SUMMER DREAMS??? Are you insane? you might ask. No, the good news is you’re free to dream any time of year! Plus, due to my new circumstances, I have no choice but to become a new harbinger of spring for all you Girlfriends who live in snow country. What choice do we California dwellers have? Plus, I LIKE the idea. How about some MUSICA? YES! And, I want you to know, we DO have winter here! It happens most days, sometime between midnight and when the sun comes up, really cold in the mornings, you need a jacket! It’s 44º degrees right now, at 6:30 am, with a pink sky behind the horizon, and I’m wearing a warm shawl. It’s Perfect sleeping weather. I still light cozy candles every night and get under my Grandma’s nap blanket to watch Hacks with Joe and Jack. We are not totally devoid of seasons. It’s just no matter what the temperature, it’s pretty much heaven, only sweater weather. And it’s true that lettuce and chives and sweet peas and grass and lots of other things GROW in this chilly weather. So in the name of love, and because I remember how long these gray winter months can be, I send you from my imagination, Summer Dreams and . . .  

Let’s start with a Jack Update! I know you’ve all been wanting details of how Jack’s been getting along in his new home. Thank you for your patience. I’ve been waiting too. To give you the good news. Cats do not like change. At least one doesn’t. I worried about him, got him on a schedule the minute we got here; and I was nice when he wasn’t. I worried about him if he seemed to sleep too much. I bought him cat grass. I didn’t push him. Everyone knows naps are healing. We took him to the vet for checkups. And waited. He didn’t like anything, especially he didn’t like the smell of this place.

He would not sleep with us, would not even come into the bedroom or the bathroom for months, in fact pretty much never got out of a chair in the living room where I’d put a soft blanket … or from behind my computer on my desk, where I’d put a pillow so he could “hide.” Leaving him to go back east for Christmas almost did us BOTH in.

But as you can see from these photos, he’s better, getting used to it here, and coming back to his old self. Joe made him a new scratching post.

He sleeps with us again now, naps with me, gets up with me in the morning, yawns while I make tea, follows me everywhere, stands at the screen doors, front, back, and side, keeping in touch while I’m out in the garden; he interacts better with barn kitties (who we adore) when they come up on the deck. He has nooks he claims as his own, he watches tv with us … sits next to us or on our laps … he rubs foreheads with me, doing brain exchange of love. I know it’s bedtime when he jumps down, looks at me with crazy eyes, stiffens, starts to run, stops, turns, and DARES me to chase him, and I jump up, and he takes off running, and what do I do, I chase him. Because he’s my boy!

He drinks from the faucet. It’s become “something we do.”

While we get ready for bed, he waits in my sock drawer. I wonder how many Martha’s Vineyard smells he finds around the house and what he thinks about that? Every time I rub the outdoor cats, I come in and rub Jack. I’m hoping he won’t know the difference between him and them after a while.

Jack is 13 years old now. Doesn’t that seem impossible? So many of you have known him all his life! Remember? Here he is when we first brought him home .

And here he is in my desk drawer this morning… Life is good. We are happy. We have beautiful sunny mornings filled with bird song, and starry nights ~ it’s very dark out here, the moon was in a waning crescent phase last night, the thinnest of the thin, and tonight, it will be a new moon and totally dark, in case you’d like to go out and take pictures of stars!

Cross-country move update: we left this bird bath behind in our old garden back east, if you can imagine. In our quest to “downsize” and be “good” and “not take too much,” and all that rot, we almost lost our minds! But when got back to the Island over Christmas, I took one look at this rare treasure sitting out there in the frozen tundra, a gift given to Joe for his 50th birthday, and decided to cut out all that nutty thinking ~ we scrubbed it with a wire brush, so we wouldn’t take any critters to California with us, wrapped it, put it onto a pallet, got it on a truck and sent it to California to be with us. And there it is , here in our English garden, in prime position, visible from my kitchen window. Bringing all the good ju-ju of garden love with it. I mean look what it DOES! My garden performer.

And remember this old blue bird-house that was hanging in the cherry tree in my Martha’s Vineyard garden?  (I love this picture.  One of our girlfriends did a little computer work on my photo, and made it look like a painting!) 

Well, we brought that too. It’s in the tree next to the picket fence garden, right outside the window behind our sofa. I hope we get a little family to watch! We also brought our old sundial to put out back in the new orchard. Beloved old garden things are lending a quiet kind of magic ~ familiar, ordinary, starts to look like forever in our garden.Here, in the land of perpetual summer I’ve been so happy and inspired, feeling the light, drawn outside to walk and plant and dream. I’ve had luv-lee time to think and reflect, outside, in nature. Even walking out in the morning to feed the barn cats is heaven. I’m getting stronger as the stress of last year (the last five years, or maybe since 2016, when your dad dies, and then your mom, today is her 95th birthday, and there’s covid, and your brother Jim dies, and your darling Uncle Dick, and the winter is dark, and you don’t know what’s wrong, and people depend on you, and you feel like you’re letting them down, the kind of normal life things we all experience , happy gene or no happy gene) ~ that overwhelming sadness has slowly been slipping away ~ and then a while back, Joe asked me for the recipe to my Parsley Salad, and while getting it, I realized this year is the 30th anniversary of The Summer Book! Another shock to the system. Set me to thinking. And I realized with a stab of joy in my heart, I’m not done. In short dearest ones, because of that, and in response to so many requests, about a month ago I started writing and painting, fooling around with The Summer Book, then planning a surprise.

Since I live in perpetual Summer now , how about a 30th year anniversary revision? I could introduce it to a whole new generation! I’ve been waiting to tell you till I was a little further into it. Kellee and Judy loved the idea, so we all decided … this is the DAY I would tell you and we would put it up to PRE-ORDER. Because we think this book says Hope. I’ve probably gone a little crazy, thinking about what you’d like, I added a bunch of new pages and a new cover, new endpapers, lots of new recipes, sections on tea, and homemade jam, more self-sufficiency, and more about the garden . . . at my art table here, surrounded with the sounds and smells of summer, even though it’s not even spring, there is dirt on my hands every day, and look what happened!!

Isn’t it pretty? The Summer Book has turned from blue to green!! Of course it did, because my whole life turned green when we moved to California . . . so while Jack naps in my desk drawer, I get my morning tea, listen to the birds, watch the sun rise, and work on my new book . . . look how it’s coming along . . .

My new pages are building and I’m having so much fun doing it  ~ I can’t stay asleep! One peep out of those birds, one moon beam sliding in from a corner of the window, and I’m UP. We’ve been told if I get the art to the printer by the end of March, we can have the brand new Summer Book in the studio by the beginning of JULY!!! Is that perfect timing or what? And thirty years! I’m working in a time machine, all those memories! Do you realize we didn’t have cell phones thirty years ago? It almost seemed normal to hand-write a book! Everything has changed. We can use a good celebration! And be more in touch with our beautiful healing earth and all of its charms. Sign up HERE to PRE-ORDER your very own copy that will come with a bookplate which I plan to sign for all the new books we send out from our Studio! We have to think of something fun to do to celebrate!

Inbetween times, I’ve been testing new recipes for my new old book! Look at this happy DELICIOUS pink dip … YUM! I GREW part of it in my garden! Not telling you which part yet.

And this big potato pancake . . .for the crunch! I didn’t grow the potatoes, too early in the season, but I grew the chives. Everything counts! Know what else we brought along with the bird bath and house? All my old pots and pans I bought when I was in my 20s and have used for every cookbook I’ve done! Can you imagine I tried to leave them. But they’re perfect. Thank goodness we got a second chance. (No, house hasn’t sold yet.)

Here’s another new recipe for the Summer Book . . . a tray of the best cheese blintzes in the world, that you can freeze and have anytime! You don’t even have to thaw them to cook them! And recipes for jams to go with them! I’m glad most of you have the original book, because this will be almost a a whole new book . . . I can’t help it, I’m so inspired by my garden, the dirt, the compost, the potting soils, my new wildflower orchard to-be, the mornings and the moons at 4 am, and every sweet green thing growing. And after thirty years, I find I have more to say about the subject!

And there will be a recipe for this, my new go-to healthy yummy lunch, a plate of crunchy, nutty, garden-grown delights . .. a pasta kale salad, YES, there is PASTA under there . . . Can’t wait to write about the secret that goes into this dish, why it’s so easy, so fast, so good, with an Asian flair that’s different than any others I’ve tasted.So besides this, as if it’s not enough, what else new do we have for you . . . Mostly little things . . .

Like these dishtowels! Cute, don’t you think? They look great with that salad , did you notice? It’s the Green. And the red is good too! Means they go with everything, even Christmas, even Valentine’s, and definitely summer, because Nature goes with everything. Ever since we made the big move to California, I’ve been trying to make my house into a garden. I love my new dish towels ~ they’re perfect, 100% cotton …and I got lots extra for you, just in cases. OH! That reminded me ~ have you seen the new Mad About the Boy Bridget Jones movie? Throw your jaded heart into the sea and get ready to believe again. Took me about 20 minutes! It’s so CHARMING! EVERYONE’S in it! The writing is brilliant … not only Bridget Jones, but watch for hints of Miss Potter and Love Actually, too!

 Our creative girlfriend Janie made us new springtime heart banners with birds and flowers to hang in our windows!

I left my old one in the window of my Vineyard house, so she just sent me a new one! So when people drive up to my house, they know what to expect! (This one is actually white, which do show up best, but all that light on the other side makes it look black!)

A treat for my very own self.

XXX

We got a new bird feeder. It’s green of course, that’s why I got it. Plus I wanted something homey, not a contraption. Who knows if it will work, but it’s cute! And not expensive. It’s metal. I love it so far. And so do the birds! I’ve already taken about 4,000 pictures of it. It hangs about 10 feet outside my kitchen window and it packs more joy into it than you can imagine. A narrow tray seems to keep the bigger birds away. I haven’t seen squirrels yet, but it’s new here and so am I. We may not even have squirrels! I got it at a local hardware store, but since it was the last one, I looked for it on the internet to try and put it on our website. To no avail. So, just in cases, I checked out Amazon. And voila! SO, because everyone on Instagram who saw that video was asking me where I got it . . . so, I’m giving you the link. (FYI, As you know, I’ve been sharing links to things I love for years ~ I WANT you to find things, and I love it when you tell me the good things you find! But recently Judy thought Amazon should start paying me when I do this! So, we are trying out the Amazon Affiliate Program. Because our company is so small, we want to keep it up and running. So if you get one of those birdhouses, you should know, Susan Branch Studios will get a little bit for pointing you in their direction. But don’t buy it because of that, buy it because you WANT IT! What I really need is to find a Skechers Affiliate Program!)

Back to real life, these cards just came back in, just in time for a springtime note to a girlfriend . . . or sister, or mom. They come in packs of 10, from me and Emily Dickinson!

I am so in the mood to celebrate sunshine, so we had more of these made, because why not dream a little? And another reminder, something else you can do to be ready for this spring and summer . . .

I love these food umbrellas, so Vicky (Victorian) . . . no bees in the lemonade! No flies in the pie! And since I wanted one, Kellee went looking for them so we could put them in our webstore, and she found them! It’s big enough to go over a pitcher, and makes the table look wonderful.

I’ve already used it! Twice!I know this is the moon MOST of you are seeing now, it’s COLD out there, I check east coast weather every day . . . I remember it very well, never think I don’t miss the charm of it. And, interestingly, 

. . . to this harbinger of spring, while researching a little for the new Summer Book, I happened to read that even looking at PICTURES of blue skies, dirt paths, grass and flowers, birds, dogs and cats, gives our worries a break, refreshes us, reduces stress and depression, sharpens our brains, and brings mental well being. That makes me so happy. You don’t even have to be here . . . it means I can help right from my desk!!! Bird peeps HAVE to be good for us.

I’ve always love nature and every year the feeling has gotten stronger. Can you see me there? I’m like a very large chameleon lizard on that tree.

Here’s the little chunk of dirt out back that Alfredo threw a packet of wildflower seeds into last year, and now, when I walk out there, there it is, just coming up, in its 2nd year! Just saw the first lupine in there yesterday! Thank you Alfredo. And Thank you God. I say it every day. This whole thing feels like a small rebellion to the tyranny of time. Because it all comes to a stop in the garden.

Here’s our new spot for the end of the day … rocking away on the front deck . . .

Found out, after the birds ate most of the seeds we put down the FIRST time, that we needed to cover the seeds lightly with hay. Who knew? Apparently NOT Google. So we did it again, more seeds, more water, and HAY.

The seeds are now UP, the tiniest of the tiny. Don’t forget your glasses if you wish to see them, but they are there! It’s going to be gorgeous! Anticipation is thrilling! Don’t even THINK I won’t be taking you for a walk here!

Along with the dream, which is essential, it’s good if there’s a plan. Sometimes you don’t know the exact dream, so instead of trying to get it whole, look for the clues. Little things you think, like “I’ve always wanted to do that” . . . Nobody automatically knows how to make a plan, especially if they aren’t exactly sure of the dream , it took us YEARS to figure out how to do what we just did, pack up, give things away, move … we all have to make it up. Nobody likes making it up, it’s hard, because it’s very likely that you might have to give something up to have your dreams come true, and what if we make a mistake? But one foot in front of the other, and those steps will turn into seeds that will give you your flowers of tomorrow. So it’s worth it. Something like that. I know you know . . .This is the plan for the path in our new wildflower orchard … the wildflowers will go everywhere, but as they grow they will be mowed in a pattern much like this, only one lawn-mower width, through the flowers. Established fruit trees are where there is an X, Zeros are where the new trees will go, and the whole thing will have a hedge around it, and paths will go through the hedges, as “doors,” which will lead to other gardens, when we get done making what we have. Decorating will never end! Our old sundial will go right there, at the 4-way stop. Might let two of the lolly-pop trees grow together to make an arch at the entrance. If we don’t feel around 5 years old walking that path this summer, then I have not done my job correctly.

A letter from one of our girlfriends . . . of course I kept it. I remind her, she reminds me, and around we go. Because if I can find my magic, and she can find hers, that makes it very likely we all can.

Bye for now Girlfriends. Remember, hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune with no words, and never stops at all. . . . Spring is coming, soil knows it even if you don’t yet. And Faith? She is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark. Okay, Grasshopper (as my dad would say), tell us about optimism.