♥     ♥     ♥

I started keeping track of parties in this book in 1993, but not every party I’ve ever given is here . . . it’s a tiny book and probably has only twenty parties. I only do them when I remember, or I’m in the mood, or the party is so good that I have to do it!  Our Sunday Breakfast Party went right into the book: I remembered, I was in the mood, and it was good!

♥        ♥        ♥

Our 9th Anniversary is in this book too . . . that one was an afternoon tea party and we hired a piano player to play The Glory of Love, and all the other old songs we love.  I always write down the names of guests, the menu, the dishes, and the weather. (And sometimes what we wore, and sometimes poems people say at the table.)

And here we are, getting ready for our 25th Anniversary Party.  Starting with putting a clean tablecloth on the dining table; Girl Kitty had grown fond of the old one and wasn’t letting go of it so easily.

And then the flowers . . . it was supposed to be a combination Valentine’s & Anniversary party, but with the gorgeous weather, it turned out to be an impromptu celebration of Spring!  We even had the door open!  Birds were singing.  It was gorgeous.

You can’t celebrate spring around here without daffodils!  They are the cheeriest things!

A little pink for the coffee table.

Happy singing bird vases, a heart teapot, a matelassé bedspread for the tablecloth ~ and what breakfast party is complete without chocolate kisses?

Love?  Romance?  Hearts and flowers?  Old music, best dearest friends . . . and delicious food.  And everything pretty in pink!

I made the place cards; luckily Joe has a cork fetish and never throws them away, so I thought, what says celebration and happy memories more than a popped champagne cork . . . ? ♥

I tucked the cards into the wires on the back.

We needed a centerpiece.  Joe and I took the QEII on what we called “our test run,” to see if we liked it, in 1997 from New York to Bermuda.  Sailing on the QEII was something we talked about the first time we met — not necessarily doing it together (it was too soon for that at the time) but something we both wanted individually!  So, of course we saved this little bottle of port we found waiting, when we finally did go, in our stateroom, and now it’s part of the glory of, the story of, love. ♥

Almost there, need napkins!  Need food!

Jack helps by bouncing off the walls and aerating the chair backs with claw holes.  Thank you Jack!

Yes, actual food will be served.  I do adore setting the table, but I know that our guests are going to expect food, not just dishes and flowers!  Here, Joe’s making crepes the day before, for the Cheese Blintzes we’re serving.

There they are, the blintzes; the lemon, basil, and ricotta-cheese filling is all rolled inside…. we covered the pan and put it in the fridge; the next morning we browned them in the frying pan before serving with delicious jams, applesauce and sour cream.  The recipes for all of this will be in my new Breakfast Book!

Did the MUSICA go away?  Noooo.  Say it ain’t so.  Can’t have that. ♥

Is there anything better than plain, old-fashioned, ice-cold, juicy-pink grapefruit on a spring morning?  No, and I do what my mom taught me; I cut around each segment for easy eating.

Mmmmm, crisp-edged, crunchy Blueberry Corn Cakes and hot maple syrup!  Gotta have it!

Homemade Applesauce made with Granny Smith’s, so fresh and appley!  Yummy with Corn Cakes, delicious with pork sausages, perfect with Cheese Blintzes.

My Applesauce is full of apple bits with a little tooth to them, not the smoothed out stuff you get in the market . . . we served it cold.  I put some roasted cranberries (left over from the cranberry marmalade I made for the blintzes) in the middle as decoration.

We had bacon, sausage, sliced steak and buttermilk biscuits too . . . the platters warmed on top of the stove.  The southern style breakfast at Tara, with Scarlet O’Hara’s family, I read about in Gone with the Wind, was my inspiration for this . . . believe it or not we didn’t touch the decadence they managed to come up with!  But we tried!

Margot and Tom weren’t able to make it , they’re on their way to New Orleans , but before they left, they stopped by with Margot’s gorgeous bouquet of Valentine roses ~ which were still beautiful; she thought we might like to have them at the party.

She was so right!  I recut them and put them in a shorter vase and here they are, a little more Valentine love DNA, gracing the granola-yogurt-and fresh-fruit buffet we set up on the sideboard.  Thank you Margot! (BTW, that sideboard was here when we bought the house; Mrs Bowditch (a previous owner) told me it was here when she bought the house in 1949; maybe it’s been here since the beginning, 1859, when the house was built and the Smith family moved in!  I would like it to talk!)

Man Food.

And there it is in all its glory; we turned on the music and toasted to love and each other with icy tangerine juice and bloody Mary’s; we had tea, coffee, and everything you see on these plates!  We talked about local island news while the birds sang outside the window; what’s been in our papers, what the ferry boat is up to these days, the weather (of course), how far up the daffodils have come, the blooming snowdrops, our gardens, Facebook, Twitter, movies, spring vacations; and we ate, and ate.  I didn’t do a dessert (although I was tempted to make baked stuffed apples in a cream bath!) — but did we actually need anything more?  No.  We did not.  Then everyone kissed good bye and went home; we washed the dishes, read the paper, and took a nap, then we went to the movies and saw the new silent movie called The Artist.  And THAT was Sunday, pretty good huh?  Love morning parties!

And for your patience for reading through this, not to mention WILLARD, who has spring fever just like me, and is going out to play all day today and tomorrow; you have a reward . . . I have something I’m really excited about . . . a giveaway I think you will love.  Ready?  OK, it’s these ~

Two Johnson Brothers, Rose Chintz Teacups!  Yes!  With saucers!  ”Sing Ho for the Life of a Bear!” My own set actually has twenty cups-and-saucers, many more than I will ever need!  So I am giving away two of them!  They come with invisible magic as they were right there on Sunday, at the party of love.  (But, of course, just like the sideboard, they won’t talk!)  All you have to do to be entered is to leave a comment; “Vanna” will draw a name in about three days . . . want to make sure you all get a chance to enter to get a little springtime pink in your life. ♥

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY GIRLFRIENDS! Sing HO!

This is our sky last night! We walked into town for dinner with our BFF Lowely and John who live one door over; they came over to “pick us up.” As we stepped out the kitchen door, we were compelled to look up; we just stood there in the middle of the grass, transfixed, heads rolling back on our necks, staring at the sky in awe — it reminded me so much of those summer nights sleeping out in the backyard when we were kids — looking into the night sky until our eyes glazed over and we fell asleep.  Martha’s Vineyard is far enough away from the big cities, this little dark island spot in the Atlantic, to get these amazing starlit skies. My photos don’t do it justice; it’s hard for the camera to focus on such little faraway pinpoints; but the stars were clear as ice last night glittering hard in the black sky. I thought you might like to see it.

It’s not easy to say goodbye to the quiet season and I’m glad we have a few more weeks of it.  Right now this island belongs to us.  Nobody comes here; it’s healed beautifully from the tourist onslaught of last year. We could walk right down the middle of Main Street last night; there was no one out but us; our footsteps on sandy sidewalk and gravely road echoed against the old clapboard houses.  Lovely to walk through the neighborhood, in the cold night air with dear friends who live just one door over, and have dinner at the French restaurant (Le Grenier) in town that has been there forever and say Hello Jean, how are you . . . the proprietor hugs Joe, they’ve been friends for many years. I had melt-in-your-mouth Sole Almondine; Joe had Soft Shell Crabs;  Lowely chose Steak au Poivre; John had Swordfish, mmmmm; we shared a little hot pan of creamed spinach and some crisp fried potatoes; it was delicious. The boys, who love us, ordered two chocolate desserts and four spoons.  ♥

We walked home, fat and happy from a wonderful dinner and even better conversation; about how to handle life, how our work is going, where we’d love to travel, our trip to New York, their trip to Costa Rica, Lowely’s taking French lessons, how Joe and I met; two couples, holding hands under the stars, chugging up the little hill to home; past the picket fences, the old trees, porch lights on the houses throwing long shadows.

. . . under the spire of the old church and the town hall . . . home to kitties and cozy bed and feather comforter; and that was our evening!

 And today?  Today is big; I’m going to turn on the music, smooth out the tablecloth, make place cards, set the table, arrange flowers, make crepes, make basil lemon filling and fruit salad; stir up blueberry corn cake batter, and roast some cranberries; getting ready, because tomorrow, we have breakfast for twelve at our dining room table at 10:30 am — some of our dearest friends are coming to celebrate our Anniversary, Valentine’s Day, and just LOVE, in general . . . So, that means I have to GO!

Thinking I might use old books like these for a centerpiece; maybe put some old photos with them.  Some glass candlesticks too.  I almost told everyone to wear their jammies, and then I thought better of it.  But we’ll have a fire.

Can’t decide between these happy no-name flowery dishes . . .

Or maybe a whole table of PINK . . .

But I’m definitely using this!  And I might even use this quilt for the table cloth, or would that be too busy? All these decisions, how much fun can one person have?

Or maybe I’ll use this old Matelassé bedspread as a tablecloth and keep the table light and bright and clean.  If Girl Kitty will get off of it.  That will be the challenge today, kitties love to spread themselves out on my projects and pretend they don’t know what they’re doing! ♥

I just went to the kitchen to start the tea water for Joe; the heater is humming; it’s the only noise in the old creaky house and a true comfort; it sent a blast of warm air across the wood floor making my feet very happy. I fixed myself a piece of sourdough toast, was shaking cinnamon-sugar on it and looked out back across the lawn.  There’s a heavy swath of dusty pink sky running along the roof tops, spires, and chimneys in our neighborhood; the leafless tree branches are black against the color; the sun is coming up . . . another beautiful day!  I hope it’s a good one for you!  Thanks for being here! ♥

Hi Everyone!  I just had to start off today with a big heartfelt Thank You — I spent all day yesterday writing a brand new Willard which will start going out to everyone next Tuesday . . . and in between, when I wanted a little entertainment, I would make myself a cup of tea and read your wonderful comments!  You are all the things I love most about my girlfriends . . .

For me, and for each other!  You make every day Valentine’s Day!

♥     ♥     ♥ 

And now I guess we should get to the main reason we are gathering here today, the very big excitement we have brewing on this blog, what we’ve been waiting for with tea cups in hand, which is to find out the name of the winner for that Heart-Shaped Iron Pan and the Emma Love Tin we’re giving away to one of our lucky girlfriends.

But perhaps not!  Let’s not be too predictable; a little build up of expectation is fun, besides, until I type out the actual name of the winner, you are ALL still lucky winners, and I really like that so much better!  The hardest thing is to set the Random Number Generator into action and just choose one!  I’m like a mom who likes the presents to be opened really slowly at Christmas so I can see my kids faces.  Wade through this first and I’ll tell you at the end.  First I want to show you what I got for Valentine’s Day.  If you’re a darling, tall, smart, handsome man named Joe, what do you get the girl who has everything?

♥      ♥     ♥

You fix it so that when she wakes up, the kitchen windows are covered in heart doilies (after you put small red hearts in the center of each of them); you bring home a ruffly bouquet of pink roses; and of course: bling.  You never forget the bling, she must have blinding proof of your love, bring her a gleaming red heart ring, preferably the size of a knee. ♥ I delivered my Valentine gifts to my girlfriends, flashing my new bubble-gum machine bling, and they knew I was loved.  And so did I.  My funny Valentine, don’t change a hair for me, not if you care for me . . . ♥

OK, pour your tea, we have to get going, I have business to talk to you about today:  I’m calling today TCOBD:  Taking Care of Business Day.  I will try not to bore you too much.  But I’ve gotten so many blog-oriented questions lately, I thought I would put them in a pile and do them all at once and today’s the day.

I know many of you understand how blogs work, but lots of you aren’t sure; we have new girlfriends joining us every day, and I remember how it felt to leave a comment and have it disappear.  I would work so hard on my comment, and then it would go away, leaving my connection to that blogger and her followers out in the cold, never to be seen by human eyes, making me feel like an idiot.  Everyone else could do it, what was wrong with me?  (This is rhetorical, you don’t have to answer ) So I thought I’d make sure that doesn’t happen to any of you and explain how this blog works.  There are no photos that “go with” this subject, so I am going to scatter pictures of my Central-Coast-of-California picket-fence garden between the paragraphs.  OK? Because I’m getting a bit of a yearn to get my hands into some garden dirt. I think it might feel inspiring to see a little garden in bloom right now . . .

Mmmm, can’t you just smell those roses and wild alyssum and those California hills?  We found that giant homemade birdhouse at a flea market.

OK, back to business, I’d like to deal with the biggest troublemaker first: the RSS Feed you see in the column on the right of the blog: see where it says, “Subscribe, Click Here?” I’m thinking about taking that down.  If you click on it, you can sign up to receive emails telling you my blog has been updated, and they send the actual blog to your email address, which sounds like a good thing.  But there are drawbacks, which is one of the main reasons I’m writing today.  Thousands of you have signed up for it, so you get this blog directly to your email account — but there are three main things going wrong with this method of reading the blog.  Number one, for better or for worse , you don’t get any of my homemade videos, so you don’t get to see Jack leaping in the air to go after a ball, you don’t get to see any snowstorms on Martha’s Vineyard, or walks in the woods.  All those big black squares you’ve been seeing?  In real life, those are movies.  You can probably live without them, but there’s more.  Number two, none of the little icons at the top of the blog are visible to you, so you can’t see “Martha’s Vineyard Love Letter” or “Domesticity City,” you can’t see the Peter Rabbit room, or “I Love England” —  there’s a lot more on the actual blog that’s missing in those emails!  (People are reading this via email right now…they don’t know what I’m talking about — they have no right-hand column, no art icons, all they have are these words, which is why I’m writing to them now.) Number three, and the worse part of it, is that you can’t see our comment page; you can’t leave comments to enter our drawings, you can’t see each others comments . . . and that, of all of this, is the thing I miss for you the most, because you can’t see the smart, funny, charming comments full of love we get here everyday or leave any yourself! Girlfriends are talking to each other and making friends, I think you would enjoy seeing it.  But that part’s not delivered via email!

At least you can all see these breath-of-fresh-air pictures, but what you really need to do is allow the email to just be your alert that something new has been added to the blog, and then immediately come to www.susanbranch.com and read the real blog, with all the art, the extras, the comment line, right here at the source. Up to now, any comments you leave from your emailed blog updates are coming, one by one, to a separate-from-the-blog info@ email address . . . which is invisible to the world.  Many of you have noticed there is no “comment” word at the bottom of your emailed post and are writing to ask where to leave your comments so you can enter the drawings.  In order to answer, I would have to send an individual email to each of you — I’ve tried, but it’s just an impossible job . . .  So come on over!!!  www.susanbranch.com — where despite that it’s only February, the sun shines warmly and the garden is happy happy happy . . .

XOXOXOXOXOXO

See what you’ve been missing?  So glad you’re here!  Next subject in this Thursday’s tutorial:  When I write a blog or a Willard you will see colored letters like that, underlined.  Not everyone knows they are links . . . if you click your cursor on the word Willard, you will be taken to a place where you can sign up to receive my Willard Newsletter and read how it got its name.  When I write the word MUSICA, and it’s underlined, you can click on it and get the musical selection for the day.  The idea is that if you click on it, a new screen from youtube will come up and music will start playing; if you don’t like it, click it off.  If you do like it, just leave it, move the screen over if necessary, because under the youtube screen, this blog screen is still there — come back here . . . to read with the music playing in the background.  I do it this way because I don’t really love it when I come to a blog and there’s music playing that I don’t like!  I get frantic looking for the volume button to turn it off; I’m easily driven insane and I wouldn’t want this to happen to you.  But music can be wonderful; I love the music my mom used to sing around the house when I was growing up, music from old beloved movies; I like to match it up to my post, like the Love music I did for Valentine’s Day, sometimes I think it’s the best part of the post, like what’s playing right now!

Several people ask me how to leave comments . . . just scroll to the bottom of any post, you will see the tiny word “comments” in grey letters with numbers next to it.  The numbers tell how many comments there are (and you should know, if you can’t tell by now, I read every one of them!).  Just click on the comments word, and you can leave yours.  Sometimes it will take a while for a comment to become visible; first off, I like to read them, and secondly, I have to approve each of them individually because, for some reason I still don’t understand, this blog attracts the Los Angeles Freeway system of spam.  Crazy silly nonsensical things, from vacuum cleaner updates, to rogue biting dog information. I don’t know why or where it comes from, but for every ten of your comments, I get three spam comments. Some of them are as long as a novel, we don’t want them on our pretty blog messing things up, so I have to physically delete every one of them — which is why sometimes your comments take a while to “approve.”  Have faith, I will always get there sooner or later.  The blog also has little quirks: if it wants, it will remove words; it will remove links; sometimes I think it loses complete comments — these things don’t happen often; there’s no rhyme nor reason to it; it’s probably what the future will be like when robots take over the world.  Disclaimer: It’s really not my fault.  I am only the human around here, and not totally in charge.

I love these colors together!

You’ll notice I’ve been leaving links all over this post today . . . because lots of people don’t know that under those little bits of art at the top of this page are things like my Book List, my Sewing Room, and Girl Food; stories about interesting Martha’s Vineyard people like Nancy Luce, or heroes like Gladys Taber and my dad.  They’re there so that when I’m away for a couple of days, you still have fun things to read.  I try to add new things there as often as possible, new How-To Recipes for example, there are lots of them, like the delicious Pineapple Upside-Down Cake I made for our Valentine’s Dinner. ♥

I used to have a store in California; I would fill it with roses from my garden every morning, which is why I have this basketful here.  Someday I’ll do a blog and show you pictures of my store. It was lots of fun, maybe the most creative thing I ever did, making it beautiful every day, but it wanted so much of my time (picking roses!, I was crazy!)  So we opened a store on line where I can only show you pictures of roses!

Most of you know we have Shopping Pages here on the blog, but did you know we have lots of Free Stuff?  Stationery you can print out, pretty wallpaper for your computer screens, score sheets for games, bookmarks, and things like that?  We change them for the season, pretty soon we’ll have all new things for SPRING!!!  You’ll see we also put a Man Cave on our main shopping page!  A comfy place for the men in our lives to feel at home and shop for the women they love so they don’t have to wander aimlessly as they are so wont to do in hugely feminine places, poor babies. ♥

Are you still with me?  I’m trying to answer everything at once, then I will save this in the FAQ part of this blog so these questions will be forever answered.  The only other thing I wanted to tell you is that each of us has a way of making our computer screens lighter and brighter . . . if you do that, everything you see on the internet is prettier, flowers are brighter, watercolors are clearer.  If your screen is a little dark, look for a way to make it lighter; my keyboard has a button with a little sun on it, I press it and I can make the screen lighter or darker.  OK, that’s all the business for today.  I hope it helps someone!

In case my photos aren’t doing it for you today, and so this post isn’t a complete loss inspiration-wise, last night Joe and I finished watching a long lovely movie we got from Netflix.  It’s called Our Mutual Friend; the last book written by Charles Dickens, some say his greatest; it’s a 1998 BBC Miniseries — we loved it!

And now, along with roses from our Vineyard garden, a little drum roll please . . . because we are at that place, my darling friends; there is no getting around it; where one name and one name only must be drawn.  Here goes the Random Number Generator, into action . . . (RNG is such a terrible name; wouldn’t it be better if they called it “Vanna?”)

OK, here it comes, I can see Vanna’s golden hand with her pink nail polish and her glittering diamond rings dipping into the huge bowl filled with slips of paper . . . She’s stirring, now pulling one, pulling one, here it comes, oh! She went very deep this time . . . and the winner is… well girls, we don’t have a last name . . . but we have clues: the winner has a Yahoo email address, she’s a single mom with teenagers who loves creating things . . . I wrote her an email telling her she is our lucky winner . . . I’m waiting for her reply, maybe she’ll recognize herself . . . her name is

S H A R O N   J.

Congratulations Sharon!  You’re one in over 1,700!  I know I speak for all of us when I say how happy we are for you!  Your prizes will be in the mail just as soon as I hear from you!  I have to say, I’m so happy we have Vanna.  I would hate to have to choose the winner myself! What an impossible job, all those fabulous heartfelt funny wonderful comments.  I think you’re all wonderful.  Thank you for bringing me so much

Have a wonderful day! ♥

This song’s for you!

 Need a last minute little thing for a special girlfriend, or for special YOU, I have a Valentine Bookmark – just click on here to print it out. (If you don’t have card stock, for extra strength, fold the paper in two; glue it shut and cut it out.) ♥

Valentine’s Day, one of the loveliest of holidays, a celebration of the thing that makes the world go ’round . . .

Not just the thing that makes it go ’round, but the thing that makes the ride worthwhile.

♥    ♥    ♥

Not just for romantic love, but all love; moms for their kids, teachers for their students, sisters for sisters, brothers for brothers, best friends for their BFF, even love for the earth, the sky, tea, kitties, and everything in between, ALL LOVE; everyone should have a Valentine today so be sure to save some of that love for you! ♥ Treat yourself to a little Valentine love today and be your own best friend.

♥   ♥    ♥

There are lots of ways to celebrate a day of love; take a child to a special bakery and buy him a chocolate eclair (a great way to give yourself a Valentine!), take a long bubble bath with your book and a big bottle of cold water, call someone who is lonely and shoot the breeze, get the wonderful book Elizabeth and Her German Garden by the same author who wrote Enchanted April (Elizabeth von Arnim) and treat yourself to a little bit of early spring in a wonderful garden with a most interesting character; make yourself a cup of hot chocolate this morning and take it back to bed; watch a good old movie; walk through the woods or down to the water; or go to an animal shelter and choose a new pet; give yourself the gift that keeps on giving.

♥    ♥    ♥

What else can I do to help you celebrate a wonderful day?  Maybe a little more time to sign up for our Valentine giveaway?  OK!  Scroll down ↓ to the next post and leave a comment if you haven’t already done that — just click on the tiny “comment” word at the very bottom of the post.  What else?  A yummy hot chocolate recipe?  Fast and easy and Valentine’s perfection?  OK, I can do that . . .

 More FLOWERS anyone?

Love y♥u Girls, have a Wonderful day!!!

♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥

See my windows full of hearts?  Our house is at the end of a long street; people come to a stop sign here and face my house, just like this.  Because of all the one-way streets, pretty soon everyone has to pass this stop sign in order to get where they’re going on this island. ♥ I feel a certain responsibility to provide a some entertainment for people when they get here; it’s perfect for the short attention span!  So I decorated my windows with leftover spray snow from Christmas.  I made heart templates, little and big, from a piece of clear acetate.  I’ve also made templates from cardboard, but they get a little soggy after about the twentieth heart!  You could probably do it all faster with heart doilies!

We got a Valentine from a very special person yesterday!  She knows who she is! (Thank you 1000 times ♥) Here it is, on our kitchen wall this morning, before the sun came up.  This will be here from now on, every Valentine’s Day, forever! ♥ I love it!

What, I asked myself, can I give the girls this snowy Saturday that has it All?  It needs to be sweet and Valentiney, it needs to include chocolate (yes, of course it does), it needs to be delicious enough to give away to someone they love, but simple enough so it’s not a lifetime in the kitchen; it needs to look good on a tea table; it needs to make the kitchen smell good; and it would be very handy if the ingredients were in my cupboard NOW.  I thought about my chewy, bendy chocolaty Brownies (so here’s the recipe for those, particularly appreciated by kids, in case you are so inclined ♥) but I was looking for the true Valentine coup de grace, I wanted something heart-shaped.  And, so, Voila!

ORANGE and CHOCOLATE CHIP TEA BISCUITS!

I love the flavor of orange with chocolate . . . this is an easy-to-make heart-shaped tea biscuit with melty chocolate chips, the perfect little thing to put on a saucer next to a cup of tea.

Here’s how it’s done; a concise recipe will be waiting for you at the bottom of this post, (if you make it through this whole thing and actually, that’s not all that’s waiting for you at the bottom!)

Preheat the oven to 400°; put softened unsalted butter and cream cheese into a deep bowl . . .

Add grated orange zest (P.S. I hope you have one of these wonderful zesters!  They’re like razor blades you drag lightly across the fruit, easy, painlessly, gathering the zest in the tray; then pop into your recipe! Best new invention since a MacBook Pro!)

Excuse me, time out:  Water came to a boil, need to stop and fill my cup!

OK, toss the orangy goodness into the bowl . . .

Use a hand mixer to beat everything together until smooth . . . mmm, cream cheese, butter and orange . . .

Scrape down the batter in the bowl . . .

Add sour cream for richness and tender crumb.  BTW, Don’t you think that when the world lost Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald that an overall mistake was made? Don’t you want to say, please, put them back?  They left us music divine.

♥ H E A V E N ♥

Stir in  two tablespoons of granulated sugar . . .

Gradually beat in a little flour until well blended . . .  Oh-oh, check out the top of the refrigerator, we have company . . .

Speaking of Valentine’s! ♥  ♥  ♥

More beating of the flour . . .

Add mini chocolate chips  – if you like walnuts, which I do, you can add them here too . . . which I would if we hadn’t run out!  Almost had all the ingredients; but trust me, with them or without them, the word is  Y U M.

Stir well, my little darlings . . .

Put a heaping tsp. of dough into each cup of an ungreased miniature muffin pan (I took this photo to show you what a heaping tsp. looks like) . . . I used my black-iron heart muffin pan, which I’ve had for a hundred years — I’ve truly gotten my money’s worth out of it!  When it’s not in use, it makes my pantry wall look cute by hanging there.  I know a secret about this muffin pan, I’ll tell you at the end of this post!

You want to fill the cups completely down into the little points, around the curved tops, so you have good shapes, and level the surface of the dough.

And bake 15-17 minutes until light brown . . .

Now look who showed up . . . Girl Kitty!  Speaking of heaven!

We are complete: we have Beauty on the table, Beast is on the fridge, biscuits are in the oven, and all’s right with the world.

♥   ♥    ♥

Have a basket ready, line it with a clean tea towel . . . pop the biscuits right out of the pan into the basket, you don’t have to let them cool first.

Beautiful and delicious, they can bake as you put on the tea water, and be done by the time the tea has steeped . . . the orange is what you smell first, the chocolate melts on your tongue, and you are happy. ♥

I’m only tellin’ it how it is.

I tried them with this delicious new honey I put on everything these days (it came from Door County by the way, Pat, and all you others who know about and love that neck of the woods — you have the market cornered when it comes to butter burgers and honey!) — but I have to say, although it was delicious, it was gilding the lily; these tea biscuits are good just as they are, straight from the oven; you don’t need butter, you don’t need jam or syrup; you need nothing more.  If you are looking for additional cuteness, and who isn’t, you can always sift over a little powdered sugar!

Serve one of these tea biscuits next to a cup of breakfast tea; put them in a basket for a tea party; or if you have a fun Valentine’s tin — they are a wonderful surprise, arranged on a lace doily and dropped by a friend’s house.

And, the secret I had about this muffin pan?  Are you ready?  OK, this pan, along with the heart-shaped Emma Bridgewater tin in the picture above — they are my Valentine gift to one of you. We’re having another drawing, and even though every one of you is totally deserving, one lucky girl is going to walk away with these two memories of Valentine’s Day 2012!  Just leave a comment below (click on the tiny gray letters that say “comment” and you’ll be entered!  I figure if I do this often enough and long enough, sooner or later, every one of you will win something with love from the heart of the home and me!   That’s my plan.

♥  ♥  ♥

SATURDAY MORNING MARTHA’S VINEYARD 

XXXXXOOOOO

Have you heard Paul McCartney’s new Valentine song?  Go get a tissue, this is wonderful.  I hear love for his new wife in this song, but I think I hear a bit of yearning for Linda too. ♥  Sad. :-( But Beautiful.

Bye for now girls . . . have a wonderful weekend!

ORANGE & CHOCOLATE CHIP TEA BISCUITS

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 – 3oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• grated zest of one orange
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 c. self-rising flour
• 1/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts (opt.)

Preheat oven to 400°.  In a deep, medium-sized bowl, using a hand mixer on slow speed, beat together butter, cream cheese, and zest until smooth. Scrape down the bowl, add sour cream and sugar and beat well. Gradually beat in flour until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.  Put a heaping tsp. of dough in each cup of an ungreased miniature muffin tin (heart-shaped if you have it, but just as delicious if it’s round), filling the space completely and leveling the surface of the dough.  Bake 15-17 minutes until light brown.  Pop biscuits out into a basket lined with a tea towel … cover to keep warm.  Can be reheated.  Makes a dozen tea biscuits.  Make these for you and someone you love. ♥

Actually, I want to dedicate this video to an eleven-year-old Australian boy named Alexander.  Hi Alex!  His mum wrote to say how much he likes Jack, so I thought I better do one ‘specially for him, although I’m sure he’s willing to share!  Watch Jack, Alex — when he gets the ball, he tries to put it in the shoe — I didn’t catch it on this video, but he actually DOES put it in the shoe all the time!  He’s brilliant!

♥     ♥     ♥

XOXOXOXXOXOXO

As I watch the videos I’ve made, trying to decide which one to put up, Jack sits on my lap, facing the computer, mesmerized by the noises of the bell in the ball and by hearing me say, “Good Boy,” but mostly he likes to look at himself.  He doesn’t move on my lap, no struggling to get away, he just stares at the screen; I presume he’s thinking about his Academy Award for Best Kitty in an Action Picture with Shoes In It. He just looked up at me as if to say, but hey, where’s the MUSICA???  Such a smart kitty!  (He whispered in my ear, “Play something for Alexander and his mum!”  I hope I chose the right song — so sweet and old-fashioned, I couldn’t resist!)

The thing I love most about this little boy is his curiosity; it is also the bane of my existence; be very careful who has been drinking the cream if you come here to tea!  At almost six months old, he has been on every high shelf in this house; he’s interested in every door that’s open a crack, every drip of water, every pinecone or piece of sea glass, every butter dish or string on a tea bag, every toe that moves under a sheet, all buttons on my sweaters (especially if I’m wearing it); every pen, every pencil, tube of paint, or stray ant on the floor must be investigated to the nth of his powers, including, if necessary, eating it.  The other day, I saw a tiny piece of ribbon sticking out of his mouth, pulled on it, and slowly brought out about seven inches of soggy ribbon, like he’s a sword swallower.  He’s still small enough so he can disappear under the sofa and emerge with the ball in his mouth!  I missed him when I was away, and so glad to be back, under his spell.  The mustache!  I love it!  Nobody can move as fast as Jack.

But back to where I’ve been . . . the truth is, as you all know, when you go away, you pay.  That’s the way it is.  I came back with tons of new ideas (not to mention laundry, a message machine full of calls, a mailbox full of correspondence, bills to pay, house to clean); there are not enough hours in the day!  I’ve been going through all the catalogs we brought home from the New York Gift Show.  We got so many new product ideas; Joe’s been contacting manufacturers; so far, I’ve designed three cups, a hanging plaque, some big storage boxes, a kitty tray (for kitty bowls on the floor), a set of postcards, and a bird feeder that looks like our arbor.  Somebody stop me.  I don’t even know quite yet what I’m doing with them, but I’m READY!  When you get the creative bug you just have to go with it.  To the detriment of the rest of the house!  Oops, excuse me, ball-under-chair-alert, must go play . . .

 I did get my Valentine’s written!!!  That’s something!  And I scooped up all the Emma Heart Breakfast Cups we had left in our store — I hope you all got yours already!  Judy from the studio sent me this one; of course I fell in love with it — I tried to wait until the last minute so all of you who wanted one would have time to get it; I don’t mean to be hogging them.  We’ll get more in a couple of weeks, but my BFF’s and my mom deserve this, don’t you think?  Not just for Valentine’s Day, but for all year through . . . it says it all: tea, talk, love, best friends, all you have to do is look at it!  I hope none of them are reading this!

I also designed three new fabric collections for Cranston’s Quilting Treasures in the last couple of days; here are a few of the ideas I sent them; we still have a ways to go, but this helps to get us started.  The new collections will come out this May . . . and guess what?  Christmas fabric too!  Yes, we will have it right here on our web site . . . but I’d love to see it in your local quilt stores, so be sure to ask them to get it!  I hope you are plotting quilts and other projects right now, just looking at it.  That would make me very happy!

This is fabric mockup is just pasted together, but it gives you the general idea.  I really want a birthday fabric; imagine this as napkins, jammie bottoms, aprons, a birthday party dress (darling!), a scalloped edge on a white tablecloth, a birthday banner, pin cushions, as a lining for a birthday gift bag, or in a birthday quilt! Adangdorable, if I do say so myself!

And look what was waiting for me at the Post Office — hot off the presses!  My new guided Keepsake Book for Grandmas.  I’m so happy with the way it came out!

Hopefully we will have these in stock for a while . . . I want them to be around for Mother’s Day!  They should be in our web store today!

It’s even got a ribbon marker!  In the book, I asked all the questions I would have liked to have my grandma answer.  There’s also places for photos!

I would have liked to know what she remembered about her grandparents; would have loved to hear more about her childhood friends; a few details about her most romantic date; definitely would have liked to know about a favorite dress or cutest shoes.  All in her own beloved handwriting. ♥ Would have been wonderful.  It’s too late for me and my grandma, our time together has passed, but it’s perfect timing for anyone reading this!

The minute you become a grandma, you should fill one of these out.  If you are becoming a mom, this should be part of the shower, a baby book for you, a Grandma book for the grandmas!  A priceless keepsake when she is done with it. ♥

There are lots of other new things, just arrived, but I’ll save them for the next WILLARD!

I just like this photo.  In my spare time, I’ve been fooling around with the little things on top of my stove.  Pleasing little scene.  Meaning nothing.

Home is where my heart is, that’s for sure, today is baking day!  Right after I finish saying hello to you!  Oh boy, the sun just came up, I looked out back . . . and guess what?  We’re going to have a perfect baking day . . .

I had to go get my camera, because we got a dusting . . .

In this one you can almost see the piles of individual snowflakes . . . like a blown up snow cone.

If this post seems disjointed, it’s because it is!  Every five minutes I have to stop and play with Jack. The worst thing he does is bring me the ball and drop it behind the bookcase next to where I’m sitting now.  He looks up at me, expectantly, saying (with his eyes), “You know you’re my hero, right?”

In order to get the ball, I have to go to the kitchen and get a flashlight.  I must then get flat on my belly in a very small space; with the flashlight in one hand, and the side of my face flat on the floor, I have to wiggle an 18″ ruler around under the bookcase until I feel the ball, and then carefully drag it out.  Jack loves this game.  I’ve stuffed tissue paper in there to stop the ball from going down, but he just shreds it.  I have no train of thought left.  There’s an engine; but no passenger coaches, no sleepers, no baggage car, no caboose.  Just the engine, short and sweet; and nothing to pull.  At 7 am I take Joe his tea, and now I also take him JACK!!!  Close the door to both front and back staircases and escape to get some work done!!!  But sooner or later, the door will open, Joe will come down, we will hear the pitter patter of little claws, and the trouble begins again.  Thank goodness Jack is a napper!  He curls up on the back of the sofa around 11 am every day, for maybe 3 or 4 hours!  When he’s napping, we tiptoe around here!  ”Shhhh,” we say, “Don’t wake Jack!”

Off to break eggs in a bowl.  This will be good for gathering myself!  I think the chair whirling did the trick, I feel lucky!  Bye for now!  XOXO Have a wonderful day! ♥  

Especially when your house has critters in it.  I couldn’t wait to get in the door!  Hugs and a belly rub for Girl Kitty; her curiosity forced her to stick around and watch us for a while, but then, because she’s eleven years old and set in her ways, up the stairs she goes, back to her spot on our bed.  My little beloved Jackie Boy, now almost six months old, follows me everywhere I go.  He is here right now, in my studio as I’m typing, curled up under the lamp on my art table. I can’t keep my hands off him; I pick him up, roll him around, all furry and soft; he stretches full length, arching his back and putting his front paws above his head, purring the whole time, trusting me.  Such a little doll.  Isn’t that mustache amazing?  He still picks up the ball in his mouth and brings it back to me when I throw it!  He somersaults across the floor at least three times when he pounces on the ball; you can always tell where he is because there’s a bell in the ball.  I don’t get much done; I write one sentence; I hear the jingle of the ball drop at my feet; I stop, throw it; it bounces off the back of the sofa, he jumps four feet in the air to catch it; he drops and rolls with it, because he is a drama king.  I type another half of a sentence, he is back, the ball rolls at my feet, jingling.  Ask not for whom the bell tolls . . . I get nothing done.  I take Joe his tea at 7 am and I also take him Jack!  I wrap his strong little kitten body around my neck like a fox fur and up the stairs we go.

I’ve been unpacking, doing our travel laundry — is there anything better than being buried in warm laundry on a chilly Saturday afternoon while watching an old movie?  I’ll ask Joe.  He says, “no there’s not!”  He was so cozy in there, I had to go get the camera.

Joe had gone downtown to the PO earlier, to collect the mail — in the pile was my December Friends of Gladys Taber Newsletter — late because it was forwarded to me by Kellee from my Studio in California; but anytime it comes is OK with me!  I just love this newsletter; I made a cup of tea and sat down to read it, while Joe wallowed on the sofa in the clean laundry.  The perfect couple camaraderie for people celebrating their 25th anniversary (the real day is tomorrow)! ♥

This might be the best issue of all from the Friends of Gladys Taber!  Full of Gladys’ Butternut Wisdom and comfort-food recipes from her kitchen: old-fashioned baked beans and ham pie. I knew they were including my recipe for Butternut Bisque in one of their newsletters, but I didn’t know which one; plus I’d forgotten all about it, so it was a thrill and a surprise when I turned the page and there it was! In case you’re new to my blog and haven’t heard about one of my favorite authors, Gladys Taber, you can click on her name and read more about her (and get her Newsletter for yourself!).  And in case you’d like the recipe for Butternut Bisque, which is delicious and nutritious and a very good place to use some of that fabulous Chicken Stock you’ve been making, here it is:

BTW, this recipe came from my first book, Heart of the Home, which was written before I’d heard of immersion hand blenders!  These hand-held blenders go right into the pan and make things so much easier; no more “pureeing the soup in batches!”

Here are a few more New York pictures — from our last day . . . with some Breakfast at Tiffany’s MUSICA . . .

Because, I thought I would take you window shopping on Madison Avenue.

Without it, our trip wouldn’t be complete!  It was our last morning in the city, we went for coffee at a wonderful French bakery, Le Pain Quotidien, on Lexington and 64th; we had big bowls of Café Au Lait–I had oatmeal with berries and Joe had poached eggs on toast; then we walked a couple of blocks over to Madison Avenue to take photos.  I couldn’t bring you to New York without showing you some fashion!  That just wouldn’t right!

I simply HAD to have those yellow shoes!  Ha ha.  Did you believe me?  No, I know, you’re way too smart for that!

Walking down Madison Avenue is like walking through the pages of Vogue Magazine.  There are reflections from the street in all of these windows; some of the photos almost look like double exposures!

I actually like this outfit quite a lot.

Pretty.  But not my color.  You have to be a winter to really wear pure white well!

Lots of this bright green, in fact, lots of color!  These stores have names like Michael Kors, Jil Sander, Yves St. Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Georgio Armani, and Chanel. I don’t shop here, it’s really not my lifestyle, I’m more of the jammies all day long type of person, but I LOVE to look!

Here’s another pair of shoes I’m sure mean nothing but comfort for the foot! The color specialists at Pantone say this orange is THE color of the season.  It’s on everything.  The good news is that when we see more color introduced in fashion it’s traditionally meant that the economy is on its way UP!  So this is good, no matter how we feel about Tangerine!

Pretty frock.

Purses, scarves, perfume and jewelry.

I think Cleopatra wore shoes just like this!

Cutie bow in the back of this dress.  (BTW, Those are windows from across the street reflected in the fur stole, not a pattern!) What real people in the street were wearing was even more interesting to me!  New York street style, at least this week, was leggings and boots, some with dresses, some with tunics, all with coats and scarves.  Such cute boots: short, furry, and buckled; tall or mid-calf; heels or flat; dressy or casual. For young and old.

The neighborhood is just beautiful; these are two churches next to each other.

Lots of brownstones, change of paint and door style, and voila, it’s a different house.

New York is a big city, but it has a human scale, too; lots of wonderful little neighborhoods, even pigeons feel at home making their mark in New York.

So we packed the car, took one last trip through SoHo . . . and drove back the way we came, through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, in time to have clam chowder in front of the fire at one of our favorite places in Falmouth (the Nimrod) and catch the 7 pm boat back to Martha’s Vineyard and home.

As we were coming in, Joe took this picture standing on the front of the boat on the freight deck; the ferry is moving into the slip where it will dock so the vehicles can drive off onto the island.

From a block away, down our dark street, we could see the twinkle lights in the upstairs window of our house; we still have a little tree there.  It was our Kitty Babysitter’s way of saying welcome home. ♥

It’s lovely to go out and run around in the world for a while; wonderful to see the sights!  I love to travel, but I especially love to come home to purring kitties, warm laundry with an old movie, a dinner of blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, our very own bed, and a cup of tea to drink with a snail mail letter.  Throw in a little armchair window shopping and/or Superbowl watching, and you have it all; the simple joys of home. ♥  Have a wonderful day girlfriends!  Hope you enjoyed New York!!!

We are staying with friends in their beautiful five-story brownstone on the upper east side of New York City.  I’m not familiar with the inside of many Manhattan brownstones, but from the outside you can see they are all rather vertically designed. In our friend’s house, the kitchen and dining room are on the ground floor; up one steep flight of stairs is a long living room with tall windows at both ends.  The guest room, where we’re staying, is up the next narrow, curving, highly polished set of stairs (slippery to the person carrying a cup of tea!) — our room (I’m never leaving) is a little suite that takes up the whole third floor. Separated from the sleeping area by a large closet,  is a small, cozy sitting room (where I am now). It’s all dark wood, with a mooshey brown velvetish sofa (perfect for a person to read on, has a soft blanket on the back of it), wood floors, a wall of wonderful floor-to-ceiling book shelves filled with books, a beautiful old Oriental rug in faded colors of soft green, camel, and burgundy, a giant TV, and a comfortable armchair.  It is like a cocoon in here.  You wear this room like your favorite sweater; put it on and never want to take it off, perfect to wear over your jammies.

 I took a shower yesterday, in the bathroom off this little snuggy room; came out wrapped in thick white terry towels, my wet hair wrapped up in a towel turban; Joe came up from the kitchen bringing me a plate with thick, crunchy, seedy New York bread with raisins in it, toasted and buttered, along with slices of warm roasted chicken and a cold tangerine.  I sat on the brown velvet sofa, clean from the shower, put the plate on my toweled lap and ate; peeled my tangerine which sent spritzes of juice off into the air. So that’s how the day began.  Deep happy citrus breath.  So quiet here, you would never know you are in the middle of the city that never sleeps.

This was last night.  Yes, we are the kind of tourists who like to stop in the middle of Park Avenue to take pictures with mouth agape, a bit of drool at corners, because it’s just so BEAUTIFUL.  Because of Ellis Island, New York is called “America’s Hometown” — so many of us got our start right here there is historical DNA everywhere you look. We are crossing Park Avenue on our way home; it is positively balmy weather, and we’ve just had an amazing dinner at an amazing restaurant called Tao.

Here’s a photo of Tao from our table . . . it’s in what used to be the stable for the Vanderbilt family in the 1800′s (every building in NY is filled with history) — the photo is a bit out of focus, didn’t want to have anyone looking at me so I didn’t use a flash!  See the huge Buddha at the back?  We are on the second floor, overlooking the first floor dining room.

The food was SO good; we had salty edamame beans to snack on with cocktails; I had a delicious Pad Thai, with rice noodles, chili peppers, lime, garlic, bean sprouts and grilled shrimp; we had coconut ice cream and pineapple sorbet for dessert, and chocolate fortune cookies.  But my favorite (besides people watching and the gorgeous clothes) was the bathroom. First I had to find it . . . down a long stairway, in the middle of a narrow hall; there were two doors to choose from, one on your right, one on your left, across from one another, exactly alike except one door said YIN and the other said YANG. Which door would you go in?  Think about it for a moment.  I was alone, had no one to mull this over with . . . personally, at the time, I felt more like a Yin than a Yang, but I wasn’t about to just go with it. We don’t get out much on the Vineyard, our doors always have SOMETHING to tell you which door is yours.  So I waited in the empty brown hallway, poised to go in, facing the YIN door, waiting for the next woman to come out.  The door opened, I took a small step forward, then quickly stepped back, coming eye to eye with a man who was trying to squeeze past me into the hallway.  ”Uh, huh,” I said, “Just what I thought.”  The man laughed and said, “I did the same thing!”  So funny. Nice thing for him to say.  I felt like less of an idiot as I turned and ran into the YANG door!  You can take the girl out of the country . . . I could set my clock by what I think . . . If I think, “go right,” that automatically means I should “go left.”  I’m rather unfailing that way.  I should depend on it more.

I was a whole lot less out of my element here at Tea and Sympathy in Greenwich Village.  So many of you mentioned that we should go here, we had to take your advice . . . whipping through the city streets down to the Village in our cab . . . you were right and it was delicious!  We loved it!  We also loved English bacon when we were in England and haven’t been able to get it since . . . so the bacon sandwich was irresistible to me; Joe had sausage roll, mash, and beans, and the waitress asked him if he was English.  He beamed.  Joe went to school in England for a year when he was twelve, so he is kind of English is what he thinks.  We shared this tender little treacle cake in a puddle of vanilla custard.  The people who worked here were charming and British and sweet, and it felt like home. It’s a tiny little spot, perfect place to take your book or your British Country Living (heavenly magazine which you can get at Barnes and Noble, by the way!) and sit at a table in the window to while away a rainy afternoon.  The gift shop next door was filled with English food and lots of English China, tea pots and cups.  Such a good thing to do in the middle of a busy day!  We highly recommend it!

From there we grabbed a cab down to the Javits Center where we’ve been attending the New York Gift Show the last couple of days. . . looking for new products for my art, things we would love for ourselves, and hope you will like to have too!  Rows and rows of gorgeous things . . .

Thinking, wouldn’t my art look pretty on sheets like this?  We could have them in our web store!

Or on a nice big cup like this?  We found all sorts of fun things . . . from printed aprons and dish towels, to bird feeders they would make to match the arbor in my back yard, to heavy decorated ribbon boxes and packaged herb seeds.

On our way home, we stopped at the New York Public Library because of the rumor that we might be able to see the original toys, the Pooh Bear (Winnie), Tigger, Kanga, Piglet, Eeyore, that A. A. Milne gave his little two year old boy, Christopher Robin.  I wanted to take pictures of them for you.  But they wouldn’t let me.  So I found this one in Google images.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.  My mother always says that, and sometimes, it’s true!  They were in a large rectangular glass box, all together, close to each other just like this.  The sweet old toys are a bit worn, but they look loved; definitely loved by me . . .  I have to say, Piglet was my favorite.  You will know which one he is by process of elimination.

This beautiful library is free, open to the public; Virginia Woolf’s handwritten diary was there too, right near Pooh and friends.  See the girls on the steps?  Those are French girls visiting New York . . . I know because they asked Joe to take their picture.  The New York Public Library is just one more reason to be proud of this beautiful city.

He really did love those girls!

I have to show you a couple of photos of the library!  It’s just too beautiful!

This is the Main Reading Room, computers, books, and researchers . . . all very quiet!

The Gift Shop!  (We brake for gift shops!) I picked up a book called Dancing with Mrs. Dalloway, a book full of stories of the inspirations behind the great works of literature; opened it right to the page about Beatrix Potter where she is illustrating a letter to a child; took it as a sign and now it’s my book!

OK, I have to get going.  Joe just came upstairs, herding me out of the cocoon, toward the shower, bringing me breakfast again . . . I’m pushing my luck, two days in a row!  This time it was that same delicious buttered toast, with a cut-up apple, white cheddar cheese, a tangerine and a slice of ham!  And another cup of tea!  Very lucky girl.  Someday I should tell you about the Princess syndrome the boys were talking about at dinner last night, I think I am seeing it in action…they think it’s smart to treat women like Princesses, and I must say, I could not agree with them more! ♥

]]> http://www.susanbranch.com/archives/3198/feed 322 http://www.susanbranch.com/archives/3198?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=3198 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SusanBranchBlog/~3/Wb9bvpoQCt4/3166 http://www.susanbranch.com/archives/3166#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:52:08 +0000 sbranch http://www.susanbranch.com/?p=3166 Continue reading →]]> Today it’s a travel blog!  And we have music!

First move in any off-island adventure is a trip on the ferry.  We’re traveling, as we always do, the slow way; meandering through four states, Massachusetts to Rhode Island, through Connecticut, into New York City, America’s Hometown.

As you can see, it was a perfect day for a sea voyage across the sound.  Cold and windy, around 38°, and clear. We parked our car downstairs on the freight deck, and came up to sit by a sunny window, drink coffee and read the paper.

Forty-five minutes later, we docked in Woods Hole.  We climbed back in to the van . . . Joe took this photo through the windshield, of me digging through by bag to find the phone.  We have everything with us, chocolate, apples, homemade granola; plus, an electric tea kettle and an ice chest for the milk for the tea–which I am happily drinking now.

About a half hour from Woods Hole, we leave Cape Cod via the Bourne Bridge . . .

On to 195, through Fall River, Rhode Island . . .

. . . and over the bridge . . .  tons of coastline in Rhode Island, so there are lots of bridges!

Into Providence.  My photos don’t do justice to this darling city . . . so many wonderful buildings, such a cute downtown . . . here are just a few I took through the car window . . . see the wind whipping the flags? Chilly!

More wonderful old buildings . . . New England cities are filled with them.

And a mix of old and new . . . gorgeous day, look at that sky!  We parked here and blew down a couple of blocks to the Providence Mall to SHOP.  People who live on Martha’s Vineyard (at least the ones I know) crave a good Mall (no chain stores on the island), but then when we get inside, we are like kids in candy stores, overwhelmed and don’t know what to buy.  It’s all so big and sparkly and there’s so much of it!

After shopping (tried on cute shoes, they didn’t have them in my size; found a sweater in “my color”) and mocha coffees, we drove into the most amazing Connecticut sunset that seemed to go on and on . . . heading west — and thinking, hmmm, where should we have dinner?

We choose a destination dear to our hearts, the Griswold Inn, where we stopped the very first time we went to New York together, all those years ago.

We love it because it’s filled with history!

It’s in the quintessential New England town of Essex, Connecticut — another extremely American town as all New England towns seem to be . . . this one, maybe even more so.  The moon was beautiful, horns up, smiling; it looks full here, but that’s just the trick the camera is playing . . .

I think they keep their paint colors simple on the old houses just so the flag looks good against them!

Even the lines on the road were red white and blue!  How can you not love this exuberance?  So we found a parking place . . .

And went in through the green door . . .

To this welcoming lobby . . .

And then . . . I hardly know where to start with the photos, the restaurant is so full of interesting things and cozy nooks . . .

Here’s the bar, very cozy, publike, and neighborhoody . . . With a fire in the fireplace and a twinkly Christmas tree taking center stage.

And who doesn’t love a well marked ladies room?  In all its two centuries of existence, the Griswold Inn has never met a sign or a picture of a boat it didn’t love.

And they have a Library Room, full of old books, where you can eat!

The walls are crowded with historical artifacts, everything labeled as to who, what, where, why, and when.

Like eating in a museum!

Loved the ship models — especially this one over the fireplace in the main dining room.  Guess which table we chose for the first of what will probably be a month of Anniversary Dinners?

Oh yes, the one in front of the fireplace.  A toast to 25 years of luckiness and Just the Right Guy for Me. ♥  The softest kindest heart I’ve ever met.

But, we have to get serious, enough of this mushy stuff, down to business . . . Mmmm, hot rolls with maple butter.

I had the white bean and tomato soup made with chicken stock and a green salad with bacon and tomatoes; Joe had a juicy steak with a gorgozola sauce and steamed broccoli which we lingered over, analyzing and enjoying every bite.  When Joe and I go out to dinner we do two things — 1. First, we mentally redecorate the entire restaurant — which wasn’t necessary in this case; and 2. We try to figure out what’s in everything, how it’s made; if we want to make it at home, we write everything down in the little red book I carry in my purse.  If it needs cayenne or more garlic, we make note of it.  This was simple and delicious and just right.

We shared this bad boy for dessert, because we can, because it’s our Anniversary.  Shut up.  You’re parked in a judgefree zone.

And that was it, back into hats, coats, scarves, gloves, and outside for more photos, this one is of the gift shop across the street — then into the car for another hour of driving, and then, last night, a hotel . . . and here we are, it’s morning, barely light out; almost time for me to make Joe his Anniversary Cup of Tea!  We head into the city this morning, New York, New York (a city so wonderful, as someone mentioned the other day, they named it twice!); we’ll be at the New York International Gift Fair for most of today . . . in case you’re looking for us!

With my iPhone I’m able to send photos and videos directly to Twitter . . . in case you’d like to check in today and see how it’s going.  Also, if you read that your comment is “waiting for moderation,” it’s because I’m away from the computer and haven’t been able to “moderate!”  (You wouldn’t believe the huge amount of spam that comes into this blog . . . I have to “moderate” in order to remove it before your comments can go up.)  I promise, it will come asap.  I do so hope you have enjoyed your Slow Boat to China today . . . Love showing you our little corner of the world . . . Have a wonderful day!

Some months back, one of our girlfriends, Jackie Geddes from Chattanooga, spotted this recipe for Onion Casserole peeking out of my recipe box and asked if I would put the recipe on the blog.  I said I would, soon, but “please remind me.”  Then Jack was so cute; I made chicken soup; the full moon came up; we got our first snowfall; I had my colors done — everything got in the way!  Jackie has been very patient!  We’re off to New York on Monday, so I figured it’s now or never!

This is a delicious side dish, cheesy and filled with caramelized onions, the recipe isn’t in any of my cookbooks (yet); here’s what it looks like when it comes out of the oven.  I’ll put the recipe at the bottom for you, so pay no attention to what I’m saying here! Just preheat the oven to 350°

There’s a small amount (a half cup) of rice in the casserole to give it texture and body.  In a small saucepan, bring water to boil, add rice — simmer for 5 min.  Drain it and put it in a large mixing bowl.

Chop four large Spanish onions into 1/2″ dice.  Try not to breathe through your nose as you do this . . . it helps with the crying.  Also, it helps if you keep the onion juice wiped off the cutting board and knife.

Melt butter in large skillet over high heat, add onions and stir often . . .

. . . until brown and caramelized — this takes up to 30 minutes . . . and makes your kitchen smell wonderful the whole time.  It’s the perfect winter day thing to make!

Put the browned onions in the bowl with the rice and stir well . . .

Then add 1 ½ C. grated Swiss cheese . . .  mmmmm, right?  Stop for a moment, look outside your window, isn’t it pretty?  Deep breath, happy.

Busy birds.

Add a half cup of milk . . .

And stir well . . .

Then some freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

Pour it all into a casserole . . .

Sprinkle over 1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese,

. . . and pop it in the oven for about an hour — 55-60 minutes, until it’s all toasty brown, like . . .

this!  It’s Onion Pudding (in my colors! )!

You might have noticed that I wrote, “delicious with spareribs and juice” on that recipe card at the top of this post?  So I thought you also might like to have one of the best recipes for spareribs I’ve ever tasted . . . My mom (sometimes known as “Grandma Pat) made them the whole time we were growing up; it was often requested for our Birthday dinners; we love them as much now as we did then. ♥  They go perfectly with the Onion Pudding and a green salad (with Blue Cheese dressing YUM!).

Did the song end?  Want to hear it again?

I would suggest you could make some people very happy by making this for your Valentine’s dinner! . . . ♥

S P A R E R I B S   A N D   J U I C E

 I say this is the way to a man’s heart, but it’s really the way to MY heart! For dessert, try this: pineapple chunks, ginger ice cream, and warm caramel sauce.  Caramel Sauce is so easy to make and stays soft and pourable in the fridge.  You just stir together 3 Tbsp. water with 1 c. sugar in a non-aluminum pan.  Bring it to simmer, cook without stirring, watch closely until it turns amber colored; this takes a few minutes.  In another pan, heat 1c. heavy cream.  When the sugar syrup is amber, slowly whisk in hot cream until well-blended.  Good hot or cold.

It’s delicious when you dip fresh apple slices in it too; that’s when it becomes almost a health food!

Just so you know, I’m not suggesting you eat this every night!  But I look at Valentine’s Day as a free get-out-of-jail card.  You could exchange the dinner for the chocolate?  Unless you’re against that.  I love to read recipes, but I don’t make them all.  Trying hard to be supportive!  Bad and good at once!

And I leave you with this . . . and with love, and see you later.  Next stop, New York!  We go on Monday! xoxo

O N I O N   P U D D I N G

• 5 c. water
• 1/2 c. white rice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 large Spanish (yellow) onions, chopped in 1/2 ” dice
• 1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 1/2 c. grated Swiss cheese (approx. 6 oz.)
• 2/3 c. milk
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to boil in saucepan; add rice and salt, stir, simmer for 5 min. Drain rice and put it into a large mixing bowl.  Chop the onions; melt the butter in a large skillet, add the onions and cook over high heat, stirring often, until onions turn a golden brown (20 min to 1/2 hr.).  Add the onions to the rice and mix well.  Stir in Swiss cheese and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste and spread into an unbuttered baking dish (mine was 10″ x 7″.  Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top.  Bake at 350° for 55 to 60 min. ♥