Hello everyone! So GLAD you could join me today for all good news, and of course, the MUSICA. . . Are you ready for

Looking for me?

XOXO

Now you know where to find me!♥️

Still recipe-testing, writing, painting . . . I want this new Christmas Book to reflect all the Christmases we’ve had since I wrote my last Christmas cookbook in 1989! That was forever ago ~ it’s been out of print for over 15 years. As I began to try to update it, I realized, we need a new one! This recipe for Candy Cane Ice Cream really should be the Belle of the Ball in my new book . . . 💃🏼 So PINK, pretty, festive, and delicious ~ wonderful refreshing flavor alone, or with anything chocolate! And so easy to make for all the wows and eye-rolling it feeds you back with!💘

XOXO And now you know why it takes so long to write a book! Writing the recipe is almost as delicious, for me, as eating it! Almost! Painting is like coloring, only you draw the outlines, and then you get to fill them in! Writing that word “charmingly” … can you see the fun involved with doing that? Really! It has the mini-vibe of flying.😂

The heart finds its morning . . . . Don’t you love that?💗 Word MUSICA!🎵

Here’s another beautiful recipe . . . . it’s a savory bread pudding with a thick toasted-cheese crust.😳 With asparagus and fresh herbs, perfect for a Christmas Book! Good for Breakfast, Lunch, and/or, Dinner! Coziest ever!💝

It makes a lovely side dish  . . . but a main dish too because it’s full of protein, lots of eggs and milk. It can also eat gravy for lunch. If you get my meaning.😊

Besides cozy recipes, my new Christmas book has lots of photographs and a section on WINTER . . . the New Year, Diaries, Snow, Sleeping Weather, Resolutions, Valentine breakfasts, Reasons to go on Living, and so much more. There are Holiday Parties and Entertaining, Traditions (new and old), Christmas is for Children, How to be a Good Guest, Domestic Bliss, Gifts, the Table, old dishes, and vintage everything! You know why? Because I’m vintage! Sharing times gone by . . . for the ones still to come.💝

So yes, we are putting my new book up for presale today! But we probably won’t get it from the printer until July! Everything is taking longer, and as you know, COSTING more: production, shipping, taxes, etc, but it is so helpful, being as small as we are, to have some idea of how many we should order ~ we always run out too fast, no matter what it seems, so we’re trying to not let that happen! And the minute the books come in, sometime around the 4th of July they go out . . . first ordered, first sent! They go out and so do we! Joe and I, once again, “off to see the wizard,” as my mom would say! A new adventure, driving cross-country to meet you and sign your books at, hopefully, your local bookstores! Unless, of course, there is no gas, then we’ll take the train! We’ve been seriously plotting and planning this year. Because I’ve been thinking . . . and I didn’t want to crawl out of town in the dead of night ~ just disappear… I’d much rather go on the top of a hay truck shouting, WASN’T THAT FUN???? Because this is probably my last book (notice “probably), and our book tour will definitely be our last ~ Don’t worry, I feel wonderful, I’m not sick, I’m going on this book tour to CELEBRATE! It’s time ~ I’d love to have a few years to play in the garden, and go to LUNCH, and get healthily on THAT BOAT again! ~ do all the wonderful things that old people do . . . I’m about to turn 79. Going to turn 80 next year (planning to live until 100 💝), but what we’re doing feels like perfect timing. I owe everyone so much ~ you especially, my darling girlfriends, and the lovely bookstores who’ve been so GOOD to me . . . the connection we’ve shared, the LIVES we’ve shared, all growing up together, figuring things out … has meant the world to me.♥️ I knew your new babies, and you knew my DAD! I just couldn’t bear to go without a proper good-bye and thank you. So here’s how it’s going to go . . .

I want to make our goodbye as fun and pretty as possible . . . I couldn’t have done it without Y❣️U ~ so besides the new Christmas book, there will be a new 16-oz., thin lipped, bone-china WINTER CUP; a dated-on-the-bottom, made in Staffordshire, England, beautiful cup! With huge amounts of gratitude built into its DNA. Because yes, that is possible in this day and age. Infused… it will forever be like drinking stars.But one cup is not enough . . . 

MAS MUSICA?

I needed to leave a solid memory for my first little house on Martha’s Vineyard ~ Holly Oak 💝, the gift that kept on giving …. any of you who’ve read Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams, or have followed this blog, know about Holly Oak, my little cottage in the woods on Martha’s Vineyard. Sitting there, like it had been waiting for me ~ I found it in the nick of time . . . like a fairy tale.💞

Holly Oak, 1982

This is only a paper mock-up wrapped around a cup, so it will be prettier in person.♥️ Many of you probably remember the fireplace that Carlton built for me at Holly Oak? Remember his wainscoting? That was my green chair, and my basket full of quilts, my ticking clock, my living room filled with dreams where I sat and wrote my first book. The quote by a wise Martha’s Vineyard poet seemed perfect for this moment… not just for me, for all of us, our blueberry pies, our household ways . . . the beautiful little things we have always celebrated together. Both cups, WINTER and HOLLY OAK, and the Christmas Book are up for Presale as of today . . . the cups will arrive right around the same time as the Books (late July) and they will very likely be our last…♥️ I’ve always told you these cups are collectible, but maybe never said HOW collectible … they are only available here, and there are only 500 to 1000 of each design in the entire world.👏 So if you have them, USE them, because they are very sturdy bone china, but save them too.💞

The bottom of HOLLY OAK is a reminder to choose your world . . .  you see a cupboard full of vases in the darling kitchen of an old black and white movie and you say to yourself, when I grow up, I shall have a cupboard full of vases. And I will find them every where, in thrift stores and yard sales. And after a while, you do.💞 And it gives you joy every time you open the cupboard.💝 You see an old film of Queen Elizabeth christening a ship, and you say to yourself, someday, I’m going to go on a ship to England. And you do. And you discover it isn’t even hard! It can’t hurt, you know, having those little things you want. Might as well. Clock is ticking anyway. Writing books wasn’t even my dream … way back then, I wasn’t yet aware I could even have a dream like that …. it was the idea of someone I looked up to, a girlfriend, of course, her name is Jane Bay . . . I had cooked for her and given her a recipe box full of illustrated recipes, so she knew I loved to cook and paint and make things, and it was her idea I should put those things together and write a cookbook. Instant denial took over and lasted for years, my initial reaction was the normal, who, me? Way back then in the early 80s, the understanding of self-esteem had not yet filtered down to the little people ~ it was just coming into fashion … but one day I thought maybe I should try . . .and then I made it my dream, because of the confidence Jane had in me. And finally, I did, I wrote a book. Because, I thought . . . might as well.⏰ It’s still a surprise. There is a Susan Branch, and then, my friends, there is me.💞

See? There’s Holly Oak, with the sign on the tree just as it was the first time I saw it. One bedroom, an old 1950s stove, 2 acres of woods, wild blueberries, and a homemade bird feeder hanging by one chain. I tried it on like a dress, and it fit perfectly, just my size. I surprised myself when I heard my voice say “I’ll take it.”💝

Several of my books have sold out and have been out of print for a while, even Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams, ⬆️ my NY Times bestseller! But not for long . . .

Autumn too . . . and Summer! These three of my children are at the Printers right NOW! Part of the saying good-bye, we didn’t want to hang up the spurs and leave an empty saddle, or something like that. We wanted the cup to runneth over. The children healthy and running around in their small corner of this crazy very beautiful world.💝

We never got to go on tour for my new Summer Book when it came out last year . . . but now this tour can be for everything! And it will start here in California, and we will honor our darling Diane Keaton and everyone will come dressed like her . . . imagine, she was such a style icon, her hats, belts, skirts, shoes . . . and we will take a million pictures and laugh and have SO MUCH FUN!💃🏼

Everything gets going as soon as the books arrive ~ Nothing ever happens as fast as I think it’s going to, so the tour will start later than I originally thought, we may not get on the road until August . . . But the books will be here no later than July ~ I’ll keep in touch with dates and hope to see you somewhere along the road.💞 I am going to apologize for something, get ready…I hate charging you what we have to because of what we’re being charged. I’m sorry. It is very difficult for small businesses these days, not just ours. We have been so lucky to have so many affordable years! And I am ESPECIALLY sorry about shipping costs. We used to fly our cups home to us … that ended 2 cups ago, now we pay more, and have to pay close attention on how the cups are packed for the ship and pray they arrive in one piece, and aren’t backed up in Long Beach. But we forge on. And so do you. Thank you for your trust. We always have been in it together.💝 I just couldn’t go without a last cup (or 2).

And when we’re done, while we’re on the road, we’ll have 2 cups on the website (until they’re gone), and nine of my children will be in print ⬆️.💞 Plus this,

Our new 2027 calendars will arrive in May I think, or June … we heard it would be early this year. I decided to make my newest Wall Calendar a celebration of Spring Street … what a joy that house was to us …I honored and said goodbye to, and celebrated, with all my heart, the seasons in our beautiful old house on Martha’s Vineyard ~ with a mixture of photos and art and love. It’s as close to being that House Book (so many of you have requested) I think I will ever get! What a dream!💫🌟💫

Yes, this is making me very happy (for the work, and probably the champagne helps!) So everything starts happening around the end of May. When I finish the Christmas book we will start contacting the bookstores and setting up dates . . . . And I’ll update you as we go along. If you have a special bookstore you’d like us to visit, be sure to tell them . . . They are very busy these days, but if they hear YOU want us, they are very likely to be welcoming. They really like to know that people will come before they set up a date. Totally understandable!🙃So then what, you might ask … Well, we are planning to close down the Studio where Kellee works in October!😱 I know, shocking. But I don’t know how else to say it! But it’s going to be organized! I promise. And it’s symmetry! I love symmetry! My first book came out in October 1986, it will be exactly 40 years to the month! I think that’s amazing, because I just figured it out … it was as organic and not quite planned as the rest of my life has been. For instance, the great people at Time Factory who have manufactured my calendars since
2006 have a warehouse! And they will do all our shipping from then on, we’ll still offer books and calendars and who knows what Time Factory might want to make! But one thing you should know, Kellee has always been the person who made sure my books had the signed bookplates, but doing it this new way means that 💞touch will unfortunately be missing, which is why you have to come to the signings! So I can do it in person. And don’t worry, the books will still have ribbons  …. And if I want to do another book, or some other project, I can, but you see how long they take! And I keep promising Joe that I will stop.💞 But it won’t be as bad as we think . . . Because I’m not giving up the blog! I want to stay in touch, shoot the breeze, tell stories, see how everyone is.💞 And then next Spring, we hope to get on board the SHIP, and travel across the Atlantic and go see Rachel and Paul! And stay for a couple of weeks in London, which we have never done, because as you know, we are firmly English Countryside people, but I fear we might have missed something, so we’ll find a little place in London, go to all the big city museums, and climb onto those red double-decker buses, stroll through the parks, along the river, and see everything London has on Winston Churchill and Beatrix Potter, and the rest of the time we’ll be walking along old paths under ancient trees, feeling the history of the countryside, going to pubs with Rachel and Paul, and come home whenever we want!👏 Let me know if I should put up a link for the ship we’re taking, as we get closer, in case anyone wants to join us next March.😊 YES! 

One more tune to hum along with . . .

Ommmmmmm…… Oh to be at sea, heading for the English channel in the spring!🙏 A thrill to even THINK about!

And to do our part to get through all this, still upright, strong,  and ready to gooooo . . .

So here’s what we do . . .

We eat our Wheaties. Joe goes to the gym, and I walk every day, these days I go at dawn, walking in the shade and shadows of the hedges as the sun begins to streak across the fields, beating the afternoon heat, while listening to my book (Beneath a Scarlet Sky, very good, harrowing 😵, WWII in Italy, keeps you on edge, makes me want to walk to see what happens next) . . . and before I go to work, I lift my weights, and roll around the floor stretch out and do planks and everything I know to stay strong. Once in a while, this includes an adventure…

Just recently I climbed to the top of our driveway (we live in a small valley and my watch counts this little climb as a set of stairs, so of course I gotta do it! I’m getting credit for 9 sets of stairs a day … we have two driveways ~ nicely dirt, because we do not pave paradise!👏) I turned at the top to go back down the driveway and saw this down the driveway. How wonderful! Not normal! I thought … “Must be the fairies running ahead to make me a diversion!”💫🌟💫

It turned out to be a 1921 Model T! Belongs to my neighbor. All original! My Grandma was 12 when this marvel came out. LOOK how MUCH it looks like a carriage … take off the front, hook up some horses, and voila! You’re Jane Austen, off to Bath. Ahhh the olden days. Takes me back.🤩

Of course I stopped and visited with Jeff … learned all about it. What a marvel!!! The spokes are wood! The windows are made of real glass. Look at that little oval window in the back! And of course, I love the shadows… I think this car could be compostable. Not a speck of plastic on it.👏 Would you like to see it go? I can DO that! (Remember when the only way we could be in contact was when I sent out my Willards, once a YEAR, via snail mail? Look at us now baby! So wonderful to be at this age with one foot in the past and one in the future, from one phone in the living room to a phone in my pocket, a conduit of my grandmother’s memories to my own. She was alive for two years while Mark Twain was still alive, and he was alive when Abraham Lincoln was alive, so to know me is to almost be in touch with Abraham Lincoln, is the way I see it!) 💝

XOXO

Out walking another day … down the road comes my neighbors, Staci and Jeff . . . I was like a traffic cop … waving my arms, bringing them into our driveway and down to where Joe was working in the garage… Look how high the door is … it really does look like an old carriage! Big thanks to sweet neighbors, and to the fairies who obviously came with us from the Island!

I’m not gardening much, because my primary goal (➡️ ship!💘) requires me to be in the house, but I’m still managing to water! I’m just keeping it all alive until I have time! And weeding . . . I stop on may way back to the art table from my walk, especially on a rainy day like this one when the roots are wet and malleable,

. . . and pull like 12 weeds in the wild flower orchard . . . every little bit helps . . . hence my hands, because I never take time to put on gloves, and I always stay out there longer than I think I will. . .I just keep a fingernail brush next to the hand soap in the kitchen! Quite the Slobovian. “The land I belong to is grand-grand-grand!” 🎵🎶🎵

And things grow here without me anyway! Roses, hydrangeas, and ranunculus are blooming … Alfredo just trimmed the hedges for me. I’ll take you on a garden tour soon. It’s 5:30 am here and the twinkle lights are glittering in the tree outside my window.

It’s how I feel! You may think you see insanity in those eyes! But it’s really amazement at the happiness. Have to go now … hope you enjoyed all my new news! Some parts were hard to say, but all things considered, all things are pretty darn wonderful. Stay with me through this . . . and soon I’ll come see you!💞

Off on my walk!💞💞💞 Happy Spring!!!💞