Believe you me (as my mom would say💖), you cannot pack up all your very favorite things from a house you’ve lived in for 35 years without living every single day on that beautiful old street called Memory Lane. MUSICA! I love it there. I’m good at it. Not the packing, the memories. Everything we pick up has a story, and looking at some things brings back the years, and leaves me with joy joy joy, a surprising result from what should be an awful job! 
Me (and Man Cat) when I first moved to Martha’s Vineyard from 
California, in my tiny house in the woods (that I accidentally bought because of the cute stove and broken bird feeder) knowing no one, devastated from divorce, scared, confused (like how did I get 3,000 miles from everything normal), with no idea what would come next. See that face? It’s the face of luckiness. But we never know where life will take us. Fun thing about growing older, you get to see your path! 
The little cottage I’d stumbled upon had a hand-written sign out front with a name, Holly Oak ~ the house had a name! It was small but it was cute! So much happened in the seven years I lived there, that in 2016 I used my old diaries and photographs to write a book about it called Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams. Next Willard is going to be all about this little house. Pure memory indulgence. Now it’s hard to wait … 👏
And I was right, wonderful things were ahead. As my eyes began to open to everything around me, I heard the birds singing, I admired every detail of the changing seasons. I began feeling like a bunch of fairies were always running ahead arranging little discoveries for me . . . it never seemed I had to look far to see them . . . and it never stopped. 
Here we are on our walk just the other day. Where’d that heart come from? We don’t know. We walked past it to where Joe is in the photo, and I suddenly thought “I can’t just walk by that,” and said to Joe, “Hey, look at this.” I went back and showed him and he said, “Take a picture of it.” (Joe, the gift that keeps on giving. Fairy found him in a restaurant and sat him next to me one night.💞)
Joe waited while I took pictures. I think it was just a dry place in the damp road where the trees hadn’t dripped. Put there for us.
We love our walk so much we put our name on it. Lots of times!
Only 3 weeks ago our walk looked like this . . . colorlessness in all its colorless glory. Deeply beige. Good air though, good, clean, cold, briny, fresh ocean air.💨
Everything we see is art.🧡
And baby look at it now . . .The gift of our lives, being here in all seasons, a piece of our hearts will ALWAYS be here, forever, 
until time is no longer. It’s made for such a happy life! What I take with me from this: sea glass we found during hours of wandering the beach, heart-shaped rocks, tons of photos and videos, memories, of the porches we sat on watching the sun set, the barbecues on the beach with our friends, the yellow kitty I found and wrapped in my jacket 
to take home ~ too many memories to mention ~ always reminding me what a wonderful world this is. And the BOOKS we’ve listened to together out there (one Airpod in my ear, and the other in Joe’s)! Speaking of which: Oh boy, do I have good books for you! First off, have you read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett? SO GOOD!!!! A+++ and read by Tom Hanks! Which made it perfect. He acts all the way through it! We just finished it the other day, we both cried at the end. Walked the rest of the way home talking about it.📚 We are now reading something completely different, but equally compelling, memoir and history, my two favorites, and it includes archival recordings! It’s by Doris Kearns Goodwin and it’s called An Unfinished Love Story. We’re only just two walks into this book, and I thought I knew the history of the 1960s, but I was only 13 when the decade began, and am being TREATED to a whole new view in this book. I think what I was doing and thinking then (sooo busy watching Bewitched, meeting the Beatles) and compare it to what these others were doing and thinking. Another world! Walking and learning!👍👍 Win-win! Under the trees, through the woods, to the sea with my honey man, for a lifetime. 
Even the sky knows it’s spring, and not afraid to show it.
Our house fronts on two streets, this is a view of the small-town, tree-lined street at the back…
. . . I love the lawn going right up to the granite curb . . . in my mind, the cars and asphalt are gone, and what I see is a couple of horses nibbling grass . . . How quiet it is . . . make a right after that second car, and you see this . . .
Our House. The first time I saw this, before I knew I could buy it, I would come over and sit here in my car and stare at it, dreaming it into becoming mine.💖
Looking down from way up there, the sky, the same one we walk under, the same one you see outside your window, the same one that floated over that old street and this old house 175 years ago, has seen it all . . .
Seasons of beauty, and the excitement we feel waiting for each season as it comes, marking time as a gift. Sparkling sweet spring and my pink-flowered clematis Montana Reubens is blooming!!! I saw this plant for the first time at the first house we rented in England and fell in love 🌸. Wrote about it in my garden diary, came home and planted it. You California girls, do you know if this vine will grow out there?🙏 I might have to be satisfied with gardenias and sweet peas which don’t grow well here on the island. Gardenias, not at all!
The bluebells came from Lowely’s garden and now they’re in bloom in my garden and volunteering all over! In England, bluebells are protected, and in the spring there are carpets of them in the woods, for as far as the eye can see.🦋
The Jan van Leeuwen peony my girlfriends gave me in 2020 in memory of my mother just bloomed in time for this Willard. The first of my peonies to bloom each year.💞 Wonderful! Big as my hand!
Next comes this one! My mom and Shirley Temple go together like peanut butter and jelly, bologna sandwiches and potato chips, saltine crackers and milk.💞
This is my second year of No Mow May. I love seeing what comes up when we don’t mow! It’s quieter too . . . no lawn mowers.
Everything seems to be blooming at once, Lily of the Valley,
. . . dogwood, and Lilac too. Mrs. Bowditch, who lived here for 30 years before us (to whom I give thanks every spring, summer, winter and fall), planted the entire west side of this property with lilacs!
Mrs. Bowditch’s wisteria is planted across the length of the house on the arbor that goes under our bedroom windows, under another bedroom’s windows, under 
the back stairs window, ending outside the Peter Rabbit room bedroom windows. Old old, with a trunk much thicker than my leg. Our windows, newly relieved of storm windows, are open at the perfect time… to smell the flowers, and hear the sound of the fattest bees!💤
I came in from the garden carrying my phone, and my shadow came with me . . . I looked down, and there was my OTHER shadow.💖 
Jack seems to be oblivious to what is going on in this house. 
He hasn’t said a thing about the shelf Carlton made for me (see the hearts?) being taken down and wrapped up to go to California. Doesn’t miss the pictures on the wall, not repelled by empty bookshelves, missing silverware, dishes, and nap blankets, doesn’t mind walking around, over, or through boxes … He does what he always does, looks cute, basks in the sun, shadows me…
Waits in my chair . . . because he knows soon it will be nap time . . .
Rolls over for Joe’s Man-hands to give him a good rub! He is going to love our trip across country. He’ll be center of attention 24-7!
And while packing, I look outside, feeling the springtime vibes of 
this 35th Spring of our lucky lives here in this house. This normal Valley girl, oldest of 8 children, walking to school in my Girl Scout uniform, Reseda High School alumni, squirrel-luring, doll-loving, bologna sandwich eating, Toni permanent getting, Zuma Beach sitting, star-wishing, Ciro’s dancing, Beatle-meeting, Joe-finding, cat adoring, birthday-cake making, cookbook-writing, LUCKY person.🌹
Only 35 Springs here . . . of the 175 that this old house has 
experienced. We did our part, 35 Christmases, 3 weddings, one memorial, and one movie night under the trees, too many birthday toasts under the arbor to count, flags on the front of the house, croquet and badminton in the garden, lobster 
dinners with Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James MUSICA wafting over the neighborhood, hot dogs on the grill, tea parties, Christmas Parties, Girl parties, egg hunts, a luau for Joe’s 40th, quilts-airing, sheets drying, kitties galore, visiting neighbor dogs, in short, LIFE. And I have photos of it all! I’m writing this so that hopefully the people who live here after us, will find this and know what a living thing this house is.🦞 It goes forth with my forever thanks and gratitude.🌹
I went through my 17 photo albums and took pictures of everything I love. Much faster than scanning, and worked really well. This is one of them . . . it’s my first photo of the house, the exact view from that pretty street where I used to sit and stare.
And this, with hearts I stenciled on the windows for Valentine’s Day . . . Perfect forever-decor for this house. Even if you can’t see them now, you know they were there. And that’s what makes all the difference.💋
For happily ever-aftering than here in Camelot . . .❤️
I feel so lucky that when we get to California . . .
. . . we have another picket-fence garden . . . and a little house that I love. What Martha’s Vineyard (AND England) taught me is that I’ll be happy no matter where I am as long as I can be outside, with old trees, the sound of bees, the smell of dirt, watching birds, hugging kitties, watching the sun set, wandering with Joe. It always was and always will be
Our move in 2024 is very different from my move alone in 1982 … this time I bring my loves with me, my Kitty and Joe . . . and I bring you. I didn’t have you last time, I was in the process of growing into the having of you . . . this time is MUCH better! Can’t wait to show you all our new plans. But never worry that we won’t have our memories too . . . you’ve been here on the island with me for so many years, we’ll never forget it! And I’ll never stop writing about it. Like they never stopped writing about Camelot! Because once there was a spot . . . 😘
Jane Austen and I have a lot in common in that we know how to celebrate getting older! Same way we celebrated being younger! (douceurs in French means “sweets”)🍷
Here’s another harbinger of spring on Martha’s Vineyard, John’s Fish Market opens for the season!!! Oh my!!!🍤🍤🍤 Time OUT from packing!!!
You know it will be good when you go inside and see this photo that’s been on the wall for years . . . Glenn, John’s son, and I’m guessing this is his little sister? She’s smaller than the fish!🐙
You know it’s going to be good when you see this out behind the market! It’s the real thing!
So along with the rest of the island, we go down and stand in line for all their delicious delights, fantastic fresh fish, lobsters, and potato salad … plus, THE best shakes, fries, onion rings, burgers, fish plates, the Island’s best version of fast food, except (spoiler alert) it’s not really fast, but it’s GOOD . . .
And here: the creme de la creme. . . our first fish sandwich of the season. The best melt-in-your-mouth, freshest-fish sandwiches on the face of the earth.🐟 From a fish market that was here when I got here. I never met John, but I knew his wife Sandy . . . for years and years, I would come for fish and joke with Sandy. And now their son Glenn is there, cooking for everyone. If you come to the island, go there, and be REALLY nice, and tell them I sent you. For old times sake. Click HERE to find them. ❌⭕️
Took this bowl to Margot’s for a party on her porch on Friday night with all our friends . . . filled it with Brownies (p.109 Autumn Book ~ but I’ll put the recipe at the bottom of this blog in case you’re in the mood🤗) . . . I didn’t put my name on the bowl, left it and the embroidered linen doily for her . .. because it’s true. “Old friends is always best. . . Unless,” as Sarah Orne Jewett wrote, “you can catch a new one fit to make an old one out of.”♥️
Our moving van comes in one week!🤪 But we’re going to stay another month. So all is well . . . we’re DOING it.🆘 Each day I get up and MAKE my day. That’s what it seems to take. A TON of conviction, more than any normal person should have to have, and as little over-thinking as possible. Trying to pay attention to the minutes so the days will take care of themselves!🌹
One last thing ~ just came in . . . we’ve had these “Secret Notes” (see the tiny matchbox at the bottom of this photo?) in our web store for years . . . but I recently decided we needed some new messages and so I made some! Just back from the printer, Kellee sent me a box! It’s an oldie but goodie turned new again. Little notes to stuff into pockets and backpacks . . . tuck into letters, use as bookmarks, give to friends ~ 
And, did you guys get a chance to read the comments from my last Willard? So so SO good … if you ever need to feel better about this old world, read those comments.💌 It’s all love all the time. You come out purified! Scroll down, it’s the Willard under this one . . . to read them, just click on the tiny word “comments” at the very end (just beyond all the other tiny words). And sign-up on the top right of this page if you’d like the Willards delivered to you! And here’s the recipe I promised! Happy cooking!❤️
L🅾Ve Y🅾u 🌹
Off I go . . . this is the day I start packing up my STUDIO! I wrote something like 12 books in this room!!! 
And I’m taking it all!
My paints!
Every single memory is coming with me! Saving them up to tell you more later!🌹🌹🌹 Looking forward to our ROAD TRIP!!!
Adios dear ones!!! Thanks for stopping by! Have yourselves a wonderful day!💋
You will always be in that house to me. Idea for the next book, how about one devoted to the Spring Street house and all the glorious photos and memories? Wob you!! xoxoxo!
Lori from Washington
Sounds like SO MUCH FUN!
Such a lovely idea to do a memory book on your Spring St home with photos and memories. Would love to read that book! Thanks for sharing your life experience with us.Best wishes to you and Joe for the next chapter and all that awaits you both.
An excellent idea. PLEASE Susan!!
Thanks for sharing your lovely memories of Martha’s Vineyard with us. And, now to new adventures.
Off we go!
Oh Susan…. Embracing the old, the memories, and looking forward to the your new adventures in California.. That is a big positive of being our age. We are being able to look back and see all the twist and turns and unexpected joys in the map of our lives and know all be ok.
You are an inspiration and a balm to us all. Thank you for taking us along on your journey. Looking forward hearing more about it all!
❤️ Beverlee
My pleasure Beverlee, thanks for coming along!!!
I have to say that yes I am very excited for you and your new adventures. But I am actually surprised that I too am mourning the loss of you on Martha’s Vineyard. Safe travels.
Well, at least I don’t have to do it alone!😘
You have the best attitude! I read this entire post with tears in my eyes. Things end, but things also begin again too.
Yes they do.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Wishing you two all the best in your move. All will be well and you’ll see that it was the best thing to do.
Last year my husband and I downsized. It was needed! But, it was the hardest work I’ve ever done( well, not counting my beloved 34 year teaching career!)! The sorting, the deciding, the parting with things(taking photos of them helped a lot!), the selling, the giving away, the packing, THE MOVE and saying goodbye(actually, I was too busy and exhausted to do that), the cleaning, the unpacking, the furniture placement, the decisions, the remodeling… but, the newness, the ease of being mostly on one floor, having less to clean, someone else to mow the lawn, less weeds to pull … it’s all been worth it! I wish you peace and love in your westward adventures!
I can’t imagine packing up and moving across the country. You are so brave to be doing that. I guess I’m just content staying in my home state of NJ and now that we’re beginning our 80s we just don’t even entertain the thought of moving any more. Wishing you best of luck on your road trip West and looking forward to seeing how you settle in in CA. You must know that it’s your fault that I love everything about England and am hooked on so many UK youtubers. Jersey Hugs..
Wishing you two all the best in your move. All will be well and you’ll see that it was the best thing to do.
Last year my husband and I downsized. It was needed! But, it was the hardest work I’ve ever done (well, not counting my beloved 34 year teaching career!)! The sorting, the deciding, the parting with things (taking photos of them helped a lot!), the selling, the giving away, the packing, THE MOVE and saying goodbye (actually, I was too busy and exhausted to do that), the cleaning, the unpacking, the furniture placement, the decisions, the remodeling… but, the newness, the ease of being mostly on one floor, having less to clean, someone else to mow the lawn, less weeds to pull … it’s all been worth it!
I wish you peace and love in your westward adventures!
You are so brave!
Sue – did you see the heart in your shadow -the one going in the door with Jack’s shadow – look for the little heart !! amazing. Take good care you three:)))
I did, good eye Peggy… too much! xoxoxo
May your journey be joyful and swift. Godspeed!
Dearest Sue … cherish every moment: packing packing … your 35 years on Spring Street tied up in heart strings forever .. CA Dreams ahead full steam as the best is yet to be!! As my Hawaiian-spirit Mom would say: Aloha mean goodbye but also hello THERE💝
A-lo-ha-ha w/much love and safe journey home💝💝💝 Xo Evie
So true, all tied up in heartstrings!!!💝💝💝 A-lo-ha-ha Girlfriend!
Thank you Susan dearest for another wonderful Willard. I feel sad and excited for you and Joe in equal measure, probably because your move from the Vineyard is bringing back memories to me of our move from Thame in Oxfordshire where we had lived for 40 years in the same house and raised our family there. We have never regretted moving to the north west 9 years ago and I am certain you guys will never regret moving back to California and to new routines and new adventures. You will leave Martha’s Vineyard but the joy it has brought you will always be in your heart. Thank you for sharing so much with us over the years and I’m sure all your Girlfriends are excited to be a part of your next big ADVENTURE! With much love to you both from Ann in Chester. xx
How wonderful for you to have all of these pictures of your home! I left my first home in 2001 and wish I had taken photos of everything! I tell my nieces, take pictures of your apartments and houses because some day you will take joy in the memories.
On a side note, our school where I teach will be moving to a new space in the Fall. Excited for the move but finding time to take pictures of my space and classroom to “have roses in Winter”. Love to you. You can do this!!
Wonderful posting❣️. My cup runneth over with visions of all the memories you have shared all these years. Looking forward to your new chapter.
Each day I sit at my desk with a current Susan Branch desk pad calendar and as I make phone calls, gaze out the window thinking of my day, I trace your designs on the page of the month and am reminded of you. I have been a devoted fan since I received your very first book as a gift. You shed light and joy on each page and wherever you go. You taught me how to turn my house into a home. I think of you now on this new journey and applaud and celebrate all that is you. Warmest wishes from Northern California.
❌⭕️❌⭕️❌⭕️
Getting teary reading your living through the decision to move back to California.
Life brings such twists and turns, but resilient, you are, through it all!
My husband and I have owned our home in Northern California for nearly forty years now. Moves to NY and OH during this time (renting the abode) and always returning to this same spot. We, too, are in the “consideration” phase of “do we stay or do we go”.
Wishing you joy and peace during the months ahead!
Thank you for having such a beautiful heart and a wonderful memory! (Not to mention your amazing talent!). How does it feel to have thousands and thousands of close friends? Because we all feel that way. (Even those of us who are on different pages in some areas!):-)
It feels wonderful. Reading these comments, I can’t tell you how much I love them. Thank you Sandy and thank ALL of you for your kindness. You make it a beautiful world!
Love the photo of yours and Jack’s shadows….
Thank you for yet another beautiful Willard – you are a treasure…
We just had our own self-moving adventure four years ago with 5 cats, 2 dogs, and a bunch of reptiles and amphibians, moving from Washington state to Colorado to be near our adult kids. It was such a great move, made so much easier by our kids’ help and encouragement. We’d lived in our Washington home for 30 years and carried our memories with us into our Colorado home. It’s all good! Wishing you and Joe and Jack a smooth moving adventure and happiness along the way. Cheers, dears! 💕
Dear Susan,
Thank you for sharing your journey with us: moving to a new state, starting a new life with a wonderful partner, the passing of your beloved mother, feeling low but hopeful, and moving a 2nd time to start again. What a full circle!
Your writings have been inspirational, especially when I lost my Mother at the same time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Safe travels in your new adventure.
Blessings,
Mary P.
I was so shocked at your last Willard that I couldn’t respond, I almost burst into tears. Nooooo… don’t go! Maybe living in MA I feel a little bit proprietary, silly I know. My mother gave me your first book back in 1990(?) and I’ve been hooked ever since. Your family’s turkey stuffing is now my family’s. BUT, as your mother would say, how lucky are you to have friends and opportunities elsewhere, and gardening in January is a definite bonus! I will be cheering you and Joe along as you head west, and look forward to the updates and to being an armchair traveler from my 119 year old house up here on the North Shore.
Thank you dear Susan. I love your willards
Thank you Susan,
It is really happening–you are moving back to CA! Best wishes for everything wonderful before during and after your new adventure. I so appreciate being a part of your journey (albeit bystander) and have enjoyed your books, art and products tremendously. Also, I can’t thank you enough for introducing me to The Enchanted Book Club as it has been absolutely wonderful in every way! I think you sprinkle fairy dust wherever you go so lookout CA!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for this wonderful post filled with so much love. Houses have souls, I know because our New England home of 32 years has one that I adore. I am surprised that your moving van is coming in one week- that is in a blink of an eye. It is good you are staying for another month. I am excited for you, Joe, and Jack as you begin your new expedition to California, but a part of me is mourning the loss New England will feel in your absence. I know that sounds silly, but in many ways, you are New England (it is in one’s blood forever). I could ramble on like this for hours, but instead, please know how loved you are by all of us. Forever.
How can it be? The end of an era but also a new beginning. How brave you are! I often think of moving house, finding something in the country, then the idea of packing up and getting it all from here to there stops me. Go you! Safe travels and thanks for bringing us along.
Wow it’s all moving so fast!! Sometimes that’s the best way perhaps. No time for lingering doubts just go with it! I’ve been in my house almost 30 years and I know how much stuff there is in that length of time. I see no reason why clematis wouldn’t grow in California, it even grows here in west Texas. I have some native clematis that comes up along my fence
line. I love it.
I’m next in line for Doris Kearns Godwin’s book on the Libby app from my library. I’ve been waiting a month already. I’m looking forward to it.
Well keep packing and making memories right up until you drive onto the ferry! ❤️
I am not sure why, but I am missing you in this house, in this garden, in Martha’s Vineyard. I do not even know why as we never met face to face but I think of you as a dear friend. Looking forward to following your travels cross country 🌸
Being in the same place in life as you are, 69 years old, having to sell my home & move to a much smaller place, packing up a lifetime of memories & having to get rid of so many possessions I’ve amassed over the years…following your lead with much less enthusiasm, I’m ashamed to admit…my happy gene is lying dormant at the moment…us doing this together is somehow very comforting to me. Thank you for always being my North Star.
Gosh Susan we all seem to be in the same sea once again as we get in our kayak or an ocean liner to move with the tide forward and back..repeat….in with the new as we bring our memories wherever we may go I like to think the trail I leave behind when it is my time to move that the me I leave behind will be like a beautiful piece of sea glass left for the next person to find as their new treasure You, my sister of heart girlfriend will be that exact treasure
To whomever moves into your home and gardens sprinkled with fairy dust and they too will live their fairy tale Bless you and Joe as you dry your eyes and for us on gratitude
Oh Sue, your blog is such a relaxing, colorful place; my moment of zen! Being able to go through our life’s collections and re-live special memories is a perk of change. I am excited to be on this journey with you. And oh, that old photo of your house! Do you know what year that was? I am fascinated with old photos like that (and I will admit to slightly stalking your house on google maps!)
Love, Kat
Oh I loved Zuma Beach…I think we were there at the same time as we are the same age.
Looking forward to your new adventures…I remember your store in Arroyo Grande.
What did I miss? Did you decide not to sell your place in California and move there instead? Color me confused!❤❤❤
New adventures are the best adventures. Love and courage to you over the next month. I do hope you are still able to get to England again in the future ❤️
I bet your Joe is looking forward to tootling around on his John Deere in the California sunshine on the regular. I know my husband would! I remember that picture from when you posted in a while back. He looked to be in his element. Best to you as you sort through your decades of Vineyard life!
Susan,
I just love this post, thank you for sharing all of your beautiful memories of your house. So much love has passed through those doors, and precious memories you will always treasure. It is so hard to say goodbye, but yet be filled with gratitude for all those special times in your dream house. But now, all new wonderful memories are waiting to be made in California. By the way, I have family in SLO and yes, they tell me Clematis Montana Rubens will absolutely grow on the central coast.
I agree with others a book of your Martha’s Vineyard dream house, pictures and memories is in order, we all would love it.
Wishing you, Joe and Jack safe travels to California. We are all waiting to have you take us along on the stories of life on the Central Coast.
Big Hugs from California
Terri
I started crying when I saw the heart in the road. Cried till the end. You and Joe are so special. We are all so lucky that you share your path with us…
I am so grateful that you are describing your experience regarding your decision to move. I really need your perspective and inspiration right now. Five years ago we sold the family home and moved from California to the Pacific Northwest. We love it up here and planned to enjoy the rest of our lives here. However, I have developed crippling arthritis pain that worsens each winter and has destroyed my mobility. When I visit to the south my pain mostly dissolves and I now realize that moving north wasn’t good for my body. Plenty of medical intervention and I still am unable to go for a simple walk. Now we have to face making the move all over again, but this time 5 years older with pain and limited mobility. I’m finding it difficult to feel positive about all this, but you always manage to see the positive and convey a cheery enthusiasm, it’s infectious and I love it! Thank you!
I can’t believe what an expedient job you are doing in packing up your 35 years!! And I’m sure it is pulling on your heart strings. My daughter and I ate at John’s Fish House summer of 2022 per your recommendation and it WAS Sooo WoNDERFUL!! (I want to go back — but too far from Colorado!!).
I also am SLOWLY trying to pack up my house of 45 years, complete with SO many MEMORIES. My husband and I brought up our four children here, in the country. Now, since I am getting older (74), but still healthy and active; my husband and one daughter have died; and I have a 10 year old granddaughter living with me, whom I daily drive to and from school about 20 minutes one way, it is time for me to pack up what I absolutely CAN’T part with and move closer into town. I am thankful that my grown children love the antiques I have, and have taken some things which I am ready at the moment to part with. I can sympathize what you are going through and wish you THE BEST. I’m sure we will keep in touch as you re-enter your California life! Thanks for all you inspiration!!
Wishing you and Joe well as the journey ahead takes you home and brings Joe along on the adventure because he’s indispensable and much loved.
You’ve said you two will return to the island a couple of times a year so surely that’s in spring and autumn so you’ll still have those seasons!
Our DS1 and DIL are moving here, so we welcome the chaos and are staying put!! Joy!!
Hugs!
Oh Susan, my feelings are so conflicted. I’m sad that you are leaving the island that brought you back to happiness but happy that the bed chapter in your life will be, I’m sure, even happier.
❤️ Suzanne
Good luck going back to your old stomping ground! You’ll be so much closer to family and friends! No winters to slip and fall in, only outdoor gardens all year long. Sounds like heaven to me. Susan, I just wanted to tell you that I found out I am related to Mark Twain on my mother’s mother’s side! He married my second cousin three times removed, Olivia Langdon. This is the second famous writer that I’m related to; on my father’s fathers side, Willa Cather. I told you that quite awhile ago, but its unbelievable how I could be related to two, one by blood (Willa) and one by marriage. I’ll have to write a book now to keep the family traditions going! Can’t wait for the move to see your life unfold back in Cali!
Next not bed🤦🏻♀️
Next not bed🤦🏻♀️ 🤣🤣🤣
HA HA HA So funny! xoxo
Thank you, Susan, for including us in your adventure as you celebrate your past. present, and future.
Happy trails to you, Joe and Jack!
Linda Z.
I have lived in my home for almost 60 years and when the time comes when I have to move, probably into a condo, I hope I can find it to be an adventure filled with joy and not heartache. I want to be just like you and keep the memories and also enjoy the future to come.
All of those memories … However, SLO is just as ever enchanting. To your old memories and all of the lovely ones to be made. Growing Sweet Peas is divine. 💖💐🙏
I’m so excited to come to Martha’s Vineyard in October with my girlfriend and tell her all about you – and now extremely excited to go to John’s Fish Market!
Thank you for taking the breaks so that we get to hear of all of your planning and memories.
Oh my, I cannot begin to tell you how much these last two letters have helped me. We too are in the process of making a life changing move- so many emotions that my heart feels it might burst. Many are of excitement but I’m afraid many more are of not wanting to leave our beloved home, town, and friends. Your words have encouraged me so much and help me to look at everything in a more beautiful light. My new mantra is…If Susan can do it, so can I!! Thank you, dear friend.
Peggy
This is lovely as usual, so many precious things and memories. I have moved too often in my life and sometimes wrote letters to houses that were special to me (and a couple of boats too). l wonder if the new owners ever found them.
I didn’t comment last time because I was too speechless and bowled over by the bittersweet prospect of your move. I’ve been going to the Vineyard for years and can’t imagine why anyone would prefer to live in California, with apologies to Californians! Being born in England, I’ve never been happy anywhere west of NEW England! Perhaps I’ll end up in Old England again, but I’d miss my amazing children and grands.
I wish you, Joe and Jack every good wish for your futures. Have a good move!
That was a stellar Willard, bursting with so much gratitude. I loved reading every single word. You are right! The fun thing about getting older, you get to see your path. Who would have imagined this gift back then when we were struggling to navigate our path? Each step of courage brings its own reward. The Island isn’t going anywhere. You can always go back and visit and chose the season as well. You will have more days of sunshine in California. 🌞 and you are closer to Hawaii. Wishing you a super smooth move. 💖👍👍
Thank you for sharing Martha’s Vineyard with us. What a pleasure to hear all!
Love the pics of your flowers and I too am savoring this (possibly) last spring in our house of 31 years. The Lilies of the Valley so wonderful and my Japanese Lilacs! Got to dig some Perennials up to bring wherever we move too. House on market for 1 mo. now. Waiting for the right new owners. But I can wait as love our house and home.
God’s blessings on your NEW chapter in life! 💕
Sherry from MN
So sad to leave that beautiful old girl (house). Your memories will keep it alive. I hope you will still be able to take your walks to the sea!
SUSAN! Your move brings back memories of some of ours. So bittersweet.
One move, which took me away from my 100+ year old farmhouse in the woods, nearly killed me.
Your words, memories, and photos in this post bring me to tears… because it makes me think ahead of one day leaving this 1875 farmhouse on our Iowa acreage. But as a wise sage once said…”Everything has a lifetime.” I know you and Joe and Jack will be happy wherever you are… as long as you’re together. I hope the move goes smoothly and that it won’t take you long to get settled and comfy. I look forward to all the new Willards from the West Coast. BUON VIAGGIO!
“I will follow you, wherever you may go …” Looking forward to your next adventures. Thanks for taking us along. <3
My husband and I are parallel-packing couples with you and Joe! Thirty five years of living in our home, too! Our youngest of four sons flew our nest after the new year, and here we are, these last two weeks in May finding boy stuff still, left behind as we give “table for two”
a new meaning! Kitchen update almost complete as my chef husband cooks for just us… .
The thirty – something frig, sounding like an airplane taking off from Kennedy airport replaced
as was the stove. The family cookbook will be edited once all my books are culled from the many in the attic, creating our ceiling’s growing faultline of this at-home mom’s prior life as artist, student, and teacher of English. New beginnings are exciting and frightening, aren’t they, Susan? YOU are braver than us! We are staying put..for now. You are going home. ❤️
I did not know you were moving.
We are in the process of doing your exact move only opposite – Pacific NW back HOME to MA (finally, after 27 years). The sorting and donating and packing is quite a project after years of collecting and creating, but it’s also freeing and nice to think about arriving at our new place with much less “baggage.” Getting older sure has changed my way of thinking about “stuff,” that’s for sure!
Can’t wait to see how you decorate your CA house and begin a new adventure. Bon voyage!
This was wonderful Susan, thanks for taking the time to bring us along.
It’s funny, you are ready to leave Spring Street but I find that I, ME, am not quite ready for you to leave! From your previous Willard, we knew your plan was to put your decision into action at once. That startled me… thought you might have savored a valedictory year in your beloved house, glorying in “one last time” celebrations large and small, having rounds of parties with your friends (at their houses and yours), perhaps most of all taking in each Season one more time. In short, having a long and very knowing goodbye.
But there is much wisdom in acting at once — while the emotion motivating the decision is strong. And a knowing goodbye could be harder… each moment and party and encounter having a certain weight of sadness from thinking, this is the last time. Here is the MUSICA for that, Robert Goulet singing “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Camelot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL52hEArSfM
Making the decision and then immediately making the move has its own grace.
I love that Jack is blasé about what is going on around him. That’s a kitty who knows he is going too. Enjoy the packing (it IS so fun to look at one’s treasures and relive the memories!) and eating at all the YUM places you love On Island.
You are the most energizing, inspiring, motivating friend a girl could ever have!!!
xoxox love Coco
Maybe the last time I will comment to one of your blogs while you are reading it “on the island.”? But one more time your blog has touched my heart. Goodbyes are hard, but for you saying goodbye to your home and all your island memories, is not really “goodbye” but “see you next time!” One question I have and maybe you have answered this before, but has Joe always lived in New England? I just wondered how hard it is for him to be saying “see you next time” to this part of the USA? Also I just have to say one more time how much I have wished to see Martha’s Vineyard….all because of the stories you have written. Now, if I ever get there. I will still wish to walk by your house! You made it come alive. And all because of you, I visited the Queen Mary in California- something I would never have known about if not for you! Happy Journey. See you next time!
Your house has been an aspiration and inspiration for so many years. I love everything about it and everything you shared about leaving it. I left my own place, one that I think of every day, about a year ago. I feel the same way as you, that as long as I have a garden and my “Joe” ( mine is named Chris) I’m right where I belong. Happy trails to you. California is so lucky to have you.
What an amazing new adventure! Best of luck with the cross country drive. If you’re in Salt Lake and need a place to stay, our guest room is available and our Scottie loves cats!
Looking forward to hearing all about you California home and garden.
xoxo Jill
You may be moving from the island, but our memories of your life in the little cottage and beautiful white house will always be there. Thank you for inviting us inside. You have been an inspiration to me and offered this feminist a new way to think about and appreciate the life in my 102-year-old house—two blocks from Lake Michigan—that my husband and I bought in October 1989.
Long sigh. and a sniff. the most important things to take to your new life…you, Joe, and Jack ♥♥♥
Gosh I just don’t know why I still feel so sad!! I’m happy for you of course!! So why? I know, I know it’s not about me. But maybe it is a little…..I know at some point soon we will have to move closer to our daughter…..
This is a lovely post. Reading it is like reading the nicest fairytale. The happy ending is that you move with the love of your life and your sweet cat….onward to a new fairytale.
But how does one get a moving truck on hold for a month??
You are so gracious to share so much of your journey with all of us… and I just cannot imagine you anywhere but there! I’ll drive by this summer and look for the hearts in the window as I always have…. Perhaps a book about you and Joe’s love affair with Spring Street could be next? Would love to learn more about her history. Our old farmhouse (1835) in Connecticut, of which I named Gracie… my Saving Grace… was lived in for over 40 years by an amazing philanthropist, Elizabeth Hird, before we bought it after her passing. When the long row of Lilacs bloom (right now) and the grape hyacinth come up through the lawn in early spring, and when I walk through the pine forest and cedar grove she planted in her time here…. I thank her right out loud. Her photo is in our dining room, too. I know you’ll miss your house, but she has been so well loved in your time there, and until my last visit to the Vineyard, I’ll drive by each year to “say hello”. I’m sure the next occupants will love her as much as you have, for your life and legacy there will be well known, and it is a legacy of love.
Sue, I’ve been MIA with your willard’s for a few months. Today decided I would sit down and focus on your uplifting writings. Woah! What a shock! I knew you were selling your home in Calif., but was unaware you are selling your beautiful home and moving from MV back to Calif. Too many changes in my life to absorb and since I live in NH it felt like we were neighbors. Now there’s another change and my transplant New England friend is leaving. I am happy for you and Joe and I get that the gorgeous house is alot to care for. I will, of course, remain a loyal follower no matter where you live. Best wishes for happiness & good health.
Nancy
Oh Susan what an adventure ahead! But of course, Life is an Adventure if we remember to look for the joy and wonder of our day to day lives. I fell in love with your little house in the woods in reading Isle of Dreams, I’ve been in love with this old house of yours through our years together on your blog and through Willard. I can’t wait to read about our new adventures with you and Joe in California!!! Much love from Illinois
Laura
Love your Willard this month. So happy. One of my favourite authors is Ann Patchett and The Dutch House was a wonderful read. Have you read Tom Lake also by her? I’m pretty sure your clematis will grow at your new home in California as I have the same one in my backyard here on Vancouver Island and it is in everyone’s garden. I know that Vancouver Island isn’t very near to California, but here on our island, we have a lovely micro climate that mimics northern California and England. Lots of bluebells growing as well as irises, many different mints, lilacs, azaleas. All blooming in very early spring. Good Luck with your move. Looking forward to seeing pictures of the new house and all the adventures awaiting you and Joe.
Thank you sharing your fabulous memories, photos, homes, and adventures with us! It’s been so beautiful and will continue to be a wonderful experience and journey that you have blessed us with!! Best wishes on you next escapade to California! I can’t wait to hear more!!
I came to you late, Susan, but so happy I did! You never fail to lift my spirits and inspire my heart towards beautiful things and a beautiful life! Thank you!
I had to go back and catch up with some of the older Willard’s to find out you were moving permanently back to California. So happy and sad for you at the same time, but you have made a wise decision. My mom couldn’t face the fact that she was not the same person in her 70s as her younger self and lived the last years of her life miserable because reality didn’t match her expectations. To age gracefully is to embrace it. That doesn’t mean you have to lay down and give up, but accepting that a one-story house in California is probably a safer bet than a 19th century whaling captain’s house on Martha’s Vineyard is wisdom. Wishing you, Joe, and Jack all the best. 💓💓💓
We just left Pismo Beach after a lovely week, and I know you will enjoy returning there. We will be back again in October to enjoy the beach and all the delights of the area.
My mom has a smiley Shirley Temple temperament! So glad I got to Martha’s Vineyard. (Waved at your home.) Bought some of your works at the art gallery there. I’m raising my Blessed painted china mug to you as you continue on with your blessed life. Thanks for blessing all of us with your visions of loving life.
Dear Susan, You always inspire, always impress and move me with your thoughts and actions. Thank you so very much for warming and lifting my spirit for oh sooo many years!!! Now I’m enjoying reading your updates on this next major adventure in your and Joe’s lives; Jack’s too. 🙂 Warm Happy Best Wishes for your move. You’re moving from and to the Best most wonderful places. Yes, Clematis grows well here in Calif, it’s all over the front entrance of Filoli Historic House & Gardens in Woodside, CA, not a too long drive from AG. You’ll love it, the gardens are magical and massive! All the other flowers you mentioned also thrive here in Calif although I’m not familiar with Blue Bells and I miss Lily of the Valley from my growing up in CT. Big smiles and Best Wishes, Love, Judi
Thank you friend, for including us in your thoughts, and taking us along on your life changing journey. We’re with you during this roller coaster ride of emotions, lending support and cheering you on. “Memories, like the corners of my mind, misty watercolour memories, of the way we were…” 🎶
Just when I realized that my life in this beautiful English style house we’ve been in for over 50 years was suddenly changing–and not feeling so happy about it!–I found out that you and Joe were going through all of your changes, too! Please know that by sharing your move and all the emotions and thoughts that you are having has given me a real “attitude adjustment”! We should be so grateful to have had such a wonderful life! Thank you for sharing your positive and very real self with all of us! Such a gift for all of us!
What a heartwarming post…so many great memories and more memories to make! Safe travel to your new CA happily ever after place. And wow…gardenias! Can never get them to grow here in PA. Just think of how wonderful your new garden will smell! Still healing here with my wrist – encouraged that you broke both and you are doing great. My dear husband – as my mother would say I think you and I “picked a peach in the garden of love!” – is learning to cook and taking such good care of me. Being patient is not in my nature… want to DO! Thanks for the tip on the Doris Kearns Godwin book – love her! OK…California – here you come! Blessings always!
Susan, your stories and drawings and lovely way of calling attention to the BEST of the world (the beauty, the joys, the happy discoveries, the warmth of friendship, the delights of the seasons) are magical because they create in this reader’s mind a prod to recall all the pleasures of my life and to appreciate my present life more fully. I’m sure I’m not alone feeling this way. You clearly have absorbed all the lessons found in your book about gratitude. So, thank you for sharing your magic with us. I wish you OODLES of happiness in your next chapter!
Appreciate you sharing this big change in your life with us! Love how you are finding joy in the memories and looking forward to your move with such positivity! My family is considering a heart-felt move from our home of 35 years, and your example is inspiring – thank you! =^..^=
Susan, Are you moving out of your house on the island for good?? Or are you just taking a road trip? I’m so confused! I hope you are not leaving that gorgeous house of yours.
~Kim
I will miss your house, too, but thank you for sharing all your wonderful memories. Just wanted to tell you that years ago at a book signing, Joe passed out wisteria seeds and I got a couple. Well, those seeds have turned into the most beautiful vines and this Spring had the most flowers on them than they ever have had. I think of you when I see them. I live here in Indiana in my house of memories, too.
Susan, I’m so excited for you, Joe & Jack! And thank you for sharing all your adventures with us!😁
This post is so inspirational! I loved seeing Jack’s shadow on the building while you were taking photos! All your memories of the house on Spring Street wrapped up in one post. I love the idea of you writing a book about that house and Martha’ Vineyard some day. Thank you for taking us along with you on all your adventures, whether it’s to England or the walk to the beach. We will always remember it with love.
Oh, how I love Willard days! Everything stops in my house while I read and play musica. No matter where you go, please keep writing them. I am 71, retired, and living in my manufactured home (we don’t call them double wides) which I have turned into a cottage in Florida. I only really found your work about two years ago. Before then I thought you only wrote cookbooks and I’m sorry to admit I never learned to cook well. Since then, yours are the only books I read cover to cover in one glorious sitting. I have them all. Can’t afford your beautiful mugs – I only have one. Please post your moving experiences on X formerly known as Twitter. I am active there and will repost your messages so others can meet you,
I’m crying for era that is ending in NE. I miss it so much and following bring a piece of home back to me. Now it’s going to be California. You’re quite brave, but you always have been. I applaud you and your strength and know when it’s time to move on to your next adventure. I wish I was there to come to your estate sale. One of your dish sets is my favorite and I would buy it without a second thought. You may just be taking it with you and I would die for one of your pretty vintage quilts. Thus it’s not meant to be. I wish you a smooth and happy trip and looking forward with you on what’s to come. Bravo Dear Sue. 💖🙏🏻
So much fun to read about all your Martha’s Vineyard memories! And I have to know what is the book with the Jane Austen quote about “douceurs”? All the best to you and Joe on your move! Looking forward to hearing all about your California adventures!
I cried while reading this blog. Your love for your home and the island just comes roaring through your heartfelt words. I have moved many times and I’ve cried leaving behind memories good and bad. It’s a big job, physically and mentally. And I have never lived anywhere for 30+ years. Houses are not just a building of wood and stone. They are our homes and hearts.
Enjoy your last days in MV. Savor every minute. Then…on to your next adventure!
💙❤Love you tons. ❤💙
Oh my heart! Squeezy squeezy!! Thank you for sharing all your memories. I feel like we’re all along for the ride towards your new adventure. One door closes and another one opens wide.💕
Dear Sue…Love you and so very thankful for you.
I must have missed something along the way; I thought you were selling your house in California. But now you’re moving back to California; into the same house you were just cleaning out? And you’ll be selling your beautiful Martha’s Vineyard home? You’ve certainly been fortunate to live in two of the most stunning places in the country. Best of luck with all the packing, moving, unpacking involved in changing residences. We did all of that last year, and I’m so grateful to be settled now.
Susan, your whole outlook on life is an inspiration to all of us!!! Can’t wait to hear about all your new adventures in California!!! Blessings and safe travels!!! Donna (Oregon) 💜💜💜
I’m so excited for you and Joe – a new adventure! And a different home to find the perfect place for all the items that you’ll take along and that mean so much to you. I hope you have a kitchen window for Beatrice Potter figurines! I’ll miss your blogs about the vineyard and fog horn, etc. (sometimes I felt I could almost smell the salt air from your descriptions). But I’m looking forward to hearing all about your new home, land, flowers, and life!
Xoxo Linda
Susan, followed ng you is such an inspiration to me. Blessings & safe travels back to California!!! Hugs!!! Donna (Tillamook, Oregon) 💜💟💜
You give us a gift every time you write a blog. <3 I always look forward to fixing myself a double cuppa tea and sitting at my adorable little desk to enjoy reading it. Thank you for always being a burst of positivity and reminding us of what's most important. Best wishes to you, Joe and Jack. Looking forward to moving West with you. xx
As for stairs, we moved from a 4-level home to a 1-level. The flights were short; but for everything you had to go either up or down stairs. And they were starting to be a problem. However, now after 8 years, I find I CAN’T do stairs. (Two major spine surgeries and all Lumbar Vertebrae fused.) So on your walk every day, find a flight of stairs and do that every day so you don’t lose the ability. It’s true: use it or lose it.
Thank you for the warning. I will practice stairs!!!
Moving after 34 years at any age is a chore! But the joy of fresh starts will be worth it. Be sure to not over do. We look forward to reading of new adventures, Sue.
Best of luck to you and Joe on traveling cross country with a cat. We drove from Seattle to Portland OR during a move and I think ours complained loudly the entire way.
“Live light. Travel light. Spread the light. Be the light. ” Yogi Bhajan Susan, you have shown us that you can do all of these things and find JOY! And you don’t set limits on sharing that Joy. So grateful that my mother-in-law sent me your first book for Christmas in 1987. Your calendars, all of your cookbooks and delightful memoirs have enriched my life and the lives of my loved ones. Truly, you have curated so many happy times. You really have! Looking forward to the next chapters. XO
I am confused. Are you leaving Martha’s Vineyard and moving back to CA?
Dearest Susan,
Susan this made me cry! We can’t imagine how hard it is going to be when you drive away. Please know you and Joe are in my prayers each day. My heart is aching. Sooo many unforgettable memories that will be in your heart forever. You are such a blessing to each of us and bring us so much joy! Know you are loved dear one. Good Tidings, Dawnie Jones
Oh Susan I loved every word! Must say the”adios” at the end got me! My little German mom in her older years liked saying that to us all at the end of a gathering or a phone call! We moved to California from Wisconsin when I was 5 and my mom adapted to her new home over time. My girls used to tease her that she was their little Mexican granny! I know those fairies you talked about will follow you and Joe on your next adventure! Much love from Leslie in California! 😊