now that i’m a “northerner,” one of the things i really love is cool summer evenings. cool enough oftentimes that i now understand a clothing product that had mystified me before: the lightweight “summer sweater.”

last night i had supper on the “patio” in front of our house. i sat on the chair/bench thing that i recently refinished (although admittedly a bit slap-dash–i pretty much ignored the bottom side and any other surface that wasn’t really showing). i had curb-harvested it late last summer from a house down the street (literally dragging it by myself all the way home, switching hands every few yards, because it wasn’t really far enough to merit using the truck to pick it up and because i was pretty sure my man was going to roll his eyes that i was bringing home another rag-tag piece of furniture that he was pretty sure we didn’t need, so i didn’t even bother asking for his help (or maybe i did and he refused–i forget…)). when i got it, it was gray and very weather-beaten and the “wheels” on one side were mostly broken. the wheels are still not really fixed, but now the wood is sanded smooth and finished with a clear coat of something waterproofing. the wood instead of being gray is now several different shades of a lovely brown and i’m not scared of eating off of it anymore. and it feels so good to have a project that’s been whispering to me for about a year off my list. (except for the wheels–they’re still whispering…)

so anyway, it was lovely to have my dinner outside, then stay out and read a magazine and listen to the birds and the far off traffic noise and be a little bit chilly here in june.