Besides her many cookbooks and memoirs she has calendars, scrapbook pages/stickers, journals, stationery, and a host of other things which can be found HERE on her website's shopping page. And while you're at her website print out this year's Full Moon Bookmark found on her FREE STUFF page. . . .
The reason I have chosen Susan for this year's Take Joy Society is because she is one of those people who always has a smile for you. I was the last one in a long book-signing line at the Gladys Taber Reunion, growing weary and hungry because it was past lunch time, but Susan greeted me with a smile that reached her eyes, and even gave me a hug when she recognized my name from all the times I've left comments on her blog and Twitter. Her life story is inspiring, found in her recent trilogy. . .
She is truly one to Take Joy in her day-to-day activities. She loves homemaking and loves to cook and has many hand-written, illustrated cookbooks. Be sure to check her Home Cooking tab on her blog where she shows us how to do some of her recipes. Each month I'll share one of her beautifully-illustrated recipes. This is a great dish for a cold month like January. . . .
A great side dish is her onion pudding. You can find the recipe HERE. She also shares in her blog posts many tips for making a home cozy. Yankee Magazine did an article on her cozy home in 2013 that you can read HERE.
In recent years her books and blog posts have been about her travels in Great Britain. You'll find lots under the I Love England tab.
She's been an inspiration to me to learn to draw and paint because she, too, didn't think she had it in her to do it when she first started. Be sure to explore the About Me tab at the top of her blog under My Art Studio for how she learned to paint. She is a jack-of-all-trades! 
And speaking of "Jack"--she features her adorable kitty, Jack, from time to time.But Susan is more than all of these things as she will sometimes address tough issues in our society even if it means stepping outside our comfort zones just because it needs to be said so that we don't shirk our duty in our pursuit of our own happiness.
As the old year ends and we turn the calendar page to January we often are ready for a change. In 2015 Susan offered this Inspiration for Mind, Body & Spirit. . . .
And because time does seem to be speeding up as the calendar pages are turning more quickly than ever, here are some ways to slow it down. . . .
Do any of these suggestions resonate with you? Which ones will you explore in the coming year? I hope I've whetted your appetite to learn more about Susan Branch and all that she brings to our world. Each month I will feature her thoughts from her calendars from over the years. You can purchase the current calendars (there are several formats to choose from) on her blog HERE.PLEASE NOTE: All art belongs to SUSAN BRANCH and should not be used for commercial purposes.
❤️Take Joy❤️
You've chosen a great theme for 2017, Cathy. Susan would be proud to know she's been such a strong example to people. I no longer read her blog, mainly because there doesn't seem to be new content there very much now [and she doesn't seem to post regularly either, which is something I really like in a blog]. But I still like what she does, have nearly all her books etc - and am looking forward to seeing what you do throughout the year. I'm thinking you'll bring a whole new perspective on Susan's style. ☀️
ReplyDeleteJanet, you may want to check out her blog now that she's back from England. She posts about once a week lately.
DeleteGood to know. The last time she went "across the pond" she posted & videod all the time. Was there some reason she "didn't take the Girlfriends" along this time? I thought that was kinda odd - didn't sound like her at all... ☀️
DeleteThey were with friends more often this time--I followed along on Twitter. She posted lots there, so it probably made it easy not to do blog posts. It takes a lot of time to put a post together and uploading photos when you don't have good wifi can take awhile.
DeleteOh, that makes sense. I actually thought I missed some kind of announcement that she was retiring, which of course she has a perfect right to do. I was looking daily & finding nothing - sometimes for WEEKS at a time. When I first started following Susan, she posted an average of 5 times a week.
DeleteJanet, when she first started blogging she did not have very many comments. I loved it then because you could count on her commenting back. But as people discovered her blog she started receiving hundreds of comments, which she reads. I think she devotes much of her time reading comments! That is probably why she doesn't post as often--because a new post means MORE comments to read and respond to!
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