I’ve been spending my annual week in Truro, mostly on the sweetest porch on the planet. At least that’s my opinion. I wanted to invite my fellow Miss Demeanors to join in on the fun. So the question of the week is:
You’ve been given a full week in the cottage with this porch. You can invite company or simply be in your own. There are no rules. You can even say that the first thing you would do is redecorate it and remove any remnants of Cape Cod tacky. What would you do? Write? Read? Eat? Drink? Sing? Anything goes, but please share details.
The question is, to paraphrase my favorite poet, tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious week?
Tracee: An ENTIRE week! First off, I’m not changing anything… it looks charming and comfortable. I will, however, arrive with my ‘traveling tea pot’ and canister of Lady Grey tea and a tea cup (just in case….. a mug really isn’t the same thing and it’s not worth arguing about).
I am inviting no one, and telling everyone that I have no cell service. I will not let you tell me the Wi-Fi code so I’m not tempted beyond a rudimentary check to make sure there are no disasters beyond the walls.
And I will write. I have a stack of books as research for a new project and I’d hope to dive in and read and write and that’s it. What a joy that would be!
Michele: Tracee, this porch is meant for you and your new project!
Paula: What an invitation! I’d bring blank notebooks and my lucky Waterman of Paris pen, a stack of books to read, a bottle of Beefeaters gin and lots of tonic water and limes, my laptop, and the calmer dog aka Bliss. If dogs are allowed….
Laurie: OH I LOVE a good porch! This is simply delightful, Michele.
I’d bring my computer and some friends who would be dedicated to writing during the day, then up for having wine or whiskey sours with me in the evening while we laugh a lot and tell stories. I’d also bring some cheese, olives and charcuterie for said evenings because that’s how I roll. And I’m with Tracee, NO social media / cell phone coverage. Below is my favorite porch: my mom’s. 
Tracee: Alvaro says that if Bliss gets an invite then he’s definitely not going to be left behind. Plus he is a porch-loving dog!
(Here he is on our porch, and then some other animals who enjoy the porch…. folk art snakes.)
Michele: How could a porch be a proper porch if it didn’t welcome dogs? I used to take Cheddar (my beloved golden retriever) here every summer. I’d say, “Ready for vacay, Cheddar?” and she’d head for the car knowing the porch in Truro awaited her. All dogs are welcome!
And I love your mother’s porch, Laurie. Notice the throw blankets are the same here.
Cate: What a lovely thought!! To not have to be in the school pick up line trying to force my brain to switch back to reality after being immersed in a scene most of the day! I would bring my laptop, keyboard,
Notebook, Bluetooth speaker, and a few bottles of Cabernet.
Robin: I wouldn’t change a thing, either. That’s a great porch. I’d bring my laptop, a bunch of books from my TBR pile, my Kindle (for the TBR ebooks), Jambox speaker, and a cooler filled with hard cider, water, and snacks. When should I start packing?
Susan: My brother has just returned from a safari and he keeps talking about sun-downers, so I keep thinking about sun-downers, so I would bring some gin. I’m attaching a picture of the porch of the Lake George house I stayed at this summer. I loved getting up really early, and having all my loved ones around me, but asleep, and being able to listen to the water and look at the view and write. So peaceful.
Connie: I’m joining the conversation late here. We’re packing for a trade show in Chicago, followed by a couple of weeks at our cottage in northern Wisconsin. We don’t have a porch there, but we do have chairs and an umbrella at the end of the dock. And a covered pontoon boat that sometimes functions as a floating porch.
If I could spend a week in Michele’s lovely Cape Cod porch, I would pray for rain. There’s nothing I like better than sitting outdoors under cover, listening to the gentle patter on the roof. I’m with Paula and Tracee on the dog thing. Millie would definitely be there. I’d listen to her gentle snoring, and the rain, and probably get sleepy enough to take a nap. Once awake, I’d dig into my ever-increasing TBR pile and then log onto Word and get a few thousand words into Act 2 of my WIP. In the evenings, I’d light candles and listen to the wind while sipping a glass of fine red wine and missing my husband. Vacations are great when you know home awaits you at the end.
Fun to think of this. And have a fabulous time, Michele!
Alison: What an utterly delightful porch! I’d bring books, music, my computer and notebook, and, like Paula, a fountain pen (right now I’m writing with purple ink, but this porch makes me think I’d switch to blue). I imagine daydreaming, reading, writing, and napping–a lot of napping. If you were all there, I’d want to spend time catching up and hearing about what you’re reading and writing. Thank you for the invitation, Michele!
Alexia: s I sit in yet another airline lounge, waiting to board a flight for yet another trip (Killer Nashville this time), I realize I’d spend the entire first day of my wild and wonderful week sleeping on the porch. So I hope that couch is comfy. I might swap it out for a hammock. I’d spend the next day using it as a base for exploring the surrounding area. Then an entire day to binge watch all those classic movies and British mysteries languishing in my Netflix/Hulu/AcornTV/Britbox queues. Then a day to write by hand and a day to type/edit what I wrote by hand. Coffee, tea, and bourbon are free flowing and the cat shows up whenever she darn well feels like it.
Paula: Sleep is a beautiful thing. I slept the entire day after all my kids and grandkids left….
Alison: Oh, I love this, Alexia. Sleep is one of my favorite activities.
Michele: I slept on the porch last night and had one of my best sleeps in recent memory. Sleep + Porch = Bliss
Cate: LOVE sleeping outdoors!!!
Hate mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes love me, especially when I sleep outdoors.
Michele: Me too, Cate. Those little suckers find me anywhere, so I’m a screen porch girl!
Connie: Brings back memories of porch sleeping at the northwoods cottage. Nothing better!
Alexia: Did you sleep on the couch in the photo, Michele?
Michele: Yes, the one in the original photos I sent of the cottage in Truro.
How’s that for a happy ending!
Do you have a favorite porch, past or present? Please share your memories, experiences, and PHOTOS!