Porches

Coastal LivingBack in the days when people didn't have cable TV with hundreds of channels, lap tops, and video games, porches used to be an important part of a home.  They were places to sit and visit when the house was too hot.  I remember sitting on my grandparent's porch in rockers like these.

See, in spite of having to wash clothes in a wringer washer and hang them on a clothes line, washing dishes by hand, and doing most things manually without the benefit of modern gadgets, there was still time to sit down and relax or read a newspaper. 

When most homes didn't have air conditioning, this was a place to breathe, rest, and have a glass of iced tea.  It was also a place where peas were shelled, corn shucked, and children played.

 

JSquareFront porches were generally unscreened, but back porches were screened to keep bugs out.  Many of us have eaten meals on a screened porch. 

 

In the summer when the heat was too stifling to sleep, beds were moved out onto the screened in sleeping porch to take advantage of any breeze that might be stirring.  If you were lucky, you had a ceiling fan on the porch. 






Apartment Therapy

If not, you had one of these to stir the air.


Porches have shrunk or disappeared over the years.  We are too busy to sit still and just be.  Maybe it's time to stop and smell the roses - or whatever is planted outside your porch.








Porch Swings Plus

Care to join me?