Patio Lanterns

I've been a bit of a grumbling, cranky, whining, negative Nelly for...oh...a few months...or so...

Hard to say how long really.

Awhile.

Two reasons.

1. Work. Which is not as psycho. Or just as psycho, but a different psycho. Ever changing psycho-ness. True story... recently I helped a lady get her dog into the morgue to say it's last goodbyes to "daddy", walked away from a man who was unhinged and utterly belligerent about the price of a cookie in our cafe (ever hear of a free market, buddy? Looks like you don't need a cookie either way. Just sayin'), and had an ignorant (and by ignorant I mean stupid and mean) doctor make me cry. I also I smashed my head on a hand sanitizer dispenser (don't ask).

2. Winter. I know I don't get to complain about winter because it never dipped lower than -7 and we didn't get 6 feet of snow. However - we had way too many months of rain, sleet, and grey skies and I wasn't warm one day for a solid 6 months. I was begging, aching, yearning for spring. Flowers and birds. Sun and slushy drinks. My days bookended by coffee on the patio in the morning and a crisp glass of wine in the evening. But our spring was late. And that just made me grumpier.

But spring finally arrived. And it's making up for being late. Blooms are everywhere and it's making me SO HAPPY!!

May has saved my sanity and changed my mood.

I'm already tanned.

Been shopping for new summer clothes.

And B3's and my routine has changed. All winter we were ensconced in my house. We cooked dinner there. Watched mysteries and football. Had our routine down pat. Now that spring has arrived, we are changing it up. The main reason is that his back yard is so great. Yes, he lives in a rental. And his house is a little dated. We often have this conversation:

B3 - "If I were to buy this place, first thing I would do is put in all new windows". (He used to sell windows so...not surprising it's number 1 on his list. He also checks his hydro usage daily - yes, daily - so some energy efficient windows would make him so happy.)

Me: "And rip out all the flooring". Yeah. His flooring...burn it. 

So, no exaggeration, the inside needs some work. But it's a rental. So you're kinda stuck with it.

But the outside. Surrounded by trees and lots of lawn. And the back deck, full of sun in the morning until late afternoon. And the main feature are the two eagles nests in his neighbours trees - about 25 feet away. The citified, mangy, entitled, free-loading deer we could do without.

So, knowing that I love to hang out and have my coffee outside in the mornings and love to have an evening drink on my patio, he suggested we spend the weekends having coffee and evenings on HIS patio during the summer.

To do that, he had to spruce it up a bit. See, he had never sat out on the patio the entire four years he's lived there.

I spray painted his circa 1980's patio chairs and table black. He ditched his uglier-than-sin-ripped-up-what-is-living-in-those-seat cushions and bought some sleek black, grey and green replacements. We threw a bunch of stuff in the garbage. He hung his hanging flower baskets. I bought black placemats and he bought solar powered patio lantern strings of lights that I hung from his eaves. He loved them so much, he went back to Walmart to buy more. 

The day we hung the patio lanterns we cooked dinner and ate outside, sipping a bottle of Malbec until the sun set. The patio lanterns came on as the light waned and we talked long into the night. He mentioned how the last 8 months that we've been dating have been super hard for the both of us. Not the dating part. The everything else part. Yet we've weathered it together. We talked about future things. And how that might look. 

On Sunday, while he was golfing, I camped out in his yard. I soaked up the sun, slushy drink in one hand, the latest John Grisham in the other. I savoured a quiet afternoon. It was then I sensed a large shadow to my left. I looked over and saw one of the eagles land on the grass, not even 20 feet away from me. I calmly grabbed my phone and took a couple of pictures then changed it to a video. Ellie (yes, I named the eagle) hopped about gathering the dried grass clippings into her claws to pad her nest. A trio of crows dive bombed her relentlessly, but she never wavered from her task. She flew back into her nest, massive wings slipping between the fir boughs so effortlessly, and I settled back into my chair with a smile on my face. I showed B3 the video when he returned from golf and he was awestruck. This is what happens when you spend time in his backyard. 

I'm going to love these weekends on his patio. I think he will too. 

Video Copyright: Annette Moore May 25, 2018