Social Butterflies

After nearly six months of spending every night on the mountain at our little illuminated cabin, the past three days were a socializing bonanza. Clearly, the spirit of patriotism, gunfire and revelry runs high in the Tennessee hinterlands.

On Saturday night, Dennis the Welder (aka the Lady Slipper Hunter) was throwing a fireworks fest over the lake. Most folks came over on their ATVs, so we hopped on our patriotic red Farmall Cub tractor and made an appearance. Stayed longer than we should have, of course, but it was hard to resist. This is the guy with the 30-foot-tall teepee built alongside the lake; his property is set up like a playground, with rope swings and fishing coves, a hideaway "cowboy cabin" and multiple fire pits.

On Sunday, we were invited to spend the afternoon at another neighbor's cabin. After soaking up the sun on the porch and stuffing ourselves with slabs of porterhouse, we dove into his private, spring-fed lake and lolled around on floaty toys like we were kids. Now that's living!

So when July Fourth finally rolled around this morning, we were moving pretty slow. I made a hearty breakfast ...

... and we spent the entire day on the front porch, reading.

Oh, the front door project, you ask? Ummm ...