herry trees and magnolias are in bloom; fruit trees, daffodils and tulips too; and here on the west coast, the wisteria and jasmine make the air smell like heaven; the miracle has begun. I can't get enough of the outdoors ... walking in nature, and taking deep breaths of the green things growing! We people are as busy as the birds, with our own nests, repainting, taking down storm windows, raking up, sweeping; and eating fresher, lighter, juicier, healthier. We have organic strawberries at the farmer's markets here -- perfect for some juicy MORNING THUNDER to jump-start our day!

ave you loaded the picnic things into your car yet? Beach chairs and basket with tablecloth, silverware, to keep there for the season "just in case?" Because #1, spontaneity is a wonderful thing, so #2, it's good to plan for it! I see picnics making a big comeback...it is so easy, so inexpensive, and such a treat to go to the lawn of a green place near a river or stream, lake or ocean, or to a plain old city park; spread a blanket, sit under a tree to eat a picnic lunch and listen to the birds and bees around you, and watch children run around outside in fresh air. The simpler you make it all, the better it is. The magic is in the nature.

think, with all the beauty that nature gives us, every day is Earth Day! But I'm really glad they've set aside one day for us all to come together to celebrate. I sort of went Earth-Day-wild for next year's calendar... did a whole year of it... here's the cover...

re you planting something in April to celebrate? I can't say enough nice things about crabapple trees...look at them in bloom:

t's like a watercolor, all lights and darks, and smells wonderful too. Mine is still small, but around the corner from my house is a GIANT one; I lust after it every time I pass by. I have weeping cherry trees too, and nothing is more heavenly than to lie under one of them when the blossoms are coming down. Bees love them; you can have it too, every wonderful thing, year after year, and all you have to do is dig a little hole!

o what else is new...well, it's definite; a new Address Book is being printed as we speak....and here it is; a full-color, ringed-binder, hard-cover book. In the nick of time for me; my old one looks like something the cat dragged in (as my grandfather WILLARD would have said)!

he new Address Book is just like the old one, with a different cover, and the powers-that-be are working their hardest to have it done by Mother's Day...check back on our web site and we'll be sure to let you know when it arrives. Speaking of Mother's Day...

his is our handy little purse NOTEPAD (I just designed a new part of our garden on this notepad, which is why I call it "handy"-- needed paper at a restaurant, and voila, there it was in my purse!). But besides this, we have lots of new things to make Mom feel loved. We think GIRLFRIEND'S FOREVER, my book celebrating sisters, best friends, Grandma's and MOM's is perfect for Mother's Day. It was Kellee's idea that our Mother's Day gift to you this year would be that, from April 21st to the 28th, we would offer this book at a very special price; and have each book come to you signed by the author (yes, moi). So that's what we're doing. Happy Mother's Day to all!

or more Show and Tell: Here's a little bit of our new spring fabric collection, coming soon from Cranston, called SPRING CHICKENS ... you can click here and see the whole collection...it's being introduced at International Quilt Market in May. It's my first collection with Cranston, and we're really excited. BTW, if at all possible, we'd rather have you buy our fabric from your local independent quilt stores; we love these little stores and want them to be able to stay in business, so check there first. If you are way out in the country or can't find it, we do have it for sale on our web site.

e also have a brand new RECIPE KEEPER, "To My Daughter," a small spiral book (9"X 9") for you to put your favorite family recipes in to inspire your daughter to keep family traditions going. And more, a whole YEAR OF NOTEPADS, along with sticky notes and sticky flags to go with them wrapped in one big package. Good for Mother's Day, or you could break it up and have a year's worth of house-warming gifts!

veryone always asks us "what's new?" but lately it's been like Santa's Village around here, so much new, and much more to come...making this WILLARD very long, and (praying not) maybe, boring? Don't want to overwhelm you, but then we do want to try and answer that constant question. Hopefully we are keeping a good fine line between interesting, and driving you crazy!

ook for us in this month's The Quilter Magazine (a really cute quilt project); also an interview in the May issue of Newsmax, and a bit about garden design in your local May/June issues of The Country Register.

heck back often to FACEBOOK for new fun things, recipes and other things to print out; and connect with kindred spirits. Or come say Hi to me on TWITTER. I promise to try and do more videos for you for YOUTUBE too, easy to do when the subject matter, SPRING, is so wonderful.

can't imagine that the Garden of Eden could be one bit more beautiful than what we have right here. In case you would like just a wee bit more of it; here is one of my eight-second videos, it's my girlfriend Martha and I (our voices anyway), and SUNSET on Martha's Vineyard. Happy Spring my friends, wishing you love and laughter ever after...With love from the heart of the home and me...

I forgot to thank you for the beautiful Happy Birthday messages, all of you, you positively made my month! Thank you so much! xoxo

New Book Update: All research for new book is done, title is chosen, recipes are being tested daily, by me :-); 46 pages are written and painted, and 3 more pounds have been gained; all is going swimmingly.

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