Jill’s topic this week for the Porch Party is Romance. Our porch is highly romantic, of course. Well, not at the moment…it’s covered in snow and bags of salt. But in the spring and summer? That’s a different story.

Rocking gently on the glider, the scent of roses in the air, doggies watching the world go by, gazing at my gardens  – all of it is highly romantic to me. Even more so when my husband plays his guitar while I wander around pruning and pinching back my plants. Or when we sit together on the glider and watch the sun set. Or when, in the twilight, we hear the whinnying sounds of the little screech owls that live in our willow tree. Or when there is a breeze and the weeping willow’s branches sway ever so gently. When I’m on the porch I feel my shoulders drop, my heart rate slows and I delight in the beauty surrounding me.

Here is my other favorite romantic porch:

Do you see that little porch? I used to live there when I first moved to San Diego. That was in 1993. In 1994, I met this guy at a Fourth of July party on the beach. He was an actor working at the same theater where I was working as a vocal coach. We flirted a little whenever we would run into each other. One night, at an opening night party, he asked if he could drive me home. I said yes. Then a little snag – I went to go get my purse only to realize my wallet had been stolen. After looking everywhere with no success, this man drove me home. I wasn’t feeling romantic, rather I was beside myself; worried about my charge cards, my ID, my extra house key that was in my wallet. I remember telling him as he walked me to the door that I was not usually that distracted and tense. He, of course, assured me that he understood all the worries that were racing through my brain. I was standing on the top step. He was standing two steps below me. But he’s very tall, so we were face to face. I said good night. Suddenly he kissed me. A lovely, unexpected first kiss. He made sure I got safely inside and said good night.

Four years later, we were married.

So you can see why that particular porch is still highly romantic for me. And why I went back there last summer to take this picture.

I’m joining my friend Jill of Gypsy Brocante at her first Porch Club. I grew up in a very small bungalow that housed our family of 6. Thank goodness it had a porch. Summer evenings were often spent on the porch, saying hello to neighbors, reading a book or watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. I then spent many years without a porch – in dorms and a series of apartments. When my husband and I rented a house in San Diego that had a porch, I realized how much I had missed having one. So when we finally bought our first home – this cottage – a big selling point was the porch that wrapped around 2 sides of the house. It’s a sizeable porch and it becomes another room in the summertime. The floor is made of bluestone.

Our old, rusty glider is covered in cushions and you’ll often find me there, reading or playing with the dogs.

There are hanging plants and potted plants everywhere.

It’s one of my favorite places and I like to sit there and watch the world go by.

As I look at these photos, I am only too aware that our 8th major snowstorm is on its way later in the week.  It’s hard to believe that it will ever look like this again. I pondered the idea of posting a snowy photo of the porch…but I think I prefer to think of it this way.

I’ll be gone all day Monday working in Manhattan – it promises to be a 13 hour day! So I will be a little late visiting everyone. But I’ll be around, I promise.