Making Space

Here’s Jack’s first morning home after our 10-day coast-to-coast trip, Martha’s Vineyard to the California … I had to give him “The Talk,” “I know you don’t feel like yourself, it’s normal, after all, you’ve just been taken away from everything you knew and loved. But you have to be patient with yourself. It will get better. It just takes a little time.”💞💞💞 MUSICA

Then I left him alone to do whatever he wanted to, because that’s actually how it works. . .

And went out to look at the roses and the sky … 

Before it got crazy around here . . . then I ventured to the goat barn to see the array of boxes waiting for me! And that’s when it got crazy around here. I’ve been at it ever since.

I’ve always loved figuring out how to fit things into small spaces. I first discovered it as a challenge at Hollyoak, my first house, which many of you know from my books. It was a teeny tiny, adorable, one-bedroom cottage. I enjoyed making space from “no space” by finding it where it didn’t exist. So much fun! Made me feel victorious! Fighting city hall and winning! But I was only one person, and had a lot less stuff in those days.  . . . And because we just moved from a 3,500 sq. ft. house on Martha’s Vineyard where we’d lived for 35 years, stuffing it to the gills, into an 1,800 sq. ft. really-old double-wide in California (not small, perfect really, but now I have boxes of watercolors, an art table, file cabinets, and sooo many books ~ not to mention JOE!) I’ve been having all SORTS of fun!! Grrrrrr-ruh! (That’s the Grrrrr-ruh the Unsinkable Molly Brown gave while standing in the lifeboat (as the Titanic sinks behind her) freezing to death saying she ain’t down yet! Yes, that happy Grrrrrrrrr-RuH! I have secretly become Vickie Victorious!

For example, remember my pantry on the island? An ENTIRE room next to the kitchen, with its own backdoor and a screen door! Loved it. Total 1800s luxury, for the washer/dryer, an extra fridge, the ironing board, my tall shelf (on the left) that Carlton made for me at Holly Oak, and look at all the storage! You might think I am verklempt to the nth degree leaving that behind!

But NO! Look! Downsizing is fun! It challenges our creativity. So I made a pantry here! It has its own back door! It’s not quite done yet, but would you like a short tour?😅 (Short, get it? Ha!) You are standing at the door now (so don’t blink) ~ behind you is a tiny hall with 3 doors off it … one for the bathroom, one for each of the two bedrooms. The ironing board is behind the door on the left. I bought the rug of little houses on Newbury Street in Boston around 1983 for my kitchen at Holly Oak. Isn’t it perfect? Not quite . . .Still need to pound in a higher nail to get that old Martha’s Vineyard plate above the watercolor of the cover of my first book (which was never used, turned down because I didn’t make the title big enough! Living and learning!). I think a darker color curtain on the door would look better . . . There are two cupboards over the washer and dryer so, besides the iron, soap & laundry things, there’s room for my extra indoor plant pots.👏 Carlton’s wonderful pantry shelf is on the left above, (and in Holly Oak, below), giving us miles of storage space that we definitely need (I asked Carl to make it one-can-deep, so it could fit behind a door if necessary) ~ The folding wooden clothes-dryer you saw in the top pic leaning against the door fit perfectly in the little slot between the wall & the washing machine 👀 … And voila, our new little pantry is born! Vicky-Victorious!

Carlton’s shelf is now over 40 years old has now been used in 3 of my houses! He should patent it! It holds tons of cat food … all the oil and vinegar, soup and tea, cans of tuna, crushed pineapple, beans, tomato sauce, and extra cups we need ~ nothing “hidden” in the back, and fits behind a door! It’s a genius thing!

  I love decorating, I feel like no matter where you live you can make it wonderful just with the things you love. I’ve been doing it all my life, even in my bedroom as a teenager, so I know it’s not about money! Especially if you shop at yard sales and antique malls. You can find wonderful deals there, and original things you love put a different stamp on every home. And don’t forget, there are so many things you can make yourself! Making a home is still my favorite thing to do . . . and here we are, I get to do it all over again! But this time it’s with things I’ve loved all my life. I do it all with a secret smile, because fall is coming.🍂 The fall stuff is at the ready, not out yet, but I’m feeling it here! Chilly morning today… thin fog shining behind the hedges and mimosa tree outside my “studio” window ~ all windows open and wearing a sweater. YUM.

New things I’m loving: The color green. Actually I knew it before I came and made sure to bring all the green things I love. Here’s the beginnings of my new studio. And green looks good with everything! Perfect for every season! The house likes orange and purple too, both excellent with green. But it ADORES black and white😺. And wood. Real wood. Old, if possible, with the patina of the old wooden spoons I love so much. We brought lots of it with us. The wooden spoon my dad made for me! We we also packed the dishes I thought would go with it. Nothing is done yet, when I take these pictures again, the details will all be different. Because I open the boxes one at a time, put things where I think they might go, and of course, change my mind later.

More details?

Yes! More details! But first, here’s photo that’s definitely worth a thousand words! We’re doing it! All the bubble wrap, kraft paper, cardboard, and creative wrapping bits that are still useable are folded in piles. Boxes will be flattened. This stuff is expensive! Somebody will need it! Okay, on to the fun part!

See what I mean by wood? Just little touches here, the hutch was big, but most of it is things likewooden bowls, and old trivets for hot-from-the-oven pies and casseroles? Baskets, in my eyes, just make things homey and warm. These shelves aren’t done either . . . I haven’t even opened all the boxes, we are very fluid here. Now I’ve made myself hungry. Need pie! Will settle for cookie.

Little bits of yellow and black in the kitchen… was going to be more green, but yellow is perfect with green, and we still have our avocado green sink and stove top … 

Then, when I opened the box with the black check curtains that hung over my kitchen table on the island . . .  I thought, ahhh black! Everything looks good with black! (This is Jack’s favorite perch so far, Lord of the Manor, overseer of all things great and small). Fog is gone! Sun is coming out! Note purple alstroemerias! Note my dad’s wooden spoon on wall, left of window.💝I still got it!

But I don’t want you thinking that all Jack does is look at the view … he’s been a HUGE help … scrubbing out cupboards . . . 

Arranging drawers …

. . . hanging up clothes, putting away shoes . . .

Not to mention all the unpacking and vacuuming! It’s been a lot to do . . . no wonder he’s pooped. But he, like me (and Vicky Victorious), wants it over with. To be settled, to spend as little time in this in-between state as humanly possible. We spent 4 months packing it, we would like to shorten the unpacking time! We want to FLY into the mystic!!! Unanchor ourselves!

His daily nap helps a lot.💤 MAS MUSICA? 💖

But look what you get! You open up a box wondering what you could have meant by “normal clothes . . .”

And it all makes sense when inside you find your old “Too Mean To Marry” t-shirt that you don’t even remember you packed.👏

Unpacking can be intriguing . . . seriously, why is a “rabbit head” in a paper cup? What Rabbit Head? And then you find out and it’s like a box of chocolates! (You never know what you’re going to get.) And sometimes it’s like Christmas, all seemingly new, falling in love with your stuff all over again!

Things you couldn’t live without. This lamp that went with me to Holly Oak in 1982 was my first grown-up lamp. Couldn’t leave that behind. I love lighting. Candlelight for obvious reasons, but lamp light can be just as beautiful ~ you light the lamp in its new place and squeal softly at the beauty. You forgot how pretty it is! . . . and little houses with nooks and crannies show them off way better than big ones do!🏡

Little bits of spark and romance perk up a dark corner.

Look at this! Remember years ago when Lowely and I learned how to make these cut and pierced lampshades from Ayn Chase, the artist I used to snap them up from on the island? Ayn made this one too. We were so lucky to have her … I do see shades like this on Etsy now and then, but just in cases, people DO make them at home, and so if you want one bad enough, you know what to do! I’d be very surprised if there weren’t tutorials on youtube.

I mean, really! But while admiring things, and being happy I decided to bring them,

There’s still a lot to do! Like where does everything GO? Don’t know what to do with it yet? Put it in the guest room! It’s kind of never-ending. But with all these new views, I think it’ll give me good stories to tell for a long time!

We brought our favorite hutch, I’m filling it, and finding places for the books . . . just think, if we hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t be getting to do all this in a starting-over sort of way, all clean and new! Yes, it’s work, but it’s creative too . . .

There’s been laundry to do, which I totally have to do myself ~ Jack can’t reach 😹. But the dryer man just left, he fixed the dryer, and we’re back in business again. But never totally ~ we’ve always been clothes-on-the-line people; because hanging things like sheets and dishtowels and quilts out to dry is one of the simple joys of life. You get to be outside with the wind and sunshine and trees. And the smell of fresh air permeates everything. And then you are overwhelmed with all the gratitude that those things provide. Because we’re . . .

Plus we have new artichokes to plant, because I know some of you are wondering, did they get to eat the artichokes they planted last March?  Practically the first thing I did when we got out of the car from our 10-day, cross-country trip to California, was go and look for the artichokes. Was really hoping for our OWN for our first dinner. Sad to say, all we had were two artichoke flowers, artichokes gone to seed. Not that sad actually, they are so pretty. So we just dug a better bed, and mixed it with compost, and planted four more plants, and these guys will definitely get much more TLC (i.e. water) and we expect a better outcome. In the meantime, the flowers, green and purple, fit it perfectly! Another win-win! They just keep coming!

Yes we are! Especially Joe, who got his first delivery of the NY Times last Sunday … with his beloved crossword puzzle in it. I loved this headline and keep the paper open on the table! I think of all we went through with that pandemic, how it interrupted life in such a weird way, how it changed us in so many ways, how hard it was, like some sort of world trauma, and all we learned (that nobody really needed), and think how glad I am that it’s over and want everyone that still feels the effects (like I sometimes do and maybe always will, not physical, “just” mental, some kind of PTSD) will feel freedom and lighthearted in the sunlight and the wind and be happy again. Like I told Jack, we just have to be patient with ourselves, this too shall pass. It’s already so much better! (Above was written and illustrated by our girlfriend Maureen Carmichael after the bookstore zoom we had during the pandemic…)💞Happiness has been kind of a theme here, because this was the first Angel Card I chose when we got back! I closed my eyes and really fished around, tried to feel for the one that made my fingers buzz, it was important because it was the first one, I hoped it would set the tone . . . and I got this!!! Wanted to shout it to the world. And I just did!😘

We’re definitely settling in. Note: green and wood. Looks excellent with black and white.

The new fall napkins I ordered arrived and I love them soooo much I got them for you too! They’re soft woven cotton! Wash, dry, no iron!!! They’re huge too, 21″ square …kinda perfect! If you love them on sight like I did, go HERE for some of your own.

I hope they go with your dishes! I’m looking at Thanksgiving right here! They’ll be my go-to forever!

Jack loved them on sight too.💖 Arbiter of good taste.😻

Part of my new little studio, which is actually a corner of the living room. It’s tiny, but I LOVE how it’s coming together! It’s little and perfect and Vicky has been massively victorious space-wise! I’ll show you more next time! Until then . . . here are some

Things I’m told you must know.

#1. FYI. Kellee says we are no longer sending Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams to Amazon, we are saving the 80 we have left for our Girlfriends, in case you want one for Christmas this year. Our prices are lower than theirs, so we’re better anyway.😁 And the new printing should come in around February …

#2. Judy wants me to tell you that if you have a favorite local gift, kitchen, antique, or bookstore who you would like to carry my things, you can suggest they go to Faire.com and look for Susan Branch Studios, or you could please send the name of their store to [email protected] ~ include their city, state, and/or email address of the store or owner and she’ll Judy will in touch. As you know, because we’re small, and don’t have agents or lawyers, we run very much under the radar, and are not in many stores … lots of people don’t even know we exist.🫣 Which is fine, we love our little world, but that’s why word-of-mouth has always been our best thing ~ otherwise I wouldn’t get to do what I love!! So we’re happy to write and introduce ourselves. We just need a little help from our friends. If it’s easy!💞

Also, Kellee would like me to tell you we have cards and cards and more cards ~ like 3 pages of them in our shopping site now ~ and more are coming everyday!🌺

When she put up our welcome home banner,👏 Kellee left me this happy little bag to find when I got home. Isn’t it cute?👏 It’s got a cork bottom, and a fabric top with cork handles! Really sweet, perfect for me! I asked her to get a few more in case you’d want one too.💖

Fits phone (as you can see), notebook, pen, lipstick, comb, keys ~ all the little things we need when we leave home.

So that has to be it for today, there’s a Vickie whispering in my ear … But here was our first view coming down the driveway after 10-days crossing our beautiful country! I need to show you more pics of that! But one of the best things, just as I hoped, has been this amazing California weather . . . cool mornings, cool evenings, soft sun touching your face, more like a caress, during the day … and still the smell of ocean air, not all that far away . . . Listening to the crickets as I fall asleep at night, my California childhood comes back. Every door & window open, cozy under the covers, quiet, inspiring, awake-dreaming, so contented it brings yearning… it can send me out to look at the stars. I’ve never had the right word for that feeling. But I believe kindred spirits know what I’m talking about. Bye for now girlfriends . . . enjoy the last of the hazy crazy days of summer, because as I mentioned earlier . . .

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BOOOM!

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! 🤣 

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