Tonight is a new moon (which is actually an invisible moon). If you live in South America, today you’ll get a solar eclipse. The next big thing, December 21 is Winter Solstice, a sacred time of magic and light and the bridge to a new beginning which I think we could all really use right now!💫 On that day we’ll be furthest from the sun, but the next strike of the second hand? The days start getting longer!☀️ . . . So much to celebrate! And now, me. No. First, MUSICA. THEN me.
I do not think, on earth, you can ask much more than this. Note cat.💞
Add THIS!⬇
XOXO
And among my wonderful old movies and among my darling kitty cat . . .
We had our first 
last week! Just a cotton-candy dusting . . . to make it pretty . . . but of course I ran around with the camera! First snow is always the most magical!
We haven’t put away our fire pit yet, still thinking we might spend New Year’s Eve hovering over that fire and, one by one, burning every page of my 2020 calendar, because I am SO GLAD TO SEE THIS YEAR GO. I’ll say prayers to go up in the smoke. With that lovely light at the end of a rather long tunnel, we’re all getting closer to HUGGING again!⛅️
The weather has actually been quite warm considering where we live, and beautiful out on our walk, so this was like a little frosted Christmas gift!
Bit by bit, it’s getting very Christmasy around here!
We decided to put all our trees outside this year . . . this one is in the garden and I can see it from the kitchen window… but so can everyone who drives by the house!
These are out front, a little one in the window, a big one in the yard, and a nice little extra of reflection in the window . . .
We don’t have room in the kitchen for a tree, but we spend so much time there, so Joe put one on the kitchen porch where we can see it from inside.
I took that last photo with the table lamp ON…And this one with the lamp OFF. Camera reacts to that lamp! We also wrapped a small living tree in twinkle lights and took to our hospital to thank our heroes … trying to do our part in this crazy time we’re living through!
But it’s not like we have NO trees in the house. . .’Course we do!
We do! My bird tree. Our kitchen table wouldn’t know it was Christmas without it!
Joe’s been busy! Our wreaths smell wonderful!
It’s funny how we’re decorating. We don’t feel rushed. Every day one of us adds a little something. We’re truly enjoying it, and not doing everything we usually do, but pulling out loved things, and celebrating. Cooking a lot and loving it. We’re home alone this Christmas . . . we seem to be using the extra time to count our blessings.
The candles are lit!🕯
Mother Seraphima surprised me with this glowing tea light . . .💫 (and if you’re new here and haven’t read about Mother Seraphima and her house of creativity, you might like this post of Christmas Past.)♥️
This is a must-have for us, a Christmas tradition: Joe’s stocking for his family’s pets. I mentioned this the other night at our webinar … I wrote about Joe’s childhood prayer in A Fine Romance ~ the last seven names (below) are family pets! You can see, on the stocking, how as time passed, some of the names are crossed out 😞, and new ones added👍.
Wasn’t our Crowdcast event with An Unlikely Story Bookstore WONDERFUL? I LOVED reading your comments and answering questions, but was sorry I couldn’t see you! Although there were over a 1000 of us on that call, might have been hard to see everyone! It was my last one this year ~ Book talks in the time of Pandemic! I’m on the phone in this pic because for about five minutes I thought I couldn’t get on 😜 which led to minor meltdown!
But Kym saved the day … and there we were! If we get really bored this winter and need another visit, Kellee learned how to do it! We can put it on the calendar and all come together for tea!
Oh yes, we can talk! I also want to thank whichever one of you it was that suggested I CLEAN the camera lens on my laptop!!! I could never figure out WHY I was so blurry … I kept asking everyone! No one knew! But then, during the talk, some of our girlfriends said, get a swab and some alcohol and clean that little spot next to the red dot on your computer! And voila! I came into focus for the first time! What would I do without you???
Did everyone get their puzzles? I hope so! We just heard they WILL be doing a second printing … probably won’t get them until February, but at least they are working on it! So, look what else 
came in! The first chapter of Enchanted! Another little bit of Christmas cheer🎄. Although it hasn’t much to do with Christmas, but everything to do with our very first trip to England aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2. It’s 28 pages, lots of photos, and all handwritten, and tied with a golden ribbon, it’s still festive! A stand-alone story with a beginning and an end . . . it’s the first chapter of the new book! And yes, I’m still working on the rest of it! And one more bit of news, I was just asked to renew the “shopping agreement” for the movie (or series) option for Martha’s Vineyard 
Isle of Dreams! Fingers still crossed (almost cramped in that position at this point), still not holding breath, but wouldn’t it be fun!?! And one more thing, THANK YOU so very much for all the lovely reviews for Home for Christmas . . . here, on Amazon, on Facebook, everywhere! . . . You don’t know how much it means to me!
Speaking of Roald Dahl . . . supposedly he met Beatrix Potter when he was a little boy, and now there’s a Christmas movie about it just released in England. Not here yet, but I’m sure we must be next! Interestingly because I 
met Roald Dahl’s daughter, Tessa. So that only means two degrees of separation between me and Beatrix, my closest fly-by yet!💞
I took all my Christmas-tree-decorating time and instead wrote Christmas cards and sent Enchanted and Puzzles to my friends and family . . .♥️
And this year, instead of greens and candles and trees on the fireplace mantle, it’s packed with Christmas cards! Almost like having everyone here!
Now it’s time to rev up the old girl . . .
I made my Cranberry Marmalade again after Thanksgiving! Have you tried it yet? Well, make more cranberry sauce at Christmas . . . then try this delicious thing! Lovely New Year’s Gift for the ones you love!
My girlfriend Lynne sent me this photo yesterday of her grandson getting ready to make Christmas cookies! Did it make my day? It definitely did!♥️ I particularly LOVE his T-shirt! The Future is right there in front of us making Christmas cookies!
I’ve been baking too! Making things to give away this season . . . I’ll try anything with Cranberries in it . . .
So when our Girlfriend Mary Holland sent me this recipe I knew I had to try it! (I’ll type it out at the very bottom of this post!)
Isn’t it pretty? Doesn’t it just scream Christmas?! You could almost hang it on the tree!🎄
So I gathered all my goodies and did some measuring . . .
Into a medium-sized bowl went 2 cups of flour . . .
add 1 cup granulated sugar . . .
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder,
1/2 tsp. soda,
and 1/2 tsp. salt . . .
Whisk it all together well…
Stop and find out what Jack is up to. ⬆ But of course. . . Time out for some shooting and retrieving of the stretchy unit! His eyes say to me, “You have all the power.” And then he whispers, “I know if I look at you like this you will stop and play with me.” And he is right!
Then it’s time for wet ingredients ~ The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp. melted crisco … but you can use melted butter, or coconut oil ~ I used avocado oil ~ it’s all considered “shortening.”
One beaten egg . . .
grated zest of one orange . . .
and 3/4 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice . . .
Mix it all up! (A spoon is better than a whisk in this case as I learned the hard, thick way!)
I thought nuts would be good in this bread so I added 1/2 cup coarsely-chopped walnuts . . .
And because I LOVE cranberries, I didn’t cut them in half as the recipe called for … I put them in whole (and probably saved a half hour of tiny cutting!).
Stirred it all up and poured it into my buttered bread pan…
Ready to go! Into a 350º oven for 55-60 minutes … 
And voila! 
It’s done if the knife comes out clean!
Cool completely before cutting into it.
And there she is … perfectly delicious and gorgeous too! You can make them in the little pans and give them as gifts! If I would have had some on hand (which I will next time) I would have sprinkled this bread with sanding sugar before I put it in the oven. I have to say, for some reason, this Orange Cranberry Tea Bread tastes better the second day, and every day!💞
This recipe reminded me a little of my Orange Marmalade Cake, which is more of a tea cake than a tea bread … a wonderful recipe that’s NOT in any of my books. Also perfect for this time of year, and I would have NO problem adding a cup of raw cranberries and some walnuts to it!
M A R M A L A D E C A K E
- 1 ½ sticks butter (¾c.), room temp.
- ¾c. granulated sugar
- zest of one lime
- zest of ½ orange
- 3 lg. eggs, room temp.
- ⅓ c. rough-cut orange marmalade (and another ⅓ c. below, for Glaze)
- 2 TB. fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 ½ c. all-purpose flour, fluff with fork before measuring
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×5 loaf pan. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer (hand or otherwise), about 
5 min, until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl periodically. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in ⅓ c. marmalade and the orange juice. In another bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Fold them gently into the batter until just combined. Put batter into loaf pan and bake 50 min. until golden brown ~ knife into center of cake should come out clean. Remove from oven and cool 10 min. Put a wire rack 
on a cookie sheet. Turn cake out of pan and place it on rack right-side- up. While cooling, prepare Glaze:
In small saucepan, heat together until melted: ⅓c. marmalade, 1 Tb. butter, ¼c. powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake, allowing Glaze to drizzle down sides. Cool completely before serving.💛
Soooo Sleepy these short dark days . . .😴💤
Found this on the Internet:
Very handy little list . . .
–
Enjoy this season of love.♥️ Take time for yourself. You can do everyone else NEXT year … it should be a doozie!🎉 Merry Christmas, darling friends, Happy Hanukkah, Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Happy Kwanzaa! And happy just hanging around the house!🎁
CRANBERRY-ORANGE TEA BREAD
- 2 c. flour, unsifted (just lighten it by stirring before measuring.
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. shortening: melted Crisco or butter, coconut or avocado oil
- grated zest of one orange
- 3/4 c. fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 beaten egg
- 1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 c. raw cranberries
- Sanding sugar
Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a 9x5x3 bread pan. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together first five ingredients. Stir in shortening, zest, o.j., and beaten egg. Fold in walnuts and cranberries. Pour into pan. Sprinkle on sanding sugar if you like. Bake 55-60 min. until knife comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing. ♥️
A lovely before-Christmas blog! So much sharing of feelings and felines and foooood! I love your degrees-of-separation thought to Beatrix! Just gave me a good chuckle! You and Joe and Jack have a lovely, lovely together Christmas, and we’ll all try to do the same. Santa sends you his best wishes, too! Merry Christmas!
Love to you Sherry!💖💖💖
Home for Christmas says it all in our house as well this year. 🏠 It will continue to be just us two and the two pups. Staying safe.
We have been baking cakes from your recipes, started experimenting with different teas, drinking tea in the afternoon or after dinner, reading, taking great walks to see neighborhood holiday lights, and listening to Christmas music. Oh, and watching endless Christmas movies, old and new. Tom loves the Hallmark ones.
🎁 All my presents are wrapped and distributed or mailed except for the baked goods. 🍪 One of my teen grandsons requested a huge tin of my chocolate chip & walnut cookies all for himself. And my son-in-law requested my cheesecake. Those will be delivered Christmas Eve, masked of course, 😷 while blowing Nana kisses to my grandchildren. ( Grandteens)
Thanks for sharing all your Christmas trees. I especially love your bird tree.
Hooray for more on line LIVE Susan from her cozy kitchen!
Merriest of quiet Christmases to you and to Joe. 🎄❤
Love hearing from you Peggy! You sound so festive and Christmasy! ❌⭕️❌⭕️
Merry Christmas !
Another joyful blog – will have to try the cake recipes…I made the cranberry sauce and marmalade last year and they were delicious – spent most of the time enjoying Jack’s ‘cuteness’ ! Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year ! We all know it will certainly be better than this one.
Merry Christmas! Thank you for a joyful post and some tasty recipes to try. I have been going through family photos and history since my father died in July. I found a stash of photos of him and my mom at her 55th class reunion. I taking those pictures and framing them and in turn giving them a Christmas presents to my nieces and nephews.
I got my small flowers salt and peppers. I love them! So fun to have something from your house! (If they are?, not sure!)
Of course they are. I used them every summer. Mother’s Day too. I wanted them to go to a good home. Aren’t they delicate and pretty? I’m glad you have them Beth! xoxo
This is a lovely, lovely, positive post. Thanks so much and Merry Christmas!
Happy holidays and Merry Christmas, Susan. Thank you for the new update. We have a bit of snow in the hills, too. Beautiful to look at when I first wake up and open the blinds. I get so excited this time of year. Even Covid can’t stop this little elf. I love all the decorations and the cold weather makes me want to just snuggle in with a good book and watch the Christmas tree lights. Thank you for all the cute pics of your home and of course, Jack.
Dear Susan,
As always you have brightened my day. Thank you ❣️
I love the “quarantine questions” and of course your recipes and beautiful pictures.
I received my puzzle yesterday, yes yesterday by the USPS on a Sunday! We had a bit of a blizzard here in Wisconsin on Saturday. They delivered our other mail in the mailbox but couldn’t make our long country driveway. Our wonderful “snowplow guy” was so busy he couldn’t get here until almost 9:30 pm. I cannot wait to put it together.
My husband and I were busy “elfing”, decorating and preparing for a visit from our from our son, his wife and 3 babies to celebrate his 34th birthday the next day (grateful they are part of our small must see group)we had a fire in the fireplace so we didn’t mind being snowed/tucked in.
Counting my blessings.
A very Merry Christmas to you and Joe and an even Happier New Year 🎄🎉
Amy
Oh I love your trees shared with the world! The bread looks wonderful…thank you Susan for helping me feel more like an elf than I have these past few days! Always such a treat to see what you are up to! Stay well!!!
Merry Wonderful Christmas to you, Dear Susan!
Thanks for the uplifting post, the delicious looking orange marmalade glaze, and for your Christmas Spirit.
I also think a line of bakeware by you would be something extra special to look forward to in the New Year!
Love and Many Blessings,
Kari
Just have to find a bakeware company that has heard of me and wants to make something new!!! 💞 Love this idea! Happy Christmas Kari!
MERRY CHRISTMAS SUsan🎄 Love Joe’s wreath! Wow! He’s a good guy! A keeper! Wish I could make one like that!
Yes, Busy days in the kitchen now! Made home made chicken vegetable soup this past week end, with pumpkin spice bread! 🍞. We’ve had upper 40’s for two weeks in MN! Our first snow came mid Oct. and melted soon after. Not gonna be a White Christmas this year, BUT we’re gonna watch White Christmas with Bing ( our yearly tradition, now that our daughters have grown and flew the coop!)
Good idea for the hospital! 🏩Been putting little pkgs together for neighbors, and mail man.
AND got my new library book, by Julie Klassen, An Ivy Hill Christmas! It’s her newest! You would love her, as she writes about old England, London, and the 1800’s!
God bless you! ❤️🧡💜💛💚💙🙏
P.S. Did you hear about the BIG Christmas star next week, the 21st? It’ll be in the Southwest sky. Hasn’t been this bright for 800 YEARS! Cool!
I’ll tell you Joe’s little wreath secret. He has made them totally from scratch, sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t. But when he doesn’t he will buy a normal fresh pine wreath, then go outside and pick holly, boxwood, and whatever other green bits he finds. Then he sticks the little pieces into his pine wreath, and pretty soon, it looks totally homemade!!! Isn’t he smart?😻
Oh, what a lovely post, dear friend Susan. I am glad the puzzle will be printed again. I’ve become enraptured with puzzles, especially 1000-pc ones, especially one showing books, and especially ones with the SB font.
I, too, am looking forward to the first second the days begin to get longer.
There is much to appreciate about the quiet whisper of Christmas 2020 instead of the noisy clamor so many of us rushed through in past years. Perhaps for some of us, the quietness will prevail through more years than just this one. Christmas Blessings to you and Joe, and the kitties, and the memory of Puddikins.
One of my favorite quotes is a very short to-the-point Chinese proverb: Outside noisy, inside empty.♥️ “And to the memory of Puddikins.” I will include that in our Christmas-dinner blessing and Joe will LOVE it so much! Blessings to you and yours Milanya.💞
Susan,
2020 will forever be a year I remember. It’s the year we had our miracle baby boy, Drew, after 5 years of infertility. Lot’s of magic continues to happen ~ despite the pandemic.
I was one of the 1,000 that joined you for the ‘An Unlikely Bookstore’ event. Definitely look forward to more in the future ~ maybe we could even pre-submit questions. I sipped on tea send from my Mum who lives in England and nibbled on homemade sugar cookies.
Wishing you, Joe, and Jack a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2021.
Same to you Kiki! Congratulations on your baby boy.👼 What a happy Christmas you are going to have. I’m thrilled for you!💝
Susan! Last year, I wrote you because my kitty accidentally smashed my Susan Branch Christmas Sugar Bowl to smithereens and I asked if you had any- you said they are very rare and you don’t even have one. Well, someone had the set up on eBay and I snapped it up- yay!! My Susan Branch set is restored (these are the things that make me happy.)
Merry Christmas!! One good thing in 2020- whooooo!!! 😊
👏👏👏👏👏🤣
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I needed this so much right now – how did you know?? My husband Tim works at a shelter which is a halfway house and he also does outreach for the homeless. Because of our daughter’s medical issues and the rise in cases here in New York, the dr. felt it was best if Tim stayed elsewhere for the winter. So, he is living with a co-worker until at least March. It is hard but it is for the best so I’m dealing with it. We have the phone and the computer so we can see each other when he calls. Christmas will be different but it’s just one year…we can do this.
Your words and pictures helped to lift my spirits and I’m going to make that cranberry bread – looks so yummy! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Joe.
Your husband, your whole family, it’s a bit of sainthood you’re telling me about. What a hero he is, and how good you are to support him in his important work. I can just imagine how much you miss him. Sending all my love. 🙏Everyone stay safe. 💞
Hi, Susan! ❤️Thanks for the wonderful blog. This holiday is different than those of the past and I’ve been feeling bad that I have been decorating so slowly compared to other years. I just read that you have been doing the same thing! Now I don’t mind it at all. Our home is feeling a lot like Christmas now and so are we. I wish you a very merry holiday and hope the distance from those we love this year will be paid twice fold next year when we can all be together.
With love, Linda
Dear Susan,
You always know how to brighten up my life with a word or a recipe or some music. How do you know? I just learned that my sister, who had a brain tumor removed last year, has taken a turn for the worse and they will be inviting Hospice to join them this year for Christmas. My heart is breaking and at the sametime, I feel relief that the entire family will be comforted by the wonderful folks who serve up palliative care for our loved ones. This will be the first Christmas since 2010 that all my sister’s girls will be together with all their children and husbands. I anticipate much joy and laughter as they gather. I’m thinking that there is still time to make a few tea cakes or breads and Fed Ex them to Chicago! Thanks for including the recipes.
Meanwhile, I ask that you please pray for them with me. As we turn the corner into a new season, and a new year, I pray that you and each of the girlfriends finds magical moments, sparkling memories, and good health during this holiday month.
We are so lucky there is such a thing as Hospice. I don’t think I could possibly love anything more than the people who do that wonderful work. I’m so sorry Lorna.😥 Just awful. My prayers, strong prayers, are with you and your family.🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏♥️
Re your painting of the man with the pipe & red cap by Sydney Bell, born in London in 1888. I saw the husband/wife twosome in an antique store in the early 1970s & bought it at first sight. They have such calm, peaceful faces!
My day is officially made. Thank you for the lovely blog post, the beautiful words, and as always, you being you. Just ordered Enchanted – cannot wait to cuddle up with it. 💛 Merry Christmas, Susan (and Joe :))!
Hi Susan
It’s a Cranberry Christmas! Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe. Cranberry muffins in the oven and I made some potpourri in a small crockpot. Half a cup of Cranberries, couple slices of orange, tablespoon of whole cloves, two cinnamon sticks snapped in half and two cups of water. Turn on to simmer and your entire house will smell like Christmas all day long. We have a nor’easter headed our way here in the Philadelphia area so all this good comfort food is welcome. Happy Holidays!
I LOVE potpourri steaming this time of year. Going right out to the kitchen and doing it!💖
Loved the cranberry – marmalade jam, it is delicious with anything. Thank you for the recipe! Don’t forget the planet conjunction on the 21 st of the Christmas star! I am facinated by anything with space, the planets and the moon. Love your blog!
Me too, I love it! Hope we have a clear sky that night!
In this quieter Christmas season at home, I was so glad to receive my Susan Branch puzzle in the mail last week! It is beautiful and so fun to work on! In between working at home, sending out Christmas cards, and working in the garden and kitchen, I sneak a few minutes here and there (which always seem to grow into longer time periods!) to work on the puzzle! Thank you for making such a lovely puzzle! I am curious – how did you decide which books to include in the puzzle picture? Are those your all time favorites?
I love it when someone calls me. I go immediately to the puzzle with the phone and the whole time we talk, I’m working on the puzzle!💞 I’ve painted books so many times in my 30 years of this, so many different ones, sometimes the same one more than once, some are favorite reads, and some titles I make up.
I was looking forward to your holiday post; thanks for the wonderful recipes, and I wish you and Joe and Jack a sweet and special Christmas! Loved seeing your snow dust; just beautiful.
I heard on the radio today that Frank Sinatra would be a 105 years old this year. Merry Christmas
I’m listening to him right now, singing Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered. Heaven!
Hi Susan,
I love puzzles and am used to large boxes unless I get one from the Dollar Tree. I was happily surprised with your puzzle’s smaller square size and satisfying box height. Very pleasing. I peaked into the box and the pieces are so colorful and perfectly smooth on the edges. Beautiful quality. I look forward to putting it all together!
Thank you Julie! It’s my first so I wasn’t sure how it would come out. I love the box too!❌⭕️
❤️Mmmm. That bread! I think I can smell it from NC!❤️Thank you for always sending sunshine and smiles our way!❤️You are a treasure!❤️Merry Christmas!❤️
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas too, Susan! Your newsletter is a gift indeed : ) Thank you!
Happy almost Christmas, dear Susan!
I just loved your gathering last week. Thank you for inviting us all to squeeze into your kitchen! It would be so delightful to gather around the tea pot together in the New Year!😊
Susan, I simply adored Home for Christmas!! When my copy arrived, hot off the press, I hugged it and tucked it away until the first week of December. It was so wonderful to read all of your special Christmas memories. As I read, so many of my favorite Christmas memories came flooding back! I just wrote a blog post, “Togetherness,” celebrating Home for Christmas and all of the special times I have spent with you and our Girlfriends.💕 Come visit!💕
Your outdoor Christmas trees are all so pretty. My favorite is the one near your white, picket fence garden! It reminds me of one very special Christmas when we put a big Christmas tree on our front porch. It looked so festive and old-fashioned!
Warm, cozy greetings to all! Please take extra good care of yourselves!
💗 Dawn (in Illinois)
Dawn, what a generous spirit you have, which I’ve always known since the first moment I met you, but your post just reminded me again.💖 Very beautiful! Loved your memories! SO familiar! Thank you dear. I can’t WAIT to come back out for more hugs and seeing everyone again in “real life!” Have a wonderful peaceful blessed Christmas, and here’s to a HEALTHY 2021!😘
Always lifts my spirits to see your post in my email! Merry Christmas, Susan:)
Can’t wait to try these two recipes! Have friends to bake for and
fudge and brownies are passé. These should do the trick. Thank
so much. You and Joe have a lovely Christmas! See you next year!
What a wonderful post. The bread sounds so delicious. My sister-in-law lives in Florida and always sends us a box of oranges for Christmas. As soon as they come I am making this bread. Yum!
So please you are sharing cranberry bread around the world Susan. It has been a tradition in my kitchen for many years.
❄️We had our first snow in Lititz, PA today and here (oops no picture) is my snow-girl.⛄️She greeted the neighborhood children as they got off the bus….she sitting on our bench because she’s only 18 inches tall. Cranberry buttons, Wilbur chocolate eyes and my late blooming rose buds on her crown. Merry Christmas! I love hearing from you! 💕 Janice ☕️
I can picture her! What a sweet gift for the kids!⛄️
Merry Christmas Susan! Thank you for your uplifting words for the holidays. I too, am keeping the faith…..and traditions. It’s comforting. I want to try the Marmalade Cake, however, the amount of marmalade did not come through on the recipe! It is just a funny little square!
We are preparing for our first major snow storm in the next few days. Should be beautiful and so very Christmas!! Hope you read this and can email me with the correct amount of marmalade. Thank you!
I’ve heard that from others. Hmmmm 🤷♀️ Try refreshing the page. I looked and it’s there. But it’s 1/3 c. for the cake, and another
1/3 c. for the topping.
Your cranberry orange marmalade sounds yummy and simple! Just a question from a novice, do you have to sterilize the jars and process them? What is the shelf life? Thank you from someone who never has made jam….
I just wash my jars in hot soapy water, dry them and fill them up. I’m not “canning” per say. It’s to eat right away, although with all the sugar in them, it does last a while. I’ve never known how long, we eat it right up!💖
Just a beautiful post, like always. Will DEFINITELY make some Cranberry marmalade!! Love the little tray that it is sitting on… will have to go look for it.
Merry Merry Christmas!
BTW…. what a GREAT idea to put the tree on the porch so you can enjoy it from the kitchen table… BRILLIANT!
Nan
I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before. I love it! 🎄
+Thank you for the Cranberry-Orange Tea Bread recipe. It looks yummy. I got my puzzle the other day. Can’t wait to make it. Love your stuff Susan Branch!
Merry Christmas Susan, Joe and Jack!
Both the cranberry and orange marmalade cakes look delicious! Though I’d have to cut the cranberries up or my cheeks would cramp from puckering so much.
A peaceful and merry Christmas to you, Joe, and Jack!
There’s enough sugar to make them just plain sparkly!
The recipe for the cranberry orange bread calls for 1/2 teaspoon of soda. Is that baking soda?
Yes!
So much good stuff here! I loved our Crowdcast, and it made my week when you read page 136 of Isle of Dreams…as I’d told you, it’s my favorite passage of anything you’ve ever written.Thank you❤️It was fun to see the book opened to that page in the picture you posted in this blog❤️❤️Hope Kellee can put another virtual tea party together for us next year! Hubby is a winter solstice baby. He’ll be celebrating his 75th birthday next Monday, and we think it’s pretty cool that Jupiter and Saturn will be aligning to mark the event☺️It’ll be just the two of us this Christmas. My mom is 95, lives by herself in WV, is healthy and independent and feisty and is blessed by incredible neighbors who bring her supplies and food and visits through her storm door, but we had to make the hard, hard decision not to visit for Thanksgiving or Christmas😥It breaks my heart, but for all our sakes, to keep us healthy, it has to be done. You’re so right, the tunnel is still long, but there’s a little bit of light at the end of it now. We can hang on till spring. Hugs xoxo
Happiest of Holidays & Merriest of Christmases to you, Susan, & Joe & Jack!!!
I received my copy of “Home for Christmas” a few days ago, and read it that very evening, as my bedtime story!!! It is just wonderful & sweet & funny & full of love!!! And your illustrations are adorable!!! It just may inspire me to write my own family Christmas memories. I, also, was blessed to grow up in a close, loving family: best parents ever…nurturing, caring, always “there” for us…my sister, brother & me…plus wonderful grandparents, too! We were a creative family, in that we invented our own traditions, or adapted ones from other cultures. I was always fascinated with how people in other countries celebrated the holidays and would read books about them. Like you, I always had my nose in a book…still do!!! Loved spending hours at our small-town public library, checking out as many books as I could carry on my walk home.
Thank you for posting your teabread recipes in your blog today. I have almost the exact same Cranberry-Orange one, and love it!!! I often made it when I was a B&B innkeeper, back in the 80’s-90’s. I can’t wait to try your Orange Marmalade Cake, and will make it as a surprise for my husband, who loves marmalade!
Must make my shopping list, now & go out to do my holiday errands!
I send very best holiday wishes & much love to you & yours, Barbara VV
I encourage you to write down your memories, your family, in the future far far from now, will read them at Christmas dinner and you will always be there! ❌⭕️
Well, now I am ready for Christmas with that wonderful post. Thank you Susan! Good to see Jack resting and showing you what a ‘good boy’ he is in case you want to have more hair bands under your tree for him on Christmas morning. I missed seeing David Copperfield so I hope I can catch it again soon. They are really showing lovely films on TCM for the holiday. I saw “Meet Me In St. Louis” the other day and am still enthralled with everything about it. The house, the story line, the family, the clothes, did I mention the house? It is fabulous! See it if you can, girlfriends. Merry Christmas to all. Blessings to all. Stay safe and cozy. xo
One of my favorites too. Oddly neither Joe nor I had ever seen this version of David Copperfield. SO charming. I hope you can find it! 1935!
Oh SUSAN! I love this so so so much. First of all I am sending your Christmas cards as my thank you notes this year and so far everyone ADORES them. They all say how clever it is to have the lovely recipes on the front, so I have ordered *more* because I also love them and I need to save two for me, OF COURSE. 🙂
I am also decorating slowly this year and it actually is more fun that way. You have to let the tree “sit”, you know? Or at least I do. I put the ornaments up and then I look at it from my cozy couch nest for awhile and think, hmmmmm should some of these get moved around??? 🙂
I’ve also got out my Christmas Memories book and am going to update it as soon as I finish typing this. 🙂
LOL, sounds SO familiar. 💫
thanks for the recipes, the kitchen will smell wonderful but I love the list most of all.
Happy Christmas to you and all of yours.
Can’t wait for the Roald and Beatrix movie! Thanks for the heads up! And thanks for the cranberry sauce baked in the oven. You are a wealth of knowledge!
Have a blessed Christmas with hubby, Barb
Got my puzzle. Looking forward to starting it in the wonderful year 2021! It is so darn sweet!
Well… shucks.. I couldn’t find that cute Merry Christmas tray that the Cranberry bread is sitting on… is it sold out?? 🙁
Oh yes, a very long time ago! xo
As always, love your posts, Susan. Merry Christmas to you and Joe. Hold each other tightly. Wishing you many blessings. BIG hugs to you both.
I got the puzzles I ordered from you and the boxes are so pretty! Can’t wait to put one together! Will be a great Winter project, especially this year. My sister started a book club in my honor when I turned 60. She invited 5 of my bookish friends to join, along with her and I, and we have been reading together for 6 years! It has been so fun! So for our 6th Book Club anniversary, I’m giving each of them one of your “For the Love of Books” puzzles. And what’s so neat is that the puzzle shows off some of the books that we’ve read together. So I wanted to tell you that you painted the perfect puzzle! Thanks Susan! Happy New Year 2021 to you and Joe❤️!
😘😘😘😘😘 Such a thoughtful gift for a book club!♥️
Your home as always looks lovely ! I will definitely make the Cranberry orange bread —thanks for sharing it .
Merry Christmas to you & Joe —so ready to burn up my 2020 calendar too ! 2021 -yippee!
Penny from Mt.Rose
We have our first proper snow too, my kitty is curled up on my lap, and I have a jar of homemade clementine marmalade in the cupboard just awaiting to be made into marmalade cake! Thank you for the recipe 😊 Have a cosy Christmas and a lovely New Year’s Eve bonfire!! (My SB 2021 calendar is hung already)
I just got mine out this morning. Must put all the friend and family Birthdays on it before putting it up. Oh I can’t wait!💖
Well bless your heart Susan, and Mary Holland, for this lovely recipe. I’ve been knocking around in a rather chilly house all day, wishing that I could think of something to bake, and this is perfect! I will bake this right up and my guys will enjoy it. Thanks for sharing the Christmas cheer of your home and family. I always enjoy it. Merry Christmas!
Heat up the House!💫 It’s a win-win!
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe from Colorado! We have cold and had a bit of snow, but not our usual and we are still very dry! Hoping for more tonight! I wanted to tell you what a HUGE success the recipe cards were that I sent to girlfriends who love to cook and this year seemed the perfect year for “something different”. Now I wish I had ordered them in bulk! They all have gone into recipe books/boxes and warmly received! Yay! The new tea bread sounds fabulous so hoping to make that this weekend. Thanks, as always, for all you do to make our days a bit brighter. But what I’m really excited about is “Enchanted”…. one can never have enough!
What a lovely personal gift from you Jackie!! Great idea!
Peace and joy, welcome 2021….May the pendulum in 2021 swing back to some level of normalcy. We will never forget all that we have lost, and all that we hold dear. Can’t wait to hug again!
It will be soooo interesting, when this is over, and time passes, when we look back and realize how much we gained!♥️
Thank you so much for the afternoon at An Unlikely Story. We were camping in our motor home, with spotty Internet, but I managed to hear most of it. It was so cheerful and warm, and I am so grateful. Have a wonderful, merry, sweet, warm, cozy Christmas this year and a wonderful 2021 too.
♥️♥️♥️
I have had that same Cranberry-Orange Bread recipe for at least 35 years and, in fact, made a loaf last week! It always comes to mind when fresh cranberries are in the stores for Thanksgiving. I sometimes make muffins instead (bake about 25 minutes). When I was working I liked to give little loaves to co-workers at Christmas, tied with a pretty ribbon and a small ornament. I’m looking forward to making your marmalade cake; it looks delicious!
We have more lights and decorations outside this year so the neighbors can enjoy. With no family coming we didn’t decorate inside as much.
Not baking as much either. Pretty quiet Christmas for us.
Looking forward to next year!!
Merry Christmas 🎄
Your blog today made me feel all warm and cozy! Enjoy the peace of the season, Merry Christmas!
Oh Susan, Thank you for your beautiful good cheer. I absolutely love the story of you and your friends turning into your little selves playing at an adult table. Pure Magic! What a luminous thing to do with everyone we meet.. look for the little kid in them… the masks kind of help; we look into each others’ souls through the window of the eyes. I love your Christmas tree story too. I sleep by the Christmas tree if I have a sleepless night in Dec. I LOVE it; I pretend, I was walking in a snowy wood and come upon the miracle of a lit christmas tree and a little bed made up for me beside it! I believe my dreams come true there…Please God, let every soul on the planet live in love, laughter , and the peace that passes all understanding. This year, Josephine March, little 6 month old pup, and I slept there together, so I could watch over her after her spaying surgery and she slept so soundly. I am SO excited for the first chapter of Enchanted to come!!!! Merriest Christmas to you, to all your beloveds, and to the connected, sparkling web of the girlfriends.
I love waking up from a nap on the sofa with just the Christmas lights on. It’s definitely a step back in time! Yes, I still look at everyone that way and it is actually hilarious … try it! Plus you just love everyone MORE! I love your prayer Care, just beautiful. It’s amazing how very little most of us want. A house, doesn’t have to be huge, with enough room to grow some food and flowers, family, friends, work we enjoy and feel good about. I don’t know people who want to be billionaires. It’s always the little things, like little Josephine March!♥️
“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men! ”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Christmas Bells”
Susan, thank you for a wonderful, festive post. I can’t wait to bake a loaf of cranberry-orange tea bread. I watched Meet in Saint Louis, my favorite Christmas movie today with a roaring fire, twinkling Christmaslights, and a warm cup of tea. It truly is the little things that make life sweet. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! Cheers to the year ahead!
💞💞💞💞
Your emails/letters are always so welcome, especially on a cold late autumn day. I actually gasped when I read that I could now order the “Enchanted” first chapter, so …. I did! I’ve made several batches of your Spiced Pecans to share with family and friends and my tiny house smells wonderful!
Thanks for all your good cheer!
SUCH a great “mailer” for Christmas, those nuts! YUM!
So excited for the Beatrix and Roald movie. Please let us know ( if you find out) when we can see it in the US. Love your recipes and will try them ASAP. My waistline won’t care until January. 😆
Yes, January is the perfect time to begin caring again!🤣 I’ll let you know when I find out!♥️
I saw a video of a cat who puts the elastic on his claw then pulls it back with his teeth and releases it then chases it 🙂 He was playing fetch by himself made me think of Jack.
THAT wins.🙀
Awww, I just love this! As I love all your posts!! You are so inspiring and upbeat, just what I need. And I LOVE cranberries, so I will try these recipes! Thanks so much, Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Again, I feel like I just had a visit with you! Merry Christmas at home!
Oh my gosh, the strainer with the cranberries!! It’s exactly like the one I had for literally DECADES, and which I just got rid of recently because it was so misshapen. They don’t make things like they used to. 😊
No. They do not.😂
I named my daughter Tessa after reading that Roald Dahl had a daughter with that name. I just loved it.. Still do. My Tessa is now 43. Time flies. Happy Holidays everyone!
I love that name too. My girlfriend Siobhan has a daughter Tessa … and Tess is JUST as pretty!
Wonderful post. I feel all wrapped up in love.
This will be my first Christmas without my husband and I would like to read your Recipe for a Happy Christmas at the dinner table. I usually say grace but this year will be difficult as you can appreciate and I think your recipe will remind us of what we have. Thank you so much for sharing, have a really good Christmas.
Love you both.
Xxx
Something different for a very strange Christmas, I think it’s just right. Blessings on you and yours Christine. I’m so sorry for your loss. ❌⭕️
I can’t wait to make the cranberry-orange tea bread! So absolutely YUMMY looking!
You’ll love it!😋
Happy Mid December,
Thank you for the cheer on what is the hardest week I’ve had of this hardest year. But I won’t dwell on that. Just… thanks I needed this!-a dear and pleasant chat about things that are good and positive. Thank you for your sweetness of spirit and for being a lighthouse for us all when the waves are rough.
xxooxx
Gabi
♥️♥️♥️♥️ Blessing on you Gabi. Take care.
As usual when your blog arrives in my email, I make a cup of tea or get a glass of wine to sip as I read. Today it was Wild Berry Zinger tea. Delicious as was the blog. I am now having to watch my sugar intake and am not eating sweets. What a miserable things to add to the pandemic. Joe is right. It’s a “damnpanic”. We do seem to be getting closer to being able to live a more normal life of people, fun and hugs. Maybe in four more months. We’ve gotten through this far, so a few more months maybe won’t be too hard. The hardest part is losing friends and family. We were told at the beginning that we would all know someone who would die from this virus. Right now my count is two, a cousin and brother-in-law.
Oh Margaret, I am so sorry. It’s been such a terrible time. If you need another herb tea that tastes VERY cozy (you won’t miss the sugar at ALL) ~ try Bengal Spice. Blessings on you and yours. Let’s all stay safe, this hideous thing is going to be over. XOXOXO
Merry Christmas Susan! Thank you for the inspiration of the cranberry orange bread recipe. We are happily resettled in snowy Utah after our fire in Paradise, California, and I am trying to recapture some of our favorite old recipes I used to love. Will try this and see if hubby likes it, it was always his favorite. I had a few sets of your old recipe cards from years ago that I lost too. Any chance that you may contract to print new ones again someday? I want my daughters to have some hand written recipes to inherit some day🥰 Life goes on, and we are grateful. Can’t wait for your next book!
I do have recipe cards in our website store now.💖 How wonderful you are resettled. How hard that was! I hope this is nice quiet Merry Christmas for you. Tell us what recipes you remember and maybe some of us have them!
Susan, Thank you for such an uplifting email today! My husband and I are getting over Covid19 and so thankful that we did not get as sick as some people who have had it! I definitely have to make the Cranberry-Orange Tea Bread. Sounds heavenly. You and Joe take care of yourself. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! jmp
So happy to hear that. Rotten virus, you just never know how it’s going to affect you. So terrible, mostly kids don’t feel it but every once in a while one of them dies from it, that’s SO double scary! Stay safe, Happy Christmas!💫
Hi Susan:
Always love your posts! Your going to think I’m nuts, but I love your 2020 calendar so much I’m re-usung it, I bought another calendar and cut the bottom half with the calendar and glued it over your 2020 calendar, but kept the gorgeous pictures and walaaa! 2020 calendar! I love England so much and miss that I haven’t been able to get back there the past 2 years to see my family so your calendar makes me happy to look at! Your Christmas book is pure joy and such good medicine for this difficult year we have had. I am ordering the Enchanted excerpt, can’t wait to see it!!! Christmas blessings to you and Joe, stay safe!! Merry Christmas!!
Theresa Raffee
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Its the British one? I think you’re very creative! You want something? You make it! ❌⭕️❌
Merry Christmas to you and Joe. Thanks you for your lovely letter with recipes. How much marmalade in the marmalade cake. I think the Internet intervened and confused me.
Hmmm, you aren’t the only one. I looked at my page and it’s there, 1/3 cup for the cake, and another 1/3 c for the topping. Try refreshing your page! It’s my only guess!😂♥️
Dearest Susan, your blog posts always give me such a warm and cozy feeling! They absolutely never disappoint! I often re-read them when I need a little lift or some inspiration or motivation. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for December 21st . . . and the “Christmas Star” that should make its appearance early that evening! Such a fascinating story about what it actually is, and how infrequently it can be seen. I absolutely believe that this is what the Magi saw when they made their way to find Jesus and pay him homage.
With so much time being spent at home, and only working part-time for now, I have found that my Christmas preparations are definitely on schedule . . . and it feels GREAT!! Next year, I plan to start even sooner, so that ultimately, I can sit back and enjoy the month of December, doing fun Christmas-y things instead of warding off panic attacks and stress!
I pray that you and Joe and Jack will enjoy a safe, healthy, happy, joyous, peaceful and blessed Christmas season . . . and may we all enjoy a brighter New Year to come! xoxoxoxoxo
The tea bread looks delicious! I think I need to make it tonight for dessert. Have a blessed Christmas!
♥️♥️♥️
Wishing you a safe, peaceful and happy Christmas Susan, here`s to a much brighter 2021, much love from Amanda, South Staffordshire UK xxx
❌⭕️ to you Amanda!
I SO love this time of year…..especially love the coziness of being home…with a fire crackling and twinkle lights sparkling. Can’t help but count blessings.
Just so you know they both went up. This crazy blog no longer tells people when their comments go up… but they DO go!
I SO love this time of year with the fire crackling and the twinkle lights sparkling. Can’t help but count blessings.
So much to be thankful for … stay safe Diana!💞
I absolutely love your Home for Christmas book. I have it on my side table and I shall read it again on Christmas Eve. It has such lovely memories in it. I grew up around the same time and love the memories, most of all of family, Santa and treats. Thank you for such beautiful words describing feelings I had almost forgotten. Have a joyful Christmas season between the two of you as you look forward to next year. 😊 ❤️
Thank you so much Jerrie. I’m so happy to hear that! ❌⭕️
I am going to write out your Daily Quarantine Questions and post them on my bathroom mirror to challenge myself to put on my big girl pants and rise above the Damnpanic each morning!
And by the way, I think Jack be has a world class border collie stare….Love it!
Happy & safe merriment!!!
Nothing like a border collie!!! ♥️♥️♥️
Dear Susan
I got an email saying my puzzle was sent out last Monday… a week later I still have not received it.
Have a good holiday season… stay safe Sue and Joe… looking forward to a better 2021!
Kathie from Limerick.💖🎄💖
Write to Sheri, Kathie, she can track it for you… sheri@162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/ … it should be there by now, but the mail is ultra slow in some places this year! ❌⭕️
Merry Christmas, Susan, remembering the birth of our loving Savior! I love your cheerful, quote-laden newsletters and your lovely artwork! And a very Happy New Year to you, as well!
Same to you Marilyn!💫
I was completely shocked by your tribute to Roald Dahl, known for his anti-Semitic remarks. Coming in the midst of the Chanuhah holiday makes it even more chilling. His family’s “apology” has been all over the news recently, so it seems unlikely that you are unaware of this. Please address this in comments.
No, I didn’t know, but I have to say benefit of the doubt is a kind and giving thing. So, after I read your comment, I looked it up. Very sad. Thank GOD his family apologized. I know lots of families have “old coots” with old (sick) ways of thinking, and would rather not have them be famous! Or be blamed for the terrible things they say! I love Maya Angelou’s lovely saying, “We did then what we knew how to do. Now that we know better, we do better.” 💞 One thing he is now, besides a wonderful children’s book author, he’s a LESSON, of how NOT to be. And his family is making that happen, loudly, publicly. No more under the carpet. ❌⭕️
Thank you for your reply. You are right….I should have given you the benefit of the doubt that you did not know. I apologize. It’s an emotional situation for me and hence came my reaction. Happy Holidays to you.
I understand the emotion!!!! Sometimes it’s truly hard to like being human! But we are the change we want to see. 💖💖💖 That puts us ahead of the game.❌⭕️
Dear Susan,
I feel as if I just got a Christmas present when I opened your blog! So full of Christmas cheer. Love all your trees and the recipes. Can’t wait to make your Bread Pudding on Christmas Eve. It is tradition for us. Thank your for lifting our spirits all through this year. Wishing you and Joe a very Merry Christmas and looking forward to a wonderful New Year for us all! P.S. I just ordered Chapter 1 of Enchanted for myself and a friend. So excited to get a preview of your new book.
❌⭕️ April!
Susan, thanks for the beautiful blog. It made it seem more like Christmas to me. I’m so glad that you share your snow pictures with us. I always look forward to them. Wishing you, Joe, Jack and all the girlfriends ( and guy friends) a happy and healthy holiday season. I hope that you are correct and that soon we can all be together and hug again! In the meantime we will have to make do with cranberry marmalade. It looks delicious. Bridget
🕯Light at the end of the tunnel.💖
You bring so much joy and simple beauty into out lives. Thank you, Susan. Merry Christmas to you and Joe…and of course Jack.
Much love,
Cease
Sending Christmas Love. 💖
The Cranberry Orange Tea Bread sounds scrumptious. Can’t wait to make it!
Hi Susan
What a fun thing to know that its a new moon tonight, my oldest daughter was born on a new moon. Fun right
Love the way you and Joe decorate * your home is so cozy and I bet it smells so good with that gorgeous bread you made
have the best day Susan
love deezie
💖💖💖
Received your puzzle wanted to save it for Christmas night but couldn’t wait. Loved it and will be passing on to my dear friend staying home to be safe. Cheers!
I love that . . . passing it on, share the love!💞
Definitely nice not to be rushed all the time, isn’t it? Love Joe’s boyhood prayer! What am I grateful for today? The vaccine is here and the first Americans have already taken the shot today. Very proud of this amazing accomplishment by our country. Please don’t let politics spoil this moment in history!
The vaccine, the scientists and the hospital staffs, all are on my list of blessings, so proud of them, so humbled by their commitment to making a better world.😢 We are so lucky to have them!❌⭕️
Thank you for such a lovely post on this rainy and gloomy day!
What a delightful bread pan! So festive!
What a beautiful loving post. I know some people are feeling like they are trapped and nothing is normal. Actually I thought I would be one of them. But I love being home. Every post you write makes us appreciate being home even more.I feel like it is a beautiful vacation from all the past year. I hope you know how your posts remind us just how blessed and lucky we are. If there was one thing this earth needed it was to slow down. Take the time to remember all the real blessings of home. It doesn’t matter if you are one person or a family of 10. It is all right there waiting for us to slow down and enjoy. Your Christmas book, wow, we are the same age of the same generation. So many memories in that book. I hope this generation reads that beautiful book and adds some of the memories to their Christmas’s and their life. Thank you for your beautiful gift of everything you do to have us really know how blessed we are.
Love to all and a very Merry Christmas,
Mary Jane
Yes, definitely not “trapped” at home . . . rather, “safe” at home. I hope that little book will be a sort of history book someday, in the manor of Norman Rockwell. The story of a time and place.💞
Isn’t that the truth we are all just trying to replicate the magic of our childhood the ones we had and the ones we with we had! Happy holidays and a hope for peace on earth and an end to this virus that has ravaged our world
Yes and we can do that, even do it for others! Joy of Christmas!💖
Every time I get homesick for you I magically find a surprise in my inbox! It’s like you are missing me, too!
I have great optimism about your movie/series being made! With all the streaming channels now available, they need content! And I think your stories would rank right up there with Gilmore Girls!
Merry, merry Christmas to you, Joe and Jack. Thank you for being my girlfriend through the years! xo
Thank you right back Julie! And yes, I do get homesick for you girls! It’s a lovely thing we have here!💞
I love that nativity tealight. So beautiful. I also love Joe’s stocking, the beautiful devoratikns and cozy lighting in house this year. You are a priviledged, inspiring and wonderous lady. You had to be born under a gifted star and once you tapped into gifts inside you …you flew. Your destiny is all as in your books. Timing and necessary people coming into your life on your journey. Thank goodness for all us. Oh. Maybe when spring comes, could you drive by..photo..and post a recent pic of Holly Oak. So we know it is being loved still. Please? Great Willard..have the coziest. Love filled Christmas.
So sweet Debra… ❌⭕️
Merry Christmas! We are going to put a tree on our back deck now! What a wonderful idea! We can enjoy the view as we spend time in the kitchen!🎄 My husband, Harry’s, birthday is December 22nd. Each year on his birthday, we say the days will get longer each day now! A special day to be born!
Yes! The beginning of the beginning!