A productive day: walked early, laundered bedding, put air in tires for both bikes, biked a little, began labelling the subscriptions for the post office run tomorrow.  I cleaned the back porch and installed a pvc window shade against the east screen to give privacy from the back fence line and shield the morning sun. I moved two chairs off the porch — ah — room to breathe! I keep forgetting I no longer need to seat twelve. I’ve been fixing all the leaks in my back porch roof and the back porch is becoming live-able again. Hurricane Jeanne toppled a big oak onto the aluminum roof it in 2007. In 2012, a friend unbent the roof and it’s leaked like a sieve ever since. That turned the porch into a mud room the last two years, where I’d stomp off dirt from the garden and place my gardening tools on hooks on the wall. Last year, the man removed a 4 foot tall lantana bush growing on the porch roof, which let light shine thru the pin holes so I could see where to plug them. Only two remained and I got them today. That was confirmed when it rained and there were no leaks! Yay — that meant I could once again claim the porch as living space! 

I went to Walmart and bought seat cushions and potted plants. I searched through all the cushions and plants to find just the right ones. As I was checking out, the gentleman cashier said “Oh, my wife has a top like that.” I looked down and saw that my shirt was unbuttoned 2 buttons too many. I smiled and said, “then you are a very lucky man indeed.”

When I got home, I saw that I bought the perfect color combo of cushions: aqua, green, tan and white. I saw they even matched my 20 year old beloved back porch rocker which is vinyl in the old school turquoise. I bought two 42″ tall palms which are on rollers and they are flanking the chiminea. It’s beginning to look tropical out there and YinYang is loving the new cushions.

A week ago this was my mud room. Some cleaning and $100 in new cushions, pvc window shade, 2 palms and my entire attitude about the porch has changed. Observing the serene scene, it makes me want to hang out and relax. When I get out of the office and away from work, more intuitive ideas come to me and I am inspired to do things I’ve been wanting to do. Sometimes I need to be on the property and a hand reach away from the phone. Now I can do that on the back porch, sitting in a clean, comfy setting with my beloved woods just outside the screen.

Next, I need an outdoor chaise for naps! I’ve begun pre-paving.