Yes, these California storms were nothing less than astounding, as you may have seen in the news, with scary words like BOMB CYCLONE (still don’t know what that was, but now I know don’t want to know), and ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS … I now know what this is and wish I didn’t! But we are fine and nothing got wet but the grass . . . there’s Joe out there making sure we’re safe. Now we know why it’s all so spectacularly GREEN around here! So! Ready for a new Willard? Let’s GO!💝 MUSICA!
Guess what arrived this morning? YES!!! Through rivers of rain, life-threatening wind, flowing mud, and flooding canyons ~ the boxes I’ve been waiting for, all the way from England ~ inspired by real life, I dreamed them, and now they’re HERE! The new cups! They made it!
LOOK! Shiny bright new. . . just in time!
Box-loads of them! As always, first come first serve, if you preordered, the first shipment will be going out this afternoon . . . we’re trying our very best to get them to you in time for Valentine’s Day!🥰
And plenty of time for Patriot’s Day in April!
And, don’t forget, we also got more of this one ~ for everyone who missed it first time around! Special for the Anglophiles in your life. Celebrating the long productive life of Queen Elizabeth II, this 16-oz. Commemorative cup! Filled with one of my private blend teas, this one is the Fine Romance Tea, Earl Grey with Lavender, rose petals, honey and cream!💖 YUM! Be your own Valentine!💞
For Anglophiles like me. I couldn’t love it more!🇬🇧
And this little cutie too . . . the Happy Birthday cup, for the Birthday friends in your life, in the smaller 11 oz size! All three of them arrived today! Won’t be long now until they come to a mailbox near YOU! Thank you for your patience!!! If you have been waiting to order until they actually got here, you can go HERE to secure yours now!🥳
This is one of MY best gifts, Kellee, she’s DEFINITELY tied to MY heartstrings!💖
Joe and I drove up to see her and the new studio yesterday . . . it was wonderful to see how Kellee has arranged everything ~ she did such a good job! ~ moving is such a good thing, we’ve unearthed things we haven’t seen in 
YEARS … like this appliqued quilt I designed for a new fabric line (new at the time) called Tea Party that Kellee hung over our cutting table. Note teapot on top shelf of appliquéd cabinet, and then I put the whole fabric collection on the shelves! And bordered it all with bluebirds of happiness because happiness, history, stories, and comfort is what quilting is all about! These fabrics are long gone, but we still have the pattern for the quilt, in case you’d like it!
The Studio is just an old warehouse, mostly furnished with shelves and tons of books, puzzles, charms, cups, tea things, vintage things, stationery things … but it does have lots of windows, lots of light, and Kellee put down cozy rugs and made a perfect office for herself and a darling little kitchen where she hung our sailboat cups.
Is that YOUR Autumn book sitting on top there?💘
I loved wandering around, seeing the products, and promised Kellee I would design more cards and notepads . . .
I got to smell our new kitchen soaps in their little wooden holders … the Genius Soap is made with Tea Tree and peppermint to enhance alertness and focus! Cute for a blue kitchen, soft and soapy. The oatmeal is the same, no rough herbs to hurt your hands, lovely soapy smell. I use the lavender all the time, but now I get to try the two new ones! Kellee and I wandered around for a while, then we went next door with Joe and Joel (Joel is the man who just brought our shopping page into the 21st century! I hope you like it!) and ate delicious Mexican food (a good Mexican restaurant next door was a BIG selling point for this space!) and discussed what good news we’ll have for you the rest of this year!💖
It’s inspiring, being here, in all new surroundings, seeing old friends, being close to Trader Joe’s😂, having so many good 
memories, getting organized ~ even when it’s raining, it’s a feast for the senses. No problem if it rains, we have a lot to do ~ mostly going through files, drawers, closets, barn, storage rooms, cleaning, and getting everything into piles . . . speaking of finding things ~ I’ve discovered so many things here, a note from my mom, a hilarious letter from my sister, childhood photos of my grandma, an old set of cookbooks, a collection of old paintbrushes . . . and bits and pieces like this:
Old pieces of art I haven’t seen in years. Been so fun discovering them and remembering doing them. See the cards I blotted my paintbrush on? I saved them from my very first 
book, Heart of the Home ~ I couldn’t throw them away! As you can see, I’ve always been trying to learn to paint people . . . either from magazine pictures, or made up, or from real photos, that’s a pencil drawing of me and my two brothers as children on the right… and that’s a portrait of our friends, the Schwiers, above it. It looks like Peggy, but definitely not Bob (except for the hair) ~ which is why it’s still here! And you can see me practicing Martin Luther King Jr. before I put him in my 2000 wall calendar! I think I spot Vanna in the center of the page, in the sunglasses, next to the baby jumping out of the egg (which never made it into my Baby Love book). That painting above is an original, painted on d’Arches paper, not even signed yet, just sitting in a box, I don’t know why! I’ll have to think of something special to do with it!🤔
Check this out. The stick people of 1988 … I started getting excited about painting clothes, as you can see from some of the paintings on the floor . . . I still have the jacket and the 
headband, my sister has the pin ~ I wore that exact outfit to a movie premier my friend Jane (who worked for George Lucas) took us to in 1988. The movie was wonderful, called Tucker, a Man and his Dream. I never see that movie anywhere for some reason, but it was great. That outfit was much cuter when the ruffled skirt flipped around! The Yuppie guy in the painting (who is not Joe) ~ his brown saddle shoes, and starry suspenders, was all made up. Thank goodness because I didn’t leave a lot of room for brains in that tiny head! Hers either for that matter! 😂 
I couldn’t give them hardly anything to drink because their hands were too small to hold it! But one does not give up. One hides the imperfect art in a box for 20 or 30 years until one feels brave enough to show it so that all her friends know that things wanted, must be worked for.💖 I have like three paintings of stick people. It’s like a collection, my stick-people period.
I’m going to paint a little more on this and you’ll likely see her in a future calendar! She doesn’t look so bad! And her puffed sleeves are back in style! I was smart this time, I hid her hands!
You’ve already seen this on a calendar page about Creativity! The original stick person! I drew it in kindergarten. One of my first adventures in drawing people! Note that I am trying out the fat arm and fat leg vs the thin arm and thin leg…six fingers vs five. It’s all about trial and error! My mom put this in my baby book! Good strong representation for the belly button!
This was folded up inside my baby book too … It’s HUGE, almost 5′ tall framed ~ it’s poster paint on kraft paper, also painted in 
kindergarten. I forgot about it until Joe found in the back of a closet. The reason it’s so tall is because it’s “actual size.” My teacher, Miss Caldwell, had the whole class lay down on paper, and she traced around us, and then we got to paint ourselves! I was so excited to see it again. I had it hanging in my studio on the Vineyard at one time, but immediately it began to fade really fast . . . so I took it down and it’s been face-to-the-wall, hidden ever since.
Here it is … how it was, the only photo I have of it as it originally was … you see the colors? So I took a trip to the art store the other day and bought poster paints, children’s paint brushes, and fixative, and if I have the nerve, I think I will try and restore it! Something interesting to think I painted it when I was five, now again 71 years later! My eyes look more like that now than then, I’ve grown into them! But I’m way better at putting my lipstick on. Note that learning to paint people takes time!💞
Found this too … never used it … I wrote “No Time For Love?” in the early ’90s, because I was irritated by my answering machine😂 and couldn’t get a real person when I called a business😬!! Ahh, the innocent 90s. I thought I could see the future and I didn’t think I liked it. The words I wrote scream out for editing, but I still think I was right!😆 Only now it’s phones! Don’t even talk to me about drones! (You see lines going off that page? Those are misspellings or grammar that I needed to fix! But since it went nowhere but into a box, I didn’t bother.)
Back to art . . . This half-finished painting is another find . . . it was here too ~ I have no idea when I started it. It was completely drawn, but only about ⅓ of it was painted … I had painted the table ~ but everything on the table was only in pencil, and the chairs were white. Then, one of our first mornings here, I woke up inspired, thinking “Brown, those chairs should be brown!” Which, as you can see, I did, and I’ve been working on it ever since! I wob it.💕
Happy Anniversary to Joe and me!💞 February 6th was the 37th Anniversary of our first date! Here we are just a couple of weeks later at Holly Oak, my little house on Martha’s Vineyard that had quilts for curtains. Talk about gifts!💝 He’s how I know God loves me and wants me to be happy.💝
I’ve had such a good time with all these California discoveries, I think I’m going to leave a treasure hunt, complete with map, as a surprise for the new owners of this house! I’ve been thinking about it . . . like a time capsule, or something. I’ll tell you more about that in the next Willard . . . Until then, how would you like a chance to own an original watercolor painting, signed to you by me? For Valentines Day, I thought maybe my girlfriends would enjoy one of my “finds.” The one with the yellow kitty! Kitchen art if I’ve ever seen it!
“April in New England is like First Love,” which it is! The painting is almost 10″ x 10″, it isn’t framed, and it’s not signed, so I can put a TO and FROM on it (for whomever’s name is drawn) and sign it! I think, by the looks of it, I painted it at Holly Oak probably in the 1980s, when I was discovering first love (in more ways than one)! Just leave a comment, and you’ll be automatically entered. (To enter: Under the last words of this Willard, you’ll see a whole bunch of tiny printed words; the last one will be a number with the word “Comments” … click there!) Happy Valentine’s Day!
One more thing, I wanted to pass you a tiny Trader Joe’s tip … get the Trader Joe’s fresh-dried pasta in little nests, probably about 6 or 8 in a package (we ate them, I don’t have them in front of me!).🥰 Drop one or two of the little noodle nests in boiling water for just one minute, toss them in a peanut salad dressing (opt), and add them to any salad, spinach, Asian, it’s all good! Makes a person so happy to have noodles in her salad!🥳🥳🥳
One more quickie, hard to stop, did you love the Grammys? Tracy Chapman!😢 Joni Mitchell!😭 Everyone! All that creativity! Like us💞, creating our lives every day! We never know if we’re inspiring others, but it’s my dream that through us, dear girlfriends, when we’re a source of the joys that bring us happiness, we’ll pass that on, inspire others, and bring us all a more beautiful world.💝 Let’s reach a tipping point for goodness! ❌⭕️❌⭕️
I just gave a friend your Queen E cup for her collection of British things and she loved it so much!! Of course I got one for myself too!! Thanks for all your wonderful work. ❤️
Dear Susan,
Your words and art are good for the soul. I wish you joy in discovering and re-living the happy days forgotten if not for the breadcrumbs we leave behind to lead us back to ourselves.
Hi! So glad you are in California again but sad to think about you leaving it at some point! I’ve always loved this state, and I am an almost native. My father worked on the railroad during WWII and the family traveled along with him, living in a converted boxcar. My mother even had her chickens which were in a coop under the train, and she would let them out to forage at the longer stops. Well, the time came for me to be born, and we happened to be in Phoenix. So they dropped us off at Good Samaritan Hospital and the train went on to California, making repairs along the way. My husband was an Air Force test pilot so there were a few times that we were required to live in other states. I am now widowed, twice, and living the good life in Soquel, a stone’s throw from Santa Cruz, CA. I also love the British Isles; second husband was Scottish and we visited England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales many times. My favorite place in Scotland is the MacNaughton Castle, from about 1500, still standing and in use as a family home, not mine, unfortunately. It is located near Balmoral Castle, and on Loch Fyne. Haven’t been able to tour Balmoral ‘cuz the Queen was always in residence when we were there. Love all your art, and use your darling cookbooks all the time. Keep us informed via Willard on your progress and plans!
Dear Susan,
My dearest 94 year old Mother gave me “Heart of the Home” for Christmas many years ago and I truly treasure it!! My parents where married in April of 1956, childhood friends, high school sweethearts and lived all their lives Massachusetts and summers on the Cape and Brighton Maine. When I saw the print, the memories of baking with Mom on the Cape, blueberry picking in Maine all came floating back to me!! ❤️ and I’d be honored to share the print with her too!
Very truly yours,
Maryellen Collins
Always fun when Willard arrives….tea and treat and goodies to read …. Makes my day.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love reading these Willard’s (and am new enough around here I’d love to know how they got their name). And I’d love to be entered into the drawing for for print!
So nostalgic to look at your youthful creativity. I love that 5 foot tall little girl with the big eyes and her whole life ahead of her. Touches my heart.
A Willard in my emails is always a gift! Thank you, Susan Branch! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe, too!
Although I live in Maryland, I fell in love with New England in 1964 on a bus tour. I was lucky enough to spend an adventurous single year living in Boston and later as a new mom in Connecticut for two years. I would love the painting!
My email was a typo. Danged iPad!
Have been following your career for years! You’ve become an old friend! If I could travel, I’d follow you everywhere. So exciting!
❤️hoping for a painting❤️
Hi Susan,
Oh how I loved you going back and looking at your early paintings and writings and discovering the heads were too small or the hands.. LOL.. We all have to start somewhere, but the trick is to keep on going until the heads are the right size and the hands can hold a mug ❤️. I can totally relate. Thank you for sharing them. Made me smile. Love your new studio.. So organized and tidy! Glad you made it through the bomb cyclone, we did too. So much rain! Enjoy the rest of your Californian trip. Hoping we all get some sunny weather. Going to be so green now.. Will look sort of like England.. Sort of 😉 Love, Beverlee
SOOO happy to hear from you again and actually have been wondering how you are fairing in the crazy California weather!! We are in Northern CA. & had a very large deodar cedar tree fall on our house during the Sunday storm! We are safe & sound, thank God. Glad you both are too!
What wonderful mementos you have found and shared! Thank you for showing the life size kindergarten painting of self. Iremembervdoing that with my class of students also❤️. I’d live to have your “April in New England” grace my art room wall – fingers crossed!
I just love your Willard’s !! It’s like escaping the here and now to venture into another’s mind and life. So relaxing, sometimes sad and reminiscent yet gloriously funny in spots. Your artwork is quite interesting from years ago and watching the changing strokes gives me the incentive to try revamping my works. Thank you for giving me a chance to dream of a better world. I believe I have a special place on my wall that would make your picture shine. Safe Hugs to a fellow sister I never had.
PS….I’m 76 on Feb,24 and I’ve been married 74 beautiful years. Isn’t life fun ??
I just left a post 5 minutes ago and noticed how many years ago we were married. Old age is certainly not for sissies !! We’ve been married for fifty-four years this summer…..54 yrs, NOT 74 yrs. You all keep up with the good and marvelous years !!
Loved Willard today! All your drawings showed the growth of a great artist.
In Jesus’ Love, Beth
I love exploring boxes from our past. Sometimes laughter and sometimes tears as those with us then are now departed. Treasures of our past are fabulous!
Thank you for the uplifting energy your posts bring – I really appreciate you and all you do to encourage us to make our corner of the world a kinder place.
Love this painting . . . Especially the yellow cat, who reminds me of my orange tabby, Cody (God rest his sweet little soul!).
You have been my forever inspiration for love, home and hygge, and whimsy – as you see life in much of the same way as I do ~ full of kitties, hanging wash, flower gardens, and long walks with my love. That beautiful painting belongs in my home in a space chosen that is worthy of honoring it! Send it and it will be forever treasured!
Happy February 💘, Sue and Joe…and all the fun memories and celebrations that come with it! Enjoy the early spring (hopefully without anymore crazy storms!) that is on its way according to Punxsutawney Phil! Inspiration abounds – embrace, enjoy, create!
Always fun to see a Willard in my email. Please enter my name for the picture. I do hope I win! ❤️
I would love a piece of your artwork! I am just learning to paint at age 62. I spent many years as a kindergarten teacher, the best job ever…being paid to play and read to children!
Is your house sold already? or can I buy it?? I live in Northern California, Napa Valley to be exact. Years ago I came to see you at a bookstore, 2 hours from my home, and still have the photo. Your books walked me through learning how to be a wife, and mommy.
Thank you.
Susan,
Oh, my, who wouldn’t want a original painting by you!! I also love the life size painting in tempera. Now, did you really have red fingernail polish, or was that just wishful thinking? You certainly improved in kindergarten from the skinny/fat drawing to a life sized painting….oh, my! Ha! I don’t know how you can spend all the time necessary to draw, paint, letter a piece of artwork and then not use it!! Skinny people or not.
I love seeing Kellee and the new Susan Branch studio. I would have a very difficult time not getting at least one of each of your books(which I think I already have), cards, soaps, etc. if I were walking around.
Hey, Joe got a hair cut and a shave….do you still recognize him? Don has had a beard for so long, I’m not sure I would. I told him this and he said, if we were in a room full of people, he would jump up and down so I could see him. The two photos of you two are so darling…with or sans beard. Love, love, love. Wish I knew how to get a big old heart in here.
I hope you find wonderful people to buy your property soon, so you can feel good about selling it. You two have so much of yourselves in those gardens and hedges and trees. I know you feel it is time to let go, but there must be a small part of you that will not like saying good-by.
Thank you for this post….so soon after the last one. I REALLY needed a pick-me-up. I/we(girlfriends) do enjoy hearing from you more often, altho I know it means more time spent on the computer for you.
Love,
Rachel
Always sweet to hear from you Rachel . . . and everyone, I have to say, so lucky! Thank you! xoxoxoxo
Hi Susan. I enjoy reading your Willard’s. I am a big fan of anything Susan Branch. Keep on creating. Love, Mary Rita.
What a wonderful newsletter. Every entry is superb!!! Keep them coming for our enjoyment! Breta
I think your atmospheric rivers may have made it to Utah! We had some rain this morning that turned to snow, all day! We desperately need any moisture we can get.
Finding forgotten treasures makes sorting and cleaning more fun. Looking forward to hearing about the treasure hunt you’re going to leave for the new owners!
Jill
Hi Susan,
I’m so glad your time in California is turning out to be a fun trip down memory lane. It’s so fun to find things you forgot about, and be glad you still have them!!!!
I would love, love, love to be picked for that painting! I have all your books and just love them— my kitty would love it and my birthday is in April! Stay safe!
WOW what a opportunity to win a original piece of art by the one and only Susan Branch! Please enter me in the drawing, Thanks
Thank you once again fir your cheery message on this chilly day! Lucky is the person who wins an original art piece by YOU! Thank you
Dreaming in water color. Happy Valentine’s Day
Susan, I love your Art! I’ve loved it forever. First found you on stickers in the 90’s. Love your website and all the pictures and memorabilia you share. Love the before and afters of you and Joe. So, Love does Last!! Yay!
It’s a cold raw day here in Plymouth, MA with random snowflakes in the air. A perfect day to get cozy with your Willard and a soft throw over me and a cuppa close to hand. I love seeing your early art! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Yes! A tipping point for goodness. I was thinking something just like that this morning. Oh, my, how I appreciate this delightful Willard. Every word. Every image. I feel restored to equanimity. And now the timer just went off for my afternoon tea. I’ll pour a cuppa and read it all again! Love and thanks.
Happy Everyday to you! What a walk down Memory Lane you are having! Enjoy each minute.
Best Regards,
K.
Oh how I love your Willards! Always such a joy to read! How wonderful and nostalgic to be going through your home and finding treasures kept in boxes for years!
Thank you for always brightening my day!! ❤️
It’s fun but bittersweet, right? Accumulation of lifetime memories and tangible memoirs takes a lot of time and work not counting getting a property ready for market! Whew! Enjoy your time in California. Happy 37 years ❤️ and as always thank you for sharing your life with your girlfriends so genuinely. Lots of love to you and Joe.
I just love reading your Willards! Everything is so filled with love and humor. And of course the artwork is always fun. I especially enjoyed your kindergarten picture. I’m a retired first grade teacher and it reminded me of the fun we used to have with projects like that. Thanks for all your inspiration. 💕
Dear Susan,
My birthday is February 11 …. 72 years young. How I got to this age I cannot understand. Me screaming at the Beatle concert in Detroit at age 11 is where I feel I really am. But a personal gift from you to celebrate number 72 would be a treasure. All the best and thank you for all you are.
Mary Amelia “Missy”
Always enjoy every Willard. All your creations, books, and travels bring great joy.
Hi Sue, just as I suspected: you were an artistic genius at a very early age. 🙂
Likely, I’m thinking, a reincarnation of Beatrix Potter. Her talent with watercolors was incredible and so is yours! I relish the details of each painting you publish. The first time I saw your art, I thought: wait! a woven basket in watercolors? Wait! a hydrangea in watercolors? A delicate apple blossom? Who can do that? Turns out Sue Branch can and so much, much more! Blessings on your head and thank you for sharing your talent and philosophy with us.
SHIRLEY!!! Yes, you ARE a beautiful writer! Lovely to hear from you! Hi to “the kids!”😘
Thanks for sharing your life with us! Reading your blogs is like catching up with an old friend. Sending good vibes and much love from Michigan 💕
Life is sad sometimes, it’s life. Getting the new Wizard is always wonderful and for a little while I’m taken away to the beauty of your art and daily doings.
Love your love story!
You make my day.
Dear Susan,
I think we are “kindred spirits.” And I’m loving the Willards that I just recently signed up for! -love from someone who grew up (or grew anyway) in California too 🤭
Susan, your posts are always filled with delightful surprises! I’ve been a “girlfriend” since your days of “snail mail” (some of which I still have!). Thanks for the new contest-to actually win would be thrilling-but don’t we all “win”when getting a “Willard” in our mailbox?
So happy you didn’t have damage from the storm! You and Joe were cutie pies 37 years ago, and somehow you’re even cuter now❤️I love the story of your first date in Boston🥰
Very nice picture and I love your Willard
Happy Anniversary! Enjoy your time in California.
Trader Joe’s “No Boil Noodles” they are…easy and tasty in lemon cream sauce with shrimp! Fun to see the house and new studio…thank you for sharing.
Karen
Enjoyed the latest Willard. Happy Valentines Day to you and Joe! Keep us posted on all California adventures.
Susan… seems you & Joe are enjoying your time in California! It is a splendorific place (in my eyes as a native). We surely are getting some massive amounts of rain. Good for drought/bad for the havoc wreaked upon the people and lands. Hope the house sale goes smoothly. I need to follow your lead and so some cleaning out of stuff. Although wouldn’t mind garnering one little art tidbit of yours – this giveaway is wonderful! Happy Galentine’s to you ! xoxo. Shari
Susan, you are an amazing woman! I have no idea how you do all that you do. I have always admired and loved your watercolors and reading your Willards are always a treat. A friend gave me your first book and I identified with you and have followed you ever since. I live on the Vineyard 6 months of the year and still hope to run into you someday!
Your artwork brings me much joy and I always look forward to reading your Willards.
What fun to see some of your first work! Thanks for sharing!
Susan, your Susan’s Stash quilt is stunning!!! I remember when your fabric came out! I would love to win your print with the cat in it!!! Me birthday is in April! Thanks again for letting us all come all go your adventures. I can feel your happiness jump off your pages!!!
Donna from Oregon 💜💜💜
Dear Susan, thank you for sharing your love of life with us!!! I would love to win your April in New England painting, and I’d frame it and enjoy it every day. I use to live in New England and miss it very much!! Reading your Williards takes me back there!! Love to the perfect couple – Susan and Joe …….meant to be. God is so Good!!!!
Susan – I’m always excited when I see a new Willard has come! You make me 😃
Lovely surprise to get a new Willard today. I really enjoyed your trip down memory lane. Cute “before” and “after” pictures of you and Joe. Loved your new mugs and the revamp of your on-line shop. Your new brick and mortar store sounds charming. Fun to see all your wonderful books waiting for their forever home. Enjoy the rest of your time in California. The days go by so quickly. Hugs, Elaine
Such a fun Willard to read. You and Joe are a darling couple. So right for each other. Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️💋🌺❤️🌻❤️
Another fun and creative WILLARD. Thank you! I love that you never run out of creative ideas or enjoy sharing them with others. Perhaps I will win the print. 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day!
So glad to hear y’all are safe, well, and above water level – wish that was true of everyone in southern CA and the whole world.
What treasures you’ve found! No wonder you pine for CA when on Martha’s Vineyard (and vice versa) – you’ve left part of your heart there.
I’m enjoying my Winter mug, but where is winter? Not outside in our part of Virginia.
Hugs!
Hi Susan! I just love getting more Willard’s! I also love hearing about all the treasures you’re finding. Have a happy day!
California Dreamin’- on such a Winter’s Day!
Be happy and stay well!
Always enjoy Willard! It will be our 55th anniversary of my hubby proposing on this Valentine’s Day. It’s seems like yesterday and we still are madly in love 🥰. You have part of my world for many years and love all your great stories and trips. Wishing you a wonderful month and great success in your new adventures!
It’s always a treat to read your blog! I’ve been reading and cooking things from your books for 30 plus years! When you mentioned George and Martha, it reminded me of living near Clinton, New Jersey ten years ago. It was a crossroads between Philadelphia and NYC for George and Martha, and they stayed in several places in that area. One is a house at Lake Solitude near High Bridge that is oozing with charm and you would love it. My husband and I stumbled upon it one time while hiking. If you’ve never visited that part of the country, it is very high on charm and revolutionary war sites. Washington’s crossing is also nearby…where Washington crossed the Delaware! Valley Forge is close, too. I loved visiting all those places when we lived there! Anyway, thanks for this post and the chance to “win” one of your lovely paintings. 😊💕
Susan, thank you for the light you carry and the joy you bring.
Love,
Jocile Barbieri
As always – love your texts! You are a joy in my life. Enjoy your time there and keep us posted!
I would love to win this adorable watercolor to send it to my mother-in-law, Wendy, who loves you!!
The little marmalade tabby in the picture looks like “Perky,” my cat from my childhood. My brother found him for me, and he was definitely a loved member of our home. Such a precious memory.
Susan…Another very enjoyable post! Thank you for sharing your artwork, home, and personal thoughts. I’m delighted to see and read all of them.
It’s wonderful finding treasures you’d forgotten about, isn’t it? Reliving the beginning, seeing where you’d turned, following the map of your life. Wonderful reading about everything. 💜
Hi Susan. I have been following you for years. And I always get gitty to read ANYTHING new you’ve put out. I have just about all your books and keep your calendar each year. Please enter my name in the drawing for your sweet painting. The little kitty looks just like my Fezziwig. I would be so happy to own it for my cottage. Love, Marybeth
Oh Susan, it’s always lovely to receive “A New Willard” ! Time to put the kettle on and visit with you for a few minutes 😀. How wonderful to find these childhood treasures, isn’t it amazing how we can visit years gone by in our precious memories of family and friends? I appreciate your generous spirit, thank you for the chance to win one of your early pieces of art! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe, enjoy!
Nice surprise to find a new Willard! Happy Valentine’s Day!
How wonderful to find so many precious treasures.
I love going through old boxes and cupboards to rediscover the treasures I long ago thought were worth keeping. I completely understand your excitement in discovering old pictures and artwork. The memories are priceless!
I’m so happy you are enjoying your time in California. I love it there too.
Happy February!
Dear Susan,
Isn’t it wonderful when we find something we didn’t know we had or we forgot we had. Sounds like you’re having a great time. Your old comments about the answering machine sure hit home. When I got my first cell phone I had voice mail set up. It was a never ending task checking and dealing with all the messages. I made up my mind when I got my second phone I was bound and determined not to set up voice mail. I didn’t, and boy was my family upset. They got over it, and to this day I don’t have voice mail on my phone. Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Jan
Thank you for the Willard. What fun looking at your early work! It certainly brightened up my day!
Thanks for the chance to win
Glad you are having such a good time in CA
Happy Anniversary to you and Joe! I’m sure the new owners of your California home will be so thankful for all of the love and work you put into it. So fun to see all of the treasures you’ve found while going through stuff!
I love your Willard letters! Always nice to find one in my inbox!
As always. LOVE the Willard! You really make my day. I’m glad you’ve made it through the rough weather so far. Bomb cyclone, yep sounds familiar! We had one not line ago. Fun aren’t they? Ugh.
The yellow cat reminds me of my Snufkin, the Orange Terror. He’s BAD but still lovable!
Congrats on the new studio, I know you’ll love it!
I just ordered another Queen mug today. I had previously ordered and received one but it has mysteriously disappeared! I had new floors put in in Kuly last year and I’m thinking obe of the workman accidentally broke it and didn’t tell me I am anxious to get the new one since I’m Englush and the Queen meant so much to me. Thank you Susan for making this beautiful cup. Be very careful out there in California, we see it on the news every night and it looks disastrous. stay safe all of you!
You are such an inspiration. Thank you for all of your work. I love your books and have follow d you for a long time. Happy Anniversary! Happy Valentine’s Day!!
How fun to take a walk with you down memory lane as you find all of these treasures! Enjoy every minute! xo
Happy anniversary to you and Joe! Ain’t love grand? 🙂
Glad you’re safe out there in CA. My son lives in Pasadena and he’s fine being that far inland.
I love that life size painting of yourself from Kindergarten. How precious! You should definitely hang it in your office/studio back at home.
xoxo
Speaking of the 80’s, it was the late(ish) 80’s when my best friend introduced me to You. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I save some special time to allow me to read the posts, savor them, re-read parts, linger on the whimsical artwork and delicate wording around the articles, and am rewarded by experiencing a level of contentment that I don’t get everyday.
Secretly I wish I had the talent (or Font) to write the colorful quips that lead from one subject to the next; when you see it, you have to keep reading because you know that you’re about to be transported to a new place, somewhere that you have never been, and you will experience it through the eyes of someone who can describe it truly as no other person could. Obviously, you will wish that you were there too.
Life tries to keep me too busy to acknowledge the things that I will enjoy. It looks at my emails and says “Delete, Delete, Delete” regardless of the subject.
But, here I am. I have triumphed again against the enemy. I opened, relaxed, savored, and am more content for doing so.
Blessings and Love for all of the years of “Moments of Contentment.”
That was beautiful Wendy. I want to keep it forever. XOXOXOXO
Dear Susan,
How much fun to discover “lost treasures” in your storage area!
My granddaughter is just learning how to cook/bake.
She wanted some of my cookbooks. I gifted her “Little Dinners”, still in it’s little box. And Autumn.
She loves them!
Thank you for all you have done and will do..
Little dinners! For little hands! I love it!💝
Thank you, Susan for always bringing joy and love to all the girlfriends 🙂
Cooking your French Onion Soup, from Heart of the Home. It’s snowing lightly
outside and life doesn’t get better than this!
Susan I would love if you’d consider doing a set of old Vintage Valentine’s Cards , like the ones we had as kids ?? Can’t wait to receive my ‘Shot Heard Around The World Cup ‘ ! My coffee is going to taste so much better in that cup ! I just KNOW it ! xo
I think so too!😆😂🤣😘
It’s always so fun to get a Willard and read all about your marvelous adventures! Receiving a painting from you would be such a wonderful treat!! You have a special gift for seeing the good and beautiful and pointing it out to us all!
Thank you Susan for sharing your beautiful heart (and art!!) with us! Blessings on this journey!
Happy Anniversary and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you, as always for sharing your love of life and art and beauty! Having a special piece of your art to hang in my kitchen would be so sweet! =)
It sounds like you are taking quite the trip down memory lane. How fun! Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s right around the corner!
Susan, seeing a new Willard in my inbox made my day! Savoring every word and the artwork is like the best long conversation with a friend. You’ve chased the lonelies away … thank you.
Always so happy when a “Willard” comes!! Thank you for all you post!!
Do you think there is a way to get copies of the very first “Willards” that were mailed out?! I enjoy the printed word!!
It would be wonderful to be entered in for a chance to win your painting! It would look perfect in my kitchen!!
Thank you for all the great things that you share with us!! All the best!
Always a joy to receive a new Willard. Thank you.