Susan Branch Blog | Susan Branch Blog

BLIZZARD WATCH

Posted on February 7, 2013 by sbranch

Hi Girls! It’s 24°, sun’s just up, blue sky, no wind, but we are on a Blizzard Watch! They are talking 1-2 feet of snow for Martha’s Vineyard, probable power outages! “Crippling Blizzard!” Yikes! But we have MUSICA

I just love this photograph. I took it at the Emma Bridgewater factory, in a very old building in Stoke-on-Trent in England. The factory was so organized (everyone knows where they keep the rubber bands) and no matter where you looked, tea was at hand. It’s an interesting juxtaposition between the hearts and the walls, a little romance can brighten up the darkest spot!

My theme today is Romance. Has to be, because yesterday Joe and I celebrated our twenty-sixth anniversary! This is one of the wonderful postcards in his collection.

Last year at this time we celebrated our 25th by having an anniversary breakfast and inviting all of our friends.

I used champagne corks for place cards, old books, birds and flowers for the table, my Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz dishes, and a little bowl of chocolate kisses, because who doesn’t love a little kiss at breakfast time. ♥ ♥ ♥

We cooked up a storm for this party and had a wonderful time doing it.

♥ ♥ ♥

Cooking is my idea of deep, dark, delicious romance. Romance is all about the five senses and cooking appeals to them all, smells good, tastes good, looks, feels, sounds so good, and cooking includes the 6th sense, the sense of imagination and creativity. These books are my idea of romance novels. I love to read them and be inspired; sometimes Joe and I read recipes out loud to each other, like storybooks. He will say something like, “Listen to this, they’re putting cinnamon in a taco!”

But you can see why — if this isn’t pure romance, I don’t know what it is. And luckily, Joe thinks so too. He is my victim, and I am his.

Making banana fritters is almost as romantic as eating them, especially when playing a little old-fashioned music.

Mmm, saw this picture of cheesecake as I was scrolling by, just had to put it in. Looks very romantic to me!

And then there’s tea . . . and all the romance around this sweet tradition. I designed this tea strainer and Lenox made it …. of course they’re long gone but I still have mine, so I thought I’d show you how cute it was.

Maybe you need some chocolate-chip and orange heart-shaped tea biscuits to go with your tea? So quick and easy, and such a nice way to say I love you. ♥ (I think we still have heart-shaped iron pans in our web store in case you need one.)

More romance, this lovely little embroidered beaded heart, was sent to me by my English Girlfriend Siobhan. It hangs in the kitchen. Love!

Someone wrote the other day, wanting to show my favorite piece of transferware. That’s a difficult choice, but I think this bowl is it! Not very big, but what a cutie. “WOOD” is deeply stamped on the bottom; a very fancy pair of numbers are painted next to the stamp, “24.” That’s all I know about this little pink bowl. I always wish these things had tiny little chip video cameras on them so we could pop it into our computers and see everywhere they’ve been during their lives. I’d love to see the women who bought these bowls, the very first tables they sat on, the cupboards they were kept in, who washed them, and what was in them. Look how lucky the people of the future will be, we have videos of EVERYTHING. But then again, maybe what makes it all so romantic is that it’s gone forever, and we just have to imagine.

So, yes, soon, it’s going to look like this around here! Even more — the weather man just said our storm will be HISTORIC! How exciting!

How romantic!

‘Specially when I look out my studio window and see my guy taking care of things.

Our anniversary was very low key this year, no parties, just us, the kitties, the fire. We’re planning to celebrate everything after the book is turned in and we return to our regularly scheduled life. It won’t be long now!

I ‘m painting like crazy (I keep bits of scrap paper next to the page I’m working on, where I test the paint on my brush, or do quick squiggles — that’s what this is — don’t worry, it’s not going into the book!). Joe is scanning the finished pages and sending them in as they are finished. So yesterday, our anniversary was just a regular day, no special plans, we wished each other happy anniversary and that was about it, a special day, like any other. Then he went to the supermarket for groceries and came home with roses. He surprised me with them, I didn’t expect it, so I was very touched. He is such a doll. It was kind of like that heart cup in the picture at Emma Bridgewater’s — just the littlest bit of romance brightens everything. He also hid a coconut cake in the back freezer. So after dinner, which was ribs and sweet potatoes, he pulled out his surprise cake. ♥

He is taking good care of me as I finish writing our book, and paint titles for the front cover. It was the perfect Anniversary. I could not have asked for any more. ♥ ♥ ♥ So back to work I go. I wrote a new WILLARD yesterday! It’s being prepared now so it can be emailed to everyone. I love writing Willards . . . it’s hard to believe this is my first one for 2013! The Valentine Willard will start going out February 12. You should know, it has little surprises in it just for you. Because Valentine’s Day was invented for women! We need those little surprises! Like roses.♥

I laid out the back cover of the book … then I took it to Joe to ask him what he thinks. We feel so lucky because last year we had a celebration to last a lifetime and since then, we’ve been reliving it almost every day!

Twenty-six years together . . .

Isn’t it romantic?

Posted in Blog | Tagged Anniversary party, Blizzard, cooking, historic blizzard, Martha's Vineyard, recipes, romance, valentine's day | 820 Comments

GOOD MOOD . . . ♥

Posted on January 31, 2013 by sbranch

Hello Girlfriends!!! I am in such a good mood! Except I miss you! Musica? Of course!

It was 60° here yesterday! Which is ridiculous because it just never happens in January, but we took advantage of it and opened all the doors and filled the house with fresh air. We hear it will go down to 20° today which makes me happy (in a strange way) because I really hope the first buds of spring, and the finishing of our book, happen at exactly the same time! I definitely wouldn’t want spring to come first! I do not trust myself with something like that . . . I might never get the book done if flowers start to bloom!

This is one reason I’m in such a good mood. We are getting the book ready for the printer — the scanning of the pages has commenced! Kellee put together this two-page spread — the first I’ve seen where all the photos I’ve chosen are in with the art (not just xeroxed and pasted on). I can finally see what it will really look like! Hope it makes sense to you . . . it’ll be much bigger in real life! That doesn’t mean I’m finished writing it . . . I think I still have about forty pages to go, but we are getting so close!

These little guys always make me happy — their colors are spring personified, even in the deepest darkest winter. They are my muse. Another thing that makes me happy is the new WILLARD I’m planning. As you might have noticed, I haven’t sent one in a while . . . this one is going to be really special — it’s exciting to have secrets and surprises for people I love! Makes me happy! I’ve decided that it should be your Valentine Present, so look for it around then . . . and be sure to sign up everyone you think would like one too . . . then it can be YOUR Valentine Present too. ♥

Speaking of Valentines . . . no one could be sad when they have something like this to cheer their day . . .

Reminds me of me! I can see this post is going to be all over the place! I didn’t know what it would be when I started, and now look where we are . . . let’s get out of here! Let’s see, where was I? Oh yes. Happiness.

This is on a page of one of my old diaries and tells the reason I feel so happy right now. Because I’m getting to be creative! Each page of A Fine Romance is its own little world. It requires words, sketching and watercolors, maybe a photograph, it needs to be put together, hand-written, with a quote, or maybe with some other little surprising thing. And that’s what’s so fun for me, figuring it out. I did a cute page this morning, about tea, with a cute teapot, a cup and a story, with the perfect quote no one has seen before, like the whole book …. all new art and everything . . . and that alone is enough for me to smile the rest of the day! Now let’s see if I can find something that will make you smile . . .

Hello birdie! How about a cupcake? Or, perhaps a walk out back on a spring day?

. . . to be mesmerized by windblown quilts . . . this always makes me happy! Love that ocean air . . . the harbor is just two blocks away. ♥

snow drops . . . right? Happy?

mmmmmm, a blooming plum tree and soft sunshine . . . can you hear the bees? zzzzzz

Weather news is reporting that some places in the country are experiencing really low temperatures! Was it South Dakota where it was something like 40° below? crazy . . . I’m thinking . . .

Not that I’m any hurry to move the season forward; I am happy here with my cozy shawl and my crackling fire, truly I am, but sometimes the eyeballs require a little relief, and the nose needs to i m a g i n e the smell of flowers. Just for fun. A little break. Here we are again in the Sissinghurst White Garden in Kent. What a day that was, all those wonderful white delphiniums swaying in the breeze, looking a lot like the tower behind them. Lovely to send you Sissinghurst in January — because we have the internet! Yay! Makes a person wish she was a bee, just for one day!

Love that this creamy rose isn’t perfect — definitely not from the florist. Can you smell it? Doesn’t it look like it’s part gardenia?

Forsythia, I cut from our bushes last spring and forced . . . still a little bit early for that, but what a wonderful thing to bring into the house at the end of winter! And to look at, eye candy, free of charge, no work at all, in January.

When the book is done, Joe and I will get on a train and go west to California . . . here is my garden there, on a foggy California morning. Every time I look at this photo I’m in a little bit of shock. Must have been a REALLY good day! Aren’t those yellow-topped golden cypress bushes the cat’s meow? Their shapes make a good contrast to the flowers.

We can just bring springtime, or a reasonable facsimile, indoors! If you need more little vases filled with flowers, here they are!

What’s more wonderful than daffodils in the house on a snowy day!?

OH yes, this is more wonderful! I had to do it . . . Time out from flowers, I just saw this photo! Remember when Jack saw a bug? I love this picture!

Is this working, is it making you happy?

Remember eating outside? Remember lightening bugs? Remember cricket noises?

. . . remember dinner under the arbor . . . ?

I feel like he does. So lucky.

Just went to the kitchen to start some water for tea, held Jackie up to the window to watch some robins on the lawn and saw a robin eat a holly berry. The robin picked the berry up in his beak, flipped his head, and popped it down his throat.