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!🧡
🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡🍁🧡
Yes I have admired those candlesticks for yrs and your beautiful quilts in the kitchen!
Such cozy harvest home goodness!!
Thank you and God bless!!
I am loving the cooler weather that comes with FALL! September was so hot and dry here in North Texas and my poor garden was panting until mid-October. Finally–the fall blooms are coming and the fall light is making their colors deeper and richer. I love it! I hope the colder weather holds off for just a bit until my Fall rosebuds become Fall rose blooms.
Hurray for the silver lining and more light for your lovely garden. I look forward to seeing the roses there!
I’m very glad that you and Joe are out and about and enjoying the Fall Magic. And also, that you are meeting new friends just “down the road.”
Oh Susan you are such an inspiration to us all, you up lift us with your words and those wonderful photos. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Wow Susan, you sure did pack a lot into this Willard! Nice to escape the ordinary day to day for a short while immersed in your words and pictures.
Thank you for the Willard, Susan. Well, fuddy fuddy mushy me just cried reading it because it is so full of love.
That MV neighborhood book club was able to have you with them. I am so jealous! My book club has met a few authors in the past as well. One of my members has been talking to one of her favorite authors to get him to at least Zoom with us.
I am looking forward to your December webinar zoom. You will hear me squealing with glee.
How lucky you are to have your friend return to MV! Enjoy every minute together.
Thank you for all those lovely photographs. You are amazing. I am impressed with your drawings of people. So talented!
My bunny mug has arrived. I walked around hugging it for a while. Now it has a place of honor on my hutch until I decorate for Christmas. I’ve been gathering new gnomes and some cute, tiny houses this year to scatter about to make my Christmas home enchanting.
Ok, going on too long.
Love you dearly. Sending hugs and lots of thank yous. ❤
You can be mushy because that’s just normal😃… but you can’t be fuddy daddy mushy!😂 ❌⭕️ Love you Peggy!
This is a wonderful post, Susan. I love autumn in New Hampshire, there is a feeling of preparedness for what is to come in winter. I have always LOVED your Pilgrim candlesticks. Many thanks to Bunny for finding them on eBay. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my name will be the name that is chosen.
Take care,
Karen Holly
Bunny is a blessing and so are you! xoxo
Susan, I discovered you in the early 90’s. Started buying your calendars. Bought one for me, my mom and my sister every year at Christmas. Mother passed away August 2020 and my big sister passed away September of this year suddenly due to COVID (I had already purchased her calendar). I love that we got to share the beauty of not only the calendars, but the books, stickers and even yes…the mugs from England all these years. I will always think of them now when I buy your calendar for however many years are left. It is a beautiful world and yes, life is too short. Thank you Susan Branch.
It certainly is Ruth. Big LOVE, virtual hugs, and prayers for a happy, healthy 2022. ❌⭕️❌⭕️
Hi Susan, what a treat to read your Willard. I want to talk about it all but I’ll just say it “All” was wonderful. From your weather..your walks..your Book club get together..not to mention your beautiful art work..I ordered from Pottery Barn I so wish to go to the store like you did. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Love you so much. Hugs to you and Joe and precious Jack xoxo
❌⭕️ Lana!
I have loved your pilgrim candlesticks for years, even looking in antique stores for them! So much of my decorating is inspired by you, thank you for the inspiration!
Wonderful Willard blog! So much news and lots of beautiful, colorful Fall photos. Thank you! Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Pls enter my nane for the Pilgrim Candle Holders…have always loved yours! Thank you, Bunny (so kind) and Susan (so thoughtful) Happy Thanksgiving to All!
Thank you for the Novemberest sort of post, it has warmed me to my toes on a day when we had an actual TORNADO ALERT and had to go sit in the basement until the ALL CLEAR! In Western Washington, yet! But to open your Willard, and sit with a cup of tea, breathing in and out and whispering gratitude that no tornado actually appeared, and that so many are stepping up for their vaccinations, and that the fat yellow school busses are once again lining up in front of our house-on-the-hill, waiting for the traffic light in the morning! Yes, blessings at every turn! Whoever has ever lived in ‘the East’ treasures memories of autumns such as yours. For me, a farm in Eastern Pennsylvania, and an upstairs bedroom with a bay window from which I could see the whole world.
Bless you and your Joe and all the girlfriends. May we all come out of this page of History with our hearts and our souls and our most treasured memories in tact.
Oh dear! Nutty weather! Love your little prayer at the end. Spirit soothing…♥️
Oh my goodness that was so sweet of Bunny to send a gift for everyone!! Thank you, thank you! Your blog/Willard is such a joy to read. You are a blessing to so many! Love, Pauline
Wonderful Willard as always Susan
I received my Blessings cups/mugs this week. One for me and one for my bestie. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I could not wait and I gave it to her yesterday
. You would think that I gave her the moon. She loved it and I love mine♥️
Happy Thanksgiving 🍂🍁🦃🍁🍂
I’m the same way, waiting for Christmas can be excruciating!!! I’m thrilled she liked it…dear of you to get her one!❌⭕️
Thank you for sharing pictures. I miss the “seasons” as I now find my home in SC.
Love to see Jack’s antics as well.
My cups arrived today! Very excited. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh, I love the coziness of this post. Snuggle in and stay safe in the storms.
Thanks for bring us Fall❣️Always a delight🍂Love the pilgrim candleholders🦃
So glad you and Joe survived the wild weather with no damage to body or building when the tree fell. I loved the picture of Jack sitting on your open dictionary. Perhaps that is why he is such a clever kitty. That looks like the perfect book club. And lovely to see the picture of you and Elaine. I’ve been getting in the Chrustmas mood by listening to Gene Autry sing songs of my childhood Christmases – “If it doesn’t snow on Chrustmas” is my absolute favourite follwed by “When Santa Clause gets your letter” and “Thirty-two feet and eight little tails”. You’re probably familiar with them, too, Susan. Love your give-away. Happy Thanksgiving all. Hugs, Elaine
His voice just screams Christmas doesn’t it? Love it so much. Happy Thanksgiving Elaine! ❌⭕️
This Willard made my day, enjoyed it with a cup of tea. Thank you.
Thanks for being so cheerful! Love the candlesticks!
Susan, you bring out the best in everyone! That was wonderful that you got to be the guest at someone’s book club and ended up making new girlfriends. We can never have enough of kindred spirits! You make us better by knowing you! Thank you for such a beautiful Willard.
🤎 🍁 🍂 🎄
Two way street, everyone brings out the best in me too! ❌⭕️♥️
Happy Fall, Susan!
You’ve share so many pictures for everyone to enjoy. I’ve found myself peering closely at my screen to see all the treasures – including the candlesticks!
Another wonderful Willard! Fall thoughts are the most wonderful as we share the upcoming holidays and cozy weather. Thank you Susan for all you do!
This Willard was just what I needed! Blessings indeed–they are all around us everyday–we just need to look. I think we are all ready for the Holidays this year. I am already planning, making lists, shopping, etc. Happy Holidays Susan and Joe!
You have done it again……took my heart/mind right to your island and home! Love your blogs. You make me happy! Think I WILL try that cheesecake recipe this year. I have always loved the black “Thanksgiving” candleholders when you post their picture. How wonderful you have a pair to give away! You are special…..
The thing about the cheesecake is A… how good it is. But B! Very Important too … SO SO EASY!🎃
Your wonderful blog came in the Nick of time. Have had a awful cough for the last three days and mostly staying in my room and was starting to feel sorry for myself but your post showed me that there are blessings all around. Especially being able to read on my phone. I read A Gentleman In Moscow a couple of years ago. Just finished The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer. Hard to read , but a great book. Again thank you for your positive post. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Never have been to New England but loved the fall colors when I lived in Colorado. The palm trees in Nevada have to be trimmed.
Feel better soon Margaret!
Happy Thanksgiving Susan Joe and Jack.
Blessings, Wendy Marvin🙏🏻💜
L—–O—–V—–E—–D, lovedlovedlovedlovedlovedlovedloved, A Gentleman in Moscow. thankyouthankyouthankyou.
I could not agreeagreeagree moremoremore!!!👏
Always look forward to reading your Willard. Lovely words and pictures.
I could read this post over and over. I love the way it makes me feel…love the colors, love the appreciation of the littlest things, love the realization that everything is a blessing.
♥️♥️♥️
Love this time of year, and it is even more special when another new blog or Willard pops up. By the way, I read Home For Christmas last year and I LOVED it! We are close to the same age and I was a young girl in California as well, and everything about the story of that Christmas in 1956 brought back a flood of memories for me. I laughed, and I cried while reading it and was transported back to a childhood Christmas. It’s a wonderful story.
Love your art, love your outlook on life, and love YOU, Susan!
👏👏👏😘🧑🎄
I am hosting Thanksgiving this year and would LOVE those Pilgrim candlesticks.
Blessings to you Susan and Joe and Jack too! Have a happy thanksgiving! 💟💟💟
I’m always happy to your post, it makes me smile 😃
I live back in New England vicariously through you. Thank you for sharing.
This Willard is one of my favorites, Susan! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving. I adore the candlesticks!
Always a great day when a Willard arrives. Thank you Susan for always bring sunshine regardless if the season!
Susan, have you read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Walls Kimmerer. She’s a botanist at the School of Forestry, Syracuse University, and a keeper/teacher of her indigenous heritage, the Potawatomi Nation… a magnificent combination for teaching us to love and appreciate nature, our Mother Earth. I think you would love the essays in her book. I loved Overstory. Like you, I’m crazy in love with Nature. We are lucky here in Rochester, NY. We have a protected 26 acre Old Growth Forest right in the middle of the city!
How wonderful! 26 acres of God’s gift to us!💝
Oh the Pilgrim candlesticks! Bunny you are so kind…would love to win.
Giving thanks for your beautiful blog and inspiration to celebrate all of life! While I did not inherit the happy gene, it sure makes me happy to read about daily life through your perspective. ♥
❌⭕️
I always look forward to your blog Susan! Oh how lucky that book club was and you for meeting all those lovely ladies!
Thank you for the fun chance to win
What a lovely surprise this Willard was today! Those
Pilgrims are darling! Wishing you the best holiday season!
So wonderful to read your thoughts again. Looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family about me. It’s been a long hard 2 years to be isolated but we do have so much to be thankful for. Love Ripper the Westin. Hope Jack can become friends with him. Happiest Thanksgiving to you and Joe and your friends.
I have admired those candlesticks forever! Thank you for the lovely Willard and a chance to win the pilgrims.
I enjoyed this Willard so much, I think I’ll get me a cup of tea and a piece of apple cake and read it again, and check out the links this time! Happy Autumn and Happy Thanksgiving!
It is always a special day when you post something! I so look forward to it and read each and every word. Although, did I miss any posts regarding your dahlia garden this summer? I really love those flowers and wondered how your garden adventure turned out. I think you remarked how they should have been planted earlier but I was hoping for some photos!
They’re there, just go back a couple of posts! It was fun! A learning adventure!
Have always loved these!!! Gorgeous! Thank you Bunny.
My heart is full of gratitude! This is a “blessings overflowing” Willard! It has been such a pleasure to read it; refreshes the awareness of our own personal blessings….and they are many! Great giveaway, too! How lovely those candlesticks will be on someone’s Thanksgiving table! Our lives are enriched by the joy you share with us daily! -xoxo
Thank you Nellie! xoxo
Hi Susan, I very much enjoyed the artwork you painted and all the pictures of your life, friend and Jack and Ripper. We had a Westie for 15 years and we enjoyed that little boy sitting up just like our Clancy did. Great dogs!! Have a great holiday season.
Love those candlestick holders!
Susan, such a wonderful post….gratitude is definitely the key to everyday. There is always something to be grateful for even simply waking up and being able to face each day with grace no matter what it brings
Wishing you and Joe and your delightful friend
A many blessing on this season of remembering to say thank you…to the earth to the sky and most importantly to one another
Thank you so much for your Christmas book. Enjoyed reading about things that were apart of my life as well. I sent a copy to my cousin and we had so much fun talking about our experiences with the same doll and decorations. Thank you again.
Makes my day to hear that. Connections!♥️
What a lovely reminder that in spite of everything there is always something to be thankful for! Thanks, I needed this today!!
This time of year makes my heart happy. When my family is happy and together and joking and reminiscing – I love to stand back and soak it up. Thanks for thanksgiving.
Love your Williams posts and art and love of nature! Happy thanksgiving 🦃🍁🍽
Dear Sue ~
Just a quick note to say “Hi” and “Thank You!” and “God Bless You”.
As you count YOUR blessings, I hope you know what a blessing YOU are to so many. I am grateful for your inspiration in my life for sure! It would take many pages to fully explain that here so for now I’m sending you a hug across the miles and wishing you and Joe a wonderful, cozy, blessed November.
xoxoDebbie P
Spellcheck Willard!
Dear Susan, when I saw your photo on Instagram, I thought, “Susan’s”, and it was but as I read your Willard I see it’s new to you. Meant to be. xx
Just lovely! Thank you for the post and the chance to win!
💖TAMI💖
Dear Susan,
I was thrilled to see the new “Willard” appear in my E-Mails. Fall is my favorite season and yes, I love your Autumn cookbook !! I have your work since I first saw your illustrations in Country Living magazine and have followed you and your though all the years till now. Thank-you for sharing your lovely thoughts. We’ve never met; but you are indeed one of my best friends. the Pilgrim candle holders are charming , because they make me think of your charming house. I too am having a family thanksgiving which will celebrate Christmas as well – just too many fun things to celebrate this year not to begin a little early. Blessings to you and your loved ones too!!
Bought Heart of the Home in 1986 when I saw it on the book rack in my Kroger! And have been enjoying your painting, story telling, writing and recipes ever since. It was a blessing to see your November Willard in my inbox! Thank you, Susan , for all the lovely moments you have given to me. Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy thanksgiving! 🦃🍁🍽 blessings galore !
So happy to see your post today. I check for a new one every day. Great news that your friend from CA has permanently moved close to you. I just read your Isle of Dreams book for the second time. I just love your books. They are so inspiring and homey for me. Did you say you are working on putting together a quote book? If so, I can’t wait for that. I have enjoyed all the quotes you share for many many years. Have a great Thanksgiving. I, too, am grateful for you!
Yes, interrupted to do the calendars, but it’s really coming along, and like all my books, it turns out it also has a story. I’m loving it! Happy Thanksgiving Laurie!
Susan : I grew up in Atascadero, CA in the 50’s and 60’s, the oldest of six kids. Lots about your growing up experiences resonate with me. I’ve often wondered if our paths didn’t cross at some point during those years. San Luis Obispo County wasn’t very big, and was a magical place back then – still is, actually. I went to Cal Poly for 2 years, married my husband who grew up in SLO and we moved to Oregon. Loved A Gentleman in Moscow, reading his new one now. Happy Fall to you.
Remember Stereo West in downtown SLO? That’s where I was, perched on a stool behind the cash register in the record department!
Happy Fall! My favorite along with Christmas!
This post warmed my heart the pictures the quotes your paintings. God knew we would need you when he blessed you with such ability to do so ❤️
💝
Love the candle sticks ! Have you considered finding a way to reproduce them ? I can see orders galore ! Thank you for your uplifting blog, Susan !
Maybe it’s their uniqueness that makes them so special! Because someday you will walk into an antique store and see them in the dusty back and JUMP for joy! Worth the wait!♥️
What a lovely surprise. Happy Fall. Thanks for all the great posts and to Bunny for the great prize.
Lillian O. XOXXO
Loved the pictures from your walks!
Will be ordering your Autumn and Christmas books to read. Last year a dear friend gave me A Fine Romance. It was hard to put down!
Excited to try that pumpkin cheesecake! I enjoyed this Willard so much. Happy Holidays to you and Joe!
Reading Willard was just what I needed this evening! It has been an interesting day ending with the “mother board” in my electric range shorting out. Did you know that electric ranges now have “mother boards”? Well, they do and they are expensive. Too expensive to replace in a twelve year old range. Just browsing since the stores are closed, it looks like it could be months for a replacement. But now that I have read that all is right with the world, I realize I am BLESSED. I have a crockpot and a million or so small appliances and cupboards and a freezer and we are BLESSED that we will have abundance while we wait for it’s replacement.
We’ve been suspicious lately that “Mother boards” have a times-up on them. That didn’t happen with our 1950s stove. Of course it doesn’t clean itself! But at least it still goes. They are expensive to get these days, but if you think that you don’t have to replace it every 12 years, it starts to look better! If you really need a stove, and worried about “supply chain,” the trick is to go to an appliance store and hopefully you’ll find something that’s on the floor right now ~ soon those will be gone, so if you really need it, go soon. The “mother board” on our fridge just died, so we just got a new one off the floor of our tiny appliance store here on the island.❌⭕️
My daughter is gtting engaged this coming Sat. This past weekend her beloved asked our permission to ask our daughter to marry him. We are hosting his family as well as ours, for Thanksgiving. Ive been looking for something special for our table. Love those candlesticks! BTW Susan, we were visiting our dear friend Paula Craft on Halloween who is your neighbor & lives on Williams St. We helped to give candy to about 500 children on Halloween night. We waved to the ghost in the window of your house each time we passed by.
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Congratulations Susan, how wonderful and romantic! ❌⭕️
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Men. They can be so adorable,” was my favorite line of the whole post. Way to go, Bunny! Super nice of her. I love that you joined in on the local book club luncheon. So happy for those ladies to get to enjoy you for a few hours.
Have been reading your blog posts for years. Have always admired those pilgrim candlestick holders.
Another blessing(s)!
I love the “golden time” every afternoon into evening – – the sun comes in the absurdly large windows I insisted on during our remodel – – insisted on it for just this very time of year. Thank you for your post, I am soaking it all up!!
I had a day trip to the island in September with a girlfriend from college. She asked what I wanted to do there and I proudly replied that I wanted to see your house! So, away we went and I found you! It was such a great feeling to see where you talk so much about. The only thing missing was laundry drying on the line! We went in town and I bought your book for her and she loved it!!! Looking forward to getting a new calendar! It’s bound to be better….
Sorry, it’s bound to be a better year!!!
I’m so glad you had fun here! Such a magical place . . . and yes, 2022, fingers crossed for and new and wildly passionate interest in manners!
Hello Susan,
I want to tell you about a Blessing I recently received. Because of your enthusiasm, I decided to invest in a couple of Gladys Taber books. I found two (Stillmeadow Sampler and Stillmeadow Daybook), both on Amazon. I bought them and waited (im)patiently for them to come. When I (finally) opened Stillmeadow Sampler, there was a bookplate with the previous owner’s name — a sweet lady named Lillian. Imagine my surprise when I found a letter tucked in the pages…from GLADYS TABER to Lillian!!! Handwritten, signed “Gladys T.”, the envelope with a 6¢ stamp with FDR’s face. The letter is dated Sept. 29, 1968. I still can’t believe my good fortune. What a blessing!
Thank you for introducing me to Mrs. Taber. She is a joy. Happy Thanksgiving!
Roneta
There is something about her books and the people who read them. A breath of fresh air. Of course you would find a letter like that in one of them!!! 💌💌💌 Blessings!
Roneta,
I too have purchased Stillmeadow Sampler because of Susan’s enthusiasm for Gladys Taber and so glad I did. I am thoroughly enjoying it. Although mine didn’t have a letter in it, but that is so great for you! What a blessing, truly.
I am also in California-I live in So. California in the Inland Empire.
It’s nice to chat with another west coaster.
Blessings and peace. Happy reading.
Maureen
Candles and candlesticks warm a home even when they aren’t lit. Have you given your Pilgrim couple names? If I were to win them, I think I would call them “Daniel” and “Delight.” God Bless You, friend Susan, for encouraging us today with beautiful pictures and soothing words.
💘
Susan, you are such a blessing to us! Thank you for the beautiful blog. I enjoyed it so much. How wonderful that you were able to attend the book club and I loved that Joe and the other husband poured the wine. 😊 The candlesticks are so lovely. I have always admired them in your pics. Happy Thanksgiving! (I just bought my turkey too).
Thank you Bunny for the generous surprise for Susan to give away! Happy Thanksgiving ❣️
Thank you Bunny and Sue!
Had dental surgery today and your Willard is comforting me as I recuperate! Thanks for the cheer.
Hope you are better today Michelle!❣️
I absolutely love reading Willard and am so grateful you write to all of us. Wishing all the girlfriends out there a truly blessed holiday season.
Thank you … from me and all of our kindred spirits!🧡
So grateful to my sweet sister, Sandi, for introducing me to you via your “diary” books which she purchased while visiting her son in California several years ago. I have been a fan ever since and am simply in awe of your talent! Best wishes to you and Joe as you celebrate this season of beauty!
Thank you Pam, and thank you Sandi! ❌⭕️
Happy Thanksgiving Susan & Joe!
I’m always so happy when your post is up. This one is especially uplifting! Thank you, Susan!
Every year I admire those candlesticks – always thought they were one of a kind.
So happy they are not! Can’t wait to try your Cranberry Marmalade recipe.
Get ready for deliciousness!😋
So thankful for your IT man, another blessing – to get to enjoy reading these “treats for the heart” thoughts of love, encouragement, and beauty, all wrapped up like a lovely gift soothing us like a balm. And we kindred spirits, savoring every morsel and wanting to say “thank you” in some way that you’d hear us, from all around the country. Every blessing, continuing in every way, to you & yours!!
I LOVE having you here, so it’s truly a two-way street. xoxoxo😘
Thank yo SO much for this wonderful gift of Willard! Just what I needed. ❤️
I LOVED A Gentleman in Moscow! I adored the Count. Such a good man and true gentleman. I love how you and Joe listen to books on your walks sharing earbuds. Such a perfect idea!
Wishes for a very happy, blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy hosting your dear friends again.
No one does it better! 😘
😘😘😘
I would love to win the candlesticks. They are beautiful. Thanks for a chance to win.
Our book club loved A Gentleman in Moscow too! His latest book is also excellent!