Monday, April 20, 2015

Porches

I love porches. I always have. There is a porch on my great-grandfathers house where we spent time during family reunions every year in August. There was a great big bell on one end and a porch swing on the other end. On either side of the front door were rocking chairs.That's Papa with the cigar in his hand. I have always loved the smell of cigars and I'm pretty sure that he is the reason why. He was such a great guy. Anyway, that's one end of the porch in the background and I remember, quite fondly, the fun of those hot summer days on Papa's porch.



One thing I have always wanted, yet never had, is a porch that wraps around a house. Sort of like this one in the picture below. It's one of my Christmas village houses and the porch wraps around the house. I just love that.



And I would give just about anything for a porch similar to it.

My grandparents had a huge porch on the side of their house. It was screened in. It had these flaps between the bottom board and the floor that swung open and you could use the hose and send the dirt right outside through them. I thought that was so dang cool. The best part about their porch was sitting out there with Granddaddy. I would watch him peel an apple with his pocket knife without breaking the peel one single time. It just dangled there in a spiral until he finished. He also used to sit out there and cut open watermelons with that same pocketknife. On July 4th, we would eat BBQ on the porch. At Christmas time, Granddaddy cut the bottom off the tree out there. It really didn't matter what he did out there. I just loved time spent with him.

I love the porches (called piazzas) on the Single Houses downtown Charleston. And, while there is mixed speculation as to the reason for their origins, I just appreciate the fact that they are there. And beautiful.

There is a small porch on our house. In the 26 years we've lived here, I've been able to enjoy the porch about 5 of those years. The rest of the time, it has been used as storage for a bunch of stuff that could, in all seriousness, be categorized as junk. Every single day I walked up on that porch to enter the house trying my utmost to ignore the junk. It's small but such a nice little porch to sit on with the huge oak tree hovering over it. There is a tiny deck on the back of the house, but a deck is not a porch.

I have a friend with whom I have had conversations about porches. We discussed how the invention of air conditioners, which led to the closing of windows, helped lead us to the end of the porch era when people sat on their front porches and had conversations (actual face-to-face conversations) with their neighbors and passersby. I mentioned that a lot of folks around here still do that. If they have a porch that isn't cluttered with junk.

Low and behold, the junk was finally, after at least 20 years, removed from the front porch.

And what is on my list of suggested gifts for Mother's Day this year? Two of these:


Yep. I'm going to do some porch sitting.

Finally.

24 comments:

  1. Oh, I LOVE to sit on a rocking chair on a porch! One of my sisters lives out in the country and has a mountain almost in her backyard. She has a screened in porch with rocking chairs. I could just sit out there ALL.DAY.LONG and enjoy the peace and beauty!

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    1. I love them too and I would sit right there with you. ALL. DAY.LONG. :)

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  2. I grew up with a very friendly front porch that had a swing at one end. The porch was always an invitation to stop and talk, have an iced tea or a beer. I miss front porches. Not one house in our neighborhood now has a front porch. We all have back patios with pools. Lucky to know our neighbors anymore. Pam, I also had a grandpa who smoked cigars, and the smell always makes me feel safe and loved. He smelled of cigars even when he wasn't smoking one. Wonderful memories!!

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    1. I'm the same way about those cigars. I love the smell to this very day. I'm looking forward to my rockers and sitting on the porch again. Until the drunk neighbors come over. And Satan's sisters who live across the street. Wait... LOL

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  3. We had a huge porch in my first house that I lived in until I was 5. I loved that porch. The railings would get decorated at Christmas and we used to sit on them in the summer. My grandparents in West Virginia had a porch with a beautiful porch swing and my grandpa and I used to sit on it and eat jelly beans when I would come to visit. My grandma's house in upstate New York had a wrap around porch on it with big heavy rocking chairs. I would sit out there and look across the street to the view of the Hudson River and Storm Mountain. I could see the cars cross the Bear Mountain Bridge from there. I would sometimes rock myself to sleep there because of the country solitude. I truly love porches too. I hope you get your rockers because when I come visit we are going to sit out there and rock and drink and laugh our butts off!! Love ya XX

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    1. When you come to visit???? I can't wait!!!! We'll sit there and on the beach and on the deck and wherever we want to sit! And talk and laugh and just have the BEST TIME EVER! Love you right back!

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  4. My Aunt's lake house has a porch and when people ask what we do on vacation we say:

    porchin' (sitting on the porch)
    eatin' (eating anything and pork bbq)
    puzzlin' (putting puzzles together)

    It's so much fun! I just have a deck on my house, and it isn't quite the same!

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    1. Love those! I'll be doing the sittin' soon. I hope. How are you doing?

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  5. I would love a porch to sit on. Hope your get your chairs. I'm getting a Chromebook 2 for Mother's Day!

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    1. I did see this clear canoe that would be nice. But it is $2500 or more so, I'm thinking I'll be getting the rockers. LOL

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  6. When re resided out house and put a roof on Jim and I build an amazing front porch. I LOVE IT!!! I sit there on the swing Jim bought me with the dogs on the loveseat next to my swing and enjoy whatever weather is happening. I wish I could add pictures to this comment but I can't but it is my most favorite place. This year I would like to take my swing and the loveseat and paint the main parts black and recover the seat cushions on both...something bright and cheery.
    We never had a covered porch at home growing up but in my many travels around our country I have seen so many wonderful porches. The ones down south with the rockers and elderly sitting on them....now that's perfect!!
    I am enjoying your posts Pam. Keep them coming. Blessings my friend!!

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    1. You need to write a post about your porch and put up pix! I'd love to see it! Thanks!

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  7. excuse the mistakes in my typing. I didn't re-read very well.

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    1. Yeah, my fingers are always getting ahead of my brain. Or is it the other way around? LOL No worries!

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  8. I wish I had a porch my parents had one at the house I grew up in but not the house they are in now which I might add they have been in since 1980, if I could buy a house I would make sure we had one

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    1. They're great, aren't they? Hope my girls come through on rockers for my porch. And then you can come rock with me! :)

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  9. Nothing better than sitting on a porch. I think about moving sometimes, to a place that doesn't take all of my time, then I walk out on the porch and I say no way am I leaving my porch. I spend so much time on them that I would be lost without them.
    I hope you get two rocking chairs so you can sit and listen to the wind blow through the leaves on that oak tree.

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    1. I would spend all my time on a porch like yours! It's perfect! Hope you are doing well! I miss visiting with you. I'll get better about it when school is out!

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  10. Porches are wonderful places for all sorts of socializing. What fond memories you have of the porch and interesting how you came to love cigar smoke because of it. We got our wrap around porch last year, but don't have it finished. Still, I enjoy it every day. The grandkids love playing on it when they visit. I'm putting two of those chairs on my list too! :-)

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    1. I hope you get the chairs! I hope I do too. LOL Then I shall sit out there and run back inside when I hear my drunk neighbors coming. LOL

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  11. Those look like the chairs lined up outside the Cracker Barrel Restaurant. They will deliver them to your front door. How happy I was when your post said your porch is now ready for enjoying! Happy news.

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    1. Those are the ones I like! WHAT?! They deliver??? I'll pass that word on to my girls! Thanks!

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  12. Blogger cut me off before I was finished! I wanted to add, you will now be the Grandmother on the porch, carrying on the family tradition! A happy ending to the story.

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    1. Yes. IF I ever get any grandchildren. And that's a BIG, IF.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
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