What Is A Sukkah?

A friend who's converting to Judaism emails me: I was talking to my mom on the phone just now, trying to explain to her what a sukkah is. I told her it was like a hut, a temporary dwelling place, like what the Israelites lived in. Then she said, "Oh, is that what Mr. Ford lives in? He lives in a sukkah?" She's been reading your blog, she said. I could've died. Mr. Ford lives in a sukkah year-round.