I have a good little, very short, Christmas Story for you! (In a minute!) But first, sweet old MUSICA! I’m looking around and it seems like these days, finding and living a fairy tale of your own making gets put on the back-burner way too much. It’s hard! We hurt for the discombooberation of the world. But it’s Christmas time. Magic time, when we remember ANYTHING is possible. The perfect time of year to renew our vows! 
💝 Giving ourselves and our beloveds that happiness at home, reminding ourselves of the faith and beauty that lives in us all, and doing all we can to lift the spirts of those around us. Reminding myself how that is done . . . all the little things, delicious food and kitchen smells from childhood, anything that sparkles, cozy blankies, socks, old movies, flannel jammies toasty-warm from the dryer, singing, extra hugs, walks in nature, quiet mornings and cups of tea. Long night’s rest . . . under the Long Night’s Moon . . .
But first, speaking of Long Night’s Moon, which we 
JUST had, and signifies, yes, the end of these short dark days!👏👏👏 On the Solstice, coming SOON, December 21st, we’re having a dinner party to celebrate the sun setting on the shortest day of the year! GOODBYE! Every day after that will get a little LONGER!! More light! What a wonderful Christmas gift!💝 And so, we segue to my traditional stocking-stuffer to help you remember to dance to the light of the moon in 2026!🎶🎵🎶
It’s 
my full-moon Bookmark, Bellisma Lunisima 💞 (“a hole in the sky, a supernatural nightlight” … 🎵 Jason Mraz), with the dates and the great Native American names for each of the full moons next year. Just click on the link, print it out, have it laminated at a UPS Store (or not), and voila!
I also have a special personal gift for one lucky person🎁 . . . we’re having a drawing! Just leave a comment at the bottom and you’ll automatically be entered into a giveaway that includes all the goodies you see below: There’s a set of two holiday notepads, a box of brass-plated Angel Chimes with candles, a signed copy of my little Home For Christmas book, two designs of my Christmas Cards, and two sets of the cards I love to use for thank you cards… because they have recipes on them!♥️ There’s a Santa dishtowel, a “Home Cooking” tea-pot plate for cookies (or to hang on your wall), and some darling Santa stickers for your cards and gifts! From me to you with LOVE!💝
I’m going to announce the winning name next week! So you get this before Christmas! It’s a lot, but we have so many good things in stock right now, I couldn’t just choose one!! In ADDITION, four more of you, my girlfriends, will receive a copy of my Home For Christmas read-aloud book, and of course, I will sign it however you like! So you can keep it, OR you can give it to a friend! 💝
And one more surprise, just ONE lucky person . . .
will receive one of the very last of our wonderful SANTA CUPS!!! For a merry merry Christmas with love from me to you!♥️
Don’t forget to leave a comment! (At the bottom of this post, you’ll see a line of tiny words and right toward the end you’ll see “Comments” … they hide it for some reason!❌⭕️)
Also, another wonderful thing . . . I am SO honored to have been recently interviewed for the new Beatrix Potter Society Blog . . . where they ask artists how they 
were inspired by the art and life of Beatrix Potter … such a good question for me.💞 I loved answering it. Hope you enjoy it too, just click the link above . . . I’m always especially happy bringing people together, to perhaps help new people to get to know Beatrix better! If you haven’t joined the Society yet, you would love it. I follow them on Instagram too. Good influences, people who have done wonderful things in their lifetimes, need to be kept alive ~ and there are a LOT of good people giving their time to keep that happening ~ the legacy of Beatrix Potter is one of them!!♥️ There is so much more to learn about Beatrix, and everything is so much more accessible these days!💝
As you know, I’ve collected lots of books about Beatrix, and read them all, and am always looking, when out and about, in used bookstores or flea markets to find my out-of-print or hard-to-find favorites to share with you in my web store!
This year’s crop includes the charming Peter Rabbit Natural Foods Cookbook Illustrated by Beatrix Potter!
I have to show you my copy, a gift, inscribed to me by a very young Girlfriend, Anna Baker.
Adorable, and a pure keeper! And the perfect example of young magic-making in a new generation ~ and I have to say, Good job MOM!💝 Beatrix AND cooking.💞 A win-win for a lifetime of giving, and receiving.
Here’s the cover . . . we have just a few of these in our web store, including the one that this one replaced! Another sweet Christmas gift.♥️
And this! Have you seen this?
It was a complete surprise when I found this large scrapbook filled with copies of Beatrix Potter’s original letters, photos, and journal entries;
showing her watercolors, her family, her books, her story, her paint box, written in her handwriting, if she had made a scrapbook, this is exactly what it would have, should have, looked like!💗 Someone did a WONDERFUL job with this.
I particularly loved how real it felt with all the three-dimensional items, her first Christmas card designs that open, a basket that you can lift the lid, an envelope containing that famous illustrated letter, for you to open, touch, unfold, and read, even a small photo book with pages to turn ~ all set in the English Countryside. It must have cost a fortune to publish this book. I would LOVE to know who DOES things like this these days!!! It’s really so beautiful.
And the secret part, the coup de grace . . . the most amazing thing, on the inside back of the cover is a hidden door that opens, easy to miss and a complete surprise. Waiting inside is a copy of her first book! So in case you find this book in a store, look closely, before you buy it, be sure to see if the little book is still there. (All my copies in our web store DO have the little books, just in cases!) It is HERE!
We also have a few copies of this totally charming old book . . .
. . . the first, most wonderful biography I read about Beatrix, that led me to so much more, when I discovered she was truly
I’ve shown you this book before ~ it has several of Beatrix’s line drawings in it, printed from the illustrated letter she wrote for the child of a friend . . .
I turned the page to this and I heard my book say, “It’s okay, you can paint in me” . . . which of course I did . . . Like a little coloring book! How fun to paint that little blue jacket!!!
All three of these books are in our web store!💝 If you love them, be your own Santa, and put one under the tree for YOU. We also have some of her wonderful figurines . . . AND our jigsaw puzzle! Back in stock just for this Christmas!
This is my stack of her little bunny books, waiting to be packed up to be brought to their new home in California, where they have been very happy on my “Heroes” shelf, where they sit imparting inspirational DNA while I do my 2027 calendars and update my Christmas Book with new art and recipes!♥️
So here is my little Christmas Fairy Tale . . .
As you know last year we moved across the country into a very old 1970s double-wide. It isn’t nearly as large as our old house, but we’d been wanting to downsize, and it was perfect for that! It had an open plan with lots of windows, and oddly, one entire WALL of mirrors, which 
normally I might not have liked, but it brought in a TON of light from the wall of windows on the other side of the room, which in turn brought in the garden, so it didn’t take long before I learned to love it a lot. Below, you can see the mirrored wall, it’s in the dining room part of the open room . . . you can see me there, reflected, and across the room behind me, you can see two lamps and tall windows in the living area, but it’s dark outside, so they are black. Sort of get it? Part of the kitchen is also reflected in the mirror. There’s a doorway to the hall on the right.↘️
I have to admit, making magic in a very old, untouched and un-updated double-wide is more of a challenge than making magic in a 150-year-old Captain’s House (on Martha’s Vineyard, which put us way ahead on the scale of magic from the get-go). Things like plaster walls, thick decorative trim around heavy wooden doors with antique brass knobs and fittings, with a shelf over the front door for pumpkins in the fall. . . these things do 
not exist in a double-wide. If you want them, you have to figure out how to get them! But if ever a challenge is worth it, this is the one. Being that this double-wide lives in the middle of an English garden that we accidentally planted here in 2004 with no expectation of ever living here ourselves! So it’s a double-wide in tree, hedge, bird-bath, hummingbird, and blue-sky heaven. So on we go, building our world, just like we did the first time. But isn’t making a home just the most wonderful thing? Most creative job in the world!👏👏💗 Never forget:
After a lifetime of dreaming, I know this to be true.♥️
So here is another shot of that mirrored wall … because really, if you don’t know it’s there, it can get a little invisible, and what I’m about to show you can be confusing! Call this the “Before” shot.
Of course we were spoiled, our old house came with an old fireplace, all full of ancient whispers, which we loved to decorate at Christmas . . .
. . . we NEEDED a fireplace back there, for our cold and snowy New England winters. But we realized, that due to the mild weather in California, 
we didn’t need or even want a fireplace ~ it would require space! What I actually REALLY wanted, was a mantle! This came to light last Christmas, when I looked around and said, “I have no mantle to decorate! What we need is a FAKE fireplace ~ and we could put it on that mirrored wall in our “dining room! It would reflect candlelight!🕯️ It would be so cozy!” And I gently mentioned it to my darling husband, saying simply, I need a fake fireplace on yonder mirrored wall kind sir, and him replying, something to the effect of, “your wish is my command.” Anyway that’s how I remember it.💞
And so it was. He found a mantle, he found some appropriate pieces to go with it, he made other appropriate pieces, we looked at pictures of other mantles and surrounds, we looked at our old one…
Joe began cutting, glueing, and drilling . . . I never knew his drill has a flashlight in it! How handy! And just like Michelangelo cutting his masterpieces from the marble, just like THAT, our mantle started taking shape.♥️
We just guessed what height to make it ~ the side boards for the surround, are leaning against the mirror to give us some idea of what it would be like… I really loved the fireplace I saw in one of the rooms of Jane Austen’s house in Chawton in the UK . . . narrow, tallish, simple, plain. All it needs is boughs of holly!
This is it, it’s in a tiny room.
But maybe ours would have more substantial mantle, with a sort of back splash like the one on the Vineyard. But tall and narrow… Joe put it on the floor so we could see what it looked like. I laid the sides a wee bit crooked, he straightened them and started putting it together. Pretty soon he leaned the sides against the mirror and balanced the mantle on top. I decorated it, lit the candles, went mad with delight, then undecorated it so he could he take it down. He added an apron, put it back up, balanced it again, I decorated it again, went mad, he took it down, added a tiny shelf at bottom of the apron … etc, three times . . . until we had it all! He glued and screwed it together, and stapled a piece of black velvet on the back. And once again, I decorated it!
And voila! here it is! It’s screwed to the wall ~ now permanent, staying forever ~ here Joe is doing the 
last bits, adding a hook for the other stocking, wearing appropriate head gear. “This is ridiculous,” I exclaimed, laughing out loud every time I looked at it.
I continued laughing while taking a thousand photos, so adorable. I could barely believe the transformation!
I had a mantle! I couldn’t wait to show it to you!!
It takes up no space, is 56″ tall to the top of the back splash; the mantle is 48″ wide and 9″ deep ~ and it changed everything. It even created a sort of natural space on the left where we could tuck in a tree. I’d already purchased a small one because I thought it might have to go on the table (it’s up on a plant stand now), but next year, it’s clear there’s space to have a full-height (but skinny) Christmas tree in the corner!! This fireplace is rocking my world! I love it so much.💫💫💫
Voila, the “after” picture! And now I have this little corner I can decorate for the seasons ~ there’s a place for pumpkins, candles, bunnies and chicks for Easter, for photos, flowers, books, banners, a lamp, or even a birthday cake! We get to have dinner parties in front of the fireplace!♥️ See that little card on the apron of the fireplace? Joe added a tiny narrow shelf (like we had on Martha’s Vineyard). I can PUT things there! And I now have a place where, if I want, I could have fireside chats on Instagram! Or read a story! That is why I would have to call this a Fairy Tale. Because like my mother told me, you can have anything you want, as long as you make it yourself can get your husband to make it for you! Proof positive:
PS, an addendum. After Joe finished his brilliant masterpiece, I went looking on line to see if perhaps others had had this same idea, a fireplace with no fire… a faux fireplace to add extra coziness and charm to a small room. In case my Girlfriends were thinking how fun this would be but have no Joe, I wondered if maybe it would be possible to BUY one that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Because you know, if you dream it you can make it so! I was surprised, shocked maybe, there are so many choices! Little ones, big ones, simple and fancy, whatever your heart desires!♥️ Mas MUSICA? Oui!
Look at this one, clean, elegant, free-standing, and only $150, voila! If I only knew! Ha! well, there you go! I’m so used to asking Joe, I forget that there are other ways to go about this! I love his best of course!♥️ This mantle is even a half-inch deeper than mine… there are photos of it in a living room scene when you go to their site. . . but if this isn’t your cup of tea, there of tons of other ones to choose from ~ some of them are electric and even include the fire!🔥 This world!💝
Speaking of this enchanted world, this wonderful magical outrageously beautiful world that we, the human race, positively do not deserve but are unendingly grateful for, I thought you would like to see what a California Christmas looks like!
XXXXX
Yup, no snow. And I do miss that thrilling first snow of the season! But the only white you see here are the drifts of sweet alyssum that springs up everywhere in the cool weather.
XXXXX
The breeze you’re hearing comes down our valley from the Pacific ocean, alyssum fragrance floats in the air, the sun comes out almost every day, shining golden light and long shadows on my daily walk, and the silk trees flower in pink! A total blessing for light deprived person, I put my face up to drink in the sunshine.
But we absolutely DO have winter, it’s freezing at night (40s!!!), sweater weather, for sure ~ even fingerless gloves sometimes ~ and flannel jammies of course, it’s even cold enough for me to put my grandma’s nap blanket on the bed! Extremely cozy! It just probably won’t snow.🤭
Instead, check this out!
It’s a jasmine vine that found this chair on our front deck and is making a home there! I know I’m going to be sorry I let it go! It’ll probably take hours to get it all out! But it’s actually so pretty, and . . . think . . .
. . . what it’s going to feel like to sit in this chair loaded with light pink jasmine, and just rock and smell the flowers!🌸🌸🌸 So, for a possible future moment’s pure delight, here I am waiting for it to bloom, as each day the vine gets more deeply entrenched. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Jack is sending you all his kitty LOVE!😻 So, off we go, onward and upward.Company coming today! Going to Farmer’s Market tomorrow. Need some local honey🍯, and definitely want to see what the farmers are doing for Christmas!🪴 Merry, Merry darling people. Get out into nature if you can, take lots of deep breaths, and stay hydrated!♥️
Don’t forget to leave a comment for the drawing! You can sit in front of your fireplace and read everyone a story of Christmas long ago! “Home for Christmas!”
Merry Christmas! Joe did a beautiful job with your faux fireplace. It looks so warm and cozy. Have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Love you and your posts
Merry Christmas to you & Joe, Susan!
I have that delightful Beatrix Potter Journal!! I’ve had it for decades. When my first child was born (33 years ago), I decorated the nursery with a Peter Rabbit theme. Sooooo charming. So my friends gave me lots of Beatrix Potter goodies as shower gifts. I didn’t get the journal until later though. And yes, mine has the special little book in the back!
When that first child turned one, it was also Peter Rabbit’s 100th birthday, so of course I had a ridiculously over-the-top birthday party for both my one-year old daughter and Peter Rabbit, inviting basically everyone we knew. So FUN! Great memories.
Thanks, Susan. Love you!
What a great idea for the mantle. It’s beautiful.
You’ve done a great job with your doublewide. I didn’t know one could be so attractive.
Ha! Neither did I!😃
I haven’t visited here in a long time, but somehow spotted you on Instagram, and it brought me back here. Wonderful – like going home. Merry Christmas!! ❤️
Nice to see you again Sally!!
I love the video with the breeze. Just beautiful. What a lovely place to be!
don’t know if I would trade my New England winters for California but inspired by your surroundings, both natural and created by you and your husband.
Love the fireplace. Merry Christmas!
I tried to comment before but it vanished!! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Susan!! Our little family of 9 has been having the best time this year 😊
Merry Christmas,
Shanon Brugh
Merry Christmas – Happy Holidays – Happy Hanukkah!
Thank you Susan for being a light in the world!🥰
I love the Beatrix Potter Journal too and was so excited when I discovered the little book hiding in the back page,btoo cute!
Your mantle is lovely, Joe did such a good job! Merry Christmas to you all x
Merry Christmas Susan to you and your staff… I feel like you’ve been part of my Christmas traditions for 30 years… Thank you for the recipes, the inspiration the books and all the love! Cheers to a wonderful 2026
Thank you for bringing joy and happiness to my life! As a widow, I really enjoy reading your blog posts and soaking in your merry little ways! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Happy Holidays!
My mom would gift me your books. I love them so much and everytime I read your books, I’m filled with warmth and comfort. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your husband and your family.
Happiest of Christmas’s to you and your family! Thank you for all the beauty and love you have provided us all these years. And I am grateful for your creativity and spirit filled books, calendars and sweet thoughts, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I always look forward to receiving my Willard and have been following you for many, many years. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us and for allowing this gal who hasn’t done a whole lot of traveling in her life to go along with you on your adventures. Wishing you and Joe and Jack a very Merry Christmas and the happiest year ahead. Blessings!
It’s been fun having you along!!
Merry Christmas dear Susan Branch and family. Thank you for gifting us all with uplifting everyday affirmations of joy. You are the best medicine in a world gone hazy.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Joe! And Jack!
The mantle looks great! I’d love to have a fake mantle too, I’ll have to save that one to my Amazon wishlist. I have a mini fake fireplace on my bedroom bookcase that I switch on for ambience while getting ready for bed.
How weird is it to not have snow anymore? Or not having to switch to winter windows? Do you miss the harsh winters or are you loving the warmer weather for Christmas?
Much love and well wishes,
Rhiannon 💖
I have wonderful memories of many beautiful snowy winters on Martha’s Vineyard! And now, I’m doing the winters of my childhood. It’s a win-win!! xoxo
Merry Christmas! 🎄
Merry Christmas to you both & thank you for all the beautiful years of inspiration, it has brought much joy to my life!
Merry Christmas! Have a Happy New Year 🎄
Thank you for making me happy for many years! I love your Willard and all your products. They make me smile!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🙂
Your new mantle looks delightful. Enjoy. It’s always fun to display one’s beloved holiday decor and replay those memories every year. Merry Christmas!
Susan, I’ve loved your art and cozy style since the early 90’s when I started scrapbooking. I still have some stickers and use them in my letters to my pen pal. Thanks so much for imparting the magic of living in the present.
Wishing you and Joe a very Merry Little Christmas! Loved the blog, the mantel and faux fireplace, and especially your storytelling! I’ve been your Number #1 Fan since the 1980’s! XOXO ♥️🎁🎅🏼🧑🏻🎄
Merry Christmas, Susan! I only discovered you a few years ago but you’ve become a staple in my home now. My two young daughters love the ceremonious changing of the Susan Branch book on display in the kitchen with each season 🙂
I’ve been a fan of yours since the mid 90’s. Love you style and vibe.
Merry Christmas to you, Joe and Jack! I love the new mantle…it’s just perfect! Thank you for all the inspiration through the years!
Merry Christmas to all
Awh I love the mantel Joe made!! Merry Christmas! 🎄
What a whimsical and beautiful bookmark! And thank you for all of the joy and beauty your newsletter brought to my day.
Merry Christmas ! メリークリスマス🎁🎄！
Merry Christmas! The Christmas mug is adorable! I always enjoy your content! Blessings in the New Year!
Thank you for all the Joy that you share, Susan!
Merry Christmas!🎄
Love all of this
Thank you for providing so much beauty and joy. Your posts always bring a smile to my face, even in hard times. Thank you again and MerryChristmas to you, Joe, Jack,
and your family.
For years & years, I’ve read your Willard — first receiving it in the mail at my home in the SF Bay Area & then reading it online. Inspired by your writing, we’ve taken trips to places you’ve detailed in New England, & with a copy of A Fine Romamce in hand, my husband & I had the most wonderful trip in England. (Visiting Beatrix Potter’s home was a highlight!). Life is full of surprises for shortly after we relocated to San Luis Obispo, you & Joe did, too! It’s been such a delight to read your writing on places we’re discovering, too!
For years & years, I’ve read your Willard — first receiving it in the mail at my home in the SF Bay Area & then reading it online. Inspired by your writing, we’ve taken trips to places you’ve detailed in New England, & with a copy of A Fine Romamce in hand, my husband & I had the most wonderful trip in England. (Visiting Beatrix Potter’s home was a highlight!). Life is full of surprises for shortly after we relocated to San Luis Obispo, you & Joe did, too! It’s been such a delight to read your writing on places we’re discovering, too!
I have followed you for decades and I have your cute Santa garden flag out front and very Christmas season here in North Dakota! The Santa mug is adorable you’ve created the cutest Holly Holly Santa face. Have a wonderful Christmas Susan!xx
I am not sure where I left my comment so forgive me if this is redundant or reminiscent of a previous post. I wish for you and Joe a beautiful Central Coast Christmas this year, full of love, peace and joy. I know change is hard, I am spending my first Christmas in a new home as well. My parent moved to Reno, Nevada after losing their home in the 2017 wildfires in California and I moved here in July from Paso Robles, California (Central Coast shout out!) to be near them and help them when they need it. I wish you both a blessed holiday and prosperous New Year!
This is beautiful, thank you for sharing!
[email protected]
This Willard is so delightful! I love the story of how you longed for a fireplace mantle & how you & Joe’s vision brought it to pass!! I’ve collected & journaled on your calendars for years!…Your artwork is like no other! Your give away would be the ultimate gift if I should be so lucky.😊 Merry Christmas & Merry on!!🎄🎅❤️
Did I respond to this ? who knows , my brain is frazzled with year end tasks. Just a comment to say that I so appreciate the coziness you create and curate. Its a reminder that we can choose to love and collect beautiful precious things and enjoy them- especially this time of year. I adore the mug and just want to curl up in a chair by the window and drink hot things will looking at the snow, perhaps with a good book and candle lit nearby. Merry Christmas to you Susan and your entire family
love the mantle! Merry Christmas! Enjoy every second!!!
Your new mantel is gorgeous! Happy Holidays!
Lovely artwork and wonderful quotations
Oh how I yearn for that Santa mug! I love it so much.
But, of course, I love all your pretties lol.
Merry Christmas to you and Joe 🎄
Still waiting to do another cross with you all 🚢
I hope you win!! xoxo
Happy Best Time of the Year, dear Sue! I also feel happier when my dwelling place has a fireplace ~ during my 50+ years in the Pacific Northwest, most of my homes had one (one little house had a wood stove). When living in the hottest part of Arizona for a few years, my house didn’t have one and I missed it so much, I did something completely impulsive ~ I ordered an Amish-built electric fireplace ~ it could be turned on with heat or without, and it had a mantle, and it made my little desert home much cozier. When you lived at Holly Oak, did you always imagine a fireplace in just the spot where Carl finally built it for you? I can imagine the happiness you felt when you built the first fire in it and the first time you decorated the mantel.
Wishing you and Joe and Jack a wonderful Christmas and a happy healthy 2026. xoxoxo
From the moment I saw the house . . . that spot between the two windows looked PERFECT for a fireplace! Yes, very happy! Christie, got your sweet package yesterday, as usually so thoughtful of you at this crazy busy time of year! Thank you xoxoxoxoxo
Love, love, love the new fireplace mantle! Well done, husband!
Your Williard always brings a smile to my face.
Merry. Merry!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!🎄🎄🎄
Love ALL your darling items – Merry Christmas 🎄🎁
I would love to win the cup or book!
Beautiful! And Merry Christmas!!
My Christmas is not complete until I read through your Christmas books. Been a fan from the beginning, your art is timeless.
Merry Christmas from Virginia Beach! High today 54 degrees but a little too windy for beach weather! Hard to believe it’s Christmas next week so on to a little more wrapping, cleaning, organizing and making lists for the family food, activities and last minute shopping. We always have spaghetti for Christmas eve in honor of my husband’s large family growing up (7 kids!) and it makes for an easier way go get to church and home for Santa! This year our littlest grandchildren are in a program that night as choir members dressed as cows! Can’t wait to see!
FUN!!!
Merry Christmas. Thank you for the very merry blog post!🎄🎄🎄❤️
Barbara Weaver
Happy to see you here Barbara! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas. The fireplace is lovely. I love reading your posts!! I have been a fan for many years.
What would you do without Joe? He is a one-in-a-lifetime husband! Please pick me for all the goodies.
I don’t even like to think about it!!!🤣 I can’t find my way out of a paper bag!!
The faux fireplace looks magical. Have a very Merry Christmas. I am looking forward to the turn of the page to 2026. And future gardening plans. But trying to also enjoy the quiet and lull of winter.
Here it comes….EEEEEE of Joy!! So happy to see this new Willard. My Lovely Tom is now home with me for Christmas. Brrr, really cold, but some Gawjus fluffy snow off and on. I finally found my “grippers” to go on shoes, and bought a new pair of Keen snow boots. Going to have +60 mph winds on Friday, with Probable power outages. We put in a new on-demand generator, so one less worry.
I so love that your Joe, like my Tom, can build just about anything. He built shelving to my design to hold our “treasures” from the Tampa house. Sadly, we didn’t have time to arrange them, as daughter Kristin became very, very ill. Tom went down to Florida. She died on Nov. 29, after 2 months in hospital. A Blessing for her, as it was pretty awful, with no chance for a recovery.
The happy things now are that we are going through so very many beautiful tributes to her from longtime friends. She was an amazing young woman, 56, who was sweet and kind, always smiling and soft spoken. She came into my life when she was 16. She set her goals and made those happen. She taught kindergarten for 34 years, won many awards, taught many kids from the same families. We’ll go back to Florida for her celebration of life in January, and to take care of her things. Will be hard, but you don’t get to our ages without trouble and heartbreak. We have lots of support from her teacher friends, so all will be well.
We are now guardians of her little dog, an 8 lb Shi-Poo. Her name is Jovi, and after Christmas she will go to live with her “Uncle Steve”, Tom’s son who lives in Maine. We are getting her all sorted out with veterinarian and getting her groomed. We toyed with keeping her, but at our ages, and the ice and snow here, it would be foolish. Steve is only 53, and an animal lover, and he Wants her.
The faux fireplace on the mirrored wall is fabulous. Aren’t we lucky in the men we chose, and who chose us?!! Everyone here has been so extremely kind to me while I was alone, my sweet next-door neighbor giving me 2 lovely wreaths to welcome Tom back for Christmas. The big, decorated wreath goes on the kitchen side of the 8 ft. wide hearth. EEEE, so very lovely and smells like Balsam.
Thank you for this Lovely Willard. It made my Heart Sing!!
Mucho Love from our ice-covered bay.
Debbie on “Piglet Cove, in Hog Bay. 🙂
So Happy Tom is home, and heartbroken to hear about Kristin … you mentioned her in your last comment here so I knew she’d been hospitalized, and I guess I’m with you, a blessing in a terrible disguise. Way too young. Your weather sounds episodic, but your sunny side still shines through . . . I want to be just like you when I grow up. Getting through it all, smelling the balsam, and saying EEEEE. My girl. Stay that way, have the very BEST Christmas EVER. Keep Cozy, with all my love . . .💞💞💞💞 Hugs to dear Tom. ❌⭕️❌⭕️❌⭕️
Merry Christmas!
Oh , wow that fireplace. Wish I had thought of that years ago ! My house is 103 years old , but no fireplaces. I am told the original owners who had it built wanted it to be “modern” and declined having a fireplace. Full of gorgeous woodwork throughout and not a mantle in sight! Sigh.
Crazy people!😁
Merry Christmas Susan! I discovered your beautiful Day Book in 1996 when I lived in Glendale CA and have been following you, reading your adventures, and enjoying your Willards since. Thank you for sharing your talent with all the world! I always love seeing your artwork, and reading your receipes and stories. God bless you, Joe and your team. From Palm Desert CA, happy holidays and season’s greetings!!! 🙂
As long as your with the people you love it’s home! Merry Christmas!
Isn’t that the truth!♥️👏
Merry Christmas, dear, dear woman. I’m leading a book club discussion on A Fine Romance soon. I’m really looking forward to sharing it with my friends.
Wishing you peace and joy,
Melody
I’d love to be a fly on the wall! Enjoy!
The fireplace looks terrific! I love it!
I loved following you when you lived on Martha’s Vineyard but I now love following you in California. We also downsized to a snuggle wide and made it our own. It’s warm & cozy and just the right size. I do not have room for the gardens like those you have so I enjoy watching what you do in yours even more. You have a wonderful home. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Thanks for another delightful newsletter. I look forward to sitting down with a cuppa and time to really read all your news.
Happy holidays to you and Joe.
Janice Mace
BUSY time of year!!! Have a wonderful Christmas Janice!
Merry Merry Christmas and a very happy healthy peace filled New Year!
Your mantel is gorgeous! What a stunning job Joe did. I can imagine how thrilling it is to just stare at its beauty all decorated so perfectly.
Enjoy every second!
Merry Christmas to you and Joe!
And the Kitties too.
Sending Christmas hugs from New England! (New Hampshire). We got lots of extra snow already and have skated in our little backyard rink everyday since Dec 6! Pure magic!
I have a copy of that Beatrix Potters journal. I was lucky enough to find it in a bargain box in the local charity shop in very good condition and for just £1.00 it came complete with the little book in the secret cubby in the back! they really didn’t know what they had, did they? they could have asked a lot more for it, and in fairness, I did give them extra money, because I knew it was such a bargain.
much as I hate to will the year away I cannot wait for the 21st of December when the days turn the corner and begin to lengthen once more.
No, they didn’t know what they had! But you did! Yay Deb! Me too, might be my favorite day of the year!
Your posts always make me smile, Susan! Merry Christmas to you, Joe and Jack.I loved reading all about your Holiday season!! Hugs and Happy Holidays! Sharon
Hi Sharon! So nice to hear from you! Merry Merry, xoxoxo
Warm Christmas wishes and hugs to you and everyone! The mantle is perfect to display holiday treasures and will be enjoyed throughout the years to come!
What a clever husband, your fireplace is wonderful!
Merry Christmas and thank you for your wonderful generosity!!! Oh, how exciting it would be to win a gift from you this Christmas!!! I always love to read your newsyletter. Sending holiday greetings and love from the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. ❤️
Love your blog! Merry Christmas!
Hi Susan Like you I moved from the East coast (Maryland) to the Beautiful
Pacific Northwest ( Oregon) where grew up. I too downsized to a Condo in
Sherwood OR. I used to live in Brick Townhome with stairs. My condo is one level no more stairs and my legs and knees are thankful. I have followed you and your blog for many years and have All of your wonderful books and house flags
and treasures from you online store and of course your stickers,stationary and pens. My favorites are your 3 books you wrote A Fine Romance , The Fairytale Girl and Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams shared with my friends and relatives all oohed and awed over many many times.. I love the fireplace that Joe made so Quaint and Lovely. I wish you and Joe and the Kitties a blessed Christmas and Happy New year.
So kind of you Sherry! Congratulations on your move! It’s not easy, but it’s a great success when finally done!♥️ Wishing you every good thing for 2026!❌⭕️
Merry Christmas!
Thank you for a joy filled Willard.
I was just looking at the blog post where Joe was sitting outside the kitchen at the Martha’s Vineyard house making Christmas wreaths from the leaves and boughs he gathered. So much inspiration over the years, you have shared with all of us.
And now Joe can add fireplace builder…. So warm and cozy, and festive with all your decorations.
Enjoy the holidays, before we know it Santa will be sliding down the chimney……oops,
did Joe build that part of the fireplace??? 😂🤣😂
Since it is almost Christmas, I’ll share my favorite Charles Dickens quote….
“ A loving heart is the truest wisdom” .
Happy New Year, hope it is filled with kindness and joyful moments.
We’ll just have to leave the door open!😂 Isn’t Charles Dickens somehow just perfect at Christmas?👏👏👏👏
Merry Christmas to you, Joe and all your family. Love all the wonderful things you share with us in each Willard. Hope the New Year is kind to you both❤️
Thank you Eileen, the same to you!❌⭕️
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to your, your family and friends. This year we need the joy and beauty of Christmas .
Merry Christmas! I too have a “fake”fireplace which I love. I have loved your books for a long time and was thrilled when my 21 year old granddaughter asked if she could have them! Looking forward to using my calendar in 2026!
Well you know how happy that makes me too, Sally! Moms to daughters . . . my honor🥰, so lucky. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!!💞
Merry Christmas Susan and Joe!🎄🎄🎄
Love that mantle, tell Joe he did a great job. Oh thanks for the new Moon bookmark. I so look forword romit every year! This year I had to color it myself, we gor a new printer and went with black and white. We here upin Michigan are enjoying a white Christmas. Love your give away. Enjoy the holidays!
Happy NewcYears too!🥳
Karen in Michigan
Color it yourself? Even more fun!!! Yay Karen, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🥳
I love your holly jolly spirit. Your writing is a ray of sunshine coming through the computer (:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🤩
I live in an “ordinary” terraced house in the UK and reading your post it made me realise how i take things for granted. such as the big fireplace and mantle in the living room, and the small fireplaces in bedrooms (such as the black one shown in your photo). These are boarded up now and cant be lit, but sometimes a wood pigoeon will sit on the chimney stacks and coo down the hole. Funny the things you dont notice when they have been there forever! Its also fairly crazy to me that this ordinary house is nearing 100 years old!
Your entire country is magical! I know you all grow up with it . . . those little roads bounded by ancient hedgerows . . . the sudden long views across the patchwork green and yellow of the countryside . . . the GARDENS! And every house, handmade, and no two doors the same. The walks that go everywhere, the PUBS, the charm, the DOGS in the pubs. Those TREES!!! THE SHEEP! Bouncing LAMBS! It’s like a fairy tale of a country! I love it so much! Even your CLOUDS are special, so big and white, floating in that long blue sky. I love you seeing your house for the insane little thing it is!!! Imagine what took place in front of those fireplaces . . . they likely worked at one time, 100 years ago! 💝💝💝💝💝
I immediately had to text my best friend to read your newsletter TODAY! 🙂 She is a HUGE Beatrix Potter fan. She has visited the Lake District on her own and loves all things Beatrix Potter. She even named her new car Beatrix. Thank you for the lovely newsletter and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the mantel idea. I may just try it!
Kindred spirits!!
What a beautiful Willard. Congratulations to Joe for the exquisite faux fireplace plus divine mantle! I don’t have your new Christmas book yet, but have been enjoying your last one! Bless you both!
Merry Christmas to you and Joe and all of your family. The article in the Beatrix Potter Society journal was lovely. There are truly many parallels between the two of you. No wonder you have been so inspired by her life.
Your “double wide” home is becoming so beautiful, you will have to stop calling it that. The mantle looks great.
Wishing you happiness and health in the coming year,
Gail
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year…fairy tales do come true
Merry Christmas to you and Joe. I wish you could manufacture a million Joe’s, who so kindly will build their spouses beautiful things like your new mantel. What a gift he has in woodworking. I love your news letter each time they are released. They bring a lot of joy, especially when we need it most. Have a wonderful holiday!
Jennifer in TN
I wish I could too, one for all my girlfriends, this old fashioned courtly gentleman of mine. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Talk about getting into the Spirit of the Holidays, Seeing the opportunity to get creative just gets me moving. So many beautiful ideas, colors, food, and books to just love–all you. You give me the much-needed excuse to sit down and create something, anything to make a day special. Thank you so much for the happy thoughts and the quick visit to California in your new winter home. Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years.
I enjoy having the bookmark with the full moon dates every year, but can’t print it this time. Too bad!
Why? Is something wrong?♥️
Finally found comments. You are correct; they are hidden. I looked last time and didn’t find comments. I enjoy your posts so much.
Right?? Why do they hide it?? Of all things!😂 Nice to see you here Cindy!💞
Merry Christmas Susan 🎄
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful art work and lovely words with the world 💕
Dear creative Susan…i so look forward to your posts…especially when some of the days seem dark due to weather or life itself, they bring me such joy as i read your words and admire your beautiful illustrations! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing such light to us all….Merry Merry Christmas and may we all have a New Year of Happiness & Hope…and of course as many Willards as you can share…kindest regards, Vicki
Our connection is my delight dear Vicki! I wish doing blogs was my full time job!!!💘
While reading your newsy letter, I was thinking of all these lovely, descriptive words ….
Uplifting, caring, loving, creating,
Giving*, praying, sharing, heeding,
Delighting, anticipating, enjoying ….
Merry 🎄 Christmas 🤶 – Happy New Year 🎆 Blessings
Grace Alexander
Golden Words, so soothing, requiring a big deep breath, lean into relaxation, and go Ommmmmm. ❌⭕️❌
Fantastic fireplace mantle!!! Warm and cozy, even without the fire! Good job.
Have a Happy Christmas. Your posts do brighten a rather scary world!!
Dearest Susan! Usually I’m right on it, in it with a note or a sweet hello but this year we’ve been so busy! So I read your note THREE places and almost fell OFF my chair with love for the fireplace, of course! All things Susan and Joe and Jack! What a celebration of life your home and gardens have become to me. I miss the vineyard too though. It snowed yesterday up there! Somebody drove off the road over on a snowy road and there was a police car chase over on the Grey Lady. In slow motion due to icy conditions.! Ha ha it should not make me laugh but it did. my heart is in MV. Thank you for your Christmas letter, and beautiful pics of California! I love California too! Hi handsome Jack! Sending love from the Shenandoah Vakkey Xoxo Prue R.
LOL! “In slow motion!” I can just picture it!! Thank you for the morning laugh Prue! Blessings on you and yours!🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Season’s Greetings!
Kathie
So enjoy your art, recipes, and writings. Thank you for continuing to spread kindness. Happy holidays!