Hello Darlings! Are you ready for our drawing? Ready for 2024? It’s already looking busy!💖
New Year, New Beginnings, New Challenges, New Dreams . . . Don’t worry about the future, whether it be something good, or not so good, you’ll meet whatever happens in the same way you have before ~ you’ll wait, you’ll listen, you’ll think, you’ll learn, you’ll grow, but you’ll never give up! Joe and I seem to be starting off the new year like horses hearing the gun! SO MUCH NEWS and all of it good! But we start as always, with MUSICA!💖
Following my own January 2023 Wall-Calendar excellent advice, we’re OUTTA here, OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (my mom’s words for travel!) Boarding the train on January 9th, settling into our “room with a view,” slowly heading west over the tracks, out to California! So excited! Watch for travel photos as we cross the country on Instagram, Facebook, and (the revoltingly named) X because … I’m taking you along, it’s time again for Twitter from the Twain! Ahhh, the Twain . . . the dream-inspiring twain. . . here’s what I wrote about it in my book Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams.💖
Feels like forever since we’ve been to California!⬆️ That’s our backyard! We’ll get to see friends and family, hang out in a very different kind of winter, have LUNCH at the beach, eat Taco Bell, have lunch downtown, outside, on SLO Creek, I’m planning lunch! We’ll be cleaning and getting rid of stuff in the house we’ve owned there for the last 22 years … where my Studio has been, and now we’re putting the house on the market! It’s time. Kellee moved the Studio closer to her house . . .But we get two more months there for a proper goodbye! Ask me if I’m happy!!! Answer is YES! But first . . .
We need to send my beautiful vintage quilt to its new home!! Right NOW is my favorite part of every give-away ~ this moment when EVERYONE is still a winner. That’s why I make Vanna (our “random number generator”) the one to draw the winning name … and this time she took her own sweet time!💝
But here we go . . . drum roll . . . 🥁 the winner is . . .
💝💝 EILEEN BURKE! 💝💝
I hope there’s only one Eileen Burke, but if not, this Eileen recently had to make an unexpected move.😣 I will be sending her an email soon so she can send me her address! Thank ALL of you creative quilt-loving (and quilt-MAKING) Girlfriends … your comments were SO MUCH FUN as they always are, so sweet, informative, generous. I’m lucky to have so many kindred spirits blessing my little corner of the world! We have history! Back to 2009 for this blog and waaaaaay before that for me with lots of you, remember those original snail-mail Willards beginning in the early 90s? (If you are new to this neck of the woods, scroll down a bit HERE and see why my blog is called WILLARD!) Thank you for all of your encouragement! It gets better all the time!💖 Mas MUSICA!
And guess what? This coming Saturday I’m doing a New Year Zoom with Haley Solano of the Enchanted Book Club, at 3 pm EST! I hope you can come!! I better make this bigger so you don’t miss it! Sign up below…
We’re going to talk all about starting the new year right, how having heroes has impacted my life, ways everyone can discover their own heroes and draw a beautiful lifetime of inspiration from them. Sign up HERE! It’s free! I haven’t decided whether I’ll be meeting you from my kitchen or the living room in front of the fire!🤔
So today will be a short post because I have to PACK ~ we leave next Tuesday! Yikes! I’ve decided to try being color-coordinated this time and only bring blue and brown clothes. We’ll be gone a long time so it can’t just be 2 pairs of pants and 3 tops! Gotta have more! But maybe doing it by color will keep it down . . . I’ve never done it that way, so we’ll see. I’ll report back. Meanwhile, I’ll be making my normal little list trick . . . otherwise I’s definitely forget something! 
I started doing this in my 30s and have done it ever since. So handy to have that list!
Yes, him. Darling him. I have to leave him. The hardest thing. But if I linger on how much I’ll miss him, I probably wouldn’t go. And as a human, I HAVE to go! But we have a wonderful sitter, a black-belt, somewhat murderous, cat-loving, hulky Manly-Man who is VERY protective, and has ZERO trust in strangers … so, in case you’re coming by, I would wait for us to get home!😉 For your own safety.💖
Plus, Jack’ll be keeping his eye on everything! The wonderful news is that when we get home, we should be well on our way to Spring!!! I’m already excited to come home! It’s a definite win-win! In my heart, as soon as I get Christmas put away, I start noticing the longer days. I’m all ready seeing little echoes of spring! 🌱 In the meantime, lovely ones . . .
And soon, you’ll all have your cups! They should arrive while we’re in California! The end of this month! 
This is the new one . . . brand new . . .
The next couple of years will mark the 250th anniversary of our country, the shots heard round the world in Lexington and Concord, MA in 1775 will be celebrated in 2025 ~ and in 2026 it will be the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I know I’m a year ahead, but after going to the re-enactment in Lexington and Concord last April for Patriots Day . . .
. . . I couldn’t WAIT to come home and make a cup to celebrate. The reenactment was wonderful (you can scroll down and read about it HERE) and if you have a chance to go, please do it! Every day, around this time and even before, all those years ago, our ancestors were up to something . . . change was in the air, and every one had thoughts about it. So many wonderful books written about it . . . so much to see … if you haven’t been to Williamsburg and Yorktown, VA, these next few years would be the time to go! I wrote about it when we were there… you can see that post HERE.
And remember this cup? It’s the one that celebrates the life of Queen Elizabeth. When we celebrate her life, we celebrate our own ~ She was alive and even Queen for most all our lives! We sold out our first printing, so we made more, and they’re coming with the Patriot Cup!👏 If you didn’t 
get one the first time around, this is your moment! I’ve been drinking tea in mine while watching the last season of The Crown! What a feat! Her entire life! So well done! She was amazing! But it makes me so grateful not to have accidentally been born into any kind of Royal Family. What a miserable job she had! Imagine being a child, you think you’re normal, but are aware that 
everywhere you go you are attacked by cameras, and finally it hits your consciousness when you discover you are next in line to be Queen of England! What a shock! And you find out your life is not your own! 😳 Or you find out the Queen of England is your MOTHER! Eeek! Or you’re the Queen’s beloved sister but she can’t let you marry the love of your life, because some divorced MEN say no and it’s her DUTY to tell you no!😱 (Yes, we finished it, and started it right over again!) Anyway, we’re getting more of these cups at end of this month!👏👏👏 Both cups are still available for presale.
Remember my nun girlfriends? Mother Seraphima and the Sisters? Look what they gave me for Christmas!⬆️💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼
It’s a messenger bag, made from wool that came from Herdwick sheep … the breed Beatrix Potter loved and kept and bred in the Lake District . . . Could they have given me anything more perfect?
And look, it’s lined in Peter Rabbit fabric ~ plus, inside the zipper pocket there is carrot fabric! Isn’t it cute? I think it will last forever! And the leather kilt buckles have a snap on them so you don’t have to unbuckle them every time! It’s perfect! And blessed by my darling nuns. If you’d like to read about my visit to the Holy Nativity Convent go HERE, scroll down until you see a photo of Mother Seraphima!💖💖💖
It’s only January 4th and so far, we’ve walked every day. No snow to stop us, no ice . . . actually, I’m worried it will never snow here again. If it does, it’ll probably wait until we’re racing to the train!🚂
We almost always walk in the morning, but once in a while we make it out there for sunset . . . the reflections are gorgeous, the fresh air is cold and clean.
We’ve had a couple of foggy days, making it mysterious and surreal out there . . . and then… the foghorn blows . . . ahhh yes, sometimes I forget, we live on an island!👏
the fog washes over the landscape, makes it almost all one color . . .
First off, Joe does NOT have a ponytail, that’s just a normal little hat-tangle! But see his ear? We both have AirPods in our ears… we listen to the same book (which is on my phone) while on 
our walk. We’ve been listening to Charles Dickens,”The Pickwick Papers” all December and still now. It was Dickens’s first book ~ a LONG, NUTTY kind of a book. It’s in English, but it might as well be in another language . . . the reader is a genius with accents, but some of them are very hard to understand until you get used to them. This one character, Weller, who we love, pronounces all words that have a V, with a W sound. So victory is wicktory! It was originally written as a serial for magazines and you can tell. Almost like a gathering of short stories.
Luckily Joe has the real books, copies that are illustrated and were published in 1862! Talk about stepping back in time. When we get home from our walk, I like to read some of it over, slowly, so I get it! And so I can grab some of his quotes! His writing is amazing. It’s good we’re doing this. Other than A Christmas Carol I’ve never read any Dickens books. Easy to see where A Christmas Carol came from. Fun to be in 1830 England, even in some of the same towns Joe and I have visited!! Love it when history and real life moosh up together!💝
I was looking over the books, marveling over the writing, and stopped, just sort of staring, thinking, looking around the room. Our house was built in 1849, so I asked Google, “What was Dickens doing in 1849?” I got this specific answer and thought you’d like to read it. It’s short, a little bit of history, and one more reason to love Charles Dickens. Click HERE. 
Well, off we go. Wish us luck with the house! Thank you again for everything! It has been such a pleasure knowing all of you. I’m not going anywhere quite yet, but I just wanted to say that! Congratulations Eileen! Wishing you all the very best this year! If you need to remember good things from 2023 or for the last 15 years, go into the archives in the side column of my blog . . . it’s all there, all good news and lots of ideas for making every new year bright! Oh! something I did the other day I wanted to remind you ~ do you have any leftover Ginger Cookies? If not, make them, or go get some! Time to put ice cream between two of them, and into the freezer for afternoon delights! Delicious with a “London Fog”: Earl Grey tea, with honey and milk. And don’t forget to do your planks! 😘 See you Saturday!
Toot-toot! 💖 XOXOXO
Happy New Year dear Susan Branch
Happy New Year, Susan! I cannot wait for the Zoom event this weekend. It’s always such a treat to see you in your beautiful home and share time with the girlfriends. Safe travels on your journey back to California. I look forward to the photos and videos along the way!
Safe & joyful travels, Susan. May your stay in CA be sunny, warm, & nourishing!
Happy New Year to you and Joe ! Godspeed on your westward travels. Congratulations to Eileen for winning such a beautiful piece of history ! And your beautiful new bag. Did your nun friends make it ? Or have it made ? I’m sure it will see many travels. All the best !!
I wish you and Joe a safe trip to California and I hope you can accomplish all you need to do. I love the messenger bag that the nuns gave you. It is so special!
First off congratulations to Eileen! Lucky lady! So much good news here, love it all! Don’t know where to start… safe travels to you and Joe and glad Jack has your black belt hunky friend to protect him! Glad you’re not closing your shop just moving it…it’s my go to place for gifts for friends and myself too! And that bag! Sigh… so beautiful and perfect for you! I started my blog I’m 2009 as well but was a fan of yours long before that… from your features in the original Country Living magazine (which I still have by the way) and your collections of Willard’s! I do know why they were called Willard’s but won’t spoil it for others looking to find out! Happy New Year! Love you xo 😘 Julie Marie
Happy New Year, Susan! I’m looking forward to the Zoom meeting with you and Haley on Saturday. I’ve been enjoying my third reread of Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams this week and feeling inspired and cozy and delighted all over again. It’s become a New Year’s tradition for me, reading that book. I just adore it – and its author!
I hope you do get snow on Martha’s Vineyard again sometime! I’m sure you will, though climate change is definitely rearing its ugly head. Here in Houston we haven’t had a freeze in over 370 days. It’s very odd and disturbing, even down here.
Have a wonderful time in California. I’ll look forward to Twitter from the Twain! (I just refuse to call it X! lol)
Safe travels to you and Joe. Looking forward to updates from the train.
Happy New Year! Wishing you a lovely trip on the train and a good time in California!
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Whew, I had to make this choice three days before Christmas and my destination…the Island! My daughter was having some issues with her pregnancy and could not travel “home” so I came to her. I chose to fly to the Island and ended up with three others on the Cape Air prop plane. It’s easy to strike a conversation with your seat mate since you are inches apart from each other. She was a woman traveling alone and I think she saw my head questionably nod when she said she was alone. She replied to my look and said, “I traveled with my favorite person – myself!” When I read your segment in the blog on traveling, it made me think of this lady. I very much enjoyed the fog and got some mystical photos on my quick beach walks. Oh, and I picked up lots of scallop shells and some sea glass. Also, daughter is much better! Safe travels to you and Joe.
Love love love your Willards. Thank you for visiting with us before you leave for California. Have a wonderful trip. Just finished a great book for our book discussion group. Historical fiction in Colorado.”Go as a River” by Shelley Read. Her first novel at 57.
Sweet Sue,
So much planning for you and Joe but you have it taken care of it so efficiently. As a native Cali girl, it makes me sad a bit about the home here. I’d do the same thing too.
Mike and I bought a 24 acre property in Placerville, CA from Truckee, CA with a 1973 home, gazebo and a huge shop that we call the barn. Our kitchen remodel is finally looking like there will be an end to it, after 5 months. Change is good and hell, as we age. When the floors are in and that part is complete, we will start 1 bath and then the other.
I know you two will enjoy the train and visiting family and friends, besides your business.
Hope to be able to see you again before to long. The zooms are perfect but I do love seeing you speak in Cali.
Hugs,
Melin
xoxo
I really wish the Apple Farm still did events. I used to be able to call them up and they would take care of it! Loved that!
Oh, so did I. I came down to see you there and stay with my sister/friend Linda at AF. Loved the gift shop too. That was the best! The venue and treats were so classy anf YOU.
I met Cliff too, while coming back from the powder room. I asked him why he didn’t say hi to the group and he said ‘This is Susie’s day.’ I liked that.
xoxo
Ha ha! He’s a sweetheart! Joe and I are going out to dinner with Cliff and his family when we’re there . . . turned into good old friends!
Happy New Year! Thank you again for your blog/ Willard. Always jolly.
I always say “Go for the adventure!.” Adventures have taken me wonderful places for a new life, a new job, a new lifestyle (boating). I’ve had lots of wonderful adventures. Take the first step and go!
Packing…before I returned to teaching in my 50s I was in corporate management for 25+ years. I had the opportunity to travel across the country to visit customers, collect debt, & train salesmen. Often I would have to pack for a week of business meetings, flights, road trips, casual events ( test driving vehicles in the mountains, cattle drive, sightseeing), and then more formal events. I stayed with black and navy pants, suits, dresses, and shoes, tops were a variety of colors that went with black or navy. Black & navy worked best especially of I spilled anything on myself.
Have a wonderful trip and thank you for taking us all along. See you Saturday on zoom. ❤
Yes, it seems to make sense, all these color choices, hope it works!!! Better not turn to summer while we’re there!😘
Congratulations Eileen! I was hoping you would win the quilt. I hope 2024 brings you more joy and fun than human beings should be allowed to have!
-A girlfriend
Congratulations to Eileen! Safe travels to you and Joe!
Wow – big new that you are selling your CA house! Hope there will be some events while you are here on the Central Coast. There must be a lot of work to do for the sale. Looking forward to seeing photos from your train trip!
I wish I could follow your Tweets from the Twain, but I can’t figure out Twitter (X). ???? Is there any chance you can also post them on some other platform for those of us who are missing out? Thank you!
Instagram, Facebook, and in my next Willard! xoxoxo
Always a joy to read you. Happy travel to California! I wish you all the sun that we miss here in the East (I don’t know if it’s the same on Martha’s Vineyard, but up North, it’s been cloudy skies for weeks (even months). No snow, even at our latidutes. Scary… and sad (I love snow!). I can’t wait to read about your train travel (fascinating, always) and your Californian stay. It must be sad, though, to part with this house that had been yours for so long. Congrats to Eileen for winning the beautiful quilt, such a treasure! Happy New Year everyone!
Susan…Happy 2024!!! I hope that the year ahead is kind to you, and those you love most in this world. Safe travels to your home state and enjoy every precious second. We’ll all be waiting for you when you return. XO
Good luck selling your house in California. I would buy it, if I could! Don’t stay away too long, for Jack’s adorable sake!
P.S. Congratulations to Eileen! {I never win anything, darn it!} 🙂
Oh, dearest girl, you get lovelier every year. I met you so long ago, 29 years ago actually in Walnut Creek, CA where you had a book signing and I lugged them in, my used cookbooks by you and you signed them for me. I had my daughter-in-law with me, just barley expecting. Oh, we bought books. so much fun that day. Thank you for that and all the years since. God bless you and Joe. Love and hugs, Barbara Pinkston
❌⭕️❌⭕️ All those years ago . . . .
Happy New Year . . . 🎊
My husband and I got to drive to Cambria and back down the Coast to LA this past weekend,
it was gorgeous !!!
Happpy Travels to the 2 of you as well . 🥰🥰
Will you be having any “Girlfriend” events around Arroyo or perhaps a Yard Sale !?!
I’ll keep my fingers crossed .
Linda of So Cal
No but if someone has an idea of putting one together, I would love it. Just haven’t time to plan it!!💖
We love that drive from So Cal too. Pismo Beach is like a quickie vacation to Hawaii and love a fun breakfast at the Honeymoon Cafe.
Susan, Is that bag from Mandy Marshall? She was just starting the Herdwick wool tweed products when we visited her at Hilltop.
I actually don’t know! I put the label into the photo, but didn’t find anything!
Susan, your Willard this time made me think of the movie, Christmas in Connecticut! I love at the beginning when the lead character is writing her column from her typewriter in NYC and I thought of you this time because you are so fun with details. (Though you really have the home and the garden.) So cute! I love reading what you come up with! Happy trails!
Happy New Year, have a wonderful journey and long stay in California!
Would you perhaps be able to share some general information on itinerary to travel from the Northeast to CA? I would much prefer that mode as well, but when I looked into it from here in NJ it required several train changes and almost a week not three days!
From Boston, it’s overnight to Chicago … 24 hours. Off the train for 4 or 5 hours, onto a new one. Two overnight sleeps, and you arrive in LA! You’d train from NJ to Chicago (hope you wouldn’t have to go to NY first), from there you’d be on the same train as us. Call Amtrak and first word out of your mouth should be “agent.” That’s how to get an actual PERSON… and they’re usually really nice!
Thank you so much! And safe travels to you, especially with the snow on the way! ❄️
I will LOVE that . . . snow from the train!!! One of my favorite things… especially since we haven’t had any yet this year!
Thank you, dear Susan, for your love, inspiration, and generosity. Safe twain twavels and enjoy your time in sunny California. (Not this week though – rainy and windy.) I might give you a little wave in SLO! ❤️
Happy New Year! Wishing you and Joe a safe journey west. Hope it’s magical and refreshing in spite of having to let go of your house and property there. I love your excitement and happiness as you look forward to the change.
I am disappointed that I can’t participate in Saturday’s zoom chat- we’ll be celebrating our granddaughter’s birthday at that exact time. Will it possibly be recorded and available to listen to at a later date?
From my house back to YOU, with love,
Debbie xoxo
Congratulations, Eileen! How special! I think that purse/bag is adorable. They definitely found the perfect gift. Safe travels for you and Joe. Enjoy the sunshine.
The website is still down?
YES! Call Kellee, or write her [email protected] ~ so sorry, shouldn’t be much longer now!
What a fun trip you have planned! We’re still waiting for snow that sticks to the ground here in northern Utah.
We visited one of Dicken’s homes the last time we were in London. It’s a short walk from King’s Cross. There is a wonderful production of Bleak House that’s worth tracking down, it’s done by the BBC. Great Expectations and a Christmas Carol are his only books that I’ve read.
Enjoy your California winter!
I am so looking forward to receiving my Queen Elizabeth II mug! Have a safe and prosperous trip to California and return home. God go with you, Marge Vallazza:)
Lots of good things in this Willard! First, congratulations to Eileen..what a lucky lady! What a treasure she’s won. I’m happy you’ll be able to have virtual tea with us Saturday before you begin your trip. I’m all signed up and looking forward to it. Thanks to Haley for hosting it again! We were supposed to have a “plowable” snow here on Saturday, but it looks like that prediction has changed to a wee bit of snow followed by rain. It’s been ages since we’ve had a major snow storm and I’d look forward to one. Climate change is no joke..got my new issue of Yankee magazine yesterday and read the article “Tipping Point” about Martha’s Vineyard and Vineyard Haven. Sobering stuff. Safe travels, sounds like Jack is in excellent hands❤️Enjoy your time in CA, and I hope your house there sells quickly. See you Saturday!
PS..the bag the Sisters got you is adorable!
See you Saturday!
Also a BIG Congratulations to Eileen!
I watched The Man Who Invented Christmas with Dan Stevens as Dickens and it made me look up when Dickens toured the United States. He first tour was in 1842. I enjoyed the movie and know it was a mix of fact and fiction but it was very entertaining.
Yeah, I love that one too. I think it does show a side of his character! But when you read Picwick Papers, you find all the bones for A Christmas Carol right there!💖
Oh, my dear Susan…safe travels to you as you traverse this country of ours! I shall be thinking of you in the next few weeks! Hopefully you will also go on another cruise this year – we both LOVE ships, especially the Queen Mary II! Maybe we should try the Queen Anne? I will if you will! LOL! Wishing you safe journey, and good luck with the house…I’m sure you will sell it as soon as you put it on the market! Sending lots of love…Lori Pelentay
Love to! It all depends on sailing dates! We refuse to miss May in England!!! This year there are no boats going until the end of May! What are they thinking?😱
Happy New Year Susan to you and Joe. Have a wonderful Twain trip. Can’t wait to see all the photos and your posts. Cheers to 2024 🥂
Debbie R
Susan, Thank you for the joy you bring! I stumbled on Heart of the Home years ago and have been a fan ever since. In this world that sometimes is so heavy you are such a bright light! You always make me so happy!❤️❤️❤️❤️
And THAT makes ME happy!!!💖💖💖💖
Not sure if it’s affecting the Cape, but we are due for a fairly large snowfall in the Hudson Valley of NY this weekend! I certainly am in no rush for spring, as I love winter and snow… Thrilled to watch it fall from my 7th floor perch above the trees! It was predicted that we would have quite a few snow events this winter, so fingers crossed! 🤞🏻 Winter just began a few weeks ago… ❄️☃️❄️ In the meantime, wishing you and Joe a very Happy New Year, and safe travels on your way out west! Good luck with the sale of your house! I’m sure someone special will scoop it up and love and care for it as you did! Enjoy!
Hi Gina,
I, too, live in the Hudson Valley. Wasn’t it wonderful to awaken to a winter wonderland on Sunday morning? I had so much fun watching the birds at my feeder. They actually emptied it in one day! Unfortunately it rained yesterday, so most of the snow has disappeared. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more snow.
Where do you live in the Hudson Valley, if I may ask? (I was trying to think of where you might have a 7th floor perch above the trees). Did you know that LL Bean will be coming to Kingston in the Spring? I thought you might be interested, since you enjoy the snow. Take care
Happy New Year! Have a safe trip. I will be having an adventure this month. On the 13th, I will be visiting The Maxwell Wildlife Refuge to see the Bison and Elk, in Canton KS. I will be cold. High is predicted to be only 18*. I am looking forward to the visit.
Oh, how I would love to be in warm, sunny California! But here I am stuck in the cold, gray Midwest. Snowstorm due next week. My son lives in CA but can’t visit right now due to having an elderly, medically-needy (she is in stage 4 kidney disease) kitty.
I know you will miss Jack, but it sounds like he’ll be in good (strong) hands! You’re so fortunate to have a good cat sitter.
Best of luck with selling your house. I’m sure it will sell quickly. And how lucky the new owners will be, getting to call “the house that Susan Branch lived in” their own! 🙂
Spring is on the way Nettie … 😻🐶💖
Happy New Year!! Welcome back to the Central Coast!! Hopefully Mother Nature will calm down before you get here. The waves along the coast have been wrecking havoc along the beach. A woman got hit by a wave yesterday and washed along the rocks in Pismo Beach and unfortunately could not be saved. Very sad!! Good luck in the cleaning out process and sale. It isn’t easy! But sometimes you are ready to let go! Have a great train ride!
Oh no! that’s a shock. Okay, I’m with that hope, that Mother Nature will calm down.🙏 Best we stay away from the shore!
Dear Susan So good to hear from Carrie, I have been so worried about her. You and Joe need to read Great Expectations next! And A Tale of two Cities. All his books are wonderful. Happy reading.❤️Debby
We’ve seen all the movies, but I can see we do need to read them!
The movies are good, but it’s like you’ve read the topic sentence from every other paragraph. He is my favorite author.
Dear Susan Branch,
I am sooooo disappointed that you don’t have any calendars for sale. I love you as a person and love your calendars, so homey and fun.
Every year, I have one of your short calendars to keep track of my weight. I need one again this year. I already LOVE your large calendars, but I don’t see them either.
Please text me or send me a note and tell me they’re just a little late this year, like were a couple years ago when the big desk size calendar was late.
Sincerely, with love,
Genevieve Groesbeck _ [email protected]
I believe we still have all four of the calendars available . . . give Kellee a call at 805-474-5836 or write her at [email protected]. xoxo
Happy New Year Susan!
Happy New Year, Susan and Joe! Safe and happy travels to California and good luck with the sale of your home. Hoping to “see” you Saturday! ❤️
What an exciting start to the New Year! Wishing you and Joe incredible adventures and joy on your journey westward. Your positive outlook and determination to face whatever comes your way is truly inspiring. Looking forward to following your travels on Instagram, Facebook, and the “revoltingly named” X! Safe travels, and may your new beginnings be filled with beautiful moments. melodyjacob.com/2024/01/sulina-shop-facial-uplifting-oil-review.html
Dear Susan,
Have a safe trip! Have fun sorting and packing things up!
Will you be reissuing your 4th of July cup?? I can’t believe I missed that one! It would be fitting for the up coming celebration of 250 years.
Hugs to you and Joe,
Margot
You know, Independence Day! 🇺🇸
I did a 250th anniversary cup, it’s my new one, just coming in! Not sure which will come next yet!! But we do get lots of requests for that 4th of July cup so I will try! xoxo
OXOX
Good to hear your voice last Saturday!
Bon voyage and sending all good wishes to you on your travels and with the house. I know you will miss Jack terribly. (I’m going through the same angst with Lizzie before we leave for England — and that isn’t till this spring!). Love the Dickens and those glorious old books. And, eager to check out the mugs and the webinar, too.
Happy New Year and thanks for sharing the joy!
Your home will be sold in a heartbeat.:) It will.I know;)
Love the messenger bag thoughtful inside out.
Have a great trip and happy new year!
I have an old copy of the Pickwick Papers but just like my 1905 copy of Mrs. Twiddly Wink, I can’t find either!! For the life of me I don’t know where they could be. I envy you and Joe going on the train cross country again. We did it once years ago and would love to do it again but I see from you tubers the meals now are all microwaved and not very appetizing to look at. Let us know if you are fed any better fare on this trip. Happy New Year, happy travels and good luck on the house sale.
Train COULD be so wonderful! Guest chefs! If I was President, there would be! FOR the people!😆
I am a relative new comer. I “found” you through a friend’s recommendation 3 years ago. We have been to one of your book signings together, and I am collecting as many books as I can and gifting them I even got your Happy Birthday mug as a gift last year! Yay! So, maybe I am a girlfriend? I hope so! I have always heard the expression “feeds my soul” and thoughts I understood what it meant. But I am realizing that what I feel when I read your books or this blog is what feeding my soul means! Deep contentment + wanting to do life better and MORE.
❣️Oh so many thanks!
Oh you’re DEFINITELY a girlfriend!😍 Blessings on you and your sweet words. xoxoxo
Have a wonderful visit in California and safe travels. I was out there myself at Thanksgiving with family. Oranges just beginning to ripen. For myself, I love New England and couldn’t give up the four seasons. Expecting our first big snow on Saturday night into Sunday. We’ll see.
I did chuckle about Eileen Burke and hope the right one sees and replies to your exciting news. I’m of Irish ancestry and can tell you Eileen Burke is a very popular name. I bet there are at least 1,000 of them in the US. I knew a few myself….:)
Happy 2024!
Hope your train journey is magical
Cathy Wolff
[email protected]
Even for your short time here, we will love having you back on our central coast. Will you be having a garage sale at your home, if so when? Perhaps you could have a garden party one last time before you say goodbye so all your central coast girlfriends can say a warm farewell. This is where you started your career, let us give you a fond farewell. From one San Fernando valley girl to another, hope to see you while you are here (at the Apple Farm again?)
The Apple Farm changed hands and as far as I know, they don’t do events like we used to do there. Too bad. I loved it, and it gave us a good meeting place. We’ll be cleaning and moving things at our house ~ and especially outside, not a good place for anything this time. I wish there was!💝
Happy Travels Susan and Joe 🙂 I started doing planks and walking – feeling good already. Happy 2024!
Congratulations Eileen! What a treasure that quilt will be!
Susan, I am all signed up to see you on Saturday. I can’t wait. And safe travels to you and Joe! I was gone for 16 days in December and my cats were so mad at me when I got home. Tiggy Wig refused to come out from under the bed and the other two wouldn’t look at me!! We’re all back to normal now but it’s the first time I left any of them. I didn’t have anyone staying at the house. Someone just came in to feed them. May have to do it differently next time! See you Saturday!
Good Morning Sue!. It is snowing here, finally. It’s so pretty, peaceful and quiet. All the kids and animals have gone home and now it’s just me and Bill again. Our house was bustling with activity! Baby Liam is so gosh darn cute! I love him so much.
I’m so happy for Eileen. Congratulations! What a lucky girlfriend!
I hope you have a wonderful time on your twain ride to CA. I only log on to twitter (X) to see you now. I will look forward to seeing your tweets along the way. Good Luck with the sale of your CA studio and home. It will be very bittersweet Im sure. It’s such a pretty little place. You said when you arrive home it should be spring. The weather has been so mild here. We went for a walk the other day and there were forsythias blooming already! Kind of strange and probably not good.
I’m wishing you and Joe a safe and happy journey and hope for a peaceful and happy New Year.
Sending much love your way,
Mary
😍😍😍😍
Good luck on the train and with the house! Thank YOU for everything through the years. I love reading every Willard and feeling joy. You have inspired me to make my home a heart centered place. I am grateful my mom introduced me to you and your work. Also, we moved to Chicago from Memphis last year and we are expecting our first big snow on Monday. I’m remembering bits of advice from you over the years about settling in and enjoying it. ❤️❤️❤️
Happy New Year with much peace , joy , and good health. So enjoyed reading the new Willard. Your Family is lovely, lots of love in that house. So fun seeing how others enjoy their holidays, pretty similar to ours. Your home is where everyone wants to be because it’s so cozy,sweet and welcoming. You two are such good hostesses , everyone feels so welcome. In a world today where everything is so staged and cold, your home is awesome. Loved meeting both of you in Hudson, Ohio. Love all your books. Best of the new year to you. Kathy Cavileer.
Well, I dub you the Queen of Cozy!! Love all your little stories and seeing your sweet family have a fun time together. That’s truly what life is all about . I love getting the new Willard,it’s such an interesting read ,and all the pictures are so fun to see. What a beautiful way to start a new year. Enjoy all your travels ,be healthy and joyous. I love seeing your cozy home, it gives me much inspiration for mine. Enjoyed meeting both of you in Hudson Ohio, such a nice couple. Thanks for always entertaining us with your talents. Best of the year to you both, Kathy Cavileer
Looking forward to Saturday and inspiration, Susan!!! I have truly enjoyed Hayley Solano’s book club!!!!
And I’d vote for the living room in front of a fire for the next Zoom session! Best wishes for safe travel and a great visit in California!!!!
Denise
Okay. First come first serve. In front of the fire it will be!
🙂
In Jan/Feb/Mar AAA Explorer magazine, Midwest edition, there is an article in it written Frank Fures about a train trip he took. But he quotes travel writer Paul Theroux who wrote, “A train journey is travel; everything else – planes especially – is transfer.” Thought you would appreciate that!
I do! xoxo
What a Lovely Surprise to see a new Willard in my inbox. My own head is spinning trying to put myself your places. Getting ready to make a long trip is a boon for the Post It Notes folks. Now days I need them stuck everywhere. 😉 Your strategy for clothes sounds good to me. Tom says I always take twice what I actually need….and he’s right.
My closest friend Anne died just before we came back to Tampa first week in November. When my first husband and I were married, we rented a garage apartment next door to her family. She came over to welcome me in Fall of 1970. It was instant bonding. Her two little girls were 2 and 4. The youngest was born 2 years later. It was a “beautiful” dying, attended by all her children. Very sudden, she became very ill, was diagnosed with fatal cancer and died a week later at home. The girls called me and allowed me to speak to her. I used the “F” word, and they said she smiled. Middle daughter is a PhD in England, teaching Art History and Museum Studies, who got here in time. We’ve been over to visit several times. Hospice was wonderful, and within a week she was gone. Tom and I had just made it home from our week in Mid-Coast Maine, when they called. No crying, just joyful memories. We laughed and laughed.
Everyone came to Tampa for her celebration of life in November, and that was great fun. I learned so much more about my dear friend. She was a fearless Social Worker, determined gardener, wonderful cook, wife and a mother who allowed her daughters to explore where their hearts took them.
Oldest is a guidance counselor in Michigan, who has been flying back and forth to Tampa, doing all the “Sorting”. Youngest is intellectually handicapped, and oldest’s husband is living here with her, until all is set. She’ll go up there to live with them. We all had a difficult time trying to get her to understand why she couldn’t come live with us.
Christmas Eve, we went over with a jug of my “real” eggnog, and they showed me an album that Anne had kept, which they had never seen. It was for post cards, each in its own slot, and tabbed as to country and person who sent them. She had a good number from me! I was so honored. There were also many written in such tiny script, that you really needed a magnifying glass to read. They were about The Queen Mary and various places in Europe on her 1962, “grand tour” with her wealthy grandmother. Sent to the boyfriend who she later married. He kept them, and she saved them. We sat around the big table at her house and laughed and laughed, as her favorite phrase was “Oh well….”
Same table where she and I had made felt Christmas ornaments for our trees in 1971. Anne loved to craft things and had all sorts of wonderful stuff, like rickrack, colorful beads and glitter. I took those over and told the 2 granddaughters to take what if they wanted. Some happy tears sprinkled them. Youngest granddaughter looked at the gingerbread man I’d made, and said, “No Way! That is one scary dude.” She’s an artist and PhD candidate in Astronomy in Boston. Oldest granddaughter wanted them! She’s also a newly minted PhD studying the long-term damage to families who live in urban “food deserts”. They all visited us Maine this past Summer. Middle “English” daughter has 2 “kids”, both born at home in Edinburgh, Scotland. The oldest is a newly minted PhD, Cambridge, who, like her mother looks about 12. She came out of the Panama jungle where she’s doing post doc research on butterflies. The son is just starting at Cambridge. My friend Anne and her husband didn’t have lots of money, but they made a place where the girls could push their limits and be supported. What a legacy. Anne and I yacked on the phone at least once a week over the years, then via email. Every day, the thought pops into my head that I need to tell Anne…….
I am getting a small bit Anne’s ashes to put under my peonies in Maine. They found a note I’d written to her saying I wanted to be scattered in the mud flats on our shore and under the peonies. Anne had saved that in a file!! I am such a lucky girl to have them in my life…and as Anne, always said, “You didn’t have to Birth no babies”. She was after all, an Atlanta belle!
So, even though I didn’t have kids of my own, I’m blessed to have them. They told Tom that I was the one that showed them that it was OK to be Weird!!
Life goes on, and I count my blessings.
You are one of them. Can’t wait for the train trip and getting to California.
Mucho Big Love from chilly Tampa,
Debbie
Post it notes to point out light switches … it’s mostly lamps here, and they hid the light switches! The furnace turns on from behind my Studio door! Old houses are such a conundrum. You want to go back in time, follow the workers around and go Why? Why? Why? Until they say what all parents say, “Because I said so!”
I am so sorry about Anne. But love the celebration of what she meant to you. Love her ashes with your Peonies. Love YOU Debbie! Take care!
Dear Debbie,
I always look forward to your responses to Susan’s Willard. How blessed you are to have had such a wonderful friend in your life and that her family became “yours”. You most seem like such remarkable women- both in her own way- and deserving of all the blessings you received in life. How wonderful that Anne will always be close by- both in your heart and under your peonies. Your friend Anne left a truly beautiful legacy, as she touched so many lives in a positive way- and her children and grandchildren will continue to do the same. My thoughts and prayers are with you
What a beautiful tribute to your dear Anne! The memories are the treasures now. My darling Mom passed one year ago today, and it’s been such a year. I couldn’t have survived without my girlfriends, and here in Susan’s space, we all know what that means. Thank you for sharing, Debbie, and so sorry for your shocking loss of your dear lifelong friend. Big hug.
Happy New Year Susan! And to Joe and Jack! Well, I was a little sad to hear that your CA home is being sold 😢. But I know you have good reason. Best wishes for safe travels and romance on that train ride out here. Will you be having lunch and/or dinner at NOVO? Our favorite place to dine when we are in SLO. Enjoy your Cali trip, and I can’t wait to tag along with your pics on Instagram. See you tomorrow with Haley and girlfriends from the book club! ❤️ xo Karen H.
I’m sure we will. I love that place! See you tomorrow!!!
Love love love your blogs…you always inspire me. Safe travels the train ride sounds delicious(especially if you bring along your ginger cookies and tea)
In December I took the train from Syracuse to NYC with three of my nieces and we had an absolute blast Actually we entertained the whole car!! A perfect way to travel..though it takes longer it’s way more fun than flying which has become a nightmare.
So Happy New Year and happy travels to you until you write again🎶🎶
I agree. I thought it was a nightmare in the 1980s! How much do they think a normal human being can stand?????🤪
I’ll see you tomorrow at the zoom, but want to thank you now for this Willard even though you must have a million things to do to get ready for your trip. My husband just recently said we should take a train trip so I’ll be looking for your pictures to show him to cement the deal! It sounds like you’ll be gone for a while but I wish you good luck with selling your house in California. Maybe one of the girlfriends will buy it! Happy New Year Dear Susan, Joe and Mr. Personality (Jack). We’ll all be patiently waiting for your next Willard! xoxoxoxoxox
See you tomorrow!😘
Have a WONDERFUL trip! Stay safe and enjoy everything. Your new messenger bag is super fun. So happy for Eileen. The quilt I s a real treasure. Love your idea of taking clothes that will all coordinate. Taking that idea for packing in a few weeks for Ireland for 11 days. Ordered my patriot mug – just love it!
😍😍😍😍
Have a fun and safe trip. Thank You once again for an interesting post. It is a delight as are all of your posts. Wishing you and yours a Happy,Healthy and Blessed New Year.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
Happy New Year, Susan and Joe! Seeing your forsythia reminded me to ask you if you “force” any in the winter? I usually pick a few sprigs (or more) in December, bring them inside into the warm in a vase of water, and wait. In a couple of weeks, they flower as if it is spring and then a week or two later, little tiny green leaves appear. If you leave it in the water for a while, roots will form and you can plant them in the spring if you need more forsythia, or give them to a friend!
I do a lot of packing and unpacking, and I have learned to bring as little as possible. The train is different, but even so… I bring a few favorite things, and if I need more while I’m away I visit a nice thrift/charity shop and get what I need for pennies, often almost new. It is also a great way to cut down on buying NEW things all the time and being kind to our planet.
I love trains, took one the other day, so I know you will enjoy your trip and I look forward to photos. Finally, good luck with the house! xx
Happy New Year Susan! Have a wonderful trip! Thank you so much for being you! You spread sunshine and happiness and inspiration. I found you a very long time ago when I was a student at Cal Poly, working at the Apple Farm. I worked in the gift shop and at the Mill House and they sold your cookbooks. I saved and saved a little of each of my paychecks and I was so happy when I had enough extra to buy your Heart of the Home cookbook! I have been a life long fan of yours and now my daughter has started her first year at Cal Poly. She is also a Susan Branch fan!
I wasn’t able to register for the zoom tomorrow, but I am looking forward to the recording. xoxo Nicole
Susan, have a wonderful time! And as always, thanks for taking us along. Quick question. What year did you publish your first calendar? I think I have them all. Was it 1993?
Lovely, newsy post- and Congratulations Eileen.
Hello Susan, Happy New Year to you and Joe! Pleaee tell him I LOVE his (new) cap! Just sitting here, out of breath after doing the plank…I’m up to about 1 minute now, so happy with that! I read it’s great to do if you have high blood preasure too, so all good.
We picked up Tim at the airport a few days ago, he wanted a holiday “somewhere in Asia”, so he flew to the Philipines…He was there just over 3 weeks, and had a great time, lots of adventures! Adventures to make my heart skip a beat, when I heard about them…He went swimming with whale sharks…ahhhhhhh
Makes my life seem pretty dull, haha, but I like dull! Gabri and I are off to the south of Holland for a week, looking forward to nice walks and lots of reading and stitching!
How long will you be away from home? Any plans to cross the ocean once more? I hope you have a lovely time, and wish you safe travels! Love from us both, Nicoline OXOX
Happy New Year, Susan! I look forward to hearing more about your train travels. I also live on the East Coast and would love to visit my California friends and family without taking a jet. Would you be kind enough to include particulars about long range train travel? (How does on shower? etc.) Thank you for your Willards which always bring me hope and a smile.
Safe travels and a Happiest New Year! That messenger bag…perfectly perfect in every way. I was gifted the Queen cup and the Santa cup for Christmas from my husband, he’s very thoughtful! I asked for either and received both! I haven’t drank out of either of them yet because they’re just so beautiful! But I don’t know what I’m waiting for…every day is a special occasion!
Oh my goodness, the bag the nuns made for you is so sweet and dear. The lining? The sheep’s wool relating to “our” beloved Beatrix Potter? Couldn’t be more perfect a gift.
You are off on another wonderful adventure. Appreciate you sharing all the wonder with us.
Sorry you are sold out for today. I didn’t move fast enough and actually had the day free’
I have more mugs than you can imagine. Seriously. Do you think you might be making plates for the 250th? I have more plates than you can imagine too but they take up less room, don’t they? (My husband never knows which dish he is going to have dinner on and my bathroom closets may hold a few stacks or so.) They would look so great on a hutch decorated for the occasion. Food for thought for you…
Lucky Eileen Burke. What a gorgeous quilt.
Healthy and wonderful new year ahead to you and Joe. God bless you.
I love your Willard’s! What a wonderful gift the nuns gave you. I have ordered candles from them in the past and it was fun to go back and read your blog post about the day you spent with them. Have you been back to visit them? Have a fun and adventurous trip to CA!
Happy New Year and Safe Travels to you and Joe! It is because of your Willard that I have taken 2 cross country train trips to visit my son (Massachusetts to Arizona and Massachusetts to Oregon). I had the best time and enjoyed watching different parts of the country go by. I brought crafts (beading and cross stitch), plenty to read and spent most of the daylight hours in the lounge car meeting people. Have a wonderful time and good luck with the sale of your CA home.
Happy New Year! My word for this year is “believe”. I’ve never chosen a word for a new year, but this seemed appropriate for SO many reasons. Enjoy your train trip – I’ll be following along. xoxo
Congrats to Eileen! So much fun–a new quilt for a new home. Enjoy California Susan and Joe. How wonderful to be there for the winter and to see old friends while languishing in the warmth.
Happy New Year! Looking forward to seeing you later today with the Enchanted Book Club! It’s thanks to you that I’ve been part of the club for several years now!
Happy New Year Susan and Joe!
I beyond LOVED reading about the nuns! Oh my goodness they look so happy and their convent is AMAZING! I’m going to go to their web store and maybe purchase some of those beeswax candles. Have an amazing trip to Cali and take lots of pics!
Love reading this as always! It is so inspiring. I even went back and read the blog about the nuns – it was great! I love the nuns too!! Lots of luck packing up in CA. Your art is a real gift to us. Thank you for sharing yourself for so long. ❤️
I am trying to prepare myself for your eventual retirement. You are allowed to retire! Downsizing-decluttering, all of us of a certain age are doing it; aiming for a simpler life as we grow old(er); fewer leashes. You have so many responsibilities with a blog, a store; everything you need to create for each year with calendars, cups, books. Deadlines which maybe become headaches. Time is so valuable; you need to be spending it doing what you love most and what makes your heart sing.
So, I’m sure you’re carefully choosing what to still do/create and how much to let go of other things you really do NOT want to do anymore. But I am so grateful for ALL of your contributions and I love the little-many things around me which are ‘Susan Branch’. For instance, there isn’t a day that goes by that I do not have tea or coffee in one of your cups. Absolute FAVE cups EVER. And that’s just one of many things of yours. Thank you, Susan! I’m glad to have your warm words and wisdom in my daily life.
Have a wonderful trip West. It’s possible on your road trip up the Calif Central Coast (once you get in an auto and off the train) that you’ll see a lot of driftwood/rock debris on our beaches from recent storms and super-high waves. I’m glad you don’t have to experience drought here as in past years. Enjoy your time in Avila-SLO-Arroyo Grande and environs; I think Paso is quite the ‘wine country’ these days. It’s a big job to clear out your West Coast house/property but you’ve given yourself a good amount of time, from the way it sounds, and I wish you the best of luck on the sale as you pull up stakes here in Calif. (With your life on the island, can totally imagine that you wouldn’t want to live anywhere else; the Northeast became ‘home’ a long time ago for you now.)
Am SO looking forward to the train trip dispatches; happy travels!
I saw that a new Willard had come, but I put off reading it until I could sit by the fire and enjoy it’s warmth with a cup of tea. And a beautiful Willard it is!, but sadly I missed getting to sign up for your Zoom tea on Sat. Do hope I don’t miss where it can be seen later. You have the most wonderful train trip. I love train rides! As a child we took the train from central Ca to NE to visit relatives! My first trip was when I was 1 so I could be introduced to my grandparents.
I hope you have a wonderful trip and am looking forward to the Tweets from the Twain! Wishing you well with the house and everything else you have to do while you are out there! Love your new bag. Very nice and such a meaningful well thought out gift. Happy New Year to us all. Let’s hope 2024 is good to each of us, and filled with much love, happiness and peace.
What a lovely Willard, filled with SO much happy news! Heartfelt thanks, dear Susan for taking the time to write to us all as you are planning and packing. I’m sure you will see snow as you approach Chicago! I’ve just come inside from photographing my snowy garden and shoveling. (We are 9 inches below our typical snowfall so far.) Enjoy every moment on the train! We will all be following along and hoping for a window seat.
I’m so looking forward to our Zoom gathering in just one hour!! I will be sipping Peppermint Bark green tea and sending virtual hugs!!
Safe, happy travels Susan and Joe!! ❤️❤️
Warmest hugs,
🩷 Dawn (in Illinois)
Dear Susan. Happy New Year! Thank you for taking time to write before heading out west. I was late to the party registering for your Zoom event today and it is sold out. I will catch up via recording as soon as you post it. Sending you positive vibes for the sale of your home and possessions. It is a good thing you are doing while you and Joe have the health and energy. “Fly light” is my new mantra. Or “travel light” may be even better moving into a phase of life where an abundance of physical positions now seem burdensome. So glad to be collecting experiences versus “things.” Sending lots of love to you dear one!
Happy New Year to you and your Joe! Have a safe trip to sunny California. Thanks for your words and illustrations. They make me so happy.
Dear Susan,
I just got off the Enchanted Book Club webinar and I nearly cried because it was over. I didn’t ever want it to end.
It was magic for us in the audience.
What you said today was so interesting, so delicious to my soul and my heart – thank you for saying what came into your mind. For being the bridge from people you’ve been inspired by, to us. Through you, I have been led directly to my heroes and it’s almost a feeling of fear, to think “what if I hadn’t learned about them from Susan.”
We love you!!!
Lindsey
OH, well, that was wonderful to hear!!! THANK YOU Lindsey!! We never know what will inspire us, where a source will come from … but now YOU will be a source for others, and through us will come a more beautiful world👏👏👏 and because of that, all my dreams will come true!🥰
If I manage to have an inspiring impact on someone that is even a fraction of the impact you and your writings have had on me, then I will feel very content!
You are a real treasure, take care Susan!
Love,
Lindsey
Hi Susan and happy new year! Your comment about not going anywhere “quite yet,” gave a sad feeling. Of course, we are all getting older and I would completely understand if you wanted more freedom, but sad thinking about it. Every year at Christmas time I go back and review your post from the sleigh ride in the snow! So fun. And I kept and printed lots of photos you posted from the England countryside, too, just to enjoy on my inspiration board. Do you still plan to write a second England book? I’ve been so looking forward to it. Have a wonderful trip across the country and back in So Cal. Blessings to you both!
Happy New Year dear Sue and Joe! Wishing you much love, peace in your heart, health to your bones and prosperity to your pocketbook 💕
Safe travels! Hope there will be a rerun of today, I sadly missed it 😢
Happy New Year! Have a wonderful trip to California. So happy for you. I know your house will sell quickly. Such a lovely property. We are anxiously awaiting our first snow here in Rhode Island tonight! We took half of our Christmas decorations down so we still have some left to enjoy a little White Christmas after all. Loved your beautiful purse from the nuns. They love you, who wouldn’t? Candles lit, meatloaf in oven (comfort food), and wine is poured. Oh did I mention we are getting SNOW!❤️😘❄️❄️❄️
I understand why you are concerned about the condition of our country. I hate that you have to take meds due to that. All we can do is pray.
That and miserable 2 years of masks and no freedom . . . I do pray, every day, for the survival of all we have known, loved, and respected all our lives, including each OTHER!!!💖
Happy 2024 Susan and Joe! I hope this new year is filled with more than memorable moments for both of you! Thank you for the latest Willard. Loved it! Safe travels across the US and welcome back to our beloved California (Northern for me). Can’t wait to follow along on your journey.
Best wishes,
Kelly from Danville!
You are so blessed to live where you do and be able to walk to the beach every morning. Enjoy your trip and have safe travels. Happy New Year to you and Joe!
Love these Willards. Always so fun and positive. We need that! We are planning a cross country trip to Boston by train this spring and would love to hear about your trip- which train and which accommodation. Thanks for all you do. I read and reread your comforting books.
Good Sunny Sunday morning, Susan! Loving your blog, and deeply appreciating the Charles Dickens social conscience! Hey, that was almost 200 years ago, that hanging. And has the blood lust changed? Hmmm. We need to pray about that. I love everything about you. Yesterday’s Zoom with Hayley and so many many others has filled my heart and ushered me into a new year of hope and promise. We had an ice storm yesterday here in VA, so everything is glistening in the morning sunshine! Thank you, thank you for continuing inspiration. Have a wonderful trip! Peace be with you two!
Your Willards always make me happy!! My sister and I gave each other your calendars as part of our Christmas gifts to each other!!!! I was not even surprised. I hope you and Joe have a safe and wonderful trip. I will be along for the ride. With love, Bridget. And kisses for sweet Jack…..
Congratulations, Eileen! YAY!!!
And have a wonderful trip to California, Susan! Thanks for always helping me (one of your “girlfriends!”) to feel so good after I read any of your blog posts! This one is no exception. Happy New Year. Hugs from Sharon