moved the big umbrella from the garden onto the deck so that we would have shade for our gathering yesterday…
the weather station was suggesting it would be 30°C… which was a bit crazy as it had been maybe 23 or so the last few days…
used lots of muscles, but it was worth it as there was shade for everyone, although there was a bit of moving chairs around to stay out of the sun… and it was hot…
yesterday we moved the table on the deck to the middle of the space and this morning I put on the tablecloth and runner that I picked up on Saturday…
then my housemate put the umbrella back in its hole and we opened it up…
I folded silverware into napkins and brought out pretty, but unmatched, plates to put around… glasses and mugs followed… everything was upside down so they wouldn’t get dirty…
found bowls, covers, and spoons for the two salads – ham and German potato, as well as the coleslaw…
crackers went onto a wooden tray and the salt and pepper shaker made it onto the table, alongside some lily of the valley flowers from under the deck…
chair covers and cushions went out and umbrellas went up…
friends arrived with other food offerings… there were fresh veggies and hummus, devilled eggs, fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate, and custard…
there were flowers for the birthday woman…
we gathered at the table and enjoyed everyone’s delicious offerings… of course there was our usual coffee and tea to go with the fruit, custard and whipped cream, topped with a piece of chocolate and a pistachio, lol…
the bubble machine came out and was on until bubbles started to land on plates… the weather was beautiful as the sun shone with a slight breeze every now and then… conversations were free flowing and stories made us laugh…
we took a group photo, as we always do when we gather for special times;-)…
as everyone began to leave the clouds filled the sky and the temperature went down, but no rain fell…
I had a relaxing time as I cleaned up, filled the dishwasher, put away the cushions, and got the table back into its original location…
read my book as the last of the bubbles flew around the deck…
spent a bit of time getting all the chairs out, as well as cushions, for our Monday afternoon gathering…
even rigged an umbrella over an additional chair to be sure everyone had shade…
before that, I used the same umbrella to provide a bit of shade for the creeping thyme that we moved on Saturday… hoping it likes the new spot and starts to cover a bit more ground, lol…
I was surprised yesterday morning when I looked out the window to see the hammock stand on its back against the planter… clearly the wind had lifted the umbrella and blew it over…
when I went out I saw that the umbrella on the top was perfectly fine so I took it off… the wind has been very strong since Tuesday and may continue for a number of days… a section of the edging had broken right off…
the umbrella went into the garage and I was able to put the stand back up… not going to put the umbrella back on until the weather improves…
I spent some time reading on the upper deck and when it warmed up a bit I found the screws for the hammock, removed the umbrella, laid the whole thing down, and attached all four legs tightly… put everything back together and then added a couple of cushions to the hammock chair and it is now perfect;-)… I may have had a short nap in it while taking a break from reading…
I am very happy as the shape of this chair is much more comfortable than the previous one… I think it will get more use, but we shall see…
a little later, I used the fishnet in the bathtub pond to clean out all the dead water hyacinths from last year… then I brought out the wet-vac and sucked out the dead leaves and water… next I put together the pieces for the new pump and set it into the pond… after filling it up, turned on the pump and it worked… yay…
on March 12, this is how the deck table looked covered in snow and with the very dilapidated old umbrella… and then on the 2nd of April when the new umbrella was installed…
Sunday, the chairs made it onto the deck… and Monday, the table got washed and the chairs set around it…
I have been spending as much time as possible in the garden during these lovely days, enjoying every moment…
today, I put an umbrella on the hibiscus, which is getting a sunburn, even though I hardened it off… I came across the umbrella yesterday in the shed and it worked perfectly…
I switched two planters on the deck so that I can see the morning glories more easily… one of the chairs has been in front of them, so it hasn’t been as easy to see them… this will be much better…
finally I cleaned the pump again… I am getting good at it, lol… it makes a huge difference to the water flow…
I also followed the shade around the space as it was very hot in the sun…
I am so blessed to have the time and space to be able to enjoy the garden each and every day…
not too long ago we got a new shade umbrella… it has worked well for a portion of the day, providing shade for one chair but I was hoping it might adjust to provide more coverage, depending on the time of day…
yesterday I learned how to turn it, which I didn’t think was possible… very exciting…
unfortunately, the sun had already put the whole backyard in shadow so we couldn’t test it out… I’d hoped to see what it could do today, but it has been overcast followed by a thunderstorm… no sun expected, but tomorrow should be sunny all day;-)…
herbiggirlpants 