Monday, April 27, 2020

Al Fresco


I got so much done yesterday! As you can see above, the scene of my work area. (Ignore that dead dog.)

I mentioned that Dave and I bought a new patio table, and we're getting rid of the old furniture. Well, the chairs above are from the old set. We've been debating whether to keep them -- they're in better condition than the table and the bench, and without them we'd have only two patio chairs, which wouldn't be great if we had people over.

So we decided to hang onto them, and I got out an old can of stain to restore their finish. (Color: "bramble." It appears to be the same stain whoever bought them used on them originally. Miraculously, it was still in our utility closet.)


Here's a comparison shot, just so you can see how weathered they looked before I began.

Behind the chairs, you'll see a row of five flowerpots. Those are our dahlias, which I finally replanted for the growing season. They've spent the winter as tubers resting in dry soil in our garden shed. They already had little pink sprouts coming out the top, even in the darkness!

In between these projects I read most of a New Yorker (I am so behind on my magazines) and took the dog, of course, to the cemetery. I met a couple of women there who are doing a survey of all the graves. One of them showed me a beautiful watercolor of one of the elaborate headstones, and they told me they plan to write a book. I'd buy it!


In the evening, Dave and I had a special dinner outside. We ordered from "Hide at Home," the takeaway service of Hide restaurant on Piccadilly, which you may remember we visited several months ago. We got the weekend set menu -- asparagus starter; duck with potatoes, greens and beetroot salad; and black forest gateau, all with a paired bottle of wine. We sat out and ate amid the cooing pigeons and the squawking parakeets and the chittering squirrels charging through the treetops, and appreciated the garden without the roar of overhead aircraft (a frequent pre-virus sound).


Once again, I marveled at how lucky we are.

17 comments:

David said...

What a beautiful place to have dinner - nice patio set too!

gz said...

A beautiful spot..and a nicely relaxed hound!
Glad you refurbished the chairs..they look firm but comfortable

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Al Fresco is one of my favourite film actors. He was excellent in "Scarface".

Moving with Mitchell said...

Idyllic! And right in the city! You did an exceptional job restoring the chair.

Sarah said...

Sounds like the perfect day!

Ms. Moon said...

I think a lot of us are feeling very lucky these days. And we are.

Sharon said...

Your al fresco setting looks perfect and the meal sounds wonderful. What a nice treat. Great job restoring those chairs.

Anonymous said...

A lovely al fresco dinner. Yes, we really are lucky.

The Bug said...

That is such a lovely setting! Dr. M & I should do some sort of fancy take-out meal - although with the food he's been cooking I haven't really missed it!

Dee said...

That looks lovely! I think it's important to feel our luck/fortune at the moment and be grateful! And celebrate it with some find food outdoors!

Catalyst said...

Lucky, indeed. I hope you didn't sit on the freshly sprayed chairs.

Allison said...

You truly do live in paradise. Your garden is just lovely. So sad about that poor "dead" doggie. She looks so relaxed and happy.

John Going Gently said...

Olga looks flat

ellen abbott said...

good job on the chairs. and I'm surprised y'all don't eat in the garden more often. and yes, so many of us are quite lucky these days.

Penelope said...

You certainly have a talent for rescuing all manner of things. The dinner sounds wonderful and I am glad you and Dave were able to enjoy your garden and each other.

The Padre said...

Nice Work On The Chairs But That Olga Is A Class Act - Sunshine, Does A Body Sleepy

Cheers

37paddington said...

The refurbished chair looks amazing. They look sturdy and comfortable too. I bet you find yourselves using them as much as you always did. Dinner in the garden sounds divine.