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 . . .
Will get my Heart of the Home out first thing tomorrow! Do you have any cases of Covid 19 on the island? Next county over from us does. 🙁
North Idaho
Yes we do… kind of mixed messages, but I think we have 9, and no one has passed away yet, thank God.
Your blog is a welcoming shelter as we shelter at home!o
Dear Susan, Thank you for this post. A keeper, for sure! Keep well and safe.
Finding inner calm in the midst of chaos- you help us do that. The basics of homekeeping; you help acquaint and show the love of sharing in our own safe havens. Be safe everyone, enjoy the calm in your own space.
The blog is a blessing and reminder of normal. Thank you for the gift on a difficult day!
Saying “HI” from Long Beach, Ca. The two of you please be safe & hope this madness ends soon.
Thank you for your wonderful words.. I promise I won’t listen to the news !!!
Reading your blog puts a big smile on my face. You spread sunshine, cheer, and hope in a very messy world.
I’m definitely going to check out Nella’s War. Thank you, Susan.
I am so glad that I am home and can make fabric face masks from all my cotton tea towels for friends and family. The New York Times had a pattern in their Wednesday edition!
All in! But the daffodils are blooming and my irises will soon. The hollyhocks came back thank goodness! I have to remember I have a lot to be thankful for right out the back door!
Wonderful to read your positive message. I worried about you and everyone on the Island. Good to know you are doing well.
Hello from Northern California. I’m cocooning at home and am so glad you keep visiting via Twitter and Blog and recipes and favorite mugs Castle Cottage today). On Tuesday I was feeling very Holly Oakish and pulled out MVIOD to find your potato pancake recipe (I just happened to have left-over mashed potatoes in the fridge) and YUM! it was crunchy and buttery and just as comforting and delicious as you said it would be. Now that I’m working from home, most mornings I make toast while the kettle is on, and I sprinkle on a mix of sesame, flax, chia & poppy seeds (thank you for that idea, too), sometimes adding a bit of cinnamon sugar ~ more YUM! Housework is now done during remote-work breaks, and I’m still pining for Saturdays when I will have time/energy for the necessary deep cleaning ~ just like in the olden days three weeks ago. This strange time has had the effect of highlighting so many more things and people to be grateful for ~ now including the many thousands of service personnel (pharmacists, grocery store clerks, delivery people & etc.) who also are doing all those vital jobs that make it necessary for them to leave their cosy quarentined homes and families (as all the first responders, nurses, doctors, firefighters, peace officers & etc. have always been doing). In the middle of this terrible time, it is a wonder to think of all the incredible things we can give thanks for. Today I saw my great-grandson (who lives 4 hours away) eat some of his first solid food (made by his mom). Pureed carrots were all over his face and hands and shirt in the MOST adorable way, and he is getting expert at grabbing the spoon and helping it to his mouth. It was so wonderful to get to watch! So much of my fun these days is found online ~ seeing the Beatrix Potter-inspired watercolor that Deb from Wales painted and shared with us today; listening to darling Rachel share her heart with the world a few days ago; taking walks in Wales and up into the Shropshire Hills with Carrie and Stuart and Jack and Tex; stepping into your living room last week to enjoy your fire, admire your forsythia and say hello to Jack; staying in daily contact with family and friends in other cities, states and countries. Blessings all.
By the way, I read “Nella Last’s War” when you first recommended it a few months ago, and of course it was so interesting (even more so because it was true – the story of her life during the war) and so well written and she wasn’t trying writing a book, but ‘just’ journaling! It certainly is a story for a time such as this.
Susan, I wish you could get your groceries delivered, too; I gotta say, though, Joe is the cutest masked man I ever saw. Please keep taking the best care of each other. Love to the three of you. xoxoxo
Good and safe, loved reading this Christie. Yes, groceries are a problem, but we shop for at least two weeks at a time, wash it all off when we get it home, and you can just imagine the instructions Joe gets about staying safe as he tries to escape out the door! I worry about us, but I worry about our tiny hospital too … no one wants to be a burden in this difficult time. Sending love to you and yours xoxoxo 💖
It’s so very nice to read this blog. Sadly, I haven’t been following you for quite some time and I regret it. Everything I admire and am comforted by is written here or illustrated here, and at this challenging time I’m so happy my email offered a click to find you again.
You haven’t missed a thing Helen . . . all of the posts are still up and available, just scroll down and look right, you’ll see “Archives” … it’s all there. And welcome back!
We are lucky to live in the USA, where we have excellent medical care. We are staying inside only to go to the grocery store, We do go out for a ride and just look at the neighborhood, wave to the neighbors. But like you I love as excuse to be home. I used to plan days of the week that I didn’t have to go any place and could just stay home and read, watch old movies and stay in my Nightgown all day, I called those “Doris Days” Now I still don’t mind only sorry for those that have to go out and take care of the sick. I know how hard they are working as I am a retired 75 yr old RN. Stay well.
We planted 30 blueberry plants on our property before all this started happening. It’s nice to be at home, walking out to them every day seeing their growth. Our chickens love to come with us! I really enjoy everything you do!
Hello, everyone! Susan, your words arrived just when I was feeling all domestic and garden-ey. I’m looking for the silver linings right now, too. Everyone I know is cooking more. We were to host Easter but, alas, no Easter dinner this year. However, we have had a ‘practice’ virtual Easter egg hunt with eggs hidden by Mr Bunny in our garden room. Then we Facebook with the children and they eye spy the eggs. We all love ‘practicing.’ Anyway, in my ‘spare’ time I’m decorating or redecorating, gardening, reading, writing, sending cards, catching up on phone calls to my girlfriends, watching movies, taking short drives through the historic part of town looking at houses and gardens and trees in bloom. It’s so lovely albeit deserted. One thing I’m procrastinating on is the deep spring cleaning. Oh I keep things relatively picked up but I’m not yet doing the drawers and closets. I will save that for a rainier day. Have a great week!
Stay safe all
How fun you are getting more into family history! You are doing your family a huge favor. We love 800 Words too! So glad you are well. We are thriving also with peanut butter cookies, quarantined with some awesome new cookbooks from the library. I love home.💕
Your visits are always so welcome! We really are in this together, all over the world! Stay well!!
Happy to see you, Joe n’ Jack are staying healthy & staying safe. Our world has changed. But we’re happy in our wee, cozy home with all our blessings. Watching Send Me No Flowers with Doris n’ Rock… more blessings! Stay well Sue, thanks for your lovely blog. xo
Thank you, Susan. 🙂 <3
Thank you Susan, for the encouragement and joy you bring to our lives! You are so right…there is indeed so much to be grateful for, even in this season.
Blessings to you!
Kim
Thank you for the wonderful reminder that Home is where we should be and how lovely our homes are!
I’m excited to share that I’m planning a trip to England (hopefully this December) and I’ll be using your books as a guide. Right now I’m loving all the planning of where and what to see! It makes time pass quickly and gives us something to look forward to.🌷
It seems like a cozy time to be writing your Christmas Story. I appreciate the positive Spirit in your uplifting words and creations. Thank you, Susan, for sharing your ongoing journey of love and discovery.
Susan, I’m taking your advice and turning off the news. I’m going to hang my sheets on the clothes line and I’m going to snuggle my pugs. Two of my grandchildren work for a major “one-stop-shopping” stores. They are working many extra hours and listening to people worry about toilet paper.
I absolutely love the face on your Jack. What character. I miss having a cat around the house.
Thank you for this post. I’m off to print my bookmark. Thank you for that also.
Sandra
I love my corgi teacup. Thanks for mentioning grocery store employees in your list of people helping us through this situation. I have five family members working in three stores in Kansas. Love you, Susan Branch, for helping us through this with your beautiful art and thoughts. From an old Gladys Taber fan.
Thank you for your sweet reminders from my home in Sacramento. Working hard here as a member of Mayor Steinberg’s office to make sure Our seniors, school children and most fragile residents are fed. We are mobilized at home not isolated at home to save lives by staying apart for this short time in the spring of 2020. Mother Earth is taking From all of our busy-ness and so are we humans! ❤️🐞
I hope I win, I hope I win, I hope I win! 😀 But even if I’m not one of the 3 winners of your signed cookbook, I’m already winning by being in my happy comfy home, feeling healthy and well, and reading this very happy, encouraging blog! Thank you so much, Susan! Sending blessings and cozy vibes over to you, Joe, and Jack. 🙂 <3
I love reading your blogs…they are like being on a lovely vacation from the world, and for this moment, I have joy. Thank you for being ‘just like us’ in so many ways. Blessings to you and Joe, Jack, and your lovely home. You are treasured.
Oh Susan you’re such a dear! Reading your blog alwobrings so much light and joy just when we need it most! Thank you! You and Joe be safe.
Happy early birthday, Susan! Enjoy your day and the joys of spring! Thank you for your post and making today a little brighter for us all.
Reading your letter is good medicine. Being home is comforting and healing. Stay safe!
Love and prayers for all. Stay safe.
I love April too. I was born on Easter Sunday April 21, 1957 and it fell on Easter April 21, 2019 only for the second time in my life. I’ve got a tuxedo cat also and her name is Fiona. Thanx for the lovely article.
It was so good to read your blog. Positivity instead of negativity. I had to turn off the news and focus on the things I can control. Baking bread has helped. Such a wonderful smell throughout the house. Thanks for being here for all of us.
Dear Susan,
Always love your posts and pictures. 😊 You haven’t mentioned lately your book to include Scotland and Ireland…..wish I had it now to enjoy and dream of future travel. Can you give a timeline when it might be available. I can’t wait❗️
Stay safe and be careful. It’s good to be reminded of what the Brits endured during WWII to realize how we can stay calm and carry on in our cozy little homes.
Thank you for your inspiration.
❤️ Susan
It has been wonderful to wake up each morning and not have to be anywhere. Home is my favorite place. I’m reading more books, doing puzzles and watching movies.
We’re under a stay-at-home order here in our little town. Bobby, my husband, has been working in the yard. He’s built a wonderful fence around my pride & joy ~ my bramble! I started putting it together last year. It’s been SO much fun to watch during this past year as the seasons have changed. It’s now full of berry plants, English ivy, tiny tallow trees and lots of wild flowers. The birds are loving it. I’ve been reading – a lot. 🙂 I’ve been exploring the wonders of the Instant Pot and the air fryer too. Stay safe ~ keep positive thoughts~
Dear Susan~Thank you for this posting…yellow is my favorite color…social distancing from northern Michigan…
Thank you Susan. We need your cheery messages more than ever…something sweet and cosy while we are all wt home. Glad you and Joe and Jack are well. Stay safe and snug.
Love all your positivity and creativity! Thank you for all you share with us!
Dear Susan~Thank you for this post…yellow is my favorite color…social distancing from northern Michigan…
Cheers to Spring! I was born on Palm Sunday and will get to celebrate a Palm Sunday birthday this year… Happy Birthday to us! Also I adore the Bunny Cake pic as my mom made me one for my birthday probably when I was 7 or 8. Definitely had licorice whiskers! Brings back special memories! Xoxoxo
We hope you can come to our quilt guild in 2021 in Lansing MI (yes, I talked to Sheri, but haven’t heard from Joe.)
Write me about it at [email protected]/~susanbs3/susanbranch/ … I don’t remember hearing about it . . . Busy maniacs live in this house! 💞
Thank you Susan for your wonderful words and hope. It made me look at this in a different way. I am a homebody too and this is the best place to be confined to. I am your California friend (who grew up in Reseda) and hope things are getting better soon. I don’t know what’s going on because I am on a “no news” prescription to keep me sane and not get too stressed. Your blog is the perfect cure for that.
So happy you and Joe and Jack are well.
Heard the birds chirping today and saw many butterflies. Small miracles!
I wonder if someday when this is over and we are safe if we will look back on this time and realize how precious it was. I hope some good comes from all of this. Take care!
I think we will. I know we will. And who needs news if you simply STAY IN. It’s the cure. 💞
Dearest Susan – your posts are always uplifting and I always feel better about everything after reading them ❣️
Hi! Sunshine always follows the rain. Good things always come after the bad!
As someone else said this too shall pass. Hope everyone stays safe and this is over as fast as it started.
Sheltering at home with the cats: Callen, Jethro and Shannon.
Hello!!
So good to hear from you! I must be on “Susan Time” because I was just thinking yesterday that I could sure use one of your blogs about now. And here it is!! Very glad that you and Joe are well and as safe as one can be under the circumstances.Thank you for sharing your strength and calm and wise words.
We can do this!
I needed this today – thank you! I keep thinking of the quotation you often use about every woman needing to be her own chaperone. We all need to guard ourselves and each other from this as best we can, both physically and emotionally. Staying home, taking care of each other, and turning off the news are the best things we can all do right now.
Also, I want to thank you for mentioning Milk Street Radio on Twitter the other day. I’ve listened to it every day since then while cooking dinner, and it’s just lovely – it makes me feel normal and happy.
Stay safe! We can do this. 🙂
I wish they would put the entire story-telling thing back on the radio. There are a lot of good things, but wouldn’t it be grand if they read us a book everyday while we were making dinner? 👏💞
Thanks for all the happiness your post brings! Love and lots of prayers Melissa R
I love your title. We are all home, like it or not. Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions on how to make the best of it.
I enjoy your post so much. A light in the darkness.Thank you
Hi Susan,
Thank you for your encouragement.
It’s such a blessing. We’re staying sane and safe with our kitties too. Give Jack a hug from us!
Love your art and your humor! You lift my spirit wverytime you send out a Willard! My bunny cake never turned out at cute as yours! Must be the two front teeth! God bless, and Happy Spring! (My fav time of the year!)
Thank you so much for giving me some sunshine in my days! God bless you.
Dear Susan, Thank you for your much needed post. Wisdom, recipes, kitty pics and flowers, and ideas for knitting or painting or just reading a good book are like a comforting hug for our souls. You really are like our lighthouse beacon in this terrible storm. Our light at the end of the tunnel. Best wishes to you and Joe, take care and stay safe ❤️ Happy Birthday 🌼
I so needed my monthly dose of you and I thank you! I have filled all my containers and have moved on to the ground planting everything I can get my hands on. I recently moved to a small island beach town and we have all been sharing plants. It has helped make these days so much easier. Be safe my friends and pray that this is over sooner rather than later, especially for those on the front lines.
Everyone stay well, let’s take time to count our many blessings.
“Be still and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10
Thank you for reminding us to enjoy the simple, yet wonderful pleasures of living and being in our homes. Looking forward to baking and creating to pass the time. Your blog came at a good time to bring me out of my funk!
Thank you for the reminder that home is the best place to be “stuck”! It truly is as all my things are here. You are right. Just missing seeing people and feeling safe going out.
How generous of you to giveaway a book. If I won it I would give it to a friend because I already own it 🙂
Oh, I’m still watching too much news and trying not to. Plus if I want to get paid and have medical insurance I am still going into work only half the amount of days that I used to. My fear, since I live alone, is that I will end up hospitalized and no one will want to come to my house to care for my cats.
Looking forward to when we are beyond this.
If you stay IN, protect yourself at all times, nothing can get you, and that’s all you need to know. And if you aren’t sick now you won’t get sick ~ if you simply take all the precautions. Then you can turn off the TV, listen to Gov. Cuomo every other day, and go on with your life . . . do very healthy stress-beating things like taking a bubble bath. That constant drone of numbers will seriously hurt us as much as the virus. xoxoxo PS if your loved ones know you have kitties, of COURSE they will find a way to put food down for them… worry is such a terrible thing. Blessings on you Barbara. This too shall pass.
Dear Susan,
Thank you for your lovely visit! It’s springtime here in VA! So beautiful! Dogwoods, azaleas, a few daffodils left. Thankful for last years chance encounter in wonderful Williamsburg! Will we ever get to walk those streets again?? Learned to Zoom with my little Bible Study-so much fun. Sending lots of prayers up for our hero healthcare workers, police, EMTs, truck drivers, and grocery clerks. Yes, WE CAN DO THIS!
Stay home and stay safe. Love to all.
Oh Hi Bonnie! Nice to hear from you. Virginia is the perfect place for spring, so many lovely blooming things. Meet you on DoG sometime . . . xoxo
What a joy to receive your blog this afternoon!
Couldn’t wait to sit down with it, and a cup of tea. Stay healthy, both you and Joe.
Today I was thinking about how resilient we are. I live in San Francisco and in 1906 we had a huge earthquake that destroyed parts of our beautiful city, in particular, our financial district. A few days later a fire ravaged what was not destroyed by the quake. We rose then, and we will rise now.
I am hoping that humanity will change. For many years now it has been in my heart that we are not taking care of those less fortunate. The lack of compassion toward those with less means has always shocked me. I am seeing that about 10 million people are experiencing first hand what it is like to face rent or mortgage due on the first, and no job and no money for anything. People are now walking in the shoes of those who have needed our help for so long. It is my hope that we emerge from this wiser and more compassionate.
Like the Phoenix – from the ashes, TOGETHER we will rise.
Not taking care of the less fortunate, not taking care of the earth … imbalance. So wobbly. God looked down and said, “GO TO YOUR ROOMS AND DON’T COME OUT UNTIL I TELL YOU.” And so here we are. I hope what you hope, a new awakening. It won’t come from government, it has to come from the people. Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark…Tagore … one of my favorites. I can hear the singing birds.
Just what the doctor ordered, your post today!!! Thanks
It was wonderful reading your lovely letter. You are so uplifting! I also try to always find the silver lining. I pray everyone stays safe and snug in their homes.
Very nice post! And I love the photo of the squirrel. Adorable! And the one of Jack peeking over the cakes in the pans. 🙂
Attitude is everything! Thank you for lifting my chin up..to focus on all the goodness that surrounds me! Your are inspiring.. and your optimism is contagious! Yeah for spring and sunshine!
Glad you are staying safe – we are too – although had to cancel a trip after waiting a year to see my sister – that was sad – need to get a book for her!
Hardest thing is not being able to hang out with my grandkids – the newest is 14 months! Lots of Facetime! Spring is in full swing here – daffodils have already bloomed, have had WAY too much rain – but the trees have all popped out leaves!
Awwwww!
Thank you for this lovely Spring post! Bringing loveliness to us and reminders that Home Sweet Home is indeed a place of joy and comfort! HAPPY BIRTHDAY and HAPPY EASTER!!! 💐🐑
Happy Birthday Month, Susan. 💕💕🎉🎉🎶🎶🎂🎂 (Mine is 2 days after yours).😉
Glad to know you and Joe are well. That happy gene you possess must have a lot to do with it. Thanks for the uplifting post today.
Warmest wishes,
Nancy (from Bakersfield)
I have your book. Bought a while back. My Sister loves it and have always said when I join the relatives on the other side, I will leave it to her… So maybe she will get it a little early, if I am lucky….. Stay safe …. I love Jack..
I always enjoy your posts. Look forward to taking a break to read them through. Thank you for the positive words and outlook always.
Oh, I’m so glad you wrote this. It’s late at night in California and your words comfort – and inspire a homemade birdhouse! I think my daughter will love that. Thank you!
Thank you Susan for this wonderful post. And thanks for your movie list and suggestions in the comments. That’s a lot of good movies!
I look forward to reading your blog. It’s just what I needed to lift my spirits before the rain storms begin tomorrow. I’ve been cleaning out closets, going through photos and posting some 80’s photos to Facebook (big framed glasses, crochet collars etc..). You wouldn’t believe the comments I received from friends and classmates. Some people couldn’t believe I posted the photo of myself (horrified!) and some people just loved it! I have also been sewing, working puzzles, made a collage of a big eared hare (adorable I might add) etc…It’s just me and my two kitties but we are keeping busy and texting family to stay in touch.
Thanks, Susan, for another lovely post just when I needed it. Glad you and Joe are well. I agree that there is nothing better than being at home…cozy and protected…especially at this challenging time. Thank you for the new creative bookmark I love these! You’re the best!! Thanks for your cheer and take care.
Be well!
Turn off news is best advise of the day❤️
Right now I’m reading all these wonderful comments while listening to “Becoming Jane” movie on TV right now . . . Heaven.
Love, Love, Love Joe’s going-out outfit!! Made me smile. I ventured out today as well, first time in a couple weeks. I kept threatening to go, but my kids scolded me and had a friend (who I love to talk to) call and lecture me – being 85 I’m in the elder at risk group. . . I kind of snicker at this idea. I mean I’ve survived so much stuff in my life so far, what will this little old virus do that all those childhood diseases that we had to have to become immune couldn’t: whooping cough, chicken pox, measles, mumps, my Dad had polio (survived with only a slight limp on one side) when I was 3 years old and I got sent away to be with my Grandmother at her rural home in a logging camp (the scariest part). I had meningitis when I was about 11. Survived it all. Anyhow the world had changed a bit since I last was out and about. Plexiglass screens at the check out stations etc. Lots of old people limping along like me some with masks, ignoring the early morning hour designated times for us to shop! I’m not an early morning person like you Susan. Anyhow I think I’m set for the next week or two grocery wise. I’m sure I’ll be gaining weight before this is all over! Bummer. My favorite park has chain link fencing all around it now! Double Bummer. Fear of groups gathering. I just want to sit in my car and stare at the lovely view while I ate my Filet o Fish from McDonalds drive thru. I need to be writing a story. Can’t wait for your Christmas story Susan. Mind how you go everyone. I HAVE been washing my hands obsessively since I got home today. Thank God for you AND YouTube and music. So wonderful.
Sylvia, more scolding: I hope the person who made you that filet o fish at McDonald’s was tested and found to be healthy. Same with the person who handed you the bag. Same with the person who last touched that counter top. I know the last thing you want to be is a burden on your poor overwrought nurses and doctors. You have the dancing spirit which is so wonderful and charming in REAL life. Unfortunately we aren’t in real life for this very short period of time, . . . you must slow down to a fine delicate waltz you can do in your living room and while you make your own sandwiches. And stay there. With all my love xoxo
Thank you for this loving scolding. I feel fine. I actually worked at McDonalds many decades ago when they first started hiring females. A champion French fry Man – What fun it was after being a housewife an mother for many years. We kept the place squeaky clean. I forgot to mention that in the late 80’s I did home care for some HIV AIDS people. The “training” we got was quite sketchy, but I survived that too, except for the emotional damage because the people died!! Nothing had been invented in the way of antivirals yet. That was some experience and I did write about that because I had gone “back to school” at that time. And believe me I have definitely slowed down to a not-so-delicate waltz now. I had trouble sleeping when I finally got to bed in the wee hours, so I’m hanging out in my Rocking lounger in my jammies, probably for the rest of the day and constantly thinking about what I’ll fix to eat next . . . and HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear person.
Thank you sweetheart, and for not being mad at me. But you are a staple around here, Girlfriend-wise, and I want to keep it that way!💖😘
Hi Susan, best wishes for a Happy Birthday and thanks for helping me to snap out of it! I was getting sucked in by the news, the media, the daily horrible numbers and was able to escape all of that for awhile by reading your post and remembering how much I love and miss forsythia.
Thank you for being the bright spot in my day 🙂
Hi Susan,
A treat to hear about life in your part of the world. Much like everywhere else in the world right now.
So many challenges for so many from young students through the senior population. Each group needs to stay safe, though.
Stay safe,
Eileen
Just reading this around 12:30 am Friday morning. I am a night owl. Loved reading your post today, so uplifting. My husband & I have been doing our part by staying put only to venture out for meds & food. I am so glad we live out in the country on our little acre and most of us are retired. I am going to forward this to my daughter so she can see the bunny cake and our two granddaughters can make it for Easter which we will not get to be there with them this year, so sad. First time since the girls were born as they are nine and soon to be twelve and we are going to miss that birthday too! I am getting ready to sew face masks for us all as I think it is coming to that in a week or so. I have heard that Jo Ann’s is conducting a drive for people to help make these to help ease our county’s needs. I am going to contact them later today to see if this is true and how many I can get made for them. We live in Texas and our county is not as bad as some, but I think extra are needed for the First Responders in all ares. Maybe your readers can do the same. Most people are following our Governor’s suggestions or so it seems. Like I said we live out in the country and don’t see a lot of traffic. You & Joe stay “hunkered down” as the saying goes and take care of each other. Happy Easter & God bless you both.
Everyone I know is sewing faces masks too . . . it’s a wonderful thing, everyone trying so hard to help. Stay safe Sandi!
Thank you for remembering all of us. God loves us all.
My mother and I went together to see the movie Little Women, which we loved. I told her I wanted to read the book again and a couple of weeks later she sent me a beautiful old copy of Little Women in the mail. It looked like it should be read at a special time, so I put it on my bookshelf and it waited for me. It waited until a couple of days ago, when I needed an escape from all the bad news.The March family found ways to create joy in their home during the Civil War and their motto was “Hope and keep busy”. I texted the motto to my mother this morning. If I had read the book before a few weeks ago, the words would not have had as much meaning to me as they do now. Thank you for your blog today, it fit the motto perfectly!
Your amazing – truly enjoy your writings and comments – very uplifting!! With thanks, Sharon
Susan: I would love to get your book for my daughter in Oregon. We attended a book signing in Cambria, Ca many years ago. You signed your calendar for her, she adores you! I enjoy reading your e-mail when I get it. Happy Birthday to you coming up this month. My two kids put on a surprise 80th birthday party for me on March 13th at the Santa Maria Inn. It was my very first birthday party and it was wonderful! All my family was there. Stay healthy and safe!
Your pancakes always look scrumptious! Have a blessed birthday!
Wishing You & Joe all the shared joys of Spring, sunlight dappling the fresh green leaves, blossoms bobbing their faces amidst warmer breezes, and time to enjoy each new day together safe at home. This is my wish for all of us.
thank you for spreading joy and . > yes to the Lamb cake (mold) >so fun!
Thank you for the encouragement!
Stay Healthy Stay safe to you and Joe,I’m staying home and saving Lives with my Cats Tommy and Timmy…
You are a ray of light in our dark world right now. I, too, am content to be in my home, knowing that the Lord will keep us in the palm of His hand as we all go through this trying time.
I recently discovered Zoom! We have our church service on it now, and also daily devotion times. Meeting with my church family keeps me grounded and connected.
I wish you and Joe good health and many blessings!
As my anxiety level ramps up, it is so comforting to read your blog. Your writing of daily life, simple things, and all your lovely drawings and photos bring me a measure of peace. Thank you so much !
Hi Susan, May you have a blessed Easter and a happy birthday! My birthday is April 6th and my youngest daughters birthday is April 11th. We are “sheltering in place” and since I am a “homebody”, I am enjoying it(with prayers for all who may be affected by this terrible virus). We are all in this together! I walk around my yard and enjoy all the tulips, daffodils, primroses, pansies, and forsythia in bloom—so beautiful! I love the four seasons, each with it’s own special beauty! God bless! Love and hugs, Linda in Boise, Idaho
😍
Our bithdays are close! Mine’s April 11th! And Ive had your lovely book for 30 years! I gave 2 to my daughters and have a third daughter that would love it, too. So I’ll keep my fingers crossed! Thanks for all the great ideas!
Thank you for cheering us up today with your delightful words. When I tire of the news and numbers, I turn the TV off and listen to The Beatles!
Peace and Love to all,
Jeannie
Great post, Susan! So much encouragement, cheer and wisdom!
Thanks!
Hi Susan, I discovered you by happenstance last year and just ADORE everything I see, hear and read from you. You make me smile and remember times with my large extended family when I was young, both here in the States on the East Coast and in France. I live far away from all of them now with my own 3 teens and hubby all the way in Seattle, but your beautiful thoughts, art and recipes make me feel like I’m home. Thank you for your grace and love in all that you do. It makes the world a better place…especially mine.
I’m happy to see you here Cece . . . take good care, xoxoxo