!!