the Red Front Door

Well after living in this old farmhouse for twelve years, we've finally made our way to sprucing up the exterior.  Our first renovating job was the bathroom, followed by the living room, the dining room, the nursery, the kitchen and pantry, the second child's bedroom, the upstairs hall and now we should redo the bathroom again.  The only room that's been left untouched is the master bedroom.  Although the plaster is peeling and the closet is atrocious, the walls are painted ivory and liveable.  It is, of course, on The List, but it can wait.

This Spring I felt compelled to do some work on the exterior.  Sided in aluminum sometime in the late 1950s, we've sort of put residing/painting on hold.  It's such a huge project to tackle.  We'd like to add a wide, wrap-around porch and, well, that only adds to the cost.  However, when Hank cut down a dead pine tree that was smack dab in the middle of the front yard, suddenly the front of the house was clearly visible to all passers-by.  Our neglected front door needed a bit of attention.

Our current front porch is rarely used.  The floorboards are rotting.  The light fixture has no switch.  Literally, we have no idea where the wires run inside the house.  The wooden screen door (still original) is shrouded in plastic every winter to buffet it from the North Winds.  The dog lays in the hostas each season, and there's a light covering of moss growing on the shingles.  But now that the pine tree is gone, I felt it was time to paint the screen door and do a bit of decorating. 

Floyd inspecting the boots

My son outgrew his rain boots so I had Hank drill several 1/2" holes on the bottoms.  I filled them half full of rocks and potted flowers.  Actually this is an experiment in perseverance.  You see, approximately 16 hours after said boots were set out, Bosley had strewn them, rocks, flowers and all across the yard.  I stubbornly replanted and replaced them.  I dusted them with a healthy coating of black pepper, and we wait for Round Two.


So my painted screen door and potted plants are a feeble, yet refreshing, attempt to pretty up the front of the house.  Some day I'll have a deep, wide porch set with rockers and huge urns of geraniums, but until then, this little space works very well for front porch picnics of pb & j.