Lunch in the Vineyard

Sometimes through unplanned events we find solutions. Before leaving for Alberta we dropped off all of the cushions from our outdoor couches to have them re-upholstered in sunbrella fabric by a friend - they aren't finished yet so we only have our patio table to sit out at. During the windstorm on friday our patio umbrella, which is made of metal, snapped in half. We had foolishly left it up and the wind caught it by the sails and blew it over. This is the second umbrella we've lost this way, you would think we would learn. With hot weather upon us we found ourselves with nowhere to sit - No couches in the gazebo and no shade over the table. We decided that the table could go into the gazebo as a temporary solution and discovered it might be a permanent solution. The gazebo, as we refer to it, is one of those tent like sun shade contraptions with screen panels and solid panels allowing you to block out sun or prying eyes or simply block out the bugs. As we placed the table inside of it I was reminded about how much the kids hate to eat outside because of the bugs and it struck me that finally we might be able to eat outside without panic attacks.

Today I decided to make our main meal for lunch to avoid having to cook in the heat this evening and decided we'd try out our new table arrangement. I made a wild mushroom sauce with walla walla onions and garlic scapes and white wine, made a separate alfredo sauce. The kids had just alfredo and we had alfredo with mushrooms on pasta and made a big green salad. Banana set the patio table in the gazebo and I made a big pitcher of lemonade. What a lovely meal! It felt as though we were eating lunch in a vineyard. It was warm but breezy, the sun was shining but not on us, we remained bug free and it was nice to simply be outside. I'm just sure what to do about the couches now... they need to be under cover as they technically aren't supposed to be outdoor couches.