HELLO from Christmas Island!!! Look how HAPPY I am!!! That’s because (and not at all discounting my daily dose of delicious anti-anxiety medicine (Lexapro for inquiring minds)) I started after 
Covid and worry-about-the-world almost did me in 😃, but I digress) ~ I’m happy for many reasons as you will see below, but first, THIS: my girlfriend Martha’s brilliant husband WROTE a brand new CHRISTMAS SONG.💖 Who DOES that? He’s usually so normal! It’s a totally original song 🎹, and I do believe you are the first audience to hear it! In fact, this is the only place on earth where you can hear it! He let me because we are old friends who live across the street, and when he sang it for us, before he’d even had it professionally recorded, I immediately thought of you!💞 “They’ll love this” I said. He didn’t even try to resist my begging ~ and graciously said, “Of, course, I’ll send it to you! That’s why I wrote it!” 💖💖💖💖💖
Here we go, this is it . . . The Mistletoe Waltz!
Perfect for Jane Austen movies! Right? Can’t you see Mr. Darcy dancing with Elizabeth to this? Molly has a gorgeous voice! It could be in the next Love Actually! Or Mariah Carey could sing it! Kelly Clarkson! Or Taylor Swift, Times Magazine 2020 Person of the Year, who fills our world with happiness and light! This song is like that! Happiness and Light. Good job Ivan!👏
So here we go, from me to you. . . a Willard filled with happiness and light, giving love away, very like A Christmas Carol, doing season past AND season future! Freezing here this morning, had to warm my hands over the toaster! Which of course was a win-win! Toast and warm hands! MAS MUSICA . . .
Our fall here on the island was gorgeous . . . with flaming skies at sunset, church bells rang, wild geese flew over, the wind blew chimney smoke 
around, leaves curled and turned orange, garnet, and gold, mini murmurations of grackles flew in low black clouds over and around the trees, the Harvest moon shone down with golden light … the freshened Autumn air, as Gladys Taber wrote, was “cool as an old coin teaspoon” …and whipped the leaves up behind the tires of our car. Just as it has been since the beginning of time. Perfection.
I decorated inside to match the outside. . .
But Nature does it best, inside the house too: Sun and leaves made shadows on the walls that fell differently in the shortening days . . .
Church bells rang the hour across the street . . . Between that and the boat whistle and the early morning blast of lighthouse foghorns, I am reminded constantly of how lucky I am . . .
Joe brought in branches of bright leaves to hang over mirrors . . .
We hung our wreath of leaves on the front door and dried corn on the kitchen door . . .
It’s that time of year when it’s FUN to carry the basket of wet laundry across the crunchy leaves in the fresh air to hang things out to dry in the wind, where a slight fragrance of leaf mulch and woodsmoke spice the airy sea-smell of our sheets. Even a speck of time in nature is good for what ails you ~ it carries forever the hum of ommmmmm in it!🍁 I spent the end of October and the first of November nursing around the house, getting it ready for company. I washed and . . .
…hung things on the line while Jack watched and waited in the kitchen window . . .
My shadow!
He watched while I starched and ironed tablecloths . . .
. . . sprinkled dresser scarves and table runners, curtains and napkins. Sssssss, the smell of hot iron …👏
Joe polished my wand and all his little silver things for his bar.
Jack helped me fold the starry sheets in his own inimitable way of helping . . . that is, sitting on them, making them his own.
He watched me arrange flowers, make beds, and freshen and make the guest rooms cozy for my people . . .
I stopped off in our room, Jack’s favorite shooting grounds, to shoot rubber bands for him ~ I stand at the door, grab a handful of hairbands, aim, and shoot over the bed, he waits on the workout bench, HIS workout bench, not mine . . see that rubber band in the air over his head? I do this at least 3 times a day, which is how I know I will be going to heaven. God loves those who take care of his creations.
He also likes me to shoot down from the top of the stairs, in freezing bare feet, when I want to go to bed, while he runs up and down the bottom stairs catching them . . . he catches them, but doesn’t bring them back anymore. That’s my job. He has made that very clear . . .
As it was getting closer to Thanksgiving, and our guests were on their way, I set out bread on the ironing board in the pantry to dry for my grandma’s stuffing; Joe is there choosing bottles of wine… . . . we wanted to make it special . . .
Because we had family coming! And suddenly, hooray, they began to arrive ~ I found I just wanted to LOOK at them!👀 But I was trying very hard not to be scary Aunt Sue!😜 This happy guy is my nephew Matt Stewart . . . you might recognize him because…
. . . in the way-back machine, Matt flew over to join us on our trip to England and Paris with two of my other nieces Holly and Heidi the day after he graduated from high school in Durango, Colorado in 2001! We had these three for six weeks! Best trip ever!
The gang’s all here and out to dinner we went … that’s Becca on the left, Matt’s girlfriend who I had never met, then Joe, then my niece Jessica, my nephew Matt, Cory (Jessica’s husband), Maggie, and Eliza (Jessica and Cory’s daughters), and Eliza’s boyfriend Justin, who I hadn’t met either, but new people at the table are always fun! And I, as a strict Morning Scientist, like to study the younger generation to see what the future will be and talk about it with Joe later. (It’s okay, they never noticed.😁 They think they’re normal.)
We walked out to the water, through the woods, with the smell of decaying leaves … looking for shells and beach glass . . .
Then downtown to tiny La Choza on the corner of Main Street to get the fattest, yummiest, homemade (except in a restaurant), Burritos on earth!
Cory entertained us with hilarious pirate stories of his sailing days. I analyzed, of course, and found them very very good.😱😅😂🤣 Little bits of information, here and there, from every one of those kids make me know the future is in good hands. They are as passionate as we were, but much more motivated and powerful, and ready to take it on. And they have Taylor Swift on their side! (MAS MUSICA … my Grandma’s Favorite)
I’m STILL analyzing this move by the mother of children!😂 What EVER it means (it could be a kind of dancing), it IS cute! After all, MY mother said, “Boss!” when she liked something.🙄 Some of them stayed 4 days, some of them stayed 3 . . . and all of it was wonderful. Matt and Jessie, the children of two of my brothers, Chuck and Jim, both grew up in Durango, Colorado, but because they were five years apart in age, they had never really spent any time together before they all moved away, so this was extra special (for me) just for that reason. I like the cousins to know each other. 💖 And I like to know them! (Have you read the most wonderful “knowing people” book that’s just out, written by David Brooks and appropriately called “How to Know a Person?” SO GOOD, so smart! A great Christmas present! Order it HERE or HERE and make our small Independent Island bookstores crazy with happiness❤️). Oh the power!
Jack found a comfy perch where he could keep his eyes on everything!
Time to make the Stuffing! My grandma’s recipe and HER mom’s, which means that, for Eliza and Maggie, this stuffing I’ve been eating since I was little, came from their great-great-great-grandmother Sarah, born in 1870 in Adel, Iowa! I don’t know where she got the recipe! Probably HER mom!
The recipe is in my Autumn Book . . . we dipped the slices of bread we dried in the pantry in a sinkful of the hottest water we could stand, and squeezed the water out, as you can see above, so you have chunks of bread with finger marks in them.
You keep dipping, squeezing, and tearing into chunks, till you get a bowlful, then add chopped celery and onion that’s been sautéed and softened in lots of butter, salt and pepper, then a whole jar of sage. Mix it well with your ands and voila! That’s all I do to it, I love it simple, just the way my Grandma made it, smothered in turkey gravy ~ and from there I put it right into the turkey … but some people will make this basic recipe and add sausage or oysters, whatever means Thanksgiving to you is what you should do!
Matt knew how to make it and helped me! (BTW, see Matt’s long hair? Both he and Becca grow their hair and donate it to people stricken with cancer. If you have an abundance of hair, and need somewhere to put it . . . here’s how you do it!)
Matt and I have been good partners in the kitchen for a long time!
I made the cranberry sauce and popped it in the oven, and we are STILL eating Christmas Jam on the delicious scones Matt and Becca brought us from Shelley’s Tea Room in Plymouth, MA where they stopped on their way down to the island from Boston! Now I need to GO there! Jam’s so simple:
Maggie, who is 16, peeled the potatoes . . .
Maggie and Eliza have helped me in the kitchen before!💝
This was one of their creations! How did the world survive before cameras? This cookie is still fresh and beautiful! We always wish that time would stand still, and look at this blog full of standing-still moments that will never come again. Thank you camera inventor!
And suddenly it was TIME! Joe’s Beautiful Turkey 2023 was done!
Kids set the table, Joe sliced the turkey, I heated the rolls so the tops were crisp and the insides were soft, and we all carried the food to the table . . . I did not forget the most delicious French salted butter for the rolls.
Have you tried this yet? OMG it is beyond delicious… everyone LOVES it . . .
And Voila! We did it! Together, we made it happen! My mom would be SOOOOOO happy to see this!!! 💞
So fun, I got to be the Grandma and read the words to MY grandma’s favorite hymn of gratitude and celebration…
I wanted, with our togetherness, to honor these people, most of whom our kids have never met. (I’m the little face with the white barrette with Jessica’s dad on my right 😍, you can only see the very top of Matt’s Dad’s head, in his high chair toward the back.😂) That’s my Grandma on the left, and her dad (on her right), Merrill James Orr (he’s the fourth child of seven, father of ten, and my mom’s grandpa) ~ and he’s Maggie and Eliza’s great-great-great grandfather. He was born in 1871 in Stacyville, Iowa. This is the thing I love most about growing older, now I’m the connection between long long ago, and today, and even the future. Merrill’s g-g grandfather was born in 1745 in Plymouth MA, where Joe and I are going for a little Christmas get-away/shopping (and Shelley’s Tea Room) next week. 
I told the kids that our old house was built in 1849 and how I can hear echoes of stories of the families and their friends that lived here before us, their birthdays, the Christmas trees, tea parties, soups bubbling on the stove, their school days, changes of seasons, children, new babies, pets, and how this was our 34th Thanksgiving in the house, but it was the House’s 164th! The history! I thanked them for helping us add to the house DNA by being there for this one. Our house hugs back and I’m convinced this is the reason why. Doing our best to leave it ringing with memories, for the next people.
Of course, what do you do after Thanksgiving? You find out if you’re taller than your mother! I literally remember when I was finally taller than my mother, and I think it might even happened at Thanksgiving!😊💃🏼
Beautiful Girls ~ Jessica is the daughter of my brother Jim and his wife Kate; and her daughters, my great nieces Liza and Maggie.❤️
Jessica with her mom, Kate.💖
Yes, this photo was at least partially staged, that’s why all the smiles . . . because we are a modern people! After dinner we all snuggled into the wood room to watch the wonderful NY stage play production of Hamilton on Disney+! They knew ALL the words, made me so happy, they sang all the way through it.🎵🎶🎵
All too soon we were at the boat waving goodbye to Jessica and Cory on the ferry, time for the kids to go back to school and for them to go back to work . . .👋💗💗💗
Then it was time for Matt and Becca to go . . .
Matt told me I would love Becca, and I definitely did! We’re going out to California in January and hope to see them there! 👏 And then, deep breath . . . tick-tock, dastardly clock never stops … it was back to normal . . .🧡
No one took a picture of my cute outfit, so I did. That flannel skirt turns 40 next year! Tip for the day: Always buy skirts with elastic waists.👏 I’ll let you know when I get myself into that buttoned skirt I wore on my first date with Joe! A whole OTHER story!😊
Cruel children left us with this … seriously dangerous . . . after one relatively short fork-frenzy, I cut the rest of the Pumpkin Cheesecake in half, took half up the street to Lowely’s, and the other half over to Martha’s! (Wish I had it this moment!)
Then back to THIS, trying to get Thanksgiving OFF me . . . doing my planks. Which I started a few months ago by doing one plank and holding it for 3 seconds.🤪 Now I have worked up to doing three, 
holding each for 50 seconds. You know what that means… if I can do it, you can.💝 All of Google agrees that if you can only do one exercise, this is the one! And one of the secrets to happiness… and maybe not planks, but there is always something we can do to keep those joy levels going strong. Life has been more than complicated these last years, turns out it’s up to us to MAKE it the way we want it. Turn on the music YOU like, make the cookies YOU adore, have the tea YOU love, if you want green hair, HAVE it … because if mama ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy.🧑🎤 And you know, life is short.😘
With a little help from my friend. Then I turned the calendar to 
So first thing, because the holidays are upon us . . . I want to give you your Full Moons Bookmark for 2024 . . . so you can make your stocking stuffers! 💖 Just click, print it out, and then cut it out.
And then, I mentioned that Joe and I are taking the train to California in January? So excited!! 🚂 We’ll get there around January 15th and stay probably a month (or for as long as it takes), because we’re MOVING our California Studio a LOT closer to where Kellee lives ~ and we’ll be selling the house we’ve owned for 22 years, in Arroyo Grande, just below San Luis Obispo, on the Central Coast.💖 We actually spent most of our time there for the first 10 years of the 2000s … I loved it, despite the double-wide aspect of the house. I didn’t care, while I was there, it was the House of Creativity! It’s where I saw my first bluebird. One year we brought in a bunch of sand and made a beach next to the creek! We made a firepit down there, put a long table under the trees and had Thanksgiving dinner outdoors. My brother played the guitar and we all sang.🍁🍁🍁
THEREFORE… because we think about lightening our moving vans, we’re having a MOVING SALE …. starting now, all December long, until midnight December 31 ~ All my books, the calendars, recipe cards, post cards, art prints, and giclees, are all ON SALE for 20% off! We’ve never done this before, but I promised Kellee we’d make it as easy as possible! We might add more, so check back . . . she’s still figuring out what we have enough of! So we have a lot to do when we get out there!
Sale includes Christmas Memories, Gratitude, Enchanted, Grandma’s Story, ALL my books!
YUP, Home for Christmas too! AND if any of YOU need to make your own little farm in the country on the Central Coast of California on 8 flat acres, completely fitted with an overhead irrigation system that comes from a year-round creek running through the property that comes from Lopez Lake and passes through to the sea, let me know. Everything grows there because it is an ancient river bed. Arroyo Grande means Big Ditch, but now it’s a beautiful wine, artichoke, and avocado producing area in its own micro climate . . . where good weather is even better there. There’s a back road through the wine country to SLO, so I never had to get on the freeway to go there; and the house is about 3 miles from Pismo Beach. Trader Joe’s is about a 6 minute car ride away!
OUR CALIFORNIA PARADISE IS ACTUALLY FOR SALE! 😲 TELL EVERYONE! Because I’d like to sell it to someone who will love it as much as I did.💝
This is how the picket fence garden looked when I lived there all the time! It’s still pretty, but not as flowery without me around. I will love seeing it cared for again!
Photo by Christopher Gardner. Aug 2004
Susan Branch at her AG home and garden
This is the house from the road . . . The house itself isn’t great . . . it’s usable, two or three bedrooms, depends on how you look at it, and 2 bathrooms, with its own well. But you’d really want to build a house out back where you could hear the creek running at night ~ that’s what we would have done if I hadn’t gotten so homesick for New England. Very difficult to be in two places at once.
At the end of this hedge that we planted, turn left and you’re at the creek, it winds along that row of trees back there . . . and the property continues a bit on the other side of the creek.
This is the property from the back; the creek is about this same distance behind me . . . A tractor comes with the property!
When we came home from our first garden tour of England we went fairly crazy planning the garden. . .building hedges, a long walk, and garden rooms around the house . . .
I laid it out on paper, and it’s all there along with several out buildings.
Artichokes grow so well there, the best I ever tasted! We grew them behind the garage next to the back wall of it. It was toasty warm and they were ecstatic and prolific as you can see! There are citrus trees, avocado trees, a walnut tree, a plum, fig, apple, and I can’t remember what else.
We planted lots of roses . . . they love this little valley.
Oh yes, we planted tiny Christmas Apple (or Lady apple) trees there too. Because unlike Martha’s Vineyard, things bloom and grow in California year-round. And those that don’t grow well on our Island, like Sweet Peas? One year I had them blooming in California from March to August!!! Oh yeah.🥰
Joe planted corn and all sorts of veggies . . .
The plum tree in springtime ~ it’s a property with SO MUCH potential, everything between farm, winery, estate, wedding venue or garden nursery . . . Although zoning, I have no idea . . .there was a nursery on that road about ½ mile up from us . . . it’s gone now, but there are still wineries and a farmstand. I’m going to love being there for January! I like to walk, 9 times around the property equals 3 miles. It’s not on the market yet … I don’t even know what things are selling for out there, but if you have interest, email [email protected] and we’ll pass your note to our realtor, which we don’t have yet!😜
I received a sample of our new cup for approval! It looks beautiful! I’m so excited to send it to my people. They should be arriving to the new Studio toward the end of January . . . I love it, I know you will too. I drink my Fine Romance private blend Tea (Earl Grey with lavender), with honey and cream, out of it everyday and looking at this new cup, I celebrate how our country got started. And for a moment in the quiet morning, I treasure the peace we have always felt in this country and promise to do everything I can to make more of it.💖
Yes it is! So don’t forget to enjoy the deliciousness of this 
Holiday Egg Nog. I changed it a bit this year. Love milk so much, I reversed the measurements, and made a much lighter version, now it’s ⅔ c. milk over crushed ice, splash of eggnog (too taste), splash of bourbon, shake of nutmeg. I think it’s better! Just plain YUMMY, and easy! And there’s calcium in it! Now light the fire or the candles, make a toast to peace on earth, and let the daydreaming begin.
It snowed on our walk yesterday, blasted us actually . . . it didn’t stay on the ground, but it was the first one, and it came down pretty hard for a while, coming straight at us and sticking to our eyelashes. Of course we loved it. We were listening to 
Dickens Pickwick Papers . . . We decided December goes perfectly with Dickens. It’s a really funny book, written more like short stories (it was originally a magazine serial), but in some places it’s VERY hard to understand. The reader is excellent at accents and voices, but some of ye olde 19th century English accents might as well be Hungarian. We need subtitles which Audible does not provide. Because that would be “a book.” Still it’s fun to be in the wind, in 1829 England, and ALSO, at the same time, in the first snow of the season in 2023. When we get home from Plymouth we’re going to listen to A Christmas Carol. 
I’m decorating again!
Decorating with all the little things that have become our traditions . . . old books, old music, old friends . . . and with all our years together, you know some of them as well as I do!
Using all the things we have in common, like sparkly things . . .
. . . candles, bunting, and angel chimes . . . things found, and things made . . .
Homemade things and memories 💞
And this . . . 💖💖💖 Big Magic!
Yes, I’m getting ready for Christmas and my Girlfriends Gift Exchange. Probably one of my smallest parties, because as we get older, we have SO MANY beloveds, it would take something miraculous to do it with everyone! And my beloveds includes you! My first gift to you all, wasn’t even mine, it was Ivan’s new song! Want to hear it again?
I’ve also planned very tiny gift exchange with just one of you. Problem is, I don’t know WHICH one yet❓❓❓So far, it’s a mystery! Your part is to leave a comment, from which we’ll draw names and whichever name I get, I have a present for. Would you like to know what it is? Okay … It’s not this:
But you know how I always love to decorate with quilts? They are so festive and charming and add a bit of coziness, wherever they are,
with their old-fashioned, handmade, historical nature, . . . I put them in the kitchen (no matter that it doesn’t make sense, they make it cozy and I love the color!), hang them over the backs of chairs . . on quilt racks in the bedrooms, I stack them on the top of the hutch in the living room . . . drape them over sofas . . . . everywhere I can think of . . . because they’re so pretty!
And I’ve painted them into my books …
Since the very beginning . . .
Sharing this thing I love has been easy. I’ve collected vintage quilts pretty much all my life, since my Grandma gave me one my great-Grandma Sarah made and opened my eyes to this gorgeous homemade art of our foremothers, who by the way, could do ANYTHING and wasted nothing . . . and that is why . . . 
Jack and I thought it would be nice to give away one of my beauties to a good home.💝
YOURS! This beautiful quilt is my secret Santa gift to a very special universal YOU 💞 . . . Just leave a comment (at very bottom of this post there are a bunch of tiny words… at the end you’ll see “comments” ~ click there) to be entered in our drawing, and soon this 64″ x 77″ handmade 
quilt (there is nothing standard about the sizes of old quilts!) will be winging its way to the lucky winner. Always remember you have a LOT better chance of your name being drawn here than you do with the Lottery and, creme de la creme, we don’t charge for tickets.💞 Another win-win!😃 I’m sorry, but I already know I won’t be able to answer all your comments this time, as you can guess, but believe me, I will read them and make sure they all get entered.💝 Are you signed up to get my Willard Newsletters mailed to your box? This would be a very good time to make sure. Sign-up is at the top left of this page. I’ll announce the winner in the next Willard!
And so Tra La, another Willard, AND another year under our belts my dears . . Wishing you all, from my heart, the very Merriest of Christmases, Happy Hanukkah, Joyful Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Mele Kalikimaka🌴, Seasons Greetings, and any other thing I might have forgotten,😃 and God Bless us every one.💞
With love from me and Joe! Hoping you 
I’m so glad you mentioned the giveaway on Instagram. I’ve been missing out not reading your blog. What a cozy beautiful inspiring post! You care about what is important to me and I’m so inspired now. I’m off to sign up for your newsletter too.
Nice to see you . . . welcome! You’ll love the kindred spirits that meet here!
You truly make Christmas magical! Thank you
I love this Willard news..I own some of your books..but my prized sb calendar
From idk maybe the 90’s I hang up every year..I read it month by month never tiring of the beautiful art and recipes. Id love to be considered for the drawing.
You have brightened some dark days.fan forever .💜
Thank you for sharing the song The Mistletoe waltz…lovely, just lovely! I always look forward to your posts. Always up lifting. I also decorate with quilts….I love wondering who made the quilt, who were they sewing it for or where it was from. Merry Christmas.
Another beautiful Willard! I just love all your post and photos. I am a caregiver all the way down here in Fernandina Beach, Florida. I share your letters and Willards with my client and she just adores hearing all your news and your beautiful photos. As well as memories of days gone by that she can relate to. Thank you for sharing your life happenings with us. I buy your calendar every year. It is my favourite one in the house. Wishing you a Merry Christmas & a very blessed New Year!
It was fun to see some of your darling family! What cherished memories! Enjoy decorating for the Christmas season. Thank you for the chance to be the keeper of that lovely quilt!
Thank you (to Ivan, Molly, the background singers & you) for the lovely musical Christmas gift. Molly certainly has a beautiful voice!!! I’m green with envy! What a fun Thanksgiving weekend you had with your young family members. Your niece definitely looks “Boss” in that photo (LOL)! Isn’t it fun to see how the individual stories of the younger generations are unfolding? Selling your AG house must be so bittersweet, especially given all the sweat equity you and Joe put into it. It’s a lovely property, and I’m absolutely swooning over that gorgeous garden!! Time to go do some more Christmas decorating. Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year to you Joe and your entire family!
I LOVE that you are giving away one of your quilts! They are such expressions of love and family and creativity, all rolled into one. My grandmothers made quilts ( I have 2 of them) and my mother made them as well. Unfortunately I have not the patience for making them, but I appreciate and love them. Thank you for all your creativity and goodness you share with the world.
Love getting Willard as often as it comes. Thank you Susan for brightening my mail.
Thank you for always adding such charm to each season, Holiday, and event. You are so mindful of details that bring comfort & joy. Always an inspiration to read/ see how that focus adds to life experiences. Your quilt is beautiful and stirs up thoughts of what the maker was witness to in their life experience. I love the saying: ” A blanket warms the body but a quilt warms the soul”. So true!
Thank you for sharing your life – and way of life. My besties and I are longtime followers/fans/stalkers (hee hee) and we love everything “Susan Branch!” Have a wonderful Christmas.
I love all of your blogs. You inspire me to be a better house person. I love all of your decorations. And I love that you are staying in Martha’s Vineyard. Take care and thank you for always writing your blog. The world needs more people like you.
Hoping you and Joe have the most magical Christmas this year. I love all the joy you spread to us Girlfriends and the World…may we too, pass it on.
LOVE your website! It is beautiful and the style is so darling! Have your books and calendars – LOVE! Merry Christmas!
Sue, once again, your Willard was JUST what I needed. That quilt is LOVELY!! I wanted to ask you a question…….I have been looking high and low for sheets. what kind do you buy for your bed(s)? Any brands that you particularly love? There’s so many choices, I am confused!! Merry Christmas dear ones!
~Nora Cavic
I just like the crisp ones that LL Bean sells …
Happy holidays from a 78 year old reading teacher who wouldn’t dream of not having your desk calendar on my home and classroom desks.
Enjoy Wilbur a great deal!
I look forward to your Willards showing up in my inbox. They never fail to bring a smile to my face and this edition was no different. Thank you so much for being the bright spot in my day! It’s been a tough year for me (as I know it has been for many of us) emotionally and mentally but I look for tiny, shining, twinkles of joy and you are most definitely one of them!
I have been struggling this season and boy oh boy!! Did this hit the spot! Even better than my apple cinnamon tea!! Put me right in a holiday feeling mood!! Im digging out some outdoor decor and gonna head out in a bit and see what I can create out there.. The new cookie recipe ingredients are on the counter! Thank you Susan!! Now if you could only invent a time travel thingamabob to let us-just for a little while go back when all was so simple yet so rich!!! Love you!!!
I could not have said it any better, Linda!
Love, love ,love all you do!! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Wonderful post! My goodness I don’t know where you find the time! And the quilt is beautiful! ❤️
Love the quilt and love Willard! Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!🎄
Dear Susan,
Merry Christmas to you and Joe! I helped my grandmother make a quilt when I was around 16 years of age. She made it on a quilt frame my grandfather had fashioned from tree limbs and put together for her. It was all new and amazing to me. I have loved quilts and appreciated the work that goes into them ever since. Best wishes for a blessed and happy holiday season.🎄
Jan
I love “A Fine Romance”. I read it over and over again and each time I feel like I have travelled through England. It is so wonderful. I am gifting a copy to a friend with whom I went to England to work and live after university many years ago. I know she will love it too as it speaks to our hearts.💕
Thank you, Susan, for once again infusing my life with delight and appreciation for life’s endless gifts! And what a treat that Christmas song is!! I just love it. Happy holidays to you and your beloveds.
Dear Susan,
As always, your Willards are so very uplifting and warm. Without family near or coming for Thanksgiving or Christmas I TREASURE seeing what others are doing with so much love, care, and connection. Thank you with all of my heart!
Also a Grandma and soon to be a Great!
Pearl Maxner
I’m always happy to see a post from you. You write about ordinary things in such a magical way that it seems as if all’s right with the world!
I made my first quilt in high school. Quilting is on my to do list as soon as I retire!
I made your stuffing at Thanksgiving again this year, everyone loves it! I may make it again at Christmas. That gorgeous quilt would look beautiful on the back of my white sofa at Christmas!
As always, I enjoy reading your posts and being a part of your family, if only in spirit. I’ve enjoyed traveling with you and Joe and sharing the holidays, if only by my laptop! Merry Christmas to you and Joe!
Always love opening up the Willard posts. Feels like a letter from home. Have a Merry Christmas!
Always love opening up the Willard posts. Feels like a letter from home. Have a Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much, Susan, for YEARS & YEARS of joy from you to me! I started following & loving you & your art WAY back when you were doing illustrations of recipes for Country Living magazine. You make me happy.
As always, your Willard epistle has MADE the holiday! Now, wouldn’t that precious quilt look exquisite when added to the back of our creamy white sofa? Thanks so much for sharing,
<3
Wonderful to receive this Willard and to share the holidays with you. My love for quilts started when each of my dolls had a homemade quilt stitched lovingly by mother with leftover material from the hand made clothes she made me! I hang my quilts on the wall, drape them over furniture and fold them to adorn a tall old ladder. I’d be honored to add this beauty to my collection
I really enjoyed this Willard. Great to see everyone enjoying themselves at Thanksgiving. What a wonderful new song too.
I know it’s going to be a good day when I see an email announcing a new Willard from you. Thanks for sharing everything. We are heading to the west coast, Portland, OR, also but for Christmas with kids and grandkids. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I adore old quilts!!
When I was a child, my brother’s and I played in my grandmother’s large storage closet. She would tell us that we better not bother her quilt while we were in there. She said it every time, do I came to realize that her quilt meant a great deal to her and it planted a seed inside of me to love quilts and treat them with respect!😊
Another beautiful post—thank you so very much! Glad your Happy Pills are helping to smooth things out. (I know mine sure do.) Happy Holidays to you, Joe, and Jack.
Merry Christmas to you and Joe! Thank you for all your wonderful posts and this lovely Willard. Enjoy your holidays. Cindy
Your home must be such a “happy place” to all who journey there. I loved all the photos of the getting ready process for your Thanksgiving with the family. I don’t have a lot of quilts but I do have some lovely older plaid wool blankets that are calling to me from the closet. Time to get them out and snuggle in for winter!
I so enjoy reading each new Willard. I’ve been using your cookbooks since I was in my 20’s (a LONG time ago) and feel fun affinity with you and your art – whether it be painting, writing, decorating or cooking.
I printed your Grandmother’s Thanksgiving Prayer this year to share with my family. It is so sweet and hits the right note. As a Grandmother now, I get to play that role with my daughters and their children!
Merry Christimas.
It’s been a while since I sat down and read a Willard and played the musica and just took my time – from “cover to cover”! What a relaxing and joyous time! Made me think about my Thanksgiving and my people around the table. I have my grandma’s quilt – though hers was made of polyester… and a beautiful old quilt the older ladies at my dad’s first pastorate made for my mom. She was going to throw it away because it was getting old and threadbare, but I wouldn’t let her!
It’s going to be my first Christmas without my parents… I’m now an orphan. How strange. All the more reason to brave the weather and head north to spend Christmas with the kiddos in Vermont. Have a very Merry Christmas, Susan.
I loved reading about Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas. I wish you a lovely Christmas and hope my name gets drawn for the cozy quilt
Thank you for sharing your magical life with us! I love that you highlight all the happiness in homemade treasures, friends and family. Thank you for reminding us of the things we can be grateful for all around us! Quilts are one of those lovely gifts made with love that continues to give as each generation enjoys them. Blessed holidays to you and Joe ❤️
Thank-you for this cozy blog post! I too love old quilts. There was so much creativity put into each one!
I love your sweet posts and always look forward to reading them. May you have a great Christmas and the joy of family and friends.
Such a beautiful quilt! So generous of you to give it away!
I love that you mentioned Durango! My maternal grandparents graduated from Durango High School in 1938, and my mother was born there in 1939. I have many fond memories of visiting family there. I recently inherited a crazy quilt made by my great great grandmother, not far from Durango. It’s not as pretty as your quilts, but excellent workmanship.
What a lovely Willard, Susan. I loved seeing your family and your Thanksgiving celebration…it looked so cozy.
Thanks for the chance to win a lovely quilt from your collection.
I am sending Christmas love to you and Joe and all those you hold dear. Enjoy your January in California.
My first time reading your Blog! What a treat. Your words, of course, the photos and cooking…thank you. And the quilt😍
Merry Christmas, Sue! I love old quilts as well! A pink and brown one my great grandma made was always on my bed as a child and now it’s on my four year old daughter’s bed keeping her warm and loved! I hope one day to learn to sew so I can make quilts for my loved ones! Sending you love and joy!
Jingle, Jingle. Merry Christmas to all!!
Mistletoe Waltz was so beautiful !! I kept listening and listening. I certainly could invision the lovely piece in a Jane Austen period movie. And after winning your gorgeous warm quilt I will wrap it around me dreaming of the workers hands stitching whilst listening to the Mistletoe Waltz ! Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you and Joe.
Merry Christmas Susan, Joe & Jack! I love the quilt you are giving away. I live in Florida and decorate my house with many homey things such as quilts, blue & white dishes, pitchers of flowers, cross stitch & anything cozy. People love my house & always ask where I am from because I do not decorate in the Floridian style! I love seeing pictures of your home. It’s so welcoming & pretty. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. Sandy
Thanks for the wonderful Willard! Thanks for the fun visit with your family! I know it was memorable Thanksgiving for you and Joe. Your home is so warm and welcoming. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much for being a bright beautiful light in our world! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year
Your Willard was the perfect end to my busy day….I’m loving looking out the window to see the bare trees framed by a beautiful wintery (not offically winter yet) sky. One of my favorite things to do at dusk…..you would love it!
Has everyone seen the BBC program Roald and Beatrix? Our PBS station is running it! (Based on an unbelievably TRUE story.) Best Christmas surprise this year.
Bless you, Susan, for being a kindred spirit to thousands of your followers who value the homey virtues of prioritizing fellowship with loved ones, sharing of favorite foods, creating and cherishing homemade goods, and taking the time to find beauty everywhere. These virtues may not be fashionable, but they are cherished in the hearts, souls, and minds of those who reflect and observe. May you savor a Joyous Merry Christmas!
Oh what Joy,
to see such a new Toy,
as a Beautiful Quilt on Christmas Morn…..
I wrote that tiny poem for you for Christmas. Hugs to Joe & Jack too!
Wouldn’t it be lovely to be snuggled by the fire with a Susan Branch Belonging…..I can just see myself telling this story to my family and friends……
It should start by saying, “you know how I bought you all that Cookbook Binder from Susan Branch I put my Mom’s Recipes in for Christmas last year,” Well….
The Mistletoe Waltz was lovely!! Please tell Ivan he has written a new classic!! It was nice to see your family with you during Thanksgiving. I could feel the warmth and love from the pictures. Wishing you and Joe all the best and brightest this Holiday season.
Beautiful quilt❣️thanks for your happy blog 😊🐾
The best Christmas letter is even better with a giveaway. Merry Christmas!
That quilt is beautiful.. would love to be entered for the drawing! And thank you!
Love this blog, i have missed you. I would love to win but if i don’t i will be so happy for whoever does win. Merry Christmas to you and Joe and best wishes for the New Year.
Merry Christmas, Susan! hope you and Joe have a wonderful season on the island. have always treasured looking at your quilts and can only imagine all the history behind them — the stories they could tell! thank you for sharing your family Thanksgiving – holidays are best when spent with family – near or far, and our loved ones. So happy to get that Willard email! 🙂 take good care … and hope Jack has a good season too – bird watching?! we here up in Maine have noticed an extreme lack of them lately? Jacqueline
Each of your blog posts is such a delight!
What a lovely read as I am sitting outside on a pretty California day! And what a special Thanksgiving with your extended family! Thanks for sharing with us!💕💕
Just love that quilt. Merry Christmas!!
Love, love, love your beautiful words and pictures. Merry Christmas!
Susan, you made lots of good memories for lots of people this Thanksgiving! That is so special. Thanks for sharing with us all. Merry, merry Christmas to you and Joe!
So grateful for this gift of the season.I can’t believe how grown up the kids are. I don’t know if any one else does this but I study each photo for all the tiny details. Really love your wand and Joe’s silver spoons.Merry Christmas to everyone. Xoxoo
Oh wow! Wouldn’t it be amazing to receive that gift! I have always loved your beautiful artwork and stories and have many of your books ❤️
The song is great!! Have a wonderful holiday.
Your home and decor are so charming and welcoming! And Joe’s beret is adorable!! Not everyone can wear one as well as he does! And your quilts are beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
A very Merry Christmas from your old stomping ground San Louis Obispo. I live in Cayucos. 🎄🌊❤️🐚💚⭐️ Tere
I loved this blog so much! I have missed you since your Twitter comments went to “X” and I am not a member of that. You make me happy reading all you write Thank you, Susan, for making this world a better place. You have certainly touched and influenced my life..
Thank you for the beautiful and inspiring post! I enjoyed reading about your family Thanksgiving. I also very much enjoyed and appreciated the beautiful song that you shared. From one vocalist to another, Molly, you were wonderful!
Happy Holidays to you and Joe. May you both have a safe trip to California. Good luck with all you have to do. Thank you for your lovely words, they always bring a smile to my face and warm my heart. ❤️🎁🎄 Best wishes, Sandy
Hi Susan,
Just wanted to wish you and Joe a Merry Christmas and Happy and healthy New Year! Please enter me in the drawing for the beautiful quilt!
Lisa
Thank you for the beautiful music!🎄 What a lovely family you have – I’m glad you’re passing down the family history. It’s important and the time to do it is now, while they’re still young and can remember everything! Merry Christmas from Paso Robles🎄🎄🎄!
Now that was fun, hearing a brand new Christmas song! As always, this edition of “Willard” was a bright spot in my day. I think we’re all a little wrapped up (no pun intended) in Christmas preparations, and hearing from you is the best way to put the world aside for a while and just relax. I hope you and Joe and Jack have a wonderful Christmas! And to all the girlfriends out there, a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2024. May it be a good year for all of us!
Susan, thank you so much for this wonderful Willard! My great grandmother, Bessie Burch, hand quilted until she passed at age 99. Your beautiful quilts remind me of her. Beautiful memories… such a precious gift. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Dear Susan,
I have been an admirer of yours since 1986, as a young 17 year old, who came across your Heart of the Home book at a home I was babysitting at. Since that time I have purchased every single one of your books, have made dozens of your recipes, and have embraced your “domesticity” philosophy in full force. There is nothing better than snuggling in a handmade quilt with a hot cuppa, a sweet treat and a Susan Branch hardcover book or reading your blog and Willard updates! Thank you for sharing your world with us. It brings peace, kindness and encouragement and love to so many! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Happy Life! That’s what I hear Kristen! ❌⭕️
Happy Life indeed!! XO 🙂
thank you for sharing your Thanksgiving with us. Looks like a lovely time with family. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
So love your posts, can’t wait until the next Willard!
What a fun thanksgiving for you all.
I love your Christmas stockings. Merry Christmas!
Thank you for your inspiration for all of these years! All three of my children have your baby books – they are now 30, 28 and 23! We have all of your cookbooks with the Christmas cookbook the most loved – old dollops of dough on the Annie’s Sugar cookies page from all of the cookie exchanges over the years. I would treasure a quilt from your home to ours!
Oh Susan, sign me up for a drawing for that butter! It’s the best. We used to get it at Whole Foods but they don’t carry it anymore. I cherish the quilt that I received in the very first Girlfriend Giveaway so I know how much this will mean for the lucky winner of this beautiful quilt. Just wanted to pop in and say hello. You have great taste in quilts and butter!
I remember Cindy! I’m so glad you won that, I still have your picture of it on your bed! Gorgeous!💖
Merry Christmas to you and Joe, and to Jack! Love how he photo bombed your selfie! So perfect!
Such a beautiful Willard. Will be reading it more than once, for sure. 🙂 ….. Like I do with all of your posts.
Safe travels. xo
What a wonderful gesture to share such a beloved quilt with one of us! I have loved your art and books for decades, and the words written in your blog just lighten my soul. Thanks for being a shining bright light in a heavy and, at times, dark world. The magic you share illuminates every corner and leaves each of us the better because of it. I wish for you the very Merriest of Christmases and all the best in the New Year!
Dear Susan, I have loved every word of this post. That is not unusual, but this post speaks to me like none other. I read your little Christmas book the other day – from start to finish in one evening! It brings back memories of Christmas when I was growing up in Northern California. And, the quilts! How I love anything made many years ago. I have a quilt that was given to my parents when they married in the 1940’s. It is not in very good shape, but I love it. Thanksgiving was just the two of us this year, as our adult kids had their own plans. It was a perfect day and we ate a traditional dinner on china that we inherited. Precious memories at our table. May your Christmas holiday be merry and bright! Thank you again for making my day.
What a wonderful Willard. I recently reconnected with cousins and some young cousins met for the first time. Now I know a cousin in Iceland who just had her second baby. The joy of it all🥰
Love your blog with all the lovely pictures, quotes and sketches. I also like crispy sheets, which are hard to find. Thanks for mentioning LL Bean. Wishing you and yours a very Blessed Christmas filled with love, joy and peace.
Thank you for the song. It was wonderful. I wish my house resembled yours! During the pandemic I lost control of my senses and have collected too much fabric! But I enjoy thinking about what I would love to make “someday!” I need to hang my Trim A Tall Tree Christmas quilt before Christmas is gone. Thanks for the uplifting Willard and beautiful pics. Best wishes on selling your California home. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Reading your Dec Williard is a Joy, as always, like welcoming an old friend into my cozy living room. The Mistletoe song is so pretty and perfect to dance,holding a glass of eggnog. Owning one of your amazing sewing creations ,like your previous quilt, it would hang dearly and proudly at the foot of my bed. It would be a previous reminder how delicate life can be, and we carefully guard each stitch of life ,like that quilt…hold it dear to our heart each day. See you and your husband in 2024.
Look forward to your Willards! With so much strife in the news it’s so important to take the time for all the wonderful little things in life.
Merry Christmas to you and Joe and thank you so much for doing this quilt gift; someone will be so blessed to have the joy of loving your sweet quilt. I have enjoyed all your Willards over the years — thank you!
What a wonderful post. I enjoyed reading and listening to the new song. Have a Merry Christmas! 🎄
It really is generous of you to share so much with all of us! And it takes a lot of energy to stay connected to us the way you do~ bless you for reaching out and inviting us into your little corner of the world. You’ve been a wonderful inspiration for me for many years now in the area of friendships, creating, homemaking and self-care. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Just for being YOU and letting your light shine.
Wishing you and Joe a wonderful Christmastime and a Happy, healthy New Year!
Love ya xoxo
Oh ~ and thank you for the chance to win the lovely quilt. It would be cherished in my 1856 home.
Quilts! The stories they tell… Would love to have one…
Merry Christmas to all! And peace…
I love reading Willard. You always have wonderful stories and beautiful photos. That sure is one beautiful turkey! I’m in on the quilt contest. Would love to have a quilt. Thanks for mentioning it on Instagram 🙂
I am so grateful for all of the wonderful things you bring to our lives! Books, art, recipes, your blog, your inspiration, sharing your lives with us and your lovely home.
Merry Christmas and continuted blessings to you and yours in the new year!
I love the vintage quilts. You are truly an artist in displaying them. Love it!
Thank you for a chance to win a lovely quilt!
I had a quilt that my grandmother made for my parents as a wedding gift. It was lovingly used by my parents and, at one time or another, by each of the five of us kids over the years leaving it in very bad shape. Parts were completely worn through and falling apart. I was able to save eight of the blocks and have made them into table mats that I will give as Christmas gifts this year. I am currently working on the last one.
Best wishes to you & Joe for a happy holiday!
Thank you for your Willards what a gift of creativity and everything else! I live vicariously through you…so many memories. I summered on The vineyard at my grandmother’s home and “little house” on Quitsa Pond.
I worked at the Homeport in Menensha and my brother worked at Curly’s gas station down at the dock in the 70s! I have only been back years ago for my honeymoon in 1984 and to visit my grandmother’s grave in the 90s that use to be right next to John Belusi’s (I heard they moved it because of all the memorabilia left.) I loved your books and you helped me get through my divorce with the Fairy Tale Girl only you were smarter and bought a cottage on the Vineyard, Thank you for your cookbooks, calendars and tea cups…. Using the Merry Christmas cup now. Well I have never written anything like this before I could go on and on couldn’t believe when your first cookbook came out years ago what joy nor have I ever tried to win anything let alone a quilt but thank you for everything and just maybe I will set foot on the beloved Vineyard again! Until then Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and Joe, can,t wait for the two pre-ordered tea cups, my 89 year old mother loved the queen,
All lovely to hear.💖 Thank you for blessing us . . .
Susan, YOU are the perfect “medicine” for living a calm, worry-free life! Thank you for sharing so freely, honestly, and warmly. As for the quilt giveaway, I wish you could offer a hairband-catching clone of Jack to go with it; he is absolutely ADORABLE!
Happiest of Holidays are wished for you and Joe! Such a wonderful Willard, chock a block full of happiness, joy, and inspiration. Thank you for taking time out of your busy holiday season to think of us. I decorated early for Christmas. I also finished shopping and wrapping for the Fab 5, my little grandchildren, Nora, Hadley, Lyla, Tori and Tucker. We will all be together for the holidays, so very blessed. We had a dinner party for wonderful friends that worked with my husband at Johnson and Wales University for over 40 years! We wanted to start the Christmas Season off with a bang. Was I intimidated cooking for four Chef instructors? You betcha! Yet my recipe was easy, one part serve up some sparkling Christmas cheer, 2nd part, fill them with lots of yummy not fancy food, Christmas decorations and music. End it with a delicious old recipe Bacardi Rum Cake. I had your Christmas book on display in the kitchen. You, my dear, have been such an inspiration for many years. Merry Christmas.