Will the weather hold?

I’ve bought several packets of flower seeds, most of which need to be sown in the next few weeks for flowering next spring and summer. Biennials mostly and a few perennials. Ever with an eye to Al’s business, I’m thinking that I can keep the few plants I need and he can sell the rest. He’s done well this spring from the foxgloves he grew last year, which have been coming into flower in the last few weeks.

Very hot again today, although again there is a fresh wind. I still would like to serve lunch out of doors on Tuesday, because our dining room, facing west as it does, is not at its best for a summer lunchtime – not unless it’s so hot outside that we’re grateful for its dim coolness. Usually we’re sun-starved and want to grab all we can, even at risk of pink ears and freckled nose. However, I suspect that we’ll shiver if I do. There will be twelve of us, and we can just fit around the dining table, but it’s a squeeze.

That’s still a slight niggle in the relationship between the Sage and me, actually. He wanted a refectory table, and found some lovely old oak planks, 8 foot long. We discussed the matter, and agreed that the table would be 8 feet long and 4 feet wide, so that it could comfortably seat 4 people at each side and 2 at each end. When the table was ready, it turned out to be 3 foot 6 wide. “I thought the proportions would be better,” he explained. I reminded him of what we’d agreed. It was obvious that he hadn’t actually been listening. He was quite unaware that there was a reason for the decision, so he saw no need to consult me on the change. As a result, family meals have often been quite awkward.

The legs of that table were made from an oak tree that fell down about 20 years ago. It had been in the middle of our orchard; now an ex-orchard. Nearly all the trees fell down in the ‘hurricane’ of 1987, knocking each other down like dominos. The oak tree, apparently strong, firm and in its prime, fell over a year or two later. Without its protective surround of apple trees, it couldn’t withstand the next strong wind.

9 comments on “Will the weather hold?

  1. lom

    The table does sound nice, even if it it a bit smaller than you wanted. But it is bloody annoying when they don’t listeren to you

    Reply
  2. Z

    Of course, when I say a ‘niggle in the relationship’, I don’t mean it’s a constant one. Rather in the same vein as me, Weeza and ‘cope’, which she told Dave about on Friday.

    I’d not have minded so much if we hadn’t had several conversations about it. When it comes down to it, men think that the decision is ultimately theirs.

    Present company excepted, of course.

    Indeed, Dave.

    Reply
  3. Ad

    The only suggestion I have regarding the size of dining table top would be to buy an 8×4 sheet of ply(or mdf, possibly pre-veneered for polishing), half an inch thick with fixings that wrap around the existing top with padding in between that could be overlayed with table felt and a table cloth on top.

    Reply
  4. Z

    We can fit the 12 people round the table, it’s just that it’s not so comfortable as it would be if it were 6 inches wider.

    Link, I haven’t got room for any extra furniture and if I dreamt about furniture it would be to get rid of some of it. We’ve too much stuff altogether. Just don’t suggest I buy any books. Or pictures.

    Reply
  5. martina

    When my mother’s parents had family dinners the adults sat at the long dining table and the children had their own table (a folding table) nearby. Maybe you can do something like that and have more elbow room at the main table? Once Zerlina Buttercup can feed herself of course.

    Reply

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