The Open Porches Sisterhood

June 19, 2005 

My sister Kimberly and I had a Father’s Day brunch with my dad today in Bakersfield.  I took Thomas Hines’ book Irving Gill: The Architecture of Reform along with me to show them historic pictures of the house and other similar Gill homes.  Kimberly had never seen an historic picture of the house even though one in the book had actually been provided by my father.  She said with a bit of a wrinkled nose “Those sliding glass doors and windows, you’re going to get rid of them, right?”  I thought she was referring to a slider that replaced a window in the dining room but upon some questioning I realized she was really asking if we were going to open up the porches.  I got a big grin on my face and said “we’ll start the ‘Open Porches Sisterhood,' Kimberly."  She offered to put on some sort of dramatic performance for my husband Sander to let him know how incredible the porches would be in their original condition.  I said “Kimberly, he didn’t just fall off the turnip truck.”

As I see it, if you have a 6,000 square foot house and no porches, you have too much house.    What’s 1,000 square feet among 6,000 anyway?

At this point, Sander has agreed that if I outlive him, he would have no problem with me opening the porches at that time. 

Comments

[Veronica]

I am officially requesting membership in the Open Porches Sisterhood. At least in the Front room and View room. Can we reach a compromise with Sander? Perhaps Jimmy Carter will come broker the deal?

[Amanda Rose]

LOL Veronica. Is Carter available? I think we may need him.

In terms of your membership, please submit your application along with your curriculum vita, in triplicate. As a charter member of the sisterhood, Kimberly will consider your application. (Or perhaps Kimberly will just let in whoever posts here.)