front porch livin'

one of the major selling points of our house was the front porch. we are front porch people. all my life, i have heard my mother longing for a big front porch, and since i moved back to raleigh, i have made it a point to try to have one. even our old apartment had a good one, and believe me, we used the heck out of it! this is something that people not from the South don't always understand, but let me tell you--there is no better place to relax than in a comfy rocking chair out on the front porch, especially if you have a big glass of iced tea, a bowl of cold grapes, and a ceiling fan. last weekend (which the hippie and i have been referring to as "the weekend of acquisition") we bought 3 brand new rocking chairs and two little tables for the porch. they were made here in NC and sold by a cool old guy at the local flea market--our favorite. add them to the wonderful little bistro set that i inherited from my grandmother's house, and the porch is really coming together. we even have homes for the bugs of benefit we bought years ago. i want to pick up a few more plants and some wind chimes to complete the environment out there, but it's already becoming my favorite place to be in the whole house. there's already been some knittin', some readin', some drinkin', and the smoking of a cigar or two out there. the porch tells me that it's really summer. i may not go inside till fall.