My Sister's House

When we first moved here, there was a small guest house on the property that had been cobbled together from an old chicken barn. Our sons lived there when they came home from school for the holidays, and in short order it became known as “The Frat House”. Needless to say, they weren’t very kind to the old place, and after more than a decade of their tenancy the place was about ready to fall down.

My older sister is not well. She has a multitude of health-related problems, and two years ago it became clear that she really couldn’t continue to live alone. So we tore down the decrepit place and built her a little cottage on the old foundation. It’s only a little over 600 square feet in size, but it has everything a person could wish for -- a bright, airy kitchen and living area, a glamorous (if tiny) bathroom, and a beautiful sunny bedroom. But the best thing about it is the wonderful covered porch, which is the best place to sit and watch thunderstorms.