So much news, and all-all-ALL of it is good! Isn’t that wonderful? Do you find yourself smiling more these days? I do! Everything seems more beautiful than ever before. I am almost giddy sometimes! I think it’s pure unadulterated appreciation for this start-over time we are having, being with friends again, making wonderful plans! Let me share some of that with you! 🚢🥂🚂 MUSICA!
🎵🎶 Tweet, tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet! 🎵
Such a springtime it’s been! Has it ever been prettier? I don’t think so. Each bloom has been like a marker, part of a seasonal parade, I’ll catch you up ~ the wisteria and the clematis has come and gone . . .
. . . the sun rises with an exclamation point and the garden sings out “Yes!” And I go get the camera. The peonies were gorgeous this year! Utterly utterly…
And this one, given to me by my girlfriends last spring when my mom died ~ just the perfect thing ~ a living tribute that will 
come up every year with a surprise of beauty and sweet reminder of my mother. Just like her, clean, sweet, and simple on the outside, complicated, and one of nature’s wonders inside! Never stops with the giving. Joe and I just made reservations for the TRAIN … we’re going to California in September, in our room with a view, to hug and kiss my family (squeal), and have a family reunion and celebrate our mom/grandma’s life and all she was and is to us. 💞
The rhododendrons and the dogwoods bloomed beautifully ~ and as usual, I thank Mrs. Bowditch, the woman who moved into this house with her husband and four children in 1949 and planted so much of our romantic garden (we’re the caretakers now) .. they’ve come and gone ~ as all things do, and so has the mock orange, the wedding bouquet of our garden! I am in the garden often these tender spring mornings…🌱
Now it’s time for the foxgloves . . .
The roses are blooming too . . .
. . . best roses I’ve had in years! Even the beautiful, fragrant, peach-colored “Just Joey’s” which bloom like mad in California, but until this year, not so much here! They’re doing great!
And the parade marches inside, into my little vases that line…
…the little shelf above my kitchen sink. Joe laughed the other day when I told him this shelf is the very best thing they put in this house! Pure genius! My wand, my Beatrix Potter people, little vases and flowers! Birdfeeders on the other side of the windows with view of the garden! Everything I need!
I’ve been drying laundry outside and airing the quilts on breezy days ~ with wide blue skies, sunshine, sea breezes, and birdsong! It’s truly the best musica anywhere . . . 🎵 🎶🎵 🎶
I go out with my scissors to cut flowers and look back through the screen door to see Jack on his ironing board perch, watching me like a hawk! He stops me in my tracks. Everything is Him!
When he sees me looking at him, he starts flirting immediately, rolling over and squirming and almost falling off the ironing board!
He can’t help it if he’s adorable!
We pulled the tiny fountain out of the barn, filled it with water, and surrounded it with porch flowers . . .
And Joe planted our new Dahlia garden. It’s our first one ~ it’s SO exciting… the tubers arrived, we got 23 different varieties . . . and I went out and made a schematic on paper to “decorate” with the different colors, so Joe would know where to plant them. 
He did a gorgeous job … Everywhere you see a green stake is a different dahlia, all sizes, shapes, and colors ~ can’t wait until they bloom. Like a little gift under the tree that we can’t unwrap for weeks!
Doesn’t it look organized? And you know what else we did in this brand new world where we’re allowed to leave the house sometimes? We bought a new car! There it is! It’s actually a 2020, but new to us, we have 
joined the Subaru Forester club … isn’t it cute? I love it but, it looks like every other car on the road! We’re never going to find it in the Costco parking lot! I’m still not quite used to the push-button start. We’ve only had one car ever since my old 1982 Volvo finally said bye-bye (after 40 years of perfect service ~ I’m of the “if it ain’t broke” school of thought)! All we’ve had is the van for the last year … we’ve been joined at the hip. Now I can go somewhere, and Joe can go somewhere else, and all at the same time! How novel! Note: Rhododendrons and the wisteria . . . see how fluffy?
But I digress, we’re talking dahlias . . . and LOOK! Our first milestone, they ARE coming up! (One worries. Actually, two worries.)
Every morning, after checking on the dahlias, out to the woods we go . . . to walk the sun-dappled dirt road through the shady green to where the pond opens to the sea . . .
The wonderful thing about walking on dirt instead of asphalt, is how kind it is to your knees! Also, less breathing of car fumes… years and years of doing this adds up!
These days (except when we get to the sea where we take them out), we walk with AirPods in our ears … Joe has one, I have the other, and we listen to the same book (from my iPhone) … it’s Hamnet now, a not-THAT fictional story of Shakespeare’s son … who’s name was actually Hamnet … it’s finely woven and beautifully written with the few Shakespeare facts we do know. . . so it’s fact-based . . . we’re only a few pages into it, but so far, I’m loving it. We love historical novels. If any of you, hint-hint, think you might be visiting Shakespeare’s home in the future, this would be a fun read!
This is the actual house of Shakespeare’s wife, Anne (Agnes) Hathaway. Joe has to watch his head! Look how crooked it is! And still standing! It’s wonderful! Can you imagine how she would feel if she knew? But again, I digress . . . we’re supposed to be walking now! Here we go… MUSICA
These days there’s lots of action around the water’s edge . . . and when you’re on foot, you don’t miss seeing the little things . . .
Me, too . . .
Lots of new babies amid the sparkles, guarded by their watchful parents . . .
Festive, happy, grateful people out digging for clams and canoeing, communing with nature! It smells wonderful out there!
The waves roll in toward “Stonehenge” of Martha’s Vineyard ~ but this stone circle is much more transient, like the seasons on the island ~ it goes away every winter, but it’s back, a little changed, every summer. But just like Stonehenge, you see it, you like it, you take pictures of it, and you wonder, “why?” . . . People being people, because we can.💞
And one more celebratory thing before I get down to business . . . this:⬆️ Speaking of yes we can: Girlfriends, off-island, TOGETHER, having LUNCH in a FRENCH restaurant, WITH wine, in the middle of the day, AND shopping. Okay? See what I mean? It’s because we’re free, and so happy to celebrate! We’ve only done this once, but once is so many more times than we’ve done it in the last year and a half!
Soft spring nights having dinner next to the water with dear old friends . . . I turned back to look as we were leaving our table … and had to take this photo for you . . . isn’t it insane? How can this BE? Just a little moment in time. Our beautiful earth. These vaccines have set us free! I pray everyone gets them so we can live like this forever!
Speaking of beautiful … wasn’t it wonderful to see the Queen, all dressed in flowers, out and about, so chipper, joking, and full of smiles? She truly set the tone with that smile ~ an inspiration for everyone . . . she seemed as overjoyed as I’ve been feeling . . .🌸
…despite the losses. But like her, we won’t forget. We are still honoring what happened to us all… our common grief . . . I saw this memorial, each flag representing a lost soul during the pandemic, while driving through Falmouth ~ every small town and big city in America has one… But despite it all, Queen Elizabeth showed us, with her action, despite profound loss, life is for the living. At age 95, she gave hope. A profound gift to everyone.🇬🇧
So, off to work we go! What have I been doing, you may ask? 
This. Spring cleaning to the nth degree! I’ve been getting ready for our neighborhood yard sale ~ happening next Saturday the 26th! And I have to say, instead of bemoaning the never-ending work that goes into doing this after twenty years🤪, I feel lucky to be lightening our load in a recycling kind of way! For all the joy I found in finding and using these charming old treasures all these years, it makes me happy to think soon it will be someone else’s turn!
Even a yard sale has it’s pretty moments! I can’t help myself. I tie things in ribbons.
I washed, and dried the linens on the line, thanking them for the memories as I say goodbye. I chose to believe that red embroidered monogram said S B … but I do believe it will be just as easy for a G B to think it was made for them!
I love these old things, I’m amazed at the kind of work that went into making them and wonder about the world they were born into … wishing they could talk! I think the initials here are D C, but it’s very hard to tell ….there might be an I in there. I never cared to know for sure, it was the beauty of the work I could not say no to!
Love all the little embroidery and lace trim . . . the heaviness of the old cottons, the sheerness of some of the fine linens…the colors in the old quilts.
This tablecloth has tiny appliqués of flowers and butterflies all over it, sewn with the tiniest of stitches. As I fold these linens, I 
remember the parties where I used them, and think about the good ju-ju they will bring to the lucky person who gets them next. Letting go, while reveling in the memories.♥️ Joe brings in a box from the barn marked “Yard Sale” ~ I open it and say, “OMG, I forgot all about this!!”
These wonderful old books have decorated our tables at lots of dinner parties!
Vintage tea pots, pin cushions, sewing baskets with their strange vintage contents from a bygone era (irresistible, I have four, three for the yard sale, one for me!), books, dishes, throw pillows, cups, rugs, baskets, 
kitchenware, dish towels, furniture, garden things ~ Joe’s in charge of tools and man stuff . . . Like native Americans I believe everything has a soul and a destiny and that these things deserve to escape the cardboard box, the dark cupboard, the messy barn, to run free and be useful. My girlfriend Margot likes to anthropomorphize her things, she says it makes it easier to say goodbye ~ I laughed so hard with her on the phone when she said, “Run little pie plate, run!” And FYI: I did try to do a yard sale in my webstore, but it 
takes so long to measure everything (laying tablecloths and linen towels out on the dining room floor to measure them ~ Jack positions himself in the middle!), take pictures, front, back, sides, and bottom, write a description for each item, upload and send pics to Kellee so she can put them up on the website ~ and time is the one thing I’m running out of … although we did get a few things up, and I am saving others, things that are so good, they should go to you . . . which I’ll get to after this imminent looming event is over!
Yard sales . . . we have everything for PLM, People Like Me, people with . . .
But the world does not stop for a Yard Sale! Yes, I’m telling you the truth! It does not!
New things have come in! A new dream charm! Filled with blue skies, fluffy white clouds and rainbows! Perfect timing for our world right now.
It has “Go. Be. Love.” engraved on it . . . Kellee put it up in the webstore a couple of weeks ago!
This too, Janie made us a new Courage banner . . . with the most darling gift envelope.
Can there ever be too much of this? Never! Even the good things require it! Janie also made us beach banners! A Secret Notes are back! All Here.
And LOOK, the samples arrived!!! One of each of the new cups was sent from England, so I can approve the final color! I’ve been drinking out of them! I love them! Here’s “Blessed” (the other two items in this photo are not part of the arrivals!).
And here’s “Rabbit-Rabbit” … I am thrilled with them ~ the only change I requested was to make the dark lines around the bunnies slightly lighter … I also asked them to lighten up a bit around their “toes” … I want them to look pink!
But look how cute “Rabbit-Rabbit” is with the rest of the “collection!” We needed a cup with a pink background!
And the last one is Winter! I did a reprint because so many of you asked . . . one of my prettiest cups, and smaller than the other two as you can see in the photo below.
Here are the “backs” of each cup … which I try to make as pretty as the “fronts” so no matter which hand you drink with, you are happy!💞
And here are the handles . . . the “Blessed” cup is a little hard to read in this photo, it says “My favorite prayer is Thank you.”
And the bottoms . . .
Ta-daaaa! Kellee just put them up for presale … go HERE! They should arrive from England the end of September or the first of October . . . you know they are special order and limited in number . . . I have to tell them soon how many to make … I think I know, but I just want to make sure you all get one if you want one!
But right now, for even more fun . . . how about a give-away?
I have three prizes for you today . . . one Fourth of July cup… (it’s out of stock, this is an extra I found in the cupboard!)
And to celebrate this amazing spring, despite the fact that yesterday was the FIRST day of SUMMER! ~ two “Spring cups.” To be entered, just leave a message in “comments” down at the bottom of this post, you’ll see tiny letters and at the end of the words, click on “comments” and voila! We’ll have a drawing in a little while and announce the winner here, but for now, you are ALL winners, so enjoy!
I told you it was all good news! And now, what many of you have been waiting for ~ NEWS about the England trip!
Joe and I went out to lunch and did our favorite thing … brought our books and talked about our trip to England next year 
. . . I wanted to figure out really special tours for all of you who might wish to take one when you arrive, tours that would make you feel as if you were walking through my book A Fine Romance. And, I wanted you all to be able to come to the PICNIC we planned! You know we found a great travel agency, one that does tours for 15 or less people, and takes care of EVERYTHING, so you don’t have to worry about ANYTHING! Between us we worked out 3 different tours, each of them lasting 8 days, all wonderful places Joe and I have been to … your biggest problem is to choose just one! These tours are a win-win-win! They all end up in London, where you can either go home, stay for a few more days, or join another tour! And, on the last day, before you go to London, all the buses come back to the most beautiful park I’ve ever seen, called Stourhead, where, after our time on the ship together, and then time on each of the tours, we will meet back up with stories to share! Is that good or what?!
So here are the basics: but first, mas MUSICA!
The Queen Mary sails from New York harbor May 1, 2022. We will arrive in Southampton on May 8th. People who choose to go on a tour will be picked up at the ship ~ and off they will go for a week of fun in the English Countryside. I can’t wait until you see the itineraries! They’ve kept me in dreamland for the last few weeks! Different clothes, but nothing else has changed!
So far, 98 staterooms, filled with US! Kindred spirits! have been booked!👏 Isn’t that wild? The ship is almost sold out! If you try to make reservations and are thwarted in any way, ask to be put on the wait list. I’m told that many people will cancel at the end of the year (everyone has up until Dec. 31 to cancel for a full 
refund), so there’s a good chance you’ll get a reservation.
To sign up for the ship crossing, contact Susan Gannon at 800-468-7752 x41663 or Cunard reservations 800-728-6273 ~ tell them you’re with Group #TNM (USA) or, #TN3 (Canada), Voyage M211, with the “Susan Branch Girlfriend Group.” They handle the ship questions, but have nothing to do with the tours… fyi.
To see photos of the ship, go HERE.
I have lots of on-board fun planned … but it’s a little early for full confirmations for some things, I’m waiting until closer to the time to make sure! I’ll be talking about this for the next year! The best part, is that we will all have each other, kindred spirits!
Our Picnic will be in the world famous garden at Stourhead, Sunday, May 15, at approximately 12:30 pm… on a beautiful lawn in front of the grass bridge like you see below . . . it’s one of our 
favorite places in England, pure magic, where we had our very first picnic! You are all invited. And that includes EVERYONE, that means you, Brits, and you over there in Norway, and YOU, out there in Spain! ALL our Girlfriends, everywhere! We’ll be waiting there for you on May 15th, 2022, at 12:30 pm, join us if you can! If you’ve elected to take a tour, the buses will stop so you can get a picnic lunch, and they will bring everyone back that day! The rest of you are on your own, but England makes travel VERY easy, as I’m about to show you.
FYI on the tours, you are all welcome to join any of the tours ~ you don’t have to take the ship … you can fly over if you like, you just have to get to Southampton to meet the bus! Talk to Kelsey, as mentioned below. (FYI, speaking of below, that’s Sissinghurst White Garden!)
To see the different tours: Go to www.discovereuropeltd.com/susan-branch print them out and read through them, you can check out most of the places in my book 
if you like, … and then call Kelsey Matson and her coworker at Discover Europe LTD with your questions ~ they handle everything having to do with tours (but not the ship). Call Kelsey from 9 to 5 EST, M-F, at 866-563-7077. FYI, they have almost the exact same cancellation program as Cunard ~ for a full refund you must cancel by January 1. So that gives everyone time to try this all on for size! For any of you that may want a longer tour, maybe go to Scotland, or go up to the Lake District, just let Kelsey know. She can arrange pretty much anything as long as there are enough of you to warrant the trip. You can work it out between yourselves on my Facebook page! And remember, we are a large group. We have a year to get this done, so in case she doesn’t get back to you immediately, I promise, she is wonderful and she will!
And, for you who you get off the ship but don’t wish to go on a tour? What to do, what to do? The options are basically endless. There are buses and trains to London, you can hire a private car, you can go with a group. Talk to others on my Facebook page, and perhaps put something together there. Everything you want to know is available in the Google machine.
If you feel comfortable driving and wish to do so, you’re fine, you can rent a car in Southampton. And for those of you who’d rather have a driver, there are many choices. There are cabs at 
the ship in Southampton, they can take you to a bus, or train, or you can arrange for a car to pick you up and take you to London (it’s only 1 hr. 42 min) where you won’t need a car, because they have cabs and the Underground! Totally civilized. They even speak a language that’s very much like English! Extremely handy! You can get a city map and do the MUST SEE things like Westminster Abbey. You can get on a red double decker bus and see the city. There are airport transfers from your hotel to the airport for your flight home. And London is where many day-trips originate, which take you everywhere, from Bath, to Sissinghurst, to Oxford! Just Google!
Hello Susan~Thank you for the cardinal peeking in your window at the beginning of this blog…your mom and dad peeking in at you…I’m recovering from shoulder surgery~I tripped in my garage🙄…my daughters have been taking good care of me and your blog brightened my day😘
That’s how I broke my wrist. Tripped over a big old airy plastic bag! SO frustrating. It’s one of those times you just want to turn back the clock a FEW seconds!!! Get well soon. ❌⭕️
Dear Susan, thank you as always for your beautiful uplifting post! Love the new mugs! Especially the Fourth of July one ! So cheery! ❤️🏡🇺🇸 God bless America ! And good for
You overcoming your fear and getting the vaccine and getting back out there to enjoy life and encouraging so many to do the same! Just recently flew from ca to New Jersey to visit my mom and sisters and brother in law for my moms birthday 🥳! (All vaccinated!) and we had the best come sit stay ! Garden 🪴 eat 🍰laugh a palooza good time that we hadn’t had In Years ! All the best to you and joe – happy yard sale weekend! Enjoy !
Reading about your trip to England is almost as good as actually coming along! Thank you over and over for sharing.
I enjoy your e-mails so very much. I know you miss your Mom, Pat, as I do my husband. When I was working at McDonnell Douglas with your Mom and my husband, she talked about you so much and loved you dearly. She was a wonderful, kind and thoughtful woman. Big Bear has been so crowded during this pandemic we have been overflowing with tourists. I don’t know if we will ever get back to “normal” whatever that is. I love your mugs – they are wonderful. I was looking through one of your earliest cookbooks (which you Mom had me buy back in the 80’s) and they are still the best cookbooks out there. I too got the vaccine and was hesitant about getting it but better safe than sorry. I had little or no reaction to the Pfizer one. Take care and enjoy your trip to California.
Happy to hear from you Peggy. Thank you for the kind words. So glad you got the vaccine … no one WANTS to get it, but we just do our parts to making the world a better place for everyone. Things my mother taught me. 💞
Hello Susan. I do enjoy seeing your garden. It was my inspiration many years ago to put one in, enclosed with a picket fence. Right now it’s planted with tomatoes, corn, beans, peppers, cukes and pumpkins and sunflowers. The last two are surprises from nearby bird feeders and from throwing a Halloween pumpkin in there to decompose! A happy accident…😄
So glad to read all of the good news, Susan! Every touch of a family member or friend, every walk, every ray of sunshine, raindrops, butterfly, bird, flower and breath of fresh air – a blessing~ Loved the beauty and excitement of this post!
SUSAN!!!! Oh! How I would LOVE to go on the cruise with you all! I will have to live it thru your posts!!!
Love that 4th of July mug, and I like the new ones too!
Hugs to you and Joe and or course, Jack
Linda in PA
This was such a lovely post. Sitting at my desk working (from home). I felt delighted just to see your email arrive. Your words are uplifting and I love your home and garden and Martha’s Vineyard scenes, sigh. Beautiful. Thank you for a bright spot in my day. xoxo
I have your winter cup and love nothing more than a cup of hot chocolate while watching it snow! Thanks for a chance to win a different one to add to my cup collection!
Wonderful blog Susan and I for one am so glad you have had the vaccine and are able to get out and about sharing the joy in Martha’s Vineyard! What a super photograph of the dinner table after you had got up to walk away – good job you turned around and took that beautiful scene! It looked so calm and beautiful – made me want to be there!
Good luck with the yard sale – how lucky the residents will be to get their mitts on your beautiful treasures!
Stourhead picnic is in the diary for next May!! Looking forward to it already!!
Many thanks for the sheer joy in your blog – if Vanna picks my name out of the hat – I’d love the cup to go to Lisa Jorgensen in CA – she would love one of them I’m sure.
Big hugs from across The Pond 🇬🇧
Love
Karen x x x
Cambridgeshire
U.K. 🇬🇧
❌⭕️
Happy Summer! Your spring flowers are simply beautiful, what joy it is to plant a garden and watch its transformation each day. Lots of happy bees buzzing, birds landing, and people admiring it I’m sure. Thank you for the inspiration you have provided me over the years!
Everyday is always brighter when I receive your happy exciting news and thoughts about all the happenings around you. I have all your books and cookbooks. I actually made your lemon bars yesterday. The new 4th of July mug/cup is so cute.
Love all the mugs! Excited to order the new ones.
I’m another Susan!
Would have loved to join the fun next May – but I’m cruising the Rhine then (postponed from 2020.)
Maybe next time???
“A breath of fresh air” … an expression we have heard so many times throughout our lives … and it so perfectly expresses your blog today in this exact moment for me. I inhaled every morsel and I am happier for it! Thank you!
My 32nd wedding anniversary will be celebrated on July 4th and what a delight it would be to gift my beloved with your Independence Day mug! Like most of us, I have a “story”. I will just tell this part, however, as my story is no more ~ and certainly no less ~ important than anyone else’s. My dear Dan stepped into my world which had been ripped into shreds. With little thought but great courage, that 23 year old “knight” battled my dragons and poured light into my heart and the hearts of my five little children. Many years later one of my kids expressed their love for him by saying, “In our family we spell “dad” with an n.”
That’s our Dan!
My husband and I would join you on the Queen Mary if it weren’t for my sensitivities to motion. It sounds like a wonderful adventure! So happy for others who will get to go. It’s very nice of you (and Joe) to invite all of us to travel with you.
Hi Susan and Joe! Happy Summer! Have you ever been to Longwood Gardens in Southeastern Pennsylvania? It was created by Pierre DuPont back in the 1930’s. If you haven’t been, you MUST visit someday; 1100 acres of gardens, including a massive conservatory. I am so blessed to live close-by. It is my happy place. I go 3-4 times a week to walk. You can walk miles! Every time I go there are new flowers blooming. It is always sublime. And the performance fountains are one of the best in the world. This area is full of history and antique stone houses and barns. You would love it. The new Subaru would love it, too! Lots of hills. Wish I could come to your yard sale. I know you have lots of treasures I would adore. Have fun!
I like that!♥️
Ooh, ooh, ooh!! As I am a Mary I have had a lifelong (think, “long” 😕) obsession with lambs and love collecting them. Oh my how one of these would be a lovely addition! Thank you for the exploding joy in this post. It only enhanced my excitement that summer has arrived. Although we are currently enduring a heatwave here in Oregon (unusual for June) I looked past that as I felt the breezes from your pictures.
Pick me, pick me, pick me!
Mary
What an uplift to my day your Blog is, Susan. I have been to England/Ireland four times and loved every minute. Since I taught English literature for years, I was very emotional at Jane Austen’s house, Emily Bronte’s home, Thomas Hardy’s garden and more. I will enjoy living vicariously through the blogs of your trip.
I think this spring and early summer has been the best year for flowers and nature. I love reading what you are doing on the island. Your pictures are amazing. My little collection of vases add to my kitchen too. Enjoyed the blog today. Will check out the new mugs in the store.
Thank you for a wonderful blog today! I love your garden and can’t wait to see the dahlias in bloom.
New cups are beautiful,
Today in Kansas is wonderful. Cold front came through with temps in the 70s instead of the 90s we have been sweltering in.
Thank you for letting me be swept away to your faraway island from my beautiful breezy mountain top in Southern California. I am a garden geek and have surrounded myself with pots and pots I’d beautiful colors of geraniums ( an annual for us!), salvia, butterfly bushes on my deck above it all. I’ve been in love with your wonderful white picket fenced garden forever, still dreaming that one day I’ll have one too. I see so much of me and my childhood in your collections of tablecloths and kitchenware. I have 2 of your dreamy coffe mugs, Luna and The Little Things. They mean so much and brighten the mornings when I’m lucky enough to use them. Happy summer to you and Joe.
Loved hearing all your happy news! So many fun things to look forward to! My mother in law, sister in law and I love all things Susan Branch and enjoy surprising each other with fun things from your shop. We all love your blog and hearing what’s going on in your world!!!
I am so sorry to hear of the death of your mother. The good things she planted in you will always be there. Someone told me when my mother died that she still thinks of her mom every single day and it had been 30 years. I understand now…..My mom has been gone 24 years yet I still hear her voice.
I like that. I don’t want my mom to ever go away … right now, at the end of my meditations I do each day, I bring in my mom and dad, and I can’t tell you how much I LOVE seeing them again!
Dear Susan,
Your emails are just sunshine in my inbox!!! The new cups are divine… May I ask, how you wash your more delicate linens???
If they are VERY delicate to the point of falling apart, but I want to make them last maybe one more year, I do it by hand. But most old linens are made from a MUCH better cotton than what we have today, they can take hot water, they can take bleach, because they had very rough washing in the old days. So it just depends.
What a great blog! Your joy in our newfound “freedom” is truly felt by us all!
My heart is singing with thankfulness! Loved hearing all your news and taking in all the delightful photos! You are a treasure…..so glad you are in my life….Hugs!
Singing! Mine too! xoxo
You inspire us all every day!
Hi Susan……..It is always so pleasant to see a new posy from you in my email! Love your positive attitude, which I’ve enjoyed via your work for well over 20 years. Blessings to you and Joe! Have a beautiful summer! ❤
Just love your posts. They are always so happy!! xoxoxox Thx for sharing.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. I am not able to physically join you all on your trip abroad but I look forward to hearing all about it as you prepare and once you journey forth. Wish I was closer and could go to your yard sale, I am sure I would find many treasures. Thank you for all the joy you bring to us! I can’t wait to see your dahlias, mine too are starting to pop up.
I’ll be sure to do a good job for all our arm chair travelers!
Yeah ty! I can’t wait too read and pretend I’m going along..
Ty for also sharing this happiness post.. amen to it all❤️
And this Spring oh my prettiest one ever..
Thank you, Susan, for your lovely blog and all the good news!
Sounds like your trip is shaping to be a huge success; your happiness literally leaps off the page. I especially enjoyed your garden pix; thank you for sharing!
Oh, Susan, you made my heart feel light and joyful today. Such lovely posts and quotes and garden photos. I like your vaccine response, too. The new cups are beautiful!
❤️
Thank you Patricia! xoxo
Beautiful lift to a dark rainy day.
Thank you for a beautiful post!! I love all your flowers – those you grow and those you draw and paint.
Please enter me in your drawing.
I have been following you for years. I have always wanted to visit Martha’s Vineyard and tour the countryside of England. A peek into your world is probably the only way that will happen. I love your beautiful flowers and especially your cat.You are so blessed in this life. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I too love a doily I like to call my style of decorating granny style! Love the post just what I needed today!
What a lovely blog post. Excitement is in the air
Wow! Fun, exciting, beautiful, wonderful blog! Thank you dear heart! God Bless & Love….& have a fun yard sale! XO
Thank you for this bright post! We have traveled to the island for the last 8 years for summer. What a beautiful place with all the gorgeous flowers about. Hydrangeas are my favorite flowers! You are such an inspiring person. Thank you for your giveaway. Enjoy your summer!
What an uplifting post that we all needed to read. I love seeing all the lovely flowers in your yard. I am enjoying my begonias and herbs on my apartment balcony. The trip to England sounds fantastic. Will check to see if any of my girlfriends want to go when we meet for lunch next week. We have been zooming and meeting in the park on nice days but looking forward to a lovely lunch together. Thank you 😍
Susan, thank you so much for the tour through your flower gardens!!!! Loved it so much!!!! It was so enlightening to read all of your excitingly positive and upbeat comments throughout your wonderful blog!!!!! Bless your heart❤️😊
Susan,
It always brightens my day when I see an email notification from you alerting me to a new blog you’ve posted! .
Your trip sounds wonderful! I hope to read of your adventures in a new book at some point.
Wish I lived closer as I’d love to come to your yard sale! Yard sales are lots of work but so much fun!
Always look forward to your new mugs to add to my collection. And to give as gifts. I do wish you’d design more of the smaller ones though!
Best wishes for a wonderful summer!
Your posts are a joy and delight to the soul! I have been talking to a friend about doing one of the tours and taking our sketchbooks, as our focus along the way! Ever since reading A Fine Romance, it has been my goal to find someone to follow your footsteps to Hilltop! Joining in the picnic would be the cherry on top! Thanks for your inspiration in art and writing.
Thank you right back Melissa! xoxo
So much hope! Thank you. It warms my heart ❤️!
That’s what I feel too! We deserve it! xoxo
Happy Summer indeed! Fragrant blossoms, tree-covered trails, linens clipped to a line and blowing in the breeze–you have it all and we love that you share everything! How I’d love to be at your yard sale to bring home some of the lovelies you’ll be able to part with. Such fun! I loved reading about the England tour. Fantastic trips are lined up. I’ll be with you vicariously. Hope another book saves the memories. Thank you for this uplifting blog today. A true celebration of victory over adversity!
All this sounds so wonderful!! We have had some more bad news on the medical front so fingers crossed we will still be able to go! Meeting you all would be such a dream!
Fingers are crossed Nicole! We need a healthy year!
Always a joy to read your posts. Thanks for the encouragement!
Susan, I love, love, love hearing the exhilaration in your posts!
Ahhh, this is always how I feel after reading your blog. Such a breath of fresh air. Such a nice read before I head home from working all day. Would love to win the 4th of July mug. I have the Spring mug, but wouldn’t mind another one to keep one at work and one at home.
We just moved from the desert of Nevada to the lush green of Louisiana and I have enjoyed the flowers left by the previous owner. Every morning I wake to see what nature is blooming today. I love it and totally understand your joy of spring. I even have various colors of gardenias which hubby puts in a vase before I wake. Love and spring, proving life can be good.
Susan, I’ve been a fan for more years than I can count! I even have a shelf dedicated to your books! Thus Spring post was so positive and optimistic, it would cheer up anyone! The English trip sounds fantastic-may have to work on that one! Keep enjoying your garden and making the world a better place! 💕🥰
Oh happy day! It’s always a treat to find a new SB ‘letter’in my mail box. My mum was an English war bride and I’m looking forward to following your journey to beautiful England next year.
Just what I needed to read today! Thank you for the uplifting words! ❤❤❤
We recently had a yard sale and it felt good to know someone else was going to find a purpose for items I no longer needed, especially old toys my daughter no longer wanted me to hold onto. It also feels good to free up some space when “decluttering”. Love your flowers and can’t wait to see the dahlias.
Such a bright and breezy post! Very welcome after the year of coping and developing our inner resources. One of the benefits of “interesting” times is the ability to find joy and blessings even while enduring difficulty. So glad you are here to celebrate with us. BTW, I can relate to your letting go of treasures. My daughter just gifted an unknown family with her vintage Victorian-style dollhouse (a gift from her grandfather), her children have no need of it. We are joyfully letting it go and passing on the delight of customizing it. Feels good to just send bliss out into the universe.
Hi Susan.
Always such a beautiful Happy post from you. I would just love to stop by your sale, but I’m sure I won’t be able to arrange it this quickly. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy being buoyed by your heartfelt post. ❤️
So enjoyed seeing the pictures of your flowers. I love the news mugs – especially the Blessed one.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED YOUR JOY AND LOVE … HOW I WISH I COULD GO TO ENGLAND WITH SUCH A WONDERFUL AND HAPPY GROUP. HEALTH MATTERS KEEP ME HOME. I AM SO SURE Y’ALL WILL CELEBRATE AND ENJOY EVERY MINUTE … SO I WILL ARMCHAIR TRAVEL THRU YOU.
WE DOWNSIZED (THE HOUSE) AND THEN HAD FIVE YARDSALES TO DOWNSIZE THE INVENTORY. “MY TREASURES” WERE THE HARDEST TO SORT. I BUY, LIKE YOU, BECAUSE I SAW THE JOY AND BEAUTY IT WOULD BRING TO MY HOUSE AND MY LIFE. TREASURE/THRIFT SHOPPING IS ONE OF MY GREAT JOYS. JudyCinNC
Your shadow photo on the sand is so cool! Your poses immediately made me think of the Clint Eastwood movie, “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. ” I love how the tire tracks look like fabric texture too.
Susan, love this post. I just had a yard sale, downsizing my vintage and antique items. Sold so much. Made me happy to see the smile last on those who purchased so much of the things I loved. Now their turn to treasure and enjoy. Love Dahlias, mine are coming up. Please enter me in the contest, so hope to win.
Thank you Susan!!💕
Goodbye beautiful green spring and welcome summer sunshine!
Susan, your zest for life and unbounded joy are infectious! Thank you from San Diego, bit soon heading to Michigan for the summer!
Thank you Susan!💖
Hello my lovely friend,
You are such a beautiful breath of fresh air to us, your friends. I read your letters and are transported to places I will never have the courage to go to but I love it that you do and we can go there with you and your Wonderful Joe!
I loved the photo of the queen in her beautiful floral outfit. It made me smile to see her smiling. I also got to thinking about planning a french afternoon lunch with my girl friends with wine and shopping. Just need to find a french restaurant nearby! Thank you for your rays of sunshine!
Thank you so much for your blog today – full of visual, verbal joy and warmth. Just what is needed these days. I feel so connected with all you share. I rescue vintage linens and love the monogrammed pieces. Wish I knew their history and where they came from. I have dreams/plans of repurposing many of them, but time and energy limit what I accomplish. I read your 3 books and have been sharing them with my quilting friends, who all love them too. Will definitely be ordering some mugs and other fun items:))
That was all just wonderful!!! Thank you!!
Oh London sounds so wonderful. I have a Darling girlfriend that lives south of London.
I wish I could be at your yardsale, I’m afraid I would have to buy a large box of doilies and linens. They would be so pretty in my quilts or on my tables Oh well some day when hubby is better he will bring me up there .. Take care 🙂 ❤ 💕
Oh Susan,
Like a breath of fresh air, your blog came! What an uplifting post for ALL of us who are grateful that our country is getting back to normalcy. Kids are graduating, couples can marry again with the presence of their families and friends. For me, the blessing is being able to see my first grand-baby who is now 5 months old! Have a wonderful summer! If anything Covid taught us to appreciate our families more than ever. Bring on SUMMER!
Thank you for taking me back to my high school and college days on the vineyard, ha going out with my bestie and her family. Memories of my mom when I would order your cookbooks and we would look at them. Now if I could just find where I packed them …. 💗💙💜❤️
Such an inspiring post! Indeed, I feel the same way about this Spring – light, airy, free and breathing so much easier and fuller. How I wish I could go to England with you but my sister and I have been planning a trip to our ancestral country – Portugal – for over two years and have had to cancel for a variety of reasons. 2022 is our year!
I wish I lived near you. I would probably buy all your yard sale items.
It is lovely, getting together with our friends, now that we are vaccinated.
Hope you have a glorious summer! MAN
I too am happily, fully vaccinated! 💪🏼
👏👏👏
Thanks for your post! I’ve been freeing goodies from my cupboards, also! I, and they, are so happy! And I’ve rediscovered some of my favorite things which I stuck away years ago – don’t know what I was “saving” them for, but it’s time to enjoy them completely! Summer blessings!
I always love reading your blog. Loved seeing all the linens and flowers and plans and picnic baskets and happy. If you ever decide to re print your summer mug I would be ecstatic, it is the only one I do not have. Came out when my dearest husband was in the ICU and I was too heart broken to think about such things. One of these days I will find it. And now it’s time to break out the summer book. Hugs for your mom.
I was given your first book the year it was published and have enjoyed all of your treasures since!
Books, calendars, note pads, lists
Thank you for brightening my days!
A yard sale would be fun if it weren’t so hot here. I have to give away things that were daughter’s, she died unexpectedly in March. She was our remaining child. So now my thoughts are to put things I have out too as I have no one to leave them too. I have her cat now, in fact she is laying in my lap as I type. After her house and car sell I should find some time to grieve.
Hope you all have a great trip.
Oh Bonnie, I am so so sorry. I couldn’t really grieve right away either, first I had to come to terms with it. And grieving has been easier now that I meditate every day and spend quality time WITH my mother and dad at the same time. I learned they are not gone until I say they’re gone. Maybe her spirit lives a cat life now… hugs to you both. xoxoxo
My mother died the year my first grandchild, her first great grandchild, was born, 13 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don’t try to pick up the telephone to call her. And I can’t count how many times I try to remember something or someone asks me a question and I think or say “my mom would know the answer to that”. (hugs)
Still mulling the trip. So many grandchildren, so little time, but . . . once in a lifetime!
You can show them the way to live life! xoxo
What a fantastic prize
Your posts are always a breath of fresh air. So light, airy and fun. Hearing from you brightens my day.
I love your blog… the best and brightest spot on the internet! Thank you for inspiring the love of simple living, in linens drying on the line, of cute kitties, yard sales, old books, beautiful cups, peonies…. I could go on forever!
Yes, the world seems brighter than ever and laughing with friends, hugging friends, and celebrating our newfound freedom is bringing back much-needed happiness to our weary spirits.
Susan: you are so right, I see do many smiles when I am out. Have never seen so many happy people as I did at the farmers market last weekend. Definitely a renewed sense of appreciation. Thank you for your inspirational blog! Love it!
Susan, we’ve been brave too, now that we’re vaccinated, and have gone back to restaurants. Enjoy!!
Proud of us. xoxo
Thank you so much for sharing such beautiful, positive bits of life. Your gardens are gorgeous, Jack is a sweet kitty, and life is good. I so enjoy reading your news.
hello, susan. I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. Mine was my best friend and I miss her and “talk” to her every day. She was one classy lady! I’m sure your mom was a hoot,too because you are so cute and funny! I am writing because 40 years ago on July 4, I was in labor at Women’s Hospital in Houston, praying for a safe delivery. I was already 30 and had been wanting a little baby to love since I was 12, and would haul all of the babies around at church and play with them! My hubby and I happily welcomed a beautiful boy! He was such a delight. We celebrate his and our country’s birthday together every year! I would love to be able to toast with your July 4 mug! thank you for all of your give aways! Have fun on your cruise!
It truly has been a remarkable spring! So wonderful to be out and about and be able to hug people again! Can’t get enough! So grateful!
I love reading your blog! It makes me smile when I see it in my inbox! So glad to see you are feeling cheery! I am too, and I TOTALLY agree that I am giddy because we are “on the other side” of this! <3
So refreshing to hear great news for a change
Thanks for the chance to win
I have been a fan of yours for years and years.
Love the Rabbit Rabbit mug! My college roommate and I have been saying “Rabbit Rabbit” for almost 45 years, now texting it to each other! I will be ordering a mug for her birthday.
So exciting – England is on my bucket list… but alas not for a few years yet- have fun !
Thanks for sharing all the good news; can’t wait to see pictures of your Dahlia’s in bloom
Hi Susan! Your blog is full of happiness and sunshine! Thank you!
Susan, such a terrific post today! So many wonderful pictures to linger on and enjoy. The trip sounds fabulous and the cups are so sweet. What a collection! Your gardens are just the perfect picture of tranquility- no wonder you enjoy them so much. I would so love to come to your yard sale! It will be such a fine one! Good luck with it all, enjoy the summer!
Hi Susan,
I look forward to reading your blogs,as they are always so uplifting ! You give me a different perspective of Martha’s Vineyard. I’m there as a tourist, even though I live in Falmouth. I love seeing it through your eyes!
That’s why Isle of Dreams was my favorite of your books ! Your description to detail, is a reminder,to be more present and enjoy what is right in front of us@
Oh how I would love to win one of your Spring cups! It has been winter far too long with so many family losses…your posts refresh my soul. Thank you Susan!
What a wonderful post. Marvelous plans for the trip. I have been in England once years ago, your plans bring back lots of memories. Your flowers are gorgeous, you inspire to plant more. You and Joe are a lovely couple and work so well together. Have been a fan for a long time. Hope to come to your island some day!
What a lovely trip it will be! I wish I could go!
Oh Susan! So much wonderfulness! I have to take a rest and then re-read it so I can truly savor all this beauty!!
How I wish that I could go on that beautiful trip but I will have to live it through your stories…as I usually do! And I do love it too! Thank you for how you share! It brightens my life!
And the yard sale? what a dream to be able to go to that! Alas, CA is a bit of a drive! 😉 Can’t wait till you make it back here <3
Blessings!!!
The mugs are lovely. I’d be so happy if I won one. Fingers crossed!