Imagine a time
Pick yourself a porch, bring your favorite friends, sit a spell and pour a cup of coffee or tea.
Welcome to Club Verandah!
“…I like to close my eyes and imagine a time when life was simpler. I like to think about a time when no one would choose text messaging over good, live conversation. I think about sweet tea or perhaps an after dinner cup of coffee enjoyed in time to the rocking of an old cane chair. Children play in the front yard imagining themselves a ship captain or the Lone Ranger out on the mesa.”
— Andrew Odom
If y’all read the comments, you know that Sheila and I have started an imaginary association called CLUB VERANDAH. You don’t have to be southern to join, although you’ll meet lots of us here who speak with that unmistakable drawl that goes so well with porch-sitting.
All you have to do to join, is travel in your imagination to a time you remember in the past, or hope for in the future, when you can sit in a rocking chair among congenial people and enjoy sipping your beverage of choice (for me it’s tea, iced or hot) while chatting about things that tend to lower the blood pressure and bring on the smiles.
As the darkness falls, you’ll see some fireflies lighting up the night and you’ll hear the laughter of the kids playing hide and seek, or Red Rover, or some other game you remember playing long ago. If you tell them it’s time to go home, they’ll beg for just a few more minutes to play, and you’ll agree.
There’s a pitcher of icy lemonade over there on the side table, and plenty of herbal tea and fruit juice in the kitchen. I think I saw some freshly-baked cookies in there too, and there’s sliced watermelon in the icebox — I mean, the fridge — along with a Key Lime pie made with the juice Maybelle brought back for me from Key West yesterday.
Y’all feel free to stay as long as you want. We’ll leave the light on for you.
One year ago today:
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: coffee, friendship, fun, neighbors, porch swings, porches, relaxing, rocking chairs, screened porch, summer, tea, visiting
Defeat Despair 
Good morning, Julia! This is perfect for today, when it will hit the nineties, and I’m wearing the seersucker dress we bought together!
Thinking of you and hoping you’re well!
Hi Susan, I’ve only worn that dress once or twice, but I like it as much as I did on the day we bought them. I’m doing pretty well. I’ve taken six air-travel trips so far this year, and that has worked wonders. 🙂
Ohhhh Julia, how I loved this blog! Nothing more pleasurable than sitting on the front porch as I used to do with my Great Grandmother ~ Mama Lucy in Newnan, Ga. What great memories!! I hope you are doing well.
Hi Connie, it’s always such a joy to hear from you. WOW, Newnan, Georgia is one of my favorite Southern cities! A perfect place to enjoy a porch, especially if you add in a book, a tall glass of iced tea or lemonade, and a Great Grandmother! Those are precious memories indeed. You didn’t mention the tea and the book, but my imagination always supplies them! 😀