Hi Friends!
A very warm welcome if you are visiting for the first time! 🌸 I hope you are well and enjoying early spring flowers in your corner of the world. Today we are going to revisit two special blog posts and take a little quiz. Please don’t worry, it will be an “open book” quiz… 😉
It’s important to reread this post and this post from 2022 for the story of a very special ‘Girlfriends’ Gathering. Both posts are filled with such sweet memories!
Two years ago, while helping to plan a special gathering for Susan Branch (my favorite author and artist), the owner of Prairie Path Books asked if I would create a “How Well Do You Know Susan?” quiz for the guests. It was great fun to look through my collection of Susan’s books and write the questions! (Once a teacher, always a teacher!🍎)
As the long-awaited evening began, a very large gathering of excited Girlfriends arrived for an inspiring book talk with Susan Branch. Old friends and new friends were having such a wonderful time talking together as we all waited in a very long line to talk with Susan. It happens every time kindred spirits gather to celebrate Susan! So many cherished moments blossom whenever Girlfriends gather…
The air was filled with excitement and there just wasn’t enough time for the “How Well Do You Know Susan?” quiz that evening. So, I happily tucked my list of trivia questions into my copy of Distilled Genius (A Collection of Life-Changing Quotations), as I waited for Susan to sign my book.
Oh, how I love dipping into the beautifully illustrated pages filled with hand lettered quotations! Sprinkled throughout the book are several of Susan’s quotations, as well.
Recently, as I savored the pages of Distilled Genius, a paper fluttered out of my book. It contained the Susan Branch trivia questions that I wrote for that special gathering in 2022. 😊 Let’s try it now!
It’s time to find out…
🍃 How Well Do You Know Susan Branch? 🍃
🌸 1. What was Susan’s first painting as an adult?
🌸 2. What was the name of Susan’s small cottage in the woods on Martha’s Vineyard?
🌸 3. Who is waiting at home for Susan and Joe when they return from their travels?
🌸 4. What famous singer did 17-year-old Susan and her girlfriend see, in his underwear, while hiding on his front porch?
🌸 5. What is “Morning Science?”
🌸 6. Who is Susan’s “Willard” newsletter named after?
🌸 7. When is Susan’s birthday?
🌸 8. What dream did both Susan and Joe share when they first met?
🌸 9. What was the best book Susan found on the bookcase in her little cottage?
🌸 10. What secret language can Susan speak?
🌸 11. What dream-come-true Christmas gift did Susan receive when she was nine years old?
🌸 12. Can you list the trilogy of Susan’s memoir titles in chronological order?
Good luck to all! 🌸 At the end of the month, I will list all of the answers in the Comments section below.
(April 30th Update: Scroll through the Comments below to find out “How Well You Know Susan!”)🌸
If you haven’t discovered the loveliness of Susan Branch yet, be sure to visit her blog! It just might be the most peaceful, happiest part of your day! (The icons at the top of Susan’s blog will lead you to some of her favorite posts.) Our world could use a whole lot of happiness these days…
Heartfelt thanks for being a special part of our ‘Girlfriends’ gathering here today! It’s always such a JOY to celebrate the beauty that Susan Branch creates for the world!
Perennially yours,
🩷 Dawn
(All of the Susan Branch quotations in this post are from her enchanting book Distilled Genius. 🩷)
Petals. Paper. Simple Thymes 
What a fun quiz! The only question that gave me pause was #9. I could think of two books that it could be, because I thought that Susan learned about Gladys Taber from a book left in her first house, but I may be remembering this wrong. I think the answer is Bartlett’s Book of Quotations which we have in our house as well. Our edition is 1968. When I pulled our book off the shelf I saw many post-it tabs sticking out of the book, the most notable on the section of Edmund Burke, Jim was a big fan. And I found one of his grocery lists marking a Shakespeare page. I ended up taking up the best part of an hour going through the book reading both the slips of paper he used to mark pages and the pages themselves wondering which quote he was seeking. I can go down a rabbit hole pretty easily. So not to spoil it for others I won’t say anything more! Looking forward to everyone’s answers!
Huge thanks for playing along, dear Chris!😊 I’m so happy that you enjoyed the quiz. For me, #11 was a bit tricky after two years. Luckily, I remembered exactly where to find the answer! What a wonderful rabbit hole you went down, my friend! It was such a wonderful gift to find Jim’s bookmarks tucked in that special book. Tiny treasures! I’m so grateful that you shared this heartwarming moment with all of us, Chris.💕I know that Susan would love it, too! I will post the official answers here at the end of April. Sending big hugs all the way to Texas! 🩷
Ha ha!
Ha ha Chris, I had the same problem, was it Gladys or Bartletts??? I decided it had to be Bartletts, then read your comment! So funny, totally on the same page including rabbit holes! Thank you Chris! Thank you Dawn! Love our connection! Crazy how we all found each other! Lucky!💖💖💖Magic!
Kindred spirits for sure, dearest Susan!!💕 I still remember the day that I ‘discovered’ you, in a small bookstore here in town. I actually bought ‘Heart of the Home’ as a gift for my sweet mom. So, it’s been a family affair for soooo many years! So very special! All of your books add so much sunshine to our lives, Susan! You have brought us all together in countless ways over the years. We are all connected and love gathering in your honor! Girlfriends have become dear friends. We are so grateful for this magical, heart-to-heart connection! Heartfelt thanks for being here, Susan!!!! 💝 Lucky! Magic! Serendipity… all wrapped in LOVE and tied with heartstrings! 🩷
P.S. Thank you for being a very special part of our blog and taking our quiz today! Huge hugs!!😊
Well, I certainly hope you got a 100 on the pop quiz! I’m positive every GF out there got an A. I was so inspired by the post I picked up Martha’s Vinyard Isle of Dreams and reread it in a day. i wonder how many friends your blog has connected. I know 3 that I hold dear to my heart that I would never have met if not for you. So thank you for allowing us to gather in that cozy place we now call Willard. I will always treasure our meetings at the book signings and hoping you do a few more zoom meetings! Happy Spring!
Dawn, you are a gem. I love that your intimate knowledge of Susan allowed you to create this quiz. Best of luck to all the Girlfriends.
Such sweet words, Alys! I think you would also LOVE Susan’s books and her blog. They are truly a feast for the eyes and the heart! Susan says that she was born with the “happy gene” and she gracefully shares her positivity and charm with every hand lettered word and watercolored brushstroke. 💕 Your public library might already have some of Susan’s books.
Alys, I hope you can brew a cup of your favorite tea and spend a little time at Susan’s blog. It’s the perfect antidote to all of the heavy news in our world. My heart always feels lighter after a little ‘visit’ with Susan. Ten years ago, Susan’s blog inspired me to tiptoe into the wonderful world of blogging! I am so grateful for all of the wonderful friends, near and far, whose lives have touched mine through blogging! Thank YOU for always being here…
Love you, dear Alys! 🩷
Welcome Girlfriends!
How Well Do You Know Susan Branch? 🌸 Let’s find out!
Thank you so much, Girlfriends, for playing along with us! 🌸 The gifts of inspiration, beauty, delight, happiness, and wisdom that Susan Branch shares with us makes all of us feel like ‘winners!’ Whether we have read one Susan Branch book or all of her beautiful, heartwarming books again and again, we feel so very blessed to ‘know’ Susan! 🩷
Feel free to share your favorite Susan Branch memories and books with us all!
🩷 Dawn