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 . . .
Dear Susan, we recently retired to Scotland from upstate New York so we are concerned about friends on both sides of the Atlantic. Thank you for this positive and soothing post, with such lovely ideas. By the way, Nella Last’s diary was made into a wonderful film called Housewife, 49. Everyone please stay safe and well! We are trying to keep calm and carry on…
Well, YOU have had a busy time. I hope you are feeling connected to your new place and not too homesick. Thank goodness for the Internet! Whether it’s your next door neighbor or a loved one thousands of miles away, we’re all only a few clicks away. xoxoxo
Just made Apple Cake from a page torn out of a 1990 Country Living Magazine. Thank you for being you. I love your reference to your personal pandemic. I can relate! I am going to bed now and reading THE Fairy Tale Girl.
Be well,
Missy
I breathe a sigh of relief when I see your e-mail in my Outlook.
It’s a feeling that things are normal and safe, and even extra special for the time it takes to read what is on your mind. Thank you for sharing with all of us. I’m excited to share I planted foxglove last Fall and it looks like leaves are coming up in my flower garden. The truly wonderful yet deceiving by the looks of it nursery in rural Michigan explained that it blooms every other year, so they had no idea what color they will be. Time will tell. I also planted a childhood favorite that looks like leaves are popping up – lily of the valley. Happy Spring.
So exciting, those first leaves, fruit of your labor! xoxo
I, too, have been bringing out the yellow and green dish towels in honor of spring. Love all your yellow. My husband picks a few flowers from the yard for us each day. We’re in TX and have had roses, irises, salvia, violets and now bluebonnets – sometimes he picks pretty weed flowers : ). He made the grocery store run this morning with his mask on – shopping at the senior hour. Scored some generic toilet paper – yay!! I’m attempting a first try at piecing some easy baby quilts with the fabric I’ve been optimistically stashing over the years. I’m more of a knitter, but this is going pretty well and keeping me busy. Thank goodness for youtube! Thanks for your post and prayers for safety for all!
Just made Apple Cake I tore out of a 1990 Country Living Magazine.
Loved your reference to your personal pandemic. I can relate. Currently reading Fairy Tale Girl.
God bless you and Joe,
Missy Beirne
I was so happy to find this in my in-box tonight! A breath of fresh air!
We have been enjoying Brokenwood Mysteries as well. Such characters, and gorgeous scenery. We’re deliberately not bingeing it, just savoring one at a time. Acorn and Brit Box are our viewing treats for staying home, staying safe.
Just waiting for the weather to cooperate so the serious gardening can begin!
My mother celebrated her 95th birthday yesterday. No one could come to the house for the festivities, so we all got on Zoom and had a WONDERFUL time. Both of my sisters-in-law use it for work so not that exiting for them, but they had such a good time talking and laughing with family rather than work related chores. What a great invention to have at the ready! Connecting Stockton with Santa Rosa, with Novato, San Francisco and England! Thank you for the update! Good to hear from you. We are doing well in Northern California so far and holding steady for what the next few weeks may bring. Be well.
We are #healthyathome here in Kentucky. I’m enjoying having lots of time to cook old favorites and new recipes.
Thanks for your uplifting and positive blog Susan! I hope everyone stays safe and healthy. We can do this! 🏠🙏
Thank you, Susan, for your blog. I needed to hear some positive things today. My daffodils are blooming so life is good!!
I’m grateful for the library – it’s always open online!
Along with commenting, this blog entry makes me want to send you a snail mail, as I did in college so long ago! I have so much to say to you! I actually just ran into the letter you wrote back! Still have it and the envelope! One of my children gently taped it in their Biography of Ashley (That’s me! ;)) because you have been such an influence over my life for so many years!
I can’t believe how like-minded we are! Just today, I was talking about how this feels like how WW 2 times must have been at home, I showed my daughter how to make the bunny cake, I reminisced about a friend who made the stand up lamb cake each Easter, but with green coconut shavings all around and jelly beans-so cute, and I have cut my tiny start of a forsythia one the side of our house, just to have the yellow of Spring by forcing it!
I think we will make pancakes for dinner tomorrow night-sounds delicious! I hope to get my paintbrush out tomorrow to paint some rabbits-I spent all day today going through tub after tub of keepsakes-so dreamy to go back and even more dreamy when you get out your tape player and play mix tapes from high school! I find it peaceful to go through pictures and memories and appreciate your life and how great it has been! A quarantine does help you slow down and do that! ❤️ Also, puzzles!! On my third one! Laurel Burch cats, sunflowers, and now an 80’s one! Fun to find my husband in the dining room taking small breaks from work to fit a few pieces-therapeutic for all!
Have also been enjoying playing old records! I love home like you do! I can really get cozy here, although I do miss my girlfriends and look forward to the Zoom calls with my girlfriends! I have one with my college roommates and am starting one with my girlfriends I met when my children were age 2 and a baby! (I now have teens!) My question? Why didn’t we do this before? It took a pandemic to get us on a group chat?! Lots to ponder for when we get to the other side!!
Thank you for all you shared and Joe in that bandana! Love it! Keep him safe and yourself, too as you are so dear to all of your fans, friends, and family! ❤️❤️
By the way, I am a horticulture major and a flower lover since birth and I think flowers are as important as milk, a loaf of bread, or coffee!!!! They are making an error at your market!! I have run to Trader Joe’s many times in gloved hands to get tulips, ranunculus, or one of those hyacinth bulbs where you can see the roots through the hourglass vase! They just brighten my mood! I will pray your market surprises you soon with something blooming! If not, may the tulips and daffodils come soon! Am watching my leaves pop up all under my mailbox! I always laugh and think, “Wonder what color the tulips will be this year?!”, as I am usually madly tucking them under the pansies on a crazy Fall day! (when life was busier! ;))
Much love you you, Susan!!
Lovely to hear from you Ashley . . . and now you have children and a very sweet and grownup life of your own! Nothing like high school music to lift the spirit! I’m sure when you’re as old as I am you’ll look back at what will very likely seem like a much slower life, and lament for it, as I have done. We go too fast. The pandemic is a gift in that way, it’s forcing us to stop, and although the reason is horrible, nothing less could have done it. Enjoy it while it lasts! 💞
When this craziness is over, the walking paths will be full of all of us snack-a-holics!
Was just looking down at my girth this morning thinking . . . eeeek.
Thank you for all your encouraging words….so good to hear!!!! Take care, all of you, and keep those flower pictures coming…we got about 4 inches of new snow this morning, here in NW Montana…but tonight the moon is out and some of it has melted….but Spring IS coming!…God bless you….Donna
Your dose of sweetness and simplicity is just what I needed. Prayers for all.
Susan- thank you for your kindness in sharing your home and your art and making me and all of us feel that you are our friend…I have just come through two weeks of quarantine with a family member testing positive for the virus as well as having mild symptoms myself..The Lord is good and gracious and He will take us through as we trust in Him….
Prayers for your good health . . . 🙏❤️ Take care. xoxo
I was just about to either sell of donate all my old cookbooks in late January. Luckily, I never got around to it. I have made something new to eat every single day since our stay at home in Michigan started. It’s just my way of coping. Maybe, I make a biscuit, a cookie, a sauce or an entire meal. I have always been a good cook. But there is a real silver lining in staying home 24/7. I just may become a great cook. Those beautifully photographed and concisely written cookbooks have been a blessing. I would love to add your cookbook to my collection which by the way, I will never sell now. They have been my best friends and kitchen companions through all of this sadness.
What a lovely discovery . . . a treasure in your midst. xoxoxo
What joy to have news from your special place! Mine is Iowa…which means “beautiful land” & it is even in the midst of challenging times. My first daffodil bloomed this morning – joyous sign of spring & rebirth. I was recently asked where my “happy place” is. I did not have an answer – my friend said – what place gives you the most joy….hello…”my kitchen”. It is where I bake bread, cookies, pies, healthy meals all homage organic & in time be able to share again with loved ones & friends. Today my 8 yr old grandson & I baked a bunny cake, such joy, a memory forever mine. Stay safe – thank you for sharing your love & creativity!!
Such uplifting and beautiful words. Love your blog. Made me want to skip around the house.Pure joy. Just what we need at this crazy time. Be safe and well everyone.
Hi Susan! I have been doing yoga through Facebook messenger with my regular teacher, and a writing group using zoom. Had zoom tea with old friends across the country last weekend, and gave my granddaughter a FaceTime piano lesson last week. We are both working on McCartney’s “Blackbird”. Spring is absolutely stunning here in California, so many butterflies today. Everyone stay strong and healthy please.💜
Thank you for making staying home even better. We have had some 60 degree days in Ohio so we raked, turned over the earth and put our faces in the sun. I have an Aries birthday too and we do know how to plug away when times aren’t the best. God bless you both with health and happiness..
As usual your comments are uplifting and a bright spot each time they come. We are enjoying being creative with meals staying home. Have had chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and oatmeal so far. Dinners have been breakfast sometimes too. Things are blooming here in our country California garden and sun is shining. Much to be grateful for. Prayers for all who are helping during this season and others.
You are such a light to us all during this challenging time. My family & I are well, just hunkering down & praying for everyone to do the right thing. It is hard, but it is for the good of all. I am crocheting to pass the time & reading your summer book currently. I am up to the raft story & enjoying all of it. I crocheted the cutest little chick in an eggshell. You can take it out of the shell too. If I make you a little gift Susan, where do I mail it? Thank you for this uplifting post. You & Joe take care. Be careful & be well.
Oh Debbie, thank you so much! I’m not sure what our PO is doing about packages . . . we can’t get mail delivered at home here on the island . . . Joe has to go to the PO to get it once a week. He usually had to stand in line for packages … but during this time I don’t think they will allow it. Maybe it can wait until an easier time, you’re a dear to think of me. xoxo
I love all your pictures, and bits of poetry!!!
Love your Blogs!!
Love Jack!!!
Thank you for another lovely Blog Post!
Comfort indeed in your blog/newsletter. Thank you!
Lovely post. Nella Lady’s diaries were dramatised in the UK as ‘Housewife, 49’ well worth a look if you can find it, stars the brilliant Victoria Wood as Nella.
We moved in with my 91 year old Mum when we went into lockdown as I couldn’t bear the thought of her being on her own, conceivably for months – mind you, her childhood was spent with the background of war in a northern industrial town so she’d have been more than capable of rising to the challenge! We’ve spent our days crocheting, baking, chatting, waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer so we can sit in the garden.
We’re also doing a daily quiz/puzzle via zoom with the rest of the family spread across the UK – it’s good to see their dear faces every evening for half an hour.
We’re trying to appreciate this quiet time, and the fact that those we love are safe in their own home places.
Puts tears in my eyes to hear you’ve moved in with your mom for the duration, you’re so lucky you could do that. Take good care of yourselves …💞
Each year since we retired ten years ago we spend the month of April in Nice on the French Riviera, followed by the month of May in London. Needless to say that this is not happening this year. However, I am grateful that we have a nice roof over our heads, money to buy what we need, each other to fight this pandemic, and last but not least, your nice blog to lift our spirit. Thank you Susan. Much love to you and Joe.
Hunkering down in Washington. Next town over, Everett had the first state side case of virus. Seems like a lifetime ago. New stay at home order just extended to May 4th. Trying to stay positive. Thanks for your uplifting post. Stay well friend.
Lovely letter as usual. And so inspiring to help see the pandemic in a different light. Thank you!
Thank you for yet another lovely letter full of ideas of how to fill our lives with beauty during this pandemic.
You are so right! I love my home and being here. Nothing wrong with “forced”garden time. If only it would rain a few more days, I would have the perfect excuse to clean out a few more cupboards. Your first edition of Heart of the Home was my first Susan Branch book. I was hooked. Another reason to be happy to hang at home- re-visit all the books I love! Thank you for another positive post!
Teri
S Soothing
U Uplifting
S Sweetheart
A Angel
N Nurturing
We love you Susan! Thanks for filling our hearts with beauty, peace, and joy.
A week ago my daughter surprised me with a gift of joy to brighten my day … a Susan Branch gift certificate. She said, “Mom, now’s the time … the cups are on sale! Which one are you gonna get?” I chose the British Corgi cup and received it a few days ago. The best part of waking up is Folgers in your Susan Branch British Corgi cup! :o)
👏😘
Hi Susan, lovely post full of so many fun ‘home’ things to talk about. I’m much like you and feel quite content to be ‘marooned’ in our home. Lots of little things to do: sleep in with no rush or worries, change from my daytime jammies into my nighttime jammies around 7pm, watch a favorite movie, and snuggle in with needle, threads & scraps of fabric to do some stitching. Still never will tackle it all!? Enjoy your sweet home …and we’ll all be running about soon enough! Best wishes ~love, linda
We are so fortunate to have the web at this challenging time so that wonderful people like you can cheer us on. Thanks for all of the years you have been doing this on a regular basis!
Hihi, your husband love you so much for going robing the grocery store like that 😉 I mean, going to the grocery store like that, prevention is the most important.
Isn’t wonderful to have so much time to do all we can’t normally do?! There is always positive in every situation and thank you for putting in perspective that it isn’t so bad compare to WWII
Always such a pleasure reading you!
YOU are THE BEST🤗
Home is COMFORT and JOY. My gardens have never been
So nourishing for mind Body and soul .
Stay well and safe 🤗🍀🌈☀️💐
Thank you, Susan for the breath of fresh air you have given me and so many of us. I am feeling so many different feelings at this extraordinarily unordinary time. Your blog has made me feel grounded today and I will keep returning to it for continued peace in my heart.
Thank you for sharing all that you find so beautiful in this world. I’m so grateful to you for sharing your creativity, and your heart of the home.
May you and Joe stay safe and snug. Peace and wellness to you and all you love.
I am doing the most important thing I can do, I’m following the rules isolating myself with precious hubby, of course, We are keeping ourselves healthy and safe indoors, helping reduce the strain on our medical system, praying for everyone on the front lines of this crisis, staying grateful and staying positive. Our job is to survive this and when it’s all over we all will deal with whatever comes. I will say this crisis and the way the majority of people are responding, doing the best they can, caring about others, helping others, inspiring others has me in awe of the human race. Yes, there are bad apples , but for the most part decent good people are helping in any way they can.
While on lockdown I am doing slow stitching, learning watercolor, learning basic drawing skills and have signed up for a few interesting online classes.
Hi Susan!
I am very much like you…I love to be home, it is my sanctuary and I always feel safe and content here. I live alone with my cat Dinah. I am never lonely or bored. I paint watercolors, like you, and teach classes at my home too! Dinah and I are sequestered at home ( no classes now) but it does not create anxiety or depression. We have been here alone over 3 weeks now and I think for a much longer time ahead. Today I made a double batch of peanut butter cookies and tomorrow, I will drive to my Granddaughters home and put them in their mailbox…and then they can run out (10 feet away) and we can have a visit!!! and they can have some cookies! and we can laugh and visit while I am in the car! I also made a sourdough starter…I want to make sourdough French bread…big crusty loaves!!!! That always goes so good with so many things! YUM!
You are such an inspiration to me with the things you write about…You help me keep my own brush in the paint and keep going on projects! I do have a question for you though…. what is your favorite brand and size of brushes that you use? I have used many but my favorite has been an Isabey 6229 detail brush, but now I just found an Escoda Optimo detailer #6 that I have fallen in love with…it holds the paint but has a nice point….worth every penny!!!
I hope that you and Joe find your quiet times completely content.. Enjoy your walks to the beach and be sure to give that Jack a good pat from me….Take good care and be safe….both of you.
I have used the same brush for years and years, a red, windsor newton #1 … because it’s so tiny and seems to last a little while. I haven’t tried a lot of different brushes, but you’re making me curious about the two you mentioned. I should probably try different ones! Happy Baking, Susan, kisses to Dinah! xoxo
Thank you so much for brightening my day!
Your bunny cake is adorable! Happy Early Birthday! I hope you get some warm spring weather and flowers from somewhere on your special day. Also that you have a happy and healthy year. I am doing just fine staying in cooking, baking and reading but my husband, not so much. He misses his social time so he and his buddies set up an app called “House Party” and have happy hour on Friday and Saturday evenings to connect during this craziness. So glad you, Joe and Jack are doing well. Thank you for your positive words and the lovely bookmark. Take Care!
Susan,
I have been reading your blogs for a few years now and this is the first time I am leaving a comment. Your pancakes look delicious! And yes, I believe in eating breakfast for dinner..have done it several times…like to pretend that I am breaking society’s rules…lol I would absolutely love to win a cookbook written by you.
Funny how life goes…I grew up in Massachusetts but have been living in Oregon for years. I always liked visiting the Cape, Vineyard, and Nantucket and I miss the beaches…in Oregon I live in the mountains at 3000 ft elevation.
Thanks for all your motivation and sharing your life with all of us.
Thank you! I’m always cheered by your thoughtful, wise words. As an expat in England for an unspecified time, I’m missing your cookbooks that I thriftily left behind. Foolish me. When you get back to England, I hope you’ll find time to visit Ely — a lovely cathedral city, and a special tearoom (Peacocks) that I think you might like.
Thank you for reminding all who read this how blessed we are. WWII is a great example for all of us. Home IS where the Heart is. I love being home and letting hubby go to the store as I am just as busy as ever teach on Zoom! Love it! If we each do our part we will be ever-stronger. If we keep praying for the ‘front line’ in hospitals and testing centers we are helping in this ‘war.’ LOVE your ideas! I’m cooking a lot more because I have ALL your cookbooks except the 30th Anniversary edition and am using more recipes. So fun!
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there
Which seek thro’ the world, is ne’er met elsewhere
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There’s no place like home
There’s no place like home!
Thanks for so generously inviting us into yours Susan! I think at the end of this, we will all emerge from our cocoons, hopefully, with a much better appreciation for those we love, all we have, our homes, our friends our loved ones, simple comforts and arts. Like you I am a lover of old movies, music, books, etc. I think all we kindred spirits are alike. My children should have been visiting me now from Canada. Hopefully they will still be able to make it by the end of the year. Fingers crossed. Its been 8 years since I have seen them. My oldest daughter, who is developmentally challenged, saved for and bought the tickets all by herself, so that she and her older brother could come over. An amazing feat for someone who faces many challenges on a daily basis. I really, truly hope she is not disappointed and will still be able to come. Apparently the tickets need to be honored before the end of 2020 or they are lost forever. Here’s hoping and a huge prayer that her dreams come true. I so want to hug my two babies once again. In the meantime, like you, I am cocooning, enjoying this opportunity with plenty of time on my hands to explore and do all the things I have always thought I didn’t have enough time to get to. Truth is the time was always there, I just didn’t take it as often as I should have! To all of our kindred spirit friends, chin up! Stay safe and stay healthy. This too shall pass. Make this time a distant memory that you will cherish in many ways. We can do this! Oh yes we can!
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⋯ ◯ ⋯ Take time to enjoy the small *´¯`.¸¸.☆
⋰ ⋮ ⋱ blessings in life.*´¯`.¸¸.☆
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Thanks for the great pep talk – it really helps!
Nothing like the comforts of home… Thanks for always making us feel better!
Always a pleasure to read your posts, very calming during this unsettling time. My family has made the bunny cake for Easter for years, love it! Keep doing what your doing!
Thank you for sharing your love of all things comforting with us. You make my world better, here in Georgia.
What a lovely bright spot you are. ❤️ Thank you.
So great to find your sunny email in my inbox this morning and have plenty of time to read it!!!
Loved your reference to Norman Rockwell; his collection of art at his museum in Stockbridge is wonderful.
Spring has arrived here with Hydrangeas springing into life and Discentra showing off its ‘bleeding hearts’.
Your words were uplifting & help us appreciate what some of our mothers went through in WW2. This is why mum was always so careful with food never wasting any.
Nella’s Last War was an amazing true story which was made into a film ‘Housewife,49’ starring our wonderful Victoria Wood, sadly no longer with us.
Happy ‘Pottering’ to you and all your readers.
Hi susan and Joe and Jack! Your blog is like a breath of fresh spring air. I’m so glad that. you are all safe and snug in. your beautiful home on the enchanted Island of Martha’s Vineyard. I want to thank you for introducing me to Beatrix Potter figurines. I have about 15 of them and yes they are by my kitchen window. I’m keeping busy as well. I’m working on a latch hook rug. The design is of a kitty that looks like Jack, sleeping on a rug. It’s so soothing to work on a project. I’m lucky that I was able to find a tulip plant and mini daffodil plant that welcomes me as I walk into my kitchen every morning. We will get through, Stay Safe/Well!
I LOVE books about the English homefront in WWII — heroism, stoicism, rascals, and enough bravery to win ten wars! I will have to look up Nella’s War, for sure — it seems I’ve found some time to myself to read a little!
Another blessing . . . there should be numbers for THAT too. xoxo
It’s late at night and I’ve been having more trouble than usual trying to sleep. I knew if I read this just before bed I would feel more relaxed, and I do. Thanks for a comforting words. And yes, I definitely need to stop following the numbers.
Love the yellow – my favourite colour – you have inspired me to splash the yellow!
Glad to hear you are save and healthy.
Well indeed there is now time for hobbies now and reading a lot of books too. I’m on my own and our children are living far away so I didn’t see them since januari. One of my grandson will be 5 on saturday, but I cann’t go and visiting them. So I will try the Zoom for the first time!
Never too old to learn something new!!!
Take care and enjoy the nature.
Greetings Truus from Holland
It’s easy! You’ll love it!! xoxo
I’m working hard as a hospital nurse. Staying healthy so far thank God! I’m not a cook so would love your book and just maybe I could make a few of your lovely dishes.
Blessings on you Donna, thank you for what you are doing. I hope you win the book!!!
Thank you so much Donna for the work you are doing! We are so blessed to have so many wonderful health care workers who are putting their lives on the front line in this crisis. Bless You! I hope you win the cookbook; of course you are already one of Life’s winners!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️
And Thank You Susan for your shelter in the storm!!🌷🥀💌💌
Love your blog!! I look forward to it every month– got some great ideas today and can’t wait to try the pancakes!! I love the heart waffle pan– I use it quite often with your recipe– My husband loves them–I love your pictures you send– I love your kitchen stove–Your table by the window–It’s all so beautiful–Jack is adorable!! He is very photogenic!! Glad y’all are well –Have a great day–
Greetings from a pretty much closed Finland 🇫🇮 Reading your book ‘A fine romance’ for the third time ☺️ Stay safe!
Dear Susan, it’s always so nice to read a blogpost from you. I am looking forward to your new book about the trip to England. In these days it makes me feel better to re-read your other books. Giving me a warm feeling. I am learning to knit socks by watching it on youtube..staying inside and having something to learn! I am not the best cook, so to win your cookbook would be wonderful! Greetings from the netherlands! arjo🌷🌷🌷🌷
Greetings so far away! Yes, knitting from youtube, what a treat! Stay safe Arjo. xoxo
Planning a new garden to be planted in memory of our beloved cat, Pumpkin, has been a welcome distraction. I agree with your advice to turn off the news and would add this advice: “Get outside in nature, particularly at this lovely time of year.” Thank you for being a real bright spot in our days.
No better time of year to be home bound. Spring is making this situation we all find ourselves in more tolerable. At least in my neck of the woods. The dogwoods are in bloom and the azaleas are putting on a show. The birds are building nests and the bees are also adding their own sweet song to it all. Soaking it all in and remembering to be thankful for every little thing.
Susan, I look forward to your uplifting blogs every month! This one is especially comforting! We are so blessed to be in our own home! We can concentrate on the gifts being home has to offer! I am looking forward to your next book and meeting you in Duxbury!
Stay safe and healthy 🙏!
good morning Susan
I really needed this today* I adore when I see a blog post from you. It makes me happy to see all your pretty pictures* Joe looked adorable with his bandanna on. I love being home also so that part is okay, not just okay its really great. My husband does have to go to work though which is very unsettling, not knowing if he will get sick or not.
Enjoy this glorious spring day, so sorry the store had no flowers. Looks like those daffodils helped though right 🙂
deezie
stay safe***
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I have some scrapbook stickers you designed that have to be at least 25 years old. Little garden quotes, exercise, inspiration. I have to say they are still my favorite and now they mesh in my journ
al. Stay safe. You touched a cord when you described hard times. This is tough but not desperate. T’nks
Lovely blog. Have you seen Housewife 49 ? I think you would like that if you can find it I think it maybe on Netflix. Stay safe
Hello Susan
I love your blogs too! They are always so happy and uplifting. Just what we need right now. Stay safe. This too shall pass. Thank you so much xx
Delphinium, hollyhock, foxglove, lily, and pansy…… Can’t wait for them to bloom🥰
I plan on forcing some forsythia branches, lots of walking and baking.yes I have flour and yeast, and cleaning. We are blessed to have a warm cozy home in the woods.
Sweet blessings. Enjoy all of your post. Thank you.
Turning off the news is the best advice ever, and thank you for the lift from reading this and seeing your lovely illustrations! Stay healthy.
Bless you Susan for your positive energy. I am a nurse still working in an outpatient wound center. The daily grind can get to you, but my 45 minute drive home I decompress with audio books and love the safe haven of my home. I have not gone anywhere where but work for 3 weeks. I love being at home too. I am keeping a journal for my grandbabies. They don’t understand why they can’t come to my house😥 we face time and I have sent them a video of me reading them a story💕
These are tough times for everyone but I know God will see us through this! Stay safe, stay inside and stay positive. “Spread joy, not germs”😷🙏🏼❤
Love, Stephanie
Stay safe dear Stephanie, thank you for your bravery and service and every good thing. You know we think you are all heroes. 🙏👏👏👏👏👏
Susan, your heart in words, pictures and quotes are all like an open window in Springtime bringing in the freshness of gratitude, hope, inspiration. Thank you! Sending love, as always, DonnaRay
So heartwarming to read your Spring news. We are following all the Gov’t guidelines in Manchester, England and, one day, our carefree days will be with us again to roam our beautiful countryside once more. Our dawn chorus is wonderful, the blackbird starts the day and then a response……wonderful for the soul. Keep safe and well. XX❤️
Wow just what I needed to wake up to,,,, you were in my in box and a welcome, hurry up and click to open. So glad I did. You brightened my morning after our (house arrest) began at midnight. I would have looked like you did if it wasn’t already in the 90’s here. We will survive…. Stay safe, stay well, keep us smiling with your wonderful much needed posts. Always a fan.
Sitting in my one room listening to the patter of rain today . I have no stove but I do have an insta pot and an electric tea kettle . It’s a time of creative cooking for me . I’ve learned I can even make toast in my pot ! Ahh , the robin is just waking up and singing her song even in this rain .
Hello there Susan from NY’s Hudson Valley. We are cozy in our house, speaking daily with our daughters who both live in Colorado . Your post echos exactly how I feel. Lots of cooking, sewing, reading and movie watching going on here. Watching plants beginning to emerge. Impatient for the blooms. Be safe and stay positive.
Flowers in Spring is Wonderful Thing!
Everything in the world of normalcy, like getting your blog…a visual unexpected letter in the virtual mail, coming just when we needed it. Thank you.
While we are all staying in and only able to send air hugs, remember your neighbors, some braving through alone…there is always something that can be done to help all feel connected.
At eight every night we go out on our patios and kazoo to each other…we haven’t found the perfect music yet…trying Smoke on theWater, Green Acres theme song…America the Beautiful, it usually breaks down to tooting, tooting back, many laughs, and always a standing ovation..we go to bed with our hearts a little lighter…and that is huge
Try the Beatles. Everyone knows the Beatles! xoxoxo
Hi Susan,
My dear hubs and I are also homebodies so this has not been such a hardship for us. He gets to work from home and I’ve always been the one just “hanging out” cooking, cleaning – all the house chores!!!!👏😘 Luckily, Iowa is one of the states not too compromised – at least for now – I’m very grateful for our fly over status – hoping all those little spiky germs keep flying right over us!!! Take care and STAY HEALTHY we need these beautiful posts!!
I’m so glad . . . My mom and grandma (as you likely know) were both born in Iowa and I think about it quite often ~ I feel roots there, know the special kindness of the people . . . I’m happy you are behind us, hope it stays far from you … now is the time to protect yourself. Stay safe . . . xoxo
Dear, Susan. Love to you for your wonderful Post. Words of Wisdom. Northern Wisconsin is concerned about all the snow birds returning to our rural area with so little defense in our hospitals. Your words lighten the burden. Your are correct in thinking of England during WW II.
Thank you for your up-lift-ed-ness.
Would like a new book with added recipes. Although, I would always keep my old edition. I have all your little books and all your cook books.
I love all your ideas to remain optimistic and productive.
Hello Susan,
Did my 1st comment vanish into the air? I guess we’ll never know…..Anyway, lovely to hear from you, gorgeous pictures and happy stories as always! I saw that you had a little helper in the kitchen, always good to have furry company nearby!
We’re all home too, like most of the world, but still allowed out for some fresh air every day, so now that Gabri is working from home, we go for a walk at lunch time!
We have seen lambs in fields and tiny darling ducklings too! Some spring bulbs are popping up too, and this weekend the forecast is for warmer weather, so hopefully we can have Afternoon Tea in the garden!
Stay safe and healthy and lots of love from
Nicoline
ps dare I ask…..Any idea when the new book will be finished…??
Ha ha Nicoline, I woke up this morning and there were 800 comments! I’m trying to read them now . . . I’m sure I will come upon your other one soon . . . but I may not answer, because answering is impossible, must work on my Christmas Book! Sending love to you, love your spring talk! I think I will have the book done by June, and in our web store by August, is my plan!!! If I get to work on it! You too sweet girlfriend, stay safe and love to Gabri. xoxoxo
Wowza…June…right around the corner! Aug. in web store…FAB! Your web site will CRASH when Girlfriends get word that pre-order is available. SO exciting for everyone…including you, my dear.
Thanks for putting huge smiles on our faces by telling us this long-awaited news.
xoxo
Thank you for reminding me about potato pancakes; off to make those for lunch Xx
Thank you for celebrating all the wonderful things we have to be grateful for
I have loved your work and beautiful life for years.💕🤗💕
Love and light. Thank you for your inspiration. Joy is in the little things. And living in gratitude. Much love. Thank you Susan 💕🥰
Thanks so much for your wonderful, homey post. We are staying home on our acreage and staying well. I have sewn masks and shared them with family and friends. I put out my spring pretties and am preparing my flower beds for the coming season. Next week my husband will start the vegetable garden. The frogs are singing in the ditch – I can hear them as I write this. So glad it is spring and we can fill our days with work and fresh air. On rainy days I paint in my journals or make cards to send to friends. Love to you and yours!
Been reading The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson about Churchill and his family and the blitz. Our library is closed so I have time to read it. Thank you for your wonderful post. I always look forward to hearing from you. Trying to paint a little in my kitchen and also making fabric face masks with my fabric stash. Talking to my daughter through the door today. She’s a nurse. I pray everyday for the people on the front lines. Be safe, dear Susan.
Thank you Susan! This blog was like chicken soup for the soul!! If we all keep praying and following directions, we WILL make it through🙏🏻❤️
It’s 5:30 am, ready for another sunny day in Georgia. Reading your posts always brightens my day. My husband is recovering from tonsil cancer. So thankful the treatments finished before this pandemic. God is always so good and faithful. Reading all the comments i feel inspired to do something other than puzzles and read. I will look up Acorn TV, too! Isn’t it wonderful to know we are never alone when we have friends:)
“Delphinium” I LOVe it. Just reading and taking in all of this, Susan:) Thank YOU. I take JoY in so many of the things you have said, TeA (did you know that some brands have inspiration quotes right on the tea tab string?….and that Earl Grey can settle your tummy?)… knitting (did you know that you can knit tiny roses to use as decorations or magnets?)… flowers! because our tulips came up for the 2nd year and they have even multiplied…..birds & their songs bring me huge smiles….I put out an Oriole feeder and am hoping!! &.. baking! We have made my Grandma’s Snickerdoodles 🙂 and our daughter made her double chocolate brownies and left them on her girlfriend’s doorsteps…. she’s 19 by the way. I have your brownie recipe printed out & slipped inside of the cover on my knitting pattern binder. Just because, it makes me HaPpy to see your art and recipes all “watercolored” to life. My PC tells me that “watercolored” isn’t a word but I say, “In the land of Susan Branch, it surely is a word, and a quite nice one at that.” Speaking of recipes, I sent my Bestie a wee letter on a vintage teacup notecard and included a recipe for choc chip oatmeal cookies. IF your sweet squirrel doing acrobat tricks in effort to taste some seed doesn’t bring a smile to someone, I don’t know what will! And speaking of “Will”..that name runs thick through my family ancestry. I’ve been doing some Googling myself lately and I just told our kids several weeks ago, “Did you know?! Your mother’s mother’s father’s mother’s father came from Ireland?!?!” At age 18..his name was Will… and he came to the US:) On a mission. The imagination is a divine thing, isn’t it? With the gym closed, we have been going on daily walks and gosh, we have missed out on a lot not doing this more. Better late than never. So yes, we will keep on doing even more than persevering. But instead, take heart,slow down, & enjoy the solitude. So much peace lies in just hearing the clock tick. I love that! Why do they make silent ones and boast about them? Even in southwest MO, the earth smells good with no sea in sight (thought I dearly LOVe the ocean and seas). The sun is ready for another lovely day. I’m off to print out your bookmark & to share this with my Mom, my Bestie named Melody (don’t you just love that name? It dances with song and lightness), and my Sister. Happy Friday from MO … (((hugs)))
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Hi Susan,
Thank you for your Divine Blog. Love your cookbooks and inspiration! You are a Blessing to us all! Stay safe! Cheers! Cindy Tuttle on Hilton Head Island
Thank you Susan for your beautiful art and thoughtfulness. You were brought-up RIGHT!
👏💞
“Just in cases.” Thank you, this newsletter was the positive, hopeful, bright start to my day. Thank you, and please keep spreading your love and positivity. I think I will watch/listen to “Love Actually” as I work today…for at least the thousandth time! Sending love to you and yours for continued health and well-bring. 💕😊
Thanks so much for another beautiful blog post. We have so much to be thankful for and we are lucky to be in our own homes, cooking and cleaning and watching spring unfold. When this is all over, we will be much better for it. (I hope). Communities are pulling together and helping those who need it, so this makes me hopeful. My little grandsons have taken colored chalk with them on their walks and draw beautiful pictures with encouraging sayings to bring joy to other walkers. Then they collected and painted rocks to distribute around town. They want to do their part to keep spirits up! It is so sweet.
Take care and stay well. Love to you, Joe (that handsome masked man) and Jack. XOXO😘
Thank you , you lovely person, always getting my spirits up with your optimistic outlook. I raced over to my old boombox and put on my birdsong cd, then back to read your post and as always many great ideas.I love the picture of the squirrel doing it’s gymnastics LOL.
Wishing you, Joe and Jack all the best from Denmark.
I’m hearing my “birds” right now, and there is just something so soothing and cheerful about it. Hello to you all the way to Denmark, Marianne. . .
Wonderful to hear from kindred spirits…doing what we can to stay safe and in good spirits. Celebrating today as my sister was released from the hospital, she being one of the lucky ones to conquer CoVid 19. I’ll make a pudding bundt cake to celebrate 😉. I’m finding comfort in cooking and way too much comfort in eating!!!😂🤣
I will be walking twice as fast to lose the tire🥴around my waist. Enjoy the rebirth of our earth. We must be more gentle with her and each other ❤️💐❤️🌎Happy Spring and a very Happy Birthday to you this month. Thank you for being you!💕💐💕
OHHHHH, how happy that makes me Karen, that’s such wonderful news, and now she is immune and safe. One less thing to worry about. Yes, more protective of this wonderful earth, gift from God, our responsibility. 💞🙏
Good morning Susan. 🐣. What a way to start my morning- to read your email! Tea in hand, sun coming up and looking forward to mid 60s today in Ohio. You are the bright spot in my Friday. Your pancake picture immediately made me hungry! The egg, with the crispy edges- perfection!
Our stores are having difficulty keeping eggs in stock so I’ve “discovered” my local chicken farmers who sell farm fresh eggs. There’s nothing better!
Stay healthy,
DeAnna