Sunday, July 13, 2025

The Patio Table


This is one of my favorite roses in our garden. It starts out bright orange, like this, and after a few days the blossoms gradually fade to a sort of dusky pink. So we wind up with flowers of multiple shades between orange and pink, all on the same bush, before they drop their petals. And the insects like them because the flowers are open with accessible centers.

Yesterday morning, bright and early, after I gave all the houseplants their weekly watering, I decided to assemble our new patio furniture. Remember, it was delivered Friday, in a disturbingly compact box? Well, I opened the box and pulled out all the bits, and there weren't as many as I feared -- basically two chair backs, two seats, four pairs of legs, a tabletop, three table legs and a center brace. And a ridiculous number of nuts, washers, screws and little plastic things you put on top of the bolts so the ends aren't exposed. And a mini wrench and screwdriver. And two cushions.

I spread it all out on the floor in the foyer and went to work.


Olga supervised from a comfortable spot on the dining room carpet.

It took an hour or maybe an hour and a half, but the process went smoothly and with no major gaffes. At the end I wound up with this:


That was yesterday evening, when Dave and I had our French onion soup on the patio for dinner. (Yes, Dave made French onion soup, on a nearly 90º day -- I tried my best not to question the lengthy use of the stove and the oven in such weather, but I did point out that it was an interesting choice. He said he was trying to use up all our surplus onions, so points to him for wasting nothing. It was good.)

Anyway, patio table done, I got to work on some garden projects -- mowing the grass, staking up some plants and trying to widen some of our paths so that we can move around without too much hindrance. Around this time of year I start to get impatient with having to shoulder my way through undergrowth like Henry Stanley. Olga, meanwhile, lazily enjoyed the sun on the grass:


She's lying by my feet now, watching squirrels, as I blog from our garden bench.


Here, by special request, is the "beaded farmyard" as I mentioned yesterday -- sheep, frog and pig. (I guess a frog isn't a typical farmyard resident, at least not in any formal sense, but whatever.) I bought the tiny pig and the frog in Botswana -- the pig was a gift for my father, because he collected them. I reclaimed it after he died.

It's much cooler today, with an expected high of 81º F (or 27º C). I'm going to do my best to catch up on some reading.

68 comments:

  1. Beaded animals all in proper scale- Frogs grow to that size in Colorado. Well done on table and chairs - anything that comes with an allen wrench baffles me- I have to sign the project over to Dennis.
    Such a taxing life for our Olga! I was wondering if British dogs pronounce "R" as hard or soft? Bawk- Bawk instead of - barrrk bark.Or if cats say "puh puh" instead of purr, purr. .

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    1. I know, the scale is funny, isn't it? This wasn't even an Allen wrench -- it was a normal wrench!

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  2. It sounds like a delightful and productive morning; your rose bush must present a beautiful array of colours, and I commend your resolve in assembling the patio furniture promptly after tending to the houseplants.

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    1. I mostly wanted to get the box out of the front hallway.

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  3. The patio set is very attractive. You obvs put all the bits in the right places!

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  4. There should be a new Olympic event called the Olga Roll.
    I guess your new outdoor setting is plastic. I like its style.

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    1. It's cast aluminum, actually -- heavier than plastic and no rust!

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  5. That is a beautiful rose do you know the name of it? The garden furniture looks great as does the onion soup. Regards Sue H

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    1. I don't know the name, no. It was planted by our landlords (or someone before us, and possibly before them).

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  6. The patio set is very stylish, and your garden looks so lush and jungly. Very inviting.

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    1. And it wasn't very expensive -- about £250, which seems reasonable.

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  7. Assembling the patio furniture without cursing and in record time deserves a medal and the endless admiration of your adoring public. The chairs look quite heavy which is good. Ours are too light and often blow over. The other day, one of the chairs beheaded Shirley's prized dahlia bloom. I thought she was going to cry.

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    1. Ugh! I would have cried too! Yes, these chairs seem like they'll stand up in a windstorm, but time will tell.

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  8. The beaded animals are a beautiful collection. I’d be regularly adding to those. I love your new patio furniture and it looks very solid. Do you have a problem with mosquitoes in the evening? The color of the rose is stunning.

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    1. No, mosquitoes aren't really a thing here. At least not yet, but with climate change, who knows? I do see them now and then but never many and they're tiny and don't last long.

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  9. Olga looks so content, what a great setting. Now that you managed the patio furniture, your next step could be adult Lego, yes it's the latest hot shit.

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    1. LOL! I imagine this was a bit like adult Lego, without the bright colors.

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  10. Olga's doing what we all love on a hot day -- laying low, enjoying the vibe. Three cheers on the patio furniture. It looks terrific. So does the soup, though I have to agree it was an interesting choice considering the weather! The beaded animals are terrific together. A good find all around!

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    1. Yes, I can't blame Olga for taking it easy in weather like this!

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  11. Your patio set is nice and your garden is lush, I do love your leaded window panes.

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    1. Thanks! I salvaged those from a house down the street that was having its windows replaced. They were all in a skip! I have five of them.

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  12. I think Dave just wanted to make onion soup and rationalized it later! Nooo, I've never done anything like that. Now you've got me interested in beaded animals, oh dear, temptation there.

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    1. Ha! You're probably right about the soup. He'd ordered a chateaubriand for the next night, before he realized I was going to be out with friends, so he cancelled it. Again, not exactly light summer fare!

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  13. What a nice spot to sit and have some soup[?] Oy! Though I also applaud Dave for not letting things go to waste.
    And the beaded critters make quite a trio.

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    1. We do really well at not wasting food, I must say.

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  14. The patio furniture looks good. The minute you mentioned assembling furniture, I got stressed as I HATE doing stuff like that. The directions never make any sense to me!

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    1. I was worried but it turned out to be pretty easy. Of course we'll see if it falls apart in two weeks. LOL

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  15. Your new patio furniture is very nice looking. I had my second shingles vaccination on Friday, so I was pretty tired. I took Jack to the spray park yesterday and I read a book for three hours. Can't remember the last time I read for so long, maybe on a plane trip. Quite enjoyable, the reading, I mean:)

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    1. It's great to settle in and read when there's nothing else pressing that needs to be done!

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  16. The patio set is lovely - good job! It's sweet to see Olga enjoying the day.
    Your garden looks terrific - so lush and wild.

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    1. We like it dense and sort of wild. Looking at it you'd think we never do anything to it, but I'm out there working all the time!

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  17. Good job on the patio furniture. The table is really small though, makes me think of what you might see at a Bistro. Don't ask why, I don't know.

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    1. Well, it is a cafe table, so that makes sense! That's all we need -- something to hold drinks or a meal for two people.

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  18. Your supervisor obviously did a good job! And deserves a leisurely roll in your heavenly garden!!

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    1. Which she definitely took advantage of at the first opportunity!

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  19. Soup is good any time of the year! Especially if you don't have to do the cooking! 🥣
    Curious as to the 2 items leaning against the wall of the foyer ... they look like windows!
    I had to chuckle at you peeking through the garden foliage at Olga sleeping! What was that yapping in the background?
    Cute little patio set!

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    1. Yes, those are windows. See my answer to Poppypatchwork above! I think the yapping in the background was another neighborhood dog, or possibly a neighborhood child.

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  20. I am VERY impressed with your garden furniture. I mean seriously. I would have just wept and moved on to the next thing in life.
    Your garden really is a thing of beauty. Just...wow.

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    1. Putting it together was much easier than it looks!

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  21. I really love your patio set. I don't mind putting things together, but I can count on the fact that the process will never be as speedy as the manufacturer estimates that it will be. I usually double that...and if I'm very lucky, I can accomplish it in that time frame.

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    1. I don't think they provided a time frame in this case -- or if they did, I didn't see it, which is probably just as well.

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  22. The little sheep blends in well.
    Your garden furniture looks great. You did an impressive job putting it all together. And, a nice bowl of onion soup, yum!
    I love seeing Olga rolling around in the grass. Did she bark at you while you ate your soup in the garden?

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    1. No, the barking has subsided lately. She just came and lay next to the table.

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  23. Your orange to pink rose is outstanding. The color is electric.
    Nice build on the patio set! It looks great in the garden.
    Your beaded farm animals are lovely. I own one beaded zebra. I remember buying it in a store where they had only one beaded animal. I had to have it.

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    1. Oh, yeah, I'd have bought a beaded zebra too!

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  24. I like the new furniture! Maybe I'm weird, but I never mind assembling things like that and always feel accomplished when I do. I'm sure Olga's moral support/supervision helped!
    Was that a child's voice I heard in the video? Your new neighbors, perhaps?

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    1. There are some kids who live a couple of houses away and they were playing in their garden. Our upstairs neighbor kids haven't appeared yet!

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  25. I love those videos of Olga! She was clearly enjoying the day and your greeting :)
    The beaded animals are wonderful. And well done on assembling the lovely patio set. I do try not to cook on hot days, or at least use the burners only. I watch for cool days to cook. But it doesn't always work out.

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    1. Yeah, sometimes it can't be helped, I suppose. And I'm not sure what one could make with leftover onions BESIDES French onion soup!

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  26. I see that Olga has to be involved in everything that's going on. You couldn't have done it without her!

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    1. She is always right there, lending moral support!

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  27. Lots of yardwork to be done here too. I don't have a dog that would be my audience.

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    1. Somehow it does help to have an animal "advisor"!

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  28. Lovely patio furniture! But your helper was sleeping on the job. Silly old girl.

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  29. The patio set looks so attractive - you chose well (I'm a bit jealous!). Loved Olga's victory roll and the beaded sheep is just right, you were lucky to find it.
    Wendy (Wales)

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    1. We got it from Wickes -- it's the Charles Bentley cast aluminum bistro set in gray -- £230, which I didn't think was too terrible.

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  30. The patio furniture is good, and it has a padded seat. Very good.

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  31. Farms have ponds where there are frogs! Perfectly normal. Love the table and chairs; they suit that area. The flower is stunning. I'm a fan of orange and multi-colored blooms although I've never had any that completely changed color.

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    1. Yeah, they're not deliberately farmed (maybe in France?) but they can be found on a farm!

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  32. Codex: Either those are giant bowls or the table looks smaller than it is. Looks nice though. IKEA has forever changed assembly, but maybe it worked out because there were no Umlauts involved?
    Whom did you order from?

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    1. From Wickes -- the Charles Bentley bistro set in gray. (Even though it looks black -- don't ask me!)

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  33. That furniture is very nice and perfect for the space and the garden is lovely too. Olga is a lucky dog. I love the beaded collection. Good job!

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    1. I just want to use our patio more. We really never sit out there and we should!

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  34. The patio furniture is beautiful! So nice to see Olga rolling around in the sun. I have never had french onion soup. It was all the rage when I was young and I used to wonder if french onions were different from our onions.

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    1. It's really good, especially with croutons and cheese on top! Probably not very healthy, but oh well.

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