Hospitality Central

I've never had a big kitchen before...

But now I do.

And a breakfast room with a fireplace to boot.

I love to cook for people,  but enjoy it so much more when I can be surrounded by the ones I'm cooking for.


And now I can!

It's an older home, like its current owners. It was built in 1967, when I was seven, and Tim was five.
Over the decades its gone through several transformations, additions and even do-overs.

Just like us!

Last weekend we had one of Tim's high school friends and his wife over for dinner, and had a great time.

This past weekend we had one of Tim's childhood friends, now a dear family friend, stay for a few days.

We acted like we were all college students on Spring Break...

It was awesome.

Next weekend we have another two dear friends from Georgia, coming over for dinner while visiting OTown.

Our house is far from palatial or fancy, but sure feels like home...the minute you walk in the door.

Bonus points, my brother lives three house up, across the street, directly on the lake.

He has the perfect Lake House.

And now we have the perfect dining hall, a three minute walk away.

I am more than well aware, that we have been blessed beyond belief.

For an entire decade we barely scraped by, but did so, with tons of help from more than countless friends, strangers, and family.

This girl knows how quickly life can change.

On a thin dime, and when nobody is expecting it.

As I sat out back on the screened in porch

Monday night with our good friend, Rick, on his last night here...we had music playing softly, so you could still hear the crickets, birds and frogs. The ceiling fans were circling overhead, just like the hawks and ocassional bald eagles above us in the sky.

It was all I've ever wanted out of my adult life.

I certainly don't deserve (or even want) a mansion. I just want a home that feels like home, with a yard that's lovely to play in and look at.

Our house in Newnan was a wonderful "home" for over twenty years. I still miss it.

We moved out like gypsies, leaving a lot of our stuff there simply because we didn't have room to take it with us.

We lived in a tiny (and I mean tiny) rental sardine can for over two years (expecting to be there one).

I tried and keep it clean as a whistle (three dogs, never gonna happen) because it was mainly a depressing place to be inside of for more than an hour or so. It was a more than tremendous downsize.

For all of us.

But last night as I sat out back with our old friend, I told him this...

 "If I had to go through every single thing from the past decade of my life again, to get to this very instant, I'd do it again in a heartbeat... and would be more than well worth the wait."

This is the the kind of life you need to aspire and live.

Til next time... an extremely grateful COTTON

And P.S.

Visit  us anytime.