Back porch sitting, I love it!
You can sit quietly or boisterously with friends or family on a cool day, or you can sit for hours reading a favorite book and napping along. A back porch is a luxury that is a wonderful place to enjoy.
When we built our log house in the country, it was to be only a weekend or sometimes a few days get-a-way from the hustle and bustle of our life in the city. A place to recharge and get ready to go full throttle once again. This is how we used our little house for years and then as we became more involved with the "cow business" we began staying for longer periods of time. Then....COVID hit us all with such a punch that we all seemed to hunker down into safer places for a time. During this time, I broke my leg pretty badly and needed a place to be quiet, be still and recuperate. Our little cabin was the perfect place. We permanently moved out here over two years ago and have been here since.
It's not too far out that I cannot get to town or to my family in a few minutes but far enough out that I can enjoy country life, hear birds singing, see all the bright stars at night and hear the tree frogs calling. Our house in town is where I raised my children and where all my memories of all the good days, and it's where a big part of my heart lives. And as of right now, we just cannot let go completely of this big old house. Is it difficult to maintain two houses, keep up the repairs needed, tend to all the yard work and pay utilities on both homes? Yes, it certainly is and I know sooner or later we will have to make a decision where we will live out the remainder of our lives here on earth but for right now, I am not ready to make that decision.
And....then there is the back porch issue. We have had a small back porch, here at the cabin, only eight feet deep, screened in and shady that we as well as my children as they were growing up and played on across the entire back part of our house. It's my favorite spot! My husband loves living out here and every time I mention going back "home", he mentions our garden, having to cut hay, feed the cows, our horse, and all the other chores that have to be done here at the Circle S trying to dissuade me. I have always wanted a really big back porch, maybe even a sleeping porch, so now he has agreed to enlarge ours out toward our lake fifteen more feet. I can see through this. Even though I am so excited about the expansion, I see his ploy. He believes I will be more likely to want to stay with a really big porch to enjoy. And, of course, one of our children is building a big house across the road so it seems I might have made up my mind, somewhat, about where we will spend most of our time.
Roy always wants a sweet after a meal and with the two of us, a full-sized dessert is sometimes lots wasted.
So, here's my recipe for "half a cake.”
1/2 box of coconut cake mix,
1/2 cup of white sugar,
3 mashed really ripe bananas,
1/2 box of banana instant pudding mix,
1/3 cup of melted butter,
3/4 cup of sour cream, (or buttermilk),
one tablespoon vanilla extract. You can add nuts, 1 cup chopped, if you like. Sometimes before I bake, I like to add nuts. I mix 1 cup of chopped nuts with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and sprinkle on top before baking.
