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 
Susan, after years of following all that you do, I finally figured out how to comment.
Merry Christmas, and thank you for all the joy you bring to our lives.
Welcome to the neighborhood!!🤗
Wishing the merriest of Christmasses to you, dear Susan, all those you love and all who love you! Did I steal that phrase from you? It’s entirely possible. Thank you so very much for another Willard that I, and many others, will read and re-read….it makes our day! I appreciate all the work it takes to put your wonderful Willards together. Love you to bits!
Happy Holidays, Susan! Your Willards never cease to bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart. My husband and I moved from New Orleans, LA to Santa Monica, CA this year. We’re both excited to see family and friends back home for Christmas, and this Williard was a wonderful reminder of how precious family and the memories we make with them truly are! As always, thank you for sharing your talent, your gratitude, and your love with us!
Always a delight to read your Willard’s. And I adore all the beautiful pictures. We stayed overnight on Martha’s Vineyard two years ago during our New England vacation because I wanted to see this charming place you share with us. I had tickets to see you in Ohio on your book tour but we had an unexpected event which prevented us from attending. Oh how I wish I could have gone. I love your illustrations and look forward to all of your calendars each year. Wishing you a joyous holiday season.
So wonderful for you to share your special family memories along with your home and art!! Love “The Mistletoe Waltz”! Best of luck with your California property. The pictures are gorgeous and I’m sure you will find the right buyers.
Merry Christmas from Virginia
Dear Susan,
Thank you for the pictures of your Life. I’s a Joy to read and feel your outreach to us.
I would like to be entered into the chance of having the lovely quilt. I like the pin wheels!
Kind regards,
Ethel
It would be an honor to be gifted one of your quilts! Like many, I drop everything to read the latest Willard. 🤩
PS I still have a copy of your original posting of your Train travel 101 so long ago. I recently rediscovered it! 😉
Dear Susan, this blog post made me feel quite misty and sentimental in the best way. Thank you for sharing the beauty and coziness of your life with us. ❤️
Wishing you, Joe, and Jack a wonderful Christmas and happy new year. xoxo
Merry Christmas to your family, love seeing your holiday decorations each year. just had our girlfriends gift exchange, so much handmade goodness in one place , each year gets better, and this was our 20th year.
Dear Susan,
Your blog is a feast for the eyes and a balm to my heart. Thank you!
Dear Susan,
Your blog is a feast for the eyes and a balm to my heart. Thank you!
Merry Christmas! It’s the most wonderful time of the year….may your heart and home be filled with the joy of the Advent of our Savior and the Hope of His return.
Merry Christmas to you and Joe and your island life! I just turned 80 Dec. 6th and agreed to marry my best friend! He and I have been friends since third grade together, and have both buried spouses we’ve cherished. Your closing quote is perfect for us. “…impossible…risky…pointless. Let’s do it anyway, says the heart!” Blessings to you and keep on gifting us with your art and writing!
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE COMMENTS IS WONDERFUL . . . 💞💞💞💞 IT’S SO HARD NOT TO REPLY TO ALL OF THEM! But here YOU are getting married, throwing caution to the wind, all for LOVE.💘 Just so wonderful and touching and perfect. Thank you for sharing! Happy wedding! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Sweetest thing I’ve read today! Blessings on your marriage. May you both have a lifetime of happiness. 💕❤️💕
I so look forward to your Willards! Reading them is like a breath of fresh air—always so joyful and uplifting! Thanks for being you and sharing yourself with all of us! Merry Christmas!
It’s always so delightful to hear from you Susan. Wow! My head is spinning with all the news! So lovely to see your family with you at Thanksgiving. Exciting and BIG news about your sale of the Arroyo Grande property. Coincidentally, I have good friends who just moved from Anaheim to Arroyo and love it there. I hope to visit them eventually. I have had a year of hibernation, locally, though in contact with many friends across the country. Still getting my feet on the ground, but doing better, and grateful for my firefighter friends who rescued Gene so many times, before he went to heaven, and now are there for me. I’m so blessed! I just got my house completely decorated for Christmas!! First time in 3 years, so I’m making progress. I have lots and lots of lights! The small fairy lights! Just have to have it magical this year, and it is!! Also just this week I dug out my writing and was inspired by a new Christmas song, too. I don’t know if you know of the Kelce brothers who play with the NFL (who doesn’t!) One of them, of course, as the whole world knows, is dating Taylor Swift!!) Well, Jason wrote a song that is poignant and haunting with meaning about Santa’s Night — Christmas Eve, flying across the world in his sleigh, from Santa’s point of view. I’ve never heard anything like it!! Here it is if you want to listen: youtube.com/watch?v=zgBbRW4LhgM I can’t stop listening and it is awakening all of the wonder, awe, mystery, and myth that I was writing about in my stories with Gene. I got out a Christmas story about a burro who refuses to help Santa deliver toys in a (make belief) European type village, but then magical things happen and he changes his mind and he finds that giving to others is what brings joy. It’s the first time I looked at the story since 2017. So who knows. I’ve had some false starts, but not giving up. Maybe 2024 will be the year. At any rate, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the tremendous inspiration you have given me with your enchanting and homey drawings and descriptions of your life and travel. God bless you and Joe, and may this be your best Christmas yet, and your wonderful month of January in good ole California!! Love, Jane xoxo
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
What a gorgeous CA home! I can just smell the fragrant flowers and fruit in the air! Merry Christmas and hope you and Joe have a wonderful time celebrating! I loved the photos of your family and look forward to more in January.
Such a lovely song and beautiful voices! Thank you for sharing.
My little family got together to surprise me for my 70th birthday in October. We (2 brothers)were all born in October. We haven’t been together in 2 years.
Happy Holidays to all💖
It has been blustery this past week on the Cape so I spent a few hours in front of the fireplace writing out Christmas cards and planning for the holiday…all that was missing was a comfy quilt😉 How nice it was to read your always uplifting Willard and know that all is well in MY world if not THE world. That is what you have taught me over the years…to be happy making the world a better place for my loved ones and hope, like the pebble skipping across the pond, it radiates outwards and touches others. May you and Joe, Jack and your family savor another wonderful Christmas together and best wishes for a healthy(-ier), happy(-ier) 2024!
Thank you for sharing your friends song. It was lovely. I will be listening to Charles Dickens this month as well and like to think of all the kindred spirits joining us. As always, thank you for another year of spreading kindness and light in a world that needs each of us to share as much love and joy as we can. Have a wonderful holiday season.Rebecca Wright
Absolutely wonderful memories–old and new. Thank you for the inspiration (and permission for me to make my favorite cookies!).
Another beautiful and inspiring Willard! Thank you for all the love you pour on us. And, I just read David Brooks’ new book, too – what a wonderful book.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Merry Christmas Susan, Joe, Jack and to all the Girlfriends across the lands and seas! What a beautiful song your friend Ivan did! Wow! Please thank him for sharing. I enjoyed seeing the time spent with your family over Thanksgiving. precious. I’ll enjoy taking another train ride to CA in January with you. Your sweet home in CA will get scooped up as it is so gorgeous! That lemon tree! Happy holidays! Bless you now and always~
Susan Branch! I have loved your books and you forever! I will be 70 on Christmas Eve and all of your Christmas books are my favorites! My mom who is 87 has gotten me every single one through the years! She loves everything Susan Branch too! She is who introduced me to your lovely books! I get her your calendar every year!💕I grew up in Southern California and moved to Arkansas in 1978. I divorced and found me a handsome country boy! I credit you for my love for color, red the most! I would love one of your beautiful quilts to add to my collection! Have a lovely trip to California, I’ll probably be heading there in the spring to visit my parents and sisters!💕
It was an absolute joy to see your “Holiday” Willard.
Always such a pleasure to read.
Everyday spent with family and friends is a true treasure
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year.
Can’t wait to hear all about your upcoming adventure
“All Aboard” ❤️
I am going to bake cookies just as you directed here. What a wonderful reunion of family you had, how extra special. My small family was able to gather most of us together at the Cape for Turkey Day. It was terrific to see three generations interacting together. Memories were made. Merry Christmas and here’s to a healthy and happy new year!
Thanks for the chance to win and cherish your beautiful quilt! Merry Christmas!
Your Thanksgiving and coming Christmas look fantastic! Your California property is incredible. My husband is a huge gardener here in Las Vegas and that takes some doing! We are from California though, and love it as well as its climate! All the best to you and merry Christmas to you and Joe!
Another beautiful post Susan. May you and Joe have the merriest of Chrustmases. Youbtwo know how to enjoy life!
I’m so happy I found you! You are a bringer of light and beauty. I enjoy the Willard and ‘A Fine Romance’ was a real treat and #goals! Merry Christmas Susan and Joe.
Happy holidays! I do enjoy your Willards and your books. Thank you for sharing your positivity and hope with us all
Susan,
Thanks for such a newsy Willard on this cold December day in NC. I always look forward to them and their arrival is a great gift to the soul. Were those quilts made from your line of fabrics? They are lovely, for certain. Have a grand journey and enjoy yourselves in CA. I’ll tell my former student who lives near San Diego about your wish to sell. She is looking for a mini farm and perhaps this is it!
Solstice Blessings to you and yours, Sue. Your newsletters always touch my heart. I appreciate you.
What a newsy newsletter! I was wondering what happened to you, but you covered Thanksgiving, and Christmas (sort of). I am just now getting to your Willard. It’s been a busy fall. I love all the news, your family, and everything in between. I hope you find a good buyer for your California property. I would love it, but I grew up in Minnesota, I would miss the changing seasons terribly. Thanks for keeping us informed on your life. If we don’t hear from you before. have a VERY MERRY Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas to you and Joe.i have loved all of your blogs this year. I love the new Christmas song. THANKS so much for sharing it with us.Peace and blessings for 2024.
Bless your generous, large, open, and loving heart. You put so much joy into these Willards, as well as all your art. Hope you have a warm and cozy Christmas, full of small moments to remember and big dreams to share. 💜
Merry Christmas to you and Joe.i have loved all of your blogs this year. I love the new Christmas song. THANKS so much for sharing it with us.Peace and blessings for 2024.
Thanks for the family focused festive Willard! Would love to be in the running for a luv-ly quilt! It gets cold in Minnesota, too. ❄️
Happy Holidays, everyone! Thank you, Susan — I always savor your blogs!
I am going to try the eggnog. I have a very labor intensive complicated recipe that keeps me from making it but once a year but this one definitely sounds doable! Thank you. ❤️
Susan,
I enjoyed your post as always. Love that you love your family as I love mine. Here in Texas we are now seeing our version of fall color (lovely but not near so as New England), along with the Christmas decorations.
And I love quilts! That is a LeMoyne Star quilt and it is a beauty. It is not a popular pattern these days as it is a little difficult to make. But oh, it’s so worth it. Thank you for being willing to part with it. (I hope you draw my name.)
Merry Christmas to you and Joe and Jack.
Susan, I love when a new Willard arrives! When I finish reading it, I spend the rest of the evening on your blog reading old posts, exploring your online store, seeing what recipes are featured now, etc. “Robin in New Jersey” said you are a “national treasure”. I agree!
Hi Susan,
What a lovely family you have! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Thank you for sharing your family’s heirloom stuffing recipe. Nice to see Jack enjoying himself as well.
Lovely to read through this with my cup of tea! Wouldn’t it be even better under a cozy quilt?!?😉. Love dreaming about the AG house. We love the Central Coast, and our daughter and son-in-law close by in Santa Barbara. 💕
Beautiful family! Beautiful turkey! Beautiful California property! And oh so handsome Jack! Merry Christmas Susan! Thank you for all the beauty you share and create!!
Oh my goodness – OH MY GOODNESS – Secret Santa? Quilt? Be still my heart! YOU are such a precious treasure Susan. I sure LOVE your Willard’s. I still have all the ones you mailed out (back in the “olden” days)! Hahaha.
Wishing you, Joe and Jack a VERY happy holiday and a healthy, blessed New Year ♥️🏠‼️
I love Willards and I love quilts! Merry Christmas!! 🙂
That farm… how special is that? Merry Christmas y’all from Texas!
I just finished reading ‘A Fine Romance’ for the nth time- and got to follow it up with your newsy ‘Willard’! Perfect timing.
My father’s family is from SLO, so I especially loved to read about and look at the pictures of the Arroyo Grande place.
Have a very Merry Christmas.
As a quilter–and a quilter’s daughter and granddaughter–I can appreciate the love that went into the creation of this quilt. I hope that someday someone will look at one of my old quilts and think it is worthy of passing on rather than using as a blanket to cover furniture they are moving (which I have seen, to my horror!).
Thanks for the visit with your delightful family over the Thanksgiving holiday. They are all so charming and lovely. I am also in love with those wonderful quilts to which I would give an honored home. I should think the special home in California would be snapped up quickly. It would make some lucky people a treasured homestead.
I loved reading this beautiful uplifting Willard and thank you for sharing your family Thanksgiving with us. Such a warm and lovely post with the music and all the happy smiling faces and the other wonderful things to read about. The quilt is gorgeous and I would cherish it always if I received this secret Santa gift! A very Merry Christmas to you and Joe and the happiest of New Years!
Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year Susan and Joe!
I just watched a movie about Charles Dickens and how we’ve come to celebrate Christmas. The movie is called “The Man Who Invented Christmas” with Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce.
I saw it on Amazon prime.
I’m also listening to “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol” thru the free online course at Hillsdale College. It’s six sections.
Thank you for the wonderful Willard!
I always read it several times so I don’t miss anything.
Are you coming up to Northern CA? Would love to see you again.
(Even if it was only briefly at the Rakeshaw book signing.)
Thank you for being you Susan. ❤️
Susan, thank you for the lovely Willard. You are so right family is soo important. Two of our girls and their families moved to Idaho 2 1/2 years ago. It is hard not having them close and seeing the grandkids up there grow. We will be going up for Christmas this year. We hope you and Joe have a Beautiful Christmas and Wonderful New Year. Karen McKown
So nice to read your news. Beautiful quilt. Lots of snow here in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. A quilt would be wonderful.🇨🇦
Good Evening, Susan, Joe and Jack!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!
I so enjoyed your beautiful post sharing your warm and happy Thanksgiving holiday with us. You are so very blessed to have such a lovely family!
How excited you must be to make a trip to California in January! Your property looks so beautiful. You shouldn’t have any trouble selling it. I’m sure you’ll find the right people!
I pre-ordered your new mugs and look forward to receiving them sometime in the beginning of the new year. I am now enjoying the beautiful Santa mug I bought from you several years ago.
Thank you so very much for all the joy you bring to me and many others. God Bless you and yours!
With Love,
Janice Rivenburg
Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year to you and Joe and Jack!! Jack is so adorable. I love reading your Christmas book each year as it brings back so many happy memories of growing up in Reseda. How fortunate we were to grow up when and how we did with such loving parents. Thank you for those great memories.
Dear Susan,
What a wonderful long newsy, chatty Willard. Loved every word and image. The Mistletoe Waltz is beautiful. I hope your California home goes to someone who will love it and care for it as you have. Wishing you and Joe a very Merry Christmas, and a lovely run up of preparation and anticipation to the big day.
I love your references to Gladys Taber. I discovered her several years ago and have read all of her books. Your mentions of her bring back delightful memories from her wonderful books. Also, your quilts are beautiful! Are you sure Jack is willing to part with the one he is sitting on?
I love your references to Gladys Taber. I discovered her several years ago and have read all of her books. Your mentions of her bring back delightful memories from her wonderful books. Also, your quilts are beautiful! Are you sure Jack is willing to part with the one he is sitting on?
Wishing you a most Happy Christmas and exciting new year.
Love from Long Beach, CA and Mary
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe. Thank you for bring some much needed holiday cheer. Have a safe trip to California.
Merry Christmas♥️
Merry Christmas to both of you! Thank you for sharing this WONDER-FULL song and your DELIGHT-FULL enthusiasm about it! 💖💖💖 What a treasure your California home is. The person who gets to live there next surely will come in a magical way! Always so fun to share the holidays with you and your family. Jack is a very lucky cat and you are a very lucky Mom of Jack! ❤️❤️❤️ Recently, when connecting with another beloved artist’s website, I slipped into an intuitive flash and saw a connection of lighthouses online. Ports in the world to flow into and fill up on light. I saw a globe and streams of light going around it wrapping the earth in heart strings. Thank you for being a lighthouse… sharing your heart’s very special luminosity. Safe travels in January! Merry Christmas again and Happy New Year! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Ohhhhhh, I love that… so beautiful Tina!
Hi Susan – What a delicious post! Beautiful family, beautiful pictures & lovely memories. My favorite picture, though, was the one of the stairs with all of Jack’s hair ties! As one who worships cats, it touched my heart.
Happy Holidays to YOU, Joe & Jack. xo
Whew! That was a long one, but loved it all! You have a little “butterfly” table (that’s what I call it”) in one of your bedrooms that is like one I have which was a wedding gift from my sister 65 years ago. My household furnishings have dwindled now that I live alone, but I still treasure that little table.🥰. Merry Christmas, Susan and Joe! 🎄🎄 Enjoy your trip to California in January.
Warmest wishes,
Nancy (from Bakersfield)
Dear Susan, as always I come away feeling uplifted. Thank you so much for your caring and sharing. Love your art work, recipes, your camera pics and Jack! Know how hard it is to sell, you put your heart in to a home and property. The many things planted and your memories you leave behind will be for the others coming to bring new memories! Just as you said about your home. We started with bare land. Planted an orchard, etc. We left a history and list for the new owners. We even planted a Sugar Maple! It is over 40 years old now! Blessings to you and Joe. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas to the three of you!
Thank you for the joyous gift of another Willard – it always brightens my day to find you in my inbox, and makes me appreciate all the lovely little moments of each day.
Jackie Bacher-Bartulevicius
Susan wishing you and yours a beautiful holiday season. Thank you for reminding us of what truly is important in life!
Thank you so much for another great Willard! One of the many things in it that I like is the family history aspect of it. I hope you and Joe will make more wonderful memories this Christmas seasons. Have a blessed one from Memarge:)
Isn’t Taylor Swift the 2023 Person of the Year?
oops. What did I say? Will fix that! Thank you!
Thank you for your posts – they give some peace to my soul.
Now that was the BEST newsletter ever! Merry Christmas to you both and enjoy your trip to see your family.
P.S. ❤️ The new recording. Congrats to your friend.
Reading this was such a gift.Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and your sweet household.
Merry Christmas and Happiness in the New Year! Thank you so much for the joy you spread and reminding me of simple joys and truely important moments.
I always enjoy reading your Willard. Merry Christmas to you and your Family. Sold your books when I had a gift shop a few years ago.
Reading your Willard is always the highlight of my day. Your words always bring so much JOY. Merriest of Christmases and blessings to you and yours in the New Year.
I check every day for your new post and yesterday was the day! I actually fell asleep last night before I could finish it. Anyway, I loved seeing all of your family for Thanksgiving! I literally started to cry when you showed them leaving 🙁 I will be going to England for Christmas this year. I have never been to Europe, but have been looking forward to going ever since I read A Fine Romance (of course I’ve read it several times)! We will be in the Coltswolds for Christmas and then to London for the second have of the week. I can’t wait. I wish you and Joe the best for the Holidays and for your time in California. I know parting with a place you’ve loved is always hard…
You don’t know how HAPPY it makes me to think of you in England, for Christmas, for your first time!!!👏👏👏 Magical!
So good to hear from you Susan. Thank you So Much for all you do!!!
So much to love this time! Those quilts, of course. But the bookmark too?! I have been using your desk blotter calendar from 2016, left on the October page since, well, 2016. It has the saying about the moon and its horns, which I learned from you. I never even knew the horns pointed in different directions and I’m 66 years old! Now I share this wonderful tidbit with friends, and of course grandchildren. It makes me feel a bit magical knowing this. Thank you, Susan, for always taking my mind off my worries!
What a beautiful Willard! And a beautiful song! Thank you💕
I look forward to your posts so much. It is like reading a letter from a good friend.
Merry Christmas from Tennessee.
Thanks for your light, joy, and creativity! It felt like we were all together for Thanksgiving with all the wonderful photos and stories. Love the way you’re sharing your family history with the younger generations-it’s up to us to provide those connections!
Parting with one of your beautiful quilts is a fine example to us to share what we have.
Merry Christmas to all with love!
Pam Hester in Tennessee
Dearest Susan,
I just want to thank you for all your books, recipes, writings through the years! They’ve all meant so much to me! So happy I discovered you! You’ve been such an inspiration to me for so many years. I baked you carrot cake for our family thanksgiving this year. And I always print out your book marks!
Happy Christmas to you and Joe,
Deborah Burket
Thank your friend Ivan for sharing his waltz with us! I so enjoyed it while reading your lovely post! Just too much ( can there be?) fun! Wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year! Keep a song in your heart! I am going to decorate my kitchen today with my grandmothers and moms cookie cutters, while playing holiday music! Your post started my day off with smiles! thanks again!
Merry Christmas, Susan and Joe! Loved reading the blog ( as usual) and it totally helped get me in the Christmas mood!
Dear Susan and Joe,
So hard to be in two places at once. How well I know. Your Christmas Island brightens the landscape of the harvested plains of Illinois. Merry Christmas from the Heartland! Thank you for sharing and bringing comfort and joy!
Kathy Hughes
Well now, this post shot me straight into a lovely holiday mood and spirit! Thank you for always making my day with your beautifully written words and photos. Merry Christmas to you and Joe, making my spirits bright since the 90’s when I discovered you. 🙂
Thank you for the cheering post as always!
I love that salted butter too, headed to the kitchen now for tea and toast, but after that, planks!
🧈 😁
If you want to play, you got to pay!😂
Susan – this post made me so nostalgic for the times with my grandparents and big family get-together. I miss those days so much! Thank you for reminding me. Merriest of Christmases to you and Joe! Wish I could join you on those walks!
Merry Christmas Sue and Joe,
Thank you for sharing this! Your Willard is such a warm hug for me (and all of us, I’m sure). YOU are such a delightful elf spreading love and light into the world!
So happy you received love in return with the visit from some of your family over Thanksgiving!
May your Christmas be overflowing with blessings. And 2024 is filled with love and laughter.
Have a wonderful trip to CA in January!
Merry Christmas! If I win…I would love to send this on to my mother. She is a quilter and would appreciate all the work that goes into your beauties!
A lovely new song, festive Willard, beautiful photos! What more could we want? Oh, a new drawing for such a lovely gift! Please enter me because I would, like everyone else, love it!
Love this edition of the Willard. Your descriptions and photos are magical! The quilts look so beautiful in the kitchen. I love the holidays and this edition reminded me of so many reasons why! Happy Holidays to you and yours!
You have inspired me for many years!!! We have grown old together 😊
Thank you for bringing your love & joy into my home.
Cherish every moment! They pass away so quickly .
Merry Christmas !
Pam
Thanks for this particularly enjoyable Willard. My stepdaughter and grandson were supposed to stay with us for Thanksgiving, but were unable to. My husband and I still did a whole Thanksgiving spread for just the two of us. Days of yummy leftovers! Seeing all the pictures of you with your family made me very happy. Holidays and family are one of the all time best combinations!
Thanks for the opportunity to win the lovely quilt. If I win I’ll put it on the guest bed for my family to enjoy next Thanksgiving. That would be two bits of luck!
Dear Susan, you made my day again with this blog. Look for my envelope from Ohio coming soon. ❤️💚🎄
Ellen Marie
Susan, you brought sunshine to my morning, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It meant so much to me. Merry Christmas to you and yours. xo
What a beautiful Christmas Willard! Thanks so much!
I did not know you had such a place in California! And I thought I knew everything “Susan Branch”….!!!
Loved the new song. It can be in the Susan Branch movie I am waiting for….
Xoxo
Kindred spirit in Niagara, Ontario, Canada….
How I would LOVE that Carol!💞