Simple Joy-Dinner Outside

I thought about titling this post “dining al fresco” but let’s be honest here, that sounds way too fancy for what I am about to describe.

Growing up, I seem to remember my family eating dinner outside as much as possible in the summer.

As an adult, Billy (the hubster) and I do the same.  Although, eating outside is a little more eclectic at our house.  We have a combination of:

·        An outside folding chair.  Yes, it is made for outdoor use.  We used to have 2 of these beauties but a squirrel ate through the other. 

·        Two plastic chairs.  You know the plastic chairs I’m talking about.  Everyone has one.  Everyone in the world.  I didn’t believe that until I saw those chairs in other countries.

·        A small plastic table.  Probably made from the same quality plastic as the chairs.  This serves as our fourth chair since the squirrel ate the folding chair.

·        A tiny outdoor table.  Our neighbor let us borrow it a couple of years ago and we still have it.

·        A giant umbrella.  An umbrella that can sometimes catch the wind and fly over our deck and into our yard below.

If we have guests, we might get fancy and lug out our dining room chairs (which are close to 30 years old) or maybe our camping chairs.  And I’m sure you know what I am talking about with the camping chair.  Everyone has one of these as well.

Now I would show you a picture of this scenario but I don’t feel like we know each other well enough for this yet.

Instead, I will post a picture of this delicious salad that I ate while sitting in the remaining folding chair.

I love this salad.  I make a few modifications for personal tastes but it’s a staple at our house in the spring/summer months.  By the way, Billy was happy that I took a picture using one of the good pieces of bread that he grilled (good=not burned).

Obviously, the quality of our patio setup had no effect on our meal.  In fact, the patio furniture never has any effect on our meal.  We enjoy each other’s company and the weather (and the food…and sometimes beer). 

I suppose we could always upgrade the patio furniture, but it always seems to be one of our lowest priorities.  And now after this post, I’m feeling a bit sentimental about our current setup.

At my parents’ house, I noticed that we were often one of the only families who were enjoying the outside space.  My parents would probably say that is still true. 

At our house, I have noticed the same trend.  Looking around at dinner time (and I can see a lot because we live in a townhouse), we are often the only family outside enjoying dinner…perched on our plastic furniture.

So let’s get it together folks!  Summer is almost here.  Enjoy a meal outside!  Even if all you have is a plastic chair and a camping chair…because I am sure that you at least have those.