Unfortunately, the craft projects were a bust, but it's ok because I did have about 30 pages in a fabulous book to finish so I dove right in. Let me tell you, this book might just need to go in the top 10. It's just so wonderful!
Susan Branch is a watercolorist and primarily a cookbook writer. I actually have tons of her stickers for scrapbooking. But I never realized she wrote other books as well. Apparently, this is the 3rd in a series of her journals. She and her husband live in Martha's Vineyard, but they travelled on the Queen Mary 2 to England for a 2 month adventure in the English Countryside. I'm not I can express just how much I wish I could have gone on their trip! What a chance!
What's really neat about the book, is that it's not just her observations about the places she visited. Like I said, she's a watercolorist, so all throughout the book there are little paintings and doodles and drawings. She's also included photos of the places they visited, quotes she loves, and recipes as well. And, the whole thing is in her handwriting. How fun! It's not only a great tale of a trip of a lifetime, but it's also crafty and creative as well. It's a total package for me which I think is why I loved it so much.
The other reason is that she just gets it. She has the same sensibility about England that I have. She loves the people for being who they are. She loves the accents and the turns of phrase. She loves the simple food and the very best tea. She loves the beauty of the countryside as well as the fun of the big cities. And she loves the history and historical figures that have contributed so much to the world, that made their home there. It's sometimes hard for me to explain just what it is about Great Britain that I love. Reading this book, I realized it's everything I just said. It's all of these things together that make it such a happy place for me. And now, I'm just itching to return more so than I usually am - good thing there's a trip coming up soon!
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