Susan Branch's Blog, page 33

ANTICIPATION

A N T I C I P A T I O N

Hi Girls & Boys . . . Just a couple more days . . .  I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to sign up for our giveaway!  Isn’t anticipation fun!?  Sometimes better than the real thing ~ right now, everyone’s a winner!  I thought you’d enjoy some of my “Glory of the Snow” flowers while you are waiting . . .

If you haven’t already  . . . scroll down and make sure to leave a comment!  Listen to that delicious MUSICA one more time, and have a wonderful weekend! (Close eyes, deep breath, count blessings, ahhhhh) Love you, your comments are beyond anything ever . . . XOXO

WELCOMING WILLARD ♥

Hi Everyone!  Between WILLARD (which starts going out this morning and finishes Wednesday night) and this post, I think I’m going to wear you out!  But in the Willard I promised you a recipe, I promised “make-up gifts.” (Too long since last Willard, should call them welcome-back gifts).  But first, we need MUSICA . . . and I need to show you what my dad, better known as “Blog Daddy” and his darling wife Jeannie sent us for Easter.

Is that cute or what?  I get the bunny with the bow and I’m seven again.  It’s got green peeps, it’s filled with those little chocolate eggs with the thin crispy crust and my favorite dark chocolate-covered coconut bars.  Thanks Dad, thanks Jeannie! There’s me and Blog Daddy → . . . Such a cute surprise! (We were so young!)   

I hope Easter weekend was as beautiful where you are as it was here!  We’ve been getting amazing doses (as in medicine) of spring, drinking it in, making it almost impossible to stay inside, stay home, stay down.  We want OUT! We pop this music into the player and off we go… 

The island is coming alive and it’s fun to drive around and look at it.  You can see we are still waiting for leaves on the trees, but the air is filled with the sweet smell of thawing earth, the light is new, and the sailboats are coming back.  It’s perfect timing . . . Happy Earth Day!  It’s today!  Pretty smart of the powers-that-be to tuck Earth Day into this beautiful time of year!  For extra enjoyment, for frosting on the spring cake . . . Check out the Washington DC Cherry Trees in bloom!  They will put a song in your heart.

And now, here’s the recipe for the cake I wrote about in Willard, an old-fashioned lemon-filled sponge cake, soft as a baby’s hiney, perfect for spring birthdays, and gorgeous as a Mother’s Day Tea Cake.

And since I made this cake for Easter, I thought I’d show you just how easy it is to put together.  Making this roll is much easier than you might think if you haven’t done it before.

So set your oven for 375° and here we go . . .

Butter a 10″ x 15″ cookie sheet that has a rim (jelly roll pan), then lay down a piece of waxed paper (allowing it to go over edge), smooth it into the corners and into the butter, and then butter the paper too.

Put the yolks of three eggs in one bowl and the whites in another.

Beat egg yolks a little bit then add a cup of sugar and . . .

Beat them until they’re thick and lemon colored . . .

Sift a cup of flour together with salt and baking powder . . . (don’t worry I’ll give measurements at the end)…

And stir it in to your batter along with six tablespoons of hot water . . .

Beat the egg whites until stiff and glossy.

While you’re doing that take a peek outside . . . oh, my, what a DAY!

And LOOK!!!  I begin calling for Joe . . . we have robins by the herds, we have gaggles of cardinals, whole families ~ (not that I will ever take them for granted), but see that bird on the right?  We never see that bird.  ever.  Got out the bird book where we find out it usually likes woods and thickets.  This is our driveway . . . he is a “rose-breasted grosbeak.”

We ooh and aaah over him for a few minutes . . . He must have spring fever, coming over for some dessert seeds.

OK, that was nice, but back to “work” ~ folding in the egg whites . . .

And then the zest of one lemon . . . Now spread the batter evenly on your well-buttered cookie sheet and put into oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

While it’s baking, lay out a clean dishtowel and sift over a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

When the cake is done, and wafting fresh cake fragrance to the neighborhood, bring it out of the oven and use the edges of the waxed paper to turn it out onto your powdered-sugar covered cloth . . .

Voila!  While still hot, carefully peel off the paper.  Then take a pair of sharp scissors and cut off the crispy edges of the cake all the way around . . .

You can eat those crispy edges immediately, but from experience, if you eat them all now, you’ll have nothing to dip in the lemon filling you’re about to make. Just sayin’ . . .

Now, using the dishtowel begin to roll up the cake.  It’s fairly malleable while it’s hot so you can make a nice roll, just pull out the towel as you go . . .

Once it’s all rolled, just leave it there and let it cool while you make the filling.  Essentially it’s in training now to be a roll.

LEMON FILLING:  In the top part of a double boiler, put two whole eggs, a cup of sugar, the grated rind of two lemons . . .

The fresh juice of two lemons and two tablespoons of melted butter.

Pour the juice into the double boiler through a fine sieve if your lemons are like mine and filled with seeds.  Stir over simmering water for fifteen minutes until the filling is thick. Cool slightly. (Más MUSICA Girlfriends?)

Then it’s time to unroll your cake; carefully peel it open until it’s flat ~ it goes very easily . . .

Pour over the lemon filling and spread it almost to the edges, but leave it thick in the middle. (Don’t forget to save a little bit of filling to dip your cake clippings in if you have any left.)

Roll the cake back up, not TOO tightly, because you want the lemon filling to stay inside.  I roll and lift the cake a bit as I go so as to keep the lemon from squeezing out the sides. Move the cake to an oval serving plate.

Sift over a little more powdered sugar ~ the cake is beautiful, but I decide it needs a little Easter decoration . . . so I run outside to pick some of my pretty yellow (non-toxic) forsythia flowers . . . any excuse to go outside is a good thing.

And voila!  Like little butterflies.  Your cake would be just as pretty with wild violets, pansies, johnny jump-ups, or roses . . 

Now, soak the dishes, while you’re at it, notice the guy in the garden . . . that really good guy in the garden?  Doing the aphrodisiac-thing women love?

Mulching and getting everything ready . . .♥

Go ask him if he would like a piece of Lemon Cake . . . Tell him you will bring it and he can eat it in the garden.

He deserves this . . . tender soft sugary cake with the most lemony of lemon fillings . . .

And while you’re out there, find reasons to stay . . . Hang up your bird houses . . . because you LOVE the serenade of birds in love . . .

Go take a picture of your old bunny crossing sign … take note of good mulchy dirt . . .

Give up looking for more to do and go on a walk!  Such an amazingly gorgeous weekend.

Remember these Jingle Shells I found on the beach . . .?

. . . and then arranged on my window sill?

Well, one of our Girlfriends mentioned how much she would like to have some of these genuine Martha’s Vineyard jingle shells . . . so yesterday, out on our walk, I collected these . . .

And I put them in this Emma Bridgewater tin as a surprise . . . because I thought they might be a fun giveaway for spring, to celebrate the change of season, a box from the sea.♥

Jack agreed.  I tied the box up in a little bag.  Then I thought maybe not everyone wants shells, but I bet everyone would love an original 1900 copy of the wonderful “Elizabeth and Her German Garden,” the first book written by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth von Arnim (she also wrote “Enchanted April” which you would love if you haven’t already read it).  So I added that . . . Look at the beautiful raggedy edges on the pages of this old book . . . (Of course, If I’m doing anything different at all, Jack is immediately involved.  He has an inquiring mind that wants to KNOW.)

So I put them together and thought, that looks nice, but something is missing . . .

A Fine Romance!  Yes, must have that in the package. I hope you like it! I’ll sign my book and the Elizabeth book to whomever wins the drawing . . . All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment; right here at the bottom of this post you’ll see the tiny letters “comment” ~ click there and say anything sweet and you’ll be entered.

But is that enough when it’s been almost a year since your last Willard?  Don’t you owe the Girlfriends something else?  Maybe not “owe” but “wish to give?”  Oui!  I think so!  So Vanna will choose TWO names this time, and the second name drawn will get these two Keepsake books (guided “life story” journals with lined paper, places for photos, sewn-in ribbon bookmarks ~ and lots of fun questions to be answered in their own handwriting by mom’s, grandma’s, aunts, sisters), more Mother’s Day festivities! xoxo  We are starting early because we know that the best way to remember Mother’s Day is to forget it once, but we never want that to happen!♥

Here’s the recipe Girlfriends!

CAKE:

3 eggs, separated in two lg. bowls
1 c. sugar
6 Tbsp. hot water
1 c. sifted unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
grated rind of one lemon (zest)
sifted powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.  Butter a 10″ x 15″ cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, one with a rim.  Line it with waxed paper leaving some to hang over edges (an inch is fine). Set pan aside.  Separate eggs into two large bowls.  Beat egg yolks, add sugar and beat until thick and lemon-colored.  Stir in hot water and dry ingredients.  Beat egg whites with electric beater until stiff; gently fold into egg batter.  Fold in grated rind.  Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.  Bake 12-15 min.

Immediately turn finished cake onto clean dishtowel lightly covered with sifted powdered sugar. Carefully peel off waxed paper.  With sharp scissors, cut off the crisp edges of the cake.  Using the cloth, roll up cake pulling out cloth as you go.  Leave it covered and rolled, set it aside to cool while you make the filling.

FILLING

2 whole eggs
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
zest and juice of 2 lemons (strained if necessary, no seeds please)

Put all ingredients into top part of double boiler.  Beat well and stir til thick, approx. 15-20 min.  Cool slightly.

FINISH

Unroll the cake, spread on the filling, and roll back up.  Cool completely.  Transfer to serving dish.  Sift over a tiny bit more powdered sugar.  Add flowers if you like, edible and unsprayed, violets, pansies, roses, johnny jump ups. Here’s a list of edible flowers.

Now something everyone needs the week after Easter, a delicious recipe for:

These make the most delicious just-home-from-work treat, on the porch while you watch the green things growing. Which is what I hope you’re all doing these days, just as crazy with spring fever as we are. ♥  Deep breaths of the gorgeous outdoors, that’s the only “cure.”

Happy Spring, Girlfriends . . . I’m off to work on my book, my new addiction, a few hours every morning, trying to figure out what our heroine is going to do next (she seems to have a mind of her own) . . . housekeeping, gardening, normal life in the afternoon.  Don’t forget to leave a comment for the seashells and books.  Also, if you have any trouble with WILLARD, be sure to let me know.  He goes to lots of addresses now, it takes a couple of days for them all to go out, but if you haven’t received him by Thursday morning, check your spam box (because I’ve heard he can take a detour) and then let me know . . . you can write either here, or on Twitter, or on FOSB (Facebook), and we will be paying attention!

XOXO 

BUNNY CAKE ♥ New Willard Soon!

B U N N Y   C A K E !  Fast easy, do it from a mix! A little big band morning MUSICA ♥

♥      ♥      ♥      ♥      ♥

HAPPY EASTER GIRLFRIENDS! A new Willard starts going out on Tuesday ♥ Sign up sisters and girlfriends for a surprise in their email boxes. Fun surprise here on the blog that day too. Blessings for a wonderful weekend. Love you, XOXO

BIRTHDAY GRATITUDE ♪

Today is my day for B I R T H D A Y   G R A T I T U D E  and we’ll start with my favorite song ever in the history of the world . . .  MUSICA!  Good Morning Crocus, ♫ Good Morning Daffodils, Hello Tulips, ♪ Hi there Miss Hyacinth! Hello fresh spring air,  you smell so good! ♫ Hello Sunshine ~ Hello GIRLFRIENDS!  ♫

T O M O R R O W   I S   M Y

So many things  to be grateful for and I thought today would be a really good day to talk about them.

Let me first say that if I put every one of my blessings in this post, reading it would become a full time job because they pretty much go to the moon.  But I have to start somewhere!  My favorite magazines have arrived and for my own birthday present to me, I’m taking them to lunch this week.  Me and them, alone, at a corner table, with a knife to hold them open so I can eat Sesame Noodles and read at the same time.  One of my most favorite luxuries, reading all alone in restaurants (a sidewalk cafe on the Champs Elysees?  Oui!)

And him, my shadow, he’s more than a luxury, he is my must-have.  And the very best present I could ask for, he and Girl have been playing this last week, chasing each other up and down the stairs, you can hear their feet running back and forth upstairs, ambushing each other, jumping off the beds.  It’s wonderful!  So good for Girl and just what I was hoping for her when I brought Jack home.  I hope it lasts. Jack is 2 1/2 years old and this is a first!

Spring has come to Martha’s Vineyard!  The early morning light is exquisite.  Pristine, fresh, clean, and a miracle if ever I saw one. Especially after this winter!

I have huge amounts of gratitude for Mrs Bowditch who lived in our house from 1949 until 1980 and was so good about planting for spring bloom. I got to meet her once.  She’s been my inspiration.♥ I hope she knows I’m taking good care of her house for her.

Our daffodils are in bloom.  Thank you!

We have nature’s address, it’s out through the woods along a dirt path that takes us here . . . no leaves on the trees yet, but the sun is lovely and the breeze smells wonderful, and you can hear the waves.

Crocus! Pure miracles.  First there is snow and then there are crocus!

I’m grateful for talented Kellee who made me this kitty last year. xoxo

And for little children who write me beautiful letters with borders.  Thank you Little Children! xoxo

I’m grateful for these, my own research department, my diaries . . . Yes, I know I’ve been MIA from our dear blog, and I’ve missed you!  But every time I’ve tried to do an update (and I have tried!), I think “Oh, just let me add this one more little thing to my new book and THEN I’ll go do a new post” . . . that’s when I fall into “the zone” and have to say help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.  But no one comes, so what can I do?

I can’t save myself, and honestly, I really don’t want to.  I like it in there.  I’m driven in the best possible way.  I wake up and RUN to my paper and pen before all my morning fresh-from-dreamland thoughts disappear.  I have 418 pages of our new book written, Girlfriends.  Of course, probably 50% of it is what English people would call “a crapjob” ~ but that’s OK, first I have to get the whole entire thing down on paper, and we’ll worry about crap removal later on.  I promise, it will be distilled, only the juicy bits will be left when I get done.  It’s almost my birthday and  I feel so grateful to have this passion.

And then this . . . digging through my photos, I found this one.   I am SO grateful for these two cutie-pot-pie Leos in my life, the Blog Daddy, John Patrick Stewart Jr. (hi Dad!) and my partner in crime, Joseph Buckminster Hall.  ♥

And I’m so grateful I was ever a part of this group of little people. ♥  ♥  ♥

I love sharing my birthday with Gladys Taber.  I love being born on the same day as someone who was a light to the world. ♥

I’m excited that Joe and I will be at the Friends of Gladys Taber meeting in Connecticut in June — I’ll be speaking and signing A Fine Romance and we get to tour her house Stillmeadow for the very first time!

And right after that, I come home to this . . . these are my high school girlfriends (last fall in California) . . . and they are ALL coming to stay in my house for four days in June! I’m grateful I have this to look forward to!  We have stories, we laugh, we have fun!  They are like sisters to me.  I have some house fluffing to do!  (And with my “passion” in full bloom plus old man winter to sweep out the door, this house needs it!

I’m thankful for this, because this means YOU. ♥

Counting the blessings of my last year, one of the best of all was going out to meet so many of our Girlfriends.  Look how cute Lucy and Ethel are!  I’m telling you, this was a ball!

A Fine Romance was such a blessing ~ it took me here ↑ (both of those horse pictures are still on the door of my studio, one from Jessie and one from Sydney) . . . and it took us all here ↓♥  To Beatrix Potter’s house in the Lake District.  M A G I C A L , I almost can’t believe we were there.

And tomorrow, on my actual birthday, I get to go to lunch with my best girlfriends here on Martha’s Vineyard ~ making me grateful for a Spring Birthday ~ the perfect excuse for a girlfriend lunch.   And then we’re all going to the nursery together!  Our nurseries close in the winter, so this will be a treat, our first visit this year!  Sometimes my California girlfriends wonder why I would want to live in a place that has such a cold winter, and this is part of the reason.  It’s  thrilling to go to the nursery for the first time, seeing the first flowers, smelling the warm sun on grass.  It’s a miracle every year.  The more miracles, the better. ♥

And this weekend, I’m going to write us a new Willard!  Oh yeah, I think you deserve a birthday present too . . .  make sure your addresses are all up to date.  It won’t go out for about a week and a half, I’ll be sure to let you know.

One more wish, my birthday wish for you is that you go through your days gracefully growing more beautiful and wise, never missing a sunset or the opportunity to count your blessings, I hope that’s how we stay forever young. ♥ xoxo Love you . . . ✥Wham, *❊ BAM,✱ whoosh,✶* sparkles *♫*✱•*¨*•.☆.♪•*¨❋**••*¨ ✱*•★.* ♪* ✱ •*¨✸*•.★.♫•*¨☆✱*•*♥. . .  feel that?

D O N ‘ T    F O R G E T    T O 

QUINOA SALAD

I thought I’d give you the recipe for the Quinoa Salad I took to TGIF  the other night.  It was so good ~ my girlfriends LOVE Asian food and there’s always lots of yummy Asian appetizers so I thought I’d make a salad to go with them. ♥MUSICA♥

Have you used quinoa? (It’s pronounced keen-wa.)  If not, you are in for a treat and a world of wonderful new healthy salads!

 . . . and some interesting things you might like to know. First off, quinoa is not a grain, it’s a seed, and considered gluten-free (for those with celiac disease you might like to read this).

 And it’s so good for you!  Those little seeds (related to spinach) are an excellent source of protein, it’s a great source of fiber, and it has 700% more iron than white rice.  Quinoa has an interesting texture which means it goes with almost any savory thing you serve; and there are many ways to flavor it.  If you can’t find it at your market, try the health food store, or try Bob’s Red Mill.

This is the Quinoa Salad that’s on page 84 of Girlfriends Forever ~ it has roasted peanuts, ginger and lime.  With the use of different herbs, the salad could be Asian style, Mexican style, you could make it with fruit and cinnamon, with shrimp or fish, or almost anything you would like.

For my recipe, you cook 2 c. of quinoa in 3 c. water for about 10 min. and pour it into a strainer.  In a large bowl you mix together all the rest of the ingredients: rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, fresh ginger . . .

. . . the zest and juice of two limes (don’t worry, I’ll put the recipe at the end) and soy sauce . . .

. . . minced green onions and chopped celery . . .

A little salt and pepper

 Stir it all together with sliced water chestnuts and coarsely-chopped, dry roasted peanuts . . .

. . . crunchy fresh snow peas and sweet currants . . .

. . . and voila!  I put it in my candlewick bowl, because it’ll reflect light . . . and took it to Jaime’s house.  We ate ourselves silly, caught up, had a group hug and promised to love each other forever; it couldn’t have been nicer.

QUINOA SALAD WITH PEANUTS, GINGER & LIME

2 c. quinoa, rinsed
4 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 low-sodium soy sauce
zest & juice of 2 juicy limes
3 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp. salt.
1 c. snow peas, trimmed and halved
3/4 c. celery, chopped
3/4 c. water chestnuts, halved
5 green onions (w/ green part too) thinly sliced
1/2 c. currants
1/3 dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
a few good grinds of black pepper to taste
If you’d like chopped herbs ~ mint, cilantro, and basil, together or separately work great with this salad.

Rinse 2c. quinoa under running water in a fine mesh sieve.  Bring 3c. water to boil in saucepan.  Add quinoa, bring it back to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook 10 min.  Strain and set aside.  Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix together all other ingredients.  Add drained quinoa, herbs too if you like, stir well and serve. Good cold, hot, or room temp.  Enjoy, you arteests!

Here’s our new thing . . . these birds just came into the studio.  Are they cute or what?

They’re finely detailed metal, very thin, and all have bases you can put screws into so you can secure them to fence posts, window sills, ledges,  porch rails, where ever you’d like.  Kellee will be putting them up today (I think) . . .

Over the years, here and there, I’ve found a few narrow-based things for the tiny ledge over my fireplace, and I just found three more!

. . . and, in case you don’t have a ledge or a fence post, we have an ornament you can hang from your window lock, a cupboard knob, from a nail that something else is on (remove the something else, hang the bird, replace the something else, allowing the bird to hang below). Hope you like them!

And now, for Pat in particular, a promise to be kept:  Lowely’s delicious recipe for

I R I S H    S O D A     B R E A D

Serve this crusty bread hot from the oven, smothered in butter and jam.

3 2/3 c. (450g) all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2/3 c. dried cranberries (or raisins, or currants)
1 egg
1 2/3 c. (400ml) buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425º (220ºC/gas mark 7). Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.  Mix in sugar and dried cranberries.  In small bowl, beat egg with buttermilk.  Make a well in the flour and pour in all but 1/4 c. (50ml) of liquid.  Wash your hands and dry them. Grab the flour and liquid with outstretched fingers and keep doing that, moving your hand around the bowl in circles; add more buttermilk mixture if necessary, until it comes together.  Don’t knead; the dough should be soft, but not too wet or sticky.

Turn onto floured work surface and pat the dough into a round, about 2 1/2 inches (6cm) in height, and cut a deep cross in it, from one side of the loaf to the other.  Transfer to the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 min. at 425º, then reduce temp to 400ºF (200ºC/Gas mark 6) and bake for another 30 to 35 min, until the bread is golden, crusty, and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Cool on wire rack while you get the butter! Cut thick slices with a bread knife; wrap the bread in a dishtowel and serve it in a basket. ♥

It’s not very far from bread and water to tea and toast…

Have a wonderful day Girlfriends! XOXO

 

Transition Time

First off, some favorite Old Musica ♥  It’s transition time, Girlfriends ~ a big change of season is on the way for us!  Nothing shows the conflict between the past and the future, and the exact spot where the line divides, more eloquently than this photograph . . . out in our backyard . . .

. . . it’s a fight to the finish, but I know who’s going to win.  We are!  We’ve had our winter fires, our hot soups and grilled cheese sandwiches, we’ve had our dark and cozy afternoons, we are up to here with hot chocolate and wearing four sweaters in the house ~ someday we will want all of these things again, we will pine for that first falling leaf and the smell of woodsmoke, just as right now we are pining to go OUTSIDE and PLAY!  You California girls are already there, lots of you across the country are going outside without a sweater. But in this neck of the woods, we still have a ways to go.  The weather report has us in the 4o’s for the next ten days.  We are not complaining.

One of the ways we know the season is about to make a radical change is the way the sunrise streams through the kitchen windows; the way it plays over the cupboards and stove.  The sun has changed positions, has come around to give us more morning light.  Jack says Hi!  Don’t you just want to grab him?  He will let you.  He will lay on his back in your arms like a baby and turn those green lights on you and then you have to kiss him a hundred times just as he planned, until he can escape.

Because to be truthful? Despite all that love?  The turkeys in the driveway are more interesting than you.  And by the way, probably the very best $10 a person can spend while waiting for spring to arrive ~ we went to Maurice the Florist (we say Mor-eest-the-Flor-eest) and got a bunch of daffodils.   Aren’t they perky?  What snow?

Jack reminds me . . .  we have more food for soul:  our charm collection has grown and now includes, from left to right, pink flowers for our “Girlfriends,” green hedgerows for “A Fine Romance,” the brand new tuxedo charm for “Kitty Love,” and swirls of sea foam for “Martha’s Vineyard.”

KITTY LOVE comes just like the rest of them, on its own gift card.  Jack and Girl have ordered one.  I think they’re giving it to me for mother’s day.

Girl Kitty prefers to use her tuxedo as camouflage.

We also got in a collection of wonderful birds cut from metal ~ four different shapes This one is made to hang from a window or a cupboard knob; the others stand alone and have stands that can be screwed to a shelf or a fence or a window sill.  Look how delicate this is.  They aren’t in the web store yet, I want to take pictures of them today ~ I just happened to set this one on my book about the wonderful Edith Holden (The Edwardian Lady) ~  it looked so cute I had to show you.

I’m working hard on the new book every day, we’re not going out much, just working since the weather is perfect for it.  I love writing it, we are laughing ourselves silly reading some of the entries in my old diaries, remembering my first ferry ride when I thought everyone on the boat looked like a Kennedy, the first time I saw this little house in the woods and how sad it was, the first time I ever saw a cardinal land on my birdfeeder,  I’m remembering so many details about coming to the island . . .

. . . and how I had to figure out how to live in a place that had seasons ~ it was quite an interesting challenge that first year . . . especially winter! It goes from happy childhood, to broken heart, to starting over, in scrapbook form, or so it seems right now, lots of pictures (before and afters of the rooms in that little house), recipes, and quotes.  I’ve written 267 double-spaced pages so far. I write, Joe edits, I write some more.  I’ll have to give you some excerpts one of these days.  It’s making me very happy.

 

And, speaking of  H A P P Y, what are you going to do for our next big holiday?  Any plans?

No, I don’t mean Easter!  This isn’t our Easter dinner.  Our next holiday is April Fool’s Day!  Just around the corner!  Have you done your holiday shopping?

Gotta pick up some gummy worms and figure out where I can hide them this year! (He always forgets what day it is.)  I’ll get them when I go grocery shopping this morning ~ do any of you have a favorite April Fool’s joke?

Tonight I get to go to TGIF at my girlfriend Jaime’s house, everyone is bringing an appetizer, so I’m off to cook and watch Great Expectations on TCM.  I haven’t seen my girlfriends all together for way too long.  I’m in the mood for girl talk!  So off I go now . . .   leaving a little reminder on how to “lighten up” for APRIL!  Byeeeee, Girls!  Love you ~ have a wonderful day! ♥

BLOG TOUR

Today I’m going to take you on a first-ever tour of the Blog.  There are surprises when you scroll down, but first we need MUSICA.  Because no matter WHAT it looks like out your window, the season are changing, it’s Spring!  I bounce off the walls for this music.  ”. . . It’s a  beehive of budding son and daughter life . . .”

I thought, before we pull the name of the lucky winner of our wonderful vintage book BEST OF STILLMEADOW, I might give you a little tour of how this blog works.  I’ve never done that and although lots of you have your own blogs or have learned your way around, some of you are new.  So I thought, well, here we go.  Can’t hurt, might help. ♥

First off, I get questions about this all the time:  so, when words are underlined and in color, that means it’s a link (just like the word MUSICA above).  You click on it and a new window will open right on top of this one where you can find recipes, stories, information, photos, a bookmark to print out, and other things I hope will add interest to the subject of the post.  Click on them and see what waits for you!

Next, in that row across the top of the blog there are those little bits of art with words around them, such as I LOVE ENGLAND, HOME COOKING (there are lots of new Spring recipes up, btw), and VISITING MARTHA’S VINEYARD.  If you put your cursor on any of them, there will be a drop-down; you can click on any of the subjects there for more posts about everything from Old China Dishes, Cleaning Silver or Wishing on the Moon, to Jane Austen or My Favorite Movies.  So if you are bored with a post, or I’ve left it up too long, I hope you’ll find something interesting up there.

♫ Skylarks are larking, see them all double parking . .  ♪

Next, in the column on the right, there are all kinds of links to things such as my favorite blogs and websites; my YOUTUBE Channel where there are lots of homemade mini-movies, or EVENTS, where I post my book signings and speaking engagements.  Right now EVENTS is filled with photos from our cross-country tour for A FINE ROMANCE (in case you missed it).  The blog ARCHIVES are there too, at the bottom of that column you’ll find a dated list of all 342 posts I’ve done since I started this blog three years ago this coming June.  (There are a couple of posts at the very bottom that came from what was not yet a blog, only a website.  And for definition, a blog is a website but a website is not necessarily a blog.  What makes a blog a blog are the comments.  That’s you. ♥)

What else?  Oh … OK, Shopping.  That’s one of the icons at the top.  When you click on it now, you will find that Kellee has posted a brand new “Table of Contents” ~ in the column on the left.  She did an amazing job . . . everything is so much easier to find.  Our web store is filled with things I make myself (like calendars and books or my new blends of tea), or things I ask people to make for me (like Janie’s Banners or my glass charms for A Fine Romance or Girlfriends . . . p.s. btw, while I’m thinking about it, a new shipment of GIRLFRIENDS charms along with our brand new KITTY LOVE charm should be in any moment, maybe even today!).  We also like to share things I love, like the very best candles in the world, or things I have for my own house that I think you might like too, such as my favorite books, Beatrix Potter figurines, cute dishtowels, or teapots with hearts of them.  We try to keep it interesting, so we might try something for a while, then change it out for something new like our new striped dishtowels in this photo (I got yellow, but they come in four colors).  We are small, just the three of us (Kellee, Sheri and me) plus our right hand guy, Alfredo, so we never get very many of anything, which sometimes makes it hard, but at least it’s not boring.

“Shopping” got its start when I heard over and over again how hard it was for people to find my things in stores ~ and because I couldn’t force stores to carry my calendars and books and never knew for sure who did, I couldn’t tell anyone where to look.  So I decided to make this a central location where you can come if all else fails.  Plus, it’s much more fun now when I show you something in a photo, such as my vintage elephant creamer for example, if while I’m out and about I find another one in an antique store, I can get it and offer it here (this allows me to wander mindlessly for hours through antique stores looking for great deals which I love to do anyway!).  ALSO, at the very bottom of the new table of contents is FREE STUFF.  Click on that and you can print out free stationery, a Tea Party Invitation, lots of bookmarks; all kinds of things show up there (from me to you with Love) . . . right now there are new Springtime “Wallpapers” for your computer.  We try to change everything at least seasonally, so check in every so often.

One last thing: some of you come to this blog directly through www.susanbranch.com, and some of you have signed up so it’s mailed directly to your email box.  The problem with the emailed version is that you may not be getting most of the stuff I just wrote about above.  Plus, when I put up a video (like the one below), for some reason you just get a black box, it doesn’t show up.  I don’t know why.  The worst part is they don’t give you a place to leave a comment.  In order to see the videos or leave a comment you must come to www.susanbranch.com.  Then, to leave a comment, scroll to the bottom of any post you wish to comment on ~ there you will see the tiny word “comments” in light grey letters, click on that, and that’s where you leave your comment.  That’s what you need to do in order to enter the drawings, because that’s where the “random number generator” (better and more fondly known as “Vanna”) chooses the winners.

← OK, I guess that pretty much sums it up.  I hope this helps!  It’s a lot to read, so sorry, but I thought I would get it over with in one giant fell swoop, with loverly MUSICA playing to keep you happy during study session!

Now, speaking of archives:  In December 1986, a few months before my first date with Joe (which I wrote about in A Fine Romance) and only about one month after  the publication of my first book HEART OF THE HOME (the surprise and shock of which I had not yet gotten over, putting a perpetual giggle behind every word of this interview), I was invited to a local Cape Cod television program called Books and the World to talk with Marion Vuilleumier.  I recently dug out this tape, and had it put onto a disk so it could be uploaded to YOUTUBE.  It’s a questionable choice for me to show you this, as I (perhaps slightly overly critical and then again, perhaps not) find it quite embarrassing.  It’s my first time on television and I’m very nervous.  It’s a thirty-minute interview, so get tea and watch when you feel like it.  I’m sorry I sound like an idiot, but apparently that’s what I was.  I like to think I’m better now, but probably not, TV has always been scary.  Anyway,  I’ve included liner notes under the video, to read as you go along:  they are the who, what, where, why, and when of what is going on.

xoxo

REASONS TO BE EMBARRASSED, in order of appearance:

1. weird stare

2. I know nothing about anything . . .

3. Vellum?  It’s not vellum, it’s . . . uh, wait a minute I have to go look.  Bristol Board!  Why can’t I ever remember that?  I love giving out false information on television so people watching can say to themselves, Vellum?

4. Which is so much better too . . . really?

5. “They help each other out there, they take an interest in other people.”  Can someone please pass the sugar.

6.  Oooooo.  Big Buildings in New York.  Kill me, kill me now.

7. The secret French liqueur turned out to be Grand Marnier.  The rest of the story:  I never expected to get that job, which is why I tried for it, just for the experience, plus the interview was in that scary big-building place, New York, which I liked (I’d only been there maybe twice before, in my pitiful defense) and they paid for me to go.  But I did get it!  Then I had a problem, because flying to twenty cities a year instead of walking island dirt roads out to the sea every morning was not really my cup of tea.  So I said thank you but no.

8. “Imagination goes with childhood.”  Love that!

9. Dreamer . . . Cozy inn?  Need clone.

And now, me with the Baby lions:

I wrote a little about going to Mexico City with my wild-animal-trainer boyfriend in the GIRLFRIENDS book, but I had to show you the babies we had in the house with us for one night.  How adorable are they!  At this time in my life I had never painted a picture, I could only cook grilled cheese sandwiches and spaghetti, I had never planted a garden, I made a lot of my clothes and dishtowels for my mom, but I had never heard of Martha’s Vineyard, and almost every book I’d read was a fairy tale in one form or another.  I was nineteen.  Since I’m writing my new book, I spend lots of time in this sort of territory.

AND NOW, with no further adeiu, because this time Vanna is actually up and chomping at the bit to draw the name because she is OUT of here this morning, has a date or something.  So, there she goes,  arm swirling, names flipping and flying, more swirling, she does an amazing job of mixing things up!  Here we go, she has one!  And the lucky winner is:

ELAINE CORBLY-MCGUIRE 

Elaine, there’s an email waiting in your box.  Write me back and tell me where to send your book!  Congratulations!  And thank ALL of you all for the WONDERFUL amazing fun lovely lucky comments!  Have a wonderful day! Happy weekend! XOXO

WEARIN’ O’ THE GREEN

Of course our blog is wearing green today, it would not like to be pinched!  But I am now on my fourth try to write a new post!  The first three failed because important memories or perfect descriptions have been crashing into my best intentions demanding to be added to the new book before I forgot them.  I will try my best to stay focused here!  This will help . . . MUSICA made in heaven.  First a little something to make your mouth water . . .

 Happy Saint Patricks Day Everyone!    How’s it going for you so far?  I don’t know if you have a special something you like to make in honor of the day, but this ↑ is our favorite recipe for stew.  It’s very different, it has raisins!  And orange juice!  And cayenne!  And nutmeg of all things!  That’s because I got my hands on it, and thought, those creative Irish, they would forgive me for messing around with their stew.  Yummy, egg noodles, with butter.  Yes.

I know, it says Irish and the only potato is a sweet potato and there’s no Guinness but I would wager you (and that is Irish) that the flavor of this stew will make you jump up to do your own version of  Riverdance, from happiness.  

For more wonderful Irish things that don’t make total sense to us go HERE and laugh.  And HERE, for a wee taste o’ some things that make Ireland so wonderful.  And here’s to a day of love and blessed luck for you all! ♣

Had to show you Jack this morning!  He is in a very feisty mood.  Jack is never in any danger of getting pinched on St. Patricks Day because . . .

. . . he brings his green with him wherever he goes, he is always Wearin’ the Green.

He knows what the camera is now, because he makes me chase him around and he rarely holds still anymore . . .

I get the camera and he begins to jump about or roll around so it’s difficult to focus on him.  I have to take LOTS of pictures before I can get one that isn’t totally blurred into oblivion . . . It’s those green eyes I love so much.

He gets bored with me very quickly though . . . Get that thing out of my face, he yawns  . . . (and please, WOMAN, stop kissing me, I am BEGGING you.  You’re messing with my DIGNITY.)

Or else I will just leave.  Very spoiled, very sure of himself.

So I say, OK, be that way, and go into the kitchen to get my newest Gladys Taber Newsletter to show you.  I wanted you to remember that third thing down, in case you’re interested, and remind you to make your plans because I would love to see you there.  ♥

I was trying to show you the article in the Newsletter about the Reunion where I will be speaking and signing copies of A Fine Romance, but of course the minute I don’t pay 100% attention to him, he is back.  Now he wants to play!  I take it any way I can get it.  Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets . . .

And Lola wants to drape himself on just the parts I would like you to see . . .  

I hope lots of you are already a member of the Friends of Gladys Taber?  She has been one of my favorite authors for a long time.  The quarterly newsletters are always delightful, interesting, informative, fun and evocative,  I save them … ↑ here are a few of them from years past.  If you’d like to read more about Gladys Taber, find out how to become a member of her fan club, or get better information about the Reunion in June (and tour her house Stillmeadow),  I did a post about her HERE and put the dates and times at the bottom.

I finally got the Newsletter out from under Lola and on top of him.  He took it rather well before he tore out of the room and up the back stairs.  Like a nut.

Let’s see … oh yes, well!   I asked my little-old tea-leaves blender for something Cinnamony and Green for spring, and preferably Caffein Free and they sent me a few packets, some more cinnamony than the others, some more flowery, but I think they got it just right with this one . . . it has body and balanced flavor and smells wonderful . . .

Only three more days until the first official day of spring.♥  Last night after dinner, I sat in front of the fire (because spring-schming around here is the real truth) with a cup of my new Spring Tea and read my Newsletter and I almost didn’t care that it was 28 degrees.  (Ridiculous.)

I also made us some “Celebrating Spring” cards (2nd row from top) that can be used as Greetings cards for spring or Earth Day, as postcards or Easter Dinner invitations,  or even recipe cards — they’re lined on both sides,  are 4″ x 6″ on nice, heavy, uncoated card stock and come in sets of 25.  Happy Spring!

Even if there is no spring (yet) at your house, I can’t tell you how lovely it is to read about a New England Springtime through the eyes and heart of Gladys Taber.  I think this is my favorite of her books, probably because it was my first, but also because it takes you through every month and each season of the year.  Especially good if you can’t make it to the Friends Reunion for Gladys Taber, this is a little

because I am going to sign this lovely book to the lucky one of you whose name is drawn as the winner of this vintage copy (in almost brand new condition) of this out-of-print title published in 1976.  Oh yes!  I found it on a back shelf in a dark corner of a group antique mall on our trip across country and have saved it for today.  Just leave me a comment and you will be automatically entered.

One Last Thing, almost a PS:  There are always lots of fun ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s day, delicious recipes, lots of parades, prayers at church, and bagpipe music; they even dye the Chicago River green.  But for those of you that would like a more sober look at a piece of Irish history, this lovely MUSICA is practically an Irish National Anthem.  There was a story this Sunday in the New York Times  … my girlfriend Lowely (Finnerty) from two doors over, brought some of her famous (still warm!) Irish Soda Bread to help Joe and I celebrate this morning.  We smeared it with butter and ate it while we read the article and listened to the words of this song together.  Then we cried.  I felt like I wanted to add something meaningful to the celebration, so here you go ~ it’s history we never want to forget.  (Spoiler alert: I must say I don’t agree with those that would politicize this subject as was done with this article, just so you know. There is nothing political about hunger and the story is important; as my mom used to say, there is a difference between right and wrong.  I try and think about it the way St. Patrick would wish for me to do and toss in a bit of common sense for luck ♣. We can’t change the past but as Oprah put it so perfectly, “We did then what we knew how to do; now that we know better, we do better.”)  Blessings to us all dearest Girlfriends. XOXO  (Don’t forget to leave your comment for Best of Stillmeadow!♥)

BACK TO BOOK WRITING . . .

Writing a New Book

There are two screens open on my computer right now, this one I’m writing to you on, and just under it, Word, with seventy-one pages of my new book, a very rough draft, written. Voila!  If you had x-ray vision you could read it.  You KNOW I love to write my blog, but right now I’m addicted, addicted I tell you, to the writing of this book.  I love going back in time to search for magic.  Actually there are three screens open, there’s THIS.

On my art table, oh what an assortment, two of my old diaries are face down and open because I’m reminding myself of inspirations from my youth and my days and thoughts from long ago.  I just found a list I made called “The Secrets of Life.” I’ve made so many lists with names like “What I Want” or “How to be Happy” and they almost all say the same things.

Between the scribbled pages there are ticket stubs, valentines, polaroid pictures, things cut out from newspapers, notes friends left on my door when I wasn’t home, shopping lists, old letters from my grandma (Every one of them starts “Sue Darling” causing eyes to water and lower lip to protrude) and my mom, and from Diana when I first moved to the island. The recipe for my mom’s Circus Cake (it’s going into book) is peeking out from under them. One of my Junior Classics Stories of Wonder and Magic is open to a fairytale I found while looking for the scary Hobia story my dad used to terrify us with.  It’s called the Brownie and the Cook and it’s written by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik and I think I need to read it.  I just found the part in my diary where I came to the island for the first time.  I’m on the boat, it’s cold outside, the ferry is rocking, I’m drinking hot chocolate and thinking everyone on the boat looks like a Kennedy.  I can see the island coming towards us through ocean-splashed windows.  Who would’a thunk it all these years ago that these diaries would come in so handy one day?  For organization and storytelling.  They are like my own little memory catalogs.  I can see the snow falling out my window from my bed in 1984, get my first kitty in 1976, burn up my first stove in 1974.  It’s all there!  Plenty of cringing going on too.  Ah youth.  I will try to spare you the gory details.  Here’s a pretty piece of MUSICA so you don’t have to think about it.

 In reality, I’m home here on the island and firmly attached to the 21st century; one of my grandma’s knitted nap blankets is over my lap and legs, the light on my desk shines out to the street making a square of yellow on the ground, I have a big cup of lavender and roses tea with honey and cream.  Girl Kitty is on her pillow on my art table and Jack is in the kitchen staring at the floor next to the door.  I don’t know why.  Apparently something is there, but I can’t see it.  He’s been at this spot off and on for several days now.  All’s quiet on the eastern front.  Heater is humming, damp towels are moistening the air, it’s still dark outside, and fingers are clicking away.  Blessings • blessings • blessings. ♥

I’m waking up these mornings with words jumping out of my head. I can’t get downstairs quite fast enough to get my thoughts down.  This book seems to be writing itself.  I carry paper and pencil everywhere with me.  They’re in the pockets of my jacket when we walk out the dirt road in the morning, and on the table next to the bed so if I wake up with a memory or an astute and brilliant thought (like that happens), I can get it down before it disappears in a dream puff or gets crowded out by the next one coming to the top.  Diana’s voice rises up distinct and clear in my head, “Why don’t you go ask him to dance?” I burst into laughter, and run for paper and pen. This book is flowing out of me like a river after a big snow.  Joe is my editor, he reads my pages as we go along, fixes sentences, gives me suggestions.  He’s scanning old photos and getting them ready to put in the book and  working hard not to get his tea bag caught on his glasses. 

Only one other thing takes my attention almost as much and that’s another book ~ the one I’m reading written by Donna Tartt called Goldfinch.  I take it upstairs to my exercise bike and as I ride and read my thoughts turn completely away from the  book I’m writing and go into an entirely NEW and all encompassing world. I’m somewhere around page 150, and it sits up there waiting for me like a little jewel.  I’ve been loving the characters and the way the story is going, but suddenly there’s this new character and I don’t like him and I want to scream to the boy, and to all the people supposedly taking care of him, “Don’t go with this guy!!!!!!!”  But I have no power and it looks like we are moving to Las Vegas.

The weather is definitely changing although I’m kind of impervious to it right now.  I notice when we go for our walk there’s definitely more light.  The sun was breaking over our faces out there yesterday, I had to take off my hat.  Also, how about that, daylight saving time?  AGAIN.  It’s giving me a slight case of jet lag.  (I just looked at the clock in here and thought, “Oh, that’s wrong, it’s almost 6:00 ~ need to fix that.)  Another season is slipping into the past.  Have any of you started Christmas shopping yet?  I almost feel like I should begin thinking about it!  I’m going to wake up and it’ll be here!  Fa-la-la-la-la! Help!

I’m trying hard to be healthy which is much more difficult when my mind is elsewhere as it is these days.  I eat apples in the morning, I’m addicted to apples for some reason now, and I have cut-up carrots and celery in the fridge for those moments when I crave SOMETHING and must grab it NOW.  I keep a HUGE bowl of my favorite crunchy juicy coleslaw in my fridge at all times, with sliced almonds, golden raisins, chopped apple, thinly sliced cabbage, shredded carrot and dressed with mayonnaise thinned with fresh lime juice.  I eat on that practically all day.  I’ll have a baked sweet potato for dinner, or maybe a piece of fresh fish and some broccoli, and there we are.  Not counting the M and M’s  in my desk drawer.  Am I losing weight?  No.  That is not a thing that happens.  But I feel good.  It’s the only way to get through book writing and still be alive at the end of it. Exercise and eating right.  Not quite as easy as it sounds, is it girls?  However . . . we keep on keepin’ on, because . . .

N o   w e   a r e   n o t.

Hope all is well with you guys.  OH!  I just lifted my eyes, guess what?  It’s snowing!  Pretty• pretty• pretty.  Never a dull moment around here.  Well, must go now.  One guess where I’m going?  Yup, just the other side of this screen.  Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day!  XOXO, your friend, Anna Susana Branchburger the Third.  Yes, that is me in alternate ego and in full girlfriend mode. ♥

Little Things or Pequeñas Cosas

Lots of little things for you today, starting with happy  MUSICA and a shot of

March 4, yesterday, was Pancake Day and we celebrated!

When we were kids they were “Cancakes” and mostly they came out of a Bisquick Box.  Which is not the end of the world.  Look how good we turned out.

But for these I used my recipe for Cottage Cheese Pancakes (P. 148 of Heart of the Home), which I hope you’ve tried because they are SO good.  I added blueberries for extra health, realizing at the last moment there was way too much health here, diluted it by serving them in a puddle of hot maple syrup.  Winter is almost over, have you had your pancake allotment yet this year?  Next year Pancake Day will be on the calendar for reminder!

And now this:  Home sweet home in the Heart of the Home just got a little sweeter:  Joe and I have an ongoing discussion (almost lifelong, years of it) about whether it’s better to have your eye glasses on a string around your neck or not.  I don’t like it because I get them caught in the car door or in the steering wheel and I’m afraid I will strangle myself.  He disagrees and wears his glasses around his neck all the time and lectures me on how great it is when I mention that I have misplaced my glasses (again).  I stick to my guns, he sticks to his, the twain does not meet.

So you can just imagine my face when he walked into my studio a couple of days ago like this!  I almost fell out of my chair laughing!  I’m still not over it. You can probably hear me from here. I will laugh at this for the rest of my life.  I told him he was stealing my act!  I’m the one that does this kind of thing, he’s the neat one.  But it’s true, I prefer to do it in really nice restaurants.

That teabag was there for a long time before he saw it.  Just swinging back and forth while he’s typing on his computer.  La de dah, la de dah, all things are normal, life is good.  I would have loved to see his expression when he looked down, the flickering of facial intelligence as the truth was revealed, the moment when the laughter began.  We decided he must have lifted his cup to take a sip and the string and tab from the bag caught in the glasses hanging around his neck.  When he put the cup back down, the bag popped out of the cup and he didn’t notice. There it hung, caught, dripping wet and swinging.  At least that’s how we think it happened.  We know he couldn’t have been wearing his glasses because if he was, the tea bag would have been hanging down his nose.  We’re pretty sure he would have noticed it.

He said it was OK for me to show you.  You can’t make these things up.  We can never deny the opportunity to share hysterical laughter.  From now on every time he advises me to put my glasses on a string, I can show him this.  My case is made, thank you Joey Hall. ♥

I’ve been meaning to share a tip with you that I put into action this winter.  It’s really made a difference for us and I think would help anyone who doesn’t have humidity piped in through their furnace ducts or a wood stove with a steaming kettle on top (like us, we don’t have either).  It’s not important for all you warm-weather Girlfriends, but for us in the frozen tundra, it’s a huge help.  Our heat is so drying we’re easily dehydrated, our hair is fly-away, we shock ourselves on our cat’s noses which terrorizes them and makes us feel bad and chase them all over the house trying to apologize.  Sometimes our cuticles even crack from the dryness and that hurts!  You have to wear vaseline on your fingers to bed.  It’s terrible on your skin too.   Makes you old before your time.   Bubble baths are good because they steam up the house, but the water also adds to the problem, hot water is drying, and worst of all, so is tea drinking, which is ridiculous.   Fires in the fireplace are another thing that dries everything out. Besides drinking more fresh water (which tastes so good at this time of year coming out of the faucet so cold), here is something I first started doing when riding across country on the train.   Our train room-with-a-view is always dry, no matter what time of year.  In the winter the heat is on all night and we wake up feeling like shriveled raisins. So I tried hanging wet towels in the room with us and guess what?   It made all the difference!  Normal breathing returned.  Our eyes no longer burned.  We always do it when we travel now.  This year I thought I’d try it at home and I’m happy to report it worked here too.

That first photo was a towel hanging on a kitchen chair, and this beach towel draped over a chair is behind the door in our “wood room” where we watch TV.  Under that pile of jackets there is a vent that positively pours hot air into the room . . . but now it has to go through the dampness of the towel to get to the rest of the room.  I think with all the freezing temperatures we’ve had, without that towel draped there all winter, our jackets would have cracked and turned to dust by now (not to mention us. Last year was so bad, I was really inspired to try it this year).  Our skin has been fine, no colds or allergy problems this year either.  I use the sprayer at the kitchen sink to dampen them; just hold up the towel, point it and spray.  We have another wet towel hanging over the handles of my exercise bike in the room where we sleep.  It’s a bit of a pain in the neck, but not as much for me as humidifiers which require constant cleaning. I just pop the towels in the washer once a week, and then let them dry as usual, on the chairs.  OK?  That’s my hint for today.  OH!  I have one more winter tip.  Along the same lines . . . have you tried this?

My mom gave it to me when I was in California last fall, Curél Ultra Healing skin lotion.  She thought I would love it and she’s right, it’s like miracle cream.  My skin feels so much better and smoother.  You can get it at the drug store.  So there you go, hope my tips help make life a bit more livable.  Spring is coming!

Girl is now unafraid to put her little pink nose in the air for a fingertip sniff.  She knows I won’t make sparks!  Just this moment, as I was typing, she crawled up on my shoulder for huggie wuggies.  time out . . . ♥

Love it when she does that.

Jack appreciates my towel tips too. He no longer gets electrocuted when I attack him for kisses.

Sleepy pie poo.  Remember this quilt?  I thought I’d show you what I did with it . . .

It’s a preview of the new Blotter I designed for 2015, coming in July.  I used the quilt to make the border!  Have never done that before, but I like it!  Now you can all have a little piece of that quilt!  Just so you blotter aficionados know, this one is quite a bit bigger than the ones I used to do . . . it’s 17″ x 22″, a traditional office size.  I think it would make a very nice placemat!  More Abba?  Oui!

Next “Little thing” :  The Academy Awards was great this year, the clothes, the make-up, the hair, the jewelry, the music, as usual, were the most fun and actually the entire reason I watch.  Yesterday I received what I consider to be an even better award.  It came via Twitter Girlfriend Lynn Dunk @Lynn_Dunk ~ she wanted to show me what was taped in her 21-year-old daughter’s planner.  That’s it above; her name is Grace and she’s rating books she reads.  A FINE ROMANCE is there along with Emma and Sherlock Holmes!  Is this not an Academy Award, Girlfriends?  I definitely think so.  Endearing.   That is why I love this book more every day because I get endearingness to go with it.

♥ ♥ ♥

If you have a moment pop over to our FOSB Facebook Page and look at the Lamb Cake Sheri and Mattie made with our lamb cake mold (more just came in btw, in case you missed them) ~  they did such a cute job!  You can read how they did it.  Everyone seems to be having good luck making their lamb cakes, heads are all staying on!  We would love to see your lamb cake photos on FOSB. ♥

And, oh yes, I started the new book.  I’ve been at it for two days, I have so far to go and no idea how long it will take to sweep this giant floor into one concise little pile, but in case you want to know, I chose this one:

I knew you’d want a hint . . .  And by the way, here are two great movies you’d love that feature Abba music in them . . . Mama Mia is one, I loved it ~  and  the other is Muriel’s Wedding, which is really fun too although much less well known.  One last thing to remember . . . for you and for me too . . .

 Keep dreaming, Girlfriends.  Have a wonderful day!  XOXO