A New Appreciation for the Porch

Six chili entries, Five Chili quencher entries, a thunderstorm, a rainbow, firefly catching, basketball, bad mitten, and fireworks were the ingredients to this years chili cook off.  The storms were supposed to have passed by 6 pm, but at 7 the sky darkened, the wind picked up and after referring to my iPhone, I made the decision to hike all of the tables up onto the wrap around porch.  This was quite a scene as the tables were covered in dishes and crock pots full of chili, we worked as a great team and lost nothing has we headed up the porch steps with the tables.  Hmmm maybe a category for next years cook off, chili table balancing...  Good timing, 20 minutes later downpour! 

What lesson did I learn?  Our porch is the perfect place to have a party!  Plenty of room for all of the food tables, lots of chairs and friends kicking back in clusters or walking around and chatting while watching a thunderstorm.  It was so relaxed.  Sitting on the porch sipping libations and simply enjoying had the feel of a party on a southern plantation.  Once the weather passed, everyone stayed put, we watched the bonfire roar from across the yard and the kids ventured out to roast marshmallows and catch fireflies.  The evening ended with sparklers, fireworks and lots of very tired, dirty and happy kids headed to dreamland.

 I now have a new appreciation for the wrap around porch that I've always loved, but never truly utilized.  From now on it will be a central thought in my planning.