A little May, a little June . . . a little happy, sweet old tune . . .

Hi everyone! Keeping busy? Me too . . . but time out for a girl party! That’s this! MUSICA    (Just click on the record!)

It feels like I’ve been keeping track of the months forever! It’s really time I update this photo … do you recognize these? Calendars all the way back from 1993 ~ but this photo only goes to 2013! And here we are, looking at 2025! Big surprise from us today because the calendars came early this year!💝
Yes! I’m excited to see them! But so early! We are hoping they last till Christmas … but just in cases, if calendars are one of your stand-by gifts, be sure to get them soon … we don’t always run out but, as some of you know, sometimes we DO!😳

Here they are! This is the cover of the 12″ x 12″ wall-calendar! (Still practicing painting people, thought I would bring her home from Farmer’s Market with the groceries! Look! She stole my ring!)

Here’s the back of the wall calendar . . . so you can see 3 of the months for 2025 . . .

This is the extra-large desk blotter ~ the cover shows all the months for the whole year . . . but . . .

Here’s the month of April up-close . . . each month has tear-off pages, the year-in-advance, huge squares, and extra room to write! 

This ⬆️ is the cover for the Mini Wall-calendar… a picket fence with hollyhocks, very fun to paint! And here ⬇️ is September . . .

An up-close look ⬆️ at the September top and bottom page for the Mini.

Last but not least, the cover for the purse calendar ~ it’s the same size as a checkbook. There are more pictures of everything at that link.😘

Here’s where the calendars are conceived, before they’re delivered and ready for adoption by you!👼

Here are the California doctors preparing the babies for delivery (what am I SAYING HERE???🤣)

All from me, with you know what!💞💞💞

With you know who.😹

And guess what else? Susan Branch Studios is now on the new wholesale site called Faire! Before, if you wanted to find my things you had to get them directly from us . . . but now, if you have a retail store (and a resale number) you can sign-up to carry my cards, notepads, books, and things in your shop at wholesale prices, no matter how big or tiny it is! You can shop through Faire or you can contact us directly for wholesale prices! This is all new to us ~ Calendars and books will be on the Faire site soon!❤️ But the rest of it is ready right NOW!!👏

Last week the Island had its unofficial opening for the season, Memorial Day! And like forever, we got our flag up in time for the kids!

I’ve painted calendar pages about this delightful event that has been happening right in front of our house since the 1800s! Not just here, but all the schools on the island … For us, it’s the Tisbury school up the street, kindergarten through 8th grade. With flags waving, they march by me and my camera as they parade down Spring Street in the dappled sunlight to the harbor ~ on their way to the shore to throw their bouquets of flowers into the sea in memory of the heroes who fought, lost their health, or their lives, for our country, for us. Our grown-up chests swell seeing them and hearing their little school band play patriotic songs! Remember “Over There” from the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy? 🎵…The YANKS are coming, the YANKS are coming, the drums rum-tumming everywhere . . . so beware, say a prayer, send the word, send the word, over there, 🎶 we’re coming over, we’re coming ovER and WE WON’T COME BACK TILL IT’S OVER OVER THERE! 🇺🇸 YAY!

If you haven’t seen Yankee Doodle Dandy, or if it’s been a long time, look for it. It’s about George M. Cohan, born on the 4th of July, who wrote wonderful songs that you barely ever hear anymore. It’s so good! You’ll love it. It’s WWI, but it’ll bring back memories you don’t even have! And then you will!👏

XXX

Here’s a scene from the movie … still gives me chills. Being born just after WWII means that even though the war was over, we kids still grew up with it. My parents and their friends were the Greatest Generation and this was their LIFE, so the 1950s was still a total reflection of the war. TV was filled with it ~ besides Yankee Doodle Dandy on the Million Dollar movie for 7 days straight, there was Sgt. Bilko, Hogan’s Heroes, No Time for Sergeants, I Led Three Lives ~ and at the movies, there was Operation Petticoat, Mr. Roberts, The Caine Mutiny, Bridge on the River Kwai, and tons more  … while my dad was busy building our bomb shelter in the back yard! Seeing men in military uniform was normal everywhere. My uncle was in the Navy until the 70s. Much of the camaraderie among close friends and family came from what they all went through together. It must have felt so good when it was over . . . but so many young years lost. No complaints from them, not ever.💖

They were children during the Depression, and in their teens and early twenties, they were hit with WWII. The men were sent away and most women were left at home and went to work in factories to keep the home fires burning. Everyone wanted to help. But it wasn’t easy. They lost boyfriends and husbands, kids lost moms and dads, parents lost children, grandparents lost a  generation, and siblings lost each other. (And imagine how it was in England, being bombed every night!) It marked them, and still marks many of us. (If we thought Covid was bad, imagine THIS nightmare for six-ish years.😩) But we definitely learned from it . . . our parents showed us that money didn’t grow on trees, and that it wasn’t everything. We learned how to make do or do without, and found out we could have anything because we could make it ourselves. We felt their patriotism, admired their courage, adopted their pride, learned to work hard, and we still feel their values in our hearts. And so, I cry when I hear the old music, even after all these years. I love seeing that spark carried forward with these neighborhood kids and hopefully they won’t have to experience a terrible war to be taught what matters all over again. The lessons need to last much longer than just a few generations. My darling daddy would love that.💖 My darling daddio. 💖 Blog Daddy to you guys. On the 80th Anniversary of D-Day ~ Probably the reason we are all here to celebrate and honor as we do.💝

And there’s Joe! We were late this year, we ran like crazy to get the flag up before the kids got there . . .

And JUST made it!!!

Because HERE THEY COME! Cutest dang thing!

I’m not sure who is more excited, them or me, or their teachers!

But they do love it, we can hear their excited voices easily a block away … always on the last Friday before the holiday weekend. I’ve been taking pictures of it for the last 35 years! And not one bit of difference in any of them! Only the faces have changed! Those first kids I saw are at least 40 now!! And I bet they’ve never forgotten this.💝

Night and day, out there with my camera . . .🇺🇸

I was hanging my flag even back at Holly Oak (see the roof?), before I knew about the kids! Finding out about their parade was the frosting on the Martha’s Vineyard/New England Cake! (Along with church bells, graveyards, fog horns, houses, seasons, husband, and girlfriends.💞)

Here I am, at Holly Oak, when I first got to the island! And see that little apple picture on the cupboard?

Here it is again … I brought it with me from California (where I painted it …) 

And here it is again, practically in the same spot, already up for our first dinner party in our new (old) house.

Here’s an up-close . . . and now it’s  on its way BACK to California. We decided it would be the simplest of the simple things for us to remember my years here, so Kellee made prints of it, available for the first time, as of today, in our webstore!

 Let me show you what it looks like here in June, it’s the month everything blooms!

It’s gotten very fluffy around here!

Both in town and out on our walk, lots of green fluff! We’re still listening to An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin while we walk, and it just gets better and better! I found out I knew NOTHING about what was happening politically in the 60s!!! I’ve always been a slow starter! I’m just glad to find out there will ALWAYS be new things to learn about! Makes life so exciting!

Joe planted our first wildflower garden in the way back of our garden … and now it’s starting to bloom with these paper thin poppies in all variations of pink and orange. I go out every day, it’s tiny, but I’m thrilled to finally have this!

I took a tiny vase of them to Lowely’s TGIF the other evening . . . cutting tiny wildflowers is a very good way to show your undying love . . . I hope she saw that!❤️

And we’ve been going out to dinner with best friends and the best views. A very wonderful combination!

And then there’s that gigantic camel’s head in the room(s) that I try to pretend isn’t there. We’ve done such a good job! We have actually downsized! I’m proud of us. I didn’t think it could be done. But as usual, all the way along we’ve been reminded

The “pantry shelf” Carlton made for me at Holly Oak, is empty and ready to go!

Here it is at Holly Oak after Carlton remodeled the kitchen for me. Such a handy shelf, only one jar wide so nothing can hide “in the back!”💖

I will miss every room in this house, but maybe the pantry the most! Extra fridge, food, bowls, tablecloths, big pans, trays ironing-board perch for Jack (or for drying bread at Thanksgiving ~ and sometimes even ironing!), washer and dryer, baskets, recycling, back door with screen door straight out to the “Teahouse of the Vineyard Moon,” where we’ve had so many summer dinner parties under the twinkle lights  … Joe got out Jack’s cat carrier so he can go in and out and get used to it being around so he’ll be okay with it when we actually have to use it! It’s a good thing he already likes to be inside things.👏

Time to go! I have to plan what to make to take to a party on Saturday!

I can’t wait to take you on our cross-country, cucumber- sandwich, kitty-is-coming-with-us drive across country …  It’s going to be so much fun! Freedom! Road Trip! eeek! Off I go! Thank you for dropping in  … And don’t worry about me, other than the 20 lbs I’ve gained from eating my way to a stress-free life, I’m fine. Love you! ❌⭕️❌⭕️

P.S. Since today is the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, a very sad and amazing Red Letter Day in the History of the world, I thought I would add a few inspiring, touching, meaningful, educational, wonderfully written, and EXCITING Books and Movies with AHA moments galore that we have learned from and loved. There are so many! It’s a subject without an end. Hopefully these will inspire curiosity to take to you to other stories . . . Please feel free to leave your own suggestions!💞

MOVIES  and DOCUMENTARIES

• Darkest Hour
• The Rise of the Nazis, PBS (Amazon Prime)
• Mrs. Miniver
• Bridge on the River Kwai
• The Longest Day
• Schindler’s List (the reason Steven Spielberg was born, book is JUST as good.)
• Dunkirk
• I Was A Male War Bride (fun, Cary Grant)
• I’ll be Seeing You (1944)
• The New Look (on Apple+, about Dior and Chanel in Paris during the war)
• The Major and the Minor (more fun, has Ginger Rogers in it)
• Downfall (Apple +, Peacock, Amazon Prime)
• I couldn’t bear to watch Private Ryan, but I think I might try again and just skip the first half hour . . . 😥
• If you want more . . .

BOOKS

• Dead Wake Erik Larson
• The Splendid and the Vile Erik Larson
• Against All Odds by Alex Kershaw
• The Diary of Anne Frank
• Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelley
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
• A highly rated list of WWII books from Amazon

NEVER FORGET

• 1944 D-Day Newsreel from the UK …
• They Gave Us Freedom BBC