HI ALL! Welcome! Had to celebrate the day with my Girlfriends! I hope you’re being good to yourself! We had another big snow last night, woke up to a marshmallow world. MUSICA? Oh yeah!
Be my Valentine, but don’t forget during this week of celebrating LOVE, to . . .
That should say, “love the cutie you’re with,” which, in case you don’t know, is you!❤️
Guess which cup Joe got his tea in this morning? Oh yeah. On the adorable crocheted heart that our dear Girlfriend Barbara Urbank from Twitter (@barbarasgarden) sent me ~ I think of her every morning when I see this. A pure treasure. As is she. She is having a difficult time these days, and I know your prayers would fill her heart with joy.💞 
So, around here? BLIZZARD! It’s been cold and snowy, and it’s snowing again this morning! Perfect for getting things done. But I am ready to get out and GO! It won’t be long. Every day we inch closer to MAY! That Lusty Month Of May!
I’m still dealing with reality, those are my boots on the kitchen floor in front of the furnace register, filling up with hot air so I can do the big shoe exchange when my feet get cold.
I mean, LOL, look at our kitchen window! This is what happens in a Blizzard, which is snow plus wind plastering your windows. Joe brought the snow broom and shovel in from the barn, everything to dig us out is inside the house and dry and ready to go.
But you have to admit, it IS beautiful ~ and the birds are happy . . . putting on a wonderful show when the windows melt!
And of course, we’re happy too. Crackling fire, lit candles, and little visions of beauty never cease to please.
He LIKES doing this! I have to go out and bring him in, warm him up, make sure he isn’t having a heart attack. So far, so good!
We invited our bubble people to a small dinner party. Feeding each other from the well of sweetness.💞 It’s a must do. Fighting the mental-fatigue inducing pandemic with every fiber of my being. Don’t you just hate this? I don’t hate anything, but I DO hate this boring virus! I even started watching football!🙄 Three games plus the Super Bowl. I even liked it! Save me!
Jack kept me company while I did my very favorite thing, set the table! I used the old blue Copeland Spode that came with this house! Yes, a set of 10 dinner plates was waiting in the cupboard when we moved in! Left behind by the previous owner.❤️ And yes, we will leave them when we go.
I just HAPPENED to have these candles, and just HAPPENED to pick 
out these roses… I have never matched my candles to my flowers before, but one of my guests is a candle-flower-matching person, and I knew she 
would appreciate it, and she DID! I used our big 3′ square vintage linen napkins too. Slightly starched, ironed, and smooth as a baby’s hiney. The ones that make you feel like a 6-year-old when you put them on your lap. When you have an appreciative audience, you give them the good stuff!💞 
I spread those roses around the house . . . and brought light to a dark winter with an old-fashioned Pineapple Upside-Down Cake! I LOVE my mom’s recipe for it (⬆️ click for the recipe). It’s perfect for winter. I decided it needed a sauce, so each room-temperature serving sits in a puddle of cold vanilla cream, which almost makes it a Tres Leche Cake, but with pineapple and walnut crunch and that brown sugar chewiness on top.
The Lilies are gone now, so are the roses, but those white sweet peas are SILL beautiful, now gracing the kitchen table! Kind of a miracle if you know sweet peas!💫
Wasn’t our Webinar with the Cary Library wonderful? Talk about miracles, a thousand of us for a tea party! This was my setup here at home, tea cup waiting, candles lit, I had my new book 
piled up next to me, and my OLD books, just in case we needed them, and some of the childhood artwork my mother saved for me, everything I could think of for show and tell. We lit up the house as best we could, Joe made a fire, and we just talked and talked. Helen and Nicole were wonderful, I have to thank them again for making it happen! It was like a girlfriend tea party at my kitchen table. Did you miss it? Would you like to see it? Go HERE!
Oh yeah, we can talk! There are more Webinars to come, one is tentatively lined up for April. I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s finalized!
Busy busy, storms are perfect for projects, and for solving family ancestral mysteries! This is a photo of my grandfather, the infamous pork-chop-gravy-eating Willard, the man who gave my newsletters a name, here with my darling grandmother, Florence. Born and raised in Iowa, they met at Sioux City High School and married very soon after graduating in the late 1920s because they were crazy kids, and quite brainless in their young years, a trait they passed on to their granddaughter.💖
Willard’s mother was Alice (Allie) Jencks, my great grandmother who used to make boxes of embroidered dish towels (this is one of hers) for my mom every Christmas, a big inspiration for me: if she was making them for my mom, I had to do it too. I remember visiting her at her house in Iowa, playing pick-up sticks on her wide front porch with moths flitting around her yellow porch light, and going up to her attic with her to get one of my mom’s old baby dolls. I was 5 and she was my mom’s grandma.
And THIS person ⬇️ was HER mom, my mom’s great-grandma, and herein lies the mystery.
I have had that photo for a very long time not knowing who it was. Thank goodness I kept it because when I was upstairs digging around for things to show for the Webinar, I found a letter from Willard which I had filed way back in 
the 1980s when he sent me all kinds of family photos, including this one. I forgot I had the letter (but of course I do, how could I throw it away?) and re-reading it, I found out that that photo ⬆️ was my great-great-GREAT grandmother, Angeline Martin Jencks, the grandmother of Willard and mother of Allie and her four sisters, including my Great Aunt Jose who sent us a box of her old children’s books when I was little, which included one of the best ever, Pollyanna! Wasn’t that a wonderful find? So she hangs on the wall in the wood room now. I wrote all her information on the back of the photo so this kind of confusion won’t happen to any other of her relatives! I’m always working on our family tree, getting little details here and there, trying to make these people come alive for us . . . the Jencks family has been a lot of fun because there’s so much information about them!💖
But, here’s the thing I’m spending most of my time on! My new book, Distilled Genius, the Illustrated Secrets of Life, My 40-Year Collection of Life-Changing Quotes, all 272 pages of pure inspiration🎁, has gone off to Kellee so she can prepare it digitally and send it to the printer!!! This was the first page Kellee finished and sent to me for approval. Now it’s a preview for you! MAS MUSICA? OUI!
If you read these quotes I think you’ll see how this book got the name “Distilled Genius.” I am so excited! It’s the exact opposite of what we’ve all been going through… the isolation, exhaustion, and PTSD from this BORING virus and all the scary news reports … this book . . . is Joy, Hope, Humor, Girlfriends, Creativity, Happiness, Connection and LOVE ~ pulling these quotes together has been the perfect place to spend these winter days ~ pure positivity and genius, reminding me of everything good in this world, has kept me very happy! As soon as I paint the Table of Contents I’ll show you! We gave the printer the green light on Friday, so it’s truly happening. WITH a ribbon! Made in America! They say we should have it at the Studio by the end of June. I will put it up for preorder soon, so I’ll know how many to order! And more preview pages will come! I feel so happy with this. To be able to share this collection after all these years! Who would ever imagine?!?
And speaking of Happy Days! This is the other thing putting me in a good mood. Getting the book done, and then getting ready to go, because we are on our way to England on May 1! We’re having a PICNIC!!! Light is changing, days are getting longer, there are new shadows on the kitchen cupboards, I feel it coming!
We’ll be meeting these two Valentines, Rachel and Paul, witty, cute, talented, charming English people, in New York and boarding the Queen Mary 2 together! For those of you coming along, we’ll all be meeting on board to toast the Statue of Liberty as we sail away! Lots of details to come! Rachel and I are working on a talk we want to give on board the ship, something maybe called
The Magic of a Handwritten Letter?💞 What do you think?
It won’t be long now! Dreams do come true!
Well, off I go . . . I still have to paint the cover of the book! And do the Table of Contents… it ain’t over till it’s over. This book was very much inspired by you . . . you gave me a VERY nice reason to go on living this winter, I hope you LOVE it!. . .💖 Pray for our beautiful world. Have a WONDERFUL day!
Thanks again Susan for your inspiration and your spirit of good will! We do need it and can always find it on your sites. Have a great early spring, it is coming soon. Love to all your girlfriends and the men in your life as well — Joe and Jack I mean of course. Jeanne of Iowa
Hello to you and to Iowa for me Jeanne! ❌⭕️
What a delightful Valentine’s good morning finding your newest “Willard”. You are always so uplifting even in times that aren’t, such as these pandemic times. We can’t bury our heads in the sand but positivity and delving into our interests and creativity sure can help. We are still who we are and can be difficult at times to not let the world define us. And….then there is Susan Branch to infuse us with her inspiration!! So much fun to hear about the upcoming trip to England I almost feel like I’m going, but will have to enjoy when you give us some snippets along the way. So glad the new book is close to printing and I can pre-order. Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe❤️
Thank you Claudette! Yes, probably this pandemic has taken even more of a toll than we know. But that’s what our time has delivered. I think I prefer it to having bombs dropped overhead. But neither would be my first choice! Hold on, we’re almost there! 🙏
I am so looking forward to your new book! I need that! I also enjoyed reading aobut your family research. I’ve been working on my family tree for over 20 years and I’ve learned so much – not just about my family, but history, too. I am blessed with more photos of ancestors than I ever dreamed I would have when I started that journey. To look at a family photo taken in 1880 and “recognize” myself as one of the youngest daughters in the photo – looking like I did at that age, although not dressed alike! I’ve gotten so much enjoyment from this hobby of mine and happily my family enjoys hearing what I’ve found! Have a great day and a wonderful time when you go to England (I’m green with envy!)
Love it Kathy!♥️
My cheeks hurt from all the smiling!! What a beautiful Valentine Blog. Haven’t opened the one from The Lovely Tom yet, but I know it will be “just right”. He has a knack for that. Have a bit of blizzard Hygge along with you painting of the cover of “Our” new book.
Thank you, Dear Lady, for all you do for the world.
Mucho love and lots of guacamole 😉 from
Debbie in Tampa
Joe just walked in with pink roses and sweet peas, so I’m a happy girl. Was a happy girl anyway, but this is just more guacamole! ❌⭕️❌⭕️
You are so very lucky.
💖 Grateful! xoxoxo
What a wonderful Valentine gift! Thank you.
Thank you for this gift today! Excited for your book, and happy for all that get to sail away with you. I am busy making soups to take to my son on the other side of the state, second bout with stupid covid (vaxxed and boostered), and he is very under the weather. No one around to help him so I shall saddle my trusty steed(Subaru Outback) and set off in the morning. Love the snow photos, as we don’t get much of that here on the Oregon coast. Happy Valentines!
Travel safely Janice. Hope your son is well soon! xoxo
Yea for your Subaru Outback, We’re on our 3rd Subaru, and they have never let us down. First one is 22 yrs old, second one, a sedan, is “new”, only 7 yrs. old. Third one we got used, a 5 yr. old Forester. Going to trade that one when we get back to Maine for a used Legacy sedan…..so we’ll be more comfy and get better mileage on what we Hope to be a long trip over to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia this coming summer.
They are such good, safe cars, aren’t they!
Oregon is my second fav. West Coast State after Washington. My wonderful step-daughter was born in Coos Bay!
Have a ball, Janice.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Joe, Jack and all the Girlfriends! Willard was just the ticket to a Red Letter Day today. Hope everyone has a joyful day.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! ❤️🌷❤️🌷 Wishing you and Joe a loving day. I love you dear girlfriend ❤️ Thank you for sending out the Willard today! XO
Happy Valentine’s Day to you! I so enjoyed the zooms – one good thing about this pandemic, was the opportunity to “chat” with you. I am excited about your new book. Yay!
I know. Where could 1000 people just “meet?” Amazing little gift of the pandemic!💞
SUSAN! My goodness but you look like your Grandma Florence! I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve heard this…. but the resemblance is remarkable. What a darling couple she and your Grandpa made! I’m sitting here in the kitchen at Smiling Dog Farm, our acreage, just outside of Boone, Iowa, drinking a second cup ‘o coffee in my pink bunnie-bunnie cup. I would love to know where in Iowa Allie lived…?…. I’ve been following you for years and always felt such a kinship. I will bet there’s a deeper Iowa connection! Stay well, stay healthy, stay happy! This nurse is so grateful for the love you share!
She was born in Clinton, and lived in Sioux City until her death. You’re sort of in the middle, right? Oh yes, my mom was born in Sioux City, and my grandma who was an Orr was born there also. So I have deep roots there and have always felt an affinity. 💖
She was born on the far east side of Iowa and lived on the far west side of Iowa. Yes, Boone is smackdab middle. We’ve talked previously about the Orr family who lived in Boone and I’ve wondered if you’re related. Since it’s not a real common name, I bet you are! You obviously have lots of Iowa roots and need to come here! I will gladly set up a Susan Branch Brunch and we’ll have waaaay too many who want to attend!
My grandma was one of ten children, so I’m sure I’m related to your Orrs . . . the end of connections never comes! 💖
I invite you to Boone to meet the Orr family! And I’m very serious about hosting a brunch! My book club, “Carpe Librum” would be overjoyed!
Would be fun. Just have to wait and see what the future holds! I’d love to get back there. I was just checking out the movie theater in Sioux City that was built in 1927 … I’m sure my grandma went there, I’d love to see it!
Susan, I was born in Clinton, Iowa. ❤️ Perhaps our ancestors knew one another?? I bet they did! Clinton has never been a large town, and the world seemed even smaller way back when. I’m named after my great grandmother, Jessie Holiday, who sailed here from the village of Threckheld, England when she was a teenager. I’m not quite sure how she came to settle in Clinton, but that’s where she spent the rest of her life. Even though I have no memories of her, I have pictures of her holding me as an infant, and I love to look at them and see the tiny little English woman after whom I was named. On her journey to America, she brought with her books she received as rewards in her early childhood education, and those now belong to me. I feel so honored to have those beautiful old book with her name inscribed in them. One of my true treasures, along with her collection of teapots I inherited.
WOWEEEE. Isn’t that just wonderful!!!? What a gift that things were saved for you! Have you been to Threckheld?
What a perfect Valentine’s Day – to find a Willard post and have Waterloo Bridge on TCM while I read it with a cuppa tea! Hope you and Joe are having a lovely day. And….good move writing all the information on the back of your great great grandmother. EVERYONE should do that to ALL photos. My parents and my husband’s parents are all deceased. We have all the old family photos and not sure who everyone is. We have a great one of John’s dad in WWII, somewhere in Europe – he landed on Normandy on D-Day – and it is his photo with another soldier in combat gear. All it says on the back is Jay and Steve 1944. Steve WHO? Nobody knows! Tell all my younger relatives to mark every photo…or #tag people….so the family in the future will know. Happy, Cozy Valentine’s Day!
Excellent advice!♥️
Delightful❣️I’ll need several of the new book for gifting. Thanks for bringing me into your sweet world. You’ve also brought joy during this time of trouble. Always grateful. Fondly, Annette
Well it put a cramp in all our styles … I’m praying we get some time away from it. 🙏😘
Oh Susan,
I feel that I have neglected you for so long and that saddens me. It has been a combination of ennui (a little French never hurt anyone, at least I think it’s French), a bit of depression on those snowy, bleak days and the daily torment of sciatica in my sits bone and calf (it is literally a “pain in the butt”). However reading your positive, happy blog brightens my day – thank you for being you!
Right now, since 7:30 in the morning (OMG, I didn’t know that time actually existed) I have been listening to the sounds of drilling and the ripping out of cabinets. I moved to a new, old house in October and have begun the long odyssey of rehab. Kitchen first, then carpet (pretty blue base with scattered roses) – I would have kept the floors but, sadly, with 2 cats and a dog I couldn’t spend the kind of time that refinishing would involve, new doors, old sash windows refurbished by a specialist (very $$$ but will do a few at a time) and so many other things. I am sure I have murdered all of the punctuation in the previous sentence. I was an English aficionado in high school and college, but the reading and writing part, not the , : ; ” ( ) part.
Oh well, enuf of that, since you know I was born in Iowa, it was nice to read the part that we share and also the fact that we lived so close to each other in California when we were young – the good old San Fernando Valley.
I look forward to reading your book of quotes and also what you have to say about the voyage to, and stay in England. I am so sorry that I had to cancel but that d..mned virus is still out there and I have autoimmune problems so don’t dare take a chance. I know that you and the Branchettes will have a SUPER FANTASTIC time.
This may be one of my shortest writings (typing) but the behind is acting up so, until next time I, and my menagerie, am sending you, Joe and Jack infinite hugs and kisses,
Patricia, Livvie, Bix and Silas (plus the eagles of Decorah)
Love to hear from you Patricia. I’m so sorry to hear about the nasty sciatica … I had that one time. I’m sure you’ve tried everything, but just in cases … I went to a sports doctor, he sent me to a physical therapist who had me doing STRETCHES! He stretched me out of it! So are you living at home during the rehab? That’s hard, but how wonderful it will be when it’s done! I understand about the virus. Fingers crossed for at least a few months respite … don’t worry, you know I’ll send pictures! ❌⭕️
Thanks again for your bl❤️G post❣️Am excited about your new quote book. I have been a quote lover ever since I started stitching samplers 46 years ago🥰. Happy ❤️Day to you and Joe!
Come to think of it, that may have been something that started me on this collection. Samplers always had such good things on them.❌⭕️
What a lovely treat to receive your newest Willard on Valentine’s Day!! Wishing you, Joe, and Jack a happy, but snowy and cold, Valentine’s Day! The talk hosted by the Cary Memorial was delightful, and a welcome respite in these turbulent times. Wonderful that you finally solved the mystery of the formerly unknown woman in the photograph. Also, I can see the resemblance between you and Florence. You have the same eyes. Nice to look in a mirror and see the imprint of our ancestors. Looking forward to spring, especially after the 62 degree weather we had this past Saturday here in MA. It was a lovely preview of days to come.
Wasn’t that great? We were out walking like crazy for a few days. I think the fluffy stuff we got last night will go away soon! That’s what Joe says! xoxo
Thank you for bringing such joy to Valentines Day…love and blessings to you and Joe…the snowy photos were just right to make you want to be cosy ..drink tea and listen to music..
Just can’t wait for the new book…what words of genius for us all to dwell on…I love every new month on my calendar to read your special words ..
Thank you ..thank you.
So thrilled you will be Uk bound soon…wonderful
Much love Sandra from Bournville …Birmingham Uk
Coming over there Sandra. Best to get all your shopping done and stay off the roads while the Americans are lurking!🤣
Happy Valentine’s Day! I must admit that I have tears as I read your mention of dear Barb. This is such a sad time for all of us who love her.
So, so looking forward to the talk on the ship! Yes, you and Rachel! What a great combination!
No snow here, though we did have a “whisper’ on the rooftops yesterday morning.
Stay warm and cozy!
Hugs and love coming your way!
It is, and I do love it so knowing that I am prayed for, I hope it gives her some comfort. ❌⭕️
Your Cart library zoom was fantastic.. thanks for the 2022 valentine. I am ready to make the pineapple upside down cake. My mother made that too. Cape Cod Ann
It’s a sturdy little thing, the cream gives it just the gentle moistness it needs!
I love genealogy too! Have done it for over 40 years and taught classes for a while. It is a fun hobby! Do you know where exactly your Stewarts came from in Ireland?
We think County Mayo, but that is definitely our weakest link. My gg grandfather left around 1842, potato famine time, and practically all of them were named either John or Edward Stewart. We thing our immigrant gg Grandfather was John, married to Matilda Burns, but it’s VERY hard to be sure. And there seems to be a connection to Stewarts in Scotland, too. My grandmother was a Murray, related 9 generations back to Jennie Jerome, you know who! 🙀🤣
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Susan and all the friends! ❤️💕❤️
♥️❤️♥️
I have been a fan of yours forever and now I know why. We are related! Descended from Joseph jenks as well! Sharon jenks
Isn’t that WONDERFUL! What an amazing family! Our little side of it came to a roaring halt with my G-grandma’s family of all GIRLS. She tried to carry on the name by naming my grandfather “Willard Jencks Smith” … but that was pretty much it for the name on our side. I’m happy you GOT it!
Me too!
Sharon, cousin? I am not descended from Joseph Jenks but from his forebears in England. My great-grandfather came from Yorkshire, was a cabinet maker, and his son became Lord Mayor of London in 1931-32. It is so interesting to look back into our history, isn’t it?
Very!
Oh my goodness…tears started flowing at the beginning with your wink and nod to our LOVELY Barb and the crocheted heart she sent you….I treasure her crocheted gift! That Pineapple upside down cake is soooooo delish. I might just have to make it again…made it at Christmas for my daughter and grandson for our small gathering. I only wish I could get a bit of your SNOW down here in FLorida!! Could you blow a bit of it my way!! Joe is and always has been the MAN!! What a trooper all bundled out there in the SNOW! Thanks for taking such good care of him!! That picture of Rachel and Paul is adorable….such Valentine’s …cannot wait to see and meet her for the first time….longtime coming!! Can’t wait to hear from you two and “The Magic of a Handwritten Letter”….since I love snail mail and penpaling! Then of course the tears started flowing again when you spoke of the Queen Mary and the facts that DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE when you start with a dreamer. So excited for the blessing that has come my way! Cannot wait for May 1st!!
I know JUST how you feel Belinda! We will be taking lots of deep breaths of that lovely North Atlantic salty air! It will heal us from the inside out!❤️
Totally agree and PLENTY of it in England too!!
Yes, and there the air is mixed with history, a very delicious treat indeed!❤️
You described perfectly my feelings ever present these two years! “Isolation, exhaustion,etc…” bingo. How exciting for you, your new genius book! Awesome to have a new treat from our precious SB to order and chase away the cobwebs of this dam-panic doldrums. A Willard on Valentines Day too, what a great friend to help us escape on this day of love. <3 <3 <3 I have another joy to look forward to, your England trip to join vicariously; a new Downton Abbey movie this summer, a great grand baby in April, life goes on even in a pandemic. Praise the Lord. 🙂
Look at all that good stuff Dezi! A new baby in the family! Wonderful news!❌⭕️
❤️🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️❤️❤️🎈🎊🎉
thanks for your positive energy Susan! Looking so forward to meeting you and the others May 1 on the QM2. On we go….
On we go Patty!🛳
Hello Susan~❤️Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe!❤️ WOW! I definitely see Y*O*U in Florence and Willard! And I see your eyes in your great great great grandmother Angeline…how wonderful you have found information on your family back to 1599~amazing! We too have had blizzards here in northern Michigan…I feel cozy when the snow is falling…what I’m over is the freezing cold below zero temperatures…brrr. The positive thing is when Valentine’s Day arrives I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel! It is staying light longer and after the one blizzard we always have within the first two weeks of March I know the trillium will soon start appearing on the forest floor~the harbingers of spring. I’m awaiting your news of pre-ordering for your new book! Stay warm and cozy😘
I will Rae Ann, you too! Thank you!💖
♥️♥️♥️Happy Valentine’s Day Susan!♥️♥️♥️
Thank you for this wonderful Willard entry. I hope you, Joe, and Jack are nice and warm and cozy this Feb. 14th.
Question for you? Dark or Milk Chocolate on this sweet day?
Thank you for always making my days a little sweeter with your whimsical and so thoughtful insights and comments.
Best to you always! And cannot wait to order the new book! Count me in!!!
~ Kelly from Walnut Creek
Dark! Thank you Kelly!
💗💗💗
I was going to say the EXACT same thing!🤣💞
Love this! Love YOU! Sooo much!!!
❤️💞❤️
Dear Susan,
As always, your blog is perfectly timed and was perfectly enjoyed. I’m so excited about your quote book! Happy Valentines Day to you and Joe.
Prayers for Barbara. ❤
Thank you! xoxoxo🙏
WHAT a beautiful and love-filled post to enjoy with my tea this chill, wet afternoon….and there at the bottom I spy a photo of US! WE are so absolutely thrilled and excited to be on the Ship of Dreams with you and so many of the girlfriends (& their boyfriends) too! That week at sea will fly by. We’ll all need to keep diaries and compare notes. And England in May is one of my very favourite things. Sending love to all this St Valentines and looking forward to the fun to come xoxoxo
Getting closer Ray! Can you feel it? ❌⭕️❌⭕️😘
So exciting that we will get to meet you Rachel! God Speed when you travel to NYC.
Happy Valentines Day! 💝 Thank you for a little bit of joy admist doing the laundry, taking the dogs 🐕 to vet for their shots and general household chores on my day off. Look forward to your new book. Wishing I was going with you this May. Take care.
I’ll make sure to send pictures! ❌⭕️
You’ve given me hope, beauty, reality, and courage these last months. Thank you..love you too.
❌⭕️❌⭕️ Mary Ann!
Dear Susan, Thankyou for this lovely post. I can’t wait for your new book!! I just think you look so much like your Grandmother Florence, isn’t it wonderful to see yourself in your ancestors? Kind of like an anchor or roots i guess 🙂 <3 Fondly, Kim from Cape Cod
It’s wonderful … I see it too. Sometimes I look in the mirror now and STILL see her!❤️
What a wonderful gift on Valentine’s Day! A Willard and the promise of a new book! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe!!
Thank you Christine!
I vote for, “Distilled Genius, A Book of Quotes” for the title of your quote book!!
I think that one captures the idea of how important quotes are to you and how they influenced your writing!
I like it! 😘
Oh my…”Distilled Genius”! I can’t wait to get a copy. Yippee!
👏👏👏
Susan, I just wanted to make sure you know that Lillies can be lethal if cats eat them or even if they get pollen on them and then groom themselves. I don’t know if Jack is curious about plants and flowers but just a heads up to be mindful. 😘 Patti
Thank you! It’s hard to believe how many plants and flowers can cause them trouble!🙀
Your Willards always make my day special! Isn’t family genealogy intriguing? There are so many wonderful stories to discover. It’s a great idea to write on the back of a picture so they will always be remembered. Happy Valentine’s Day, you make my heart sing!
Absolutely intriguing. Just love it. My sister does too, so we really get into it together sometimes and get ourselves TOTALLY confused! If you go long enough, you realize we’re all related to each other!💞
I could feel my heart picking up the pace with talk of spring,new book,and travel! I’ll be there toasting Lady Liberty and my heart can hardly contain itself! You’ve also given us cheerful reasons to keep going,keep loving, spread kindness and enjoy the little sweet pleasures that are right in front of us during this winter of our discontent! Stay safe in the snow.
Hugs and Happy Sweethearts day
Winter of our discontent, perfection! xoxo🤣
Happy Valentine’s Day Susan! I can’t wait for the book to come out in June! Just in time for summer reading on the terrace! or under a lovely big tree! Love is feeding your soul!
It definitely is… all around!💖
Such joy and beauty in this Willard! I’ve been working on my quotes for a while and just inherited my late uncle’s collection to play with. It really makes you think and reflect and just *feel* all those sentiments, doesn’t it? Stay warm, Susan!
Voices from the past are amazing teachers! How great you have your Uncle’s collection!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Susan. ❤ I love your blizzard pictures. Stay warm and cozy.
Looking forward to your book. 📘
I am loving your bunnies at the top of the Willard! It is almost bunny time in my house. As soon as the leprechaun bids us farewell mid March the bunnies pop up in every room in the house and outside too. Then many stay around through the summer.
Thank you for brightening my day today.
Always wonderful to hear from you Peggy! Happy Valentine’s Day!♥️💞♥️
I cannot WAIT for your new book! Already have plans to order 3 copies, and will probably need more. I have “introduced” you to so many friends- this will be my way of getting even more to have the pleasure of “knowing” you.
XOXOXO thank you Denise! I know you know how much I love that!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I can’t sail away with you, sure wish I could. But what I want to tell you is how excited I am about the quotation book. I’ve wanted something like this for years and years.
Well that’s wonderful to hear! I guess I needed to collect until the time was right, but here it comes!
Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to the world of football… you watched some very good games. I am very excited to read your new book when it arrives. Enoy the snow, we even got some pretty snow in PA yesterday.
LOL. With 4 brothers, and being in the drill team in high school, I got lots of football when young! But as I got older, I never liked to look right AT TV, I’d always be doing something else, like reading or something. Football makes you WATCH!
Love that you came to us with your cheerful blog on Valentine’s Day. I’m reading it while sitting with my husband while he takes his first of a series of chemo for the 4th time. it’s been about 6 yrs. Since the last series. Looking forward to purchasing your quote book, asthsts on of my loves too. Love that you are having dinner parties with your bubble friends even in the bad weather
Blessings dear friend💖☺️💖
Blessings on you and your husband. I hope this goes well, and quickly. Sending love. ❌⭕️
Happy Valentine’s Day to You ! I was wondering if you are watching All Creatures Great and Small on PBS ? It is my latest favorite.
Yes . . . love the views!
Been looking forward to another Willard! Nice to hear from you again! I am enjoying the slow life here in North Carolina. Going for walks (52 degrees and sunny today), enjoying the daffodils, doing some reading and some cleaning and some sewing. Thanks for your cheerful, hopeful post.
Your daffodils sound wonderful Kristin!🌼
For sure speak about the power of the written letter!!!💌
Tomorrow I am a guest speaker for a Girl Scout Troop.
We are doing the WRITING badge and are writing to Pen Pals!
You doll! I would have been there! Have fun!💖
BARBARA URBANK. I requested to follow you on Twitter Twitter so I could DM you a note of support, but I know you don’t know me so it’s OK if you don’t want to. I will put it on here so you will see it hopefully…
I know you from you responses here and i thought on twitter too. So I fell like I already know you. ANY friend of Susan’s is a friend of mine. There is a community here. I hope you can feel it. You are not alone. People care. You are wonderful and I see it. I dont know what you might need, but i will say prayers for you and send warm healing fuzzies and can always be an ear to listen or a place to go for distraction. You are a bright spot here and you are wonderful justcas you are!!! WHAT LOVELY CROCHET HEART YOU MADE SUSAN! 😍 wishing for you what you need most and a few happy surprises. Xo. Happy Galentine’s Day!💞💞💞
Lovely Charissa . . . thank you from Barb, and from me!💞
Happy Valentine’s Day Susan! Hope you are having a wonderful day. Stay out of the blizzard!!! Spring will be here soon. In California it already feels like spring since we have not had much rain. We would gladly trade places with you.
Yesterday I checked the weather during the game … 80! Isn’t it a bit early for that?🤣
I love this Willard, thank you so much Susan, as always. Lots to appreciate and comment upon but ~~ look at my maiden name! It is often spelled many ways and I’ve learned not to get upset when so MANY people See my name and Say Jenkins. Oh well…
Anyway, I learned a long time ago that one of the first Governors of Rhode Island was Joseph Jenck(e)s, spelled both ways and also my way, 1656~1740. He lived to be 84 and was said to be 7’2″! Someone I met traced his ancestry back to Joseph, and his grandfather may have been the first Jenks to leave the Old Country for the New World.
Could we possibly be distant, distant, distant cousins 25 times removed? Even if not, I feel a definite kinship with you and your lovely work which I first came across in 1990.
Yes, I think so. The son of Joseph Jencks Sr. founded the town of Pawtucket Rhode Island, and HIS son was the governor. We’re related! Check out that link I put on the blog, lots of details there! 👏👏👏💖
You are always a ray of sunshine on a blustery day! Cannot wait to pre-order your new book and roam through genius! Also, looking forward to our own trip while you are sailing away to England – headed back to the northern California coast with our own dear friends (50 years of friendship). I’m inspired to draw a journal – my new thing for 2022 and based on your encouragement. Love you and Joe – and not just on Valentine’s Day!
Same to you Christine!💞
Spode left as a gift, how wonderful! I inherited the love for China from my British Gran, gone now many years and her China still stands. A very warm and cozy Happy Valentines Day to you all, this means Spring won’t be far off ❤️
We’re on our way Cindy!
SUSAN, YOU ARE A LIVING VALENTINE! LUV LUV LUV EVERYTHING about this post. You are an inspiration. Instant joy when i think of or see somwthing from u. I was just talking to Patty at Wishful Thinking and u came up. Just spreading joy and connecting Girlfriends everywhere. A million thanks are in order. Cannot wait for june and cant waiting for armchair travel! Only time for a quick note so i can apend time on Valentine’s day w Tom. Love and hugs to you and Joe and Jack 💞💞💞💞
Thank you Charissa! Have a wonderful day! 👏👏👏💖
Happy Valentines back! My husbands cousin is participating in a family facebook group and we are getting many old family stories and his Uncle ( 95 ) has shared a huge collection of pictures. It is wonderful for our children and grands to learn so much about their family. I too save everything and have a group of postcards from my Grandfather , RR 1 Downey California. Ah the history we all have in our lives. Thanks for sharing your history!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Just got home from the store and made myself a cappuccino with a biscotti and sat down to read your blog. Perfect timing.
It is verrrry cold here, but clear and bright and sunny. My little window prisms were making rainbows all over my kitchen! I just love snow but I am really itching for spring. You can tell that it’s coming but but very slowly. I had a big fat robin at my heated bird bath this morning. So fun to see!
I love the little crotched heart that Barbara made for you. What a sweet treasure. I am keeping her in my prayers and sending her lots of love.
I love that you have a little friends bubble. Quality is better than quantity, so a little friends bubble is perfect. Your table looked so pretty and I love the matching roses and candles. I will have to try that some time. I love the fact that the blue dishes came with the house and that you will leave them for the next owners. (hopefully that won’t be for a long time from now). Good dish juju.
You had me cracking up with the napkins as smooth as a baby’s hiney!
The set up for the zoom is great…the stool balancing on the arm of the couch and a bunch of books…perfect!
It’s so fun to read about your family history and if you look closely enough you can see a tiny resemblance to you in that photo. My Gram did our family tree and it goes all the way back to the 1500’s in England. Apparently I am realated to an
earl!! Haha! I have a pair of beautiful woven wedding garters dating back to the early 1700’s. Woven into them is the following;
“My choice is fixt, I shall not range. I like my choice to well to change.”
I am going to have them framed and hang it over my bed when we finish with my bedroom remodel.
Thanks for another wonderful blog. Stay warm and sending love and hugs your way.
Mary
Those garters! How wonderful! Family heirloom! 💖💖💖
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you , thank you for todays post. It was needed!
That photo of Florence and Willard is absolutely charming! How sweet they are. Old photos make family history come alive. I have spent the past month trying to identify a drawer full of unlabeled family photographs, many going back several generations. It’s been so challenging with my grandparents, mother, and aunts and uncles all gone. But I’ve been in touch with second cousins and cousins once removed, and, together, we’ve made such progress. I’ve studied photos with a magnifying glass, tracked down vital records, looked up houses on Google Maps, and even read old news articles to slowly piece together the past. It’s made me feel close to people long gone. For me, it’s something good that has come out of a long, boring pandemic winter.
Fantastic Laura Ann! Your family will be so grateful you took the time!💞
Thank you Susan for mentioning Barb. Her crochet heart is so beautiful and so appropriate. She has definitely been the “heart” of our little book club!!! Because of you, I had the opportunity to get to know her and all the wonderful “ Happy Reader” girls and for that I will be forever grateful! May 1st is my birthday and I had so dreamed of joining you all on the ship however the hospital I work for has not yet allowed us to leave the country without quarantine and I can’t afford to miss that much time. I keep dreaming things will change and I will snap up a last minute ticket for it certainly will be the trip of a lifetime!! Wishing you all the best and can’t wait to pick up your new book! 💗
I hope that happens Nicole! You just never know! I know how you feel about the friends we’ve made on line. After so many years together, the friendships are deep and real!💖
Hi Susan, your Willard was exactly what I needed to read today. I have been going through boxes of old pictures etc, many from my parents who died in the 80’s. I finally went through my fathers wallet which was moldering in the bottom of a box. When I emptied it out I discovered that he had His father’s obituary in it, hardly legible. I guess he carried that in a wallet from the time he was twenty or so until he died at age 83. I am beyond touched by this and of course will find a good place for it. Hidden treasures are everywhere I guess and I enjoyed your story especially of identifying your ancestor many years after first seeing the picture. Keep on discovering all the beauty in your life and remember every day we are getting closer to the end of the pandemic! Happy Valentine’s Day from the central coast of California
How touching that he kept that so close all those years. What a wonderful thing to find! Thank you Carla, I hope to get back to my old stomping grounds next fall! 🤞
Happy Valentine’s Day Susan. Brrr, the blizzard pix remind me of growing up on the wide open flat fields of Northeastern Iowa!! Our neighbors were the Jencks family…do you have people in Northeast Iowa too?
Just to share a thought about your talk in May on your cruise-be sure to check out “NaomiLoves” website. It’s all about the handwritten letter and some printable creative envelopes to color in and send…perhaps you know of it already!
Always fun to read the Willard-thank you for a bright spot in my day!
Thank you Julie, no I didn’t know! My g. grandmother Alice Jencks was born in Clinton Iowa … so I wouldn’t be a bit surprised!
Love getting an unexpected Willard on Valentines Day no less! The Zoom meeting was wonderful and we’ve started a penpal group from that meeting! Your chair pads are beautiful! It is sunny but very cold here inOhio today. But by Wednesday we’re in the 50s!
Thank you for always brightening my day!
Isn’t that fun! Love it! Oh boy, Wednesday sounds wonderful! 👏
Happy Valentines Day Susan, I just knew I had to check the website today! Thanks for blog post. Hope You, Joe, and that peanut Jack have a great one! Aloha!
Happy Sweetheart Day to you and Joe💞 I am so in love with you and your talent. You have the sweetest painting and printing talent and now a lovely new book to look forward to. I’m going to start saving my pennies so I can order it as soon as possible.
Enjoy your warm cozy New England evening……have you watched Grantchester on PBS? We are in love with it….thank you for this treat of a read with my afternoon tea…Nettie
I watched it a few years back. I wonder if it’s repeats or if they’ve done new episodes? Thank you Nettie, lovely to hear from you!
Can’t wait for the book. It will be lovely.
I have embroidered tea towels with kitties like those from my grandmother and mother, too. I should use them, but I don’t want anything to harm them. I do love them though.
I understand! That one is my very last of hers and I don’t use it! That goes into the box with family treasures to pass on!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you two sweet hearts and dear Jack.
Gosh I think it should have said ‘life in the SNOW lane’ above that picture of your kitchen, it looks so beautiful all white on the windows and cosy inside. we have a storm coming for three days this week, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it’s going to blow Spring in and then it won’t be long until the good ship lolly pop arrives on our shores with the Branches? on board, hmmm what do you call a large group of Susan Branch friends together? , sending love from Yorkshire x
LOL, life in the snow lane, that’s so right! You call them girlfriends forever! Coming over! xoxoxo
Oh ok GFF’S lol!
See you soon 🙂 x
Oh ok GFF’s lol! see you soon ☺️ x
A thoroughly enjoyable read! Thank you for putting your ❤ and soul into every single one of these! Safe travels!! 🙂
Thank you Kathy!♥️
Gee Willikers! (a phrase that my mum used) How perfect for you and Rachel, to not only get to cross the Atlantic together, but your lecture will be the envy of all. Color me green! That you met as pen pals is a perfect connection to your letter writing talk.
Happy Galentines to you!
It is! Can’t wait to share the story! Proves anything is possible!
Greetings from north central Iowa. I’m envious of your recent snowfall. I’m yearning for one. Then I can bake, or sew, or read a good book…. Or just sit and enjoy the beauty. Looking forward to a copy of your latest book. Kathy
Lots of Iowa girlfriends checking in here today! Love it!💞
As always, my email notified me that there was an email from Susan Branch…and the endorphins began downloading and making my heart happy. Thank you, as always. You do the same for us.
LOL Downloading endorphins, I love it! ❌⭕️
Thank you for another wonderful Willard, Susan. I too am a collector of quotes and poems, and you have inspired me to collect them together and jot them down in a book. It won’t be published, of course, but I shall be able to read them whenever I please. Many thanks for the idea and I shall be watching out for publication of yours.
Hope you are not snowed up for long – spring is just around the corner!
I’m all for it! Happy you have yourself a book of favorite quotes! wonderful words of wisdom!💖
Thank you, Susan. Here’s one of my favourites from ‘Anne of Green Gables’ …..
“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”
Beautiful. What wealth we have in these left-behind words from the past.💖
Reading Willard was just like a breath of spring air and discovering a daffodil sprouting. Thank you for that!
Susan, Your Willard& Blog both helped so much. This is one of our worst Valentine’s Days ever. Tim had unusual cancer surgery roof of mouth /4 teeth removed too–and being diabetic his recovery has been difficult. (Our health ins. -usually so good w/printed instructions, sent him home w/o info for diabetic.)Sooo seeing your art, pictures and wonderful words was a very special gift. I love my bluebird cup but so wish I had acted faster–some of the others sold out before I got to purchase them.Thank you for all you do.Love you lots, Gail
Take care Gail . . . Hopefully Tim is feeling better. Love hearing from you!💞
Loved Pollyanna and Honey Bunch books 📚 of my mother’s. Happy Valentine’s Day!❤️❤️
Happy Valentine’s Day! Love the snow photos, especially with the birds. I have multiple feeder and they never seem to mind the weather. Stay safe and stay warm.
Happy Valentine’s Day Stay warm, We are having High Tea, Tea Sandwiches, Chocolate covered strawberries, and Susan Branch’s heart shapedChocolate Orange Scones and of course a little Tea and Champagne.
YUM! That’s a perfect menu!🌸💞🌸
Happy Valentine’s Day!
So wonderful to receive this love filled note.
I am very excited about your quote book. Know you have been collecting them for a long time, and will celebrate them with your art. We will all be able to savor all those word jewels and insights!
Did you ever hear that Betty White called her pets her “friends with a leg in each corner.” Just makes me smile.
xoHeather
Cute! Of course she would!❤️
Your grandparents are darling. I love the title of your upcoming book: Distilled Genius. Perfect! The pandemic is so boring – you are right, but we have to keep fighting the pandemic fatigue! I love watching the Girlfriend Tea Parties and learning more about you. Sending you and Joe my very best.
I am not much of a poster, a bit more of a lurker really. However I just wanted to let you know I purchased all three of the books on your life and read all 3 in a weekend. ( I too was a voracious childhood reader) I enjoyed them so very much! You have such a wonderful gift for storytelling as well as painting. I went to London a few years ago and I hope to return and explore the English countryside. I first discovered your books with Heart of the Home back in the early 90’s. It was (and still is) such a wonderful book. I cooked out of that book to show love for my family. Then I cooked out of it to sooth and distract myself when he left for a girl who was still in highschool when our first son was born. You are so many of us. Inspiring us,making us laugh, reminding us of a childhood or life we had, or wanted to have. You are such a relatable person. I just wanted to thank you and let you know how wonderful your books and stories are. I am so glad you found your true Prince Charming! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
That was so kind JJ.💖 I’m so glad you like the books. I do feel like we women have SO much in common . . . my story is your story, and yours is mine. Kindred spirits. Thank you for lurking, and for the sweet words! xoxoxo
What a lovely Valentine’s treat! So excited for the new book! I’m also busy with geneology and have helped my daughter join DAR. Anyway, sending love! ❤️
Peggy Morgan
As a collector of quotes I can’t wait to order your book😍have a happy day 💘
Susan,
How do we thank you for always sending a luvly post, when selfishly we need it the most?
What a surreal life it has become…..I would love to put all the people who have chosen hatred as a path, in the same room and just point out how love and kindness can change a life….I don’t want to understand their choice of hate and fear…..it needs to change…..Today friends came over for cheddar scones and coffee, and laughter, and my dog Charlie hovering at their feet, in my cozy kitchen, with Seattle drizzle and gray out the window….it was a love filled time, and I / we need more of those….I rebooked my London trip that was cancelled 2 years ago….for June….and a visit to Sussex gardens like Great Dixter, Charleston,meeting an Irish friend who will rent a car and drive 3 of us in the English countryside…..reminds me of your wonderful drives….more sharing love….so a rambling hello to you, keep lighting candles, keep zooming, keep talking to us….we love you….
Ahhh June in England! Mmmmmm….🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸❌⭕️
I embroidered a set of kitten dishtowels for my daughter for Christmas – with orders to USE them – she fosters kittens for her local rescue and there is always something to mop up!
Very beautiful as always, never a disappoint. Thank you Susan, Marybeth
Never a disappointment! Oy! Marybeth
Happy Valentine’s Day Susan! Thank you for the happy (e) mail this morning!
What a lovely Valentine’s day gift, a lovely Willard! Football is a big deal here in Western Pennsylvania and specifically with my sports loving better half! So glad you liked it! I am so looking forward to your book of quotes and reading all about your England trip! My dream trip, someday! Happy Hearts Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day Sweetie! This was such a treat to find, I am overjoyed with happiness and will read it again and again.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Such a cozy abode to hunker down during your blizzard.
I think by the way you have your 3x great grandmothers eyes.
Love the embroidered towels too! So cute!
Have a Lovely and very Happy Valentine’s Day. Stay warm and cozy, put the kettle on and sit in front of a blazing fire to keep toasty. Love to you and Yours……..
Your kindness and generosity brings so much joy to all who are blessed to receive it. I will be ordering several (3) “Distilled Genius” books – one of them for my 6 month old granddaughter 🙂 It’s never too early to instill and surround younger generations to wisdom and enlightenment. God Bless 🙂
SO true. SO helpful. I would have LOVED to have found these words of wisdom earlier. Look what Pollyanna did for me! Taught me I had some control over things, from the inside out! ❌⭕️
Hi Susan!
As always, a wonderful Willard! Full of hope, happiness and good cheer! When I read you are writing information on the back of photos, especially old ones, I got quite alarmed, because you have to be very careful what you write with. From my days as a Creative Memories Consultant, I still have a few special ‘blue pencils’ that are acid free, and safe for writing on the back of photographs. I’d love to send one to you…please email me the best address to send it to and I’ll get it right in the mail. My email is [email protected]… And, yes, I am THAT jealous you get to go on the lovely QM2 this May! I REALLY wanted to go with you, but have to take care of my 86 year old mum and can’t leave her. But I’ll be with you in spirit!
That photo is actually metal! Isn’t that wonderful? It’s all one piece … not a photo in a frame, the photo IS the frame. I just wrote everything on masking tape and put it on the back, on metal. I do have acid free pencils to use with my photos, but I didn’t think I needed it. What do you think?
Wow. Wonderful, snowy and cozy Willard. I hung on every word and photo. Thank you for this Willard. Oh..when will the Enchanted book be out for purchase. I’m so anxious to read it . Bye happy valentines day
It’s still on hold… we’ll see what happens!
I cannot wait for your new book! And how did you know to have it come out just in time for my birthday haha! Here in eastern CT we got almost 2 feet of snow from that blizzard and it was lovely to just be home. My husband and I had a lovely dinner together after watching a movie and then we did a puzzle together – a Brambly Hedge puzzle. It was wonderful to have a snowy day in just the two of us! Don’t get me wrong – I am definitely ready for spring especially since it was 60 degrees here day before yesterday! Bring on the daffodils and tulips! But I also don’t want to miss the days as they come. You inspire me to enjoy the little things and not to take today for granted.
A time for every purpose under heaven!💖
Thank you for such a wonderful Willard! Listening to Paul Anka with my very special Valentines! Stay safe!
Lovely post, I due believe there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel! I haven’t been home to England in 2 years but I am going this year. Put the kettle on luv-i’ll be there in September.
Joy joy joy Susan. So much happy news! It’s a marshmallow world for you for sure. We just got through a week of above 80 degree temps here and my bulbs are confused. I am too. It’s not so hot today and supposed to rain tomorrow. Happy Valentines Day! Thank you for being our most special Valentine! We feel your love always. Congrats on the book. Can’t wait. Sure wish we were going to England with you all. Twitter from the boat! Sending hugs!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’m hoping we can twitter from the boat. We do get a bit of computer connection, but I’m not sure we could access Twitter last time. Do you remember? I’ll definitely try!💞
Oh Susan, your words and drawings are pure tonic for my winter soul. All of us are a bit Covid weary around the edges. You remind us that there is a predictable peace in snow storms, birds gathering at feeders and being tucked inside with the love of our life. Blessings abound. Thank you for being the sweetest of Valentine messengers. My heart is just oozing with gratitude.
❌⭕️❌⭕️💖