Monday, June 18, 2007

fun in the backyard

Sunday we made a little time for lazy fun with friends at home. Sis and RB came by after an afternoon of good music and we had fun doing nothing in the backyard before a simple dinner of grilled tofu subs and salad, with a strawberry pie for dessert.

backyardaction5
she is just about to laugh at the punchline we all know is coming

You can tell summer is here because suddenly doing nothing at all seems like a great time. Backyards are just the right place for that kind of entertainment.

HWWLLB has been working so hard on the garden, growing all kinds of tasty stuff to eat and neat things to look at. He has nasturtiums that seem to glow in the dark, flowers that taste like cucumbers, and habitat for all kinds of creatures, from the mockingbird family in the holly bush to the random swarm of ants on a flower. There's a lot to explore in that tiny corner of nature.

I think we have a division of labor going here that works well: he makes it interesting, and I try to make it comfortable. I pick and trim and straighten and he grows and grows and grows.

For a while now I've been looking for a table and chairs for our patio. It's a great spot: shady in the afternoons, with a full view of the garden, yet totally hidden from sight from the front and sides of the house. Here's what I found over the weekend:

patio1
wash me

Clearly it needs a coat of white paint, but I'm pretty stoked. Those chairs are swivel rockers. They're so comfortable and so sturdy - it's amazing that something sixty years old still works just as it was designed to, after a whole lifetime outdoors. I believe that says something about how they don't make 'em like they used to, or about our disposable culture, or something, but I don't feel like speechifying right now, because this post is about lazy backyard fun. Though I guess after a beer or two speechifying can be a big part of lazy backyard fun, right?

Aside: I was just realizing how in English we don't have such good words for the end of sentences like the one above. If this post were in German I'd have written nicht wahr? or if French n'est-ce pas? but in English we are impoverished for flavorizers like those, and 'right' was about the best I could do. Is flavorizer a word?

Anyhow, I'll be painting that patio set soon, and then you must come over for a cup of tea. Bring your knitting.

6 comments:

  1. love the swivel rockers. so curious about the cucumber flowers, too. and tofu subs? how do you prepare yours? oh it all sounds summery and fabulous. i'll take you up on that offer for tea and knitting. ;) xo

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  2. Congrats on the great find- that's a fantasic patio set! It looks great as is, can't wait to see it all spiffied up after a fresh coat of paint!

    PS: Thanks for the compliments on my dresses. I'm rather proud of myself. ;)

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  3. oooh, i think you might need to find more groovy chairs for that knitting party to create better english words :)

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  4. count me in! I cannot wait to see how it turns out. I recently acquired and old chest that I am planning on refurbishing and stashing my stash in... its so exciting to make old things new.

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  5. If you were Canadian, you would instinctively know that the end of that sentence is the perfect place to use the term "eh?".

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  6. Is grilled tofu nice? I have just turned vegan and am trying to find more food possibilities...I know knitting isn't strictly vegan but I can't save the world single-handedly and I can't give up knitting!!

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