New Thing #259--Alfresco

Today was another beautiful day, weather-wise. The high was a little over 80 degrees, and there was very little humidity.

I picked the last of the eggplant from the garden this afternoon, and combined them with zucchini and tomatoes from the refrigerator to make a pot of ratatouille. I cooked some rice to serve with it, and pulled out some homemade bread. I thought it would be nice to take advantage of the wonderful weather, so tonight I served dinner on the picnic table that I'd set with china, silver, and crystal. I also dressed for dinner on the deck.

Our picnic table has seen better days. One slat sticks up higher than the rest, so dishes don't always sit flat, and I've gotten an occasional splinter from the seat. Even so, it's the only outside seating we have, so I decided to make it work. All the tablecloths in the dining room buffet were pretty wrinkled, but I found one that was acceptable, grabbed some napkins from the same drawer, then went to the kitchen to get dishes. I chose the china that was easiest to get to, and added bowls and bread plates to my pile. Then it was back to the dining room for silverware (knives, forks, and spoons), glasses, and a candle. (Even though the sun was still out, dinner's always nicer with atmosphere!) I even pulled out a cut-glass pitcher for the iced tea.

Here's the table (before the napkins went on):

After I set the table, I went upstairs to dress. In this case, "dressing" just meant taking off my shorts and flip-flops and putting on the skirt and shoes I'd worn earlier in the day. I kept the same t-shirt, but put my hair up in a clip and put some earrings on.

When Tony got home we took the food outside. We turned the stereo on loud and opened a window in the family room so we could have mood music. I lit the candle; the wind blew it out, but it stayed lit the second time.

An uninvited mosquito had HIS dinner from my arm while I wasn't paying attention, but otherwise everything--the weather, the company, and the food-was wonderful. All too soon the sun was setting and it was time to come inside.