Candys screen porch story: I moved into my house almost eight years ago to the month.
It was a 40 year old home, in complete disrepair. It took one full year to design on paper and
another to build; a complete rehab, down to the studs and drywall.
During those two years,
I was attending graduate school full time and was the mother to a five and a six year-old, and I
had one full-on anxiety attack to show for my efforts.
It was, and still is a labor of love, but
that's a story for another day. Today I want to tell you about my screened in porch.
The house already had a screened in porch off the back, complete with fake, green astro-turf,
turned black and moldy.
I remember the conversation with my architect vividly.
He was explaining to me how the existing
porch was to be elongated,
from the addition and reconfiguration of that area of the house. The floor, walls and screens all
to be replaced and a new, bigger and better screened in porch would be the result.
"I'll never use it," I said. "It will be a waste of time and resources."
"There's already
an existing foundation there, so rather than waste time and resources digging that
up, we will make it better and more functional, " he said. "You'll love it."
That was an
understatement, for the unwanted step-child of a screened in porch, quickly became my favorite
spot in my home. Candys Screen Porch Story doesn't end here.
Having just returned from my vacation to beautiful 85 degree weather, my first
order of business was to get my porch in perfect working order.
As you can see from the photo,
I wasted no time "pimping out" my space. Every year it gets better and better.
This year, I bought a
new coffee table, seat cushions and my favorite element, multiple lanterns for
the candlelit twilight hours.
I sit here now, typing these words for you, overlooking my lush green
landscape and listening to a symphony of birds, welcoming me to their daily concert. I shudder at the
prospect of my blasé', youthful inexperience somehow convincing my architect to nix the plans for the porch,
for I relish the time spent here.
We eat dinners as a family here. We share cocktails and stories
with friends and relatives into the wee hours of the night here. We sit and read magazines, novels,
newspapers and blogs here, never needing to talk; the heat bugs and Mother Nature's soundtrack
consistently provided in the background.
We do have important, deep, sometimes silly and trusted
conversations here, and we create lasting memories here.
I welcome the inspiration that may
come from sitting on my porch, laptop in tow, dogs at my feet, creating Dandy's daily and commenting
on yours. I will utilize the time my porch and I have, for it is fast and fleeting. After all, I live
in New England, but for now I am content to sit and type and enjoy.
