BOOOM Day! Four Strong Men and this monster truck… came this weekend AND TOOK IT ALL! MUSICA. We’re leaving for our cross-country trip, heading out on the ferry on the noon boat TOMORROW! I’ve been kissing the walls here all morning. Saying Thank you to the House. We’ve grown very tired of doing this every day so we are ready!. As Rachel put it, because she just moved too (poor thing), “we’re lucky to have these First World Problems”… too much stuff. Well, because we saved everything “in case” we found a use for it! Hopefully, OTHERS will find a use for it now! With a world like ours, no one should ever have to buy anything NEW again! BOOM!
Booom, great name, it’s an adjective! Because that’s what the guys that came with this truck did. So if we leave tomorrow, that means this entire event will have taken us just under four months. Boom is right! Main idea was not to spend any longer being in limbo, doing this, as humanly possible. BOOM!
We’ve still been having our ups and downs, tears and laughter, probably a LOT more to come tonight! … because these kinds of decisions are hard on people, but it really helps to get sick of it. Doing the same thing every day for four months will do that to a person. Now we just glad it’s done! We don’t care anymore … “TAKE it” has been the attitude. (I’ll read this back later and realize I lost my mind!) We’ve been living for “tomorrow” for the last 4 months! Now we’re there. It really IS tomorrow!👏 BOOM!
It is going to feel so good, but probably not until we get to the Adirondaks . . . and then we’ll probably go antiquing all the way across country!🤣
This was my sewing room . . . look how clean and empty.
I loved it … sweetest sewing room in the world, little breeze through three huge Linden trees planted 150 years ago by Captain Gilbert Smith outside the windows, bees humming in the creamy yellow flowers on summer days . . . the fragrance . . . the birds, the church bells from across the street, the ferry boat horn up from the harbor…. 
BOOM! This is an upstairs room you’ve hardly ever seen on my blog because it was always a mess ~ nothing to see here! But LOOK, it’s almost empty! The trick has been to move it all out of its normal place and into a different location. Clean out the closet, every single solitary thing, and put it somewhere else to pack it, even across the room onto a table. Makes it so much easier to deal with when it isn’t in its normal place. It LOOKS different in a different spot, attachment falls off immediately! And when all seemed lost, that empty closet put little wings on my ankles… and hope in my heart to do it again the next day. 😳💖
This is our dining room yesterday which we’ve used as our major staging area . . . BOOOM!
All the stuff we saved for ourselves has already arrived at our house in California. Some of my favorite things are staying, but getting new homes because they BELONG to the Island. For instance, does this sweet little hutch look familiar to you?👀
Here it is at Holly Oak . . . specially made for me in about 1984 by my old friend Carlton Sprague. Remember? I wrote about him in 
Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams . . . The same guy who remodeled and built everything in my first little house on the Island, my kitchen, the fireplace, my bedroom, he built my little guest shack out back, . . . the guy who made a table for the town library from the old Linden Tree on Main Street … And remember the chicken lady? Nancy Luce? Carlton brought her house back to life without taking away any of the simplicity, using his talents and passion for old things and old ways. He’s done so much for this Island but oh-so-quietly. Back then, when I couldn’t find something, I would just 
ask Carl and he would make it! I’d be sitting at the dining table writing a book, while he was working around the house. We were young together, and he’s still my friend and still one of the most interesting non-boring people I’ve ever met. He’s one of the magical things that seemed to come out of nowhere when I moved here.💫🤩
There were so many of them! 🤩
He made this armoire too … I needed a place to put sweaters. He put a little hidden jewelry drawer inside too . . . It’s been my sweater cupboard all these years. But now I won’t be needing so many sweaters!!!
I felt his hutch belonged to the island. So I called Carlton’s son Nate and his partner Rebecca, who just built their own wonderful house with their own two hands (you can see it on Instagram @trailertotimberframe), and told them I had these special pieces of furniture, and they came and took both the hutch and the armoire, that Nate’s dad made in 1984, to their home. I also gave them a 14′ starched, ironed, elegant, heavy damask, vintage tablecloth from which Rebecca’s going to make GORGEOUS curtains. Makes me so happy to know they have them. Recycling at its highest best. Isn’t that a perfect ending to that story? Just part of the fairy tale!
All is well Girlfriends. And, by the time we leave here we’ll be celebrating BEATRIX POTTER BIRTHDAY WEEK! How appropriate . . . in this time of change for us . . . celebrating the perfect example of what can happen in even the scariest moments of change if you follow your heart.💖
You know I’ve had a crush on Beatrix Potter, the person (not just the botanist, conservator, artist, storyteller, farmer, or business woman, not JUST that, but the sum of all her creative facets) for many years 🌺 ~ she’s the reason I wear that flower necklace all the time, in honor of my garden-loving friend, Beatrix Potter . . . she came to me slowly, over the years, and probably not quite totally, until this very moment ⬇️ . . .
. . . in 2022, and our picnic in Beatrix Potter’s Garden. Not at Hilltop, where I’m standing … which is heaven, but even better . . . just across that meadow … MAS MUSICA! (This is Al Bowlly One of my grandma’s favorites, isn’t he wonderful?💖)
. . . to her garden at Castle Cottage . . .
. . . the house where Beatrix lived from 1913 to 1942 with her beloved husband, William Heelis (for whom the British National Trust main offices are named). It was a BYO Picnic Basket Party, Joe and I sailed over on the Queen Mary 2, and I invited everyone on our blog to join us in the 
Lake District . . . Girlfriends came from lots of different countries to experience this day together. The day before I was lucky enough to tour her house, which was nice but unfortunately (because I love old things), modernized… but I found her on the old brass doorknob to the house, worn smooth from her hands, with age and use, and stood quietly in the room where she died in 1942, and saw her last view … and remembered her words about her never-ending love of nature:
These little critters were my very first introduction to Beatrix. I saw these figurines in a shop in California when I was around 22, and to me, they were so perfect they practically glowed in the dark! I saved my money, and got them one at a time, without even knowing who Beatrix Potter was . . . but they were the beginning, and they have followed me wherever I’ve gone, all my life.💖
Slowly I learned more and more about Miss Potter . . . each thing I learned made me more curious . . . and I wanted her around me.💞
She was good for my soul. I added wildflowers between the pages of old BP books I found . . .🌺
And sometimes I watercolored her line drawings I found in these old books . . .
I turned the bedroom under the eaves of our house into my Peter Rabbit Room . . . and gave my Peters a Christmas bonfire.🔥
I wrote a book and shared my excitement about going to Hilltop for the first time, going back in time, walking where she walked, seeing her stove, her hat, her clogs, her doll house, her embroidery, walking up to Moss Eccles Tarn with Joe where, in the evening, Beatrix and William would row and fish . . . and so much more. And in honor of Beatrix, Kellee put LOTS of BP things in our webstore on a special Birthday Celebration page. And just for you, and just this week only, Kellee has devised our very first “coupon code.” Ha! But it’s worth 10% off all items in the Beatrix Potter section of our store. Just put in BPBDAY10. Celebrate! Heroes R US! 
Considering that she raised sheep, I never understood why she didn’t make a lamb figurine, so I drew one of my own. 💖
I painted her and Castle Cottage in my book as symbols of dreams come true . . . imagining . . . 💫
I love celebrating her, remembering her, passing my discovery of her along to a new generation because there is nothing better than having a hero. It gives you a star to reach for. Read about her. She’s amazing.💖💖💖 
By the time I finished reading the excellent Linda Lear biography, I had learned so much from Beatrix . . . I felt for her presence everywhere I went in Near Sawrey . . .
She grew up in a wealthy family and due to the overwhelming worldwide success of her charming books, she could have done anything, gone anywhere, had anything, been the toast of London, Queen of the world if that was what she wanted. She could have worn silks and satins, lived in a REAL Castle, and had breakfast in bed her whole life. Instead, 
she thwarted customs concerning women in those days, and followed her dreams. She was born wanting to DO something with her life, even though it was not expected or even encouraged. Look at those eyes➡️. 👀 There were terrible setbacks, she stepped over them ~ and in a nutshell: her confidence grew, she broke away, overcame heartbreak, bought a small farmhouse in the Lake District, her favorite childhood place. She raised sheep, and instead of satin, she wore the itchy heavy fabric she made from their wool ~ she surrounded herself with nature, farmland, and animals, spectacular views of meres, fells, pikes, crags, tarns, and dales ~ she never put electricity or running water into either of her houses. And used her money to buy up farms to keep them from developers, which she gave to the National Trust and are still working today. She was happy and it was wasn’t money that gave her that. She was happy because she chose the life that fit HER, the one she really wanted. That’s what made her my hero. (A lot like Carlton when I think about it.)🌺
Now, I’m afraid . . .
I’ve started to look like her. It’s the Miss Tiggy Winkle look we all love so much.💝
Here’s the view from my kitchen window this morning. So green. I never want to forget. We had a delightful weekend . . . doing the last things on my list . . .
Hugging goodbye (for now) to the GENEROUS, hard-working, creative, glow-in-the-dark MAGICAL women that changed my life and made it SO 
MUCH FUN, made this Island a true heaven . . . for all the TGIFs, for every glass of wine, every delicious dinner, every accidental meeting downtown after a storm, every lit candle, every cozy evening in front of the fire, for the rings we put on each others birthday candles, all the beach parties, picnics, Halloween Chili-offs, dropped off 
treats, flowers, gorgeous table top, and garden tours, for every song, every sailboat ride, every sunset, and every farmers market, and 
every time we got lost trying to get to a party and laughed ourselves silly . . . for the sunrise drives around the Island, for every smile of understanding, for every lightening of the burden, for every forgiving …. For every time you made your own dreams come true. For the LOVE. They were part of my dream and they came TRUE! As in: Once Upon a Time, there was a knock at my door ~ and there stood a magical princess. I said, “You look so pretty.” And she said, “I did it for you.” Girlfriends Forever. Waaaah. It was the BEST BEST BEST.
I have to carry this everywhere I go!😩 But don’t YOU cry. We’ll keep meeting just like this, and I promise we’ll come back to the Island, and we’ll go to England see Rachel and Paul’s new house. We’ll meet again. . . no fear. It could never be BETTER, but more of the same is just FINE with me, it will be FUN.❌⭕️
Here we are solving the world’s problems. . .
Lowely and Martha making crepes with strawberries and whipped cream at my yard sale a few years back!💝 They made everything better.
My Girlfriends gave it ALL away . . .💝💝💝💝
Can you IMAGINE how many pictures I have like this? I could do several posts with just them. But I can hear Judy and Kellee yelling already … “It’s too long, STOP.” (They should know by now I can’t help myself!💞)
I could not have had better inspiration for my Girlfriend Book!💖
Coming to see what Margot was painting at the Whaling Church in Edgartown.👀👏👏👏
Every day was a reason to celebrate here in Camelot Martha’s Vineyard! 🥳
Last Friday night we met everyone at the beach … for one last beach party on Martha’s Vineyard this summer . . .
A big halt on busy lives for a little sit on the beach…just shooting the breeze.🥂
And it was a perfect night . . . BYO Lobster Rolls! Don’t ever think because I love my Girlfriends so much, I underestimate the value and wonderfulness of our guys. Ohhh noooo. Double lucky to have these Princes among men.💖💖💖
It would have been no fun without them!
And we’ve loved showing them that they can be Girlfriends too.💞
So darling . . .
Time for a group picture . . . ANOTHER one!💞
Where’s Margot and Tom? (Herding cats).
True love means it’s hard to get out of the parking lot!🙌
We leave tomorrow for the long long drive, going slow, taking maybe 10 days, the Northern Route! I can tell Jack knows. He seems excited too. Got him a new cat box. Highly suspect. SOMETHING must be going on!🙀 When I get to California, I get to finish this painting!💝 And that’s only one tiny thing I have to look forward to! (You know who you are!)💖
I can’t wait!
Back Home in California… I wonder if we’ll have artichokes on the bushes we planted before we went away (for the new people!🤣). No one knows what will happen next. We just don’t know! Such a fun ride!😘 We’re leaving Girlfriends behind on the Island to oversee the sale of the house, and then the “estate sale” in our wonderful old house on Martha’s Vineyard ~ it’ll happen when the house is under agreement . . . Once the house is sold, it’ll take a couple of months at least to close on it… I promise I’ll give you time to plan … and let you know when the sale will be as soon as I know. I have to say, there are lots of sweet things still here.💝 Keep a trip to see the leaves turn on the island in the back of your mind. OMG, we’re talking about fall! 🤣 
Safe journey Susan, Joe and Jack. Enjoy your adventure on the road! No looking back. Just carry all those wonderful MV (Camelot) memories with you. I hope you’ll be able to touch base with us along the way. Let us know that you’ve arrived safely. ❤
<3 <3 <3
Have a safe trip and enjoy the journey and this new adventure in CA! ❤️🚗
All I can say is, Oh My…. the chapters written, the dreams retold, the starry nights, the sandy strolls. The years flown by, the memories made, the love untied, a home displayed; with warmth and love, dear friends surround, long hugs of joy, full hearts abound. Forget-us-not, dear isle of bliss, you blessed us well, in sun or mist.
Enjoy your journey and create more magic.
Blessings!
😥 💗🙏🏻 safe travels
Good luck to you in your old stomping grounds! It will be quite the adventure for and with Jack, I hope he does okay. Keep us posted! I love the painting you did of Beatrix Potter. Have you ever thought of doing a mug in her honor like you did Queen Elizabeth? I for one would buy it! Happy trails to you, until we meet again!
Susan Branch – YOU have been and ARE my Beatrix Potter! Looking forward to following your blogs in California. Happy travels! susan thompson
What a compliment! xoxo She’s what I want to be when I grow up!
Safe travels. Reading this is bittersweet for me, because I know I will be moving from my home of 30+ years in the next couple of years, have started the cleanout process and I’m only going to be moving to a townhome community in my hometown! I can’t imagine leaving a life you’ve known for so many years and shared with us and moving across the country. Thanks for sharing MV with us for so many years! I hope to visit soon in my retirement
Oh Susan, Tears in my eyes, I wish you ALL THE BEST ON YOUR JOURNEY! Ill be w you in spirit once again and am delighted for you,! SO EXCITING! YOU KNOW YOUR MY HERO, ILL BE WAITING to hear when the Estate Sale is! Thanks for mentioning that! Off to bed I go w wonderful thoughts of your trip west! Not the right time,but Joe said he’d tell me how HE ended up in the island (on zoom he said it was a story for another time!) Well hopefully,someday I’ll hear THAT story! He’ll have plenty of time to collect his thoughts!!!! 🤔😜
Round ’em up,,,head ’em all out, Rawhide!!! We’re buckled in for the ride! See you on the left coast!
Cheryla*
What a delight! I came out to my office to work on my novel and found BOOOM! waiting for me. A perfect diversion while the air conditioner brings the temperature down before I get to work.
You’re so smart to choose the northern route! Hope it helps you avoid some of this heat and/or the storms along your way. Will you be driving through Utah at all? Will you be able to send us updates about your trip or will we have to be patient until you reach California?
I am eagerly looking forward to see how and you and Joe will work your magic on your new home. It already looks very pretty but I know you will make it just as wonderful as the one on Martha’s Vineyard.
Thank you, Susan, for the friendly posts, the shared life, the inspired creativity that has sparked my own creativity. You have been, and I sure will continue to be a source of joy in my life. I can honestly say you have lifted my heart through some tough times. Bless you.
Drive carefully, and have a wonderful time at the antique shops!
Safe travels! Have fun!
Dear Susan,
Omgee! You really, really did it! I will miss your wonderful old (my dream) house in all your Willard’s. I am kind of sad. I loved the comfort of seeing your home through all the seasons, the birds, your garden and walks to the ocean.
I am happy for your new chapter in life. A new home to create and decorate and enjoy. I will try to look forward, but I know me. I’ll look back at your previous Willard’s over the years and sigh with love for the Martha Vineyard life you led. Please post your new adventures. Who knows? I may develop a love for the new home and your new neighbors and friends, your new California environment. Life is ever “changing” …
Safe travels, happy times, new adventures!
Sincerely, Randi —-<< —<@
Safe Travels.
Have a great adventure.
It will be lovely having you back on the west coast. 🙂
Cheers
Jan from Northern CA
Safe Travels you three. The northern route has lots of
different beautiful scenery. It will be a great adventure.
It will be lovely having you back on the west coast. 🙂
Cheers
Jan from Northern CA
May Your Roads Be Smooth And Your Days Sweetly Soft!!
Reading this, I had the biggest lump in my throat. Not really sure why – just feeling very sentimental and empathetic. I try to imagine what it would be like to spend 4 months sorting out all the stuff we’ve accumulated and deciding what to keep and what to pass on. It exhausts me ! And that probably would be the easiest part. The toughest part must be saying good-bye to those beautiful people who have become like family and that beautiful island community that has been such a big part of who you’ve become. Oh, no! I just realized I might crumble into a pile of tears if I was actually in your shoes. You are so brave and so wise to have made this choice – not just the choice to move back to Cali but the choice to be happy about it and actually make me excited for your future! Talk about heroes!! You have done so very much in helping to “shrink” this big world of ours and connect us all, showing us that we are far more alike than different and the differences make us each unique and interesting.
I wish you and Joe and Jack a wonderful trip home! May God continue to bless you, Sue xo
Oh, I will miss that house. I feel like it’s become a part of me, too! In the second picture of this post, is that a side of the house we’ve not seen before? What a beautiful home it is and will be for the next adoring family. In 150 years someone will be enjoying a tree or two that you planted there.
Safe travels, my dear!
Ahh, Susan! I hope you and Joe and Jack have a loverly time crossing the country to dear old California! I logged on to see if today was a day for a new Willard, and there it was. SUCH an amazing thing you have done this all in four months, wow! BOOM! Good luck and God bless as you three intrepids travel along your road! Bon Voyage! Suzette in Oregon
Safe and happy travels! Speaking of girlfriends, are you going to reprint “Girlfriends Forever”? Would love to give them to my new friends in my life
Thank you
I’d love to … maybe someday!
Hi Susan, You will be way too busy to read lots of comments, but I just couldn’t let you go on your travels, without wishing you both all the best….I almost feel emotional, knowing you are going all that way , farther away from us, well it seems a bit like that…I can’t wait to see and hear about the adventures you will have while driving all that way across your huge country….
BTW, the picnic at Beatrix Potter’s garden in the Lake Disctrict was a few years earlier than you mentioned……It was in 2018!
Safe travel, have fun, and be safe!! Lots of love, Nicoline XOXO
Oops, what’d I say?🫣😂 I’ll go look! Thank you Nicoline! Lovely to hear from you as always!!💖
Dearest Sue … Safe travels HOME SWEET HOME to CA🌸You introduced me to Miss B.Potter, another reason why you’re my mentor in finding more sweetness in LIFE!!
A~lo~ha~ha~oe to Martha Vineyard.. until you meet again💕🌸💕Evie
👏🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Susan, Your hopeful, joy-filled perspective makes MY heart filled with joy and hope! Thank you for sharing your happy life so generously with all of us girlfriends. I know it’s a big time commitment, but the ripple effects are reaping a great return on investment in everyone who reads your blog. I’m so happy for you, Joe, and Jack, embarking on this new chapter. Can’t wait to follow along! Bon Voyage!! 💞
Safe travels. New adventures. Wonderful memories, more to make!
Best wishes Susan❣️
~See ya in California! …linda ☀️🍄
Wishing you all a smooth return to Cali. Hope Jack enjoys the ride. You are right about the resemblance in those photos between you and BP. 🍃
Oh, Fairy Tale Girl…what a beautiful life you created on the Isle of Dreams, complete with your Prince Charming & the most cherished friends. You’ve shared so much, that I deeply feel the sadness of saying goodbye to the House of Creativity…the studio where all the magic happened, the cozy wood paneled room, the bright pantry, the Peter Rabbit room, the dining room with those quaint built-ins & the kitchen. Oh, the kitchen & that amazing stove. And the picket fenced in garden! What will your birds do without you? I don’t know how you were able to say goodbye. Seriously, my heart is breaking. I’ve no doubt that the magic will follow you & I look forward to everything that lies ahead. Feeling especially hopeful & energized considering the happenings of the past few days. Wishing you, Joe, Jack & Petey safe travels. Much love!
I am copying and printing your comment and putting it in my diary. All those beautiful memories ~ thank you!💞
Westward Ho! Have a great travels 🧳 ! I would like to go to Upstate, but in a few weeks we are headed North to Wisconsin then West to Bellingham, Washington.
Love,
Margot
OXOX ox
I was in Bellingham perhaps 50 years ago! I remember the charm! Hope it stayed that way!!!💝
I hope so too, because I never saw it. I was in my mom’s tummy! We are still planning the trip, because as life happens the schedule shifted. I have the plan to start their then drive the coast south all the was to San Diego stopping along the way. Family and friends!
OXOX ox
Margot
Oops, there not their.
Best wishes and safe travels. I know it is bittersweet. Looking forward to your cross country adventures. I bet Jack is like- “finally they are taking me!!” Hope he does well for you. 😊
I love all of your love and painting and quotes and thoughts. Such an uplifting post for what can be a difficult transition.
Happy travels. You inspire me!
Reading these comments is just the BEST BEST BEST! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!❌⭕️❌⭕️❌⭕️
Hope the travel goes well with Jack. Wonder how you are going to do that, but I am sure you will let us know 😉
It sounds like you have it all under controle. Good luck with everything and greatings from Holland! 🖐🏼petra
Take care,save travel and a great welcome in your ‘new’ house! 🍀💞🍀👼🏻🙏
You are so brave, making this move. Safe travels.
Fair winds, Susan, Joe and Jack!
Happy for you, my heroine !!
So glad you completed the down size project!!
Focus on the next chapter and no snow and ice unless you go to the mountains!!
As we grow older warmer climate more comfortable with less hazards for walking!!!
When we return to ohio from nw florida for holidays with family it takes several weeks to warm up when we return home to florida!! Just sayin’😂😂😂
Enjoy travel across our great USA with the great topography and the wonderful folks who appreciate your blog,books and art!! Looking forward to your next project!!
Good health and best wishes back in california!!
Nurse Nancy
Susan, you are blessed to have lived such a wonderful love-filled life with the man you love and friends sent to you from heaven in one of the most beautiful places in the world! The magic will surely follow you to California (home again) and give you many new miracles. It will be wonderful to grow old by the Pacific Ocean, one of my favorite places on earth!
Safe travels!
Wishing you and Joe much happiness – I will miss walking by and peeking (stalking) into your yard – Safe travels and onto new beginnings!
Oh, Susan…I know the feeling of getting rid of SO much you loved, and moving into the unknown. But it is wonderfully exciting. Will be keeping you in my thoughts as you and Joe cross the country…I will be embroidering a table cloth my mother started before she died 2005. I just found it in a bunch of stuff I saved and forgot about. Her needle is still there in the middle of a stitch! I will be working on it for awhile…and have to remember how to make a “lazy daisy” stitch I have not made since I got my Girl Scout embroidery badge!!! Enjoy the journey, safe travels, enjoy the adventure with Joe….just one more step on the road to Happily Ever After!!!
WOW…the energy it has taken to come to this moment! So much of it not easy…. I want to thank you for sharing your beautiful island story all these years. Inspiring, informative, always reminding us of what truly is important in our daily round. You are wise with your timing…think of it as you are now free to move about the planet…look forward, revisit whenever you feel the need to smell the ocean breeze…it will be there, waiting… ready to say hello again.
Safe travels.
You’ll soon be boarding the ferry, and I’ve been thinking about the three of you all morning. Happy trails, God speed, traveling mercies..hope the trip to CA is a pleasant one for you and Joe, and I hope Jack is a laid back little traveler. You are truly a bright spot in my life and I wish you all the blessings your heart can hold as you begin the next phase of your life. Much love to you❤️
You said don’t cry but it’s too late—I’m crying now. Vaya con Dios, dear Susan!
🥲
Wishing you the best of everything. You’ve given us so much. Forever grateful for your gift to the world, your talent, your love, and your recipes. You didn’t hold back anything. Much love to you and Joe on your travels.
WOW‼️. Gods true gift to us all is the gift of “TIME”. You can’t get the past back, you don’t know what the future holds BUT ahh, the PRESENT, YES that’s the GIFT. So hold tight to those you love and let go only when it’s time for them to fly, listen with the intent that this moment of talking together will never come again, and hug one another as if to never let go for you possess the greatest gift of all…..”TIME”.
Bon Ton on your voyage! Safe travels and get settled quickly. Our best thoughts are with you!
Boom!
A love letter. ❤️❤️❤️❤️. “And I think to myself.., what a wonderful world.” ❤️ So much gratitude, appreciation and joy in this post. ❤️. More joy, love and adventure lie ahead. ❤️ Beatrix is with you always. And the girlfriends are all along for the ride ❤️❤️❤️
Safe travels.
Much love,
Beverlee
Day by day, it has seemed like forever, but looking back, more like a long weekend since I discovered Susan Branch, and become a girlfriend (vicariously) What a lovely experience. I wish you and Joe a wonderful drive as you travel into your forever together. I will be among the crowd looking on, waiting for the next books, Willards, and calendars I know you will be sending our way. Thank you for sharing so much. P.S.-kisses for Jack—Anita
Buon viaggio, Susan! I have experienced wonderful lives, which were lived in wonderful old houses…. and then had to leave it all behind. Everything has a lifetime. And now you are beginning another new life! I feel I’ve been part of yours for the last 35 (?) years…. after discovering your “Christmas from the Heart of the Home” book – which led me to all the others. I look forward to your next adventure and a new book about your (re)newed life in California! ONWARD!
Something so touching about this particular post in the series of the last four months. So tender … full of anticipation of good days ahead, a shawl of sorrow around the shoulders at the good-byes. Loved the many photos … just seeing faces that you love always makes me love them, too, these wonderful friends who have peopled your life on the island. Blessings of ease and delight on your travels west. Antiquing? Heck yeah!
safe travels! Hoping to get a tour of your lovely new home once you’ve settled in and give it your personal touch.
Good Luck, Sue, wish you much happiness for your new adventure. xo
OMG you have me crying my eyes out!! A week ago today I was on Martha’s Vineyard for the first time and totally fell in love with it and kept asking myself “how can Susan and Joe be leaving this magical place”. ( Yes I am the same person who wrote on your blog that I would keep an eye out for you and Joe). But, knowing that we will have to be making a move in the next few years I totally understand. I did ask my husband if he wanted to move to Vineyard Haven and that I knew a great house that would be coming on the market soon! Sadly, he thought it would be best for to stay in Missouri :). I wanted to wish you a safe and fun trip across the country to your new home. If you are passing through the great state of Missouri wave a hello and I will wave a hello back to you! Looking forward to many new Willard’s, books, recipes, paintings, cups and quotes in the future as you start the next chapter in your lovely life.
Best wishes!!!
Julie V.
Safe travels, enjoy the journey and happy life in California. It had to be a difficult decision to leave Martha’s Vinyard. There comes a time in life when we have to be practical about what is best at that point. I absolutely loved your sweet gesture of having Carlton’s son be the owner of pieces Carlton made for you in your first little home. Take good care of Jack on the trip. Wishing you, Joe and Jack the very best.
Sending love, prayers and traveling mercies to you, Joe and “our” precious handsome Jack as you begin the next journey of living happily ever after! Thank you for sharing so much with us. You are our very dear ‘girlfriend,’ and always will be. Hope you can feel all the love beaming your way as you begin this grand adventure! xoxo
I’m not crying, are you crying? Tears of Joy mostly. Safe travels. xoxoxo
All the very best to you and Joe on your move to California. Such wonderful memories of the Island. Thank you for sharing.
Safe travels…….see you in your next Willard.
May nothing you love get broken!
I happened to read your post at 12:30 on the 24th and instantly had goosebumps. I read that you’d be on the ferry at that moment. Thank you for being such a positive spirt in the world and sharing it with us! It means more than I can say. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter!
Happy trails to you! Enjoy the adventure Jack! I loved this post. Thanks for taking us along. xo
Safe and healthy travels!🙏🏻🎶🥳🥰
Susan and Joe,
May your adventures across the country be filled with forming new memories, may Jack settle and find comfort in his new surroundings, may you only find antiques that you have been searching for so you KNOW you can’t leave them in the shops, may your friends on the island keep calm and carry on knowing you brought your California charm and spirit to them and now it’s sprinkled all over the island for new people to discover, may your vehicle carry you all safely to your central coast home, and may you get all the rest you need before settling in for this next adventure in your life. Looking forward to your tweets from the trail!
Such a wistful and hopeful blog! Wishing you a safe and joyous journey. Absolutely loved seeing the photos of your Island friends.
Wow…. I don’t know how long I have been following you on “Williard” but I always enjoy each one. To my surprise when I first heard you were moving off of Martha’s Vineyard to California I was surprised. Now after watching you pack up your beautiful home I never thought the same would be happening, but I know am moving to follow dreams. You have been an inspiration and gave good tips for packing along the way. Happy Travels to both you and Joe, but also to Jack. You see I too have two cats that will be traveling with us and they don’t like it too much!
No, Jack’s not thrilled! 😼 Good luck, it’s truly an adventure. A challenge, and an awakening!
Safe travels. Enjoy every moment. I’m sure you have MV tucked safe in your heart.
Dear Susan, I remember when you left California heading for new adventures on Martha’s Vineyard, and now all these years & wonderful memories later, it will be fun to read what you’ll be doing next, as you return to the west coast (my home too). Thank you for all of your lovely books, and for sharing your journey, inspiration, and creativity all these years. The love letter to your Island friends is so beautifully written it made me cry. Best wishes on your cross country road trip, and all of your new adventures!
May you have a safe and gentle journey as you begin this new chapter! Hugs and much love!
My very best wishes to you and Joe as you travel west. Much joy awaits you! 🏠 ❤️
Dear Susan, You are so brave and wise making this big move. My heart feels for you as you leave your home you have loved so much on the island for many years. I have loved it (and Holly Oak) and all the beautiful things you have shared with us from your life on Martha’s Vineyard. I know there is sadness but you’re positive😊 and always look for the best in everything! So many precious moments and people to cherish and of course you will joyfully anticipate the visits back there!
Wishing you safe travels as you head out West. The story continues and it will be good. Thank you for making it possible for us to “come along” and enjoy the ride.
Sending Love, Ruth Hoffman❤️
You do look like Beatrix! What sweet pics of you both. Safe travels.
Makes my day! I do don’t I?😁
sewing room pics are not of same room as EALLS DIFFERENT. but cozy. hope that big TRASH truck doesnt throw donations away..as its such a garbage dump truck. When Is had me house in Maine ( lived there in little town 40 years). Thought I would be there forever .hah..had a (no ex) who ran iff with the book keeper at the boat shop he worked at. So had to sell my house, I had 5 couches in it. stores things for sisters..what a clean out it was. heartbreaking..and still breaks my heart..but..was necessary..now live in a little apt..and love it. (still have my sewing machine too). I have moved many times since 2097 when I sold it..Had great adventures. And at 71..im not done yet . So really loving your cute home in Calif..
Be sure and show us .say..where you went to high school . your town you and Diana moved too. any and all things you chose to share. Now..ah..please design a couple new china cups..and. websites of shops that will sell your yhings . bless you both .
Dearest Susan…THANK YOU for always sharing your wonderful life as you love and live every minute of it! You didn’t know what was ahead in your life when you jetted off to the east coast when you were so young. Now you’re heading back to the west coast in later years with the same promise. You are so inspirational, enjoy the road trip with your love’s.
As I’m writing this, you are on your way to California! So glad while you were on the Island, you discovered your path to becoming and artist and a writer! Martha’s Vineyard; Isle of Dreams is my favorite book! You are coming back to California with so many memories – a true full circle moment!
PS: You mentioned you were trying Band of Brothers on my recommendation! I agree, it can be tough to watch, but if you can make it to the end, it’s SO worth it! Also, once you’re settled in 🙂 , try the movie, “Brooklyn” with Saoirse Ronan. If you haven’t seen it, it’s perfect when you’re in the mood for an old-fashioned, classic romance … and it may resonate with you now that you are traveling from one home to the next!
May God bless you, Joe and the kitty (or is it kittieS??) on your new adventure!
Happy travels! You do look like Beatrix, what a joy! I discovered her with my children when they were very small. Loved her ever since.
Susan,
I wish you well for this chapter of your life…..(You are one of my heroes)
Honored. xoxo
Hearty Congratulations on doing what I struggle to do–declutter!!! But I’m working on it!!
Safe and happy travels to you all! Enjoy that cross-country trip!!
Denise in Corpus Christi, with an aim to relocate to Little Rock where 3 of my 4 sisters have “retired” (“preferment”) :).
Such a lovely post. Safe travels to California 🌻
Oh, how I love your writing….it’s Wednesday and you are on your way! Safe travels on your journey back to the land of your birth. Hoping you will keep us posted on your adventure.💞
Good luck and safe travels! I can’t wait to hear all about your new adventure. ❤
Susan, you shared a never-to-be-forgotten experience with all of your girlfriends and it is very special to read what you’ve written about it, including all the wonderful photos of your spectacular home and yard—and especially of all of your friends. What a lovely farewell to the home you have loved so much.
Now you’re making me cry!😘
Sweet Sue~ safe travels to you, Joe, and Jack. We will miss you here in MA and know your loving spirit will remain on the Island. My dear friend, Jane and I have been to a number of your talks around the Cape and I am so glad we were able to meet you and Joe and to hear your wonderful stories in person! I can’t wait to see pictures of your redecorated CA house and hear more wonderful stories coming from the West coast.
Waving to you from beautiful Cape Cod!
Susan, I’m laughing and crying over this. You are a wonder and an inspiration. Safe and happy travels!
Ginnie
Hi Susan & Joe
Thank you for taking the time to send out this Willard to us all especially with the move and packing. I wish you both a safe and pleasant trip. I always meant to take a ride to Martha’s Vineyard as being in the next state over in New Hampshire and a chance to perhaps see you in your garden or about in the area. From the very first day that my mother and I walked in a book store and saw displayed your Heart of the Home Christmas book, I have been a fan, we brought several of them to give as gifts, since then I have purchased all of your books. I look forward to receiving many more Willard’s I always forward them to my dear friend in England so we can read them at the same time. Again thank you for all you do. All the best is wished for you both.
Linda S.
There’s no place like home..wherever that may be🥰
Beautiful 💙💚🩵💛❤️🧡!
I will miss seeing your beautiful New England home on your posts, but I’m truly happy for you, Joe, and Jack and your new adventure! Wishing you safe travels, and can’t wait to see some of those antiques you collect along the way. Hope you will keep in touch on your road trip, as driving cross country has always been a dream of mine, one I’m hoping to fulfill in the future, so it will be nice to see it through your eyes until then! BTW, what was the Booom truck taking away? 🤷🏻♀️
I so feel for you with all the sorting and packing. My husband and I are in the midst of it. We have 44 years of accumulation and I think it may take that long to sort through it all! Have a safe and happy journey to your new beginnings!
Happy Trails, Sue & Joe! Be safe. Be sound. Be happy. And keep sprinkling stardust all along the way.
I’ll miss knowing that you’re living the magic MV island life not very far from my home, but grateful to have years of your wonderful Willards and books to re-visit the times gone by. I’m looking forward to settling into your new chapter with you in your future Willards. Wishing you, Joe, and Jack fair winds and following seas.
I just took a break – and my reward was reading this! I loved every bit!! And how incredibly sweet of you to give the furniture to Carlton Sprague’s son, Nate, and Rebecca! You are inspiring to me as we still have our old Victoria house – and need to finish up. Safe travels! I am looking forward to seeing if you have artichokes! I tried to plant some in Indiana and I was not successful. Hugs to you, Joe and Jack!
Makes me so happy they have them . . . back to the creativity and kindness that made them.💞
All the best in your journey & this brand new chapter in your life’s story! You are an amazingly wonderful & delightful person!!🩷🩷🩷🩷
What to say….enjoy your trek to CA. It makes me sad that you left your beloved home for AG. Hope you find all the best there. 10 years out of the Central Coast and I could not fathem moving back there. It will be a change for sure. Best of luck.
It’s great to get acquainted with the blog again! Missed seeing all of the great pictures, drawings and reading about your adventures. I had a few hospital stays that kept me away. Home and healing now.
Your blog is like the kind of medicine that doesn’t require a copay!
HA!! A deal!
We moved from the Cape two years ago. I remember the packing but best was giving away things I knew I didn’t need in our smaller home. Have a good trip west!!
Happy Trails to You. I know you’ll be happy, because people who make happiness find it themselves. You’ll surely enjoy some time to yourselves to just be. Time for cooking together, time to have leisurely breakfasts, more time for kitty pets and purrs, time to travel, time to reflect on your magnificent journey on your way to success, time to thank God for your wonderful Joe and give him back rubs, time to keep us up to date on your exciting life. Don’t forget the last one, please, and thank you for the joy you’ve brought us over the years.
Beautiful memories; beautiful friends! More memories to be made. Travel blessings. We await your return to California where new adventures and memories begin. ❤️😍🥰.
Your latest painting of your kitchen table and chairs is so sweet and beautifully done. I love the details! When you settle in, would you consider making watercolor tutorial(s) for your Willard girlfriends? Wishing you safe and enjoyable travels.
Safe travels Susan!
Such a beautiful, dear post! You make all of our ankles take wings and give the heart hope! Thank you for being so much of wonderful you! For reminding us all that our attitude makes all of the difference, and that the biggest jobs can be accomplished one day at a time.
Godspeed and safe travels. I look forward with you to the next adventures.
Sending so much love and admiration to you!
Kari
It has been so long that I am unsure of the point in time,
but I do know that I was planted into the island‘s sandy loam by a portly, and very determined grey squirrel, tightly snugging me far downwards. Then hastily covering me with rustling piles of gold and scarlet leaves that were diamond tipped wet with dew. I drowsed then slumbered. I awoke pushing upwards, then, surrounded by velvety green grass ruffling in the wind. Beyond me lay several white houses, a clovered pasture with tawny milk cows, then, dashing past me, wayward gang of motley chickens chasing leaping crackling grasshoppers. My first year was a battle for existence being a lane graded in front of me. I met with more than one fast buggy or child ridden bicycle…not to mention when a dog happened by. One Blackberry Summer day the warm breeze blew, a schoolboy was rolling a hoop along my lane. Far behind him, a small girl child straw hat cockeyed upon her head, was trudging along barefoot, hollering to “wait up” and “Mama said.” She clutched a large wad of knotted string with dangling of a single skeleton key. In her other hand a misshapen yellowed paper kite with its long raggedy pink tail trailing along behind in the dust. They stopped, debated greatly about the skinned marks on my sides and Sunday School teaching of the Book of Isaiah, whatever that might be. He pointed finger to her tan, skinned knees pronouncing judgment, that she was in fact “just a mere sapling.” When they left together, I was ringed with tall, stout rocks and watered well. That was the last I saw of them. Years passed, blazing comets light up the night, the sun darkened in the sky, a waterspout birthed from old ocean’s eccentric mood whirled inland escorted by roars of thunderclouds filled with the downpour of sheets of brined rain and fish. My trunk slowly nudged away the rocky ring of protection as I entered the seasons marked with Blue Nor’easters, pealing of Christmas Eve church bells. The perpetual tides threw their bounties of splendor onto the sand, the quickening rising of maple sap, running of smelt, moons waxed and waned as my boughs widened. With the changes of nature, I endured and recovered; those who were unable, failed to thrive, perished. As I gained stance my roots grasped the tumbled ring of tall, stout rocks and ever so gently embraced them and the kindness they left behind. What a glorious feeling to stretch, searching to the blue heavens, to welcome each sunrise and bid every night sweet farewell. In the measure of my days, houses turned to homes, rambling fence lines straightened, the congregation of families flourished.
Windy days of Spring young fledglings rode my branches turned to the release of gold and scarlet leaves with abundant showers of acorns. My highest branches used well for a lofty look out. Blue snow cloaked my thickening trunk as I cradled nested grey squirrels that slept away the long freeze.
The day the dirt lane was paved it left a sudden, tightening stiffness. I recalled when I was ringed with the tall, stout rocks for protection, struggling to grow and gain my stance. Thus, I did once again with renewed strength and weighted balance I began to tower upwards and increase my strong hold. I glimpse the harbor, which for countless years I heard the metal clang of buoys sound from. I watch the lighthouse white beam circle round cutting through the sliding fog creeping inland to quietly blanket salty marsh nurseries of fish and fowl.
My immense canopy provides bountiful shade and welcoming shelter, a gathering of respite for all. I have been graced by many a person, young, and old. More than one faithful and beloved pet of yesteryear rest in peace as I eternally watch over. Within my grey gnarled trunk, reside one or two children’s treasures, a wax-sealed declaration of love never delivered, the shining regards of a raven family, all carefully placed for safekeeping but now well forgotten. Sacred vows and blessings have been announced under my boughs. I have witnessed many circles of time, seasons of life.
Yet still the island breathes its ebbs and flows of past, present, and forthcoming of future.