Sand Gnats and Sunflowers

So here we are, after months of tablescapes with a failure to launch, back again with a second table in as many weeks. Lest you think this means we've gotten it all together, think again.  We've just gotten it together enough to join the tablescape challenge at Cuisine Kathleen.

This month's challenge is called 

Farewell Summer.  

Something we'd be more than happy to do around here.  

Unfortunately, we probably won't be able to officially bid summer farewell for about two more months. We have, however, already bid a sad farewell to summer's favorite flower. We're using that flower for our tablescape inspiration.

I had two measly contributions to the whole table this week. First, I offered up this happy yellow tablecloth from my mother-in-law.  Not to be confused  in any way with her harvest gold table cloth from last week., this one is definitely sunflower yellow, and happy, happy, happy.

It matches the inspiration dishes, sunflower salad plates 

which belong to the Duchess.  

In fact, the entire place setting belongs to her, from the burlap charger to the bold blue dinner plate, to the completely unnecessary white one we stacked between the two. 

We just put it in there because the rim kind of looks like a paper plate. 

We happen to think paper plates are very summery.  

See? Not actually paper...

She contributed just about everything else on the table, too.  

(Well, not the sunflowers. God contributed the sunflowers.)

We took the farmer gourd and little red wagon right off her summer mantel. 

 He has a little sunflower hat. Not that any farmer I know

 would walk around  with a sunflower stuck to his hat. 

The napkins came off her kitchen table.   

I had to put them at the top of the plate 

because the place card church fans took up all the other space. 

And there was no way we were leaving those church fans off the table. 

Because it's  summer and this is south Georgia, folks.

People aren't the only invisible guests at an outdoor table.  

The gnats are sure to show up as well.  If you've never experienced a south Georgia sand gnat, consider yourself blessed. Old timers used to call them Noseeums...

...because you no see um until you feel um.

They bite. 

Of course, church fans aren't going to keep the sand gnats at bay.

 Nothing short of running in the house whilst screaming will do that.  

  

They will, however, keep their slightly bigger first cousins from becoming 

 no see ums until you taste ums.  

And they might just keep a little summer breeze blowing at the table too, especially when we all start waving them in concert.   Back and forth... betcha think we're sipping on some sweet tea while we're at it, too. 

Well we're not. 

Need I remind you that I don't know how to make sweet tea?

Plus, I was setting this table  in 100 degree weather. 

I needed a little Power Aid to replenish what I was losing in sweat balls. 

Oh who am I kidding...

We picked the Power Aid because it's red, and we thought red would look pretty on the table. 

The fact that I guzzled most of it down

 when I came back inside is just a happy coincidence. 

Yes, indeed, I felt very refreshed, so refreshed 

that I almost... almost...  forgot 

that it's still August, this is still south Georgia,

 and we still have some time to go before we can truly say,

Farewell summer! 

Sharing with  Cuisine Kathleen

 and the good folks over on The Porch as well.