Susan Branch's Blog, page 35

Lambie-Pie Cuddle-Bunch

There’s something new in the saga of Lambie-Pie Cuddle-Bunch, the lamb I painted in England which I’ve been wanting to show you and finally, today’s the day! (Here’s MUSICA, in honor of 1920′s Downton Abbey. ♥)

So here we go . . . You know I’ve loved lambs for a long time . . . here’s one from my artwork that probably looks familiar to you . . .

They’ve been in my calendars and a few years ago I added them to my BABY LOVE Fabric Line (there’s a teeny bit of this left in case you like it).

But the real and true falling-in-love-forever took place while we were in England.  Can you see why?  Bubble gum pink ears.  How could you not?

Look at the smile on that mama . . .

Of course it was spring . . .

When a young girl’s fancy (and mine too) turns to . . .

Lambs . . . baaaaa!

Sheep dotted the landscape everywhere in England, baby lambs were jumping and leaping and playing in every meadow ~ across the Dales, up in the Peak District, in a field in front of beautiful Chatsworth.  Even next to freeways; they kept everything looking like a manicured park.

They had them in the buttercups at Hill Top Farm (with a bunny, of course) . . .

And in front of Castle Cottage . . .

Artists have been painting lambs since the beginning of time . . .

. . . representing a peaceful bucolic lifestyle . . .

. . . in pastoral country settings . . .

And of course I included lambs in A FINE ROMANCE . . .

What would a book about England be without them?

You all remember the bookmark I made from one of the lambs I painted in the book? (If someone’s new to our blog and didn’t get one yet, HERE it is)

Then we put him on our Fine Romance Van for our cross-country tour — now back home in our driveway outside this frosty morning . . .

And then this arrived at my door last year ~ a little felted lamb made for me by twelve-year-old Maddie, the daughter of Sheri who works at our studio in California!  Isn’t it adorable?  Such a sweet thoughtful surprise!

While we were immersed in thoughts and baaing of sheep in England I noticed that although Beatrix Potter was very proud of the prize-winning sheep she raised on her farm in the Lake District, heroically saving the rare breed called Herdwick from extinction. . .

. . . She never made one of her darling characters a sheep.  A sheep with an apron and some children, a straw hat or a basket.  She’s got everyone else, but no lambs. I can’t help but wonder why!  Seems like a no-brainer for her, her cup of tea, and mine too. I think she probably got too busy with the real thing and just forgot!

So with time on my hands, painting and writing in my diary one early morning in England, I imagined Lambie Pie for myself and put her in our book. (More MUSICA? Same Vintage?  Okaaaay…♥)

When I got home, I painted her for the second time . . . this one was for . . .

. . .this limited edition of the Peter Rabbit book I bought at the Hill Top gift shop . . .

. . . and when I got home we had a giveaway for it here on the Blog . . . Betsy Flannery won the drawing and the book, and that little piece of Lambie Pie art . . .

And here’s Lambie for the third time (which they always say is the charm) ~ she’s coming alive to me, I gave her some gloves and put her to work to do some spring cleaning in our 2015 calendar.  I’ve already named her children even though I haven’t painted them yet.  They are penciled in.

Now look:  Here’s the point of this post, it’s what I wanted to show you . . . my Christmas present from Maddie this year!  A complete surprise!  Just before Christmas, Maddie read  A FINE ROMANCE . . .

. . . and then she made Lambie Pie from clay, matching my drawing and putting her next to Lake Windermere just like I did . . . because that’s where Lambie Pie was born.  I couldn’t believe it!  This is how it is, from Beatrix Potter, to me, to Maddie, and then, where else will it go?

Maddie knew I wished I had a Lamb to go with my other Beatrix Potter people, so she made it happen.  Isn’t she brilliant?  I’m still not over it.   Proof that there’s nothing you can’t have if you just make it yourself. ♥ And look how she fits in!

Three dimensional!  With curly back of the head, apron and flowers on the lawn!  How did she DO that?

Signed and dated!  Precious to me. ♥  Thank you Maddie, and Happy Birthday!

That’s Maddie in the green and she is turning thirteen-years-old tomorrow!  She’s with some of my favorite people: her mom, Sheri, Bonnie, and Kellee in front of the picket-fence garden at our California Studio. ♥  They’re the ones that wrap all your orders from our webstore so cutely!

I knew you’d want to see Lambie Pie!  Isn’t our world full of wonderful things?  And wonderful people!

I hope you had fun dipping your toes back into England today.  I thought we deserved a little shot of fairytale springtime.  It made me think to tell you, if you remember places in England you’d like to see more pictures of, let me know, because I do have lots of photos!

I love this Blog!  It’s playtime!  How did I ever go through life without it?  I don’t know!  But I’ve got it now!  Thank you all for coming!  Have a wonderful day!  One more photo of lovely English Spring for you:

Wild orchids in Stourhead in Wiltshire, the place I hope we can all meet for a picnic when Joe and I go to England again.  It’s a wonderful place.  There are lambs there.  Byeee!  (oops, forgot to say, when Kellee gets in to work today she’s going to put up some Lambie Pie Wallpaper for your computer.  Just click HERE. ♥)

Welcome to My World

Not to scare you or anything. . . but my world is always a year ahead of everyone elses.  People say, How come you don’t know what year it is?  This is the reason!   (MUSICA?)

That’s one of the bits of art I’ve been making these days . . . It feels so funny to be in 2015 when we’ve barely tapped into 2014, but that’s just the way it is.  I’m really not even done yet with 2013 and I’m living in months that no one has even dreamed of yet!  It’s May 2015 and I ‘m planting my garden!

 I’ve been getting up at my normal almost-middle of the night time ~ very early, like around 4 am, having the house all to myself (and my kitties with Joe still asleep), painting my little heart out, working on next year’s calendars, dipping my brush into water then into the colors and onto the paper (trying not to take a bit of cat hair with me because then of course I would have to charge extra).  Moon shimmers through the wavy glass of studio window, furnace hums with white noise, head buzzes with thought, clock on the fireplace mantel echoes with ticking right through the quiet, and me hovering over a clean white page: what shall I write?  What can I give them?  Which recipe shall I use? What subjects shall be explored?  Being “consciously creative” ~ and then thinking, oh!  That sounds like a good subject for the March page . . .

and so it is . . . and thinking maybe a lamb for April?

Oh, how fun, let’s let Lambie Pie Cuddle Bunch from A FINE ROMANCE do some 2015 spring cleaning in . . .

for us. ♥

My world is very small these days, after all we live on an island and it is winter and I am working.  Since I have introvert tendencies, especially when I work, I am beside myself with silent joy.  I’m one of those people wishing winter could go on a little longer, regretting the sunset each night because of it.  The quiet is my refuge and I don’t particularly love it to be disturbed.  Come on snow storm, you do not scare me, I revel in your muffled tones.

Of course, there is a big storm coming.  6″ to 10″ and -20 wind chill.  I may regret my uppityness.

 Joe is a quiet person too, he would not love a yakking woman around him at all times, so he is lucky, because I am definitely not yakking, he can make his fires in quiet, hear his oak and pine logs crackling, the crinkling of his New York Times, the clicking keys on his computer.  We wake ourselves up by taking freezing-cold, wind-blasted walks to the water, going to the movies, out to dinner, but mostly, my world could fit inside a pan of watercolors.  It’s like when I was a child and I laid on my lumpy white chenille bedspread in my room and watched the leaf shadows play on the walls and day-dreamed for very long periods of time.  I write in my diary every night before bed, just random thoughts, plan my next page of art, and time my life around Downton Abbey and 4 pm tea.  It’s a good life. ♥

And speaking of spring cleaning (remember Lambie Pie?), I have begun.  Slowly.  Starting two days ago, I have a new rule.  In my pantry there is a tall narrow set of shelves, just deep enough for a can of soup or a bottle of olive oil, but lots of shelves, maybe twelve, and each is about 4 feet long (and about 3″ deep).  There are things on there dated 2006.  Honestly.  Cute packaging sometimes gets to stay on the shelves longer than it should (excuses come so easily!).  It’s been bothering me.  My new rule, starting at the top, I’m doing one shelf a day ~ remove everything on it, check the date, if it’s no good, it gets thrown out.  Today is shelf #3.  My other rule, as you know, is start slow and taper off.

Don’t we know it.

We were just back from our walk yesterday, stopping to visit with our friend Dave Maddox who’s house is at the entrance to our favorite dirt road in the world.  While he and Joe shot the breeze, I ran into this group of waddling guinea hens who were also out for a walk . . .

You can see I have not perfected my guinea hen call yet!  Nummy-nummy-nummy?  What is that.  Here, chicka-chicka-chicka?  Showing off my expertise in barnyard techniques. What do they answer to?  One of you must know.  Pat?  This was my first up-close and personal with this noisy type of part road-runner-part partridge bird ~ but I did know they mate for life.  You can tell, this was a family.  They also eat ants, spiders and ticks!  And, as you could see, they always knew where they were going.

That’s because they trust their instincts.  Not always as easy for us.  I used to worry myself silly when I couldn’t seem to find my path ~ it was very frustrating, and still is sometimes, until I get my bearings. Now I try to trust my instincts and . . .

And that’s all for today Girlfriends, time for my purpose under heaven these days and back to work I go.  Hope your winter is bringing you your own favorite kind of fulfillment.  If not, there sure are a lot of wonderful books out there . . . and so much inspiration lies between the covers.  Have you read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon?  2,419 five-star reviews can’t be wrong!  You will love it and I’m sure your local bookstore will have it in stock.   And, BTW, I ordered us a new batch of Girlfriends Charms.  It will take a couple of months to make them, but for all of you asking, they are coming!  And as soon as I get my calendars done, I’m going to write you a new Willard!  XOXO ♥ Byeee for now, love you, me.

REAL Beatrix Potter People

Meeting “real” Beatrix Potter People, as you know, was wonderful, and truly

Of course I put on good old-fashioned English MUSICA for them, and now for you, so you can get the feel of the thing.  The talk at Vineyard Haven Library was so interesting; Betsy Bray (and American Trustee ~ the only American ~ from the England-based Beatrix Potter Society) was constantly interrupted by the Beatrix-loving audience who wanted to put in their two cents, so it was really more like a wonderful conversation.  Then it was piling into the Fine Romance Van for the two-block ride to our house for a quick tea, because they (including Betsy’s friend Barbara and their friend Suzanne who is also a “real” Beatrix Potter person in the form of North American Liaison Officer for the Society) had to get to the ferry to go home.  And of course, as you would imagine, we were ready.  Tea for the five of us, the three “real” BP People, Joe and me and of course the two kitties, one of which loved it, the other of which, ignored the whole thing and stayed comfy in her normal spot on her pillows in the Peter Rabbit Room.

First I’d like to tell you my Philosophy on Tea Parties:  A formal tea, with starched tablecloths, crochet-edged linen napkins, shiny silver things, dainty china cups and saucers, several kinds of cakes, cookies, scones, four kinds of sandwiches, and two salads is really good for your very best friends (or for larger parties) because all the fou-fou will not put them off, they already know you like to play house to the nth degree, they have forgiven you for it, and now they lean in,  they appreciate it and feel perfectly comfortable, not stilted.  Then there will be twine, stuffing of themselves, good gossip, and all will be well.  But if you go formal with a small group of people you’ve never met before, you take the chance that they may get the wrong idea and think they should have worn gloves, perhaps be uncomfortable, cups could shake and clatter in saucers, and worst possible thing, it could curtail conversation, leaving the room with only fork-hitting-plate noises, and put them off of telling the scandalous things they know which is just unacceptable.  What would be the point?  Take no chances.  First rule of tea party etiquette, unless you are of the Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes ilk, is to have comfortable guests (even those who live “north of the park”) and FUN.

  That being said . . .

We went blue.  We went mugs, cozy comfy simple, the opposite of intimidating, mugs . . . oh I love to play house . . .

We went with the Lavender~Orange Polenta Cake, because it’s like true English, not quite as sweet or birthday-cake-like as the Orange Cake (with Pineapple filling, which is so beyond good, it almost hurt not to make it), but I thought a plainer cake would be more traditional for tea, delicious with soft and crunchy all inclusive, also not intimidating, and it was in our book too (recipe’s on p. 214 or HERE).  It was originally made for me by Siobhan, a real English person, so it just seemed right to do it.  Plus it’s gluten-free and you never know these days.  (P.S. for our Girlfriend Gina P from NY, Recipe for Milk Cake is on p. 90 of A FINE ROMANCE, or HERE.)

We went with my favorite afternoon tea (actually breakfast too, I’m addicted) Lavender and Roses Earl Grey Tea (the one I took to England and found to put in our web store so the rest of you can try it).  More MUSICA?

Joe made soft little smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches, I made cucumber triangles and egg salad fingers.  I like to use a potato masher to break up the hard-boiled eggs . . .

Such an easy way to do it . . .

You keep going, right in the bowl, until it’s the texture you like ~ so much easier than chopping with a knife.  Then you stir in minced celery, minced red onion, celery seed, a drop or two of hot sauce, bind the whole thing with mayonnaise and put it on white crustless bread.  Radish sprouts are a nice little garnish with these, but I couldn’t find them at the market.

We set everything up so when we got back with the girls, we could just put a match to the fire and be ready . . . Joe did that, while I took the girls on a little tour through the kitchen . . .

… and up the back stairs to the Peter Rabbit room . . .

On the way up the stairs I gave them a disclaimer, because it’s really a very tiny room, and not even overwhelmingly Peter Rabbitish, because these girls . . .

would be very hard to impress, since I’m sure they have it all already.

Our Peter Rabbit room is just a nice little bedroom above the kitchen.

I’m still not over the fact that I saw this dresser in an antique store somewhere out in Kansas or Iowa or something and DID NOT BUY IT. What an idiot.

 My Peter’s were still hanging around the bonfire on the dresser, although it wasn’t lit at the time.  After the tour which they seemed to enjoy (which actually took less time then this telling of it. . .) we poured the tea, grabbed our mugs and settled ourselves in front of the fire.  And this is when I lost it with the camera and forgot to take pictures!  That’s OK.  Joe took this picture after we’d talked our heads off and were no longer strangers . . .

From left: me, Betsy, Barb and Suzanne.  See the little pins we’re wearing?

They brought me one as a gift . . . Do I love it?  Oh, yes I do!  I gave them 2014 calendars.  We were a mutual admiration society with so much in common.

These two “real” Beatrix Potter People (Betsy and Suzanne) were already familiar to me because they’d gone to Hill Top and taken our book with them and sent me a photo a few months back!  Wasn’t that sweet of them?  Our book in the Lake District, at the post office box across from Hill Top! ♥ Our conversation never stopped, zero fork-hitting plate noises were heard, and that’s why I forgot all about the camera.  We talked about all the going’s on in Near Sawrey, they showed me pictures of the inside of Castle Cottage, the house where BP lived for thirty years with her beloved husband ←Willie Heelis.  Which they were saying might be made into a Bed and Breakfast!  Be still my heart.  We talked about how wonderful the newest Society Journal and Newsletter was (which, if you don’t belong to the Society is SO worth it, so interesting, I know you would love it); that the Society is building a new more wonderful website right now.  We talked about Beatrix like she was our friend, and how we each came to find her and that because of the amazing way she lived her life she made the perfect hero for us.  (One book that gives the entire story is Beatrix Potter, the Extraordinary Life of a Victorian Genius, you can read my review on Goodreads.)  I’m sure Beatrix would not think of herself as a hero.  She was just doing what came naturally.  But what came naturally to her was wonderful.  There was lots of laughing about how it was for us to drive on the wrong side of the road, there were plans for meeting again.  And then, with only five minutes to spare before their boat left, they ran out the door, jumped in the van and Joe ran them down to the dock!  That’s when I remembered the camera, and took some pictures of the table, sans lace and fou-fou, but still, there were roses . . .

And lots of good leftovers!  Which I always plan for, because, why not?  As long as you’re making things anyway.

The Art of Beatrix Potter was with us.

Emma was there ~ and so were YOU, we talked about how much fun we had all going to Hill Top together.  ♥

Jack sat here during the whole party, such a good boy, the perfect tea party accompaniment.

And even though the visit is over, I still have my little vase of flowers . . .

And plenty of cake . . . and a wonderful entry in my diary.

This was Jack at dawn this morning . . .

Life is good.

This time of year, with days beginning to lengthen, when the sun comes up it makes long shadows through curtains into my kitchen and living room . . .  I thought I’d show you some of them while we talk about Downton.

SPOILER ALERT; if you haven’t seen episode 2, you may want to skip the shadow-pictures part of this post . . .

But, I guess anyone who thought the first episode of Downton Abbey was “slow” is over that now!

Apparently the writer of this show, Julian Fellowes, isn’t happy unless our hearts are beating fast, we’re either crazy happy or miserably sad, or angry like we are right now, wanting to go through the TV screen and get that guy!!!  (I’m sure in real life, during that time, with women as important as we can all see that they are, this was something that was not unknown in a household this big. It’s still not unknown.) Now we wait and see what she’s going to do.  I have faith in her.  (Not so much the writer though, he’s scary).  And if Lord Gillingham is going to keep going with Mary, which I hope he does, then this rat, his butler, is going to be coming back!!!!  We’ve got trouble my friends, right here in River City.

Then wanting to tell Tom to lock his bedroom door because spider woman Edna is trying to break in ~ how come he’s becoming insecure all of a sudden?  Isn’t she hideous? I was glad that O’Brien left, but this woman is even worse! I almost had a heart attack when Mrs. Patmore had that pain, because I really love her.  I was thinking that dastardly Julian Fellowes, he’s killing the good people!  But whew, she’s fine.  I know he has to do this stuff to make a good story and get us going, but he’s sort of asking for it!

Happy to see Mary laughing again ~ but her father should not be allowed around money ever.  Could you believe that??   I had huge laughs-out-loud for this one, especially when Lord Grantham after being chastised by Lady Grantham for being such a snob turned to Carson and said, “I blame you.”  And Carson, such a snob himself, wondering why Lady Raven would ever be invited to the house because she lives “north of the park.”  Too funny!

OK that’s enough!  I have two more things to tell you.  Number one, I found a wonderful website filled with garden things.  It has a hedgehog house and a bee bole like Beatrix Potter’s which even comes with bees.  The store is in England, so I don’t think we could get our bee boles sent with bees, but go look, it’s a lot of fun, all wonderful natural garden things at Hen and Hammock.  They’re having a sale, but it’s also fun just to look.

The second thing is that Costco is going to carry our book!  I don’t know how many of the stores will have it, so you can call yours and check, but I will be doing my first Costco signing ever on February 15, from 1 to 3 pm at the store in Avon (near Stoughton), MA ~ perfect timing, because they have all those yummy free tastings right around lunch time, you can shop, have lunch and say hi to me!  I was looking for a way to introduce myself to people who’ve never heard of me . . . and Costco looks like a good way to do it.  We are still around #2 on Amazon for English Travel,  which is pretty darn good; we have an amazing 238 five-star reviews there, which I hover over happily, and thank you for personally.♥  We aren’t doing as well in England where we only have three reviews, but they are famous for minding their own business over there and there is no complaining from here.  You know we always have signed copies in our web store if you need them. ♥

Love you Girls. Hope you enjoyed our tea party half as much as I’ve loved reading your comments about cakes and tea parties and your take on the characters on Downton Abbey.  So fun!  Byeeee! XOXO

PS Oops, forgot to say, Janie’s Valentine Banners are up! ♥

Perfect Day for a Tea Party

It’s a perfect day for a

Guess what I’m doing today (or did I already give it away)?  Something fun!  Here’s your Sunday morning MUSICA for celebration.♥)  I’m meeting a new person by the name of Betsy Bray.  She’s a Trustee for the Beatrix Potter Society and she is coming to our own Vineyard Haven Library to give a talk entitled “Beatrix Potter, A Woman Ahead of her Time.”  Winter.  Clear blue sky.   Sunday, 2pm (like a matinee).  Library.  Beatrix Potter.  Who could ask for anything more?

But more is what I’m getting, because Betsy is bringing along her friend Barbara, plus another associate of the Beatrix Potter Society, their North American Liaison Officer, Suzanne Terry.  Joe and I are going to the talk, then we’re bringing them home (first class carriage, the Fine Romance Van); Betsy asked if they could have a tour of the Peter Rabbit Room (hope they are not expecting grand, if they blink they will miss it, probably have to take them to top of stairs one at a time due to room being under eaves and tiny), and then tea, in front of the fire on this beautifully blustery day.♥

So this morning, the big decisions are being made: what dishes to use and what to make???  The market opens at 7 am and I will be there.  Cake.  Must have cake.  Right now I’m torn between Orange Cake with Pineapple filling, Orange-Lavender Polenta Cake, Pineapple upside-down cake (in vanilla sauce), or perhaps even tiny little Chocolate Eclairs — or Milk Cake???  Yikes!  Must narrow this down.  Imagine you are there, which one do you want?   I’m definitely going to make crunchy cucumber sandwiches.  And soft tender little egg salad sandwiches, with tiny bits of minced onion, sweet pickle relish and lots of pepper.  And slices of juicy Honey Crisp Apple.

Food is always very important, but the coup de grâce for me is, as always, which linens, which dishes???  Playtime!

Trying to decide between pink or blue dishes . . . think I will go blue.  Thinking not formal.  Too rainy for formal, must be cozy.  Cozy mugs instead of cups and saucers.  I’ll take pictures and show you final layout!

For sure we’ll have our special guests join the party, they are always so well mannered, nicely dressed, quiet, and they never make pigs of themselves except of course for the one in the blue dress . . .  But I better get going or all of this will be just imaginary!

Have a wonderful day ♥   Downton Abbey tonight!  How’d you like the first one?  We haven’t hashed it over yet.  That’s not like us.

 Sending sunshine!  XOXO

Soup is Bubbling . . .

It’s still dark outside my windows as I begin to write this, but bean soup is bubbling on the stove, onions, ham hocks, navy beans, peppercorns, bay leaves, carrots and celery, blip-blip-bubble-bubble — MUSICA

It will do this comforting thing for the next four hours, making the house smell like heaven, and warming things up to boot, which we could use.  It’s 5° in New York City this morning, a new low, but for us, out here floating in the “warm” ocean, it’s a balmy 12º.

So it will be thick bean soup for breakfast, with hot crusty bread and butter.

 And the wonderful news, for the first time since returning, I can say, I’ve got my house back!

I’ve been catching up with my housekeeping, cleaning out the dishtowel drawer, sending some to Good Will and refolding the rest; I cleaned the fridge, empied, wiped down and straightened the cupboard with all the baking things in it, sorted out my winter clothes and, best of all, I got all my paperwork done — my house clean, and sort of empty looking, smooth, like buttah.

Now I have a little housekeeping to do for the blog which involves you.  (I’m sorry to say.)

I been waiting until you all had your calendars, to break this as gently as possible to as many of you at the same time as possible.  Some of you may have already heard because it hasn’t been a secret, but this is my first formal announcement.  Are you ready?  Do you want the good news or the bad news?

OK, first the bad news.  There is something wrong with this picture.  This calendar did not receive its normal fine-tooth combing, it seems that we all thought someone else was editing it, but as it turns out, no one was.  And, in real life, July has 31 days.  Thirty-one, not thirty.  Fine, I suppose, unless your birthday is on the 31st.  And whether or not it’s your birthday, it’s still unacceptable to be missing a day on a calendar.  Other places maybe, but not on a calendar.  These calendars had already been in stores for weeks before we found out about it.  It was gone.  So what to do, what to do!  First I did this:

And then we faced reality . . .

Here’s what your calendar should have looked like.  And, now, through the magic of the Internet, it can.  Because Kellee has reformatted that corner of the calendar and made a pdf for us that we can print out and glue on to our own calendars and it fits perfectly!   Above is a photo of my calendar and that’s the “fix” already glued on.  At a glance, you really can’t tell — and it’s so easy to do.  Go HERE to read more about it.  And please accept my sincere apology … you have every right to expect more from me.  Now for the good news:

I’ve done the cover for our next year’s calendar, and now that the house is clean and organized, I’m about to seal myself inside my studio and paint and write us a bunch of new pages for it . . . the good news is that you can be sure I will check this calendar over a thousand times before it ever goes to print!  Living and learning.

And on to something a bit more fun . . .  Remember that interview I did a couple of weeks ago for the January/February issue of a new (ish) magazine called CELEBRATING EVERYDAY LIFE?

Well, it was just published . . . it’s a delightful magazine filled with wonderful photos put together by hardworking mom of two-year-old (how does she do it?), Jennifer Carroll (and friends) — you can read more about her on her blog.  You can get her magazine in all kinds of formats, digital, for iPad or even a print edition . . . and you’ll see, it’s filled with inspiration for easy projects, arm chair travels (in this issue they go to Chatsworth House ~ remember Chatsworth, girls?), cooking and so much more.

I thought you’d like a little preview . . . to see if it’s something that would interest you.  I also wanted to thank her, she did a lovely job with my article . . .

Next bit of housekeeping, look at new thing that just came in yesterday . . .

It’s an I Love You Tea Towel for Valentine’s Day, or any day where there’s LOVE involved.  It has a story:  The art on the tea towel is one of the crayon drawings I did as a child that my mom tucked into my Baby Book and saved.  I was in the fourth grade when I did this.  It’s the first picture I ever did where there were birds.  And hearts.  And I was learning how many different ways I could write I Love You.  We thought it would make the perfect dishtowel.  So here it is ~ and the same lovely fabric and quality as our Come Sit Stay Tea Towels and Santa dishtowels. They’re made in the good old USA; we weren’t able to get many, so please don’t wait if you think you will want one.

We also have two kinds of Valentines . . . not only for Valentines, but for all year long, every picture tells a story.  

Plus, we still have a few of our Girlfriends Dream Charms  left, just in case you want one for Valentine’s, we’re probably not going to make more … We’re thinking Kitty Love might be next.

And most wonderfully,  Janie is making us two new garlandy, festooning, bunting-like banners, HEARTS and LOVE . . .

She sent along some photos, they both come with her darling handmade envelopes, and a little card so you can send them to someone you love.  Perfect little gift.

So, that’s it for your Valentine’s preview for today.

But I had something else I wanted to show you.  Part of my housekeeping was putting Christmas away, packing it all up and sending it to the attic.  While I was doing it I found this little box that I see every year ~ it’s mixed in with all the ornaments, so we unpack it, then pack it back up, and between Christmases, we forget about it.  I love finding it, like new again every time, and I thought you’d enjoy seeing it.

Just a plain little box I’ve been saving.  With a message on it.  It’s already eighteen years old but it seems just like yesterday.  (Have I mentioned that this house is wafting fragrance of bean soup now … ?  It is!)

Inside the box is this little angel ornament . . . along with a few photos.  There’s all kinds of “scrapbooking” in this world, but we creative-types aren’t limited to books, we can branch out to boxes too.  Scrapboxing.

This is Heidi.  She’s my niece, my brother Brad’s daughter.  She is wearing the wings we gave her for her birthday.  They fit her to a ‘T’ because she was born to flit.  The moment she got her wings, she turned into Tinkerbelle and took off around the house scattering fairy dust behind her, spreading merriment throughout.  That’s why we got the little angel ornament for her the year she came to our house for Christmas.  It reminded us of her.

This is another one of the photos in the box.  She was on a roll that year.  She made up outfits like this, wearing my hat, her own kitty sweater and furry boots, and she loved to pose.  She was the only child that year amongst a lot of adults, and she kept us all laughing the whole time.  When my brother and his wife were dancing, Heidi wrapped herself, arms and legs around the ankle of my sister-in-law, sitting on her shoe, holding tight and going for a ride during the dance, making us cry from laughter.  She never complained, never cried, was just truly nice the whole time.  Luckily every bit of it is on tape. She will get that someday too.  She needs to know what a delight she was to have around.

Not a great photo, but I wrote on the bottom of the Angel.  It will go on her tree someday.  I’m just waiting for her to be settled down before I give it to her.  She’s 23 and living in Lake Tahoe, and something tells me she will see this, so Hi Heidi!  She doesn’t know about this Christmas box. I guess she will now.

This is the recipe scrapbox I made for Heidi last Christmas.  See that photo?  That’s from the same year — she’s pulled down a normal Santa hat that had split open at the seam — which is where her face is sticking through  The bottom furry part of the hat is around her neck.  This is what she was wearing when she was clinging to my sister-in-law’s leg, and one of the reasons we were crying.

So anyway, I still have a few years before I give it to her, but it’s fun to find the box every year when we take out our decorations and remember that wonderful Christmas.  One of these years when I bring it out, I’ll wrap it up and send it to her.

I’ve also been wanting to write about my “Unforgettable Faces of 2013″ and I will soon, but I want to start today with a furry face that I love.  Many of you know her,

. . . it’s Iris, ♥ I’ve had photos of Iris on my blog since the beginning.  She was a wonderful dog ~ I’m so sorry to say, “was,” but Iris went to heaven this year while Joe and I were driving across country.  She wasn’t our dog, she belonged to my girlfriend across the street, Martha, who wrote to tell us that Iris hadn’t been able to wait for us to return.  I was afraid of that.

This was one of the first times I wrote about Iris on the blog.  Whenever she could make her escape from Martha’s she loved to come over to our house.  We would hear just one bark.  That’s it, one bark, and we knew she was waiting at the door.

Martha and her husband Gerry (and their daughter Anna) once lived in our house for a year while we were in California and they were remodeling their own house.  Iris adopted the house first, and then, when we came back, she was forced to take us too.  Lucky us.

She was dear, she even put up with our kitties, she had a beautiful smile, and she never wanted to cause any trouble.

“Meow” means “woof,” in cat. ♥ George Carlin

She tried to pretend she was invisible so I wouldn’t notice her on the white sofa, but what the hay is what I always thought.  Little old girl can get on the sofa if she wants.

This is Iris’s cookie face.  Cookie?  Yes, please, can I have eight?  (Notice cat food on floor?  She never touched it.)

The snore room.

This is Iris last Christmas 2012.  As beautiful as always.

We will miss her very much.  We were honored to be her friends, she made life better. ♥

I knew you would want to know.

P.S. This is an add-on to this post:  Yesterday I got a note from Iris’s dad Gerry telling me about something very sweet that happened recently.  He wrote:

Anna Lee (the 8-year-old daughter of a friend) was at our house making a gingerbread house with Martha when she turned to me and asked, “Where’s Iris?” I said,” I’m sorry Anna Lee, but Iris passed on a few weeks ago.”  I could see Anna Lee thinking, furrowed forehead, so I added,  ”But she was very very old.”  Anna Lee looked up, smiled instantly and said, “Too bad, but where she is now, she’s the youngest one!”

Out of the mouths of babes. ♥

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. ♥ Will Rogers 

OK, sniff-sniff, I’m hungry now . . .

Soup is done, or at least close enough for snacking.  Soup and my favorite shawl, two perfect items on a day like today.  Here’s how to make the soup:

COLD DAY BEAN SOUP,  Serves six

 1 ½ lbs. smoked ham hocks
1 lb. package small white beans
3 sliced carrots
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 med. onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
whole peppercorns (about 14)
water to cover
salt and pepper to taste

Put everything (except salt and pepper to taste) into a soup pot.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 3-4 hours, stirring every so often.  It will get very thick, add water if necessary.  After two hours or so, remove the ham hocks from the soup, cool them.  Cut the meat off the bone, discard the fat, return meat and bones to the pot to finish cooking time.  When you’re ready to serve, remove the bones and bay leaves, stir in salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

I guess that’s it for today … just one more thing … Kellee put up new computer wallpaper and game score sheets for you, and if you didn’t get your 2014 Full Moon Bookmark, HERE YOU GO.

Adios dear Girlfriends . . . I hope you’re keeping warm!

BLIZZARD!

Hello, it’s our first post from the other side, 2014, the beginning of a new year!  And we did it up right, with a huge snowstorm!  It’s a B L I Z Z A R D out there, so white it hurts your eyes, and big flakes still coming down, every tree branch is covered in snow, every leaf, the pickets on the fence, the bushes, everything.  MUSICA MUSICA (This is double whammy, first click on one, then the other, then come back to blog for ambience perfection.)

This storm makes the January page of my 2014 calendar a premonition!  In case any of you missed it, we still have calendars left if you need them.  We finally ordered enough of something!  We’re all sold out of Janie’s “winter” banners, but she’s making us some different ones for Valentine’s Day and they should be here soon.  We also have my Valentine cards ~ someone asked the other day, and yes, we do have them.  But I digress!  It’s a . . .

Or, our ancient white house would look like a ship in a still, white sea, if we could see it.  Like a ship in a storm is more like it.

It was still dark this morning when I started this post.  And look at the windows over the kitchen sink!  We’ve been frosted!

I tried so hard to peek out to see what was going on but the wind had coated everything in ice and snow.  Squeals of delightenment.  We love it!

Luckily we have no place to go, and no desire to go there.  I’m all wrapped up, tee-shirt, two old cashmere sweaters, scarf, thick delicious handmade shawl that I adore, like being a child and having a bankie at all times, and flannel lined pants too.  We have heat, but we augment.

Jack and I have a fire, the heater is humming, the house creaks a bit in the wind . . . I’m eating leftover Mushroom Soup that Lowely made for New Year’s Eve . . .

 I lit some candles, just in case the lights suddenly go out . . .

 This is our first real snow . . . the last couple of days have been FREEZING cold ~ 28° when we go on our walk.

But look how beautiful it is out there.  The way the sun sends rays through the breaks in the clouds.

They are dredging the opening to the pond, something they do here every few years.  See that boat, that’s the dredge.  They are pulling sand out of the channel so that boats can get in and out of the pond without hitting the bottom.  The sand goes out through that pipe to the beach, the opposite of the way a vacuum cleaner works. Erosion steals the sand from the beach daily, exposing the little fishing shacks to storms. So dredging is a redistribution of sand, from one place where it’s a hinderance to another where it’s a blessing.  Ah men.  How smart thou art ♥.

Joe and I have walked this walk almost every day (unless we’re away) since we bought our house in 1989.   We shall haunt it someday, but right now, we just try and go there as often as possible.  It’s my favorite part of the day.

All this dredging is big excitement at the normally quiet-in-January shore.  Here’s the pipe running along the opening toward the sound.  That’s Cape Cod over there.

Then the pipe makes a right turn to run along the beach — they put it wherever they want the sand to land … they already did this part of the beach, now they have taken it down toward the fishing shacks.

Can you see how far that pipe goes?  Into the water and back out again.  Here, here’s a better look at it!

See how exciting?  It’s mesmerizing . . . listening to the water roar, watching the seagulls.  But COLD, my fingers are freezing so much I can’t turn the camera off.  Not such a professional ending, but the water is worth it.

Prettiest place in the world.  One of the things I want to remember to do every day of this new year is write down what I did, the basics, not to be Jane Austen, but so I know what I did.  It’s going too fast, a blur.  I want these days remembered.  I want the double enjoyment that memory can bring, even if the memory part has to be helped along a bit.  I want to know I went to see the dredging and I’d like to know what I ate in front of the fire on New Year’s Eve, and now I do.  (Freezing cold iceberg wedge salad, with creamy blue cheese dressing, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and fried pancetta bits, and homemade Mushroom soup with rye toast star croutons. ♥)

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it yet.  But I did a new version of my now out-of-print Book of Days!  It’s very much like the old one . . .

A wire-bound book that will lie flat, space enough to write each day, with additional room for notes, just a little bit bigger than the old one. . .

You can use it for any year, and keep them year after year until you have the story of your life.  This scribble below is something I wrote in one of my diaries back in the 90′s, when I was still trying to figure things out (not that I have it figured out, because I don’t.  Yet.  But I’m not giving up).

I know the answer to that one now.  They begin in two places.  They read, and they write.  Teach your children well.

It’s getting light outside.  The camera focused on the ice, while I was trying to get it to see the birds at the feeders.

Outside my kitchen windows, let the magic begin . . .

Some people have fish tanks, I have bird feeders.

I just peeked out the living room window, there is Joe, shoveling the driveway . . . he LOVES it out there.

I knocked on the window . . .

He saw me . . .

A threw a shovel of snow at me! ♥

Jack said, “What’s going on?  Pick me up!  Showmeshowmeshowme!”  Which I did; we stood at the window watching Joe do all the work.

This is my chosen entertainment for today.  Howard’s End.  I’m just going to slip it into the video machine. Perfect for diary, snow, fire, kitties and popcorn because really, what else can we do.  Nuttin Honey. (If you’re looking for something new to read, I highly recommend the book too.)

Hope you have a lovely day wherever you are!  ”Thank you” doesn’t seem quite enough to express all I feel when reading your wonderful comments.  It’s such a pleasure to know you!  Here comes another year!  I wonder what will happen next?  Let’s make it good! ♥ xoxo

BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR!

First off, my favorite MUSICA for bringing in the New Year… for remembering, for dreaming . . .

? T H A T ‘ S   T H E   Q U E S T I O N ?  

What would you buy?

D R E A M   Y O U R   D R E A M S   a n d   B l o w !

Za world, she is your oyster . . .

M A K E   Y O U R   W I S H   for   a

S O    M A N Y   R E A S O N S   T O

Another good reason to celebrate is that we have each other ~ it’s been an interesting year, hasn’t it Girlfriends? Between us in our little on-line city of sisters (and brothers!) that grows stronger by the day, we’ve shared much joy and some sorrow too.  We’ve made new friends, welcomed new babies and rescued kittens (or let them rescue us is more like it), we’ve learned new things, have fallen in love with the English Countryside, shared recipes, music and books, travels and family stories, we’ve laid our darling friends, our lovely pets and our dearest family members to rest, we’ve seen each other through accomplishment and struggle, because that’s how life is, but always the thing that survives and triumphs is love glorious love, and HOPE.  So much to be grateful for.♥

 And now,  whether you party until midnight wearing a pink paper crown, blowing a horn and kissing everyone in the room, or you sip soup and champagne in front of a crackling fire, kiss the only person in the room, and tiptoe up to bed by ten pm (guess which one is me) . . . I wish you all a wonderful happy healthy new year.  We have so much to look forward to. XOXO

 We sleep the sleep of the lucky, the grateful and the blessed.♥

LIKE THE DOWN ON A THISTLE . . .

 ”He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle ~ and away they all flew, like the down on a thistle . . .” MUSICA 

Wasn’t it wonderful!?  But still, there is one gift left under the tree and the question remains . . .

Yes, there is!  Plenty of honey!  It’s time for our drawing Girlfriends . . . but don’t scroll down too fast.  Allow the moment to last.  Right now, you are still the one who gets it.

 Joe and I took your tea set out for one last spin around the block before she gets packed up and sent away to our lucky winner.  We had a Christmas Day tea party with your tea set, just the two of us, in front of the fire while we opened our presents.  I have to say, this is by far the MOST photogenic tea set I have ever seen.  She smiles for the camera, she dips, winks, and twinkles. She almost wears ballet slippers and is definitely on her toes.  She does what Shirley Temple’s mom always told Shirley to do when the camera was turned her way, “Sparkle Shirley, Sparkle!”

See what I mean?  We should call this tea set “Shirley.”  Shirley sparkles next to the little French butter cakes (also known as Madeleines) my sister Shelly sent us.

She sparkles as she receives two rounded teaspoons (one for each cup) of my favorite celebration tea, Earl Grey with Lavender and Rose Petals (which, btw, is so delicious that we sold out of  it this Christmas; we ordered another batch which is coming soon).

And then the splash and gurgle of freshly boiled water.  For the perfect cup of tea, never reboil water or use old stale water heaven forbid. . . no, no, it must be fresh, otherwise there’s a good chance all the oxygen has been boiled out of it and water with no oxygen is no good, a cup of tea with no oxygen is no cup of tea at all ~ as all the tea aficionados of the world will tell you.

And then, in the old-fashioned way, the Downton Abbey way don’tcha know, because the tea is not in a tea ball of any sort, the leaves are loose and floating in the pot, we have to strain it as we pour it into the cup.  Which gives me the happy and pleasurable opportunity to use the tea strainer I designed for Lenox many years ago.  (There are no more of these strainers, this is my very last one and my pride and joy.)  It looks really pretty with this tea set!  But it looks good anywhere and shows the perfect example of how good “mix and match” can look with both old and new dishes.

The strainer catches all the little flotsam and jetsam keeping your brew completely flotsam-and-jetsam free.

As you fill your steamy teacup.

They make lots of different kinds of strainers . . . just as cute as mine, like this one . . . (which seems to be on sale right HERE … tra-la . . .)

This is the photo where I think the camera catches Shirley tap dancing.

And now for the honey.  Just a little spoonful.  Or sugar, if you are so inclined (that’s your spoon, Girlfriends!) . . . Am I going too slow for you?  Remember . . .

. . . Because there are consolation prizes.  You might not see them if you hurry too fast.

And the stirring of the tea is endlessly fascinating, don’t you agree?  No?

Well then, how about the pouring of the cream?  Fascinating?  We’re almost there … but let’s take a time-out for our

Right here, in the Heart of the Home where we agree that . . .

We took our tea to our lit-up Christmas tree (note, I have already eaten half my biscuit — but I know the secret of where there are more!).

The click of cups in saucers, crackle and pop of fire, rustle of tearing wrapping paper, buttery tea cake and Bing is singing . . . we are counting our blessings. The most wonderful Christmas!

Just being home is the best blessing of all.

Later, our tea things went back into the suds . . . because you know, it’s time for me to wrap up and give away my last present for the holiday season.  Including the cute Emma box filled with my homemade Almond Brittle, we wouldn’t forget that.  Are you ready Girlfriends???

I have to say, Vanna is very out of character this morning.  This girl who always wears pink satin mules tied with yellow polka dot bows with her flowing morning negligee get-up has just come into my studio in the red flannel jammies with big moose heads all over them we gave her for Christmas.  With ornaments hanging from the moose horns. Plus her moose-head slippers.  I’m touched.  Quite a picture she makes.  I gave her tea . . . we are ready.  Open them peepers Vanna, here we go.

I have to say, I feel as excited like I always do when one of my friends unwraps a gift I’m sure she will like!

Long arm goes into giant red Santa hat, swirling the names round and round.   Oops!  Vanna just jumped into the hat!  She’s such a nut!  She’s swimming to bottom, scissor kicking in manner of Esther Williams, spinning and turning, like a small submarine and little names are being kicked up almost like waves.  Jack’s eyes are like saucers, he can’t believe his eyes.  Here she comes, up through the vortex of spinning names, our number generator retriever Vanna!  She is so worth her salt.  Who else would do this?  What an original!  And, in her hand, there is a name.  Only one name . . .  it starts with an A.

The name is . . . oh my goodness, the name is  A S H L E E    H A W K I N S !  In her comment, she mentioned that her husband’s grandmother (wonderful grandmothers strike again) gave her A FINE ROMANCE for Christmas while her Mother-in-law just introduced her to our blog ~ Ashlee’s a brand new kindred spirit!  Ashlee, there is an email waiting for you . . . write me back so I can find out where to send your prize.

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S   on your new tea set ~ it has been infused with good Tea Party Christmas ju-ju for a lifetime of joy. ♥ xoxo

And now Girlfriends, to assuage some of the disappointment, if there can be such a thing, here is a little something for all of you, (genius Artie Shaw playing Stardust on the Clarinet as if he is not an actual human).

Anyway, something else lots of you have been asking for.  You remember I collect full moons, right?

Lots of us like to make wishes on them, like this one, peeking around the West Chop Lighthouse here on the island . . .

Or that one still high in the sky at dawn on the Queen Mary 2 (waves going Swooosh against the side of the ship).  Mysterious mystical magical mother-moonshine wakes me up at night . . . trying to get in through the bedroom window ~  sometimes I just give up and let ‘er in.

I put the date of the full moon for each month on my calendars to remind us to be ready.  There are only twelve this year and we would never want to miss the opportunity for free wishes!  For the last couple of years we’ve also been giving away a free printout of a bookmark I designed that looks like this ↓ on one side . . . and when you turn it over, all the 2014 full moon dates plus the Native American names for each moon are on the other side.

 So that’s one of our consolation prizes (besides this lovely song). You all get a free bookmark to print out on your computer.  (Or have someone with a color printer do it for you!)  And remember, moons are nice but really . . .

Another something you should know about . . . there is some of my winter art you can print out under Free Stuff in the shopping section of the blog. Just go HERE for fun stationery and computer wallpaper and other goodies from me to you with love.♥

And last but not least, the best consolation prize of them all: see this delicious thing?  Oh my, it’s beyond delicious, crispy-edged and powder~sugared . . .

My gift to you is that you don’t have to eat this.  I won’t even give you the recipe ~ I won’t even say what it is.  I won’t bring it up.  I will save you.  You are probably as inundated with food as we are.  So, as a public service to those I love, you will not have to eat this. ♥ Later maybe, like February.

My pleasure Girlfriends.♥  I know the feeling.

Well, that is all for today… a big Congratulations again to Ashlee, and really to all of us because we’ve found each other, kindred spirits in this big wild world we live in.   A kiss for you from me, mwaaah!  Have a wonderful day!  Thank you for playing Christmas Giveaway with Susan Branch! (In manner of Bob Barker!  Hello!  Reading the newest Bridget Jones right now, could you tell?  In manner of speaking?)  XOXO

A STORY OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Musica pour vous. It’s story time Girlfriends, a Christmas Eve memory from a long time ago. You might need tea.  I’ll wait. Get your favorite cup.  Ready?  OK, here we go:

As many of you know (and some may not), I’m the oldest of eight children; after me there were four boys and then three girls. I got a new baby almost every two years for the whole time I lived at home which I thought was just wonderful of my parents to supply me with an unending supply of new Betsy Wetsy type dolls to dress and play with. The picture below is only missing our last baby girl, but she was on her way!  Christmas was hugely exciting at our house~

with visits to Santa Claus, cookies baking, parents whispering and (quite rudely) talking in arf and arfy at the dinner table (the secret-code language my mom learned from the funny papers wen she was a kid), odd-shaped boxes appearing on the high shelves in the closets (oh yes, we children notice things like that), school and church events, making gifts for my family at Girl Scouts (construction-paper crowns and oranges-studded-with-cloves pomanders), decorating the tree, going caroling in the cold air bundled up under Christmas lights, hanging the soon-to-be-filled to the brim stockings by the fireplace . . . the anticipation was excruciating ~ maybe not for everyone, but definitely for me ~ waiting for Christmas morning was almost unbearable and Christmas Eve itself put me very close to the breaking point. Especially when my grandma showed up with her car filled with gifts, wrapped in glittering stripes and stars with Santas and snowmen, red and green, little and big, fat and skinny, shiny with ribbons and bows, and so many secrets.  Discussions with my dad at the dinner table as he innocently wondered out loud about where Santa might be at the moment, or what he might do if he got stuck in our chimney did not lessen the delirium.  I learned subconsciously from him and tried to heighten the hysteria in my siblings to the level I felt by running around outside the house shaking jingle bells at the windows. “Did you hear that?  He’s out there!!!!!” I said to my wide-eyed victims. Frenzy was the name of the game.  I almost always cried. What we kids needed before bed on Christmas Eve was bourbon on the rocks but drinking alcohol for children was frowned upon in our family.  Instead they gave us hot chocolate with miniature marshmallows to help us sleep.  Milk Schmilk. We were far beyond help. Two of my brothers, in their cowboy flannel jammies slept sitting up under a blanket in the same green-flowered barkcloth covered chair in their bedroom on Christmas Eve with Nipper our dog between them.  We have pictures.  Made perfect sense to me. Somehow this put them closer to the action. Lucky them.

My grandma slept with me on Christmas Eve. This was extremely inconvenient as you can imagine. For as much as I loved her, which was to the moon and back, I had only one thing on my mind between 4 and 6 am on Christmas morning and that was getting out of that bed and in to the living room to see what Santa had brought.  But in order to do it I had to get past her.  Sharp as a tack and quick as a bunny she was, in her prime and ready for action, it was not going to be easy.

Early one Christmas morning, eyes wide open in the dark bedroom, listening to the house asleep and creaking, I decided I would really try this time.  I would be scientific and patient.  I would not hurry childishly.  I would think calmly.  It felt like it took hours. Inching my way and barely breathing, I rolled onto my belly in what I thought was a “common sleep pattern of activity” and waited. Nothing. No response.  She was asleep, purring deeply.  I continued.  First a flannel-covered leg over the side of the bed, dangling barefoot in the air, then an arm, then the tiniest movements to get the middle of my body out ~ it was going extremely well, I was doing it!  The only thing I could hear was my heart beating.  All the bedrooms of our geranium-colored house were filled with sleeping souls and every house in our neighborhood was dark, I was the only one awake in the world. Just me and Santa and our date with destiny. I could do this.  Extra carefully I slid out another leg thereby dragging myself over the edge of the bed, nose and lips smooshing against sheets as I went.  This put me on the floor, on my knees and one hand, next to the bed, with only one arm to bring across the sheets to freedom. I had it made in the shade.  Slowly I began to pull my arm toward me and then, after all that, at the last possible moment, my grandma, quick as a jack-in-the-box lighting bolt with a hand on the end of it, reached out, grabbed my arm and said in a shockingly low and unexpected voice, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Yeeeeiiiikkkkss.  She scared me to death.  And that was the end of that. Foiled again. My grandma was awake even when she was asleep, she could see through eyelids. I didn’t even try to beg my way out.  It was pure dark in the room with only a sliver of moon peeping through the windows as I crawled back into bed returned to my lonely cell KNOWING that Santa magic had gone on in the living room such a very few steps away across the wool carpet of many colors but I could not get to it.  Woe was me.  She wanted me to wait for dawn and not wake my uncles who were sleeping on the couches.  Fortunately my little brothers and sisters were home free, no Grandma in their beds, and it wasn’t long till the tip-toe of little muk luks was heard scurrying down the hall and I was set free!  Free at Last. Let the party begin! And yes, we did live happily ever after, at least until the next Christmas Eve which I didn’t really have to worry about because I knew it  would take forever to arrive.

Merry Christmas Girlfriends, tell someone a Christmas story tonight.  Little ones love it but so do big ones.  May visions of sugarplums dance in your heads this night of nights.  We’ll do our drawing on the 26th (I’m still wrapping the consolation prizes, that’s a whole lotta ribbon!) … If you haven’t signed up for our Christmas Giveaway, scroll down to read further and join the fun.  

My prayer for you:

Ah friends, dear friends, as years go on and heads get gray, how fast the guests do go.  Touch hands, touch hands, with those that stay ~ strong hands to weak, old hands to young, around the Christmas board touch hands.  ♥ We are so lucky to have each other ♥

Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight . . .

Blazing Fire and Christmas Treats

Oh, I have treats to show you, blazing fire too!  Here’s treat #1:  Musica

 Something delicious is cooking!

Where do we start . . . let’s see, how about here. . .

This is Titcombs Bookshop in Sandwich on Cape Cod where I went to sign books last week.  But look what they did — with brown plastic tablecloths, they made the front of their shop into a gingerbread house! They cut heavy white paper plates in half and glued them around the doors and windows, and used some as edges to the “house”  . . . they made candies out of them too, and lollypops in the window boxes.  Isn’t that brilliant!?!  I thought so too.  I’d love to try this on our house next year.

I’m almost all unpacked from the trip now . . . I thought I’d show you some of the things I got at antique stores as we crossed the country.  First off, lambs!  You know how much I love lambs!  I had a few before we went away, but on this trip whenever I saw one I thought would fit with my little group, I would get it.  It was so fun to unwrap them, slowly, after forgetting what I’d gotten.  I have a flock!

And look, treasure! I found a Beatrix Potter figurine of Samuel Whiskers!  There was no possible way for me to leave him in that dusty old store, alone and unloved.  I’d never seen this figurine before . . . did not even know what I was missing.  Adorable thing, I saw it from across the room and honed in on it like a submarine sonar system.  (Like I know what a submarine sonar system is, I think I made that up, but you know what I mean!  Like Jack and his rubber band!)  And now Samuel has friends.  Never to be alone again.

And later, in another store, I found Mrs. Tittlemouse!  Another BP person from 1948 I did not know existed.  In her jaunty striped coat with the

bow on the back!  She’s now lined up with the others on my kitchen shelf . . .

And look at this gorgeous vintage tea set I found!  It was displayed on a starched white lace tablecloth in an antique store in Oklahoma City and practically glowed in the dark it was so pretty.  I walked round and round it like a tiger in a cage.  It was such a good deal, I couldn’t leave it there, so we wrapped it all in newspaper and brought it home, and now I’ve given it a nice soapy bath.

It’s all hand-painted, gold-edged, and made in England, it even came with an old silver sugar spoon!

The set serves six, it’s only missing one cup.  But I mixed-and-matched it with both old and new china cups and mugs, to see what it looks like, and I think it’s even better.  I love mismatched! You know what a dish person I am.

Here’s what it says on the bottom.  I don’t think it has a pattern name; I’m thinking Tuscan is the name of the China company.  Has anyone ever heard of it?

I love nesting . . . I’ve been making up for lost time . . .

We’re taking it slow . . . we haven’t even trimmed the tree yet.  That’s OK, it’s in a bucket of water in the dining room, so we’re close.  There’s a wreath on the front door, we’re getting there. We have Christmas in our hearts! I’m determined to enjoy this season and in order to do that, I want to go slow and not feel hurried.  If something doesn’t get done, it won’t matter.  A little poinsettia in the window is just fine for me . . .

I’m just happy to be . . .

I’m spending lots of time in the kitchen with my little buddy . . .

Jack is interested in everything I do, and everything that goes on outside our window ~

It’s been really cold, but beautiful . . . decorative cardinals have been flocking around the feeders.  Note, you California/Florida Girlfriends, that there is no color out there in the garden, it is a sepia/white world here in the winter, which is why we were blessed with the Cardinal.  What a gift!

And it’s not cold inside, it’s crackling and cozy and smells just wonderful . . .

One thing I’ve been doing is making a few little food-gift items for friends.  This morning I made one of my favorite candies for this time of year, chocolate-covered Almond Brittle from page 132 of Vineyard Seasons.  SO easy, and perfectly irresistible ~ and very mailable . .  I thought I’d show you how, in case you have a last minute someone you’d like to please . . . . But first, more MUSICA for the kitchen dance . . .

So all you do is (don’t blink because this recipe is really fast!) put one pound of butter and two cups of sugar in a large heavy pot on top of your stove.

then pour in one-quarter cup of water . . .  hook a candy thermometer to the side of the pan . . . don’t let the tip touch the bottom.

Melt the butter together with the sugar and the water over medium-high heat . . . boil mixture briskly until your candy thermometer reads 300°.

Stir and stir, boil and boil, and while you do you can count your blessings and . . .

watch the birds and stir a little more . . .

The mixture will cook and darken like brittle should.  When it reaches the “crack” hard candy stage on your candy thermometer, 300°, remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in two cups of sliced almonds.

Then spread the mixture thinly on an ungreased (plenty of butter already in the recipe) cookie sheet (or two) and allow it to cool.

When the brittle is almost cool, melt eight ounces unsweetened chocolate over low heat in a heavy pan, stirring constantly.

Then brush the warm chocolate over the top of the candy.  Let it cool completely before you

break it up into pieces (I hit the bottom of the pan with a hammer to put hairline cracks in it all over, then I do the rest with a knife).

. . . and then I fill the tins and boxes I’ve collected to use for Christmas gifts . . . old ones and new ones from the pantry . . .

I had this darling box that I lined in a lace doily,  and I knew the perfect person to give it to. . .

It’s the same person I’m giving the dishes to . . . the perfect little gift for . . .

Y O U !

Surprise!  Yes, it’s YOU ♥ YOU ♥ YOU, (like bread and fishes, I wish it could be all of you, but for a few days, it will be only YOU, and then, one of you really will walk away with this elegant little English tea set, just in time for Downton Abbey! It’s my present to you.  It’s been so long, I wanted it to be something nice.  The minute I saw these dishes, I thought, my girls will love these.  But then, I couldn’t send them out without a little homemade something!  That wouldn’t be right. So I made you some Chocolate-Covered Almond Brittle to remember me by.  Now all you have to do is leave me a

comment at the bottom of this post and you’ll automatically be entered for the drawing for the Tea Set and box of homemade candy.

(BTW, If this blog comes to your email box, in order to enter you will have to click on www.susanbranch.com and come here to the online version, then scroll to the bottom of this post, look for the tiny word “comments,” click on it and leave a word or two and you’ll be entered!)

Then our girl Vanna (Vanna is the same as a “random number generator” only our Vanna has a lot more verve and style) will be pressed back into service. She’s done NOTHING for months, it’s about time she earned her keep. In a few days she will choose one of your names from her giant Santa hat and I’ll announce the winner.  Tell your friends too Girlfriends, your sisters and your mom, because even if you don’t win, you could get invited to Tea (possibly even Twine) at their house and have candy to boot.   You can leave as many comments as you want, Vanna knows to only count each name once.  She is a contest-engineering genius.

So while I’m cleaning up, I’ll tell you about another surprise.  Because if any of you bought a signed copy of our new book A FINE ROMANCE from our studio for your friends and family during this month of December, you don’t know it, but you’ve already given a gift to some very special people. Oh yes! Seven dollars from each purchase through our studio for the entire month of December will be going to Casa Pacifica, an organization in California that “Builds Foundations of Hope” for abused and neglected children. ♥ 

So I got lambs and new BP People and I got to go out and meet so many of you, and you got dishes and candy, and lots more I hope, and we all made a little bit of a difference for children and families, because without you there would be no FINE ROMANCE. ♥  High five, Girlfriends.  Thank you also for the wonderful reviews on Amazon, I know it’s you.  We are still number one in England Travel Guides!  Thank you so much!  We make a little difference in our own little kindred spirit world.  What goes around comes around.♥

And now it’s time . . .  I can smell it from here . . .

I put a little something in the oven for lunch . . . and it’s ready!

A big delicious, salted buttered sweet potato all caramelized and ready to go.  Oh yes.  Perfect for this cold day.  Off I go now.  Don’t forget to leave your comment Girls.  Good luck, I hope you are having just the very best time! ♥