Sitting Pretty

For the three plus years we've been in this house, we've talked about getting a table & chairs to go on the deck. Finally pulled the trigger. The folks who built this house must have been great entertainers, because it's designed for big parties; big kitchen, big livingroom, generous deck, french doors opening onto the deck. We're not that social, but during the part of the year when outside living is possible, the deck is pretty nice. Surrounded by trees, there's usually some shade and a bit of breeze (and acorns, tulip poplar flowers, oak/ash/pine spring thingys, twigs, pollen, bushels of leaves...) So, we went to the usual Lowe's and Home Depot, looked, were not excited; went to Furnitureland South, looked at the price tags, and came back to Lowe's determined to be plenty excited, and came home with a nice round table and four chairs, all heavy enough to withstand a windstorm and easy to clean.
Furnitureland South is a High Point institution. Five floors of furniture! Acres and acres! World's largest----- chest of drawers. Yup, four stories high and thankfully bolted to the building so it doesn't fall on anybody. You really can't miss the thing. It has Hickory's World's Largest Chair beat all hollow. All this has to do with North Carolina having once been the center of the furniture industry, due to all the hardwood forest that we've since cut down and replaced with pulpwood and houses. The furniture is now made in places like Indonesia, but still marketed from here. They do have great stuff, just not that I want to spend that kind of money on in order for it to be rained on and collect bird dookey.
We planned, of course, to eat our steak fajitas on this new table, but as soon as Phil got everything set up it started thundering and soon rain was banging down and the dogs were cowering in their "We're all gonna die" mode. This morning's coffee and newspaper out there was very pleasant, though, if a little damp. Gotta make a cover for that table.
We also caved on the AC last night. We traditionally hold out as long as possible on both AC and heat, for which Duke Power should be grateful. But last night we were sticking to the furniture and the sheets and there would have been no sleep without the wonders of modern HVAC. I don't think I could live down here without it.
I finished one of the socks in that first pair yesterday, all but the grafting of the toe seam. Tried it on and it's a little strange in the fit, but I figure I'll wash it and block it and it will be done, and be an actual sock, if nothing else. The second pair will have better workmanship. Its sock brother is almost done too, I'll model them soon.