The month for
And guess what? YES! They’re here!
Blessing #1: The new cups started shipping out to you guys last week! If you haven’t gotten yours yet, they are on the way!!! They crossed the pond using every form of transport, plane, ship, train, truck, and slow boat to China … we don’t know how because no one would tell us, but the miracle is, all the way from the luv-lee potteries in Staffordshire, England, to Arroyo Grande, California, they have arrived! And for the most part, in one piece! Thank you for your never-ending patience! Reward? MUSICA!
The color turned out great! Here’s what the backs look like. As you can probably guess by the slow pace of the all-of-a-sudden infamous “supply chain” … unfortunately we will not be getting more of them before Christmas!! I THOUGHT we’d get these by September!!! If you were waiting until you saw the whites of their eyes, your time has come. They are here! And if this is the first time you’re seeing them, you can read more about them and see other designs we still have in stock HERE.
Blessing #2: Fall has come on very slowly this year.👏 A long fall is what I hoped for, and a long fall is what we’re getting! Usually, by this time, the leaves have turned and fallen and we’re raking them up . . . but right now the colors are at their best, and when you look out the window you see them, orange and yellow sparks twirling past in the wind. This was our walk in the middle of October! Green as green can be. Note the smooth and leafless road…
Then came a wild nor’easter! Worst winds I’ve experienced since I moved here! Wind gust was clocked at 96 MPH in Edgartown on the other side of the Island! This was our walk the day after … lot’s of visible wildness!
Tattered and torn leaves, branches, and pine needles carpet the dirt road to the sea ….
And a lot of missing sand, carved out and taken away . . .
I noticed this leaf on the ground, stepped right over it, but after a few more steps I felt I HAD to turn back and get a better look. WHAT was that? And take this picture. Right? The perfect cut-out “eyes” in the leaf were enough, but it wasn’t until I enlarged it that I saw the eyes had EYEBALLS!!! I’ve been saving it to show you. A wee note from nature!🍁
Storm was raging when I woke up and came downstairs in the dark, flashlight flickering around the kitchen like a lighthouse beam … the wildest of winds knocked out electricity for a lot of the island, including us … but our good old gas stove saved the day! The kitchen was warm and smelled like last night’s pot roast.
I lit myself a path through the wood room, flickering flames into the living room to my studio beyond … time to paint. It was a storm, but it was cozy and like a step back in time. No TV, no computer, a moment to just BE. Just like Gladys Taber said it should be!
Threw on a jacket and went outside to check on things the next day … at first I thought the wind had chipped the paint off the arbor! But those marks are tattered leaves plastered to almost everything, the arbor, the house, the car. The storm prematurely blew lots of leaves right off the trees! But our house stayed strong, as she has done since 1849. Knock on wood. These new type of storms we’re getting pack a wallop!
Lost one big tree behind the arbor … which was kind of good ~ it didn’t hurt anything, not even the picket fence, and it had shaded-out the roses on the arbor for years, so now, I get to grow roses again! A win-win! Blessing #4.
This is over our back fence behind the barn to the neighbor’s yard. They lost a tree too. This one is actually schmooshed right up against the windows of the house, but still no damage. Lots of huge old trees down all over the island…but we were lucky, no injuries that I’ve heard of, and all is back to normal. Blessing #5. Blessings galore.
And now? Thank goodness the storm didn’t take ALL the leaves! And they’ve finally turned color . . .
I took this picture of the back garden from an upstairs window… when the sun comes up and goes through the trees, we get warm gold light inside the house… Blessings just too many to number…but I think you can see them!
And here we are out walking in the woods …
Which are now ablaze . . .
Even the beach grass is on fire!
Lots of wild bittersweet . . . Mother Nature decorating earth. Just for us! How blessed are we?! I’m losing track!
This was today . . . the crows are having a field day!
Leaves coat the bottom of this puddle on the road, and trees reflect in the water. Isn’t it gorgeous?
This is the reward at the end of our walk . . . this little sandy salty windy beach…
We are listening to the book The Overstory right now, one ear-pod in Joe’s ear, one in mine, so we can listen together … it’s a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel and love story to Nature. Could NOT be in a better place to hear it . . . had to stop and smell a tree at one point, put my nose right ON it . . . so inspiring! Did anyone read A Gentleman in Moscow? That was our last read. I’m still not over it! My sister is reading it now; she calls me and we become the tiniest bookclub in the world hashing everything over!
When we got back to the car this was waiting. I PROMISE with all my heart we did not put that leaf there. It came on it’s own, just like you see it. Another blessing. 
Madly in love with nature . . .
Today it’s only about 48 degrees! Cold. Joe (Blessing extraordinaire) made us a fire, and now he’s outside putting on the storm windows . . .
While Jack investigates the mantle. All is well!
For those of you who read Fairy Tale Girl or Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams, you might remember Elaine? She had the dog called Boxcar, was my boss at the record store, and fired me too? (Not her fault, she had to, I had become useless which you know was NOT MY FAULT!) She’s been my dear darling friend since 1971. She lived here on the island for 10 years, moved back to California 20 years ago but kept her house here ~ and now she has retired from working at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and moved back here two weeks ago!!! I couldn’t be happier. She was born in Boston, so New England is really her happy place.
Elaine drove across country with her darling Westie, Ripper! He’s standing on his back legs in order to get a better look at Jack. Isn’t he adorable?
So, we now have Jack and the Ripper. But I have to say Jack is not that fond of the Ripper. Ripper would just like to lick Jack all over. But Jack is saying,
“Don’t even think about it.”
I’m just happy to have a cat that goes so well with the decor! Would hate it if he clashed!
But how could you go wrong. This is the secret to decorating. It’s like a movie set. Plain and unadorned. That way when the season changes . . .
I take the summer decorations upstairs and put then away until next year. . .
Then all I have to do is stick in different pillows, some fall flowers, quilts, and voila! It’s fall! Same thing and suddenly it’s Christmas!
Joe, Elaine, Ripper and I went off-island a few days ago. The first time any of us had seriously gone into stores for three years. We went to Pottery Barn. OMG. 
Every Christmas thing was out, sparkly, red and white, candles, and fluffy throws, perfect pillows, glass chandeliers … everything to set your heart on fire. The whole thing went to the happy zippy part of the brain. I was as excited as Ripper when he goes after Jack! We threw money at the cash register, bought tiny end tables, white felt and red sequin Christmas trees, napkins, candles, and star shaped pillows came home with us.
And this appliqué tablecloth! Needs to be ironed, but I wanted to see it on the table the minute I got home. I am going to LOVE Christmas this year, and I think I’ll just start now and have Thanksgiving and Christmas be a dynamic duo! Lights Camera Action!
We got our greeting cards back in!!
William Morris would be proud, recipes make them useful!
All about love . . .
Feeling the blessings! Especially when you think that this year we are going to be together. Fingers crossed it stays this way!
What else? I’ve been painting! Heading for my studio with Jack and my tea in the morning. . . listening to old movies while I do my watercolors …
Practicing people ~ I love painting people, but I’m still so nervous, I do the drawing, but putting on the first bit of paint is scary! The cup, you ask? I have that cup in real life only the shoes are blue. Isn’t it funny? Had to paint it.
This is my newest one… I love her … she hasn’t been scanned yet which is why the picture is so dark, it’s only a photograph. The book? My 8-year-old niece was reading it; she was OVER THE MOON about this series of books ~ so I thought, in her honor, I should include it in the new calendar.🧡 Normally I don’t have to turn in calendars until the first of March, but due to “supply chain” issues, the fact that everything is taking so much longer, they need them this year by January 1. So that’s what I’ve been doing. 2023! Eeek.
Something lovely happened. Erin, bottom left, called me out of the blue … she said her book club was reading my book Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams and said they loved it so much would I would come to one of their meetings so they could talk about it … I’d never met any of these girls, and yet they all live here on the island! So of course I said yes… And here we are!
Look at Erin’s table! Isn’t it gorgeous? I wanted you to see it for possible Thanksgiving inspiration! That blue and orange together was spectacular! I didn’t even know it was going to be dinner! They all brought recipes from my cookbooks! I was so honored I was almost (stressing on that word) speechless! I got to hear about how they met! You know I have this closeness too with my girlfriends, but it was wonderful to be in the bosom of that same thing with a whole different group!
I love seeing other people’s houses! Erin’s house was wonderful. I loved how they put their library of great books all in colors!! Cute! And yes, Joe was there too, along with Erin’s husband, they ate in the kitchen and only came out to pour wine and wait on us! Men can be so adorable!💞
Yes! Second printing of Home for Christmas has arrived!!! In the Saint-Nick of time … considering the “supply chain” ~ we got lucky! Big help that we had it printed in the good old US of A!
If you need to be taken back in time to a 1956 Christmas, this true story will do it for you … in detail!
I had a wonderful time writing this book. It was especially good during the time I was losing my mother, my first and forever best girlfriend, to be immersed in the warmth of her love every day as I wrote and painted this memory. Definitely a blessing. Like a dream. ♥️
And speaking of home and the generosity of girlfriends . . . I got the best thing in the mail the other day… and it wasn’t even for me, it’s for you!!! Yes!
You’ve seen my autumn decorating for years now . . . and something almost everyone comments on that you can see in this picture is…
my Pilgrim candlesticks! They come out every year . . . I found them in an antique store about a thousand years ago and have never seen another set.
They are just perfect this time of year!
Aren’t they wonderful? The black is the best! But guess what? These aren’t mine! These are going to one of you!!! Yes, our girlfriend Bunny Perkins from 
Ohio spotted them on Ebay and sent them to me to give to you! Wasn’t that just the sweetest thing?! You know Joe hates having to stand in line to pick up packages at the Post Office, but this one, he forgave me for! Leave a comment at the bottom of this post (you’ll see a whole bunch of tiny words and near the end, click on “comments.” Just a word or two is all you need to leave in order to be entered for this giveaway!) Thank you Bunny! You’re a blessing, so very kind and thoughtful of you!
Have you guys seen the pictures of families reuniting at the 
airport now that they can come into America from other countries again?😥 It’s just like Love Actually (best movie ever made). After all these months, people are throwing themselves into each others arms and sobbing with joy. Sisters hugging sisters, couples hugging grandchildren. Makes you cry … makes your heart soar.
We get to have Thanksgiving at our house this year! I’m so excited! I was just reminded by one of our girlfriends that it’s the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving!!!!🍁 The chicken stuffed with my grandma’s dressing was delicious last year because of course it was just us. But this year we get to have the real thing, with good old friends, light the candles, bake a pumpkin cheesecake. I already ordered the turkey! Yay yay yay yay!💃🏼
Here’s the guaranteed-to-please recipe from my Autumn Book . . .if you need it to be gluten free, all you have to change is the gingersnaps … get the gluten-free ones and voila! If you haven’t made this recipe I highly recommend it. Easier to make and more delicious than pumpkin pie, in keeping with the season!🍁
Well, the clock keeps ticking and the hands move closer all the time to when we’ll be heading off on our trip to England on board the Queen Mary 2. I think about it all the time! May 1. Here we come! I got my booster, yesterday we got our flu shots! Staying healthy! First requirement for getting on that ship! Where are we now … oh yes, must be around blessing #757. ♥️
Bye for now girlfriends. Going out on our walk with our book! I hope you are doing well and feeling festive. Both the quote above, and this one below, are very nice to read at our 400th Thanksgiving dinner! With all my love . . . .🎃 And don’t forget to sign up for the giveaway!🧡
🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡
Love the Surprise Willard! xoxo from Washington State!
Lori M
You always brighten my days with your writings, beautiful photographs and illustrations. Susan you are truly a blessing. Thank you! ❤️
So nice to see your new “Willard” today! We do have a lot of blessings!
Oh my, a chance to win those candlesticks is so lovely! Thanks Bunny. We are celebrating at out daughters new home (newlywed) this Thanksgiving. Such a treasure to gather together. Hugs…Suzanne
Fall is so exciting as it ushers in the Holidays! I love the fall Holidays which include Christmas. As a teacher I never minded returning to school in the fall as it the most exciting time of year to be with children as we enter the Holiday season! Thanks for the great Blog!!
This gave me hope. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I love this all and especially the Pilgrim candlesticks!!
Always exciting to get a Willard,
Received my new cup the other day! Love it so much!
👏👏👏
You are a blessing to us, your girlfriends. Always exciting to read a new Willard! Blessings indeed.
What a wonderful Willard! God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Susan! I have admired your pilgrim candlesticks for years. So charming for Fall. I am looking forward to big old fashioned holidays this year!! So much to be thankful for this season. xo
Thank you for a beautiful Willard! Please enter me in your drawing.
Your work always brightens our world. Wishing you and everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.
BUON GIORNO, SUSAN!…. and NOVEMBER!…. and MY PINK BUNNIE CUP!!!!
I am just so perfectly delighted with my new Bunnie cup – perfect size, perfect weight, perfect shape, perfect art… I swear my coffee taste better!
I put away my Halloween stuff and kept all the Autumn stuff and added some turkeys. This RN is happy that there is a dim light at the end of the COVID tunnel – we absolutely hit rock bottom and the only way is UP at this point. Stay healthy and happy and good things shall continue. Plus, add a couple Harry Potter spells and we’re all set! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
PS: I am hoping to return to my beloved Chianti in the Spring of 2022… it’s been two+ very long years since I’ve been there!
Ooooo, I’m so happy … I love it too… keep going back and forth between the two new ones, and haven’t got tired of either of them yet! Did you hear about the unvaccinated guy who was in the hospital for weeks, and finally got well … but afterward came back to the hospital to apologize for not getting vaccinated and risking all their lives? I thought that was pretty sweet. You deserve the recognition for what you do! Thank you so very much!!!
Yes, I read the story about him. I only wish unvaccinated people would PLEASE get the vaccine. I am now a retired Critical Care RN/Director of Nursing, but have friends and colleages out there taking care of people every day. We can never thank the medical people on the front lines enough!
Wonderful Willard. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. No gifts but wonderful family friends and the decoration and of course the food. Love all you writings and everything else also. Ros
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Oh my goodness, finding you in my email today was a huge blessing to add to your blessing list! Thank you so much. LOVE these lovely candlesticks.
Love your books, cards, painting on each calendar page…and have, for years. I would love to be the new owner of these lovely candle holders!
Taking a break from sewing curtains for my 2.5 year old grandson’s new room. His baby sister is due the day after Thanksgiving! Talk about blessings!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We are having a long Autumn here in Kansas also. The trees are just now changing color and dropping to the ground. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
For you and other blessings in my life, I am truly thankful.
Amen on the multiple blessings!
Finally, a new post❤️❤️❤️❤️ Love your blogs so much😎😎. Happy Fall to you, Joe and your fur-baby👍😎👍
What an amazing group of girlfriends! You have fostered such a warm loving place to land, a true community Susan ❤
Thanks for the giveaway! Hope I win! 🙂
Another wonderful Willard. Thank you!
Love how you find all the blessings!!!
Susan, your blog is always a balm for my soul! Autumn blessings to you and yours! And I totally covet those pilgrim candlesticks!
Susan, so excited to see a Willard in my email! Love the pictures. Jack adds just the right final touch on your kitchen table!! I always enjoy pictures of your darling kitchen. The book club table setting was so pretty. So glad you shared it. Your blogs are always so uplifting and inspiring. Thanks for brightening my day! Wishing a happy Autumn to you, Joe and Jack.
Hi Susan,
so nice to find a nice long post to read on my lunch break today. Thank you, i really needed something to make me smile, been so down in the dumps lately and now i can start counting my blessings and dig myself out of the dumps. Please enter my name in the drawing…..and please have a wonderful day, week, month…..you make my heart happy.
What a wonderful post! So happy and Christmassy and such a relief (the tree!).
Did you find yourself getting emotional when you got your booster? I got mine last week and got a little teary; it is so good to be together again. My sister and I are driving a little Uhaul truck from Mobile to Maine with all my furniture over Thanksgiving week; it will be sad to pack up the Alabama house and put it on the market, but such a happy thing to be moving all my goodies to my new forever home. I think maybe you understand the sad/happy part. Anyway we’re decorating our truck (decking our U-hauls!) and wearing Pilgrim hats and making just as merry as we can on the drive, and I was thinking I’d bake her something to say thanks after we’ve arrived in Maine. The pumpkin cheesecake is just the thing! Thanks for sharing it with us. The picture is torturing me just a little, to be honest. It looks delicious. So eager to hear what all the Girlfriends are doing for Thanksgiving, what they’re cooking and who they’re hosting. I hope we all have the warmest, happiest, most peaceful holidays ever.
I had tears for the first shot … for the booster I was just kicking up my heels. What a relief! Yes, I definitely do understand the sad/happy part… now you’ll always be homesick no matter where you are! LOL, sorry, but that’s how it’s been for me. But I learned to live with it and feel blessed that I have two such places I love so much! Welcome to New England. I think you will love it here!
LOL! 🎶Deck the UHalls🎵 🎄❤💚 Dear Girlfriend Melissa, wishing you a happy jolly trip to your new forever home on Maine! I agree that one of Sue’s recipes is a lovely way to start off the holiday!🎁
Thank you! And Happy Thanksgiving wishes to you as well. There’s a very cute store down the street from my office in Kennebunk, called Hearth and Soul, and I bought the funniest little turkey in a Pilgrim hat there yesterday. He’s going on our dashboard in the truck! We have the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving show downloaded to play all day Wednesday and Thursday. Then on Friday, the last day of the drive, Tom Turkey is coming down, and the battery-powered Christmas lights are going up all around the inside of the truck. I bought us both Christmas hats to wear; mine is the same as Kevin McAllister’s in Home Alone, and my sister Kate’s lights up (thank you, batteries) and says Merry Christmas! And the Vince Guaraldi Trio will be playing the Charlie Brown Christmas songs all day long. Last year I was sad, missing holidays at our grandparents’ house in Alabama, missing our mother, missing everyone. This year we won’t have homemade dressing and Mama’s broccoli casserole, and we won’t be eating on the Windsor Fruit dishes I inherited from our mother and grandmother. We’ll be eating Cracker Barrel turkey & stuffing in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (and feeling very lucky to get it). But the Windsor Fruit will be packed up in the truck with us, and when we get to Maine, we’ll make the casserole and Susan’s pumpkin cheesecake and eat it on the dishes! I think it’s going to be one of our best holidays ever, and I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to one more.
I’m sharing with you the enjoyment of all things fall!
I just love you Sue! 💕
Grateful for you…the joy you spread, the wisdom you share and your beautiful pictures you paint! ♥️
Thank you for the lovely post. Blessings to you & Joe & Jack.
Loved this Willard! I just finished The Lincoln Highway… so different from A Gentleman in Moscow but also so good! Another book to savor. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you Bunny, and thank you Susan, Love those candlesticks .
Susan, I so love your Willards! I knew a guy in high school named Willard B. – a funny name for a wonderfully kind person.
Would love the pilgrim candlesticks! 😊
Thank you, Susan. I so love all your Willards, but this one was especially special. Happy Thanksgiving!
SO wonderful to read another “Willard”! Glad you didn’t have too much damage during the storms.
Thank you, Susan! I love curling up with a cup of tea and reading your blog!
I LOVED A Gentleman in Moscow! It is now one of my favorites!
Love the candlesticks. Love Susan branch. Love life.
miss you on the blog and so happy to receive the willard
Oh Susan, your Willards make me long to go home to New England. There is no place in the world like it. Thank you for sharing your adventures and reminding me of my roots. You have a way of writing that warms my heart and soul. Thank you!
PS – That book club meeting looks wonderful! What a great time it must have been!
Laughing and talking and more of the same. Just wonderful!
Glad you survived your storm as I wondered how you fared. We had the great flooding rain her in CA that was quite scary! Climate change is real! The candlesticks are luscious and a precious ‘bunny’ gift. Happy Thanksgiving! Barbara
Dear Sue and Joe and al the girlfriends
Please enter me in the drawing, I have admired those candlesticks for years, oh how I would love to have a pair. How generous your readers are. I hope you and everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Love Sue
Love those pilgrim candlesticks!
Thanks for the lovely read. Made my day. I’m going to try that cheesecake too. Looks so good.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Meredith
Thank you Susan! I have been a fan since you signed one of your cookbooks at The Secret Garden in Oak Bluffs. I was an employee there at the time. Since then I have bought all of your books and must have your calendar hanging in my kitchen each year. Just purchased 2022 last week! ❤️
Amazing Luanne! I remember I loved being in that darling store. Must have been because of YOU! xoxo
What a beautiful Autumn 🍂 you are having! I missed the Vineyard this year but hope to make it back next fall. Wishing you, Joe and Jack a wonderful Thanksgiving! 🍗🥧🍾🍁
Wonderful Willard, Sue! So much Autumn magic! Absolutely delicious! I love your finds from Pottery Barn! I think there is one somewhere in our realm…probably an hour or two away. I have so missed visiting the stores to see how they have decorated for Autumn & Christmas! We haven’t been near one of those stores in almost two years!!! Maybe, just maybe, we will get brave and take a trip to town! I still miss your wonderful shop.
xoxo peg
I didn’t know I missed them until we walked through the doors and my heart flew out of my chest, it was so sparkly and wonderful, I FORGOT!!! GO Peg, it’s like a vacation. Everyone in the store was masked … it felt safe. And what an inspiration!!! I know you love that as much as I do!♥️
Your comment about sniffing the trees reminded me that I do that, too! A Forest Ranger told me a few years ago that the bark on Ponderosa Pines smells like vanilla, and it does. So, I’m the one smelling pine bark.
I have loved your silhouette candle holders since I first saw them. Someone will certainly be pleased to get them in the mail.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Jill
I bet you hug them too, when no one is looking. That’s kind of wonderful too!
I would LOVE to win those candlesticks so I could gift them to my mama. She introduced me to you, Susan, and she has had a rough year. Shameless plug – please draw my name!! But don’t worry, I love you either way. You’re like a cup of warm tea for me. XOXO – Larkin
Hugs to you and your mom Larkin!♥️
Thank you Susan! Good reminder to count your blessings. I’ve been struggling with that concept lately, even though I have too many blessings to count!
I always love your notes Susan and the Book Club girls look so friendly. Thanks for sharing with us. Happy thanksgiving.
Hello Susan~I count you as one of my blessings🧡Thank you for being you, thanks to Joe for letting you do what you do, and thanks to Jack for keeping smiles on your faces. We have had a mild fall here in northern Michigan…only one morning with a dusting of snow, but those snowflakes may be arriving this weekend. My daughter and her family just moved and she is having Thanksgiving 👏. I think it is time to pass a few of my Thanksgiving treasures on to her…along with my mother’s cranberry sauce recipe. Sending blessings to you and yours…
Same to you Rae Ann!🍁
Happy Fall! It is a good morning here in Arroyo Grande.! A little rain, not much but a little is better tHan nothing! Some times blessings come in small things! I have admired the pilgrim candle sticks forever!!! Another blessing from Bunny!!! Hopefully there were two sets there and she got to keep one! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
She already had them from years back! So Yes! xoxo
Hi Susan,
Whew, so much to be grateful for. We had a rip roaring storm last night. I was amazed we had any leaves left on the trees. No trees down around our house. Best of all a teeny bit of snow on our mountains (yay!). I just finished a very fun Christmas book, Flora’s Travelling Christmas Shop, by Rebecca Raisin. It got me truly in the holiday spirit. Hope you, Joe and Jack stay safe and warm. I have a feeling Mother Nature is just warming up.
What a wonderful blog post. I so glad no one was hurt with the falling trees! Scary! When our home was built the builders put in Bradford pear trees because they are fast growing. We’ve found out not very sturdy in high winds, though. We’ve lost 2, but replaced with sturdier trees. I noticed on the picture you painted of the little girl eating cereal you painted a Carlton walking ware cup! Don’t you just love the whimsy of them! I collect egg cups and my daughter bout me one with darling green Mary Jane’s, and red striped socks. Here’s wishing you and Joe and Jack a blessed Thanksgiving! ❤ (I’m making your grandmother’s stuffing – again! My family loves it.)
Pilgrim Candlesticks! What a symbol of precious Thanksgiving for God’s abundance! Blessings, Donna Rose. xo
Oh I LOVE your posts…..and your decorating as well!!! Love those curtains with the tiny balls on them!!! My daughter wants to put them on everything from lamps to pillows to curtains!!! (She’s her mothers daughter!!!😝) Keep painting….I LOVE your art and have followed it since you began. I feel like we are close friends and you always inspire me. Stay safe my friend❤️❤️❤️
Thank you Karen! Always wonderful to hear from you!👏
Happy Thanksgiving! 🍂🍁
Thank you for writing this fabulous Willard…GREAT READ AS ALWAYS!!!
Every Autumn I pull out your Autumn book and re-read it and puck a recipe to make. I b eli even I have about all of your books…even my daughter who is now 28 had a Susan Branch Baby Book when she was born. ♥️
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season, Susan.
I’m so looking forward to ours this year-thank you science!!
Shelby
Oh, Bunny! Oh, Sue! You are dears, you are!
Hi Susan. Thank you for your delightful surprise Willard. The photo of nature reflected in a puddle is reminiscent of a Monet painting n’est-ce pas? xo
Oui!❌⭕️
Loved the photo of you and Elaine! Say “hi” for me and give her a hug.
So many wonderful blessings all around!
I love al your work. I wish I could own every piece you ever created!
Oh, this bit of happiness was just what I needed today! Now I’m going out for a walk to commune with the trees and compliment them on their fancy fall dresses.
Your post came just at the right time. I got my covid booster and flu shot yesterday and I’m feeling a bit…off today. Your lovely post made me feel blessed that I am lucky in so many ways! Most recently, I felt blessed to have my immediate family come together for a Halloween party. I even made your corn pudding – a gluten free version – as part of a baked potato party and it was all a huge hit! Everyone ate gobs of food, and left full and happy!
A day for a nap Kristen! Your party sounds wonderful!🧡
Love your Willards, they make me very happy!
Hooray!! A new Willard to read and enjoy today! Thank you!
Holders of light and warmth to our Thanksgiving! Being able to gather around a table full of homemade love is the real blessing! 🍁
Hi Susan
Hello from Santa Margarita, California, I was so excited and thrilled to find Willard in my Email Box first thing this morning.While reading Willard this morning! It took me back to visiting you on the vineyard several years ago! While reading Willard I was immediately transported there! New England is my favorite to visit, especially in Fall🍂🍁
Your writings are my favorite they capture the true essence of your enchanted Vineyard❣️
Raining this morning so heavenly. And like you leaves cover my walk way here in north county. Fall up here is quite colorful unlike in San Luis Obispo.
I’ll never forget selling you that green and cream Buffalo checked sofa what a delight it was for me!
I look forward to reading your delightful Willard again.
Happy Fall 🍁🍂❤️
I’ve been hearing about your rain…. I’m so happy for you… hope it stays constant and gentle! Ha! We finally had to let that sofa go over the rainbow bridge! Was lovely while it lasted! ❌⭕️
What a fabulous thing for Bunny to treat us with through you! I have hosted every Thanksgiving for the last 44 years which has included lots of family & friends. We live in northern Nevada just a few miles from Lake Tahoe. Autumn never fails us with her beautiful colors and fun Fall weather here. So much to be grateful for❣️
I love your Willard Newsletter and have been on your list since you were sending them out by snail mail! (Have them saved in a sweet box! 💝)
Enjoy, Linda
Hi Susan! My pen pal, (who I connected with years ago via you!! –Remember when you did a penpal post on FB and encouraged people to share about themselves and write a letter to someone? We’ve been writing ever since!) She sent me your 2022 calendar. I am thrilled!
I always get excited when I see a new post from you. So much fun!
Half the trees here in northern New Jersey are bare and the others are in full glory. Today it’s 65 with bright sunshine. Blessings abound!
OH I just love ALL of this!!! The dinner with all the “Girlfriends” is the best and what an honor that you got to be included! I know it made their year, and yours too! Those candlesticks are wonderful, I love Thanksgiving decor and feel we don’t have enough of it, compared to other celebrations. Thank you for sharing all of the beautiful things surrounding you. The kitty and dog are precious too!
Lovely as usual!!!
Thank You, Susan
Linda
I was pleasantly surprised and excited to see the new Willard in my email today. Love getting this. Love your style, your spirit, your art, your calmness, your walk in nature.
When I go walking, I do the same, I see the little things and always smile, appreciate and take a picture and keep!! Blessings!!
More blessings!❤️
Thanks for your post! It made my day in Michigan!!
Very nice Willard. So interesting will have to read your book suggestions starting in January. I am too busy until then doing Thanksgiving and Christmas soon after! Happy Happy Days!
There really are supply chain issues. I work for one of the biggest ones in the Midwest.
The sarcasm is ugly and entitled.
I wasn’t being sarcastic… I mean it. Took FOREVER for the cups to come. I have to do my calendars 4 months earlier this year, right in the middle of Christmas… so I’m very aware of it. Look for the good in people, and you will find it.❌⭕️
Quote end quote or air quotes verbally equals sarcasm. I looked for the good in all the calendars I buy from you every year. No more, thanks.
I have to work in the middle of Christmas too. Not just this year, but every year.
So do most Americans. I hardly feel sorry for you.
I never heard that before … Something tells me you don’t like me! That’s okay… each to his own. All my best to you Tracy!
Happy Thanksgiving! Your blog is one of my blessings.
Time for another Squeeee! Lovely, lovely new Blog. Thank you, thank you, Dear Lady.. I just accidentally shut it down after commenting on your paint colors, Ripper, dinner with the book group. Ah well, that’s really the only way to shut me up….shut me down. 😉
Back to packing boxes to UPS to Tampa. We will be winging our way South on Sunday.
Enjoy your planning for Thanksgiving. Thankful for a Long Fall which is way better than Long Covid. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed we’ve turned the proverbial corner!!
Mucho Big Love,
Debbie in Maine
Have a wonderful safe trip home! Stay healthy this winter, and we’ll see you back here next spring, I hope! xoxoxo
YOU are such a blessing! Willard is just what I needed today. ❤️
Hello Susan, Joe, and Jack. Happy Autumn, my favorite season with my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving!! Family and friends are true blessings in our lives. I look forward to seeing your blogs in my email and stop whatever I’m doing to read all of your inspirational words. YOU are truly a blessing to me and all of your girlfriends!! Please enjoy all of the upcoming holidays. 💕
I have googled many times trying to find those candlesticks! I would give them a great home… please pick me 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to all! This year we have so much to be thankful for!
A Willard, what a wonderful surprise! Let’s just say I needed it today. Thank you, thank you!
I have that mug with feet! For years, a long time ago, I collected 3D mugs in various shapes. They all ended up in the attic space and recently Hubby brought them all down because he noticed one of the boxes said, “Mugs with Feet” and he felt the time had come to get rid of them all. (We need more space up there.) Every time I see that mug I laugh!
Ha ha ha!!♥️
What a way to brighten the day! Love the post!
Oh, how I wish I could hug you!!!!
🤗
How sweet of you, Bunny!
Hello Dearests,
Sending lots o’ love your way. Isn’t a long Autumn so wistfully cheering?!
We’re still hunkering down around here, because the numbers remain high and our hospitals are full and we just had two neighbors, in one family, pass away from Covid in the last 2 weeks. So even though we’ve done everything we can to protect ourselves and others (thanks to doctors and science!) we are not mixing it up quite yet.
Glad you can be with friends where you are! Lovely to enjoy life!
Sending love and good wishes for health and happiness.
xxooxx
Gabi
Oh how awful Gabi. I wish this would stop!! You’re smart to stay safe. That book club I told you about? Everyone was tested before we came together that night. Wasn’t that wonderful of them? So thoughtful. Stay safe Gabi! xoxoxo
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
Love reading these, always so sweet and so beautiful! Much joy to everyone from San Francisco!! ❤️
Traveling from Ohio to Chicago to visit with two daughters and three precious grandchildren. It gets better. My youngest daughter is flying in from NYC to meet up with us. BLESSINGS Abound! Thank you, Susan for this sweet
Willard.❤️
Thank-you for your beautiful and awe-inspiring blog post. I received my Winter mug yesterday. I love it so much, but my twin sister will love it even more than me. I can’t wait to give it to her. Thank-you so much for bringing them back. I also love your blog post…more than I can say! Stay well, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!