Susan Branch's Blog, page 38

Red-Letter Day!

Good Morning!  How’s everyone this red-letter day?  JoEllen, one of our Twitter/Blog Girlfriends contributed the perfect MUSICA this auspicious morning!  Enjoy!  At four this afternoon I’m having my first book signing for our book at Bunch of Grapes Bookstore here on the island.  Nervous, yes!  Happy?  Thrilled!  And I thought I’d share a few of the wonderful photos I’ve been getting from YOU. ♥  This first one is from our girlfriend AngieTink who just received the books she ordered . . .

Apparently, Angie’s planning to spread her fairy dust throughout the western world!  Thank you Angie! ♥

This is Cadie.  She’s the daughter of our Girlfriend Joann from Colorado (thank you Joann!).  She’s reading the first chapter of A FINE ROMANCE to her mom.  She’s a Romance expert right now  . . .  she’s going to be a very beautiful bride in a few weeks.

And, speaking of gardens, look at these cute girls!  That’s Linda on the left and Kathy on the right.  Do they know how to do it up right?  Oh yes they do!  Roses on the tablecloth, silver tea set, crustless cucumber sandwiches, strawberries floating in sparkling-something in thin tulip glasses, scones, flowers, all in a gorgeous garden — a perfect setting to take your book for a wonderful afternoon read with your best friend.  I was honored to come along (even in book form)!

But what else would we expect from Kathy?  This is a photo she sent me a few years back.  She has been writing the story of her life, year after year, keeping her journal in my Book of Days . . . Counting her Blessings galore.  Thank you Kathy who understands, just like you, the importance of the

This photo came from our Girlfriend Dawn in Elmhurst . . . she’s serving her book along with heart-shaped gingerbread scones!  Our book is everywhere!  Thank you Dawn!

And out to the gorgeous Missouri Prairie we go — this photo sent by Patricia Kelley via Twitter!  Love those cows!  Love our book among the cows!  Thank you Patricia!

In these photos, our Girlfriend Georgie (and her very own JOE) are packing their car for the trip from New Jersey to Martha’s Vineyard for the signing on the island tonight.  They went to Illumination Night last night.  How is that for perfect timing? And the Fireworks are on Friday!  It’s perfect weather for our Girlfriend and her Guy!

These are the photos Georgie sent from the boat.  Thank you Joe and Georgie!

Well, this is all I have time for today!  I have so much to do!  I have to figure out what to wear tonight, get Jack’s cat hair off Petey’s sailor outfit, gather up the painted bookmarks,

and think about what I might say before the signing.  This is always the scary part.  Fun, but scary.  But I didn’t want to let today go by without saying hello!  And Girlfriends, a second printing of the book was just ordered!  Yes!  Now all of you have signed First Printings!  It’s all going so well, which I attribute to YOU!  Almost all the books we had have been sent out now . . . but we kept some back for our web store, in case you need one and can’t find one at your local store, we’ll try to have them for you.  The second printing will be here in about two months.  So all I can say is . . . from the bottom of my heart . . .

Girlfriends ♥

 

Crazy with Joy . . .

What kind of a crazy person would EVER update her blog if she knew that the previous post would work itself down and become part of internet never-never land?  I really don’t know.  But she would probably like MUSICA when she did it . . .

 As you may have been able to tell, I’ve had a hard time forcing myself to post something new.  I never want to let go of that pool of light called “comments” from that last post!  ♥ Before last week I never knew for sure what you might think of A FINE ROMANCE.  Of course I did my best, but self-criticism is one of my middle names (I have other nicer middle names, like cake-baker and cat-feeder).  I’ve been on cloud nine ever since the very first one of you got our book.  Thank you Girlfriends, for your thoughts, lovely words and sentiments. ♥ We also already have NINE reviews for our book on Amazon, and I KNOW that has to be you girls, because no one has it so far, but you!  I’m so happy you like it, hap-hap-happy!  It’s like giving your niece a sweater at Christmas and finding out SHE LIKES IT.  You know how good that feels?  Well, times that by a million, and you almost know how happy I am.  Doing this book with you has been a pure treat!  Better than I ever imagined.  So much more fun for me.  I wasn’t alone.  Everything felt good.  Thank you Thank you!  Pretty soon we hit the road, driving across country state to state, where I hope to meet as many of you as possible.  We leave the island at the end of August.  And the clock is ticking!

Our book seems to have started without us . . . this is a photo from Kathy, one of our girlfriends, who took her book up to the gorgeous Mt. Washington Hotel ~ a place I went one time and found some of my dreams. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see the book out on vacation!  She told me she read it while sitting in a rocking chair on that gorgeous porch with the fragrance of the New Hampshire mountains all around!  Lucky book and lucky Cathy!

So here it is, in case you haven’t seen it, here’s our Fine Romance van, all decorated for the trip.  We put a photo of the English Countryside on it!  I think it’s cute, but Joe is still in eye-roll mode.  It’s good we are balanced. ♥

Please keep your eye on “EVENTS” (in the right-hand column of this blog) to see where it will be stopping and come see us!  Be sure to print out your Girlfriend Name Tags . . . we also have them for the boys now ♥.  They’re on the Events page too.  And we’re still adding bookstores; we have a long way to go, so keep the faith that we will be somewhere relatively (compared to here anyway) near you. ♥  Our first booksigning is on Martha’s Vineyard, next week, the 15th of August at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore ~ where I had my first book signing ever, all those years ago . . . 

So what else?  Well, I designed the covers for our 2015 Calendars so they could be ready for insert into the manufacturer’s catalog while we’re away.  Yes, 2015!  I thought you might like a preview of the wall calendar ( up there ↑)  Pink!  (And yes, I designed a new Blotter for 2015 too!)  This is why I never know what year it is!  I hope you all got your 2014 calendars!

Besides that, I’ve been getting things ready for us to go. Cleaning the house, getting it ready for winter actually, because that’s what it will be when we get back home, and we will want it cozy.  We even ordered firewood!  I’m spending extra time hugging the kitties and shooting the rubber band for Jack.  I also updated the I LOVE ENGLAND part of the blog and added our visit to the wonderful house in Chawton where Jane Austen lived and wrote.  I wanted to make sure she got some of the prime real estate of love.   And look what else I found . . .

Joe’s Hat!  They just came in . . . the perfect stocking stuffer!  Isn’t my model adorable?  We got them in a couple of colors . . . I wear berets too, they are cozy and warm and do the job for our winters, but I have to admit, they look cutest on Joe!

And something else new arrived the other day (I do believe in continuous small treats!) ~ something I think you will love too . . .

 Here’s the mock up I made of it with glue and paper . . .

And now, the real thing!  In my time I have very rarely had something manufactured!  Being as small as we are, all the paperwork and time involved makes it prohibitive, plus they have “minimums” which means you have to order a gazillion of anything, and like I said, we are small.  But I started thinking about my favorite tea, and thinking, I need a cute tea tin, and thinking, I’m going to get one made!   And here it is, the very first one, hot off the press.

Here’s the top.

and here’s the side . . .

. . . and here it is on top of my stove.   Then I thought, even though this Tea Tin would work great for cookies, crackers, coffee, marshmallows or just about anything, we probably need some actual TEA for it.  And because I’m partial to my Lavender and Roses Dessert Tea . . .

. . . because, for one thing, it looks like it comes right out of the garden!  So Joe looked around and he found a tea company that would allow me develop my own blend and soon, very soon, bags of this delicious loose tea I took with me to England and described in our book, will be coming into the studio.  I drink my Lavender and Roses “Fine Romance” Earl Grey tea in one of my favorite cups almost every day at 4 pm.  It is the perfect afternoon tea, because with a little honey and some half and half, it’s just like dessert.

“The heart-opening, wink-tippling” tea tradition I love. ♥

And this is another one . . . my “every-day” tea which we will also be carrying in the web store.  This is the tea I drink every morning.  I like my every-day tea be organic, which is more expensive, but I get it anyway, because as much as I drink of this tea, I think it’s better for my health.  It’s a delicious Earl Grey, with organically grown cornflowers.

We’ll be selling the two kinds of tea in six ounce bags, tucked into the tin ~ OR, if someone just wants one or the other, the teas and the tin will all be sold separately.  I’m not really planning to go into the tea business, just these two kinds because they’re my favorites, and for a true lover of tea, I think they would make the perfect gift, either for a friend or for YOU.

The tins and the tea should be in by the end of September … or is it August?  I forget, we’ll let you know for sure.  My sample Tin is all packed up and ready for the trip! I know I got carried away taking pictures!  It’s actually worse if you’re here, because I take that tin to every room I’m in!  Not used to it yet!  It looks good with the book.

But to change the subject for a moment, and get us out of the house . . . let’s go up island to the famous old Aquinnah Shop where Joe and I went the other night to watch the sun set . . . past the wonderful rock walls that line the roads . . .

And the beautiful farms overlooking the sea.  It’s been gorgeous these first weeks of August, cool and clear, good sleeping weather, really almost like fall . . .

We left home without a plan, just meandering, and stopped at the Chilmark Church near Beetlebung Corner when we saw the sign out front for their church-made lobster rolls.  We ate them in the car while we drove along.

Lots of people don’t realize how much of the island is just open space . . .

This is the view from our parking space in Aquinnah!

And here’s the view from Joe’s car window…

See where we are?  All the way to the very left side of this map.

We needed to grab hold of as much summer as possible, and this certainly was the night to get some!

A gorgeous sunset.

And now, Girlfriends, we’re almost all caught up … just one more little thing to show you . . .

I told you I’d joined the Beatrix Potter Society, right?  I got an envelope from England the other day . . . You can scroll down in POTTERING ABOUT, and you’ll see they wrote about our book.

We’re now proud card-carrying members and expecting our first Journal and Newsletter in October.  Just one more something to look forward to when we get home.♥

OK, must go Girlfriends, errands to do today!  Hope you have a terrific day.  I’ve loved every moment of our book writing adventure.  Thank you so much for everything.  Speaking of making dreams come true . . . ♥  XOXO

PARTY ♥ PARTY ♥ PARTY !

Party Party Party Party Party Party Party MUSICA

We go from party to another around here, from Tea Party to Birthday Party! Lots of our girlfriends are having a birthday month, lots of new babies are being born, but you may have noticed on your calendars, it’s also someone else’s birthday on Sunday, and she would be 147 years old. ♥

H A P P Y    B I R T H D A Y

So what makes sense for today’s blog is cake and presents!  Right?  First we’ll have cake, and then we’ll have presents.  OK?  That’s the normal way for a Birthday Party! And never forget, we are the normal ones! ♥

L A V E N D E R    P O L E N T A    C A K E

This Lavender Polenta Cake is a plain cake alright ~ really easy to make, deliciously moist with an amazing crunch, plus, it’s gluten free — but the recipe, which I got from my girlfriend Siobhan (“Shivon”) when we were in England, calls for ingredients that aren’t “everyday” fare.  Don’t let that stop you, because if you’re like me, and something tells me you are, this cake will become a standby.  The recipe calls for fine yellow cornmeal (or polenta flour) and almond flour.  Our supermarket carries them, but I’m pretty sure that won’t be true everywhere.  You can order them from the lovely Bob’s Red Mill web site.  If you’re not familiar with Bob’s Red Mill, you are in for a treat.  They also have everything you need to cook for a gluten free diet.

The recipe also calls for superfine sugar, which my market does not carry.  But I made my own, I just whirled regular sugar in the blender until it was superfine. Super easy!

No problem coming up with a pound of unsalted butter, allowed to come to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until it’s . . .

. . . pale and light.

Then stir in the almond flour . . .

. . . and vanilla.

Beat in six eggs, one at a time (Don’t worry, I’m putting the recipe at the end of this as a party favor! ♥)

I’ve made this cake with orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, and this time, with lime zest and juice.  All are truly wonderful, it’s up to you.  And btw, if you haven’t used one of these wonderful microplane zesters yet, we have them for you in our webstore, because they are a must-have tool!  No more knuckles in your food!  You pull the razor-sharp edges across the fruit, the zest collects on the top with no pain or strain at all . . . it makes it so easy to measure too.

So you fold in the zest and juice . . .

along with the polenta (cornmeal) flour, salt and baking flour … just pop it all in,

along with dried culinary lavender flowers (just click there to get them on-line).  The recipe calls for three tablespoons — and this is correct.  Don’t worry, it will not taste like soap, just so very light, and pretty in the cake.

This cake serves a lot of people ~ twenty four!  It’s perfect for a party, but you can also halve the recipe very easily and bake it in a 9″ cake pan. I wanted the big cake for our Tea Party but I don’t have the called-for 12″ cake pan, so I bake mine in this 12″ iron frying pan, which works perfectly.

Into the oven it goes until the house is filled with fragrance and the cake is brown.  Let it a cool a while, flip it over onto a serving plate and it comes right out of the pan.

And this is it, close up.  Delectable!  Also addictive.  Here’s the recipe as it will appear in our new book!

It’s your party favor, but there’s more.

And I have some heartstrings for you. ♥ Starting with our Royal Baby Gift Giveaway.

 Vanna left for the beach hours ago, but she didn’t forget to draw a name before she hopped into her yellow convertible 1959 T-bird and sped off, sunshine glinting off blonde curls blowing in the ocean air.  What a life that girl has!

Such a happy thing, a Baby Book, filled with love and hope and firsts for everything.  I’ve been loving the stories from our Girlfriends of babies coming, of new grandchildren on the way. I did not envy Vanna’s position of choosing just one winner.  I did ask her to try hard to get me someone who’s expecting a baby into their family.  And she did that.  Oh yes, she did that.

 I’m thrilled to announce that the winner of this trio of gifts is a first-time mommy to-be who is decorating her own Peter Rabbit room for her first born child coming in September, a real “birth-day” . . . she’s having her own little Prince, and her name is OLIVIA.  So happy for you dear Olivia, congratulations to you and your whole family!  Let us know when the time is right and we will hold hands on this blog and say a prayer and say, “Pushhhhhh.”  We can be a big help! ♥  (Mas MUSICA)

So now, I have another little gift for you in honor of Beatrix Potter and you don’t even have to pin the tail on the donkey!  If you , you can print out this name tag on card stock (just put it into your printer like regular paper, the printer will do the rest) . . .

 . . . and then when you come to one of our book signings next month (and as we drive across country) you can wear your name tag and we’ll know we’re Blog Girlfriends ~ I’ll know you, and you’ll know each other!  Fun!  (Kellee is going to put this name tag on our EVENTS page, just in case you forget where it is.) ♥  And if this isn’t quite enough, I have something else for you . . .

. . . I’m thinking maybe a nice parting gift for everyone would be something to read?

Because we got a surprise on Friday . . . at our California studio . . .

Oh yeah girls, your books arrived!  Early!  Boxes and boxes of books,  A FINE ROMANCE ~ Falling in Love with the English Countryside! is born. What a cute baby!  Sweet smelling with ribbons and everything!  (I’m secretly screaming inside, how about you?  Did I surprise you?  They surprised me! )  The first page you have to read is Page 9 where I mention you.

And now these two darling girls, Kellee on the left, and Sheri on the right, with lots of help from our wonderful Alfredo, our right-hand man (on the truck but not looking at the camera), will ship their little fingers to the bone.  The books will leave the studio as they were ordered … the first of you to order will get yours first.  I have no idea how long it will take to get them all into their envelopes with addresses, so please be patient with us, because these two are the hardest workers in the world and will get them out as quickly as humanly possible!!!  Look how strong they look!

So of course, we are celebrating birth-days and dreams come true.  Our Twitter Girlfriend Janie made us a Dream Banner to match the Bon Voyage Banner she gave Joe and me when we went to England (you’ll see it in our book, in the stateroom on board the ship).  She made just a few for anyone who might want to focus on a dream for themselves.  They come with their own little envelope, and they’ll be in the web store on Monday. ♥

And the last gift today, in honor of Beatrix Potter and Olivia, and all of you with new babies in your lives or hoping for one, or dreaming of one, or remembering what it was like to be one ~ these are the two games we used to play on our babies faces when I was little and the oldest of eight children.  The babies love it.

That’s it Girlfriends, for today, just another day in paradise.  Happy Birthday Beatrix! Congratulations Olivia!  Click teacups! Eat cake!  Happy weekend!  See you soon!  xoxo

Royal Baby Tea Party ♥ or how we got the baby born . . .

♥  R O Y A L   B A B Y  ♥

Let’s start with a baby gift to celebrate, because crikey, IT’S A BOY! MUSICA!

 Must have something to mark this lovely event happening our own Mother country!

Something for a Royal Baby’s first year, my Baby Love book for new moms and dads to write about their own little royal baby, and two 2014 wall calendars to record his every adorable achievement. If you leave a comment at the bottom of this post, this signed set of goodies could be yours.  Even if you aren’t welcoming a baby into your family right now, Baby Love is a jolly good thing for anyone’s “hope” chest.

Getting ready, washing cups . . .

It’s Sunday morning, the party is at 4:30 pm, we have no baby, but I’m happy because finally, the sun is just starting to come out.

I’ve been lining the little shelf over the sink with flowers . . . squeezing them in amongst the Beatrix Potter People.

 ’Course Jack is helping me . . . vaguely eyeing Jemima, thinking, “Don’t jump!”

 Joe hung up our new Downton Abbey bunting (white), and the flag we brought home from England; I plumped the “God Save the Queen” pillow my girlfriend Elizabeth brought back for me on one of her visits to England . . .

The Twine experts of all time came from California to help ~ that’s Diana on the left, and Elizabeth on the right.  They have tea parties for their girlfriends every year, it’s a tradition they make new hats for each event.  They are their own kind of royalty and their names (and the sunglasses) prove it.  I loved having royalty at our party.

Other people see them as royalty too, here’s Paparazzi Cathy in her posh little ruffled gloves.

Here’s another photo of them and their hats!  too cute!  Just a tiny idea of how fun and creative a tea party can really be.

Diana and Elizabeth are cousins, their moms were sisters.  They’ve known each other all their lives.  You can see by the flags in the window that they love England too, and have also done the pilgrimage to Beatrix Potter’s house!  I met Elizabeth when she bought my first house from me in 1989.  The two of them left yesterday, but I had them here all week!

Making the perfect cucumber sandwiches was a snap for these two . . . along with egg salad sandwiches and smoked salmon with cream cheese on pumpernickel.

I baked an Orange Lavender Polenta cake . . . I’ll show you how to make it in the next post.

. . . I made cold slaw, carrot salad, stuffed eggs, watermelon balls with yogurt and brown sugar.  We bought butter cookies from the Scottish Bakehouse, and Chilmark Chocolates too.  Sixty guests, friends, neighbors, family, kids, and house guests.

Joe set up a bar, made a giant pitcher of Pimm’s Cup, with orange, lime and lemon slices and cucumber sticks . . .

Proof that it takes a village . . . More bunting drapes the arbor, there’s the cousins surveying the area . . .

 It’s all just busy-work, because all we can think about is when is that baby going to be born!  Someone runs to the TV every 15 minutes just to make sure nothing is still happening.  And it always is.

We brought the Union Jack bunting home from England . . . I’ve been saving it for just this very day.

Of course we needed a talented person to play A Fine Romance and It’s a Long Way to Tipperary during the party … John Alaimo brought his piano.

Getting it all together, teaspoons, sugar bowls, teapots and tea cozies . . .

We had little cloth covers for the creamers that keep any critters out of the cream!

I love the little details of tea . . .

Diana brought a cake topper she made for the Orange Lavender Polenta Cake ~ it looked darling.  You could get one too, and see some of the other wonderful things in Diana’s Etsy store.  While you’re at it, if you’d like to see what goes on in Elizabeth’s designing life, you can go to her website at Renovation-Design.com.

I forgot to take pictures of the food and tea table!  This is the closest I got to the table with the camera.  (Fear not, I got a lot closer without the camera!) The book about Diana (on the table) was a gift from our friend Linda . . . I’m sure Diana felt at home with all the other royalty ~ we loved having her here.♥  Just a little bittersweet without her.  How she would have loved this moment.

We know this baby is coming, it’s the talk of the town, but when, when, when?

The Lady Olympia is going from person to person to ask “Will it be a boy or a girl?”  What do you think the name will be?”  Turns out the consensus is, it’s a GIRL, and her name will be Elizabeth!  A few got a bit closer, saying it would be a boy, and they thought perhaps “Charles” or “William”.  I like James for a boy because isn’t Jimmy just the cutest for a little Prince?  King James would be nice for a king too.  We’ll know pretty soon.

Lady Olympia takes a time out for hugs with her dapper white-linen and boater-clad Dad, the Duke of Earl, and her big sister, Crown Princess Astoria.

The Duke’s braces were brilliant!

Princess Marjorie, Grand Duchess Robin, Lady Diana, Countess Jill, and Queen Elizabeth. ♥

Queen Elizabeth tells a funny story!

Princess Irenie lives in London and came to visit Princess Samantha who just graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland. I’ve known Princess Samantha since she was a little baby.  When she was two and in her mother’s arms, she leaned toward me touching my earlobes, and said in pure baby talk, “I lob youa eahwings.”  Cutest little thing in the world!

Because they are five hours ahead of us here on the East Coast, by this time it was dark in England and looked like this, and the brightest light was London.  I think Princess Catherine was probably feeling a little bit queasy by now, probably walking around the living room, or cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.  But we didn’t know that for sure.  We thought she might need some help to get this baby going.

So just before the party was over, as twilight set in, we made a big circle and held hands.  We said a prayer for Catherine, for William, and for the baby.  We prayed that the birth would be easy for everyone, the baby would be healthy and most of all, that it would come soon. Then we raised our eyes to heaven, lifted our hands into the air, and all together, we dropped our hands and said, Pushhhhhhh, and again, still holding hands, arms up and then down (like we were the white flag at a Nascar race), Pusssshhhhhh, and one more time: up, down, pushhhhhh.  Like a mantra and a prayer.  And guess what?  Must have been moments later, the royal couple checked into the hospital!  Well, I guess SO!  And THAT is how we got the baby born.

Oh, just now as I’m writing, the new parents with the new Prince just came out the hospital doors. So exciting! It seems to have gone swimmingly and all our prayers were answered. Everyone looked beautiful, I saw tiny fingers in their first royal wave.  Now, for the name . . . what do you think????  Be sure to leave a comment, and soon Vanna will choose the name of the lucky winner of the Royal Baby Gift!  Did you hear that the royal mint will be giving a lucky 2013 silver coin to every British baby sharing a birthday with the new royal baby?  The coin comes in either a pink or a blue pouch as a gift to new mommies and daddies.  Just one of the cute things they do over there.♥

Lots of Little Things . . . the glory of love ….

It’s a day of “Little Things” around here, making life sweet . . . even better because you are here . . . 

I promised in the new WILLARD I would take you to the water . . . so here we go.  (Willard starts going out Tuesday morning and will continue through late afternoon on Wednesday ~ if you’re signed up for it, watch your email!)

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It started out so peacefully, the little lapping of the water on the very edge of Martha’s Vineyard, and then, here comes my guy the photo stylist.  Which reminds me, while we’re at it, I should show you another of Joe’s amazing talents.  But first, Musica?  Oui!

Because I love to look at my Beatrix Potter figurines every day, I keep them in a precarious position on a narrow shelf above my kitchen sink.  It’s only precarious because that’s where Jack hangs out.  The bird feeders are right outside the windows.

Who me?  I never go there, why would I go there?  I don’t care about birds.  I’m innocent!  Where’s my fair trial?  I need a lawyer.

Here’s my lawyer, Petey!  Tell her Petey. We were together, right?

Uh-huh ~ I think Petey’s face says it all.  Anyway, Jemima Puddle-Duck ended up in the sink.

With a broken neck.  Oh, the anguish.

I took her to Joe for fixing.  And look at that rubber band origami he performed with a toothpick!  My hero!

Could you do this, to hold the glued neck together?  I could never do this. I don’t even like to think about myself doing this.  It would be like dealing with a pile of tangled hangers which is one of my worst nightmares. I would very likely accidentally shoot Jemima across the room.

Note how the rubber band goes around her tail.  This is pure artistry.  It’s so nice to have a man around the house!  Between Joe and I, and each of our talents, we make one entire person.  He reads the map, and I say slow down.  I hold the camera, he throws oyster shells.  Perfect.  Something for everyone.

So we are having company.  Today my girlfriends Elizabeth and Diana will be coming in from California, arriving on the noon boat.  I have flowers to arrange.  There’s a beach party tonight,  and we’re also having our Royal Baby Tea Party on Saturday.   Must hang the bunting, make the cucumber sandwiches!

Talk about two people making one person!  I hope Catherine has the baby soon so we know what we are celebrating (I’m sure she’s hoping the same thing!).  Hope it’s a fat healthy pink baby that looks just like its Grandmama with all the grace of it’s great grammy.  Such a happy time for our lovely Mother Country. ♥

So of course I’ve been getting ready for everything, cleaning house, washing shelves, hanging towels on the line to dry, making delicious carrot salad . . . and my new curtains came.  Aren’t they pretty?

I’d love to show you before and after photos, but “before” would be SO bad, I could never show you ~ they looked like they’d come out of Miss Havisham’s house.   You only get “after” pictures.  (Love Miss Havisham, the character in Dickens Great Expectations, whose expectations were so dashed that time stopped for her while she was dressing for her wedding day when she realized her groom never loved her.  She stopped all the clocks in her house; stayed alone exactly as she was at the moment of discovery, never removing her wedding dress, wearing only one shoe,  leaving the wedding breakfast and cake uneaten on the table, for years.  It was awful.  Her hair, you can imagine; her curtains were hideous. That’s what I call passion. “A woman scorned…”  I could never stay mad that long.  But I do love this woman, for all her faults, how fun she must have been to write!)  My old curtains would have fit perfectly in her house.

 But here are the new ones (that’s a canopy on the poster bed at the top).  Love lace, so light and airy, and these hot summer days, we need all the airy we can get!

I chose the “Ivy” pattern, but there were many beautiful alternatives.  I looked everywhere for lace curtains, and I found lots of them, but my windows are a funny height and everywhere I looked, they came either much too long or much too short, and in this case, I was looking for a little instant gratification that did not include hemming.  I found a lace curtain place that hems them exactly to your measurement!  They were fast, good quality, and inexpensive; I thought you’d like to know.  They’re from a store called Decorating with Lace.   Think “decorating.”  Think “holidays!”

Each time I show pictures of Jack, I’m asked, How’s Girl Kitty?  So here she is, you can see, she is fine, more than fine, perched in the soft spot as a calm little queen should be.  She truly understands the art of “continuous small treats.” ♥

Must go finish washing the dishes for Twine!  And make an Orange Lavender Polenta Cake from our new book (I put the recipe in the WILLARD).  I’ll show you the How-To for this cake in a couple of days.  You will love it.  I’ll take pictures of the Tea Party!

OK, that’s my day of Little Things that Make Life Sweet.  I hope you are making some little things of your own.  I will say hello to the ocean for you tonight, and watch the sun set; I’ll take a deep breath of island air and bury my toes in the sand, and imagine you are feeling it too.

Because it is. xoxo

SEASHELLS . . .

I’m just in the mood for seashells this morning.  I have them everywhere in my house so I thought I would write about them.  Come with me, to the sea . . .  Musica (must click today!)

Sea shells are one of nature’s wonders . . . bleached white, scrubbed by salt and sand, or hot pink, or translucent yellow, or baby pink, they are wonderful to look for, find, collect and display ~

Way out there is where Joe and I go clamming, when the tide is low, because what’s inside these seashells is a wonder of nature too!  We stand in salt water to our knees, we dig around with clam forks and bring a bucket of fresh clams home to steam up for dinner.

Here’s where we walk, next to the water, listening to the waves and the gulls, we scan the water’s edge for shells, sea glass, any beautiful thing that comes our way.  It’s how we “busy” ourselves so we don’t hurry home too soon.  I’m sure, even if you don’t live near the ocean, you have been there and know what I’m talking about. ♥

They are so beautiful it is tempting to bring them all home.

There are so many things to do with them: display them on windowsills, fill glass lamp bases, spread them in baskets, scatter them on the picnic table, line them up on bookshelves . . .

You can use the bigger ones as serving bowls for summer dinner parties . . .

Our porch fountain is much prettier and even seems to gurgle better with a few shells in the water . . .

The perfect place to display tiny shells is in a glass hurricane lamp with  beach sand in the bottom.  And it won’t blow out on breezy summer nights and it brings memories of carefree beach days to the table ♥.

Or just pile them in wild disarray, colors shapes and sizes mixed together in all their natural glory . . . like little miracles, every single one of them.

A small saucer of shells on the porch is a nice way to greet visitors in the summer…

You can make little flower arrangements for your table.

And even write on them . . . with a special memory of a day at the sea or a quote, or . . .

. . . you can do what my girlfriend Siobhan did and dip the edges in glitter and send a dated Christmas message to your friends and family.  This is one of my all time favorite ornaments, it’s got my two favorite things: nature, and people I love.  Perhaps you’d like to make these yourself, but you have no access to clam shells.  I can fix that, I’ll bring the ocean to you!

And if you call Louie, you might need some delicious clam recipes!  This I can do for you too!  These two recipes are from my first book, HEART of the HOME.

You might look at that recipe and say, YUM, but “I can’t open clams.”  If so, but you’re feeling adventurous, you can learn, here’s a video by an expert clam shucker.  But if not, then I need to give you a couple of recipes where the clams open themselves.  You can make this . . . my dad’s favorite, and probably mine too! We love it with garlic bread!

Or make Steamers, from my AUTUMN book,  just wonderful!

If seafood has always “tasted fishy” to you, please try again, life is short, you can’t go through the whole thing believing that seafood doesn’t taste good . . . a hundred million people can’t be wrong.  You know it’s good for you, and I promise, fresh seafood never ever ever tastes fishy.  That’s the hallmark of fresh fish.  And if you don’t need the shells, but still want to try something wonderful . . . choose another of my favorites: fresh Codfish ~ it’s sweet, mild, and delicious, with lemon juice or tartar sauce . . . I promise, you are in for a treat.   And if you already love seafood, but you’re too far inland to find it very fresh, let me remind you . . .  lobster dinners and ice cold oysters on the half shell!  You can get them too. And have a taste of the sea no matter where you are.♥

 Or, just make cucumber sandwiches and dream a summer day at the beach with your book and your best friend.♥

Happy Day Girlfriends, xoxo, your pal for life, Susan

Summer Rain and July 4th. . .

I added on a photo I took this morning just after we hung out the flag.  HAPPY JULY 4th, Happy Independence Day!  Ring out wild bells . . .

Hello girlfriends!  I’m back!  I hoped you enjoyed a little summer rain (if you didn’t see the video,it’ll be at the end of this post). One good thing about the rain is how beautiful and fluffy and green it’s making everything look. MUSICA!!!

I wanted to give you our lucky winner for the bookmark right now, but Vanna wanted a bubble bath!  And whatever Vanna wants, Vanna gets!   So we are going to have to wait a bit longer until she comes down.  Until then, I’ll give you a little more of our local weather report . . . That’s my garden up there, we haven’t had to water it once this year!

The last time we saw the sun for real was the afternoon of the full moon over a week ago.  Early that evening we went to a friend’s 1820′s house to sit on her screened porch, watch the birds at the feeders and try to name them, sip wine, and wait for the moon to come up.

A couple hours later we drove out to our favorite place to moon watch on East Chop where we get an unrestricted view over the water.  But, this picture says it all, blowing clouds were racing the moonrise and the clouds were winning.

So I looked around to find something else to point my camera at and I found this …

And this too, the ferry coming out of Oak Bluffs crossing just where the moon should have been.  Nice but not quite what we were expecting.  Picture a huge yellow ball right behind it.  That’s what we should have seen.

We stayed out there for a while, but finally realized it wasn’t in the cards and started home.  On the way we stopped for a quick photo of the lighthouse.

And then around the bend we went and over Lagoon Pond we saw this. STOP THE CAR! This was the only peek we got of the moon until early the next morning when I saw it going down from the bedroom window.

Pretty, beautiful over the water . . . and then the clouds came in and have never gone away since.  A couple of nights ago we walked down to Main Street for dinner at La Cave — we sat on the restaurant porch and watched visible fingers of mist curling and blowing down the street.  It’s warm, it’s dark and it’s wet.

But it’s not dreary.  It’s making the island more beautiful than ever.  It feels just like England!  I’m sure if you’ve rented a beach house on the island, this isn’t what you were expecting, but business at the bookstore is very brisk, and the restaurants are full!

I don’t mind a bit.

And neither does he.  BTW, I would never kiss this frog because I like him just the way he is.  And I already have my Prince.  What else, oops, I think I hear the pitter patter of little feet. Vanna . . . Let me grab her!  Yoooo Hooo, Vanna, we are waiting for youuuuu.

(Dressed in tennis clothes and a gold necklace this woman understands the good life.)  Before I could say a thing she sprang up, skirt twirling, and leaped into the top hat and disappeared to the bottom like a swimmer.  It looked like she turned herself into a Waring blender because she had all your names twirling in the hat like a tornado — round and round they went, then suddenly, Boom!  Here she was!  And I have the winning name!!!  Now let me get my pen so I can write that winning name on the Beatrix Bookmark.  Six letters . . . and one of them is the very last letter in the alphabet. A hint Girlfriends.  (That narrows it down a bit, doesn’t it?)

The winner is our girlfriend ESZTER from Veresegyhaz, Hungary!  We’ve truly gone global girlfriends!  This is our second world winner — the first was when Leanne in New Zealand won the Autumn book, and now Hungary!  What a small world!  Congratulations Eszter, you are our grand prize winner for the day!  I will put your little bookmark in an envelope, with extra postage, and send her winging across the water.  Say hello to Hungary for us!

Thank you all for trying, for being here, and for being you. ♥  And now, not to let it get maudlin around here, I have news.  In fact I have too much news.  Number One is this:

Can you guess what this is?  Note that it is not moving, and yet I cannot seem to take a focused photo of it.  Can you imagine what is in these boxes? she says, shakily.

Can you believe it?  They’re here!!!  A Fine Romance, our brand new book, is actually here in my house!  Ripping the wrapper — I’m way too excited to focus the mere camera.  What camera?

Now I begin to get it together…. I’m better now. I report in: she is beautiful.  She smells just like all the best new books you have ever smelled.  She is cozy, her pages are smooth, her cover is cool to the touch, and she is wearing a red ribbon, sooo romantic.

Petey wasted no time getting into the picture.  Everyone wanted to get near her.  These first advance copies of our book ~ we only got a few ~ are going to be mailed to places like Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, plus different magazines and newspapers.

But, as promised, the very first one gets signed and off it goes to Gail.  If you remember, Gail is the girlfriend who won the Valentine’s Giveaway of an advance copy of our Book!  Surprise Gail!  Your book is in the mail!  And it really won’t be long for the rest of us!  Every day I am adding new EVENTS to our calendar . . . it’s getting exciting!  Be sure to check often for a book signing near you.  What?  Did someone ask me if I liked the book?  Oh girlfriends, I really do like it. ♥

And here is the next wonderful thing:  Many of you know what a long-time admirer I am of Gladys Taber and her wonderful books ~ and if you don’t, you can read about it HERE.  I especially loved everything she wrote about her 1690 Connecticut farmhouse called Stillmeadow.  I “discovered her” many years ago when I bought my first little house on the island.  One of Gladys’s books had been left behind by the previous owner; I fell in love with The Best of Stillmeadow and Gladys Taber; she helped to anchor me in New England (coming from California, I needed anchoring ~ it was all so different than what I was used to).  Soon after, I found out there was a Friends of Gladys Tabor fan club and became a member.  Their wonderful Newsletter is still a highlight of my day.  When it arrives, I always make a cup of tea and sit down to read it, like a letter from home. I’ve never been to Stillmeadow.  I’ve heard that Gladys’s granddaughter lives there now and never wanted to disturb her, although I’m sure she does get disturbed all the time!

This is Stillmeadow.  And yesterday, I had the honor . . . the surprise and honor,  to accept an invitation to speak and sign books at next year’s (Saturday, June 14, 2014) Annual Reunion of the Friends of Gladys Taber.  This time it will actually take place in Southbury, Connecticut and include a tour of Stillmeadow Farm (it doesn’t always).  I would put a hundred exclamation points here, but I’ve been told that’s not “good writing.”  Perhaps squealing, jumping for joy, or calling my mother would tell you how I feel.  Suffice it to say that I am thrilled.  If this sounds like your cup of tea, you’ll find details in EVENTS, which is in the column on the right of our blog.  Check back, it’s a year from now, we don’t have every detail set, but you can defintely pencil it in on your calendar!  Stillmeadow!  I never in a lifetime would have imagined this!!!!!!!!!!!!  (oops)

As if that isn’t enough, there is still more!  But I am going to save the other things for next time, because it’s getting late and I need to hit the “Publish” button.  I could go on all day!  Have a wonderful evening Girlfriends.  Congratulations to all of us just for having each other.  Here’s more rainstorm for all of you living in the heat.  Blessings to us one and all . . . Happy 4th of July!  XOXO

Summer Rain

Hello girlfriends!  I’m back!  I hoped you enjoyed a little summer rain (if you didn’t see the video,it’ll be at the end of this post). One good thing about the rain is how beautiful and fluffy and green it’s making everything look. MUSICA!!!

I wanted to give you our lucky winner for the bookmark right now, but Vanna wanted a bubble bath!  And whatever Vanna wants, Vanna gets!   So we are going to have to wait a bit longer until she comes down.  Until then, I’ll give you a little more of our local weather report . . . That’s my garden up there, we haven’t had to water it once this year!

The last time we saw the sun for real was the afternoon of the full moon over a week ago.  Early that evening we went to a friend’s 1820′s house to sit on her screened porch, watch the birds at the feeders and try to name them, sip wine, and wait for the moon to come up.

A couple hours later we drove out to our favorite place to moon watch on East Chop where we get an unrestricted view over the water.  But, this picture says it all, blowing clouds were racing the moonrise and the clouds were winning.

So I looked around to find something else to point my camera at and I found this …

And this too, the ferry coming out of Oak Bluffs crossing just where the moon should have been.  Nice but not quite what we were expecting.  Picture a huge yellow ball right behind it.  That’s what we should have seen.

We stayed out there for a while, but finally realized it wasn’t in the cards and started home.  On the way we stopped for a quick photo of the lighthouse.

And then around the bend we went and over Lagoon Pond we saw this. STOP THE CAR! This was the only peek we got of the moon until early the next morning when I saw it going down from the bedroom window.

Pretty, beautiful over the water . . . and then the clouds came in and have never gone away since.  A couple of nights ago we walked down to Main Street for dinner at La Cave — we sat on the restaurant porch and watched visible fingers of mist curling and blowing down the street.  It’s warm, it’s dark and it’s wet.

But it’s not dreary.  It’s making the island more beautiful than ever.  It feels just like England!  I’m sure if you’ve rented a beach house on the island, this isn’t what you were expecting, but business at the bookstore is very brisk, and the restaurants are full!

I don’t mind a bit.

And neither does he.  BTW, I would never kiss this frog because I like him just the way he is.  And I already have my Prince.  What else, oops, I think I hear the pitter patter of little feet. Vanna . . . Let me grab her!  Yoooo Hooo, Vanna, we are waiting for youuuuu.

(Dressed in tennis clothes and a gold necklace this woman understands the good life.)  Before I could say a thing she sprang up, skirt twirling, and leaped into the top hat and disappeared to the bottom like a swimmer.  It looked like she turned herself into a Waring blender because she had all your names twirling in the hat like a tornado — round and round they went, then suddenly, Boom!  Here she was!  And I have the winning name!!!  Now let me get my pen so I can write that winning name on the Beatrix Bookmark.  Six letters . . . and one of them is the very last letter in the alphabet. A hint Girlfriends.  (That narrows it down a bit, doesn’t it?)

The winner is our girlfriend ESZTER from Veresegyhaz, Hungary!  We’ve truly gone global girlfriends!  This is our second world winner — the first was when Leanne in New Zealand won the Autumn book, and now Hungary!  What a small world!  Congratulations Eszter, you are our grand prize winner for the day!  I will put your little bookmark in an envelope, with extra postage, and send her winging across the water.  Say hello to Hungary for us!

Thank you all for trying, for being here, and for being you. ♥  And now, not to let it get maudlin around here, I have news.  In fact I have too much news.  Number One is this:

Can you guess what this is?  Note that it is not moving, and yet I cannot seem to take a focused photo of it.  Can you imagine what is in these boxes? she says, shakily.

Can you believe it?  They’re here!!!  A Fine Romance, our brand new book, is actually here in my house!  Ripping the wrapper — I’m way too excited to focus the mere camera.  What camera?

Now I begin to get it together…. I’m better now. I report in: she is beautiful.  She smells just like all the best new books you have ever smelled.  She is cozy, her pages are smooth, her cover is cool to the touch, and she is wearing a red ribbon, sooo romantic.

Petey wasted no time getting into the picture.  Everyone wanted to get near her.  These first advance copies of our book ~ we only got a few ~ are going to be mailed to places like Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, plus different magazines and newspapers.

But, as promised, the very first one gets signed and off it goes to Gail.  If you remember, Gail is the girlfriend who won the Valentine’s Giveaway of an advance copy of our Book!  Surprise Gail!  Your book is in the mail!  And it really won’t be long for the rest of us!  Every day I am adding new EVENTS to our calendar . . . it’s getting exciting!  Be sure to check often for a book signing near you.  What?  Did someone ask me if I liked the book?  Oh girlfriends, I really do like it. ♥

And here is the next wonderful thing:  Many of you know what a long-time admirer I am of Gladys Taber and her wonderful books ~ and if you don’t, you can read about it HERE.  I especially loved everything she wrote about her 1690 Connecticut farmhouse called Stillmeadow.  I “discovered her” many years ago when I bought my first little house on the island.  One of Gladys’s books had been left behind by the previous owner; I fell in love with The Best of Stillmeadow and Gladys Taber; she helped to anchor me in New England (coming from California, I needed anchoring ~ it was all so different than what I was used to).  Soon after, I found out there was a Friends of Gladys Tabor fan club and became a member.  Their wonderful Newsletter is still a highlight of my day.  When it arrives, I always make a cup of tea and sit down to read it, like a letter from home. I’ve never been to Stillmeadow.  I’ve heard that Gladys’s granddaughter lives there now and never wanted to disturb her, although I’m sure she does get disturbed all the time!

This is Stillmeadow.  And yesterday, I had the honor . . . the surprise and honor,  to accept an invitation to speak and sign books at next year’s (Saturday, June 14, 2014) Annual Reunion of the Friends of Gladys Taber.  This time it will actually take place at Stillmeadow Farm, in Southbury, Connecticut (it doesn’t always).  I would put a hundred exclamation points here, but I’ve been told that’s not “good writing.”  Perhaps squealing, jumping for joy, or calling my mother would tell you how I feel.  Suffice it to say that I am thrilled.  If this sounds like your cup of tea, you’ll find details in EVENTS, which is in the column on the right of our blog.  Check back, it’s a year from now, we don’t have every detail set, but you can defintely pencil it in on your calendar!  Stillmeadow!  I never in a lifetime would have imagined this.

As if that isn’t enough, there is still more!  But I am going to save the other things for next time, because it’s getting late and I need to hit the “Publish” button.  I could go on all day!  Have a wonderful evening Girlfriends.  Congratulations to all of us just for having each other.  Here’s more rainstorm for all of you living in the heat.  Blessings to us one and all . . . Happy 4th of July!  XOXO

Summer Morning . . .

It’s a very quiet, very warm summer morning ~ I’m in my studio, the windows are wide open, I feel like I’m on a porch.  It’s still dark, insects are cricking and shisking, birds are just now beginning their morning song, I have my tea, Girl’s asleep on the pillow, Jack’s on the ironing board in front of the pantry screen door, peering out into the dark (ever vigilant) . . . foghorns are blowing over the island  . . . and in the background, softly wafting from our windows into the breaking morning light . . . MUSICA

Today I get to design advertising for our new book for Victoria and Teatime, two of my favorite magazines.  Believe it or not, I’ve never put an ad in a magazine before!  It’s exciting to think about how I want the ads to look.  It just seems to make sense to have our book in the September annual “British” issue of Victoria, don’t you think? And Teatime?  I can’t think of better places for a book about English charm. ♥

I had an idea the other day.  When I paint, one of the things that’s always at my right hand is a little square of watercolor paper that I use to try out color — you can see it in the back of this photo . . . the little blotter with wisps of paint color.  I couldn’t work without one of these nearby.

I use them to test my pen; I mix colors on them.  This one has the stick on it that I picked up in the yard of Norman Rockwell’s studio.

Sometimes I will paint or write something I don’t care for, it’s not quite good enough, or I don’t like the colors I used, so I’ll want to do it over, but I don’t want to waste the paper, so I cut it up and save it and use it to dab my paint on.  So that’s how some of the art and words show up on these paint daubers.

On this one I practiced pencil drawings of women’s hair. I tried drawing with pen and filling it in with color  – these cards come in very handy.

I’ve done this for years, and when the card is covered in paint and squiggles, I throw it away and get myself a new one.

Until A FINE ROMANCE.  About halfway through the painting of our book, I decided maybe I should start saving these squiggles.  So I did.  I was surprised on how fast they piled up.

And yesterday I cut them all up.

I got quite a handful of them.  They look so festive!

They’re all on card stock and every one of them is covered on both sides with all the colors of the English Countryside; the colors of teatime, long walks, cottage gardens, the Yorkshire Dales, Jane Austen’s house, ocean liner sailing . . .

They’re kind of a little story all by themselves.  Now I wish I’d never thrown any of them away!

But at least I have these . . . and there’s quite little pile of them.  I thought, what good bookmarks these would make.

Not all of them have discernible art on them, but some definitely do, and no matter what, each of them is one of a kind.  I never made the same mess twice!  So, you know I’ve been setting dates for my book signings?  I thought what would be fun . . .

. . . is if I would bring these bits and pieces that helped to make up the original pages of the book and give them away at the signings. ♥  The bookmarks will match the book!

And just in case you can’t get to a signing, or in case I run out before I get to your town (it’s bound to happen, but I promise, only one to a customer!), that big BOOKMARK in the middle is for you.  You can print it at home, cut it out, and tuck it in your book when it comes.

I love planning these book events. The people at the bookstores are such hard workers and make me feel wonderful about coming to them.  My first two book signings will be on Martha’s Vineyard, beginning with Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, on Julia Child’s Birthday ♥ (I just love that), on August 15th. You can keep track of the dates and see where I’ll be going as we begin adding new events this month.  On the right side of the blog you’ll see COMING SOON, EVENTS.  Scroll down for dates, times, links for directions, etc. I hope to see every single one of you somewhere on our long drive across America. ♥

And just a few more Small Treats:  Did you notice that Kellee put up new summer computer wallpaper, stationery, and postcards you can print out?  She did!  Kellee changes everything for the season; you can always check for her updates if you go to “On-Line Shopping,” and then click on the left on “Free Stuff.”

Oops, I almost forgot to mention.  This time, one of our continuous small treats include a giveaway . . . you see that Beatrix Potter Bookmark in the pile below?  The little girl with the bunny?

Leave a comment, I will sign it and date it ~ in a few days I’ll send it to the winner of the drawing, to the lucky name that Vanna pulls from our giant top hat. ♥

LAST DAY OF SPRING …

It’s the last day of Spring!  And yesterday, just under the wire to qualify for “spring cleaning,” I worked my little fingers to the bone.  It needed to be done.  Every time we drive by our house, I see the mold that has formed on our front porch railings and it drives me crazy.  I put on some old MUSICA and went after it.

This housework didn’t kill me, but I did sleep well.

Yesterday morning I got out a bucket and filled it with hot water and a little bleach, put on my work clothes (read: not beauty queen) and a pair of yellow rubber gloves, prayed no one would notice the woman crawling around on her front porch at 7 am, which is an impossibility considering where our front porch is, but I told myself everyone would think I was the maid, and went to work.

This is the picket fence next to our front porch.  It lives in the shade under the Linden trees.  It doesn’t show that much from the front of the house, but I can see it and it was too awful to continue on this path.  Our house is old.  It was built in 1849, so it has seen a lot of summers — which aren’t all humid all the time, but they definitely have their moments. Which means mold.  And hardly anything is worse than mold on a picket fence.  Or on the “welcome home” front steps and bannisters to your front door.  We had let this get out of control.

 I’m sorry but green mold means your house does not look perky.

I should have started taking pictures earlier, I had already started when I realized I would need before and after pictures of this!  Mold on rails and bannisters, and especially on that little white painted strip under the doorstep.  Which is about eye level to our car when it comes up the street in front of our house.  Which is why such a little thing drove me crazy.  Was I doing my part in making the world a prettier place?  No.  I needed to do better.

So I went out there, crawled around and scrubbed away, with sponge, brush and toothbrush.

I made it all white and perky again.  I figure I got rid of a good 200 calories doing this so it was a win-win.

I could probably have hired someone, but it came over me yesterday morning that I could not go on another moment without having this done, and NOW was the moment.  I didn’t want to take time to find someone, wait for them to come, explain it to them, make a bucket of water for them, give them gloves, when I could just do it, while Joe was off island (he went off yesterday to look at cars, maybe going to get a new van) and I could surprise him.

Then I hung a wreath on the porch, and voila, we are done.

That felt so good, that I knocked off another hundred calories and washed my good old car with the hose.  I bought this Volvo in 1982, it’s my first east coast car.  When I got here, I looked around to see what people drove in a place where there was snow.  I saw a lot of Volvos, so that’s what I got.  She starts up in any weather no matter how long I leave her alone, and has never spent a day in a garage (or barn, because we like to fill our barns with STUFF and there’s no room). She is a very good girl even if you do have to use your arm muscles to get her windows up and down.  I could never let her go, she knows all my secrets.  After I washed her, I took her to the nursery.  It was a red letter day.

Here she is on a fall day in front of my first house on the island ~ she was brand new.  So anyway, she is clean again!  We went to pick up Joe at the boat last night and he was proud of us.

The other fun thing I did yesterday is join Goodreads!  Do you belong to Goodreads?I really just found out about it.  What a wonderful connective way to enjoy books and to learn about new ones.  During my childhood summers when I lived at the library, the librarians gave us a card where we could record all the books we read that summer ~ oh, I wish I would have saved one of those cards!  It gave me such a sense of accomplishment to fill in that little card. Bookreads is the modern version of that, with all kinds of connections between books and readers and tons of reviews from smart people who love to read.  Here’s my Booklist so far.  I didn’t add any books that I didn’t like yet, there are too many that I do.  But probably the biggest thrill of all was seeing A Fine Romance on the web for the very first time.  I guess it must really be happening!

What else, oh yes, getting ready for the book to arrive, I designed new Beatrix Potter pages for “I Love England” that even includes a reading list (you can see it at the top of this page, just click on I Love England and you’ll see parts one and two). I enjoyed every moment of doing it!

 OK Girlfriends, I must go, but here is your first assignment for today:  go get some thick rich creamy Greek yogurt (we use nonfat Nage — only 130 calories per cup) and a juicy watermelon, because they are sweet and ready now.  And some organic red grapes.  Chunk the watermelon in bite-sized pieces — put a serving into a cereal bowl with a few grapes, top everything with yogurt.  Sit down at your kitchen table, open up your favorite book and eat your breakfast to the tune of the songbirds.  Ahhhh summer.

  Assignment two, oh yes, two assignments from the taskmaster:  This weekend it’s time for the Strawberry moon — and this one should be extra specially big because the moon is as close to earth as it will be this year.  Plan ahead to spontaneously go see it with someone you love and make it an adventure.  Make a little picnic, pack a couple of sandwiches, or a salad with good cheese and fresh vegetables, a thermos full of some special sort of drink, creamy iced coffee, basil lemonade, skip and go nakeds, and go park the car in the perfect moonrise place nearest you because the moon is biggest right when it first peeks above the earth, or the sea, or the field, or over the mountain top.  See it from the car, or spread a blanket somewhere beautiful, even your own back yard. ♥  

Make a wish, say a prayer, count your abundant blessings.

Happy Day Girlfriends! XOXO